Guest OverviewRussian born, New York raised, corporate lawyer, turned Facilitator, Speaker and entrepreneur with a mission to empower people and organizations to flourish through science-backed behavioral solutions - is this week's guest Elina Teboul. Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Economics from New York University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, Elina became a corporate lawyer at top NY Law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.  Elina is a powerhouse of positive energy and focus. The legal world never stood a chance and it was not long until Elina found herself Studying Psychology at Columbia University in NYC. Realizing that powerful mindfulness techniques based on positive psychology weren’t easily accessible in most corporations, Elina started The LightUp Lab to address this gap in the market with the mission of cracking the code to happiness. We cover a lot of ground in this interview so we have made it a two-parter. Part-one covers her upbringing in Brighton Beach, her journey to creating the LightUp Lab, the value she delivers, her methodology, goal setting principles and the tools necessary to unlock and sustain the full potential of people in business.In Part-two we get more into curiosity, creativity, education, passion, principles, and all our quick-fire questions I hope you enjoy this enlightening insight into Elina's fitness class for the mind.What We Discuss  Growing up in Brighton Beach to Russian Jewish Immigrant parentsThe impact of her family Being an only child Her school yearsHow she entered law Her evolution from law to philanthropy and foundation management Returning to NYC toPivoting to study psychology The Lisa Miller bookSMBI The idea behind LightUp LabMental healthLeadership Her training methodology Her themes Her view on technology Focus and flow Goal setting Social LinksLightUp Lab Linkedin Instagram  Links In The ShowDavis Polk Brighton Beach Allan GreyOrbisColumbia University SMBIThe Book Primed to PerformLaurie Santos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewBorn in Spain, raised in Newark, a rebel against his catholic education, a Punk rock band tour manager, before building his stellar career, life and reputation in the art world, is this week’s guest, internationally renowned gallerists and owner of New York’s Team Gallery, Jose Freire. In the raw and candid interview Jose discusses the impact of his abusive upbringing. He discusses his innate curiosity, the role of shame in developing his image and desire to escape. How his experiences on the streets of 1970’s NYC helped him develop his identity, sense of taste, his aesthetic and style. Jose recounts his experience as a Punk Band Tour Manager, becoming a DJ and how a serendipitous late night encounter in a club called Berlin led him to begin a career in art and galleries. From 30 min in we explore the arc of his Jose’s life as one of the world’s most renowned and respected feeder gallerists. I hope you enjoy this raw and revealing exploration of the inspiring life journey of New York Gallerist Jose Freire. What we discuss His early memories His fear for his violent and absent father Supportive and caring motherThe lesson in shame and impact on self image and tasteCorporal punishment and abusive school environment Seeking safety in NYCMeeting strangers Developing his identity on the streets of NYCThe impact of drugs His death impulse Visiting cinemas and the home of men he met in the theatersHow it developed his sense of taste Power of his passions His punk period and tour managing How he developed his empathy for artists How serendipity opened the door to his entry into the art worldHis drug useGetting sober Getting his education in his 30’s Balancing education and his gallery Importance of passion His London experience Opening and building his own galleryMoving to Soho The market crash Opening Team His drive and competitive natureHis curiosity for the new  His enduring hunger Peaking in 2014 Going forward Shedding his past Looking after himselfBeing a feeder galleyBeing an impresario On art fairsPower of small galleries Living in the present His quickfire answers His impossible advice Connecting Team Gallery Links in the show The Talking Heads Virgin Prunes Dean Martin Klaus NomiClubs of the 70’s and 80’s Roxy Music Polly Apfelbuam303 Gallery Lisa SpellmanPaula Cooper Ryan McGinley Cory ArchangelSteve ParrinoCarol BovyDavid Zwirner Gallery Banks Violette Pace GalleryHauser and WirthBilly Wilder Garret Bradley  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having heard the diverse stories from our season one guests, I've reflected on curiosity, mental health, and serendipity. However, in this final reflection, I want to focus on something that weaves through all three previous musings. Time; its value, it's scarcity and power.  We recently interviewed Carmen D'Alessio, Impresario behind Studio 54 and one of our first guests in Season 2. In the interview she references a great quote on time; The past is history, the future is a mystery, today is a gift, and that's why we call it the present. The concept that time is a precious gift was possibly best expressed bythe 17th Century Preacher, Jonathan Edwards, as he laid our reasons why.  - Time is precious in proportion to its importance or the degree it affects our welfare.  - Time is short and limited.  - We have no insight into its continuance or how long we have - And when it is past, it can not be recovered. Although serendipity has impacted the different journeys of all our guests, it's their value of time and the patterns that emerge around how they've used time that defines them. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo set out the optimal perspective on time - called the Optimal Temporal Mix that combines a positive view of the past with a life goal-orientated view of the future with a joyful view of the present. But critically it's the mental flexibility to shift between perspectives that lead to success. I witnessed this with Ryder Carroll and the focused intentionality of his Bullet Journal method, with and Andrew Santella during his interview on procrastination and in Shantell Martin through her enlightened and powerful insights into what is being human actually is, on her journey through time. So if there is one thing I'd urge all listeners to take from season one. It's to avoid squandering, undervaluing, or giving away our gift of time. As the Preacher said, once that moment is past it's never coming back. Every moment matters. All of us, regardless of age, education or experience have an innate and bountiful supply of creativity and imagination, and in every moment, with intentionality, we have an opportunity to mine it, nurture it and apply it to craft the future we desire. Whatever age you are, think about the aggregated moments of time you have on this blue planet we call Earth. Our time is precious, we can't earn more, we can't buy more, we can certainly save it, avoid wasting it but day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment we are spending it. Reflecting on our guests' impact has made me question my application of time. The past is the past, but it's made me more focused on becoming more intentional with how I spend my time in the future. It's why I am so concerned by how our time is increasingly controlled by technology that commands our attention in a manner that not only dilutes our intentionality but threatens to destroy our identities and societies. Whether we value it or not, our time has immense value, to what the center for humane technology call, the extractive attention economy, which mines our time and attention through well-designed mechanisms of mass distraction. To a greater or lesser degree, as we surrender our time without heed, to the digital addiction apps, we struggle to separate fact from fiction, fall victim to political manipulation and ideological polarization and increasingly suffer from social superficiality of shallow media that impacts the mental health of ourselves and our children. Instead of being distracted by the superficial commercial or transient content that bombards us, It is time for us to re-evaluate the preciousness of moments and the power we have to craft the future we desire. Writer and designer Nir Eyal considers the opposition of distraction to be traction, not attention. - the traction we have when we focus our time and att... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The science fiction novels, comic book, and movies of the past are full of technologies from the imaginations of writers that have since been transformed to science fact and reality by someone who believed, what most considered impossible, to be possible. I’m old enough to remember the phone-like device from Star Trek that only a few years later ended up in my hands branded Startac by Motorola Inventions like these just took time, curiosity, dedication, creativity and grit. Built on the foundation of a good education. However is an education system that by in large, was created to teach the skills needed to serve the workforce needs of the past, sufficient for the fast-approaching reality of the future. That’s why we ask our guest's what they would do to change the education system to help prepare youth for their uncertain future. Think about this. Children entering education in 2020 will be young adults in 2035. It’s on us to prepare them to remain economically and socially relevant in a world of discontinuity . They inhabit an environment full of technologies that have not yet been invented, they will be be required to solve problems that have not yet been imagined, and they‌ ‌will also fill jobs that have not yet been created. The unprecedented speed and array of technological developments, that promise never before imagined opportunities for human advancement, we need to embrace the reality that change will be the only constant. Or as our guestBeth Comstock said we need to learn be comfortable with ambiguity. That is a lot easier said than done.As I have alluded in previous reflections, and interviews it’s our generation's responsibility to educate our children for this world they will inherit. What’s the answer?Yuval Noah Harari in his recent book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century cites educational experts that argue for the need to teach creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. that we down-regulate specialist technical skills and up-regulate general-purpose life skillsThe most important being to enable children to deal with change, learn new things, preserve mental balance in the face of unfamiliar situations and be prepare them to reinvent themselves again and again. Personally, living in New York in 2019 I feel this is the world I am living in that reality today For as the pace of change changes even the meaning of being human will mutate.To prepare them to overcome adversity and navigate this world of uncertainty, we need to nurture their soft skills of curiosity, creativity, and imagination. They will need more resilience and self-regulation; respect and appreciation for the ideas of others, empathy for the perspectives and values of those unlike them and embrace failure and rejection regularly. If we are to create a world where we all thrive our children's motivation must, as the OECD states, move beyond getting a good job and a high income; and extend to caring more about the well-being of their friends and families, their communities and the planet. To equip our children with a sense of agency, purpose, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that will enable them to navigate the discontinuity, change, and instability that will be the reality of life in 2035 and beyond, we must relearn the act of learning, reeducate the educator's, and end the production line process of education.It starts with a renewed focus on the timeless wisdom, and the question of who we really are? It’s the big question at the heart of our guest Shantell Martin’s art and insight that too few of us ever question who we really are and explore who we want to be. This is important for all of us regardless of age. However For children retaining and nurturing their Individuality, and identity is the greatest challenge they face, losing it before it is ever discovered by th... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week I watched the Netflix Doc The Great Hack. It made me consider on how our minds and decisions are increasingly being manipulated, not just with elections. I fear we are surrendering our curiosity, questioning and decision making capacity to machines that increasingly learn how understand us, affect us and direct us. This made me reflect on the imperative for curiosity. Does this seem like a non sequitur? Ok let me expand. Let’s start with Einstein. Einstein said he was not a genius just passionately curiousIn Episode 8 I interviewed Dave Birss. In Dave's - Book How to Get to Great Ideas - Dave cites divergence as a crucial skill and ref­erences Einsteins youthful disruption in class; his failure to shine and divergence from the classroom norm that resulted in the failure and rejection, that in turn enabled him to to continue pursuing his unconventional thinking and thought experiments...without which he would not have developed his theory of relativity.If curiosity is a vital ingredient to invention and discovery I’d adapt the quote we have used many times to this  ‘success is not final, failure is not fatal, its having the curiosity and courage to continue that counts’ And maybe that is why in today’s world many autocratic consider curiosity to be a threat, challenging and disruptive. So this made me think more about disruption. We all strive for disruptive ideas in our industries as we to seek out competitive advantage, yet we discourage, marginalize or penalize the disruptors in our classrooms, schools, and universities, as we attempt to mould the unconventional to follow conventional thinking and suppress creativity. Ken Robinson was so right with his seminal 2006 TED talk. Why is curiosity and creativity more important than ever? Reality check: We live in a world that rewards specialization. As armies of digital specialists expand to fuel and power digital factories and output in a way that mirrors the specialisms of the Industrial Age, and the methods of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific management approach, we need to face the near and present danger that AI and machine learning poses.  As AI encroaches on all industries, we as individuals need to cultivate new skills and knowledge to empower our ability to evolve and develop new creative domain experience and expertise we will need to remain relevant and employable in a world where new abilities, skills and jobs, and maybe never before imagined, will emerge.   Curiosity is our passport stamp to future survival.  We need to reconnect with that wondrous child like curiosity where we seek to learn more and question everything, especially the status quo.As algorithms increasingly influence and determine our decisions, based on recommendations, and as bad actors strive to hack our hearts and feelings, we humans are at risk of becoming the programmable automotoms, slaves to the machines we have built.An algorithmically curated world hinders divergent thinking. We are no longer exploring if we are served up everything. Curiosity must become our innately human act of rebellion against these machine driven and dictated recommender decision engines. Curiosity and non-conformist thinking must become our ultimate, inalienable and final human right. The freedom of thought, to wonder, and discover, through serendipity. The right to question and ask why? Or Why not? To challenge the answers we are given. We need the courage to dare, to desire and delight in being different, to sek out, summon and surround ourselves with those vital sparks that start a cascade of creativity, feed our yearning for learning, and delight in divergence.  So I leave you with this, I call on you all to activate, accentuate and accelerate your innate curiosity, to fuel creativity in yourself, you teams and most importan... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I want to reflect on mental wellness, technology, and sleep.During this first season we didn't set out to explore mental wellness but it became apparent that in the arc of their stories that mental fortitude, resilience, and strength were crucial to the achievements of our guests, even those that had experienced mental health challenges in their lives.Reflecting on these many interviews, intentionality seems to define our guests. Intentionality of how they live their lives and how they live with technology. Whether Ryder Carroll through his Bullet Journal or Debbie Millman’s life design methodology where she writes a projected vision of her perfect day five years in the future, defining their future selves seems to be a common trait. Outside of the Podcast, I did a breakfast interview with Fabrice Grinda, Forbes listed No1 Angel Investor, where he laid out his life planning approach, writing 20000-word letters to himself outlining his future life.  This for me is intentionality. We live in a world where It’s so easy to assume from the polished veneer of our socially connected world that everyone is happy, mentally strong and resilient. Contrast that with the common reality of the distracted lives of those who live in a constant state of what is often called Continuous Partial Attention. I’ll quote from the visionary thinker and thought leader, Linda Stone: ‘In large doses, it contributes to a stressful lifestyle, to operating in crisis management mode, and to a compromised ability to reflect, to make decisions, and to think creatively. In a 24/7, always-on world, continuous partial attention used as our dominant attention mode contributes to a feeling of overwhelm, over-stimulation and to a sense of being unfulfilled. We are so accessible, we’re inaccessible. The latest, greatest powerful technologies have contributed to our feeling increasingly powerless'.Just consider the neurological and neuro-chemical effects this is having a pandemic of global proportions - 320m people globally are suffering from depression and anxiety and that’s just the reported numbers  - 16.1 million American workers are affected by Major Depressive Disorder according to Workplacementalhealth.org - In the US alone the feeling of social isolation is on the rise - 50% of of the population claim to feel ‘alone...disconnected ...that no one really knows us’ - Since 2011 depression rates have risen 60% amongst 12-17-year-old teens and young adults.This is an individual and a collective problem44% of adults say stress has increased in the last five years 56% of employees say stress and anxiety impact their job performance 62% of missed workdays are attributed to Mental Conditions We need to confront this. I think most of us have experienced the negative impact that social media and technology can have on wellbeing.  But we can’t turn back the technology timeline and we need to face emerging challenges of rapidly changing world where our identity and purpose as humans will be challenged by the advances in AI and Machine learning -  - where they can out think us,  - outperform us  - and out reason us…Soon we will have to question more than ever  - who we are - what we want to be - and doSo as technology threatens to erode our humanity, we need to strengthen our collective identity and that starts with us to take action and confront the realities of how we live with technology today. If you are a parent check out CommonSenseMedia.orgIf your a business check out the Center for Humane Technology And I urge everyone to read the important book by Matthew Walker called Why We Sleep. If we are to start anywhere we need to reclaim our right to sleep. As our celebrity trainer guest, Josh Holland stated, fitness and wellness start with sleep.  - The WHO lists lack of societal sleep as a world health epidemic ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’m going to start these reflections with serendipity.It’s the underlying theme of this series, a word that’s often used but as a concept somewhat misunderstood.  Let’s start with its origins. The origins of words always make for fascinating reading. But ‘serendipity’ has a particularly interesting origin story. The word ‘serendipity’ was invented on 28 January 1754 in a letter from Horace Walpole to another Horace—Mann.When Walpole (son of Britain’s first de facto Prime Minister, Robert Walpole) wrote down the word ‘serendipity’ for the first time, he was giving the English language one of its most adored, but bewildering words. Walpole was a prolific creator, or populariser, of new words. The Oxford English Dictionary credits him with introducing over 200 words into the English language, among them malaria, nuance, somber, and souvenir.But Walpole is most recognized neologism was ‘serendipity’, often cited as meaning the ‘faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident’. The word ‘serendipity’ is derived from Serendip, the old name for Sri Lanka, but the etymology of Walpole’s creation of serendipity stems from a specific work of literature, a Persian fairy tale called “The Three Princes of Serendip”: as princes traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest off. In fact, it’s one of the earliest detective stories in existence: the story of how three princes track down a missing camel through ‘luck and good fortune’. However, the princes actually utilize curiosity or forensic deduction – on a Sherlockian level. And it’s that curiosity and deduction that, ironically, gets them into trouble. As the story goes - they were traveling through the desert, when they met a merchant whose camel had gone missing.They helped the merchant by tracking the animal’s progress through the land. However the descriptions and deductions they make about the lost animal were in such striking detail that the merchant suspected them of having stolen it and had the stand trial before the king, Bahram Gur, where the merchant publicly accuses the princes of theft, and the king sentences them to death – unless they can produce the camel and return it to its owner.Among the princes' deductions that set off the suspicion was that they correctly managed to identify that it was lame in one leg, blind in one eye, and had a missing tooth. They deduced these distinguishing features from the patches of grass on which the camel had grazed, and the imprints it had left in the ground. What happens to the princes in the end? Good fortune intervened and their lives are spared, when a traveler shows up and announces that he has seen a camel wandering in the desert – the merchant’s missing camel. The merchant gets his camel back, and the king issues a reprieve to the princes –and even appoints them his special advisers, in recognition of their talents.In conclusion, their lives are spared, by what Walpole coined as serendipity, and they even owed their subsequent advisory careers to the King as a serendipitous occurrence in itself.So why do we ask all our guests about serendipity?One we are interested in their interpretation of it and examples thereofTo explore whether its more than happy accidents and that serendipity can be engineered.  What impact does upbringing have on a guest’s willingness to embrace risk, welcome ambiguity, confront fear, and to take the road less traveled? Where did their curiosity come from, was it innate or nurtured or both? How has that curiosity fueled their life journey? And how do they continue to feed it?As the three princes tale demonstrates there is always something unexpected, at the core of serendipity, an unanticipated occurrence, a moment or an encounter that, that planning can not predict, that results in a positive outcome. This is contrary to our natural ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Impossible Network.This is just a short episode to say we reached our 30th episode last week and with that event, we ended Season One of The Impossible Network. Over the next 5 weeks until the next season starts we will be posting our reflections, questions, and perspectives on some of the big themes from season one: The impact of parental support The damage of abuseThe character to survive it We’ll talk more about the power of curiosity Creating environments where creativity can flourishWe’ll explore resilience, grit, and determinationRisk-taking, fear, and failure Mental wellnessWhy we think serendipity can be engineeredThe principles that connected our guests And of course, we’ll reflect on what we consider possible. If you’re new to the show and haven’t listened to some of our early episodes I’d encourage you to listen to Tyrique Glasgow, Michael Ventura, and Merritt Moore as starters.  We have some captivating guests coming in series two including visionary impresario behind Studio 54 Carmen D’Alessio and renowned New York Gallerist Jose Freire, and many more. Reflections start next week.As ever, stay curious, be creative and be open to serendipity.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewOne of the most influential voices in design, led the re-design of over 200 global brands, is Co-founder of the Masters in Branding program at New York’s School of Visual Arts and creator, author of six books, and host of one of the most popular and longest running podcasts, Design Matters, is this week’s guest Debbie Millman. As a guest on countless podcasts, we avoid going over much of what you may have already heard in other interviews. Instead, we delve into who Debbie is. I hope you enjoy this emotive exploration into the life design of Debbie Millman. What We DiscussHer upbringing in New YorkThe emotional impact and stigma of her parent's divorce aged eight The impact of the abuse she experienced from her stepfatherA drawing she created as a child that became a visual representation her future lifeWhy Manhattan became what she called her ‘non-negotiable’ The impact and experience of 9/11 Her life-long struggle with a lack of self-beliefResilience, hope, and shameThe validation she received from teachers for her The empowering effect from one professor's encouragement Her creativity as a childThe liberating experience of being single in 2017 The serendipity and positive impact of a character destroying post on the Speak Up blogHow she guides and advises her studentsDebbie’s innate curiosityHow she interviews for attitudeThe transformative impact of coming out in her 50’s Her perspective on courageWe discuss Debbie’s periods of depression and despair We cover her principles Her views on failure The hard choices she has madeHer answer to our impossible questionWho we interview nextOn Social Twitter FacebookInstagram LinkedinLinks In The Show Debbie Millman Milton Glaser School of Visual Arts One of Us movie SUNY AlbanyProfessor Helen Regueiro Elam Speak Up Blog Hacking the American Mind Robert LustigAIGA Print MagazineSteven Heller Masters In Branding Program Sterling Brands David Lee Roth Joyful Heart Foundation Fabrice GrindaHedonic TreadmillRoxanne Gay Hunger Book  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Guest Overview Born in Iran, raised in Germany, a social anthropologist, an executive coach, organizational trainer and international speaker, founder of contemplative science focused Neural Beings, and long term resident of New York is this week’s guest, Anahita Moghaddam. In this episode, Anahita tells the story of her troubled, anger-fueled and rebellious early years, the impact of her parents and upbringing and her struggles with sexual identity, purpose, and life direction. Anahita discusses the role and transformative power of dance in her growth and how a trip to India transformed her life and set her on her Buddhist Spiritual path.   She explains how a serendipitous flight cancellation resulted in coming face to face with the Dalai Lama on the re-booked flight. We also discuss the happy accidents and chance encounters, that have defined her spiritual path in New York  Anahita explains how her rigorous and experiential contemplative science methodology blends Eastern practices and wisdom, with the western fields of psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, and biology.  We discuss the damaging fragmentation of technology on our attention, on self and our communities and the practices we can all adopt to lead more balanced positive lives.   She shares her perspective on the power of femininity in society and culture and ideas on new forms of education.  I hope you’re inspired by this episode of powerful insights into the human experience, and her commitment to self-inquiry with Anahita Moghaddam.   What We Discuss  Being born in Iran and experiencing the traumas of the Iran-Iraq war Moving to London to study Marketing Immersing herself in the gay club scene to dance and feel safeHer drug abuse, inner dialogue, partying and hitting rock bottomThe bubble that was her school life, her self-harm, and her alienation The duality of growing up in Germany and spending vacation time in Iran The ambiguity of her upbringing The wake-up call of her father dyingThe end of her spiral of destruction Her spiritual awakening from a 3-month immersive retreat in IndiaLeaving behind suffering, alienation, and abuseReturning to London to complete her Masters in SocioAnthropology How consulting and interviewing third-world leaders opened her mind to her coaching abilities Her burning desire to move to New YorkThe serendipitous impact of having $10,000 deposited in her bank account.The openness and potential of NYC Her search for purpose Migrating from Project Management to CoachingHer journaling and documentation of her inner life Knocking on Patti Smith's front door and what happened next Studying at Contemplative Science at Nalanda Institute Explaining Contemplative ScienceWhy she considers curiosity and kindness so powerfulThe role of loveHow she considers and views the mind vs the brain How actions impact on world view and life How the Dalai Lama became her teacherHer perspective on social media and technology and the fragmentation of attentionThe role and power of mindfulness to regulate social media Negativity bias Power of a gratitude practice Her view on the imperative to increase the number of women in power New innovations in education Identifying and challenging self-limiting beliefsNeural Beings impact over the next 10 yearsWhen she realized purpose was her pathHer quick-fire question answers  Social Links Linkedin Instagram  Links In The ShowNeuralBeingsIran Iraq War Lenny KayePatti Smith Nalanda InstituteMind and Life InstituteRumiDr. Robert Lustig Hacking the American MindIain McGilchristSee learning curriculumMandelaSolve For Happy Roger Waters The Tide is Turning Above Us Only SkyChef’s Table ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.