Crazy Wisdom

Norland Téllez is an Artist, teacher, and mythologist with a background in film animation. Grounding himself in classical painting and drawing, his core artistic and intellectual life centers around the study of the Popol-Vuh, a classic of Mayan mythology. In this episode, Norland shares what it means to be a visual artist whose work centers around the Popol-Vuh, the Mayan epic of creation and perennial wisdom. Having this cultural masterpiece as our guiding thread, we explore different facets of life such as: Language and other artistic forms of human expression The intersection between psychology and mythology Happiness, Pleasure, and Hedonism Creativity and self-destruction The quest for the unknown The meaning of dreams Non-linearity of time (un)Consciousness The Hero's journey Find out more about Norland and his work at norlandtellez.com Timeline: (00:04:01) What is the Popol-Vuh? (00:04:57) What contribution did the Mayans make to the world? (00:10:35) How does Mayan wisdom approach our biases? (00:17:14) Jumping into the unknown, spirituality and psychology (00:20:14) Language, artistic expression, and the layers of human experience (00:28:27) How can we bridge the gap between the conscious and the unconscious? (00:32:52) In what way has the study of Mayan wisdom influenced Norland's life? (00:40:46) Myth or Ideology: what is the line that separates them? (00:45:59) What's the Mayan story of human creation? (00:52:26) Jouissance, Creativity & Death-drive (01:07:00) The Hero's Journey: from selfhood to self-divestment If you made it all the way down here, don't forget to subscribe and please take the time to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

I sat down with Daniela to talk about Ocean Health and her organization: The Sustainable Ocean Alliance (@SOAalliance). We talked a lot about plastics in the oceans, in the fish, and in our freshwater supply. If you are interested in solutions to solve some of the major problems we are facing with our oceans then check out this episode or her organization.

Gregory Wendt is a veteran wealth advisor, CFP and economist who works at the forefront of sustainable and responsible investing. As a social entrepreneur, Greg has founded several non-profit community organizations by applying a multi-disciplinary approach to financial innovation. Greg is by all means a natural conversationalist and will not disappoint even the most demanding of listeners. In this episode, we cover two main topics - the universe and the world of economics - with a hint of science, spirituality as well as philosophy. Check out the preview of this talk below. Visit Greg at https://www.gregwendt.com/ Timeline: (00:03:27) Business and Hippiedom: Greg's story (00:08:37) The collision of Spirituality with Science (00:13:05) Capital markets and the concept of cosmos (00:14:28) Natural laws vs. Social Dynamics - how groups can destroy your innate potential (00:17:30) Epigenetics: how does the environment affect your genes and your worldview? (00:23:55) What's the point of predicting the future? (00:27:19) Technological paradigm vs. Biomimicry (00:31:13) The specialization epidemic (00:33:39) What are the limitations of (economic) theories? (00:35:24) Social Darwinism vs. Cooperation (00:38:03) Win-Win games in the economic context (00:41:02) Earthlings: our human and cultural evolution (00:48:40) Bioregions and how Greg is working to make this concept a reality (00:53:47) Building resilient, smart cities across the world (00:58:03) How Greg is moving capital away from destructive industries into Bioregions (01:05:49) Venture Capital funding, alternatives, and creating systemic solutions to connect the dots Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

Lawrence Wang works as a software engineer at MakerDAO, a decentralized project that operates within the Ethereum blockchain. This interview was special. Lawrence has a way of putting things so clearly and concisely that you'll be left speechless. From spiritual surrender to cryptocurrencies, this one's all about learning to navigate the turbulent waters of modern society with wisdom and clarity. More on MakerDAO at https://makerdao.com Timeline: (03:20) - What is MakerDAO? (04:20) - How does Lawrence work with stress? (07:16) - How can we adapt to the increasingly large networks of people in our lives? (10:26) - Signal vs. noise (13:20) - What's recently changed Lawrence's life in a meaningful way? (14:36) - The sweet spot between optimism and pessimism (16:00) - How is ignorance a form of freedom? (18:02)- What's the impact of technology on principles? (20:25) - What is actually going to save us (the world)? (23:39) - Co-dependence vs. Interdependence (25:38) - Anti-fragility, and the spiritual equivalent of "FU-money" (29:09) - Establishing (energetic) boundaries (32:12) - Lawrence on Meditation and the role of Technique (39:00) - What are Stablecoins? (44:42) - Cryptocurrencies' biggest promise (48:20) - Remote-work: the future of human connection? Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

I did a special interview series about humanity's largest creative asset: the ocean, and how we are putting huge stresses on it and what we can do to fix it.

Kirill Zubovsky is the founder of SmashNotes, a website that curates highlights from millions of podcasts in the form of Q&As. Be it science, business, startups, education, news, or anything in between, they've got you covered. He also hosts his own podcast called Rad Dad. In this episode, Kirill shares the insider knowledge he's collected both as a founder in the growing podcast industry and also as a YCombinator alumnus. From life lessons to startup culture, you will leave this one feeling a little wiser and more well-informed about the way our world operates. Timeline: (02:38) - What is SmashNotes? (05:25) - Why podcasting has blown up (07:07) - Kiril's podcast experience as a host (10:56) - Is it counter-productive to share show notes? (12:55) - Out of thousands of podcasts, which is Kiril's favorite? (14:24) - Short-term future of AI (18:13) - Biggest life lesson that Kiril has learned from working in YCombinator (22:38) - What recent piece of information got Kiril excited? (25:15) - Crazy Wisdom's evolution and expected trajectory (29:56) - Where does the name 'Crazy Wisdom' come from? (35:13) - Seeking advice selectively (38:41) - How can you monetize your podcast? (43:09) - Remote-work and the upcoming worldwide decentralized networks Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review in Apple Podcasts.

Hiten Shah (@hnshah) is a startup investor and the co-founder of FYI, a company that has developed research-based software to help people find their documents as quickly as possible. In this talk, we explore the connection that is gradually flourishing between two seemingly distinct worlds: Technology and Spirituality. Hiten has a lot of insights to share and is keen to delve into the many different ways in which computers, the human condition, and business intertwine with each other. If you're interested in either of these topics, you can't miss this one. Follow along: (04:33) - Is the human experience necessarily a spiritual one? (08:20) - Hiten's personal experience with the internet (12:06) - What is Hiten's view on the relationship between technology and spirituality? (16:57) - Shadow work: what is it? (22:45) - Samskara, energy body and the essence of observation (29:18) - Judgment vs. Discernment (33:07) - What is Hiten most excited about right now? (37:05) - Start, Grow, Scale - the changing nature of a business (42:22) - How relevant is memorization in the face of unlimited digital storage? (48:27) - What does Hiten think about predicting the future impact of technology? (51:42) - What projects is Hiten currently working on? (54:17) - Hiten's relationship with stress and creativity Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review in Apple Podcasts.

If you are interested in applying for an online course I'm running with Anders Jones on how to raise money for a distributed team check out this 15 minute episode. We go over the crazy amount of value we are offering in this course including: How to raise money How to build a distributed team How to build a hypergrowth business How to establish creative constraints which make employees more effective

Such a great, candid interview with down-to-earth Ryan Caldbeck, CEO of CircleUp, on some of the rarely-discussed, yet crucial aspects of entrepreneurship, its effects on mental health and how leaders can improve their lifestyle to boost their company's performance. Ryan was very open and receptive towards sharing some of the most intimate issues that he's faced on his journey as a founder. Check out Ryan's tweetstorm here: https://bit.ly/2O7vhmY Timeline of the conversation: (3:18) - What is the #1 lesson that building CircleUp has taught Ryan? (6:26) - What is the job of a CEO? (8:35) - Ryan's spiritual backdrop (11:43) - Ryan's advice for inexperienced entrepreneurs (15:49) - Distinguishing between what is Important, what is Urgent, or what is both (23:30) - Business context: Work vs. Non-work (26:20) - Why you should be wary of going to conferences (28:15) - Ryan's experience with series-C investment (34:22) - The role of authenticity in the grand scheme of business (48:44) - Related reading and closing thoughts Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review in Apple Podcasts.

I am joined by entrepreneur and angel investor John Ramey, founder of The Prepared, to discuss the bizarrely unconventional subject of prepping. In this episode we get to dig deep into the lost art of survival, how modern prepping is bringing it back, the stigma surrounding it and where his company fits in all of this. Find out more about John at @jpramey Timeline of the conversation: (04:13) - What's ThePrepared all about? (05:55) - What's the story behind John's company (08:56) - What type of people is interested in prepping? (11:10) - Specialism and the untapped potential in our genes (13:05) - Human agency and the desire for control (16:41) - Communities as a by-product of our survival instinct (20:40) - The dark side of primal human nature (24:14) - Investing your time in learning survival skills (29:00) - The media narrative and Ramey's prediction for foreseeable future (31:53) - What steps should you take to prepare for an emergency? (40:19) - Best places in the U.S. for preppers to live in (42:25) - Climate evolution and life on Earth Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review in Apple Podcasts.

Coinmine founder Farbood Nivi shares his understanding of the basics of crypto mining as well as the historical implications, where it's headed and how his company is aiming to simplify the whole process. Miner or not, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. If you enjoyed this episode you can find out more about Nivi and his venture at @farbood Please subscribe to Crazy Wisdom wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review in Apple Podcasts.

If you want to understand how to write clearly and get your thoughts out on paper watch this episode. Check out Andy at @SparksZilla if you like this episode.

This one was really fun and I got to go deep into Tiago's understanding of the impact of technology on our ability to learn. Its a huge passion for me as well so we got some interesting stuff out there.

This was so much fun. If you like this episode I highly recommend following Jim on Twitter at @jposhaughnessy

Really interesting interview with Russell about his company Drop which is building the next virtual computing operating system for when we make the switch to computing through VR.

I sit down with David Weekly who has a long history of operating experience in Silicon Valley and his new startup Medcorder is very interesting. I think you will like this episode!

We talk about our thoughts on a book called Exhalation by Ted Chiang which goes into the influence of technology on our lives. I highly recommend this episode, the book, and finding out more about Shippo if you need help shipping.

This is a special dual interview that I did with Allen Saakyan, the host of the Simulation Series which you can find on Youtube.

Safi is the author of a book I highly recommend you check out which talks about innovations in organizations. Usually, I don't interview authors with newly released books because that's a podcast trap, but making the exception with Safi because this book is a must-read.

I sat down with Charlie Pinto and have a conversation about how to become a whole person not the fractured selves we often find ourselves thinking we are.

Really enjoyed sitting down with Yoni, the founder of podcast notes and getting his wisdom about the world of podcasting and how he started it. So interesting!

I talked with Peter McCormack about the stress of running his popular "What Bitcoin Did" podcast.

I really enjoyed this interview with Brett Fox because he is an operator through and through and speaks the truth from his decades of experience building business from the ground up and being a fixer who comes in and fixes businesses that need fixing.

I sit down with Marc Bitanga, the host of the Growing Pains podcast, and talk to him about the first principles of marketing and how he views the relationship between stress and creativity.

Sahil is really sharp and definitely has his head on straight. He has a lot of wisdom to share here about painting, life, and startups.

Really loved digging deep into Jude's philosophy on life and work as well as how Golden is going to organize the world's information like no one has done before.

I sit down with Ryan Delk after both of us read Creativity Inc By Ed Catmull. This is part of a series I'm doing where I ask someone what they are reading, we read it, and then have a conversation about it. Creativity Inc truly inspired me. It is like a guidebook for how to be creative when other people are involved. So many gems.

The guys at Podcast Notes take notes on the best podcasts on the planet as a business and I thought it would be interesting to interview them about all the things they have learned. Check it out for a good synthesis of the best knowledge being produced at the moment.

I sit down with Annie Duke who is an author about randomness and uncertainty and how to work intelligently with these things while also trying to live a good life.

This is part 2 of a special series I did with Dr. Cameron Sepah about Stress and how to work with it intelligently. This particular episode goes into Dr Sepah's particular specialty, ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which Dr. Sepah uses both clinically in his private practice and studies its efficacy at UCSF.

This is one of my favorite episodes because Dr. Cameron Sepah has done years of training on the topic of my show and just puts it all out there. All the evidenced-based knowledge we have on what stress is and the most effective ways we can work with it. Not only that but Dr. Sepah has operating experience in how to build a company in addition to clinical and academic experience in this field. This is the truth straight from someone who has experience in both theory and practice. Very good idea to listen all the way through.

I interview Nate about why he is always a customer of a product before he works or invests in the company that creates that product. We also talk about nature, fitness, ego, the gold rush and much more.

This is part of a special series I'm doing where I ask someone what they are reading, I read it, and then we have a conversation about it. Jake Chapman and I both read the book Doomsday Machine by Daniel Ellsberg about the regulation and governance around Nuclear Weapons in the United States and abroad.

Stay away from this episode if you dislike exposing yourself to things you probably consider to be "Woo". This content isn't for you. Here I talk to Howard Teich and we talk about Jung and I even do a little online therapy for everyone to see the process!

I talk with Arianna Simpson about her contrarian views on remote work as well as the current crypto market and the most interesting projects which have benefited from the quiet of the bear market.

This is part of a new series where I ask someone what they are reading, I read it, and then we record a conversation to get the main points of the book. The point is to let you the listener get access to the wisdom of a book without necessarily reading it. We both read the book "The New Dark Age" by James Bridle about the unintended consequences of technology.

I really enjoyed sitting down with Kuval who lives in India and is spitting fire on Twitter about how to make money doing what you love. We get into that as well as first principles, and the transmission of morals in the time of globalization.

Vinay is one smart dude and lays down the knowledge about neural networks as well as the stress of growing up in the middle of Illinois as a person of color. Also how that lead him to be who he is today and propels him towards success. This guy has a lot of valuable things to say.

Another episode with Kapil Gupta laying down the Truth with a capital T

Sumon is an Angel Investor and Entrepreneur, Current Chief revenue office in Plato design and had invested in 25 companies in AI, the extension of human life, and many others. We talk about the intersection of wisdom practices that are thousands of years old and modern technology.

Just interviewed @kylebrussell about his thoughts on the relationship between stress and creativity. This was one of my favorite interviews. His reading and the way he uses the knowledge he gains from reading is truly astonishing. Insights as follows. Mental models: best way to learn is to see how the mental models of others have failed or succeeded and then update your own mental model based on that. There are drawbacks to only playing with mental models. This is where intuition comes in. Intuition can be trained. Intuition can be balanced by checking intuition against the intellect. It's a process between weighing both of these and adapting the feedback from what happens back into the mental model and training intuition. System 1 and system 2 from D Kahneman. Two general types of creativity with overlap include business person and artiste. A business person is motivated to solve large problems due to external motivations such as legacy and status. They build and buy into a narrative that they are the ones to solve this huge problem. Artiste is motivated by an internal motivation to express that which is inside them. They are tortured by their un expressed creativity and must manifest it into reality. @theartistsway is a great book. Artistes are often uncomfortable with the things that they do that don't conform to the status quo. Yet this is what they have to offer the world. So the process of the artiste is to become comfortable with that which sets them apart.

Woah. This one was the hardest interview I've ever done. Kapil warned me that what he had to share was not what any of my other guests had shared before and he was right. I actually had to cut out 8 minutes of the interview because all that could be heard was silence and heavy breathing as a tried to integrate the intense truth he shared. My life has changed drastically in the few days since I have done this interview. Yours will too if you listen to this. You have been warned.

Paul drops some knowledge on how to find yourself, live more creatively while being less stressed, and find your purpose here on the planet. Really deep. I hope you enjoy.

I just interviewed Lavinia Cerasela Ionita about her work using stress biomarkers and personalized video conferencing with doctors to help people get a handle on their stress.

I sit down with my roommate David Zangwill who has a lot of interesting things to say about the relationship between stress and creativity.

I've been doing Improv for the last month to improve my ability to be more spontaneous on the podcast and I've started to fall deeply in love with doing improv. I interviewed Jill Eickmann the founder of the local improv studio I go to called Leela and I ask her about her upcoming improv festival called Femprovisor Fest.

I interviewed Maria in both English and Portuguese. This one is the English one and we go pretty deep metaphysically speaking. We even talk about moving into the 5th dimension and Maria's thoughts on the evolution of mankind and whether aliens are helping us.

I sit down with Tommy Leep who does BD at AngelList and also helps people find their life's work with his company Jetstream. We talk about how people can minimize stress while finding a new career and stress in the context of raising money from investors.

Here is my interview with Peter Rex where I interview him about his fast growing company MakeRise, as well as his experience going against the status quo.

It was very interesting interviewing someone about stress and creativity in the context of relationships. Its not something that I have thought a lot about, but lead to some wide-ranging insights. If you ask a genius where their ideas come from, none of them are able to actually tell you the answer. It comes from this place of emptiness. This is why meditation can help you become more creative. You already are creative because each thought you think is an example of fascinating creativity. You are creating your reality right now. Your brain is creating meaning out of all the information coming into your brain from your senses. Think about language and all the meanings we prescribe to it even if the other person speaking it meant a completely different thing! I asked her: How does having a stable and secure romantic partnership allow people to become more creative and to manage stress better? She gave a really powerful story about how her own relationship helped support her partner in creating an amazing statue for burning man after crowdfunding it. His car was stolen the night before filming for the crowdfunding campaign. Talk about stress!