What if true generosity is the highest form of leadership?

In this clip, we dive into The Greatest Salesman in the World — a short, powerful book that reads like The Alchemist, revealing a hidden moral code for living, giving, and doing business with depth.

From the scrolls that shape your mindset to a radical abundance philosophy, this conversation weaves through ancient wisdom, modern capitalism, and the real cost of glamorizing wealth without beauty.

🎯 We explore:

• Why true generosity might be the highest form of leadership

• The tension between private innovation and public responsibility

• The poetic difference between glamour and beauty — and why it matters

This is a philosophical reflection on value, legacy, and the cadence of a culture that’s lost its way — and how we might find it again.

🎙️ Guest: Christopher Dutch

Artist and technologist inspired by Dr. Iain McGilchrist, David Whyte, Terence McKenna, and others — exploring the edges of conversation, novelty, and the humanizing act of seeing the other.

🔔 Full episode coming soon on Spotify + YouTube

Subscribe for weekly episodes that challenge the way we think, build, and create meaning:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6msrutcBbZS7GmnNNmhkhg?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Listen to EIAN – Everything I Am Now:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SxbBM3cWhThSP041iC9rn

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-i-am-now-eian/id1799335733

🌐 Follow Eian O’Brien:

Instagram: @eianpodcast

TikTok: @eian.obrien

Website: https://www.eianobrien.com/

You see the masterpiece in your mind — but what comes out still falls short.

That’s the Taste Gap.

If you’re stuck in the gap between your vision and your current skill, you’re not alone. You’re part of a long lineage of creatives who’ve toiled in the trenches, chasing what only they could see.

This episode is for the ones who know what their work could be — but haven’t caught up yet. And maybe, we’re not supposed to. That frustration is proof of your potential.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Surviving The Taste Gap

00:39 – When Your Taste Outpaces Your Skill

03:32 – This Is Why People Quit

04:27 – You’re Alive Within Your Own Potential

05:08 – How To Survive The Taste Gap

05:22 – Volume Beats Paralysis

06:51 – Micro-Wins

08:01 – Reverse-Engineer Your Heroes

11:16 – Respect The Chapter You’re In

12:12 – Track Backward Proof

14:01 – Conflating Your Work With You

15:14 – Proof You’re Growing

16:21 – Knowing What Greatness Feels Like

18:15 – Closing Thoughts

You’ve been told to fix your flaws.

But what if your flaws aren’t mistakes? What if they’re messages?

Signals pointing to your hidden potential?

This episode is about rethinking your flaws, insecurities, and weaknesses — not as limitations, but as the very key to your growth, confidence, and transformation.

Most people get stuck trying to “fix themselves.” But true change begins when you see that your flaws point directly to your deepest strength — and your next evolution.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Flaws Are Signals

00:16 – Sensitivity Is Not Fragility

01:12 – Directing Amplified Energy

03:34 – Flaws Reflect Values

04:54 – Active Responsibility

05:31 – Compromise & Integration of Flaws

06:49 – Ask Yourself 2 Questions…

07:44 – The Boundary Bridge

08:13 – Discomfort Is a Signal

09:55 – Master What’s Mastering You

10:51 – What Has Shifted?

Comparison is one of the silent killers of confidence.

It distorts your perception, drains your energy, and keeps you stuck in a scarcity loop — often without you even realizing it.

In this episode, we unpack the hidden costs of constant comparison, especially in the age of social media — and how to break free.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Comparison in the Hall of Fun-House Mirrors

00:37 – Comparison in Evolution

03:04 – Comparison: Adaptive to Maladaptive

04:23 – Comparison as Anti-Reality

06:26 – Modern Evolution & Adaption

07:19 – Timeline Distortion

10:15 – Bamboo Breakthrough

11:56 – The See-Saw of Self-Worth

15:01 – All The World’s A Stage

16:52 – Like & Subscribe

17:02 – Comparison Triggers Shame

17:45 – Compassion in Comparison

18:53 – Tools for Presence

20:20 – Conscious Comparison

26:05 – Yoga Nidra, Directing Consciousness

28:12 – Rewrite The Program

28:58 – Neuroplasticity

31:12 – 90% Drop

32:04 – The Act of Success

34:16 – Comparison, not Truth

36:18 – Closing Thoughts and Questions

👉 This is Part 3 of the Deleting Scarcity series.

It’s tax day — and a perfect time to talk money mindset.

In this episode, I reflect on a conversation with my cousin about fear, spending, and what it really means to be wealthy.

From financial anxiety in your 20s to preparing for abundance later in life, we explore how to spend money without guilt, reframe retirement fears, and practice a mindset of wealth every day.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

💸 Inspired in part by Ken Honda’s Happy Money — this is about letting go of scarcity and stepping into true financial peace.

Control often masquerades as strength — but it’s really rooted in fear.

In this episode, we explore the paradox of control: when it helps us grow through self-regulation, and when it becomes a survival pattern that blocks trust, creativity, and connection

We’ll talk about healthy control vs. scarcity control, how it shows up in identity, creative work, and perception — and how to finally let go. Release the grip so you can grow with more freedom and clarity.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

00:24 – Self-Control

01:27 – The Paradox of Control

04:01 – Control Is Preoccupation

04:52 – From Gripping to Growing

06:51 – Control: Chaos vs. Capacity

10:20 – Control & Perception

18:26 – Closing Thoughts and Questions

Scarcity is often hidden in plain sight.

In this episode, we uncover the subtle signs of a scarcity mindset that may be silently shaping your behavior and beliefs. From perfectionism, over-giving, and hustle culture to control issues, jealousy, and comparison — these patterns are often coping mechanisms rooted in fear.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Scarcity Is Secretly Running Your Life

00:30 – CCOHP-J: Six Ways We Cope With Scarcity

00:49 – Scarcity as Control

02:07 – Scarcity as Comparison

03:33 – O is for Over-giving

04:54 – Scarcity in the Hustle

07:14 – Scarcity in Perfectionism

10:49 – Scarcity in Jealousy & Judgement

12:43 – Closing Reflection

12:59 – Tease for Part 2: Control

13:14 – Like & Subscribe

For years, I believed I was stupid.

I couldn’t focus, couldn’t read, and spent most of my time lost in daydreams. But one day, I made a decision: I didn’t want to feel that way anymore.

I started reading books way beyond my comfort zone — like Thoreau — just to see if I could stretch my mind. That decision changed everything.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Believing I Was Stupid

00:30 – Deciding to Change

01:25 – Reading Emerson and Thoreau

02:39 – Reframing the Weakness

05:42 – Weakness as Fuel

07:50 – Weakness in a Brilliant Mind

10:30 – Final Thoughts: Turn It on Its Head

A simple Chinese proverb helped me rethink how I respond to life’s chaos.

In this episode, I reflect on a conversation with a friend about the state of the world — and how the story of a farmer and his runaway horse reminded me to stay grounded in the unknown.

Sometimes the only honest answer is: “We’ll see.”

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – The State of the World

00:20 – Maybe… We’ll See

00:40 – The Farmer’s Proverb

00:58 – Terrible Luck or Good Fortune?

01:26 – Breaking a Leg, Breaking a Pattern

01:45 – The Draft and the Twist

02:04 – The Wisdom in “We’ll See”

02:30 – Imagination vs. Reality

02:50 – Staying Grounded in Uncertainty

03:21 – Living with Openness

03:40 – Final Thoughts: Letting Go of Meaning

Take control of your emotions and reactions for a more grounded, harmonious life.

Why does it feel like everything demands an immediate response? From road rage to social media outrage, we’re constantly being pulled into emotional reactions — often before we even realize it.

In this episode, I explore the psychology behind reactivity and the power of non-reaction — drawing from Stoicism, Buddhism, and modern psychology. You’ll learn how to recognize when you’re being emotionally hijacked, and how to step into awareness instead of reactivity.

📩 Field Notes – My weekly letters on alignment & transformation

⁠⁠⁠https://eianobrien.substack.com⁠⁠

📸 Instagram

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eianobrien⁠⁠

🎬 Chapters:

00:00 – Start

00:15 – Introduction to Non-Reaction

00:43 – Story: Just Say Thank You

04:27 – Impulse Ascent

05:26 – Identifying What Ascent Feels Like

06:46 – The Benefits of Non-Reaction

09:17 – The Three Day Rule

11:25 – Meditation

16:55 – Intentional Engagement

21:00 – Curate Your Inputs

23:20 – The Power of Silence