The Attention Collection

In the early 1920s, Garret Morgan, an inventor from Cleveland, Ohio, made a crucial contribution to road safety with his improvement on the traffic light. It's one of the go-to stories of Black History Month. But let's look at it from a different angle. What can this overlooked and underappreciated innovation teach us about gratitude and human connection?

This is the episode where I unabashedly celebrate the 80s by revisiting the timeless wisdom of the one and only Mr. Miyagi. Wax on, wax off.

It is always inspiring to scroll social media on MLK Day every year, to see a timeline full of Black excellence and inspiration. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most quotable figures in human history, and we prove that with every quote-stamped photo. But it seems in our pursuit to preserve the legacy of this great man, we've left out some key elements.   We seem to have forgotten he was a revolutionary, notorious in the eyes of the country he loved.    This episode explores our complicated relationship with one of the greatest leaders who ever lived.    

Flying highlights the experience of living. It represents the ups and downs, the turbulence of every day, the shared vulnerability. Life is a series of takeoffs and landings, and each of us will need someone's hand to hold at some point along the way.  In this week's episode, Anthony shares a personal story about a flight to Pensacola, Florida, that informs the way he looks at community, vulnerability, and the importance of showing up for each other.

The headlines we respond to. The posts that stop us in our tracks. The news teasers that keep us up to watch the broadcast. They all reveal something fascinating about the human condition, which can teach us a lot about ourselves.

For the last episode of 2020, Anthony sits down with Tim (in separate locations, of course) to recap the year and discuss the things that helped them maintain sanity(for the most part). They talk about books, films, music, and more. And stick around until the end for an exciting announcement!

Alien invasions, internet misinformation, and our own wild thoughts... We gather our information from what we've always known to be credible sources. Sometimes that works out—other times… mass hysteria.  And the apparently credible source that screws us up the most?  Our own minds. 

An earworm is a song with a catchy melody that sticks to your consciousness like gum on the bottom of your shoe. Sometimes it's a song you love, but more often than not, it's a bubble gum pop song or an annoying jingle from a car dealership commercial. This episode is about earworms of the musical AND cultural kind.  

There's a steep hill in the South West of England called Cooper's Hill. Every year bunch of people line up at the top to chase after a round of cheese. They break bones and twist ankles. They dislocate various members of their anatomies. And the winner... takes the cheese. It's ridiculous, frankly, to get all bent out of shape for a 7-pound circle of coagulated milk. But is cheese really what they're chasing?    And don't you and I do the same thing every day?  

Have you ever watched a beady-eyed squirrel meticulously clean and then bury an acorn and thought to yourself, “What do you have to teach me about life, you strange little creature?” Probably not. But you should. Turns out we can gain a whole lot by copying them.

There's a reason some people camp outside an Apple store or stand in line for hours waiting for the new Supreme line to drop, or why some people frantically rush to the paper goods aisle at their grocery store when COVID restrictions tighten up again. And that reason isn't iPhones or overpriced t-shirts, or even toilet paper, as essential as it may be. People aren't lining up for products, not really; they're lining up for a story, one that has driven mankind since the beginning. And that story is scarcity. But that's all it is, one of the most powerful motivators in human history… is just a story. And this story sneaks into our experience in interesting ways and ultimately limits our lives. What if there's an alternative story?

Have you noticed how your brain is constantly running its own infomercial—"If I act now, I can have all this... and more!" But how much "more" is enough? And what is the hidden cost of all the things we engage with and consume? In this episode, Anthony sits down with Tim to talk consumption, social media, and the maintenance costs of everything we interact with.

People bring out different elements of you, elements you may not even know you possess. Getting around others is one of the best ways to figure out what you have kicking around inside. That's a wonderful thing. It's also a little scary, because we may be surprised by what we find. This episode is about how we all have to take the “What About Bob?” Test, and how to not fail it.

This episodes highlights a reality that gets lost behind campaign ads, news cycles, and hyperbole. It gets lost a couple months after the Inauguration. The truth is, every single day of our lives is voting day. It doesn't always involve ballots boxes and polling stations, but we are never not casting votes. We vote with dollars and attendance and laughter and silence and everything in between. Every Day is Election Day.

On last week's episode we revisited that old improv show Whose Line is it Anyway?, the one where Drew Carey opens the show reminding the contestants that “Everything's made up, and the points don't matter.” I compared that to our lives. Most of us carry ourselves like we're performing Shakespeare for critics when the reality is we're all just making it up as we go. And that's a good thing. The rules and norms scripted for us by society are all made up, and there's freedom in going off book. But there are actually rules in improv, and one stands out above the rest. If we want to spark creativity and connect with others and find fulfillment… We have to embrace the practice of the Yes, And.

Do you remember that improv game show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” from the early 2000s? It was hilarious because you never quite knew what to expect. There were no scripts, just audience prompts and wild scenarios. And the setup was simple: a rotating cast of people would respond to cues and suggestions, making things up on the spot, in hopes of scoring imaginary points, awarded to them at the whim of the guy in charge. Basically it was just like your everyday life. This episode is about what happens when we realize Everything is Made Up.

What do Batman, authentic Italian cuisine, and Whitney Houston have in common? In this episode, we'll figure that out by exploring an important question: who gets the credit? Who gets the credit for the things we cherish, and for the person we are becoming? The answer matters. https://www.attentioncollection.com

WE'RE BACK! And I'm not gonna lie, it feels good. This week we're digging deeper into a topic we covered a while back. We're making gold from lead, transforming "worthless" materials into priceless artifacts, and exposing you for who you truly are... You are an Alchemist.

Have you ever watched kids negotiate trades? They often make irrational choices, trading things they enjoy for things they'll forget about (and regret) tomorrow. It's fascinating to watch.   We make trades like that every single day. And many times we trade our mental well-being, our attention, and our own best interest for the most trivial things. Why is that? And what can we do about it?   ----------------- What is an Attention Collection?  We've created this FREE ebook to help you understand the things that shape you and what you can do to take hold of your own formation! 

In 1940, in Selma, Alabama, someone decided to build a bridge and name it after the former Grand Dragon of the KKK. In 1965, that same bridge became the backdrop for one of the most important events in Civil Rights history.    This episode is about bravery and legacy and what we should do with the bridges we inherit (literally and metaphorically).   ----------------- What is an Attention Collection?  We've created this FREE ebook to help you understand the things that shape you and what you can do to take hold of your own formation! 

Last week, we talked about symbols (statues, flags, etc.) and how they shape us. This week, let's talk about spaces. Much like the symbols we surround ourselves with, the spaces we create are formative. They speak silently, teaching us and informing our behavior, often with us realizing.  ----------------- What is an Attention Collection?  We've created this FREE ebook to help you understand the things that shape you and what you can do to take hold of your own formation! 

Flags. Statues. And the Golden Arches. Symbols tell stories. And these stories have the power to shape our perception of ourselves and the world around us.  ----------------- What is an Attention Collection?  We've created this FREE ebook to help you understand the things that shape you and what you can do to take hold of your own formation! 

With all our social and political unrest, stress is mounting. Opinions are legion. People are dying. The racial divide is ever-widening. And few of us seem to agree on the way forward. There are so many ways to be offended, which is problematic. But what if there's actually a benefit to being offended?

In 1977, the United States launched two robotic probes into space. These probes are known as Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They're still out there, and though their mission has been altered a few times, the most interesting detail about their presence in space isn't what these probes are meant to capture, but what they carry onboard.  This episode is about a golden message-in-a-bottle drifting through space, what it says about who we are, and, more importantly, who we hope to be. 

Silence is a very important part of the human experience. In our lives, it can communicate indifference, or respect, or even wisdom.  In this episode, we walk through three different kinds of silence that we employ in almost every area of our lives. We can operate from these silences knowingly or unknowingly, but if we pay close attention to how we use them, they will make all the difference in our relationships and the way we impact the world around us. 

Segments of every single generation look back on history and long for yesteryear, the good-old-days before things got out of hand. But one person's good-old-days is someone else's dark ages. We have a fuzzy relationship with history, and this moment in culture is exposing that yet again.  This episode is about our perpetual relationship with cultural amnesia.

The "United" States is on fire right now, literally and metaphorically. We have seen, yet again, Black men and women murdered at the hands of police and white supremacists. Protests are taking place all over the nation, and people are looking for ways to express their opinions and vent their frustrations.  What is the way forward? There are no easy answers, but one thing seems obvious: we have to address one thing that has been in the water since America's inception. This episode is about hidden bias and the invisible messages that shape us, divide us, and even harm us. 

When it comes to memory, there are things we would pay good money to forget, and there are things we would very much like to hold onto, but it seems we have no choice in the matter. Some stuff sticks, other stuff fades away. So can anything be done about this? And what does it mean to remember? Featured: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

You've created entire worlds in the space between lights out and snooze button that you never could have imagined awake. Why do we discount how remarkable that is? And what can we do to harness that ability while we're awake? This episode is all about creativity.

This week I got the chance to sit down (via Zoom) with Jillian Richardson, a community builder, founder of The Joy List NYC, facilitator, cuddle party organizer, and author of Unlonely Planet: How Healthy Congregations Can Change the World. At the Attention Collection, we talk a lot about how we don't become ourselves by ourselves; we are shaped and formed by our connections with other people. Jillian's work really captures that, as I think you'll hear in this conversation! Connect with Jillian: Jillian's Website The Joy List NYC Unlonely Planet: How Healthy Congregations Can Change the World

No two people ever read the same book (or hear the same song, watch the same film, etc.). When you engage a creation of any kind it changes; it gets filtered through your life, your experience, your frame of reference. You bring something to the work and it is transformed.  You are an alchemist. 

Inspired by an article from The Atlantic (The Real Reason to Wear a Mask), this episode is about invisible human connection, and how we are affected (and even infected) by the words we encounter and employ.

"I just call it like I see it." Great. But what if none of us see things are they really are?  This episode is about perspective. And Mantis Shrimp. But mostly perspective. *Exciting Announcement* We just released An Intro to the Attention Collection. It's an ebook that answers the question "What is an Attention Collection?" and explores ways we can all cultivate our own. It's a quick, fun read. AND IT'S FREE. Click this link to grab your copy now! 

Context and circumstance can change who "you" are in an instant. Or as Alex Hitchens (Will Smith) said to his nervous new client, "You is a very fluid concept right now."  In truth, we can change our personal expression and disposition like we change our shoes. But there is a deeper "you," one that is flexible yet steady, open to growth and change and yet completely grounded in the present moment.

If an extra-terrestrial were to secretly walk among us, taking notes, what would the assessment be? And what would it feel like to integrate into such strange existence? The situation we find ourselves in these days (pandemic, social distancing, etc.) brings me back to my favorite novel, and this time I'm looking at it from an almost alien perspective. Featured: The Humans, by Matt Haig

In this bizarro world we find ourselves in, virus and fear and uncertainty is spreading like wildfire. But you know what else is spreading? Radical generosity.  Featured: Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems DJ D-Nice and Club Quarantine Tara Brach  Scott Erickson BeSquare.Education We Are Teachers

There's an old wisdom saying: "Everyone you meet is your teacher." What if we stretched it further? "Everything you encounter is your teacher." What if we chose to see EVERY circumstance as a teacher? Good, bad, ugly, and indifferent. What would that change for us? For instance, let's take this scary course we've all been involuntarily enrolled into, this wide-sweeping pandemic known as the Coronavirus. 

We interrupt our Enough series to address the issue on everyone's mind: COVID-19. But this is not a botched attempt at unraveling the complexity of the Corona virus, nor will it be a political rant about our government's handling or mishandling of the situation at hand. This episode is about the breakdown of our cultural illusion of normalcy and individualism, about how we're all connected, and how the choices we make (or don't) affect each other in significant ways. 

Many restaurants feel the pressure to increase their offering to cater to a wider audience, to fill more tables and keep up with the competition. So they pad the menu with MORE. It seems like the only appropriate response.  We're like that sometimes, aren't we? We assume the key to a successful or satisfying life is to increase the options, to appeal to a wider audience, to keep up with our perceived (and often unspoken) competition. This is normal. But what if we lose something distinct and essential in the process?  

Gordon Gekko, Cranberry-Orange muffins, looking at other people's plates, and our insatiable desire for MORE. You already have so much right in front of you. How can you slow down and enjoy it? 

This week we welcome our very first guest on the podcast: the venerable Tim Beehler, right hand of the Attention Collection. We discuss a challenge we are starting to kick-off our March series, Enough. What does it mean to have enough in our closets, our relationships, and our professional lives? Join us!

George Washington Carver had a secret garden. I didn't know that when I sat down in Elementary school to scribble a few paragraphs in his honor. I just knew the CliffsNotes, the highlight reel. He was the peanut guy, right?  In this episode, we explore his secret garden, and we ask, "What if everyone has some kind of secret garden? Beautiful and vibrant. Some better tended than others. Perhaps forgotten or neglected, but nevertheless worthy of attention and care?" Featured: The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver

"I bring everyone who has ever been kind to me with me. Black. White. Spanish-speaking. Native American. Gay. Straight. Everybody. I say, 'Come with me. I'm going on the stage. I need you now.'" - Maya Angelou This episode is about taking note of everyone who has ever contributed to your life and bringing them along in your endeavors.  Featured: Maya Angelou on Oprah's Master Class

It can be tempting, the thought of giving up or giving in. It can seem like a lonely uphill climb some days, but we're not alone. We stand beneath a 'great cloud of witnesses' who paved the way for us to be here now, in this moment. In honor of Black History Month, may we celebrate how far we've come and draw strength for how far we've yet to go.   

We make choices every day, most of them without much thought, based on habit or impulse. What if we treated our daily options like job candidates and kept only the ones that helped further our lives?

A placebo is "a substance that has no therapeutic effect." It's a "measure designed merely to calm or please someone," and yet it's surprisingly effective. The truth is we use placebos in everyday life, whether we realize it or not. The trick is to recognize them, to take full advantage of their mysterious power, but also to see when we they've become a crutch.  Will power is overrated. Take your placebos.

This episode walks through some strange and (seemingly) obscure places to make a simple point: You are not alone. But you might need to go first. We'd love to know what is catching your attention and shaping your life these days. Call in and leave us a message. Your story might be featured on the show! Call 248-702-4646

This episode is about an 80's pop culture phenomenon, but it's really about what happens when we embrace our limitations. For a deep dive into the creation of He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, check out this awesome show on Netflix! We'd love to know what is catching your attention and shaping your life these days. Call in and leave us a message. Your story might be featured on the show! Call 248-702-4646    

We don't become ourselves by ourselves. We are formed by the inputs of others, and by things like books, film, music and popular culture. To close out the year, Anthony shares a few of the inputs that had a hand in his formation in 2019, things that may inspire you as well. Music: One - Birdtalker Fun Up Here - Mike Posner (feat. Logic) Chillhop, Lo-Fi Hiphop The Koln Concert - Keith Jarrett Film: It Part 2 Peanut Butter Falcon The Movies That Made Us (Netflix Series) Books: The Art of Possibility - Rosamund and Benjamin Zander Pathways to Possibility - Rosamund Zander Elevation - Stephen King The Zen Commandments - Dean Sluyter Web/Social: swiss-miss.com - Tina Roth Eisenberg Strange Planet - Nathan W. Pyle Nikkolas Smith 

Most of the time we think of regifting as an unspoken yet widely practiced faux pas, an indication that the gifter doesn't know the giftee very well. But, in another sense, regifting is the relational currency that brings us closer together. I'll explain... We'd love to know what is catching your attention and shaping your life these days. Call in and leave us a message. Your story might be featured on the show! Call 248-702-4646

The idea of being self-made is inspiring. It's just not an actual thing. The truth is, we all stand on the shoulders of others, and we benefit daily from the gifts of loved ones and total strangers alike, whether we realize it or not. Because we don't become ourselves by ourselves. This week we trace the origin story of two battle-tested baby blankets and along the way uncover the gratitude and encouragement that comes from pulling on the threads that connect us. We'd love to know what is catching your attention and shaping your life these days. Call in and leave us a message. Your story might be featured on the show! Call 248-702-4646