Crazy Wisdom

Third episode I've done with Kapil. This one is hard to publish and I've kept all silences. Subscribe if you like it.

I talk to Shuang about many things including her experience with Beatsaber, conciousness, VR and much more!

He's a neurobiologist from Stanford that I found at Family Fish camp! He studies fish brains and has a lot of insight into the human condition.

I interview Shar about her business Bohoing and much more including dance, consciousness, and how to live a good life. 

I go deep into David's theory of Modia and Mundia and how they relate to each other and explain social behavior. 

Steve Schlafman (@schlaf), based in NYC, is a seed-stage investor and leadership Coach at Primary Ventures. Here, he shares his experience of chronic pain, how it prevented him from starting his own podcast, and the ways in which he explores creativity in his life.

Check out Steve's blog at https://www.schlaf.me/

In today's episode, we mention:

• Chronic pain + the science behind it
• Industries, and their ecosystems
• Meditation, Yoga, and Chakra
• NYC, and the fly-wheel effect
• 10-Day Vipassana Retreat
• Mind-body techniques
• Surgery, and stress
• Inner Resources
• Hypnotherapy
• Psychedelics
• Breathwork
• Coaching
• Creativity
• Anxiety
• Focus

Timeline of our conversation:

(04:24) Steve's experience with chronic pain

(08:05) Different types of pain reception

(09:23) What did Steve learn with a 10-Day Vipassana retreat?

(14:30) Dealing with stress: Steve's (serious) cycling accident

(23:12) The untapped potential of ancient mind-body techniques

(32:38) Struggles and Lessons that Steve's gone through with stress

(39:56) Steve, on Creativity: what is he most excited about creating?

(45:54) NYC: Startup Ecosystem, and Culture

(51:29) Steve's timeless one piece of advice 

Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with your friends and family!

Maia Bittner (@maiab), co-founder @Pinch and @Rocksbox, is a startup advisor and investor, as well as an alumna at Olin College of Engineering. Currently based in San Francisco, she likes "drinking dirty chais, making web sites, and climbing rocks".

In this episode, you'll hear us talk about:

• How to Negotiate Your Rent (yes, you heard that right!)
• Entrepreneurship: from kid to adult
• Social Media, and Vulnerability
• Self-worth and Independence
• Business, and Hustle Culture
• Uncertainty and Risk-taking
• Death and Decision-making
• Asymmetric Opportunities
• Traveling, and Adaptation
• Ambition, and hard-work
• Remote, office, or both?
• NYC, and its culture
• Imposter Syndrome
• Start-up loneliness
• Community in SF
• Planning

Timeline:

(02:31) How is the community of SF changing? Ambition and incentives.

(05:18) Seizing opportunities: how did Maia learn business?

(08:32) Traveling, Negotiation, and Sales

(13:46) What challenge is Maia currently struggling with?

(15:59) Death or Future Self: two methods for better decision-making

(19:03) Scheduling: to plan or not to plan

(22:06) Work virtually, Live personally

(27:35) Maia's social life: how do you live anonymously?

(38:22) What sets the Olin College of Engineering apart from others?

(41:25) What was the greatest challenge about starting two companies?

(45:36) The biggest lesson that Maia has recently learned

(48:12) Social skills, and social media; Closing thoughts

Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!

I sit down with Georg Baunach of Hatch Ventures to talk more about how to invest in ocean technologies. 

In today's episode I invite two of my best friends, Eric Levin (@ericrius1) and Eric Fisher, for a laid-back and entertaining conversation. Having previously worked at Facebook, Fisher is currently a character coach and social designer at MiNDFUL iMPROV. Levin is a VR developer who experiments with art, meditation, and yoga in his work.

In this episode, we discuss:

• VR, AR, and Technology
• Meditation, and Yoga
• Creativity and Business
• Job automation, and AI
• Skepticism, and Beliefs
• Freedom in Tech, Science and Truth
• Globalization
• The Age of Acceleration
• Limitations of language
• Psychedelics, Spirituality and Therapy
• Consciousness, Awareness and Attention
• Being vs. Becoming, and Flow
• Socialization and Improv
• Society and Culture

Timeline:

(02:43) Who is Eric Levin?

(04:17) Keeping Creative integrity in business

(06:58) Job automation, and creativity: will AI replace humanity?

(10:03) Designing digital spaces within a capitalist society

(13:17) Spirituality: Skepticism to Belief

(17:54) Creating Tech that serves Freedom, not Capitalism

(21:29) Are we entering the Age of Acceleration?

(29:05) Can work be a place of therapy?

(33:02) Ayahuasca, and other flow-inducing plants

(38:28) Flow: Being, or Becoming

(42:30) What is Improv: closing thoughts

Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!

Having previously developed Postmark as well as Beanstalk, entrepreneur Natalie Nagele (@natalienagele) joins me for a light-hearted, honest and open conversation about the process of building Wildbit, a fully self-funded, hybrid software company.

In this episode, we mention:

• Deep work
• Leadership in business
• Loneliness in remote work
• Hard work vs. Smart work
• Fundraising and profitability
• Meditation and mental clarity
• Building a meaningful business
• Remote work, in the early days
• Values, and their constant evolution
• Productivity software that can do more harm than good

Timeline:

(04:57) What is Wildbit? How did it start off?

(09:32) Pioneering remote work: Pros and Cons

(17:24) Slack, and anxiety: the effects of micro-managing expectations

(22:58) Remote work: how big of an issue is loneliness?

(26:17) Which should you do: work hard or smart?

(32:13) Fundraising, VC control, and Profits

(37:01) Meditation: Natalie's practice, and company culture

(43:50) How is writing therapeutic? 

(46:47) How procrastination obstructs your mental space

(50:11) 'Trillion Dolar Coach', and the lost secret of leadership

(55:50) Technological innovation: what is next? 

Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!