The Importance of Being a Good Ancestors

Show Notes

A 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

📚  Order Kevin's book 'Excellent Advice for Living'
👋  Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin2kelly
🖥️  See Kevin's homepage and extensive bio — kk.org

Connect + Explore More from Jonny

🐦  Follow on Twitter/X @jonnym1ller
🫁  Learn more about Nervous System Mastery
🪷 Order our deck of Calm Cards (these make great gifts)
📱  Check out Stateshift — our brand new iOS + Android app
📝  Take the Nervous System Quotient (NSQ) Self-Assessment (totally free)
💌 Sign up to The Inner Frontier Newsletter

Episode Sponsors

🌬️  Othership Breathwork App — I've ​written at length about why breathwork is like the operating manual for your nervous system, and I have been highly impressed by the app that the Othership team has created. You can choose between guided daily practices that will up or downshift your state, as well as breathwork journeys that focus on embodiment for cultivating intimacy, athletic performance, or preparing for sleep. Exclusive to The Inner Frontier listeners, you can get a three-month subscription at zero cost to take it for a spin. ​Claim the three months​

🩸 Inside Tracker — One of the things I've changed my mind on in the past year is the value of getting blood panels taken prophylactically — ideally every six months, according to Dr Peter Attia — not waiting until you have a health issue. They recently added hormone testing to their plan, which already includes important markers like ApoB, vitamin D, magnesium, cortisol, and a bunch more (47 biomarkers in fact!) I received some super actionable supplement changes and dietary shifts based on my results and I'm noticing the shifts already. ​Save 20% here​

Further Ways to Support the Podcast:

🎙️  I use Riverside to record all of my podcast conversations, it's so much better than zoom for podcasting
🎧  I also use Transistor to host this podcast, it's fricking awesome, and I would highly recommend.
😎  RaOptics make the world's best Blue Blockers – I wear these anytime I'm out of the house after dark, and it makes a huge difference!
🤖  I use AI wizardry from Castmagic to help with each episode show-notes + timestamps
📹  Want to create a Hollywood-quality home studio? Get in touch with Kevin Shen here & save $500 with code JONNYSENT500OFF