Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up in your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter. And lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.
~ Jack London
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There is no angst. There is no disease, suffering, and death. There is no killing. There’s no lust or envy or avarice of pride. There are no eviction notices or IRS audits.
In other words, it isn’t real life.
~ Gaping Void from, «https://www.gapingvoid.com/blog/2021/07/19/the-power-of-culture/»
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But that’s particularly difficult to remember when you are the down-the-stairs end of something monsterous and the up-the-stairs person is going s l o w l y and futzing with their grip. Or when you are traffic. (My omission of the word “in” is intentional.) Or the queue at the security check point is crazy. The children on the bus are unruly. The tire goes flat. The microwave craps out. And on and on. Because it’s precisely in those moments that we choose what sort of person we want to be.
Presume good intent. Trust, (but verify. My fave Russian proverb, btw.) Everyone we meet is fighting a great battle. No one knows how hard I work—read that as “I” in your mind’s reading voice, so it really refers to yourself—therefore, I know not how hard others work. There are lots of ways to aphorize the sentiment, and I use every single one of them, every day, as I don the armor of the Angel of my Better Nature and try.
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How does the experience of podcasting, particularly with a focus on mentoring, allow for the exploration of meaningful stories and connections?
Mentoring bridges the gap between telling stories and finding solutions through shared experiences.
What mentoring does is, it tells stories about solutions. Which is way different from coaching, which is asking questions to get to solutions. Which is different from counseling, which is you’re asking questions to get to problems.
~ Jayne Heggen (8:44)
The conversation focuses on podcasting as a tool to explore and share meaningful stories, particularly through the lens of mentoring. Jayne shares how her background in radio contrasts with her current experiences in podcasting, highlighting the interactive and engaging nature of the latter. She discusses the challenges and opportunities in creating a successful podcast, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability, connection, and authenticity in storytelling.
Another key theme is mentoring, which is presented as a process of sharing experiences and perspectives to help others navigate their paths. Jayne differentiates mentoring from coaching and counseling, underscoring its unique role in offering solutions through storytelling. She explores how podcasting can amplify these stories, making them more accessible and impactful, while also reflecting on the balance between editing and preserving authenticity in recorded conversations.
Takeaways
Mentoring — A skill and passion that involves sharing experiences to guide others.
Storytelling — Central to mentoring, as it conveys lessons and solutions effectively.
Podcasting as Engagement — The interactive nature of podcasting fosters deeper connections.
Vulnerability — A key factor in successful podcast conversations and mentoring.
Authenticity in Editing — The importance of maintaining the mentor’s authentic voice while editing.
Superpowers — Unique personal experiences and skills make each mentor irreplaceable.
Resources
“The Greatest American Hero” — A classic 1980s TV show referenced as a metaphor for exploring one’s potential.
Business Process Reengineering — Mentioned as the guest’s professional background, focusing on aligning corporations with people-centric processes.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Don’t hire a dog, then bark yourself.
~ David Ogilvy
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Don’t worry about people stealing an idea. If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.
~ Howard H. Aiken
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As autumn settles in where I am, I’ve been looking ahead to winter with longer nights, brisk days, etc.. I also looked back at the shape I’ve been in in years past. I’m not lamenting, “if only I had my youth back.” Rather, just thinking about health, movement, and what would be the minimum effective dosage of some exercise to move me in the direction I want. (That DuckDuckGo link should make you wonder why a medical-sounding phrase is used most relating to exercise not medicine, and strength training in particular.)
Sometimes—by which I mean any time running comes up—I say that running is both the best thing for me, and the form of activity I hate most. Both of which are untrue. What’s actually best for me is zone-2 aerobic exercise and that’s sometimes what I get when I run. It’s best for me, because that is the main driver of base fitness until you get well up into being a competent athlete. But usually, being quite over-weight at the moment, any running drives my heart-rate above the surprisingly low/slow zone-2. The second part about hating it is also untrue. It turns out that one time—the one single day apparently—that I was ever in shape, I enjoyed running. I was walking, the weather was beautiful, and I had an irresistible urge to run, (and so I did.) But, literally, that happened once.
Anyway. It’ll suffice to say: I spent a few weeks recently thinking about going full-on nerd with zone-2 training. To do it right requires planning, scheduling, and—sources vary—between 150 to 180 minutes exercising each week. And warm-up and cool-down time are not included in those weekly times. Honestly, the deal-breaker was I’m seriously pissed at FitBit, (and their watches are useless without a FitBit account,) and I refuse to spend many-hundreds on an Apple watch. Also, my $30 Timex is nicer, for my definition of “nicer.”
My thinking continued, and eventually I thought: I should just walk back from Mordor.
…except this time I’m not going to bother trying to track the actual mileage. Just walk as many days as I can. Listen to some podcasts some of the time. And basically just stroll along thinking, “If this isn’t nice…“
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In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.
~ Albert Schweitzer
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Knowledge is the beginning of practice; Doing is the completion of knowing.
~ Wang Yangming
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