Today's episode of the Radical Brilliance podcast is with Dr. Vlatko Vedral, professor of quantum technology at Oxford University. I hope that it will blow your mind as much as it did mine. The more that I explore the cutting edge of quantum physics, the more new insight I have about what is happening in our world. We all get locked in the echo chambers of mutually exclusive narratives of meaning, which we defend literally as if we were under physical attack. The shift in how we understand reality, which Dr. Vedral explains in this video, may be what we need to move collectively from defending singular points of view to the capacity to easily embrace opposite narratives in a relaxed way.

So often when we listen to conversations with “experts,” they are people who have written the books, mapped out the landscape, and created a lifetime of credentials. Often, of course, these experts are baby boomers, now in their 50s 60s or beyond. Eric Hoffer once said, “In times of rapid change, it is the learners who will inherit the earth, while the knowers will be well-equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” We are in times of rapid change. Our very survival hangs in the balance. Things are changing so quickly, that it is the young and malleable minds who will determine the future of human life on this planet.

For this reason, I really loved having this conversation with Raj. He displays a very mature and balanced perspective on everything from the economy, to the environment, to social and political systems. Please enjoy this conversation, and get us your feedback at radicalbrilliance.com/ podcast.

5:46 -- The world through the eyes of a millennial

14:16 -- The skill of filtering information

21:30 -- Who can you trust?

30:20 -- Finding common humanity

37:00 -- Trends in the new world / “You are your most valuable asset”

The latest episode of the Radical Brilliance podcast is with Joe Mechlinski, the author of "Shift the Work," and the founder of Shift. His organization has a long track record of supporting organizations, from tens to thousands of employees, to change the work environment. Most of us find ourselves in unprecedented times of uncertainty. Just a few months ago, the economy was booming, unemployment rates were low, and everyone was busy hopping on and off planes to exotic destinations, eating in restaurants, dancing and going to parties. When the COVID19 pandemic hit, all of that went into stasis. Suddenly, we found ourselves staying at home, many businesses were forced to close or experienced great struggle, and millions of people are out of work. Now, we wonder what comes next.

Whenever there is a time like this of great disruption, we never go back. What comes after never looks like what came before. The same was true for both World Wars, for the Great Depression, and for the Spanish Flu. Times of great calamity also bring opportunity for great innovation and evolution.

In this conversation with Joe Mechlinski we explore how to ride times of turbulent change in a business environment, and how to thrive -- not only financially, but by becoming an agent of evolution.

4:30 -- Why go back when you can go forward?

15:12 -- Life without our costumes on -- the value of authenticity

20:51 -- What to do with the vacuum of clear vision of leadership? 

30:12 -- Rethinking life and work

42:28 -- The perils of outsourcing 

49:12 -- Agents of evolution

Welcome back to the Radical Brilliance Podcast.  This week our guests are Bill Kauth and Zoe Alowan, talking about the power of tribe.

Us homo sapiens have always done better when we collaborate. Truth is… we need each other, whether we're willing to admit it or not.

Historically, we all used to live tribally just in order to survive. But, over time, tribal ways were largely abandoned or actively destroyed, especially with the rise of urban development, systems of governance, religion, industrialization and colonization.

Though many indigenous tribes have survived, most of global society drifted (or was forced) away from the land and the ways of living with one another and the earth. Our social support units shifted then to the extended family… which narrowed down to the nuclear family… and then to the American dream where each individual has the opportunity to strive and become successful… but alone.

We can't wind the clock backwards. And - even if we could - there are many aspects of those ancient tribes we wouldn't wish to emulate. But we DO have an opportunity to learn from those who came before and consider how we, in this individuated/post-industrialized society, can return to what really matters. And we have an opportunity to consciously and deliberately create a sense of tribe that works for us now.

Bill Kauth and Zoe Alowan have done some brave work in forging the path for the rest of us. Please enjoy this podcast with two visionaries and trailblazers.

3:23 -- Historical precedence, current need 

13:07 -- The role of leadership 

21:09 -- Intentional communities and commitment 

32:24 -- A few best practices and learnings

47:43 -- Importance of transparency, connection and intimacy

"No one really knows why they're alive until they know what they would die for." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Death plays an essential role in the cycle of creativity. There's no light without darkness and there's no life without death. The most beautiful gardens grow from rich and dirty compost. As a society, we regularly try to cheat death and avoid discomfort but we're really just cheating ourselves of the opportunity to feel, grieve, fear, rage, fall, fail, learn, and eventually grow -- all necessary steps along the path to creating something meaningful.

Alex Ebert is constantly creating. He makes music and art, designs apps, writes books, founded a nonprofit, and even made a film, which we'll discuss in this episode. He's also pretty comfortable with discomfort and facing his own mortality. Find out about how these things are all related in our conversation here. And enjoy.

3:01 -- Creation and mortality, the role of gratitude

12:00 -- Truth, raw humanity, and the crucible

25:04 -- Different understandings of death, rites of passage, ritual and society

40:49 -- "Losing is learning", the initiation of parenthood

As an expert in personal transformation, I thought I had seen it all. Tried hundreds of modalities, and developed some as well. Read and written countless books, and coached thousands of people on how to be their best. So imagine my surprise when I stepped onto a Fusion dance floor and found myself completely blown away by the deep life lessons being offered to me in such an unassuming form.

 

Dance is a metaphor for life. Everything we need to work on in our personal and professional lives (e.g., leadership style, communication skills, ability to collaborate with others, ease of innovation) will be revealed as we learn to partner dance. This is especially true in Fusion Dance — which implicitly invites a certain level of mindfulness in its practice. Justin Riley, one of the founders of Fusion Dance, has no qualms about linking the lessons he’s learned in dance to inform and improve every aspect of his life. In this episode we talk about dance as a surprisingly powerful tool for personal and even global transformation. Enjoy.

3:07 -- Dance: More transformative than coaching?

22:22 -- History of Fusion Dance

33:53 -- Why dance is good for entrepreneurs?

What conditions enable our highest creative states? What's the role of skill in creativity? Is the creative impulse emotional or intellectual? Please enjoy this provocative conversation about the what, where, and how of ideas with brilliant mind, Forrest Landry.

4:00 -- Conditions that enable creativity

21:06 -- Creativity to what end?

35:21 -- Creation versus discovery

44:15 -- “The process that allows the light to emerge”

How do the words, "Anything is Possible" make you feel? Maybe you feel relief when you read them. Maybe excitement. Maybe something that previously seemed inaccessible just opened its doors for you. Or maybe you're a skeptic. "Surely they don't mean 'anything is possible,'" you think. Does it seem ridiculous? Consider this: If you look for proof that an idea, a project, some future scenario is totally impossible -- you won't find it. There's not enough data to support your hypothesis. That's because everything is constantly changing. 100 years ago there's no way we could have predicted what our world would look like now.

Not only is the belief that "anything is possible" true (or at least possible!), it's also USEFUL. When we practice incorporating the belief into our lives as a mantra or motto, things begin to change. We take more risks, we see more payoffs. We try new things, we live bigger and bolder. Joe Vitale is an expert in the Law of Attraction. He's overcome incredible hurdles in his life, achieved a ridiculous amount of success, and it's all because he allowed himself to believe that "Anything is Possible." Obviously this theory has implications not only for our personal lives but for the future of humanity. Enjoy this conversation.

3:20 -- What are the principles underlying the idea, “Anything is Possible”?

14:21 -- How can we apply these principles of, “Anything is Possible” for humanity? 

25:54 -- The best possible future 

35:35 -- “Who says?” Question it all

The words "private enterprise" and "social change" haven't always gone hand in hand. From tobacco companies, to big banks, to the military industrial complex -- the examples of harm done in an attempt to make money are numerous. Numerous, but waning. In this week's episode we will discover how companies with values and a mission actually do better financially. We'll talk about how organizations (for-profit and non-for-profit) do better when they have a thriving revenue model to support their activities, and how significant change is possible when the money-driven companies get on board with beneficial products and policies to keep up with the marketplace. After all, it's not just producers that make positive change through business in our world: consumers, voting with dollars, keep good companies accountable and have the power to convince baddies to do better.

Please enjoy this conversation with one of the most skilled and insightful leaders in conscious business, Rinaldo Brutoco.

5:07 -- What’s the highest expression of business?

20:48 -- How to get businesses to be of greater service to society?

31:32 -- What’s the best possible future of business?

There are so many good reasons to write a book: Writing can help organize our thoughts or come to new understandings about the material we're presenting once we go through the process of putting it all on paper; writing can be emotionally gratifying -- cathartic and/or joyful; writing can help uplift and preserve diverse perspectives and cultures that deserve representation.

If you have something to contribute to the world (and, by the way, everyone does), then consider writing a book. Bill Gladstone, renowned literary agent behind some of the greatest books of the last century, shares his thoughts in this episode. Enjoy.

4:57 -- The State of the Book

15:32 -- When you have something important to contribute…

23:31 -- How to increase the chances of your book being discovered?

31:38 -- Writing for a better world 

37:43 -- How to start your book

44:22 -- Tips to overcome writing challenges