Youthful exuberance

You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.

~ Billy Arthur

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Creative work

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.

~ Mary Oliver

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People first

People who become engaged with movement in the found environment develop a new way of seeing their environment. Well, t e c h n i c a l l y , they recover a way of seeing their environment which they lost. Mountains, hills, water, stairs… and the moats that criss-cross our communities where the big metal and plastic boxes whiz along— these all become “challenging.” Walls (of various heights from knee to enormous), railings, painted lines— these all become “challenging.” And yet, I’ve had the pleasure on countless occasions to stumble into a built space which feels different. Spaces which don’t require me to see differently. Spaces which beckon me to sit, stand, move, climb, and play.

That we immediately switch to building our cities and countries around people, instead of cars.

~ Peter Adeney from, Less Cars, More Money: My Visit to the City of the Future

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Cars (small trucks, commercial trucks, planes, trains and ships) are tools. As I’ve said before what really matters about tools is one’s thinking and choices about tools. What I rarely hear mentioned is that tool choices also affect us. Our use of tools changes us. That’s what I really care about. How am I enabled (to do other things, to live more fully, etc), or constrained, by my choices with respect to tools? Furthermore, how do my choices enable or constrain those close to me? …in my community? …country? …world?

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Have it over

Don’t stand shivering upon the bank; Plunge in at once and have it over.

~ Haliburton

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Learners

In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

~ Eric Hoffer

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Presence with Pete Machalek

Presence – with Pete Machalek

What are the benefits and challenges of incorporating video content into professional communication and personal branding efforts?

Pete Machalek discusses presence, in-person, and in both audio and video mediums.

I do think there is something about the challenge of presenting to a camera that a lot of folks can benefit from practicing. […] It’s something that I recommend challenging yourself about, if your presence is something you want to get better at. There’s a visual component to it. [But] it’s certainly not all visual.

~ Pete Machalek 24:42

Pete Machalek and Craig Constantine explore some of the intricacies of presenting in both audio and video formats. They discuss the advantages of audio-only presentation, noting it limits what the audience can judge you upon. Some video presentation strategies and formats are discussed, including the challenge of accommodating different visual perspectives as seen by viewers. Pete also shares the evolution of his content creation, explaining experiences and improvements in his vlogging journey.

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Could 1 be none?

There’s a mantra meant to remind one about being prepared: 2 is 1, 1 is none. If something is important, one should have a spare (the thinking goes.) Instead, I like to ask myself: Could 1 be none? So rather than doubling up the complexity by having 2 of something… And rather than just having one of something and hoping it doesn’t break (or even having a plan for when it breaks)… Could I just get rid of that one thing?

The larger the scale the more management becomes a stochastic job. It is impossible to know that everyone is doing the right thing all the time. We have to approximate it by randomly sampling the breadth of it. This is why dogfooding is so important. This is why skip-level 1:1s are so important.

~ Andrew Bosworth from, Spot Checks and Brown M&Ms

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I’m not a manager of people. But I am a manager of a lot of things, responsibilities, resources and goals. Your life may be similar. I’ve found that problems don’t fix themselves, and so I’ve a habit of immediately fixing problems. Or, at least adding it to the lists of things to get to. Quite often, when I start fixing (whatever that means in the situation) I realize the problem runs deeper. Quite often, when I find I’m ignoring, resisting, loathing, or outright complaining, about a problem… there’s something deeper going on. I start turning 2 into 1… And then could 1 be none?

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Too late

When we are young, we are slavishly employed in procuring something whereby we may live comfortably when we grow old; and when we are old, we perceive it is too late to live as we proposed.

~ Alexander Pope

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Structure with Moe Poplar

Structure – with Moe Poplar

What are the essential considerations for independent podcasters to enhance their show’s quality, define its purpose, and create a meaningful connection with their audience?

Moe Poplar shares his expertise and insights on format, structure, and connecting with your audience.

[…] what service are we providing to our audience? I think if you know what goes into your show— if your show has a format— You also can start building a level of trust with your listener so that they understand your agreement. Because nobody wants to listen to the podcast that says this is what we’re gonna talk about, this is what we’re gonna do, this is what we’re not gonna do… You know? We’re looking for people like us, who say the thing in a way that we would say it, so we can understand it.

~ Moe Poplar 24:38

Moe Poplar brings his experience in producing and editing podcasts, as well as his various podcast projects, to this conversation. He highlights the importance of defining a clear format and structure for podcasts, emphasizing the role of a format in establishing a contract with the audience. Moe also touches on the significance of the host-listener relationship, where setting expectations and creating a rhythm in the podcast can enhance the overall listening experience.

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Reading

Reading must occur every day, but it is not just any daily reading that will do. The day’s reading must include at minimum a few lines whose principal intent is to be beautiful—words composed as much for the sake of their composition as for the meaning they convey.

~ Mandy Brown

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