Thought Mining

Is turning your hobby into a side hustle the best thing you can do with it, or the fastest way to kill it?Nathan brings the thought: turning every personal hobby into a side hustle destroys the hobby. Derek starts with a deodorant sponsor who doesn't want you talking about what's in their deodorant, and it gets harder from there: books nobody buys, books you only write because they sell, and whether there would even be a Van Gogh if he'd painted what the market wanted. Nathan tells the story of the contract he turned down to protect his side projects. Derek explains how learning a magician's tricks turns magic into rabbit torture, and where the awe goes after that. By the end, they land on an idea neither of them walked in with.If you've ever wondered whether to charge for the thing you love, this one's for you.Thought Mining is Derek Olson and Dr. Nathan Anderson taking one thought and staying with it for 30 minutes.0:00 Welcome back0:29 The fifth-grade version of the show2:12 Today's thought: hobbies vs. side hustles2:26 The deodorant sponsor problem4:56 Keeping the reason you started6:00 Darned if you do, darned if you don't7:45 Nathan's 20-year book9:12 Marketing vs. the work itself12:05 Would Van Gogh have been as good?13:00 "There would be no Van Gogh"14:26 The contract Nathan turned down16:28 Money as safety, money as validation19:15 Keep the hobby and the job separate22:12 A million dollars, but no more joy22:54 Learning the magician's tricks25:39 Awe that comes from knowing how it works27:28 From Dorothy to the Wizard of Oz29:35 The chrysalis30:32 Wrapping upNew episodes of Thought Mining every week. Episode 3 is coming soon.#sidehustle #creativity #podcast

Is letting AI do your writing like paying someone to go to the gym for you?That's the thought Nathan brought to this episode, the first of season two. It started with a Cal Newport op-ed in the New York Times about technology making us intellectually lazy, and it took us from AI-written email chains to James Patterson's ghostwriters, e-bikes, Icarus, the Borg, and whether either of us could start a fire without a lighter (one of us can't).We don't land on "AI bad" or "AI good." Derek plays devil's advocate twice, Nathan keeps pulling it back to what you lose when you skip the work, and somewhere in there we end up asking what authorship even means anymore.Thought Mining is a show where we take one resonant thought and dig into it until something useful comes out. Hosted by Derek Olson and Dr. Nathan Anderson.0:00 Welcome back to season two0:24 What Thought Mining is1:37 This episode's thought: outsourcing your thinking to AI2:26 The Cal Newport op-ed and the "flabby brain"3:56 When your inbox turns into AI talking to AI6:04 Will AI-speak start creeping into how we write and talk?8:09 Could writing like a normal person make you look out of touch?10:36 How do you grade students when the essay writes itself?11:24 Devil's advocate: you can't flap your wings to Paris13:36 The e-bike problem16:01 Devil's advocate, round two: James Patterson18:03 If everyone is James Patterson, who finds the next Stephen King?19:36 Are we really short on content?20:41 Maybe the ideas are the workout, not the writing22:18 If AI cures cancer, do you turn it down?24:32 Screwdrivers vs. power drills25:07 Rebuilding ancient cities, and whether AI is a mech suit26:53 The Borg, and can you still make a fire?28:10 Nathan's take: keeping your soul while the tools change29:30 Wrapping upIf this one got you thinking, subscribe, and tell us in the comments where you'd draw the line on AI writing.

In this episode of Thought Mining, we explore a powerful quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”What does Emerson mean by this? How can we apply it in a world full of uncertainty, distraction, and pressure? Join us for a contemplative conversation where we break down the meaning behind the quote, deconstruct its philosophical roots, and mine it for personal insight.Whether you're into philosophy, mindful living, or just crave deeper conversations, this episode offers something to resonate with.💡 In this episode:The historical and philosophical context behind Emerson’s wordsHow to reframe your experience of the present momentPractical takeaways for turning any time into a “very good one”Reflections for thinkers, seekers, and self-inquirers📌 Engage with the Thought Mining community:🔔 Subscribe for more weekly reflections👍 Like this video if you enjoy philosophical breakdowns💬 Comment below: What does this quote mean to you?📤 Share with someone who values deep thought#ThoughtMining #RalphWaldoEmerson #PhilosophyTalk #DeepThinking #ModernPhilosophy #QuoteBreakdown #MindfulLiving #Contemplation #SelfReflection #MakeTheMostOfIt #LiveThoughtfully

Derek and Nathan thought mine the quote, "Impatience is an argument with reality," from Rick Rubin's book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being.

What do you think? Is impatience an argument with reality?

In this episode of the Thought Mining Podcast, hosts Derek and Nathan welcome Tanner Wells, a sophisticated explorer of geographic regions, cultures, and perspectives. They discuss predictive processing, explaining how our brains use life experiences to fill in details, sometimes leading to biases. The conversation covers the implications for safety, time-saving, and social interactions, with Tanner sharing how predictive processing aids his travels. They also touch on the emotional aspects, such as anxiety and excitement, and how reframing perceptions can enhance experiences. The episode further explores creativity, emphasizing the importance of fun in the creative process. The hosts discuss how adults can harness the joy of creative expression to overcome anxiety and fear of failure. The episode concludes with reflections on risk-taking and embracing uncertainty for a richer life.

Derek and Nathan discuss experiences with being spontaneously vulnerable. They explore positive and negative consequences of times when they acted or hesitated to act on opportunities to do things beyond the scope of their comfort zone. The episode concludes with a peek into both of them being spontaneously vulnerable in a parody rap video that fostered the origin of their friendship.

This is the second part of a two-part series on fears of speaking up in group settings. Derek and Nathan discuss fears related to passion, presence, and relevance.

Derek and Nathan continue mining thoughts related to fear. Their conversation includes a discussion on three out of six fears that Nathan feels have sometimes hindered his ability to speak up in meetings at work.

Derek and Nathan mine thoughts associated with fears of doing new things. They discuss some of Derek's experiences with speaking a foreign language and doing improv comedy and explore a reflection that Nathan wrote after waking up from a dream related to the theme of feeling anxious about vulnerably pursuing and sharing a new project.

Derek and Nathan continue their thought mining journey. Derek introduces his visions for an anti-Jobs character and a reality show for psychics. Nathan reads another excerpt from his original middle-of-the-night reflection on the concept of thought mining as well as a phrase from a recent walk that he felt inclined to thought mine. They touch on practices of shared and individual meditation, how staying in the moment and being receptive to sporadic thoughts that occur during simple experiences can eventually lead to intriguing insights, relationships between money and creativity, and how settings where decisions are made for you can be conducive to stress reduction and liberation.