Crazy Wisdom

I go deep into David's theory of Modia and Mundia and how they relate to each other and explain social behavior. 

Steve Schlafman (@schlaf), based in NYC, is a seed-stage investor and leadership Coach at Primary Ventures. Here, he shares his experience of chronic pain, how it prevented him from starting his own podcast, and the ways in which he explores creativity in his life. Check out Steve's blog at https://www.schlaf.me/ In today's episode, we mention: Chronic pain + the science behind it Industries, and their ecosystems Meditation, Yoga, and Chakra NYC, and the fly-wheel effect 10-Day Vipassana Retreat Mind-body techniques Surgery, and stress Inner Resources Hypnotherapy Psychedelics Breathwork Coaching Creativity Anxiety Focus Timeline of our conversation: (04:24) Steve's experience with chronic pain (08:05) Different types of pain reception (09:23) What did Steve learn with a 10-Day Vipassana retreat? (14:30) Dealing with stress: Steve's (serious) cycling accident (23:12) The untapped potential of ancient mind-body techniques (32:38) Struggles and Lessons that Steve's gone through with stress (39:56) Steve, on Creativity: what is he most excited about creating? (45:54) NYC: Startup Ecosystem, and Culture (51:29) Steve's timeless one piece of advice  Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with your friends and family!

Maia Bittner (@maiab), co-founder @Pinch and @Rocksbox, is a startup advisor and investor, as well as an alumna at Olin College of Engineering. Currently based in San Francisco, she likes "drinking dirty chais, making web sites, and climbing rocks". In this episode, you'll hear us talk about: How to Negotiate Your Rent (yes, you heard that right!) Entrepreneurship: from kid to adult Social Media, and Vulnerability Self-worth and Independence Business, and Hustle Culture Uncertainty and Risk-taking Death and Decision-making Asymmetric Opportunities Traveling, and Adaptation Ambition, and hard-work Remote, office, or both? NYC, and its culture Imposter Syndrome Start-up loneliness Community in SF Planning Timeline: (02:31) How is the community of SF changing? Ambition and incentives. (05:18) Seizing opportunities: how did Maia learn business? (08:32) Traveling, Negotiation, and Sales (13:46) What challenge is Maia currently struggling with? (15:59) Death or Future Self: two methods for better decision-making (19:03) Scheduling: to plan or not to plan (22:06) Work virtually, Live personally (27:35) Maia's social life: how do you live anonymously? (38:22) What sets the Olin College of Engineering apart from others? (41:25) What was the greatest challenge about starting two companies? (45:36) The biggest lesson that Maia has recently learned (48:12) Social skills, and social media; Closing thoughts Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!  

I sit down with Georg Baunach of Hatch Ventures to talk more about how to invest in ocean technologies. 

In today's episode I invite two of my best friends, Eric Levin (@ericrius1) and Eric Fisher, for a laid-back and entertaining conversation. Having previously worked at Facebook, Fisher is currently a character coach and social designer at MiNDFUL iMPROV. Levin is a VR developer who experiments with art, meditation, and yoga in his work.   In this episode, we discuss: VR, AR, and Technology Meditation, and Yoga Creativity and Business Job automation, and AI Skepticism, and Beliefs Freedom in Tech, Science and Truth Globalization The Age of Acceleration Limitations of language Psychedelics, Spirituality and Therapy Consciousness, Awareness and Attention Being vs. Becoming, and Flow Socialization and Improv Society and Culture Timeline: (02:43) Who is Eric Levin? (04:17) Keeping Creative integrity in business (06:58) Job automation, and creativity: will AI replace humanity? (10:03) Designing digital spaces within a capitalist society (13:17) Spirituality: Skepticism to Belief (17:54) Creating Tech that serves Freedom, not Capitalism (21:29) Are we entering the Age of Acceleration? (29:05) Can work be a place of therapy? (33:02) Ayahuasca, and other flow-inducing plants (38:28) Flow: Being, or Becoming (42:30) What is Improv: closing thoughts Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!  

Having previously developed Postmark as well as Beanstalk, entrepreneur Natalie Nagele (@natalienagele) joins me for a light-hearted, honest and open conversation about the process of building Wildbit, a fully self-funded, hybrid software company. In this episode, we mention: Deep work Leadership in business Loneliness in remote work Hard work vs. Smart work Fundraising and profitability Meditation and mental clarity Building a meaningful business Remote work, in the early days Values, and their constant evolution Productivity software that can do more harm than good Timeline: (04:57) What is Wildbit? How did it start off? (09:32) Pioneering remote work: Pros and Cons (17:24) Slack, and anxiety: the effects of micro-managing expectations (22:58) Remote work: how big of an issue is loneliness? (26:17) Which should you do: work hard or smart? (32:13) Fundraising, VC control, and Profits (37:01) Meditation: Natalie's practice, and company culture (43:50) How is writing therapeutic?  (46:47) How procrastination obstructs your mental space (50:11) 'Trillion Dolar Coach', and the lost secret of leadership (55:50) Technological innovation: what is next?  Please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends and family!    

After the last two episodes of setting up the exact problems we are facing with our oceans, I interview Bren Smith of Green Wave about his insightful company and what they are doing in order to provide protein to the world with low environmental impact. 

Andreas Klinger (@andreasklinger), currently Head of Remote at AngelList, is a product-centric startup founder. Previous to AngelList, Andreas was founding team member and CTO at ProductHunt, as well as VP of Engineering at CoinList. In this episode, we discuss: Remote-work! Benefits of traveling while working The phenomenon of globalization Product ideas for remote teams Uploading our consciousness Andreas' meaning for life Innovation and sci-fi The spirituality trap Job automation Timeline: (04:35) What is Andreas' notion of spirituality? (10:30) Andreas' meaning for life (14:40) Globalization, and decentralized cultures (19:40) The inevitability of remote work  (23:15) Consciousness, computers and the 'Bobiverse' (29:15) Technological evolution: are we living in a sci-fi scenario? (30:10) Remote work: from hype to banal (38:15) Market solutions for the upcoming demands of remote work (43:50) Slow travel: how you can make the most of remote work (50:45) Striking a balance between in-person and remote work (54:00) The trap that Silicon Valley has fallen for (01:00:03) Jet-lag: how do you deal with it?   If you've made it all the way down here, please support us by subscribing and leaving a rating + review on Apple Podcasts. You can also help spread the word by sharing this episode with friends, family or just about anyone who'd find it interesting. Thank you.  

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.