Podcast appearances and mentions of kevin shen

In this episode, I'm recording for the first time in the brand-new Creator Science home studio. Kevin Shen's team came out and visited the house, put the finishing touches on setting up the studio and it is glorious. I'm so excited to have this just steps away every moment of the day to come down here and record. I feel like this is going to be truly life and business-changing. So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to do another listener Q&A episode. I've been asking for questions this morning on social media and in email, and I will be answering them here in this episode. Full transcript and show notes *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #227: Are memberships still viable in 2025? Creators vs. AI, creator economy pyramid schemes, and more [Ask Creator Science] *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY

In this episode, I'm speaking with Tom Morgan — who after 15 years on Wall Street and experiencing what he describes as a "hellish midlife transition" (which is putting it mildly) has emerged with profound insights about human development and — especially relevant for this podcast – the nature of curiosity itself.In this conversation, we explored:

I'm speaking with theoretical neuroscientist Michael Edward Johnson — who, after spending seven years researching consciousness and writing the book Principia Qualia, has developed a revolutionary theory that could fundamentally change how we understand trauma, meditation, and human wellbeing. Mike's theory of ‘latches' — what he calls vasocumputation — may provide a testable and concrete biological mechanism for how trauma gets stored in the body, and how to release it effectively.This sounds nerdy and abstract, but it's my belief that if his claims can be tested and validated — it would revolutionize the medical system and allow somatic modalities or MDMA-assisted therapy to be compared and tested side-by-side in their efficacy and we could harness the scientific method for ways to release trauma.Official Links

Ready to build a high-ranking & profitable podcast? ➡️ https://top10podcasts.com/start▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬I'm joined by Kevin Shen, the mastermind behind podcast studios for creators like Sam Parr, Shaan Puri, Dickie Bush, and Nathan Berry. Kevin walks us through his C-L-A-B method—Camera, Lighting, Audio, and Background—designed to help you build an efficient and professional podcast studio that saves time and money while delivering high-quality content. We talk about how to design your studio for a seamless workflow and avoid common mistakes like bad lighting or poor camera angles. Kevin also shares budgeting tips, including how much to invest in a “dream studio” and why lighting is often more important than people think. Don't miss his advice on getting your background design just right to boost credibility and create impact. So, whether you're starting from scratch or upgrading your current setup, Kevin's insights will set you up for lasting success. Plus, grab Kevin's free gift to see 250+ studio setups for inspiration. In This Episode:00:00 Introduction 01:25 Kevin Shen's experience and clientele02:59 Importance of workflow in studio design06:35 How getting the studio right impacts productivity 11:30 Steps of setting up a podcast studio: The C-L-A-B method 14:46 Designing for camera vs. interior design18:49 Common mistakes in podcast studio setup22:16 Importance of podcast studio lighting setup24:01 Dealing with natural light challenges26:16 Budgeting for a podcast studio setup29:55 Using Pinterest for studio design32:12 Kevin's favorite podcast studio equipment: TelepromptersGet Kevin Shen's Free Gift:Dream Studio Starter Kit: https://dreamstudio.co/starter-kit ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Connect with Kevin Shen:► Website: https://dreamstudio.co/ ► Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekevinshen ► YouTube: https://youtube.com/thekevinshen ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

I've been following River's substack essays for a few years now and I feel a real kinship with his irreverent and genuinely unique perspectives — as well as his talent for self-experimentation and weaving together esoteric yet incredibly practical concepts which he uses for self-exploration.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

In this conversation, I'm speaking with my good friend and cofounder of Ultraspeaking Tristan de Montebello. Tristan has an incredible story of training to become a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking in just seven months.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

A few years back Ali decided to quit his job as a junior doctor in the UK to become a full time YouTuber. Since then his career and life has skyrocketed — he's built a channel with over 5.5 million youtube subscribers and recently published a New York Times Bestselling book called ‘Feel Good Productivity'In this conversation Ali shares:

I'm speaking with co-founder of Reboot Jerry Colonna. Jerry is one of the most infamous executive coaches in the world — with a reputation for making CEOs cry and asking devastatingly poignant self-reflection questions.In this conversation, we explore:

Ben is the author of the phenomenal new book: The Way Home: Discovering the Hero's Journey to Wholeness at Midlife. I was really excited to talk to Ben because the hero's journey has been a framework that I still use myself as a way of orienting and meaning making. Ben shares how his own life has been a series of spiraling journeys, embodying the hero's path.In this conversation, you can expect to learn: 

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's Upcoming CohortMatt Bateman has a PhD in philosophy. He has abandoned the academic career, to pursue education in the Montessori system. A dad of three, he is passionate about educating children. Having worked a lot with training the teachers in the Montessori approach, he has now taken a step back to focus on writing his book.

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "Test Drive" WorkshopSteve is a professional coach and the founder of Downshift — the world's first decelerator. He has left a career in venture, but he remains ambitious, it's just that his ambition is now to have a good, multidimentional life, where he can be a good dad for his kids.Matt has left a traditional path early on to write, travel and discover his own path. When he met Steve, he offered him to become his apprentice and joined Downshift.

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "Test Drive" WorkshopDavid Pakman is a political commentator and the host of The David Pakman Show. He joins the podcast to explore a possible paradigm shift in the way he approaches his work and life after the birth of his daughter.

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "Test Drive" WorkshopJustin is the co-founder of Transistor, a podcast hosting platform on which The Pathless Path podcast is hosted. Justin is passionate about designing his company so that all the team benefits. He achieves that by making sure that there is always a financial margin as well as a "margin for our emotional health, margin for our physical health, margin for life."

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "How To Build Influence Online" WorkshopDom is the lead guide at the VIVIFY Regerative Leadership Program. He helps leaders develop by taking them on an 8-day backpacking expedition in the Sierra mountains. Dom is passionate about preserving the natural world, staying connected to it and practicing aliveness.

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "How To Build Influence Online" WorkshopRick Lewis could be succinctly described as "a speaker, author & professional consultant", but such technical labelling wouldn't paint a fair picture of who he really is. He describes what he's doing as "intelligent misbehavior". He's public appearances have a much deeper goal than just pure entertainment. Rick is passionate about discovering and breaking the hidden rules that rule our behavior and stifle our growth as people.

Want To Become A Better Writer? Join Write of Passage's "How To Build Influence Online" WorkshopKevin is the man behind the Epic Gardening channel. Although he had not read the Pathless Path at the time of the recording of this episode, he seems to be living it with every breath he takes. The only constant thing in his life seems to be that is constatly reinventing himself. From professional poker, gaming, web design, indie consulting, blogging to running a huge YouTube channel about gardening with almost 3 mil. subscribers, we meet at his next crossroads, after he's decided to take a step back from running the show personally day to day. 

Marcela Ot'alora worked as the lead co-therapist and principal investigator for all of the MAPS — which stands for  Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — MDMA-assisted psychotherapy studies. She has also been designing curriculum and training therapists associated with MAPS.In this conversation, which we recorded together in our home here in Boulder Colorado, we explored how she found her way into this work over three decades ago, possible tension I perceived between the clinical aspect of these studies and the sacredness of the work, how she trains therapists in the rare art of being able to hold space for deep transformation, and what she believes is happening that has led to the extraordinary results that the MAPS trials have created — a 71% reduction in otherwise untreatable symptoms of PTSD.Official Links

I'm choosing to republish this episode that I had with David Whyte four years ago, because I had found myself revisiting his timeless book Consolations' and rediscovering wisdom that felt appropriate for these times — which has remained within an arm's reach of my bedside ever since I first discovered it. It ratcheted open my mind to a new perspective on the definitions of words like Ambition, Courage and Heartbreak, that I thought I previously understood.I'm not sure how to even begin to describe exactly what David does. On paper, he's an acclaimed poet, a writer, and a philosopher.  But to my mind, after having spent a magical week with him on the Irish Atlantic coastline on one of his poetry walking tours, I feel like he's a true elder with a deep philosophical curiosity and gift for weaving together our inner and outer worlds in what he calls 'the conversational nature of reality'.It's a wide-ranging conversation, and towards the end, we cover some really interesting ground on the questions he believes we're living our way into as a society and how childhood is the act of growing older whilst adulthood is the act of growing younger back into body back into our birthright visionary experience of the world.Official Links

In this episode, I am speaking with Steve March — who is, although maybe lesser known in the public sphere, what he has created with Aletheia, which we will get into — is, to my mind, a revolutionary innovation in the realm of human development and how we orient to personal growth.Expect to have your paradigm of personal growth turned upside down as we cover:⚖️ Self-development vs. Self-unfoldment, which points to why so much of the personal development industry and individual efforts to self-improve are doomed to fail from the outset. And how might we make a New Year resolution as unfolding, with no improvement?

Joe is an executive coach and the founder of the Art of Accomplishment. Having worked as a venture capitalist, a consultant and an international banker, Joe discovered meditation on a trip to Asia and has practiced it since for over 25 years since then. Meditating as well as a deep study of various spiritual, psychological and neurological traditions allowed him develop his unique ability to help others with personal transformation.

Khe Hy is a dear friend, creator and philosopher in residence at Rad Reads, which is a business he started after leaving a 7-figure salary on Wall Street. He is a dedicated Father, host of the superb Examined Life podcast and makes time to get in the ocean and surf every single day. In this conversation, you can expect to hear:- How Khe has worked through his feelings of self-doubt - Exploring his insights from wrestling with desires for fame and validation. - The question of 'Winning the Game of Life' has evolved for him over the years into a pursuit of Aliveness.Official Links

Join CrowdHealth: You ditched the traditional path… why haven't you ditched your traditional health insurance Experience the freedom and affordability of cash payments and community-funded healthcare with CrowdHealth. Use promo code “Boundless” during sign-up for a special discounted subscription offer. Sign Up HereChristine Bader is currently living in Bali, Indonesia, where she is spending time focused on her family and self.  She is the author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil and the former head of CSR for Amazon before leaving in 2017, a journey she details in an amazing essay titled “The year I learned to quit.”  She talks about leaving the corporate world and shifting her focus from building a career to building a life.Topics Discussed: Corporate social responsibility Taking a sabbatical in Bali Building a life The greek concept of Kairos Working in Asia Working at Amazon Recommended Reading Can a business of any size be good? The Year I Learned To Quit (New York Times)

Join CrowdHealth: You ditched the traditional path… why haven't you ditched your traditional health insurance Experience the freedom and affordability of cash payments and community-funded healthcare with CrowdHealth. Use promo code “Boundless” during sign-up for a special discounted subscription offer. Sign Up HereJacqueline Jensen has been a digital nomad for 3.5 years, living and working globally. It might surprise you to find out then, that she's written a book called "Travel Isn't The Answer." While counter-intuitive, she argues for a return to awe and wonder with what is already around us. She talks about different moments of wonder she has experienced (including a breathtaking view in Montenegro) and different techniques for how people can "Live With a Sense of Curiosity, Passion, and Awe Anywhere and Everywhere" (the subtitle of the book).Last year, in a planned sabbatical she came face-to-face with the fact that work was the center of her world. While she almost "quit" the sabbatical, she pushed herself to redefine her day and time to claim back some of herself from a sole focus on work.  She provides many actionable tips and perspectives that can help people question the role of work in their lives, take steps to increase the amount of awe in their lives and connect with people that matter to them.More About Jacqueline: TedX Talk Twitter: @JackieMJensen & LinkedIn: Jacqueline Jensen Book: Travel Isn't The Answer (Amazon) Recommendation on getting outside of your comfort zone: Check out local music: sofarsounds.com Go to an art museum Travel-as-a-service recommendations discussed: Hacker Paradise, Recess Labs, Roam, Outsite App for re-aligning your day: Today

After attending a few corporate recruiting sessions, he didn't take for granted that his path was to enter the corporate world.  Twenty years later, he is still carving his own path and has recently returned from Koh Lanta, where he lived with his three children in Thailand for the last six months. We Talked About Ben starting a "tribe" in Fiji Early internet adventures His experiences coaching people with career transition The decision to move to Thailand with his three kids for six months Using "no code" tools to start things like Rebel Book Club How to think about a career in today's world How finding a friend is one of the most important things to head in a new direction Links Mentioned: Ben Keene's site Rebel Book Club Tribe Wanted Fiji Right to Dream Escape The City Moving to Koh Lanta with three kids His experience after the six-months in Thailand The 100 year life (book)

Ryan Duey is an entrepreneur, podcaster, the founder + CEO of Plunge.com and as you'll hear in this episode, a remarkably self-aware and courageous human.Over a decade ago, Ryan had what he calls his “greatest gift” — a head-on motorcycle accident in Thailand. This near-death experience catapulted Ryan into a journey of self-inquiry, leading him to the jungles of the Amazon, the inside of a float tank.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:⚖️ How to balance of selfishness and selflessness❄️ His relationship with surrendering into the cold

Andrew is a Practical Philosopher who believes that "there may be no greater vexation in our time than the question of how to make a living in a manner that accords with leading a good life." We dive deep into the questions of "what is the good life?" and what he means by "sustaining life." He also shares his perspective on the concept of "Total Work," a phrase first put forth in 1947 by the German Philosopher Josef Pieper, and shares how that phrase became central to his current writing on the topic and conversations he has with business leaders and executives.We also dive into his dichotomy of the three modes people could think about to make a living: Use what you've got Exchange what's in hand Offer what you can He reflects on our modern culture's over-reliance on exchanging our time for money while ignoring how we can live off the land and operate within the gift economy. Next, we talk about some of the different modes of living (whether it be a "settler", nomad or somewhere in between) and the implications for the community in society as a whole as well as how has dealt with that with his wife.Finally, Andrew offers three practical steps people can take to re-engage with life and try to understand what "a life worth living looks like" that does not include the advice to just quit your job. Dis-identify with the identity of the worker: Questioning whether you truly only are a worker, a CEO, a marketing manager, an accountant, etc... Begin an inquiry into the question "If I am not a worker, then who am I?": What else is worth living for? What practices do I want to have in part of my life? What relationships and conversations nourish me? The question whether or not the life you have defined is "sufficient": Are you thinking deeply enough about the question of who you are? Andrew's Writing & Site: Andrew's Newsletter On Total Work If Work Dominated Your Every Moment, Would Life Be Worth Living (Aeon) Andrew's Writing Other Writing Mentioned: Josef Pieper's Leisure, The Basis Of Culture Andre Gorz, Reclaiming Work David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs

Tash Walker is the founder of a firm and spends her Fridays making marmalade.Before instituting a four-day workweek at her firm, The Mix, she barely had time for her relationships. She decided to start doing research about different ways of working. There had to be a better way than the default options of "Summer Fridays" and "flexible work," that never seem to make less anxiety or stress-ridden.In her research, she discovered many examples of Swedish companies embracing 4-day workweeks and also found that when they instituted it, they often helped improve productivity. After bringing the option to her team at The Mix, they decided to do a three-month trial. They didn't even tell their clients.The funny thing? The clients didn't even notice. Even better, when they shared it with their clients - they weren't offended. They were curious to learn more and impressed that they had prioritized their people. While many quickly reflex to "well that can't work here," Tash and her team went forward anyway and have shown that a 4-day work week can work and it can work in professional services - an industry where many take for granted the fact that you should always be available for your clients.Beyond improving the lives of the people at the firm, they achieved some incredible results: Revenues up 57% Absenteeism down 75% Productivity stayed the same Doubled the number of clients Client referrals up 50% Want to learn how to make this happen at your company? You can download their "4-day week" report which is one of the best reports I've seen on the future of work.

Brooks Baron is an experienced leadership coach specializing in nature-based initiations and rites of passage — to help the leaders he works with explore their vulnerability, find their inner wisdom, and surrender to the flow of what wants to come through them.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:- Brooks' definition of wholeness as a human being - The difference between the desire to make an impact in the world from above the line vs. below the line.- How he shifted out of victim consciousness and took 100% responsibility for his life.- The dynamics of being nice versus being kind - The importance of vulnerability and healing- The benefits he sees in going through a vision quest or wilderness-based rite of passage- How this enables us to transition into psychological adulthood.Timestamps[00:04:07] Positive impact, burning out, seeking purpose, profound change[00:09:22] Embrace all aspects, shift from fear to love.[00:14:04] Curious about the good versus bad dynamic.[00:22:06] Struggling with climate change; personal healing journey.[00:23:57] Driven by impact, trust, acceptance, and growth.[00:30:34] Vision quest: therapy vs. transformation, death and rebirth, shift into trust.[00:37:51] Unfamiliarity pushes people to embrace change and growth.[00:42:42] Sacred wound: discomfort that creates beauty.[00:51:45] Struggling to balance passion, responsibility, and self-care.[00:54:01] Ego keeps me from acknowledging my needs.[01:01:09] Importance of fitting in while embracing uniqueness.[01:04:44] "Awakening experiences lead to divine connection, but require rigor."Official Links

John Zeratsky was a designer in the tech industry has worked with hundreds of startups in his time at Google Ventures.  He's also obsessed with redesigning time and thinking about what matters in life.  Earlier this year he just got back from 18 months living on his boat "Pineapple" with his wife sailing around Central America, which he wrote about in an article titled “What quitting my job to sail around central america taught me about fulfillment.” In this conversation we talk about: Growing up in a small lake community His love of sailing growing up Why him and his wife change their mind on taking the trip in 2015 Rethinking convenience and comfort What comforts are worth paying for Belonging and community How his relationship with money has changed How him and his wife are structuring their life to work how they want The one change that helps people be less addicted to their phones Links Mentioned: Designing Your Life Sprint: How To Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas In Just Five Days Make Time: How To Focus On What Matters Every Day Twitter: @jazer

Packy says that his differentiation "is that I'm going to be having more fun than most people”I've been a big fan of the energy he's brought to his writing over the past couple of years. But he didn't set out to have a popular newsletter.  His real plan was to launch an in-person community.  We chat about how the pandemic helped him figure out why that wasn't a good idea and how he's thinking about his solopreneur journey.The reason I asked him on the podcast is to talk about his recent newsletter on the future of work.  He argues that “Employees will ultimately make the decision” about what work looks like post-pandemic.  I think he is mostly right and we talk about what that might mean for people's lives.

Jovian is an Indonesian living in Taiwan, who is deeply immersed in the American pop culture through the power of the internet. His background in tourism helps him with problem solving and talking too people, he has learnt English from watching MTV, got one of his first jobs because he was browsing Reddit and he is now the CEO of Castro, the podcast app. Jovian is a magnet for opportunities, which apparently come to him simply because he just assumes that people are nice.

Show NotesMatt Maruca is the founder of RaOptics, who make, I think it's fair to say objectively, the world's best blue-blocking glasses — but more importantly, he is in my view a radical citizen scientist, self-experimenter, and articulate communicator — and what's more he's only 24 years old. Which, given his depth of knowledge and wisdom, is somewhat mind-blowing for someone of his age.This conversation didn't go the way that I had expected. I'd been reading journal papers and studies on photobiology, mitochondrial health, and how to optimize our light environment...  but fairly quickly it became clear that this wasn't the direction that the conversation wanted to go. I think a former version of me would have wanted to stick to the script — but instead we veered off into a fascinating tangent into Matt's explorations into spirituality and what he describes as surrendering to life.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

Dr Michael Yang is an integrative medicine specialist based in Los Angeles who specializes in Ketamine treatment.  I had an absolute blast with Michael and honestly feel a renewed sense of optimism for the medical system knowing that there are doctors like him treating patients.In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

After a month spent in Taiwan and 6 months into parenthood Angie & Paul share their thoughts and take some deep dives into various other topics.

Jim Dethmer is co-author of the bestselling book 'The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership' and is one of the most sought after executive coaches in the world. It was an honor to speak with Jim, and I had the sense that I was sitting in the presence of someone who really had spent a lifetime embodying and living what he teaches.In this wide-ranging conversation, you can expect to learn:

When I first started this podcast, I had Derek Sivers in mind as the archetypal curious human — and to this day, I think of him as one of the most interesting and provocative philosophers of life. His career path involved joining the circus as a ringleader, then becoming a professional musician and touring, building a company and selling it for $22 million dollars, then giving most of the money away to charity, then becoming a TED speaker and author... to now where he's a minimalist living in New Zealand as a full-time dad.In this conversation, you can expect to learn the following:

Erin is a spiritual psychology and meditation teacher, with a background in clinical psychology. She believes in experiencing rather than explaining and because of that she has been drawn to travel to places like India and Israel, which have helped her connect to her roots and to what matters. Erin is passionate about discovering her true self, meditation, snapshot manifestation, and taking aligned action. She is finishing up a new book and is about to have her first child —  a new chapter for which she prepares herself with her partner.  

Bilal was born in London to a family of Pakistani descent. A curious kid, with an interest in computers, he developed a successful website with over 500 000 readers in his teens. He ended up working at Google in the US. After a while Bilal has left the company to carve his own path. He has founded Creator Lab and discovered a passion for spoken word poetry, which enables him to better connect with his family

Ben was a professional rugby player with an English literature degree — something not unheard of in the diverse rugby world, but also certainly not usual. After retiring from the sport, he was confronted with the task of redesigning his life. Although it was initially tough, he took the slow approach of focusing on the things he enjoys doing, which proved very beneficial in the long term. Ben has self-published 3 books so far, he is freelancing, running courses and he recently became a rising TikTok creator.

I'm trying to convince Angie to do more episodes, so if you like it please let us know by e-mailing both of us here. (00:16) - - Introduction and agenda for the podcast (03:16) - - Balancing work, fitness, health, and parenthood (13:16) - - Growth of their child and the emotional journey of parenthood (15:16) - - Financial situation and the concept of abundance (27:09) - - Sharing a parenting mistake they made and how they learned from it (38:11) - - Learning new skills and therapies (49:10) - - Angie's art business and the importance of a positive mindset (54:12) - - Future plans and dreams, including travel and education (56:11) - - Upcoming trip to Taiwan and the cultural differences they anticipate (01:04:10) - - Conclusion and plans for future podcast episodes

Hannah is awesome and you should listen to this podcast.  She grew up homeschooled, is an endlessly curious person, has a deep sense of agency, and is a pro at carving her own path.  She's done a ton of things including writing, coaching, and working at startups and has created jobs for herself, negotiated working remotely (before it was cool), and has done a ton of other things.  She recently founded Rebel Educator which is a media brand that aims to share more about homeschooling and alternative education with a broader audience online.Follow Hannah: @HannahFrankman / Twitter @rebelEducator / Twitter

Dawn has a medical degree but she didn't pursue a traditional career as a doctor. She lives off grid with her husband and her homeschooled daughter. Dawn is passionate about finding a work-life balance and she wrote a book for professional women seeking to do so.

Kevin Shen is a video expert and content creator who helps people build their studios for business and professional use. In Dream Studio Course he simplifies the principles and equipment required to level up your video, lighting, and studio setup. He shares quick tips around lighting, sound quality and webcam setups that will help you improve your video meetings immediately, along with other tips that will help you enhance your studio over time. These enhancements will boost your confidence and presence in meetings or as Kevin likes to say "Your Zoom setup is the new suit." --- email questions or comments to omaid@omaid.me

Luke has a background on Wall Street and has founded 3 companies in Silicon Valley. He describes his adult life as a constant state of uncertainty. At some point, he took a classics course, which he completed in a 24-hour Starbucks in a couple of months while living in Las Vegas. This led to him to contemplate deeper questions, leaving "entrepreneur Luke" behind and spending 3 years in Rome. Luke is now a Professor at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship and has written a book — "WANTING: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life." The book is one of the best ones I've read in the past couple of years and we talk about some of the ideas in the book and how they intersect with Luke and my life.

Melvin has a PhD in psychology but to call him just "a psychologist" would be trying to fit him in too small of a box. He has left a successful clinical career to build his online "healthy business"  – he is the person behind "Selling the Couch" podcast, he does sessions with entrepreneurs and he runs an online course where he helps therapists to move their business online. Everything he does is designed to allow him to be fully present as a father and a husband because, "What's the point of accomplishing all of this if we can't be fully present with the people that we love the most?"

Anna is the founder and CEO of Interintellect - a global community of thinkers. She grew up in Hungary and emigrated to London at the age of 30 and later to the US where she built her startup. She is passionate about staying curious as we age. While for some their late 20's are the end, she has chosen to treat it as the beginning.

Danny Mirands is the host of The Danny Miranda Podcast. He's been hanging out on the internet since he was 14. We talk about his journey, almost getting sidetracked by the default path in college, and then betting on himself with his podcast. Danny is a friend, and he inspired me by how true he is to his own path, his ability to dream big in creative ways and spread love in the world. 

Jessica is a producer and a podcaster. She is passionate about shadow work and is currently working on her documentary on post traumatic growth - "Dark Night of Our Soul".

Show NotesA large part of my personal motivation for creating this podcast — is the privilege of speaking with those who I consider to be elders, those who have lived their lives to the absolute fullest and have stories and insights to share with younger generations about what it means to truly live well.And this conversation with Kevin Kelly turned out to be exactly that. You'll probably want to have a pen and paper handy to take notes, and it was so rich with practical wisdom — in part because that was the subject of Kevin's new book — called 'Excellent Advice for Living'Some of the pieces that resonated most with me were:- How his curiosity and obsession with tinkering & making things paved the way for his later career - Why giving your time away is by far that's the most valuable thing that you can offer- The immense value in designing family rituals and rites of passage- Why he believes that AI will eventually want to have an identity and a name and will act as a forcing function to propel us forward — like children do, to be better than we would have been- Finally, why we should attend as many funerals as possible — and endeavor to become fully ourselves ⏳ Timestamps[00:05:07] Thoreau and the Whole Earth catalog were influential in shaping the interviewee's passion for inventing their own life and stripping down to the minimum to achieve contentment. Thoreau was a mentor and hero while Stuart Brand was a greater influence.[00:09:15] Deep listening means trying to hear what's unsaid, not just focusing on responding. It involves being affected by what's being said, not just hearing it like a recorder. Many people don't truly listen and miss out on understanding.[00:13:08] The worthiest projects take five years to complete, but prototyping is important too, and only one five-year project should be focused on at a time. Anything worthwhile should be accounted for as a five-year project.[00:17:14] Textual content is created as reminders of timeless wisdom from past philosophers and religions. Advice includes putting things back where they were found and deciding not to be outraged for a day. These reminders are short and condensed, meant to be easily remembered and applied.[00:20:50] Invest in a donor appointed fund that grows and can be given to high leverage charities, which teach people to fish rather than just giving a fish. Volunteering and donating time is the most precious thing to give.[00:25:19] Parents celebrate their kids' coming-of-age at 21 with a small ceremony where they cut a symbolic cord, give them their last check, and allow them to drink legally. The event sometimes includes wagers or promises, and kids add their own innovative participation. One child ate paper with advice written on it.[00:30:30] Create family rituals to provide stability, consistency, and a sense of anticipation for children, which will become part of the family identity and provide comfort in adulthood.[00:34:21] The author believes that technology has tendencies that are independent of humans, and that consciousness, sentience, and identity may be inevitable for technology. He thinks that technology may want a name.[00:40:36] The goal is to fully become yourself with the help of others, it's a long process involving constant self-challenge and it's the key to accomplishments. Attend funerals to hear about character over achievements. The question to ask is "who do I want to become?".[00:47:02] AI development will force us to question what we want the AI to be like, as they will carry biases and issues of average humans. It will lead to a discussion of how we can make ourselves better as well.Official Links