But it’s consciousness in the experience sense – what philosophers refer to as phenomenal consciousness – that I’ll be focusing on in the remainder of this Guide. This kind of consciousness serves as a fundamental part of our existence, perhaps even the most fundamental part of our existence. But despite its fundamentality, and though we are intimately aware of our own conscious experience, the notion of consciousness is a perplexing one.
The current tools so breathlessly referred to as artificial intelligence, are still only tools. They have no agency, no goals, and critically they are not consciousness. Or, so we think. “Is conscious” is exceedingly important to determine, and it turns out it’s really hard to do the less like us (think: bats, dolphins, octopus, bacteria, …) some living thing is.
Opinions are strongly divided about Pressfield’s concept of Resistance. And yes, some days I do find myself over in the Resistance-is-bullshit encampment thinking: No, Resistance is not real. It is important and meaningful for me to be spending my time rearranging these deck chairs, polishing this silverware, sorting these shelved books, getting the edge of my lawn just so, tagging and organizing all these blog posts… And then, “Curse you, Resistance!!“
For myself, I was years into the act of having a practice before I even thought about its efficacy as a strategy to overcome my own Resistance. Resistance was (and is) a given for me. It wakes up with me. I know I will have to face it every day, and I know it will never diminish or relent or go away.
I’ve been looking for a word to replace “professional” in my regular usage. (Please hit reply if you’ve got one.) I’ve given up on changing how others perceive the words I say; People take professional to first refer to getting paid for one’s efforts. But by professional I mean—and this is the way Pressfield uses the word—competent, skilled, assured, and approaching mastery. Steve Martin is talking about that sort of professionalism, not about money, when he says, “be so good they can’t ignore you.”
Why do I care? Because with the concept of getting paid pushed aside, then professionalism can be used as a razor for cutting through resistance. I simply consider my practices (left for another day is the discussion of whether or not it works to have more than one practice) and ask the question: Would a professional do this?
Yes, a professional would take time off for this restorative activity. No, a professional would just ignore these deck chairs. Yes, a professional would spend 3 days writing software tooling so 10 years from now this stuff is still organized and useful. No, a professional would not stoop to that level. Yes, a professional would totally get this part pitch perfect.
A person who is lucidly aware of the miracles that surround him, who has learned to bear up under the loneliness, has made quite a bit of progress on the road to wisdom.
HomeNet could be (and has been) interpreted as an indictment of the internet, or screens, or modern communications technology in general. In truth, it illustrates a much simpler truth about love and happiness: Technology that crowds out our real-life interaction with others will lower our well-being and thus must be managed with great care in our lives. In order to reap their full benefits, we should use digital tools in ways that enhance our relationships.
If junk food is flavor divorced from nutrition, then pornography is sexuality divorced from the context of relationships. Video games are thrill divorced from physicality. And so you take these boys who have this inherent aggression and you let them play Fortnite, and they can play all day without any self-regulation from having the physical demands of actual rough and tumble play. The problem is that it so easily out-competes the actual thing that we need, which is the real physical play.
Brooks and Kelley are talking about different technologies, but I think they’re both pointing toward the “divorce” being the actual issue. The arrival in the living room (mentioned by Brooks) divorced [I’ll say] the mental stimulation from the other people in the house.
How can movement professionals inspire hope, encourage personal growth, and create spaces that foster inclusivity and collaboration?
‘Peanut butter and chocolate’ perfectly describes Dani Almeyda and Tim Anderson’s working relationship, and why they’ve successfully built a business together. They discuss Original Strength, what it takes to work with someone for 10 years, and why they remain passionate about their work. Dani unpacks her work with the Women’s Movement Collaborative, and Tim shares his process and influences. They explain their beginnings as OS, how they’ve grown, and what motivates each of them personally.
If you walk into our studio on the wall, it says: ‘I am awesomely and wonderfully made.’ That’s the message we want people to get when they come in to learn about themselves.
~ Tim Anderson (22:23)
Tim Anderson is an experienced fitness professional, writer, speaker, and former fire fighter. He has over 20 years of experience as a personal trainer, and is the co-creator of the Original Strength System and Original Strength Institute. In addition to fitness, he has authored and co-authored over 5 books. Tim’s methodology is centered on one key principle; we are meant to feel good and be strong throughout our lives.
Our whole goal has always just been to get people to move— to move and to get back to the very basics and the foundations. And the heart of that has always been that we wanted people to feel the hope that movement can bring into life, and to understand that moving heals the body.
~ Dani Almeyda (23:18)
Danielle Almeyda is a fitness professional with over a decade of experience in the industry. She is a the co-creator of the Original Strength System as well as the Original Strength Institute, and the founder of the Women’s Movement Collaborative. Dani’s passion lies in helping people reclaim their movement and their hope.
The conversation explores the transformative power of movement, highlighting its potential to heal the body and inspire hope. It delves into the foundational principles of the Original Strength system, emphasizing simplicity and accessibility in helping individuals reclaim their innate ability to move well. The speakers discuss their mission to create safe, inclusive spaces where movement becomes a tool for empowerment and personal growth, transcending the traditional fitness lens. They describe their unique partnership, which blends complementary strengths to innovate within the movement education field.
A significant part of the discussion focuses on building connections and fostering collaboration. The speakers share insights from their experiences with the Women’s Movement Collaborative, an initiative designed to create a supportive environment for women to explore movement and build confidence. They reflect on the challenges of maintaining authenticity while scaling their efforts and the importance of being relatable to foster meaningful connections with clients and collaborators. Their shared belief in the power of movement to positively impact lives resonates throughout the dialogue.
Takeaways
Creating safe spaces — The importance of designing environments where individuals feel valued and supported in their movement journey.
Movement as a way of life — Movement is presented not just as an exercise regimen but as an integral part of living with vitality.
Collaboration and synergy — The dynamic partnership described showcases the value of blending strengths to create impactful programs.
Empathy in coaching — Coaches must cultivate compassion and relatability to connect deeply with their clients.
Simplifying movement — Returning to foundational, simple movements can be transformative for physical and emotional well-being.
Women’s Movement Collaborative — The impact of creating women-only spaces to foster confidence, vulnerability, and exploration in movement.
Balancing personal growth and business — Insights into navigating personal and professional development within the movement industry.
Resources
Original Strength System — Dani’s and Tim’s movement system designed to help individuals reclaim their innate ability to move well and feel strong.
Tim’s books — Becoming Bulletproof, Original Strength, Press Reset, and more.
And quite often, I’m not using screens at all. My journal writing recently rolled-over into volume 18, and in recent years I’ve been copying my oath into the front of each new volume.
One of life’s great lessons lies in knowing how to refuse, and it is even more important to refuse yourself, both to business and to others. There are certain inessential activities—moths of precious time—and it is worse to busy yourself with the trivial than to do nothing. To be prudent, it isn’t enough not to meddle in other people’s business: You must also keep them from meddling in yours. Don’t belong so much to others that you stop belonging to yourself.
“If you don’t dedicate your time and attention to working with this roto-mill,” the clerk warns, “you might miss out on some benefit that we’re not thinking of now. I don’t see how you could afford such a risk in today’s age of modern yard tools.”
Maybe I’m going about this all wrong? We—me, Newport, everyone that I’m following and reading—keep saying things like this. (Read the article, it’s super short.) I keep talking about how engaging in certain things is a waste of one’s precious time. But it occurs to me that maybe for some people it is not a waste of time. Maybe for some people, playing Nimecraft, scrolling through Bacefook or Twettir is actually the best thing they’ve yet found to do with their time. (Data point: I do remember when that was the case for myself!)
Today, I have a list of things that I want to do—that I enjoy doing, that yield benefits, and which make me and the world a better place. I also have a list of things which I find pointless which I do not want to do. Maybe it would be far more useful for me to be asking, rhetorically, of the world at large:
What do you want to be doing with your limited time here?
As a manager, this state of flow is less common, if not non-existent. You aren’t diving deep on a task during an uninterrupted block of time, as required in flow – you’re the one helping others dive deep on a task. You’re also not receiving immediate feedback about your progress in the same way you would as an individual contributor, which is another critical element of flow. As a manager, you might not find out until months later if a decision you made or a conversation you had positively or adversely affected your team.
I think there’s a continuous pull to increase the total amount of work-output that we accomplish. Year by year, we improve our skills, learn new areas of interest, and even change careers entirely. We’re optimizing. The hard question is: Optimizing for what? Why?
I know I’ve been lured by the trap of thinking that if I just had help, then I’d be able to optimize. If I had more help, I’d be able to make more money, make more time, make more happiness for my myself, or make more happiness for the world. It’s taken me a long time to realize that, managing work and doing work are two different things.
I understand some people are drawn to—derive inherent pleasure from—managing others well and leading productive teams. But to date, I am not one of those people. This has left me in the unstable position of being pulled in opposing directions by two ideas: I would like to do fulfilling work. But to do more fulfilling work than I am currently, I need help from others. The key for me is to work with others in a spirit of collaboration; To not slip into my default mode of optimization, (specification, control, and micro-management.)
When people say they don’t want to embrace adulthood, what they really mean is that they don’t want to be a grownup themselves, but they want to live in a world where everyone else is. They want competent, effective politicians to represent them; they want their journalists and doctors to be smart and level-headed with a comforting mantle of gravitas; they want their children’s teachers to be dedicated and on-the-ball; they want customer service to be friendly and efficient; they want police officers to be honest and fair. They want the world to be stable, predictable…so they can afford to be erratic and irresponsible. They want to be kids, but live in an adult world, where grownups are at the ready to take care of their every need.
This was an enjoyable read that brought up a lot of good points. The basic question being explored is why is growing up harder “these days”? Brett spends a lot of time talking about what is different “these days” in society, in culture, in the human experience. It was a breath of fresh air from the more common “kids these days…” sort of screed.
This growing discontent is a warning: a message to stop dissipating your powers in low-level problem solving, to lift your aim and seek better, higher-order problems: ones more lucrative, more alluring… ones better suited to your highest gifts.
Strength and honour my friend. Those 8 drams took 15 years to make, imagine how sweet your life will be in 15 years. In the making of that scotch parts of it were burned, chopped, boiled and pressured and with each stage gave it character and its appeal. Just like the scotch, life is better with character. Win or lose, never ever stop fighting.
