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The smell of wood smoke, particularly burning eucalyptus wood as I’m sitting around a fire in the Australian bush, always conjures awe. As Dacher Keltner put it in his new book, “Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.” Starting a fire is a delicate thing; you collect all the materials and spark the flame, hoping it catches, and once it does, you nourish it until it becomes robust - or, for me, becomes an invitation to awe. Here I’m speaking both literally, and metaphorically. 

Ozan Varol is a literal rocket scientist, but that’s been only one of his careers so far. He’s my latest guest whose roots are in Turkey, and his book Awaken Your Genius has just been released. 2PP: Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ 

Ozan reads two pages from ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert. [reading begins at 17:47]  

Hear us discuss: 

Leaning into your individuality. [6:50] | “No one can compete with you at being you.” [10:18] | The price of genius. [13:08] | Chasing the originality unicorn. [20:07] | “Authentic means staying true to who you are at the moment.” [24:01] | Internal approval is greater than external approval: “The more we strive for guaranteed success, the less original we become.” [26:54] | Answering curiosity’s call. [37:10] | Stop overthinking: Learning to listen beyond your brain’s ideas. [39:51]