ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNINGS
If you checked out Chris Farber’s interview with me last week, you may have noticed that it was quite long. I call him the “Scorsese of Podcasters” LOL. But, he did do a really great job going deep with me in my first conversation since returning from a 30-day trip to East Africa. But if you want to skip around, here are some time codes that highlight some of my introspections and learnings:
13:57
How to Figure Out What Will Be Important
“There’s a difference between a trend, which is fleeting and short-lived, and a mindset shift. A mindset shift changes people on a collective level; on the way they think, approach or have a relationship with the world. There’s a difference between fast culture and slow culture. Fast Culture is what’s changing every day; slow culture is where you connect the dots amongst disparate cultural memes. It’s not just about knowing what’s happening; it’s about really understanding why it’s happening and how it’s going to impact you.”
8:05
Reconnecting with Curiosity
“This [trip to East Africa] really enabled me to do what I do on a human, emotional, visceral level as opposed to just reading about it…[seeing with my eyes how they are] leapfrogging via mobile technology over traditional infrastructures like Banks…China’s omnipresence with Huawei phones and their solar panels given to villages…no plastic bags in Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda.”
19:50
The Workplace (R)evolution
“I put the “R” in parentheses because the workplace has been evolving with ping pong tables, open spaces, baristas and Kombucha bars, etc. But now there’s a revolution that’s happening in the workplace from #metoo to Amazon workers protesting against long hours, lack of bathroom breaks, and climate change.”
40:05
“The Reversal of Desire” Tool for Moving Forward
This is a tool that helps you move forward when you are feeling stuck, fear failure and usually sabotage yourself. The secret is to going right to the potential pain and learning how to love it.
43:43
Toxic Leaders
Robert Caro the famed biographer of Lyndon Johnson says that power doesn’t corrupt, power reveals. If ego instead of purpose is what drives you to leadership, then you’re going to be a bad leader. That’s why there are so many toxic leaders out there who are actually finally being pushed out.”
1:03:56
The Secret to Success Is Self-Esteem
“People don’t really know exactly the true definition. True self-esteem isn’t self-concept. Self-concept is your vision of the type of person you want to be on an optimal level. But self-esteem is different. It’s about not being better than, or less than anyone else. That’s the secret of having a happy life because there are so many successful people who are completely miserable because insecurity drove them to success and that’s coupled with thinking that they are also better than others.”
1:07:11
Masculinity
“There are a lot of men in this country and in the world who feel like there’s something missing emotionally. And traditionally men have not been taught to emote and check in with their emotions and themselves. In the last two decades, there’s been a 33% increase in suicides in the United States and 70% of them are men…I think there is a movement towards really connecting with themselves, connecting with others, and connecting with their emotionality.”
1:08:16
Why The Brain Will Be the Organ of the Next Decade
“Where the heart and the lungs have been dominating health conversations in the last 50 years, the next decade will be about the brain. The brain isn’t just about consciousness, mood, and intelligence, but it’s also a physiological organ that needs to be thought about in the same way as a healthy heart, lungs or liver. Brain treatment can’t just be a luxury that rich people can afford.”
1:13:04
Being Terrified of Your Kids’ Future
What happens if your kids are cognizant enough to understand our President?
1:16:17
The Myth Behind “Scaling”
“Everyone says ‘scale, scale, scale,’ but look at what’s happening to all these potential IPO’s falling on their faces? … Is it better to be niche and serve a specific audience with less inventory, and how can we be content with just that?”
22:06
My Story So Far And Where It’s Going
And if you want to learn more about my background, I tell the history that lead to ZEITGUIDE which includes learning how to become a good student; being a tutor to the children of the Hollywood Establishment, and my “cultural attache” job with Producer Brian Grazer. “I taught kids, right? Then I taught a Hollywood mogul. Right now, I’m teaching CEOs and their teams, and I think the next evolution is helping more people on what they need to know.”