The Hidden Why Podcast

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Harold Whitman

Entrepreneurs are often told to think about what the world needs and then look for ways to solve these problems.

Teenagers are often told to pursue careers aligned with their skills, those subjects that they are good at.

Most of us seek occupations with the aim of making some money for the purpose of being able to purchase stuff we think will make us come alive. Things that will make our lives somehow better.

And I wonder! Is this an incorrect approach to life? Are we just forcing ourselves into a life of confinement rather than a life of contribution?

For a long time, I tried with all effort to meet external needs in a selfish pursuit of trying to meet my own needs yet never knew truly what my needs were. In many ways, I still do this.

I  realise now that this isn't conducive to my personal progress. Nor is it conducive to any collective progress. I did notice that on rare occasions, I felt alive when I did things that I loved.

I did notice that on rare occasions, I felt alive when I did things that I loved. I began to seek ways to do more of what I love. I thought if it makes me feel good, both today and tomorrow, then it must be good. Worthy of pursuit.

I sought through experience more opportunities to find new passions. And as I incorporated them into my life I have created a lifestyle in which I feel more alive than ever before. I feel more ready than ever before to serve the world’s needs.

We are told on a flight to secure our oxygen mask first before we attend to others. This is a sound metaphor for life and perfect for what I am reflecting on here.

Survival is the purpose. It is life’s agenda. But when we do not take care of ourselves we are less able to take care of others. We are less able to contribute in a meaningful way.

And contribution is a fundamental life principle. It has the potential to take us all closer to a life of greater freedom, fulfillment, and happiness.

If we can meet the fundamental foundations of who we are. To seek to do more of what we love. If we can nourish our ‘Why.’ We will be more able to express ourselves for who we are. We will be more able to serve in meaningful ways. That will move us beyond the selfish pursuit of one’s own agenda to satisfying that of the collective. And we will undoubtedly find ourselves more satisfied than ever before.

All the world desires are for each of us to be as we wish to be.

This thought has been inspired by a meditation by Mark Nepo taken from his work The Book of Awakening.

If you’re tired of “doing” productive and want to start being productive, you’re in the right place. In this episode, Mike Vardy, founder of Productivityist will show you how to define your days, funnel your focus, and make every moment matter.

A productivityist is a productivity enthusiast. They love to delve deep into the study of productivity, including all the tool and habitual behaviors there is to know. Exploring new ideas, processes, and ways to get things done. Personally, for me, it all boils down to the best use of my time.

Mike Vardy is a writer, productivity strategist, and the founder of Productivityist. He has served as the Managing Editor at Lifehack and contributed articles on productivity to 99u, Lifehacker, The Next Web, SUCCESS Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

Mike is also the author of several books and is the creator of The NOW Year™ Method, a simple, durable, and flexible personal productivity approach. He has delivered talks on the topic of task and time management at events like New Media Expo, TEDx Victoria, South by Southwest, and creativeLIVE. He lives in Victoria, BC, Canada with his incredible wife, daughter, and son.

This is a follow on episode from last week. Last week I discussed what is thought, why and how thought arise, free will, consciousness and the constructionist thoery of the brain as it relates to how we operate. 

This week I will talk more on why it is beneficial to develop a mindfulness practice. When we become more mindful and aware we can seperate ourselves from the random thoughts that fire off rather then being dragged along with them.

We will become better able through our daily activities to dicern between thoughts of sensutality, thoughts of ill-will and thoughts of harm compared to thoughts of renunciation, thoughts on none ill-will and thoughts on harmlessness.  

The buddha said that those thoughts that consume our mind, those thoughts that we ponder on the most often are the thoughts that lead to specific behaviours.

When we are able to dicern thoughts that are more beneficial to our life and the life of others over those that cause an affliction of some sort may we become better at abandoning less purposeful thought, regardless of how purposeful we may inititally think them to be. Life begins with awareness. 

I'd love it if you could have a listen and share your thoughts.

In this interview, I chat with Dorie Clark. Dorie is an adjunct professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a professional speaker. She teaches people how to reinvent themselves and cut through the noise of information and ideas out there so their messages can be heard. In this episode, she shares insight and techniques to do just that. 

The New York Times has described her as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.”

She is the author of the forthcoming Entrepreneurial You. Her previous books include Reinventing You and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine. A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, she is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review.

Essentialism is the journey of life with purpose. I believe that life which is without purpose grows busy, cluttered, chaotic, stressful, overwhelming and results in less fulfillment and meaning.

It 's hard to live life effectively by answering to absolutely all demands whether externally or internally. We have to make choices and select those activities that carry purpose to achieving our desired pursuit. This book Essentialism delivers this message.

Essentialism is the art and disciplined pursuit of less and in doing so gaining more. More freedom, fulfillment, and happiness. Enjoy my review of this book.

Have you ever had a day where everything goes smooth? You get to the end of the day, and while laying in bed, you just feel awesome!

Those are the days we wish for more of, right? But how often do they occur?

Does every day seem like a drag? Difficult, challenging, stressful? Trying your hardest to do everything right, but I felt like I was getting nowhere.

Like pushing the boulder up the hill only to find at the start of each day it was at the base. Every day was like a repeat of the previous day. A perfect day was a rarity.

A swimmer cannot force himself to swim faster and break records without first knowing the techniques that chip away the time.

We cannot force a day to be perfect without first knowing what makes a perfect day. The question I’ll leave to you is this, “What makes your perfect day?”

A quick thought to inspire your day - The Hidden Why.

This is a replay interivew that I did with Jenny Santi. You can review the full show notes here at episode 31. 

Jenny Sanit is the best-selling author of Giving Way to Happiness in which she shares stories and the science behind the life-changing power of giving. 

It's a wonderful conversation about giving, not only the benefits but also the tecnhiques. How to get more involved in a way that has meaning and also without not feeling guilty.

In this episode, I first take a look at "what are thoughts?” I do this from the stance of introspection and studies of neuroscience and psychology. If thoughts become our reality than in understanding them and how we can influence them perhaps we will be better equipped to change undesirable realities that we live.

We are conscious beings and without consciousness, what then are we? Do we exist? What role does our consciousness play in directing our thoughts and our lives?

In the second segment, I will talk more about the two sorts of thinking. These are my thoughts extracted from the teachings of Buddha. I discuss the thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill will and thoughts of harm and how by focusing on them and bringing awareness to them we may be able to harness a more positive journey through life.

I'd love it if you could have a listen and share your thoughts.

Rutger Bremgman is the author of Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World. He is a historian and writes on philosphy, economics and history. 

Encouraged by his father to ask the bigger questions of life, Rutger believes we have stopped this practice. Bigger questions about life and about what's wrong with society, the key issues lead to ideas and in action solutions that can progress humanity to a higher level of utopia. 

In this conversation we discuss the idea of a Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. And more. It sounds too good to be true but as Rutger explains perhaps it's not. Rutger is a thought leader challenging the way we think about key issues and challenging us in how we can build an ideal world today.

“For anything you dream about doing, there is a high likelihood that there will be a grant of fundraising money available to do it.” Lucy Gent Foma

For those of you who are looking to get funding for scholarships, fellowships or grants this book is a practical step by step guide through that process. I read it to gather some ideas about how to best run a crowd-funding campaign to get my book published and to reach my goal to raise money to help children in need.

It's got some great tips and bits of advice. Here is my review.