Feeding Curiosity

Liminality is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the rite is complete. We can apply this concept of liminality to our daily routines. 

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Anne is the owner/artist of Cards by Anne, an inspirational greeting card company founded in 1986. Anne's cards, hand-designed in calligraphy and ink, are available online (cardsbyanne.com) and hundreds of stores.

For fourteen years, Anne taught “Cross-Cultural Understanding of Religious Meaning” at Carlow University; for seven years, she taught courses ranging from Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Nutrition, to World Religions and Ethics at a local community college. Her new book, “Spiritual Practices for the Brain: Caring for Mind, Body, and Soul, was published by Loyola Press in October. 

Currently, Anne is a frequent lecturer and retreat leader, presenting topics that combine neuroscience, positive psychology, and spirituality to groups across the US and Australia. A former Division 1 athlete, Anne teaches a weekly yoga class at a local retreat center and enjoys biking and hiking. 

Show notes:

(00:04:16) What is Anne's Background? 

(00:06:57) Combining Science with Christian Religion

(00:10:23) Creating frameworks for others to build off 

(00:11:49) Placebo effect

(00:12:46) Cornerstone habit

(00:15:42) Reframing activities to make it more approachable

(00:17:57) Habit Stacking 

(00:19:20) Technologies impact on us

(00:21:42) Shinrin Yoku - Forest Bathing

(00:23:11) Awe Walks

(00:25:01) Nasal Breathing - Andrew Huberman

(00:26:45) Nature to help refocus or when feeling overwhelmed

(00:28:59) My Octopus Teacher

(00:32:23) How light affects the brain

(00:34:57) The health of the forest

(00:37:45) How do you know where to put your focus? 

(00:38:52) Advice to young people 

(00:41:33) Generalization

(00:46:34) Enthusiasm 

(00:47:21) Creativity 

(00:50:22) Expanding on meditation

(00:51:43) Training the brain

(00:59:22) Favorite books

(01:00:48) A belief or behavior that has most improved your life?

(01:01:42) If you had a giant billboard what would it say? 

(01:01:58) Where to connect with Anne?

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My guest today is Mike Hagensick returning to the podcast. Mike is the co-founder of the  E3 collective the vision of the collective was sparked while Mike was a special education teacher, working with children with complex needs. He worked with many great teachers, paraeducators, physical therapists, and occupational therapists through close collaboration and a shared vision of opportunity during this time.

Students were able to access unique experiences and opportunities, leading to improved quality of life as Mike transitioned into his new role. He started the Panther Academy for water safety to promote evidence-based learning to swim and water safety instruction to individuals with diverse abilities by integrating high-level teaching and community. PAWS strives to deliver excellent programs for children regardless of their individual needs

Show Notes:

(00:03:38) Mike's Background

(00:04:27) Changes at home

(00:06:40) Changes professionally

(00:09:57) How coaching has evolved?

(00:13:37) How to help athletes adjust and build a community?

(00:16:33) How does Mike help empower those he works with?

(00:20:03) What aspects of communications help empower others?

(00:22:48) How to provide balanced feedback?

(00:26:29) Importance for modeling as a leader

(00:29:54) Learning to pivot

(00:34:10) Evolving priority list

(00:34:56) E3 Collective

(00:42:55) Working with dedicated people

(00:49:19) Purpose and Principles

(00:54:18) What helps Mike reset?

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I've been spending the last two weeks reflecting on what is most important to me. This short episode was born from contemplating what I am most grateful for in 2020. We could talk endlessly about what could have been better in the last year, but what were the rays of light shown through this year?

Background music - 'Moon and Star' by Wintergatan

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— BRIAN SHARP

Brian Sharp is a B2B technology executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience building start-ups and early-stage companies in roles ranging from founder to c-level executive. Along the way, he has experienced great success and devastating loss (and everything in between), but fortunate to have been mentored, supported, loved, and coached by some of the best and most talented humans ever.

Currently, he serves as President for SafetyChain Software, a fast-growing SaaS startup in the manufacturing sector, as well as President for a 501 (c)3 non-profit started by his kids, The Tower of Niceness that provides “niceness for those in need.” When he’s not working on building his own company and teams, you’ll find him working on his passion to help others do the same through writing on his blog (Help & Hustle) as well as hosting his podcast (High Performance Happiness) -  both of which are dedicated to helping leaders balance the art of building better companies and living better lives.

He lives in Northern California with his amazingly supportive wife, 2 energetic boys, and adorable daughter (who runs the house). He’s a die-hard San Francisco sports fan and loves anything to do with board sports or water. So outside the office, you’ll likely find him with his kids on a mountain bike, on a hike, paddling on the lake, or snowboarding down a mountain at their happy place - Lake Tahoe.

Show Notes:

(00:04:31) Who is Brian and what does he do?

(00:05:51) What drove Brian to entrepreneurship?

(00:08:28) Creating Value

(00:09:25) How does Erich think of himself?

(00:11:24) What is the difference between an amateur and a professional?

(00:12:23) What is Brian's Craft?

(00:15:14) Common pitfalls with starting your own business

(00:18:31) Leadership

(00:21:16) Not having a college degree

(00:25:50) The winding path life gives

(00:29:28) Focusing on something for multiple years

(00:30:54) Hugh Jackman on Tim Ferriss Show

(00:35:11) Contextualizing experiences and communications

(00:36:38) 7, 38, 55 Rule

(00:40:01) Learning to ask for advice?

(00:43:33) What was it that caused the chip on the shoulder?

(00:45:47) What drives you forward?

(00:47:39) How did Brian bounce back from failure?

(00:51:53) Finding a deeper purpose

(00:52:24) Dig your heels in and owning up to your shortcomings

(00:56:26) Having a good support system

(00:58:33) Recommended books

(01:00:36) Advice to someone who's had to pivot

(01:05:31) Where can people connect with Brian?

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On today's podcast, I am joined by Joe Jackowski join me. In today's episode, we discuss some of the dangers of social media and how we interact with it. 

By the end of this conversation, we hope listeners understand the tricks being played on users to get them to spend more attention than they should with their devices. Though this podcast centers around the negative aspects, we talk about ways to use these platforms more productively. 

Feel free to share your thoughts and insights around how you view social media and what you think are possible solutions to function better!

Show Notes:

(00:01:25) Social Media is Technological Cocaine

(00:03:21) Engaging with content

(00:04:28) Privacy tangent

(00:06:02) Connecting addiction and privacy

(00:08:21) Can you leave your phone at home?

(00:10:41) Breaking the loop

(00:14:03) The Danger of Rabbit Holes

(00:14:54) Changing Incentives

(00:16:41) Sam Harris and Tristan Harris

(00:19:30) How are the younger generations reacting?

(00:22:10) Limitations of human

(00:23:17) Mental Health and Social Media

(00:28:07) Putting too much value in external platforms

(00:34:33) Value of experience

(00:38:50) Neglecting the present

(00:44:32) What is the cost of not having social media?

(00:47:57) How social media polarizes us?

(00:53:09) Renee DiResta and Your Undivided Attention

(00:55:06) What can individuals do right now?

(00:58:07) Look at your behaviors honestly

(00:58:49) The Courage to Be Disliked

(01:00:53)The vindictive nature of people

(01:05:46) An issue of awareness

(01:09:29) The Cuckoo's Egg

(01:13:06) Distrust of the internet

(01:17:05) Ground News App

(01:19:28) Changing belief

(01:25:09) Misordering of values

(01:29:15) Closing

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A short episode on ways to get me out of a creative slump. What works for you?

Background music: "Multiverse" by Wintergatan

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— BRET GORNIK

My guest today is Bret Gornik. Bret is the co-founder of Live Better. Live better's mission is to design wellness experiences to connect people to pursue purpose. He empowers people to take care of their mental health and physical health to give back to our planet.

In his previous life, Bret was a data analyst at Walgreens. Since then, he advises CEOs, fortune 500 companies, professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and creatives alike on two things: making self-care a top priority and applying the energy towards finding purpose in their work.

In this conversation, we really dive into really Bret's origin story, what he had to learn for himself to find a fulfilling goal to pursue. We talk about just cultivating awareness about your own habits, routines, and protecting your internal life so that you can show up for where it really matters.

Meaning friends, family, and the work that you do that is bigger than you. I really enjoyed talking to Bret. He is completely switched on to understand certain aspects of these ideas and explorers trying to find what works best as a human on this planet.

It's always a work in progress. And so with that, everyone, please enjoy this conversation with Bret Gornik.

Show notes

(00:02:27) Who is Bret Gornik?

(00:05:23) Where did Live Better Start?

(00:12:41) Getting the clients while at the gym

(00:14:45) The Live Better Origin

(00:17:57) Organic Connection and Social Media

(00:22:28) Time Swap

(00:26:44) What is looked up to?

(00:33:13) Create a personal Board of advisors

(00:38:22) Balancing consumption and action

(00:40:19) Sources of high-quality information

(00:47:01) Short Form and Long Form

(00:49:20) Mismatched views on recovery

(00:54:13) Compounding habits

(00:59:18) Have the Best Day Ever

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On today's episode, I'm joined by two of my returning friends, Mike Taccona and Ben Kapolnek. In this particular conversation, we turned back the clock into an old school podcast. We pick a topic and discuss it broadly.

The topic for today's episode is unpacking and trying to understand genetic editing. The reason for picking this topic was from a Nova PBS documentary.

I'll share a quick intro to that documentary. The title was Human Nature, with an extraordinary new technology called CRISPR. We can now edit DNA, including human DNA, but how far should we go? Gene editing promises to eliminate certain genetic disorders like sickle cell disease, but the applications quickly raise ethical questions.

Is it wrong to engineer soldiers to feel no pain or to resurrect an extinct species? And is there harm in allowing parents to choose their child's features like eye color or height? The scientists who pioneered human genome studies and CRISPR grapple with these questions, and this premiered September 9th.

We use that documentary as a launchpad to get into this entire discussion, but we don't stay super true to the documentary. Still, if you're interested in this topic at all, I highly recommend you check that out. On top of this, I would also recommend you check out the show notes for this conversation because I will include links to other topics related to this as we speak about them in.

So with that, everyone, please enjoy this conversation on genetic editing. And I'll leave you with a few questions.

In terms of any sufficiently advanced technology. The question is, where should we stop? And in general, what does it mean for the human race? Once you start adopting these technologies? I'd love to hear your thoughts on genetic editing!

Show Notes

(00:05:42) PBS Nova: Human Nature Documentary

(00:06:56) What is CRISPR?

(00:08:48) E Genesis

(00:10:02) What are the ethical questions with genetic editing?

(00:11:57) How far should we go?

(00:13:46) Necessity of struggle

(00:18:40) How much does resilience play a role?

(00:19:02) Ketamine

(00:21:23) How technology is used?

(00:24:24) Test-tube Babies of the Future

(00:25:45) Does this limit humanity?

(00:27:37) AI and Genetic Editing

(00:34:04) Would we want an AI to make decisions for us?

(00:36:02) Cyberpunk

(00:37:07) Genetic Editing: Good or Evil?

(00:42:25) FOPO - Fear of Other People’s Opinions

(00:46:00) Nature and Nurture

(00:51:24) How each of us responds is different

(00:56:46) The curve of balls of life

(01:00:17) What is perfect?

(01:03:13) Closing thoughts

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