Podcasts about Intention

It's great to learn from other educators. In this episode, Pam and Kim relay their experience at NCTM Spring 2026, giving their unique perspective of modern teaching trends.Talking Points:The need to define the terms curriculum, resources, scope and sequence, standards, contentClarity before competence Mathematics as both a noun and a verbCaution around "research" and the "science of math" The micro-routine "Interpret with Intention"Different types of strategiesCheck out our social mediaTwitter: @PWHarrisInstagram: Pam Harris_mathFacebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics educationLinkedin: Pam Harris Consulting LLC 

This week, Pete shares with Jen some wisdom from his physio, and together, they noodle on how their leadership may be more simple, practical, and elegant.Specifically, in this episode Jen and Pete talk about:When might it be best to give direction versus ask a question?What are some practical ways to simplify the learnings we are trying to give to our clients or colleagues?In what ways can we practice being more efficient and elegant?To hear all episodes and read full transcripts, visit The Long and The Short Of It website: https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/.You can subscribe to our Box O' Goodies here (https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/) and receive a weekly email full of book and podcast recommendations, quotes, videos, and other interesting things that Jen and Pete are noodling on. To get in touch, send an email to: hello@thelongandtheshortpodcast.com.Learn more about Pete's work here (https://humanperiscope.com/) and Jen's work here (https://jenwaldman.com/).

On this episode of The ToosDay Crüe, Jake and Stephen welcome retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer JJ Parma, a veteran of 11 combat deployments who understands elite performance—and the real cost that comes with it. After leaving the SEAL Teams, JJ faced what many high-performing professionals encounter: the loss of rank, structure, and identity. Rather than chase the next adrenaline hit, he chose a full reset—rebuilding his leadership, purpose, and life with intention. Today, JJ works with ZeroEyes, helping protect schools and communities through proactive threat detection, bringing a disciplined yet human-first approach to safety and leadership. In this conversation, JJ speaks candidly about life after high-intensity careers, the difference between discipline and fulfillment, and how to lead when no one is giving orders. This episode is for veterans, leaders, first responders, and anyone navigating the space between who they were—and who they're becoming. Learn more: https://www.jjparma.com  

Like the aroma of our favorite delicacies, we are drawn to feel the “intention” of intention before the mind has the opportunity to distill it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of my conversation with Venus O'Hara, we go beyond toys and into power. Venus shares the beginner anal toy she designed for absolute first-timers and the triple-motor toy created for layered external pleasure without pressure to penetrate. We talk about new tech in sex toys, from thrusting and tapping to air stimulation, and what actually feels different versus what is hype.Then we shift into something deeper. Venus explains orgasmic manifestation and how she used sexual energy to transform her life. We unpack sex magic, intention setting, affirmations during arousal, and why sexuality is powerful rather than shameful. We close with my signature questions, including her definition of sex, her most impactful orgasm, and the fantasy she still wants to experience.This episode is about agency, curiosity, and using your pleasure as power.Timestamps: 0:00 Why we had to go deeper 1:05 Beginner anal design and safety basics 3:15 The triple-motor toy and layered stimulation 5:40 New tech beyond vibration 7:30 AI and the future of sex tech 9:05 The three levels of sexuality 11:20 Discovering sex transmutation 13:30 How orgasmic manifestation works 16:00 Intention setting and affirmations during arousal 18:20 Definition of sex and sacred energy exchange 19:45 Her most impactful orgasm 21:00 Fantasy still to be explored 22:10 Where to find Venus and final thoughtsKaren Bigman, a Sexual Health Alliance Certified Sex Educator, Life, and Menopause Coach, tackles the often-taboo subject of sexuality with a straightforward and candid approach. We explore the intricacies of sex during perimenopause, post-menopause, and andropause, offering insights and support for all those experiencing these transformative phases.This podcast is not intended to give medical advice. Karen Bigman is not a medical professional. For any medical questions or issues, please visit your licensed medical provider.Looking for some fresh perspective on sex in midlife? You can find me here:Email: karen@taboototruth.comWebsite: https://www.taboototruth.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taboototruthYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@taboototruthpodcastAbout Venus O'Hara:Raising orgasmic awareness. Author. British expat in Spain. Sex toy tester & designer. Brand Ambassador for Satisfyer. YouTuber. Fetishist. Feminist. Vegan. Yogini. Zen. Creator of The Orgasmic Lifestyle Podcast.Connect with Venus O'Hara:Website: https://www.venusohara.org/about-venus-oharaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/venusohara/Book:

Les tips de Laura Magrino, numérologue !

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Justin Wolf, co-founder and CEO of New Brew, about plant-based alternatives to alcohol and how social drinking culture may be shifting. Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-343/?ref=278  Justin shares how exploring kava and kratom traditions in Mexico shaped New Brew's approach to formulation, emphasizing reliable dosing, transparency, and harm reduction. Together, they discuss why alcohol became the default social drug, the limits of most "functional beverages," and the nuance behind terms like "Cali sober." The conversation also explores dependency risk, intention, moderation, and why plant-based alternatives are not positioned for those pursuing full abstinence. At its core, this episode is about expanding optionality and building new social rituals responsibly. Justin Wolf is the co-founder and CEO of New Brew, a plant-powered social tonic designed as an alternative to alcohol. Prior to launching New Brew, Justin spent five years leading Global Partnerships at Google and helped launch DripDrop, an electrolyte hydration brand now sold nationwide. Inspired by kava and kratom traditions he encountered in Mexico, he founded New Brew with a focus on transparency, education, and harm reduction. He is also an early investor and advisor in the psychedelic medicine Highlights: Why alcohol became the default social drug The limits of "functional" beverages Discovering kava and kratom in Mexico Harm reduction through formulation and dosing Intention over abstinence or excess The nuance behind "Cali sober" Building new social rituals responsibly Episode Link: New Brew (use code: THIRDWAVE) Episode Sponsors: The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute. The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Golden Rule - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout Disclaimer: This content is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. We do not promote or encourage the illegal use of any controlled substances. Nothing said here is medical or legal advice. Always consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your health. The views expressed herein belong to the speaker alone, and do not reflect the views of any other person, company, or organization. Third Wave occasionally partners with or shares information about other people, companies, and/or providers. While we work hard to only share information about ethical and responsible third parties, we can't and don't control the behavior of, products and services offered by, or the statements made by people, companies, or providers other than Third Wave. Accordingly, we encourage you to research for yourself, and consult a medical, legal, or financial professional before making decisions in those areas. Third Wave isn't responsible for the statements, conduct, services, or products of third parties. If we share a coupon code, we may receive a commission from sales arising from customers who use our coupon code. No one is required to use our coupon codes.

Good morning. How do you feel about mind control? New research from a laboratory in Zurich suggests it may be possible to make people less selfish – by sending electrical currents through their brains. Forty-four volunteers were asked to divide money between themselves and an anonymous partner. Remarkably, when certain neural pathways at the front and back of the head were stimulated, participants gave more away. It sounds like science fiction. But other forms of bio-hacking are, of course, already common: weight-loss drugs, metabolic trackers, sleep technology. Medicines are routinely used to lift mood, sharpen attention, steady anxiety. So why not use science to make us kinder as well? That way, we might all become more beautiful people inside, as well as out. Just imagine it. Wellness centres offering holistic packages, body and soul: Botox top-ups in the morning, altruistic boosting in the afternoon. More seriously, researchers claim this new technology could be used for the treatment of certain brain disorders and prove invaluable for people who struggle with social behaviour. It could be just the nudge they need to become better citizens. It's a wholesome idea. Yet as I read the academic article on this impressive experiment in brain-hacking – forecasting gains in “cooperation, productivity, and cohesion” – I became increasingly uneasy. I was put in mind of Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World, published almost a century ago, which describes a civilisation held together not by conscience but by chemistry and conditioning. A terrifying vision. Once virtue is treated as something that can be engineered, the line between encouragement and enforcement grows thin. A society might become more efficient, more compliant, even more outwardly generous, and still lose its soul. Huxley warns that people who allow themselves to be controlled may eventually come to “love their servitude”. Even if such dystopian fears never come to pass, the ambition to control our moral impulses through technology raises questions about the nature of morality. Christian thought has long distinguished between shaping behaviour from the outside and forming the person from within. Charity — what theologians call caritas — is not simply a matter of generous action. Intention matters too: affection that is freely given is what lends acts of generosity their meaning; without it, they risk becoming little more than reflexes. It's fascinating to learn that science can influence our moral behaviour, but it is fatal to confuse this fact with morality itself. The Christian vision insists that a person is more than a set of automatic responses. Morality only makes sense if it is chosen. As a society, we have already surrendered ourselves to our smartphones, our computers, and our digital habits; let's at least fight, while we can, to love one another freely.

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In this episode, Sam Lackney, hairdresser and owner of The Rare Bird, shares her journey from high school cosmetology to salon ownership, shaped by curiosity, community, and hard-earned perspective. She opens up about the lessons that come from learning the business side early, navigating uncertainty, and building a salon culture that prioritizes people, sustainability, and long-term growth.This conversation explores how artistry and accountability intersect, and why sustainable salons are built on clarity, care, and long-term thinking.Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

In this Everyday Judaism episode, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe concludes Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 42: the laws of proper conduct during a meal (etiquette, dignity, sensitivity, and practical halachot after hamotzi/netilat yadayim).Key halachot:Leaving the table — Don't leave during/after meal before Birkas Hamazon (even briefly); if you do, new hamotzi needed unless

In this Everyday Judaism episode, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe concludes Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 42: the laws of proper conduct during a meal (etiquette, dignity, sensitivity, and practical halachot after hamotzi/netilat yadayim).Key halachot:Leaving the table — Don't leave during/after meal before Birkas Hamazon (even briefly); if you do, new hamotzi needed unless

Chloe Kim is one of the most accomplished snowboarders of her generation, who stepped away from the sport after the Beijing Olympics to reconnect with herself beyond the halfpipe. As she takes on Milan-Cortina 2026, Kim has a redefined outlook on perfection, returning with greater clarity, balance, and creative freedom. In this conversation with NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, Kim reflects on maturity, self-trust, and why this Olympic chapter feels more intentional than any before. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when a life that looks “perfect” on the outside quietly drains you on the inside?In this heartfelt conversation, Elaine Starling welcomes transformational coach Kathleen Connor, whose journey from chronic self-sacrifice to radiant self-devotion reveals why remembering yourself is not selfish — it's sacred.Kathleen shares the wake-up moment that changed everything, the subtle signs of depletion many women ignore, and her powerful Recognize → Reject → Replace → Repeat framework for breaking free from invisible roles. This episode is an invitation to return to center, reclaim your energy, and rediscover who you are beneath the roles you've been living.Topics Covered0:00 Why so many women lose themselves in service — and how it quietly erodes joy2:30 Kathleen's wake-up moment and the cost of constant giving5:55 Centering through breath, Intention, and Divine connection10:00 The physical and emotional signs you're externally referenced14:50 What abundance really is — and why it begins with energy17:20 Nourishing Love vs. conditional love19:50 Exhaustion, resentment, and the hidden signals of misalignment25:55 The Recognize → Reject → Replace → Repeat Method29:45 Simple daily practices that rebuild self-trust and devotion34:15 Kathleen's Emotional Baseline Assessment and next stepsKey Takeaways

Logan Davenport joins us during our Texas trip for a deep conversation that goes way beyond cars. We talk about his meticulously built 180SX, how that car pushed him into a career in paint and body, and why doing things the hard way often leads to the best results. Logan opens up about the Texas drifting community, balancing family life with passion projects, and the mindset shift that comes from slowing down and building with intention. It's an honest look at craftsmanship, growth, and sticking with something long enough to let it shape who you are.@logandavenport_@d_realm_@bodyserviceidealCheck out our Sponsors!AG1:Check out our AG1 affiliate link:⁠⁠⁠https://shop.drinkag1.com/FACTION⁠⁠⁠You will receive a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler, plus a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2 with your AG1 Welcome Kit, when you first subscribe (a $72 value!).⁠⁠⁠⁨@drinkAG1⁩ ⁠⁠⁠ #ag1partnerEAST COAST DRIFT SCHOOL:@eastcoastdriftschoolCHASE BAYS:@chasebayshttps://www.chasebays.com/LIMITLESS AUTO FAB:@limitless_auto_fabhttps://limitlessautofab.com/RAMSTEAD MFG:https://ramsteadmfg.com/We have a Patreon! With Exclusive Content and Podcasts:patreon.com/factionmotorsportsCheck us out on other platforms:Youtube: /FactionMotorsportsInstagram: @factionmotorsportsFacebook: /factionmotorsportsTiktok: @factionmotorsports

This is a companion podcast for this morning's mantra. Our actions carry meaning far beyond what is seen on the surface. In today’s meditation, we explore the quiet power of intention and how clarity behind our choices brings integrity, confidence, and alignment. This is an invitation to act from truth, before action begins. Your Morning Mantra: I act with clarity of intention Jennifer Cray is a life coach, meditation teacher, and yoga teacher for Living Lit Up, based in Brisbane. You can deepen your meditation practice with her on Insight Timer. Insight TimerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If wealth is just about money... you're missing the point. In this episode of the Generational Wealth Masterclass, you'll discover why true generational wealth has little to do with investments—and everything to do with intention, relationships, and stewardship.What You'll Get Answered in This Episode:What is real generational wealth—and why most financial plans fail to create itHow to design a 100-year wealth blueprint for your familyWhy your financial advisor may be giving you technically correct but personally damaging adviceThe shocking truth about how the IRS and institutions quietly erode family legaciesHow to align your wealth strategy with your faith, values, and visionWhy Return on Intention beats Return on Investment every timeWhat questions to ask before setting up a trust, life insurance, or estate documentsThe step-by-step planning process for building lasting impact across generationsWhether you're a business-owning parent or nearing retirement with a 7–8 figure portfolio, this conversation will change the way you think about legacy... forever.Resources and Next Steps: ✅ Take The Great Wealth Assessment! →https://linktr.ee/kingdomroi

In this solo episode, I slow things down and talk through my personal collection policies, or PC policies, and why I've chosen to put certain boundaries in place around what I collect and what I don't. These aren't rules meant for anyone else. They're filters I've developed over time to help me stay focused, intentional, and aligned with my own taste in a hobby where it's very easy to drift or overspend. I share how some of these policies came to be, how they've evolved, and how a few of them led to outcomes I never expected. This episode isn't about telling anyone how to collect. It's about understanding yourself as a collector, the tradeoffs you're willing to make, and why having constraints can sometimes open more doors than they close. I also talk about when policies make sense, when they don't, and why buying what simply catches your eye can still be a perfectly valid approach. If you agree, disagree, or have your own PC policies, I'd love to hear from you.

Most people struggle with personal finance not because they're bad with money, but because they don't know where their money actually goes. When finances lack visibility, control becomes impossible. In the first episode of The Money Reset series, presented by Experian, Hala Taha breaks down the link between financial awareness and wealth control. Featuring insights from trusted finance experts like Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Jade Warshaw, this episode exposes common money blind spots and shows how to gain clarity so you can take back control of your financial life. In this episode, Hala will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (01:45)  How Fear Shapes Our Relationship with Money (04:41) Rational vs. Irrational Money Fears (06:53) Taking Control of Your Finances (09:07) Making Intentional Financial Choices (11:51) How to Identify Where Your Money Is Going (17:28) Spending With Awareness and Intention (20:21) The Meaning Behind Financial Goals (23:10) Taking Responsibility for Your Finances Experian is a global data and technology company that collects and analyzes financial data to help people and businesses understand and manage their finances. Through tools like subscription cancellation and bill negotiation, Experian scans linked accounts for recurring charges, helps cancel unused subscriptions, and works to find better rates on eligible bills. They help put money back in your pocket. Get started with the Experian App today. See experian.com for details. Sponsored By: Experian: Put money back in your pocket by canceling unwanted subscriptions and lowering eligible recurring bills. Get started with the Experian App. See experian.com for details. Resources Mentioned: YAP E261 with Farnoosh Torabi: youngandprofiting.co/E261 YAP E380 with Jade Warshaw: youngandprofiting.co/E380  YAP E200 with Suze Orman: https://youngandprofiting.co/E200  YAP E344 with Dave Ramsey: https://youngandprofiting.co/E344  YAP E299 with Jean Chatzky: https://youngandprofiting.co/E299 YAP E245 with Tori Dunlap: https://youngandprofiting.co/E245  YAP E220 with Ramit Sethi: https://youngandprofiting.co/E220  Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals  Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap YouTube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services: yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new  Disclaimer: This episode is a paid partnership with Experian. Sponsored content helps support our podcast and continue bringing valuable insights to our audience. Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Podcast, Business, Business Podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal Development, Starting a Business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Psychology, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing, Negotiation, Money, Finance, Side Hustle, Startup, Mental Health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health, Growth Mindset, Wealth, Stock Market, Scalability, Investment, Financial Freedom, Risk Management, Financial Planning, Business Coaching, Finance Podcast, Saving

Throwing back to an idea from Episode One, Jen reminds Pete of the question: Is your fear keeping you safe, or is it keeping you stuck?Specifically, in this episode Jen and Pete talk about:How might we notice and call out our own fears?Why might it be helpful to hear about other people's fears?What are some tactics we can use to confront and push through the fear that is keeping us stuck?To hear all episodes and read full transcripts, visit The Long and The Short Of It website: https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/.You can subscribe to our Box O' Goodies here (https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/) and receive a weekly email full of book and podcast recommendations, quotes, videos, and other interesting things that Jen and Pete are noodling on. To get in touch, send an email to: hello@thelongandtheshortpodcast.com.Learn more about Pete's work here (https://humanperiscope.com/) and Jen's work here (https://jenwaldman.com/).

Chloe Kim is one of the most accomplished snowboarders of her generation, who stepped away from the sport after the Beijing Olympics to reconnect with herself beyond the halfpipe. As she takes on Milan-Cortina 2026, Kim has a redefined outlook on perfection, returning with greater clarity, balance, and creative freedom. In this conversation with NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, Kim reflects on maturity, self-trust, and why this Olympic chapter feels more intentional than any before. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gospel Mark 7:14-23 Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) “But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.” Reflection As Jesus continues to describe how He wants to save us, how this whole process of our being touched by him impacts us in a way that changes everything. And I love his reference here to the heart. He's saying what enters your heart is what's really essential. And God has promised to enter into our hearts. And if we think about healing and transformation of grace, we need to understand that the heart, if it is the cause of those things that are destructive, the heart is what needs to be healed. In the heart is the presence of God within you. Once you allow him into your heart, believe he dwells there, no evil can possibly flow from your heart to others. But that's the place where we connect. Heart to heart. Intention to intention. And it needs to be pure. It needs to be life giving. Closing Prayer Father, your grace by it's very presence is healing. Just as you, as you walk this earth had your healing presence known. Bless us with knowing that that same presence dwells in our hearts and through us. You can do this mysterious work of driving out that which destroys us and freeing us from all that robs us of life. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of January, we lost a wonderful musician, teacher, and pedagogue, Marvin Blickenstaff. You've probably heard me talk about Marvin on the podcast before—he had a profound impact on my teaching.With a career spanning over six decades, Marvin dedicated himself to serving piano students and teachers worldwide. He valued deep emotional expression at the keyboard and a human connection through the music. He once said, “The only reason that music exists is to express who we are and how we feel.”Today, I'm sharing some of the most important things I learned from Marvin and how they show up in my teaching and practice.For show notes + a full transcript, click here.Resources Mentioned*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!The New School for Music StudyInspired Piano Teaching (Marvin Blickenstaff)Ep. 041 - Focus On the MusicEp. 074 - What a First Piano Lesson Looks Like (Here's My Lesson Plan)Ep. 076 - 7 Things to Carry Into the New School YearEp. 079 - From Technique to Musical Identity: Six Things I'm Focusing on in LessonsEp. 084 - Recital Recap & Year-End ReflectionLearn Faster, Perform Better (Molly Gebrian)Ep. 089 - The Science of Practicing: What I'm Learning from Molly Gebrian's BookA Quick Warm-Up Routine for Piano AccompanistsIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review in Apple Podcasts >>Find me on Instagram: @ashleydanyewWhenever you're ready, here are three ways we can work together:1️⃣ Need fresh teaching ideas? Schedule a quick 25-min. call and we'll brainstorm on a topic of your choice. Build an idea bank that you can pull from in the months to come.2️⃣ Have questions about teaching or managing your music career? Book a 60-min call and get personalized advice, creative ideas & step-by-step strategies on up to 3-4 teaching/business topics.3️⃣ Develop the skills and strategies you need to plan the year, refine your teaching methods, and manage your time more effectively with a suite of online courses and professional development trainings

This is a recording of a live guided meditation.  The meditation guide and the members of the public who joined the meditation used the Zoom platform.   Even though you are listening to this meditation as a recording rather than attending live, in the world of consciousness, there is no time or space. Meaning, regardless of when you listen, you are in a meditation with a large group of folks from different walks of life and places on the planet.Meditation Guide: Judy Hunter, Master meditation guide and seasoned teacher and trainer for the Divine Spark Program.Judy's Meditation Guide Style: Rich, musical tone to her voice.  Inspiring imagery and clear guidance makes possible going deep into your center safely and joyfully.Content: Features these tools and techniques:Grounding (Earth Connection)ReleasingCenteringIntentional BreathingCenter of Head AwarenessFinding the energy flow of universal consciousness within you, then stepping into itTraveling within your energy architecture -- moving point of awareness through 1-12 chakras Intention setting Bringing your life energy into harmony with your divine/universal self

In today's episode I am sharing my thoughts on the mindset and ways to attain balance that is unique to you and allows you to thrive and experience the life that you desire. Others may say that they have the blueprint, but a balanced life is not a one size fits all type of thing.LINKS:✨YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/@evolvewithkeiapodcast?si=nmsD5x85wiO_KyBy✨Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lakeia_hardnett?igsh=MWZsYWIzOTQ3aWd4cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr✨TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@lakeia_hardnett?_r=1&_t=ZT-91pwoa0h15h✨Explore writing on Mediumhttps://medium.com/@lakeiahardnettwrites✨Email evolvewithkeiapodcast@yahoo.comThank you for being here!Love and Light

Our actions carry meaning far beyond what is seen on the surface. In today’s meditation, we explore the quiet power of intention and how clarity behind our choices brings integrity, confidence, and alignment. This is an invitation to act from truth, before action begins. Your Morning Mantra: I act with clarity of intention Jennifer Cray is a life coach, meditation teacher, and yoga teacher for Living Lit Up, based in Brisbane. You can deepen your meditation practice with her on Insight Timer. Insight TimerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ein »Ja« zu jemand anderem kann schnell zu einem »Nein« für uns werden und auch eine gut gemeinte Intention schnell zu Frust. Wir alle haben unsere eigenen individuellen Grenzen, und zwei Menschen haben selten die gleichen. Genau deshalb ist es so wichtig, unsere Grenzen klar zu kommunizieren, denn nur so kann unser Gegenüber sie auch wahren. Grenzen zu setzen, fällt uns allerdings oft schwer, vor allem dann, wenn dies mit einem »Nein« verbunden ist. Das kommt uns weitaus schwerer über die Lippen, als ein »Ja«, zu dem wir uns schnell hinreißen lassen. +++ Der Mindful Minute Kalender: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0DLK12CMB

Vous pouvez laisser un message vocal à Sophie, Olivier, Michel ou à l'équipe du LHC en lien avec ce podcast ici : https://www.vodio.fr/repondeur/311/Dans ce premier épisode, nous vous invitons à entrer dans l'univers de « Just be WOW », un projet né du cœur et du corps, porté par Olivier et Sophie, et dédié aux adolescents d'aujourd'hui.Pendant une vingtaine de minutes, nous partageons qui nous sommes, ce qui nous anime, et surtout pourquoi nous avons eu envie de créer des espaces pour les jeunes où l'on peut parler autrement de sujets essentiels : le consentement, la violence, le rapport au corps, la relation à soi et aux autres.Ici, le corps n'est pas un concept abstrait : il devient un point d'appui, un langage, un outil pour mieux se comprendre, se respecter et dialoguer.On y parle d'émotions, d'enrichir son vocabulaire intérieur, d'élargir sa palette de ressentis, pour pouvoir dire, poser des limites, écouter, entrer en relation.Nous présenterons dans le prochain épisode ce que nous proposons aux jeunes. L'esprit des activités est vivant et profond à la fois, le tout dans un climat de sécurité, de respect, d'accueil et de non-jugement.Au fil du podcast, nous partageons également des histoires vécues, nos observations de terrain, et notre regard sur la place du corps dans notre société et l'éducation: souvent mis à distance, parfois instrumentalisé, et pourtant si central et incontournable. Un épisode sincère, incarné, accessible, qui s'adresse autant aux ados, qu'aux parents, grands-parents, professionnels en lien avec la jeunesse, ou à toute personne curieuse de repenser le lien au corps, à l'émotion et à la relation.???? Si ces thèmes vous parlent, si vous avez envie d'un regard sensible, humain et vivant sur l'adolescence…ce premier podcast est une très belle porte d'entrée dans l'aventure Just be WOW ✨RDV dans le prochain épisode pour la suite.Envie de nous contacter : les coordonnées seront dans le descriptif du prochain podcastSéquençage du podcast:[00:00:20] Contexte de l'épisode[00:00:54] Présentation de Sophie[00:01:44] Présentation d'Olivier[00:02:34] Intention de l'épisode[00:03:17] Intention de Sophie et vision du projet[00:03:55] Une rencontre, un projet[00:04:14] Qu'est-ce que "Just be Wow"[00:05:39] Besoins observés[00:07:17] Le corps comme tabou dans l'enseignement[00:08:24] Intention, toucher et conscience relationnelle[00:09:45] Verbaliser ses limites sans casser le lien[00:11:10] Respect de soi et respect des autres[00:11:23] Zones géographiques et langues d'intervention[00:12:16] Spécificités de l'approche pédagogique[00:13:35] Observation du vécu corporel chez les élèves[00:14:07] Déclencher la parole[00:14:36] Sécurité, cadre et parole des jeunes[00:16:34] Posture adulte et horizontalité[00:18:46] Casquettes professionnelles et EVRAS[00:19:46] Adultes externes et confiance des jeunes[00:21:37] Approche slow, introspection et non-verbal[00:23:21] Les trois piliers du projet Just be WOW[00:23:41] Défis et interprétations des adultes[00:25:14] Pacifier le lien au corps[00:27:29] Invitation à écouter la suite de l'épisode

The old story about a good wolf and bad wolf that live in our minds aligns beautifully with the Buddha's teachings on cultivating what's beneficial and letting go of what isn't. Mary reflects on how we often feed the ideas that don't serve us and how to move in a different, more wise, direction.Recorded Feb. 7, 2026 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks.Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

February 10th, 2026:  Four Signs That Tell Us We Possess the Purity of Intention of St Scholastica;  Overcoming the Revolution's Critical Error of Judgment by Usurpation;  The Lives of St Scholastica, Bl Alexander Lugo, St Baptus & St Porfirio;  St Scholastica, Patron Saint of Weather

In this episode of Branding Room Only, Paula T. Edgar is joined by Rhonda Joy McLean for a thoughtful and deeply personal conversation about where leadership and personal brand truly begin. Long before titles, platforms, or visibility, Rhonda Joy reflects on the experiences, values, and identity work that shaped how she shows up as a leader.Rhonda Joy shares stories from her upbringing in the Jim Crow South, integrating schools as a teenager, and learning early lessons about resilience, collaboration, and self-trust. She explores how faith, culture, and intergenerational legacy informed not only her career path, but the way she leads people and navigates systems. Together, Paula and Rhonda Joy unpack personal branding as presence rather than performance, and leadership as something practiced long before it is named.This episode centers the idea that a durable personal brand is not built through optics alone, but through lived experience, integrity, and clarity about who you are. It is a conversation about formation, grounding, and becoming before leading.2:36 – What personal branding means to Rhonda Joy, how she describes herself, a quote she thinks about often, and her hype music6:46 – How school integration was a daily test of courage, discipline, and collaboration12:39 – Rhonda Joy's reflection on what's happening now, decades after being a part of racial justice history16:19 – The foundation for Rhonda Joy's fearless leadership, from childhood to law career21:31 – How being rejected opened doors to excellence for Rhonda Joy, instead of shrinking her ambition25:42 – Rhonda Joy's impact on others and her values-led, continuously evolving brandMentioned In Becoming Before Leading with Rhonda Joy McLeanRJM Leads The Little Black Book of Success series by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLeanRhonda Joy McLean on Instagram and LinkedInNAACP Legal Defense FundCurated Resources from PaulaSign up for Paula's Upcoming WebinarsLearn More About Paula's Personal Branding Strategy Session OfferCall to ActionFollow & Review: Help others find the podcast. Subscribe and leave a quick review.Want more branding insights? Join Paula's newsletter for expert tips and exclusive content! Subscribe HereConferences are an investment—make sure you maximize yours. My Engage Your Hustle™ Conference Playbook gives you the strategies to prepare, stand out, and follow up with impact. Get your copy today.Sponsor for this episodeThis episode is brought to you by PGE Consulting Group LLC.PGE Consulting Group LLC empowers individuals and organizations to lead with purpose, presence, and impact. Specializing in leadership development and personal branding, we offer keynotes, custom programming, consulting, and strategic advising—all designed to elevate influence and performance at every level.Founded and led by Paula Edgar, our work centers on practical strategies that enhance professional development, strenWe're starting off 2026 with a bang with my New Year's Intention and Goal Setting session on January 3rd, and then my new three-part series, LinkedIn Strategy for Lawyers: Build a Brand that Works for You, running January through March. Reserve your seat at paulaedgar.com/events.

In this episode, Jimmy highlights the impact of our words and actions, emphasizing the difference between intent and impact. He discusses how educators can make a profound impact on their students and colleagues by being intentional with words, particularly around the concepts of apologies and forgiveness.

New year, clear direction.In this episode of Our Uncommon Life, we're kicking off 2026 by sharing our words of the year , the anchors guiding how we approach business, marriage, and life over the next twelve months.Instead of resolutions, we focus on intention.Zac's word for 2026 is Intention : a reflection of his commitment to focus, make deliberate decisions, and pursue the goal of 10X growth in business and impact. It's about saying yes with purpose and no with confidence.Vena's word for the year is Steadfast : a commitment to digging in, staying grounded, and showing up consistently through growth, challenges, and long-term vision building. Not chasing shiny objects, but standing firm in what matters.This episode is a simple, honest conversation about choosing direction over pressure and using language to shape the year ahead.In this episode:Why we choose words instead of resolutionsZac's focus on Intention and scaling growthVena's commitment to Steadfast consistencyHow couples can align vision while pursuing individual goalsBecause at the end of the day ...The most important business we run is our marriage.

What happens when we travel with intentionWhen journeys become about people, not just placesOur latest podcast episode with Kimberly Haley Coleman, founder of Globe Aware, is now live.We talk about redefining volunteer travel, building respectful community partnerships, and how travel can become a powerful tool for awareness, learning, and impact.If you've ever believed travel can change the way we see the world, this conversation is for you.Guest: Kimberly Haley ColemanHost/Producer: Archita PurnikSound: Mahesh R.#TALRadioenglish #TravelWithIntention #GlobeAware #PurposefulTravel #ConsciousTravel #PodcastNowLive #GlobalConversations #Touchalife #TALRadio

"We often overestimate what we can do in a day, but we vastly underestimate what we can do with time when we move with intention."Episode SummaryIn this deeply grounding "Heart to Heart," I sit down with Amy Lenius to explore the journey of midlife expansion. For those in their 50s and beyond, the invitation isn't to shrink or "manage" aging, but to expand toward yourself. Amy shares her wisdom on how to transition from a life of constant reaction to one of conscious intention, honoring the emotional landscape of this powerful season of life.Engage with us on Youtube https://youtu.be/u-xansHq_iUIn This Episode, We Discuss:Advice for the 50s & Beyond: Why this decade is a sacred time to stop "doing" and start "honoring" exactly what you are going through.Intention vs. Reaction: How to break the cycle of knee-jerk reactions and start choosing how you want to show up in the world.The Power of the Pause: Learning to ask yourself the most important question of the day: "What do I need in this moment?"The Two Pillars of Growth: A deep dive into Self-Love and Self-Worth as the foundation for everything we build.Sustainable Habits: Why small, consistent movements win over giant, unsustainable leaps.Emotional Tuning: Practical ways to get more in-tune with your emotional frequency to avoid burnout.About Our Guest: Amy LeniusAmy is a speaker, coach, and the Director of Group Coaching at Next Level University. She helps women redefine success through clarity, self-belief, emotional resilience, and sustainable daily habits. With 8 years of experience on stages dedicated to health and healing, Amy brings a "whole-person" approach to her work—addressing mindset, health, relationships, purpose, and identity.Before teaching this work, Amy lived it. She rebuilt her health and self-worth after years of chronic illness, learning that true growth isn't always "light and love"—sometimes it's digging deep and choosing yourself over and over again. At the heart of her teachings are three foundational pillars: Self-worth, Self-belief, and Consistency.Connect with Amy:Organization: Next Level UniversityRole: Director of Group Coaching / MC for Next Level LiveSpecialty: Reconnecting women with their cyclical nature and core values.

One of Larry's favorite books to read and re-read is The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Listen as he shares more thoughts and highlights from this book. (The Power of Intention by Wayne W. Dyer was published by Hay House is available from most book sellers.) Note: Dr. Dyer views intention as a force in the universe, and everything and everyone is connected to this invisible force that allows the act of creation to take place.Follow the link below to share a gift of appreciation for our podcasts.Support the show

« Celui qui n'a pas d'objectifs ne risque pas de les atteindre. »Encore faut-il savoir qui l'on est, où l'on va, et comment y aller. Ici nous parlons organisation, intention, ressources, stratégie et planning. Dans ce premier épisode de Ramadan Reflection, j'ouvre un mois de réflexion intérieure autour de notions essentielles dans la vie du croyant. Un mois pour ralentir, questionner nos intentions, réinterroger notre rapport au temps, au sens et à Dieu.Retrouve moi sur Instagram : @ania.tayri Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

In this episode of the 247 Real Talk Podcast, your host breaks down the powerful quote: “Never underestimate the power of intention. Your thoughts, your words… they are the keys to your future.” This isn't just motivational talk—it's a deep dive into how what you think and what you say quietly builds (or destroys) the life you're moving toward.We'll unpack:Why intention is more than a wish—it's the silent engine behind your decisions, habits, and opportunitiesHow your daily self-talk and the words you speak about others shape your mindset, relationships, and future possibilitiesPractical ways to start aligning your thoughts and words with the life you actually want, instead of the life you're afraid ofIf you've ever wondered why you feel stuck in the same patterns, this conversation will challenge you to look at the stories you keep repeating in your mind and your mouth. Your future doesn't just “happen”—you help author it every day with your intention.Watch, share this with someone who needs a reminder of their own power, and drop a comment about one thought or one phrase you're committed to changing starting today.Subscribe to 247 Real Talk Podcast for more raw, honest conversations about mindset, purpose, and the small daily choices that quietly rewrite your future.

In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, Andrew Easton is joined by Tony Frontier, author of AI With Intention and director of the AI Center for Effective Teaching and Learning. Rather than approaching artificial intelligence as a technical problem to solve, this conversation grounds AI in what educators already know to be true about effective teaching and learning. Tony shares why AI represents an inflection point for the profession—and why this moment demands greater intentionality, not abandonment of core instructional practices. Together, Andrew and Tony explore how AI can either undermine or strengthen learning depending on how it's used, the importance of productive struggle, and what it means to prepare students to use AI as a thinking partner rather than a shortcut. The episode also digs into practical guidance for schools and districts around transparency, explainability, integrity, and creating shared expectations for both teachers and students. Referenced Links & Resources Access Tony's book, AI With Intention: https://www.amazon.com/AI-Intention-Principles-Teachers-Leaders/dp/1416633626 Contact Tony Frontier: tonyfrontier@gmail.com Access the AI Center for Effective Teaching and Learning https://firsteducation-us.com/ai-center

What if charitable giving opens you up to a new world of purpose and meaning you didn't know you had access to? In this episode, John Bromley shares how he helps donors navigate and participate comfortably in the giving world as a "charity banker." John is the founder and CEO of Charitable Impact, Canada's first fully online donor-advised fund, which has facilitated over $1.5 billion in charitable donations since its inception in 2011. Growing up in a family deeply engaged in philanthropy, John was inspired by his father, renowned charity lawyer Blake Bromley, to pursue a career in creating impact. He began in corporate finance with PwC and RBC Capital Markets before transitioning to the charitable sector in his mid-to-late twenties, where he recognized the need for a simpler, more effective giving platform. John's innovative approach has earned him recognition as a TEDx speaker, a "Forty Under 40" honoree, and recipient of the CEO Community Leadership Award. Committed to cultivating generosity, John continues to empower individuals and organizations to make meaningful change through philanthropy. Beyond his professional achievements, he is a dedicated community leader, soccer coach, and proud father of two. John reveals the relationship that transformed him: his father Blake Bromley, one of the global pioneers of charity law and finance in Canada, who taught John everything he needed to know to become a charity banker not through formal education but through osmosis during car rides to sports games every weekend, where John thought he was tuning out boring workplace talk but was actually absorbing years of expertise that no textbook could teach, leading to John's realization in his late twenties that his dad possessed unique knowledge that became the foundation for Charitable Impact and John's ability to help donors go from thinking about $200,000 gifts to creating private foundations with $15 million.   [00:05:00] I'm a Charity Banker Acts like private banker to donors (individuals or organizations) Gives access to knowledge about how to go about giving Brings tools and team members to help Founder and CEO of Charitable Impact (donor-advised fund) [00:05:40] How a Charity Bank Works People give money in, get tax receipt right away Can determine how to use those charity dollars to create impact they want Role is entrepreneur who founded it, gives vision and mission There because people with great hearts, minds, deep wallets never had anywhere to go for neutral advice [00:06:40] Inspired by Seeing Others Become Inspired Charitable giving opens people to new world of purpose and meaning About investing time, talent, and money into things you care most about Having impact with your time, talent, and money Coached soccer for years, grateful for opportunity to do it [00:07:40] Getting More Out Than You Put In Really good donors get more out of it than they think they put in First time doing anything, you're not gonna be whiz kid Takes time and focus People who learn to have joy and gratitude become best donors [00:10:40] Making Intentional Giving Part of Everyday Life Vision at Charitable Impact: make intentional giving part of everyday life Quantum of money isn't as important Type of cause they choose isn't important to him Like banker shouldn't care what specific stocks someone chooses [00:11:40] From Sporadic to Intentional Giver Inspired when someone goes from not being giver to proactive giver From only reacting to being asked for money to building giving into their life Whether using time, talents, and/or money Like fitness banker trying to get people off couch [00:14:00] Be Open to Help Blessed to have had many encounters with people who had material impact If talking to younger self: you've gotta be open to help and feedback Don't have to accept it all, but have to listen to it One person stands out head and shoulders above everyone else [00:14:40] Didn't Recognize Until Almost 30 Key mentor in his life was his father Didn't recognize dad played that role until almost 30 Not just because dad was good dad who loved and nurtured him Where do you learn what you need to know to become a charity banker? [00:15:20] One of Two Serious Pioneers Father was one of arguably two serious pioneers of charity law and finance in Canada In charity nerd community (very small), dad is known globally He's one of global experts in the space Here he is, just my dad [00:16:00] The Career Change Conversation Graduated university, started in corporate finance and investment banking Left after several years, not being culture fit Started interacting with dad about changing career mid-to-late twenties Accidental pathway led to realizing dad knows stuff you can't read online [00:17:20] Learning from Osmosis Played ton of sports growing up, every weekend dad took him to games Dad yapping about charity stuff going on in his workplace John thinking: in one ear out the next, boring Now realise: how much did I learn from osmosis? [00:19:20] The $15 Million Superpower Dad's superpower: donor comes in thinking $50-100K, maybe $200K Two months later, leaving with private foundation with $15 million in it Rooted in relationship development and expertise John has had few scenarios where this happened [00:20:20] Seeing Beyond the Barriers People come in wanting to make giving part of how family does things Starting with what sounds like relatively low money Shifting how they think about it, making large structured contributions Growth mindset in philanthropic advisory space [00:22:40] Increasing Access to Participation Mission: increase access to participation in and benefit people feel from giving Not about going from 200K to 15 million About going from never giving to starting to give $100 a month It's the action to participate and start that matters [00:24:00] Like Building a Bank Banks might make more money off high net worth clients But banks don't exist without tens of thousands of small depositors Real interest is helping people get in and stay in game Regardless of money or causes they want to create impact for [00:26:00] The Workshop That Changed Everything Kevin started family foundation in 2008 to avoid big tax bill Friend Jeff Ziegler told him to start foundation and get 501(c)(3) status Went to workshop in 2009, heard foundation owners talking about what they're doing Wanted to start experiencing that [00:26:40] Jamaica Orphanage and Family Sponsorship Kevin's foundation supports Jamaica orphanage, visits every year Gives each of four older kids access to foundation debit card They choose family through food bank or church to sponsor Buy what kids want and need, groceries [00:27:20] I Wish This Was My Job Oldest daughter after first year: "I wish this was my job all the time" So incredibly rewarding for them Take kids to Jamaica orphanage, they experience what those kids are like On bus ride back, kids saying "we got it really good, Dad" [00:28:20] Three Beliefs at Charitable Impact Everyone has something in world they want to create change for Everyone has something to give toward creating that change (time, talent, treasure) When you give, you get something in return This third belief is under-focused on [00:29:40] Selfish Reasons to Give How do you learn you have it well if not exposed to these things? Creates opportunity, learning, meaning, and purpose in your own life It's not just about benefiting community No one focuses on this, but they should [00:30:00] You Don't Stay in Jobs You Don't Like Do you live in a house you hate? Probably not Eat foods you hate? Play sports you don't like? Of course not - you do things you enjoy Important to see philanthropy that way [00:32:40] Intention vs. Action Intention is critically important, big fan of intention But it's action, doing stuff in real world that creates change Can't just think about it Philanthropy is like exercise or eating well - you have to actually do it [00:33:20] You Don't Have to Be Perfect Don't have to work out hours every day Can be incremental, small part of who you are But you actually have to do something When you do, you get something in return [00:33:40] The One Thing They Don't Regret Seasoned philanthropists, particularly as they get older Never heard anyone regret spending time, talent, money on things they care about Partly because of how much they get out of it By so doing [00:34:20] Being in Control of Where Money Goes Can choose instead of paying it all in taxes Give to organization or something you believe in and want to support Take proactive step and give it there instead We can totally choose that [00:36:00] Dad, Thank You and I Love You John gives shout out to his father Thanks him for everything Says "I love you" Beautiful moment honoring his dad   KEY QUOTES "Charitable giving opens them up to this new world of purpose and meaning. It's really about investing your time and talent and money into the things that you care most about, that you love." - John Bromley "Really good donors get more out of it than they think they put in. The people who learn to have joy and gratitude from giving become the best donors." - John Bromley "When you give, you get something in return. It's about creating opportunity and learning and meaning and purpose in your own life." - John Bromley CONNECT WITH JOHN BROMLEY 

What if silence in your team meetings isn't just about shyness or lack of ideas, but something everyone's been taught—often unconsciously—to protect themselves or others? In this episode, I sit down with Elaine Lin Hering, a top facilitator, global educator, and author of “Unlearning Silence,” to dig into the roots of silence and how leaders can transform it into true engagement.As the conversation kicks off, we tackle a fundamental leadership dilemma: despite constant encouragement to “speak up,” people often hold back. Why? Elaine reveals it's not just about courage or confidence. Silence is a learned survival strategy, which is often shaped by culture, hierarchy, and even unconscious organizational habits. Her own story, growing up as the youngest daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, shows how silence sneaks in early and sticks.Throughout the episode, we explore questions relating to real-world challenges such as how can you create a safe space for candor when your “resting face” or demeanour sets the wrong tone? Or, why do team members only give feedback after a decision is finalized. Elaine offers evidence-informed and practical answers to these situations.The takeaway is clear: Strong leadership means recognizing that silence is not always golden—and that by unlearning it, we unlock deeper connection, better decisions, and a future not bound by the past. What You'll Learn- Silence is learned… and it's often unintentional.- Unlearning silence is an ongoing process.- Explicit clarity is critical for leaders.- How to reframe your view of your voice.- The mode and medium of communication matter.- What is obvious to you may be the insight someone else is looking for.Podcast Timestamps(00:03) - The Origins of Unlearning Silence(05:46) - The Process of Unlearning Silence(09:10) - Agency and the Value of Voice(15:59) - The RACI Framework(19:16) - How Communication Mode and Process Influence Voice(24:10) - Surfacing Feedback and Pre-Empting Silence(32:08) - Imposter Syndrome or Imposter Treatment?(41:47) - When Is Silence Golden?(46:52) - Explicitly Creating Psychological SafetyKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, Self-Awareness, Feedback, Personal Growth, Leading with Intention, Unlearning silence, Employee Voice, Power Dynamics, Decision-Making Frameworks, RACI Model, Team Communication, Self-Silencing, Imposter Syndrome, Psychological Safety, Personal Growth, CEO Success

It’s actually a good thing that some books push you to the edge of your ability to understand. But there’s no doubting the fact that dense, abstract and jargon-filled works can push you so far into the fog of frustration that you cannot blame yourself for giving up. But here’s the truth: You don’t have to walk away frustrated and confused. I’m going to share with you a number of practical strategies that will help you fill in the gaps of your reading process. Because that’s usually the real problem: It’s not your intelligence. Nor is it that the world is filled with books “above your level.” I ultimately don’t believe in “levels” as such. But as someone who taught reading courses at Rutgers and Saarland University, I know from experience that many learners need to pick up a few simple steps that will strengthen how they approach reading difficult books. And in this guide, you’ll learn how to read challenging books and remember what they say. I’m going to go beyond generic advice too. That way, you can readily diagnose: Why certain books feel so hard Use pre-reading tactics that prime your brain to deal with difficulties effectively Apply active reading techniques to lock in understanding faster Leverage accelerated learning tools that are quick to learn Use Artificial Intelligence to help convert tough convent into lasting knowledge without worrying about getting duped by AI hallucinations Whether you’re tacking philosophy, science, dense fiction or anything based primarily in words, the reading system you’ll learn today will help you turn confusion into clarity. By the end, even the most intimidating texts will surrender their treasures to your mind. Ready? Let’s break it all down together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HLbY4jsFg Why Some Books Feel “Too Hard” (And What That Really Means) You know exactly how it feels and so do I. You sit down with a book that people claim is a classic or super-important. But within a few pages, your brain fogs over and you’re completely lost. More often than not, through glazed eyes, you start to wonder… did this author go out of his or her way to make this difficult? Are they trying to show off with all these literary pyrotechnics? Or is there a deliberate conspiracy to confuse readers like me? Rest assured. These questions are normal and well worth asking. The difficulty you might feel is never arbitrary in my experience. But there’s also no “single origin” explanation for why some books feel easier than others. It’s almost always a combination of factors, from cognitive readiness, lived experience, emotions and your physical condition throughout the day. This means that understanding why individual texts resist your understanding needs to be conducted on a case-by-case basis so you can move towards mastering anything you want to read. Cognitive Load: The Brain’s Processing “Stop Sign” “Cognitive load” probably needs no definition. The words are quite intuitive. You start reading something and it feels like someone is piling heavy bricks directly on top of your brain, squishing everything inside. More specifically, these researchers explain that what’s getting squished is specifically your working memory, which is sometimes called short-term memory. In practical terms, this means that when a book suddenly throws a bunch of unfamiliar terms at you, your working memory has to suddenly deal with abstract concepts, completely new words or non-linear forms of logic. All of this increases your cognitive load, but it’s important to note that there’s no conspiracy. In Just Being Difficult: Academic Writing in the Public Arena, a variety of contributors admit that they often write for other specialists. Although it would be nice to always compose books and articles for general readers, it’s not laziness. They’re following the codes of their discipline, which involves shorthand to save everyone time. Yes, it can also signal group membership and feel like an intellectual wall if you’re new to this style, but it’s simply a “stop sign” for your brain. And wherever there are stop signs, there are also alternative routes. Planning Your Detour “Roadmap” Into Difficult Books Let me share a personal example by way of sharing a powerful technique for making hard books easier to read. A few years ago I decided I was finally going to read Kant. I had the gist of certain aspects of his philosophy, but a few pages in, I encountered so many unfamiliar terms, I knew I had to obey the Cognitive Load Stop Sign and take a step back. To build a roadmap into Kant, I searched Google in a particular way. Rather than a search term like, “Intro to Kant,” I entered this tightened command instead: Filetype:PDF syllabus Kant These days, you can ask an LLM in more open language to simply give you links to the syllabi of the most authoritative professors who teach Kant. I’d still suggest that you cross-reference what you get on Google, however. If you’re hesitant about using either Google or AI, it’s also a great idea to visit a librarian in person to help you. Or, you can read my post about using AI for learning with harming your memory to see if it’s time to update your approach. Narrowing Down Your Options One way or another, the reason to consult the world’s leading professors is that their syllabi will provide you with: Foundational texts Core secondary literature Commentaries from qualified sources Essential historical references Once you’ve looked over a few syllabi, look through the table of contents of a few books on Amazon or Google Books. Then choose: 1-2 foundational texts to read before the challenging target book you want to master 1-2 articles or companion texts to read alongside In this way, you’ve turned difficulty into a path, not an obstacle. Pre-Reading Strategies That Warm Up Your Reading Muscles A lot of the time, the difficulty people feel when reading has nothing to do with the book. It’s just that you’re diving into unfamiliar territory without testing the waters first. Here are some simple ways to make unfamiliar books much easier to get into. Prime Like a Pro To make books easier to read, you can perform what is often called “priming” in the accelerated learning community. It is also sometimes called “pre-reading” and as this research article discusses, its success has been well-demonstrated. The way I typically perform priming is simple. Although some books require a slight change to the pattern, I typically approach each new book by reading: The back cover The index The colophon page The conclusion or afterword The most interesting or relevant chapter The introduction The rest of the book Activate Prior Knowledge Sometimes I will use a skimming and scanning strategy after reading the index to quickly familiarize myself with how an author approaches a topic with which I’m already familiar. This can help raise interest, excitement and tap into the power of context-dependent memory. For example, I recently started reading Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht. Since the Renaissance memory master Giordano Bruno comes up multiple times, I was able to draw up a kind of context map of the books themes by quickly going through those passages. Take a Picture Walk Barbara Oakley and Terence Sejnjowski share a fantastic strategy in Learning How to Learn. Before reading, simply go through a book and look at all the illustrations, tables, charts and diagrams. It seems like a small thing. But it gives your brain a “heads up” about upcoming visual information that you may need to process than prose. I used to find visual information like this difficult, but after I started taking picture walks, I’m now excited to read “towards” these elements. If still find them challenging to understand, I apply a tip I learned from Tony Buzan that you might like to try: Rather than struggle to interpret a chart or illustration, reproduce it in your own hand. Here’s an example of how I did this when studying spaced repetition: As a result, I learned the graph and its concepts quickly and have never forgotten it. Build a Pre-Reading Ritual That Fits You There’s no one-sized-fits-all strategy, so you need to experiment with various options. The key is to reduce cognitive load by giving your mind all kinds of ways of understanding what a book contains. If it helps, you can create yourself a checklist that you slip into the challenging books on your list. That way, you’ll have both a bookmark and a protocol as you develop your own pre-reading style. Active Reading Techniques That Boost Comprehension Active reading involves deliberately applying mental activities while reading. These can include writing in the margins of your books, questioning, preparing summaries and even taking well-time breaks between books. Here’s a list of my favorite active reading strategies with ideas on how you can implement them. Using Mnemonics While Reading On the whole, I take notes while reading and then apply a variety of memory techniques after. But to stretch my skills, especially when reading harder books, I start the encoding process earlier. Instead of just taking notes, I’ll start applying mnemonic images. I start early because difficult terms often require a bit more spaced repetition. To do this yourself, the key is to equip yourself with a variety of mnemonic methods, especially: The Memory Palace technique The Pegword Method The Major System The PAO System And in some cases, you may want to develop a symbol system, such as if you’re studying physics or programming. Once you have these mnemonic systems developed, you can apply them in real time. For example, if you come across names and dates, committing them to memory as you read can help you keep track of a book’s historical arc. This approach can be especially helpful when reading difficult books because authors often dump a lot of names and dates. By memorizing them as you go, you reduce the mental load of having to track it all. For even more strategies you can apply while reading, check out my complete Mnemonics Dictionary. Strategic Questioning Whether you take notes or memorize in real-time, asking questions as you go makes a huge difference. Even if you don’t come up with answers, continually interrogating the book will open up your brain. The main kinds of questions are: Evaluative questions (checking that the author uses valid reasoning and address counterarguments) Analytical questions (assessing exactly how the arguments unfold and questioning basic assumptions) Synthetic questions (accessing your previous knowledge and looking for connections with other books and concepts) Intention questions (interrogating the author’s agenda and revealing any manipulative rhetoric) One medieval tool for questioning you can adopt is the memory wheel. Although it’s definitely old-fashioned, you’ll find that it helps you rotate between multiple questions. Even if they are as simple as who, what, where, when, how and why questions, you’ll have a mental mnemonic device that helps ensure you don’t miss any of them. Re-reading Strategies Although these researchers seem to think that re-reading is not an effective strategy, I could not live without it. There are three key kinds of re-reading I recommend. Verbalize Complexity to Tame It The first is to simply go back and read something difficult to understand out loud. You’d be surprised how often it’s not your fault. The author has just worded something in a clunky manner and speaking the phrasing clarifies everything. Verbatim Memorization for Comprehension The second strategy is to memorize the sentence or even an entire passage verbatim. That might seem like a lot of work, but this tutorial on memorizing entire passages will make it easy for you. Even if verbatim memorization takes more work, it allows you to analyze the meaning within your mind. You’re no longer puzzling over it on paper, continuing to stretch your working memory. No, you’ve effectively expanded at least a part of your working memory by bypassing it altogether. You’ve ushered the information into long-term memory. I’m not too shy to admit that I have to do this sometimes to understand everything from the philosophy in Sanskrit phrases to relatively simple passages from Shakespeare. As I shared in my recent discussion of actor Anthony Hopkins’ memory, I couldn’t work out what “them” referred to in a particular Shakespeare play. But after analyzing the passage in memory, it was suddenly quite obvious. Rhythmical Re-reading The third re-reading strategy is something I shared years ago in my post detailing 11 reasons you should re-read at least one book per month. I find this approach incredibly helpful because no matter how good you get at reading and memory methods, even simple books can be vast ecosystems. By revisiting difficult books at regular intervals, you not only get more out of them. You experience them from different perspectives and with the benefit of new contexts you’ve built in your life over time. In other words, treat your reading as an infinite game and never assume that you’ve comprehended everything. There’s always more to be gleaned. Other Benefits of Re-reading You’ll also improve your pattern recognition by re-treading old territory, leading to more rapid recognition of those patterns in new books. Seeing the structures, tropes and other tactics in difficult books opens them up. But without regularly re-reading books, it can be difficult to perceive what these forms are and how authors use them. To give you a simple example of a structure that appears in both fiction and non-fiction, consider in media res, or starting in the middle. When you spot an author using this strategy, it can immediately help you read more patiently. And it places the text in the larger tradition of other authors who use that particular technique. For even more ideas that will keep your mind engaged while tackling tough books, feel free to go through my fuller article on 7 Active Reading Strategies. Category Coloring & Developing Your Own Naming System For Complex Material I don’t know about you, but I do not like opening a book only to find it covered in highlighter marks. I also don’t like highlighting books myself. However, after practicing mind mapping for a few years, I realized that there is a way to combine some of its coloring principles with the general study principles of using Zettelkasten and flashcards. Rather than passively highlighting passages that seem interesting at random, here’s an alternative approach you can take to your next tour through a complicated book. Category Coloring It’s often helpful to read with a goal. For myself, I decided to tackle a hard book called Gödel Escher Bach through the lens of seven categories. I gave each a color: Red = Concept Green = Process Orange = Fact Blue = Historical Context Yellow = Person Purple = School of Thought or Ideology Brown = Specialized Terminology Example Master Card to the Categorial Color Coding Method To emulate this method, create a “key card” or “master card” with your categories on it alongside the chosen color. Use this as a bookmark as you read. Then, before writing down any information from the book, think about the category to which it belongs. Make your card and then apply the relevant color. Obviously, you should come up with your own categories and preferred colors. The point is that you bring the definitions and then apply them consistently as you read and extract notes. This will help bring structure to your mind because you’re creating your own nomenclature or taxonomy of information. You are also using chunking, a specific mnemonic strategy I’ve written about at length in this post on chunking as a memory tool. Once you’re finished a book, you can extract all the concepts and memorize them independently if you like. And if you emulate the strategy seen on the pictured example above, I’ve included the page number on each card. That way, I can place the cards back in the order of the book. Using this approach across multiple books, you will soon spot cross-textual patterns with greater ease. The catch is that you cannot allow this technique to become activity for activity’s sake. You also don’t want to wind up creating a bunch of informational “noise.” Before capturing any individual idea on a card and assigning it to a category, ask yourself: Why is this information helpful, useful or critical to my goal? Will I really use it again? Where does it belong within the categories? If you cannot answers these questions, either move on to the next point. Or reframe the point with some reflective thinking so that you can contextualize it. This warning aside, it’s important not to let perfectionism creep into your life. Knowing what information matters does take some practice. To speed up your skills with identifying critical information, please read my full guide on how to find the main points in books and articles. Although AI can certainly help these days, you’ll still need to do some work on your own. Do Not Let New Vocabulary & Terminology Go Without Memorization One of the biggest mistakes I used to make, even as a fan of memory techniques, slowed me down much more than necessary. I would come across a new term, look it up, and assume I’d remember it. Of course, the next time I came across it, the meaning was still a mystery. But when I got more deliberate, I not only remembered more words, but the knowledge surrounding the unfamiliar terms also stuck with greater specificity. For example, in reading The Wandering Mind by Jamie Kreiner, memorizing the ancient Greek word for will or volition (Prohairesis) pulled many more details about why she was mentioning it. Lo and behold, I started seeing the word in more places and connecting it to other ancient Greek terms. Memorizing those as well started to create a “moat of meaning,” further protecting a wide range of information I’d been battling. Understanding Why Vocabulary Blocks Comprehension The reason why memorizing words as you read is so helpful is that it helps clear out the cognitive load created by pausing frequently to look up words. Even if you don’t stop to learn a new definition, part of your working memory gets consumed by the lack of familiarity. I don’t always stop to learn new definitions while reading, but using the color category index card method you just discovered, it’s easy to organize unfamiliar words while reading. That way they can be tidily memorized later. I have a full tutorial for you on how to memorize vocabulary, but here’s a quick primer. Step One: Use a System for Capturing New Words & Terms Whether you use category coloring, read words into a recording app or email yourself a reminder, the key is to capture as you go. Once your reading session is done, you can now go back to the vocabulary list and start learning it. Step Two: Memorize the Terms I personally prefer the Memory Palace technique. It’s great for memorizing words and definitions. You can use the Pillar Technique with the word at the top and the definition beneath it. Or you can use the corners for the words and the walls for the definitions. Another idea is to photograph the cards you create and important them into a spaced repetition software like Anki. As you’ll discover in my complete guide to Anki, there are several ways you can combine Anki with a variety of memory techniques. Step Three: Use the Terms If you happened to catch an episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast back when I first learned Prohairesis I mentioned it often. This simple habit helps establish long-term recall, reflection and establishes the ground for future recognition and use. Expand Understanding Using Video & Audio Media When I was in university, I often had to ride my bike across Toronto to borrow recorded lectures on cassette. Given the overwhelming tsunamis of complex ideas, jargon and theoretical frameworks I was facing, it was worth it. Especially since I was also dealing with the personal problems I shared with you in The Victorious Mind. Make no mistake: I do not believe there is any replacement for reading the core books, no matter how difficult they might be. But there’s no reason not to leverage the same ideas in multiple formats to help boost your comprehension and long-term retention. Multimedia approaches are not just about knowledge acquisition either. There have been many debates in the magical arts community that card magicians should read and not rely on video. But evidence-based studies like this one show that video instruction combined with reading written instructions is very helpful. The Science Behind Multi-Modal Learning I didn’t know when I was in university, or when I was first starting out with memdeck card magic that dual coding theory existed. This model was proposed by Allan Paivio, who noticed that information is processed both verbally and non-verbally. Since then, many teachers have focused heavily on how to encourage students to find the right combination of reading, visual and auditory instructional material. Here are some ideas that will help you untangle the complexity in your reading. How to Integrate Multimedia Without Overload Forgive me if this is a bit repetitive, but to develop flow with multiple media, you need to prime the brain. As someone who has created multiple YouTube videos, I have been stubborn about almost always including introductions. Why? Go Through the Intros Like a Hawk Because without including a broad overview of the topic, many learners will miss too many details. And I see this in the comments because people ask questions that are answered throughout the content and flagged in the introductions. So the first step is to be patient and go through the introductory material. And cultivate an understanding that it’s not really the material that is boring. It’s the contemporary issues with dopamine spiking that make you feel impatient. The good news is that you can possibly reset your dopamine levels so you’re better able to sit through these “priming” materials. One hack I use is to sit far away from my mouse and keep my notebook in hand. If I catch myself getting antsy, I perform a breathing exercise to restore focus. Turn on Subtitles When you’re watching videos, you can help increase your engagement by turning on the subtitles. This is especially useful in jargon-heavy video lessons. You can pause and still see the information on the screen for easier capture when taking notes. When taking notes, I recommend jotting down the timestamp. This is useful for review, but also for attributing citations later if you have to hand in an assignment. Mentally Reconstruct After watching a video or listening to a podcast on the topic you’re mastering, take a moment to review the key points. Try to go through them in the order they were presented. This helps your brain practice mental organization by building a temporal scaffold. If you’ve taken notes and written down the timestamps, you can easily check your accuracy. Track Your Progress For Growth & Performance One reason some people never feel like they’re getting anywhere is that they have failed to establish any points of reference. Personally, this is easy for me to do. I can look back to my history of writing books and articles or producing videos and be reminded of how far I’ve come at a glance. Not only as a writer, but also as a reader. For those who do not regularly produce content, you don’t have to start a blog or YouTube channel. Just keep a journal and create a few categories of what skills you want to track. These might include: Comprehension Retention Amount of books read Vocabulary growth Critical thinking outcomes Confidence in taking on harder books Increased tolerance with frustration when reading challenges arise You can use the same journal to track how much time you’ve spent reading and capturing quick summaries. Personally, I wish I’d started writing summaries sooner. I really only got started during grad school when during a directed reading course, a professor required that I had in a summary for every book and article I read. I never stopped doing this and just a few simple paragraph summaries has done wonders over the years for my understanding and retention. Tips for Overcoming Frustration While Reading Difficult Books Ever since the idea of “desirable difficulty” emerged, people have sought ways to help learners overcome emotional responses like frustration, anxiety and even shame while tackling tough topics. As this study shows, researchers and teachers have found the challenge difficult despite the abundance of evidence showing that being challenged is a good thing. Here are some strategies you can try if you continue to struggle. Embrace Cognitive Discomfort As we’ve discussed, that crushing feeling in your brain exists for a reason. Personally, I don’t think it ever goes away. I still regularly pick up books that spike it. The difference is that I don’t start up a useless mantra like, “I’m not smart enough for this.” Instead, I recommend you reframe the experience and use the growth mindset studied by Carol Dweck, amongst others. You can state something more positive like, “This book is a bit above my level, but I can use tactics and techniques to master it.” I did that very recently with my reading of The Xenotext, parts of which I still don’t fully understand. It was very rewarding. Use Interleaving to Build Confidence I rotate through draining books all the time using a proven technique called interleaving. Lots of people are surprised when I tell them that I rarely read complex and challenging books for longer than fifteen minutes at a time. But I do it because interleaving works. Which kinds of books can you interleave? You have choices. You can either switch in something completely different, or switch to a commentary. For example, while recently reading some heavy mathematical theories about whether or not “nothing” can exist, I switched to a novel. But back in university, I would often stick within the category while at the library. I’d read a core text by a difficult philosopher, then pick up a Cambridge Companion and read an essay related to the topic. You can also interleave using multimedia sources like videos and podcasts. Interleaving also provides time for doing some journaling, either about the topic at hand or some other aspect of your progress goals. Keep the Big Picture in Mind Because frustration is cognitively training, it’s easy to let it drown out your goals. That’s why I often keep a mind map or some other reminder on my desk, like a couple of memento mori. It’s also possible to just remember previous mind maps you’ve made. This is something I’m doing often at the moment as I read all kinds of boring information about managing a bookshop for my Memory Palace bookshop project first introduced in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utcJfeQZC2c It’s so easy to get discouraged by so many rules and processes involved in ordering and selling books, that I regularly think back to creating this mind map with Tony Buzan years ago. In case my simple drawings on this mind map for business development doesn’t immediately leap out at you with its meanings, the images at the one o’clock-three o’clock areas refer to developing a physical Memory Palace packed with books on memory and learning. Developing and keeping a north star in mind will help you transform the process of reading difficult books into a purposeful adventure of personal development. Even if you have to go through countless books that aren’t thrilling, you’ll still be moving forward. Just think of how much Elon Musk has read that probably wasn’t all that entertaining. Yet, it was still essential to becoming a polymath. Practice Seeing Through The Intellectual Games As you read harder and harder books, you’ll eventually come to realize that the “fluency” some people have is often illusory. For example, some writers and speakers display a truly impressive ability to string together complex terminology, abstract references and fashionable ideas of the day in ways that sound profound. Daniel Dennett frequently used a great term for a lot of this verbal jujitsu that sounds profound but is actually trivial. He called such flourishes “deepities.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey-UeaSi1rI This kind of empty linguistic dexterity will be easier for you to spot when you read carefully, paraphrase complex ideas in your own words and practice memorizing vocabulary frequently. When you retain multiple concepts and practice active questioning in a large context of grounded examples and case studies, vague claims will not survive for long in your world. This is why memory training is about so much more than learning. Memorization can equip you to think independently and bring clarity to fields that are often filled with gems, despite the fog created by intellectual pretenders more interested in word-jazz than actual truth. Using AI to Help You Take On Difficult Books As a matter of course, I recommend you use AI tools like ChatGPT after doing as much reading on your own as possible. But there’s no mistaking that intentional use of such tools can help you develop greater understanding. The key is to avoid using AI as an answer machine or what Nick Bostrom calls an “oracle” in his seminal book, Superintelligence. Rather, take a cue from Andrew Mayne, a science communicator and central figure at OpenAI and host of their podcast. His approach centers on testing in ways that lead to clarity of understanding and retention as he uses various mnemonic strategies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzD_6Olaqw Beyond his suggestions, here are some of my favorite strategies. Ask AI to Help Identify All Possible Categories Connected to a Topic A key reason many people struggle to connect ideas is simply that they haven’t developed a mental ecosystem of categories. I used to work in libraries, so started thinking categorically when I was still a teenager. But these days, I would combine how traditional libraries are structured with a simple prompt like: List all the possible categories my topic fits into or bridges across disciplines, historical frameworks and methodologies. Provide the list without interpretation or explanation so I can reflect. A prompt like this engineers a response that focuses on relationships and lets your brain perform the synthetic thinking. Essentially, you’ll be performing what some scientists call schema activation, leading to better personal development outcomes. Generate Lists of Questions To Model Exceptional Thinkers Because understanding relies on inquiry, it’s important to practice asking the best possible questions. AI chat bots can be uniquely useful in this process provided that you explicitly insist that it helps supply you excellent questions without any answers. You can try a prompt like: Generate a list of questions that the world’s most careful thinkers in this field would ask about this topic. Do not provide any answers. Just the list of questions. Do this after you’ve read the text and go through your notes with fresh eyes. Evaluate the material with questions in hand, ideally by writing out your answers by hand. If you need your answers imported into your computer, apps can now scan your handwriting and give you text file. Another tip: Don’t be satisfied with the first list of questions you get. Ask the AI to dig deeper. You can also ask the AI to map the questions into the categories you previously got help identifying. For a list of questions you can put into your preferred chat bot, feel free to go through my pre-AI era list of philosophical questions. They are already separated by category. Use AI to Provide a Progress Journal Template If you’re new to journaling, it can be difficult to use the technique to help you articulate what you’re reading and why the ideas are valuable. And that’s not to mention working out various metrics to measure your growth over time. Try a prompt like this: Help me design a progress journal for my quest to better understand and remember difficult books. Include sections for me to list my specific goals, vocabulary targets, summaries and various milestones I identify. Make it visual so I can either copy it into my own print notebook or print out multiple copies for use over time. Once you have a template you’re happy to experiment with, keep it visible in your environment so you don’t forget to use it. Find Blind Spots In Your Summaries Many AIs have solid reasoning skills. As a result, you can enter your written summaries and have the AI identify gaps in your knowledge, blind spots and opportunities for further reading. Try a prompt like: Analyze this summary and identify any blind spots, ambiguities in my thinking or incompleteness in my understanding. Suggest supplementary reading to help me fill in any gaps. At the risk of repetition, the point is that you’re not asking for the summaries. You’re asking for assessments that help you diagnose the limits of your understanding. As scientists have shown, metacognition, or thinking about your thinking can help you see errors much faster. By adding an AI into the mix, you’re getting feedback quickly without having to wait for a teacher to read your essay. Of course, AI outputs can be throttled, so I find it useful to also include a phrase like, “do not throttle your answer,” before asking it to dig deeper and find more issues. Used wisely, you will soon see various schools of thought with much greater clarity, anticipate how authors make their moves and monitor your own blind spots as you read and reflect. Another way to think about the power of AI tools is this: They effectively mirror human reasoning at a species wide level. You can use them to help you mirror more reasoning power by regularly accessing and practicing error detection and filling in the gaps in your thinking style. Why You Must Stop Abandoning Difficult Books (At Least Most of the Time) Like many people, I’m a fan of Scott Young’s books like Ultralearning and Get Better at Anything. He’s a disciplined thinker and his writing helps people push past shallow learning in favor of true and lasting depth. However, he often repeats the advice that you should stop reading boring books. In full transparency, I sometimes do this myself. And Young adds a lot of context to make his suggestion. But I limit abandoning books as much as possible because I don’t personally find Young’s argument that enjoyment and productivity go together. On the contrary, most goals that I’ve pursued have required fairly intense periods of delaying gratification. And because things worth accomplishing generally do require sacrifice and a commitment to difficulty, I recommend you avoid the habit of giving up on books just because they’re “boring” or not immediately enjoyable. I’ll bet you’ll enjoy the accomplishment of understanding hard books and conquering their complexity far more in the end. And you’ll benefit more too. Here’s why I think so. The Hidden Cost of Abandoning Books You’ve Started Yes, I agree that life is short and time is fleeting. But if you get into the habit of abandoning books at the first sign of boredom, it can quickly become your default habit due to how procedural memory works. In other words, you’re given your neurons the message that it’s okay to escape from discomfort. That is a very dangerous loop to throw yourself into, especially if you’re working towards becoming autodidactic. What you really need is to develop the ability to stick with complexity, hold ambiguous and contradictory issues in your mind and fight through topic exhaustion. Giving up on books on a routine basis? That’s the opposite of developing expertise and resilience. The AI Risk & Where Meaning is Actually Found We just went through the benefits of AI, so you shouldn’t have issues. But I regularly hear from people and have even been on interviews where people use AI to summarize books I’ve recomended. This is dangerous because the current models flatten nuance due to how they summarize books based on a kind of “averaging” of what its words predictability mean. Although they might give you a reasonable scaffold of a book’s structure, you won’t get the friction created by how authors take you through their thought processes. In other words, you’ll be using AI models that are not themselves modeling the thinking that reading provides when you grind your way through complex books. The Treasure of Meaning is Outside Your Comfort Zone Another reason to train for endurance is that understanding doesn’t necessarily arrive while reading a book or even a few weeks after finishing it. Sometimes the unifying insights land years later. But if you don’t read through books that seem to be filled with scattered ideas, you cannot gain any benefit from them. Their diverse points won’t consolidate in your memory and certainly won’t connect with other ideas later. So I suggest you train your brain to persist as much as possible. By drawing up the support of the techniques we discussed today and a variety of mnemonic support systems, you will develop persistence and mine more gold from everything you read. And being someone who successfully mines for gold and can produce it at will is the mark of the successful reading. Not just someone who consumes information efficiently, but who can repeatedly connect and transform knowledge year after year due to regularly accumulating gems buried in the densest and most difficult books others cannot or will not read. Use Struggle to Stimulate Growth & You Cannot Fail As you’ve seen, challenging books never mean that you’re not smart enough. It’s just a matter of working on your process so that you can tackle new forms of knowledge. And any discomfort you feel is a signal that a great opportunity and personal growth adventure awaits. By learning how to manage cognitive load, fill in the gaps in your background knowledge and persist through frustration, you can quickly become the kind of reader who seeks out complexity instead of flinching every time you see it. Confusion has now become a stage along the path to comprehension. And if you’re serious about mastering increasingly difficult material, understanding and retaining it, then it’s time to upgrade your mental toolbox. Start now by grabbing my Free Memory Improvement Course: Inside, you’ll discover: The Magnetic Memory Method for creating powerful Memory Palaces How to develop your own mnemonic systems for encoding while reading Proven techniques that deepen comprehension, no matter how abstract or complex your reading list is And please, always remember: The harder the book, the greater rewards. And the good news is, you’re now more than ready to claim them all.

February can feel like a quiet in-between month — shorter days, full schedules, and the temptation to rush toward what's next. In this episode, I'm sharing 8 gentle, meaningful ways to live with more intention this February, without adding pressure or another overwhelming to-do list.These ideas are simple, realistic, and designed to meet you exactly where you are — whether that's slowing down your evenings, celebrating small wins, or finding tiny moments of joy in your everyday routine. This episode is an invitation to romanticize the ordinary, care for your heart, and choose presence in the middle of real life.If you've been craving a softer rhythm, a little more joy, and a reminder that intention doesn't have to be complicated, this episode is for you.

This episode is for the parents.    If you are not a parent or don't want to be, you're going to need this advice.    What we need in this world is more intentional parents.     Most parents are not.    They're raising their kids on iPads.     They don't know how to shake hands.    Communicate.    My kids will bring their kids to the house and I can see if their Dads are not teaching them what they need to, so I have to step up.    I do date nights with my wife so my kids can see how couples should be.    I make my kids work and they get jobs every summer and they have more money in the bank than most adults do.    We have daddy-kid day.    I take my kids to the ranch to get them to operate machinery and work shovels and brooms.     You gotta teach kids the importance of being intentional and it starts with parents.  We can't allow our kids to be indoctrinated by schools, ipads and other entities.  They don't give two shits about our kids.    If you want grandkids better than you, as a parent, make sure you're intentional.    About the ReWire Podcast   The ReWire Podcast with Ryan Stewman – Dive into powerful insights as Ryan Stewman, the HardCore Closer, breaks down mental barriers and shares actionable steps to rewire your thoughts. Each episode is a fast-paced journey designed to reshape your mindset, align your actions, and guide you toward becoming the best version of yourself. Join in for a daily dose of real talk that empowers you to embrace change and unlock your full potential.    Learn how you can become a member of a powerful community consistently rewiring itself for success at ⁠⁠https://www.jointheapex.com/⁠⁠   Rise Above

Stay Connected Beyond the Podcast Subscribe to our Substack to get episode updates, event announcements, wellness tips, and personal thoughts from Marnie and Stephanie delivered straight to your inbox. If you love the show and want to support what we're building, consider a paid subscription for $30 annually. Your support helps fund podcast production and allows us to continue bringing you meaningful, high-quality conversations. https://theartoflivingwell.substack.com/  _______________________________________ We all say we don't have enough time - but what if the real issue isn't time at all, but how intentionally we're using it? In this timely episode, we explore how to stop letting life happen by default and start designing your days, weeks, and year with purpose. In this practical and reflective solo episode of The Art of Living Well Podcast®, hosts Marnie Dachis Marmet and Stephanie May Potter break down how to intentionally plan and design your time in 2026. From understanding where your hours are really going to building simple systems that support your health, relationships, and energy, this conversation focuses on sustainable habits - not overwhelm.  Through real-life examples, personal experiments, and coaching insights, Marnie and Stephanie share actionable tools to help you step off the hamster wheel, reclaim your time, and create a year that actually feels good to live. _______________________________________ What You'll Learn in This Episode: ● How intention and systems matter more than motivation ● Why small, consistent habits outperform big goals ● How to design your year without overloading January ● The power of visual planning and seeing your year at a glance ● How to build habits in manageable 10-15 minute increments ● How to create anchors or buckets for health, work, relationships, and adventure ● Ways to reclaim time from distractions like phones and notifications ● Why flexibility and grace are essential when building new habits _______________________________________ Noteworthy Quotes from the Episode: ● "If you don't design your year, your year will design itself." - Marnie Dachis Marmet ● "If it's not on your calendar, it's not real." - Stephanie Potter ● "We don't rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems." - Stephanie Potter ● "Motivation is not going to tap you on the shoulder and say today's the day." - Marnie Dachis Marmet  ● "You are the only one who can make 2026 amazing for yourself." - Marnie Dachis Marmet ● "Small, consistent actions create momentum over time." - Stephanie Potter _______________________________________ Episode Breakdown with Timestamps: 00:00  - If you don't design your year, your year designs you 02:09  - The 8760-hour reality check where your time actually goes 03:40  - Why goals fail without systems (Atomic Habits logic) 06:55 - One habit every 90 days using the calendar method 08:24 - The 5-minute habit rule that changes your identity 17:02 - Three questions that decide how your 2026 will feel 21:36 - Non-negotiables and how to protect time for what matters   Episode with Erin Newkirk: https://www.theartoflivingwell.us/blog/episode-10-learn-how-to-work-your-best-life-with-erin-newkirk _______________________________________ Our Favorite Wellness Support: Looking for a clean, plant-based boost for energy, focus, and immunity? We love ENERGYbits algae tablets - a simple, nutrient-dense superfood made from pure algae.

After listening to James Clear talk on the habit of writing, Pete talks with Jen about their writing practices, and how he might investigate new and old ways of writing and thinking.Specifically, in this episode Jen and Pete talk about:How might the act of writing help us change up our patterns of thinking?How might we give up the idea of having to be perfect on our first try?What is Pete's writing practice? And Jen's?To hear all episodes and read full transcripts, visit The Long and The Short Of It website: https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/.You can subscribe to our Box O' Goodies here (https://thelongandtheshortpodcast.com/) and receive a weekly email full of book and podcast recommendations, quotes, videos, and other interesting things that Jen and Pete are noodling on. To get in touch, send an email to: hello@thelongandtheshortpodcast.com.Learn more about Pete's work here (https://humanperiscope.com/) and Jen's work here (https://jenwaldman.com/).

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

Crystal welcomes actor and filmmaker Shannon Wallace on the Keep It Positive, Sweetie Show to discuss Shannon's journey in both photography and acting. Shannon shares his experiences from growing up as a shy child in Long Island to gaining confidence in college. He talks about transitioning from social work to modeling and eventually acting, using each phase of his career to build skills and fulfill his artistic ambitions. They discuss his work in notable shows, the impact of personal loss, and how acting in 'City on a Hill' helped him deal with his brother's tragic death. Shannon highlights his new projects, including a film premiering at Slam Dance, and shares insights into his personal life and relationships.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.