Rad Awakenings With Khe Hy

Anthony Demby the founder of HumbleRIOT an audible idea shop that sits at the intersection of artists, culture, brands and experiences. Prior to founding HumbleRIOT, Anthony cut his teeth in the music industry with a range of roles in A&R, publicity and artist management. He has worked with artists such as Quadron, John Legend, and Childish Gambino. We discuss hitting financial rock bottom as an entrepreneur (i.e. an ATM balance of $0), expanding the conversation around race and police violence, the lack of diversity in the wellness industry, his eight year meditation practice, and Donald Glover's "student of life mindset." + A RAD FAVOR: Help us improve, by filling out this 4 minute listener survey. bit.ly/goradsurvey + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/RadAwakenings  

There's the cliché of leaving Wall Street to become a Yoga instructor. And then there's actually doing it. As a young salesperson at Morgan Stanley, Lauren Imparato put her entrepreneurial prowess on display winning over both clients and bosses. Initially, Lauren immersed herself in yoga, nutrition, and meditation to help manage the daily grind - hiding it from her colleagues to avoid the "weirdo hippy girl" look. But the push to start her own business eventually overtook her and she went on to create RETOX, a wellness brand, Yoga studio, and best-selling book. We discuss mixing business and passion, using social media to build a brand, and the dangers of entrepreneurship as a form of escapism. + Full Shownotes: bit.ly/RadAwakenings + Join the RAD community: http://RadReads.email

Thomas Page McBee is an author and journalist who writes about masculinity, and gender more broadly. Because Thomas is also trans, I entered the conversation with a preconceived set of beliefs, mostly based on the popular narratives I'd seen in media about trans people. Thomas and I discuss where his story and reporting diverged from those narratives, and he helped me understand that gender is complicated for all of us. Thomas has a unique and informed perspective on issues many men struggle with, including emotional detachment, gender policing, shame, and violence. This episode is brought to you by Omnifocus.guru, a free seminar to redesign your workflow from scratch. Sign up: http://omnifocus.guru + Pre-Order Amateur: A True Story of What Makes a Man + Full Shownotes: bit.ly/RadAwakenings + Join the RAD community: http://RadReads.email

At age 22, Mike Lewis had his dream job as a young venture capitalist at Bain Capital Ventures, moving up the ranks all while having fun and learning. But there was a little nagging voice reminding him of a dream - to play squash on the pro tour, even if it meant couch surfing and eating into his savings to do so. Mike did it, peaked at 112 and went on to write When to Jump: If the job you have isn't the life you want. We're bombarded by sexy stories about people who made the jump, but this obfuscates the planning, safety nets, and ways in which you can practice your own "jump." This week's sponsor: Looking to elevate your workflow? Join host Khe Hy for a free class on the GTD methodology and how to use the productivity app Omnifocus at http://omnifocus.guru . Mike Lewis and the When to Jump Community Buy When to Jump: If the job you have isn’t the life you want on Amazon Join the WhenToJump.com community and listen to the Podcast Follow When to Jump on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Here's part II of my chat with Philip Simon. To recap, as a child Philip played hooky from school to read in the library, graduated high school and lived in a cave (as he pursued monkhood), and taught himself markets and finance by reading every single word of the FT and the Economist for four straight years. We pick up part II with Philip's corporate development role at a high frequency trading firm. We discuss “dual consciousness” or bringing two different versions of yourself to work and if it's a luxury to break out of that paradigm; the "duty of the strong to protect the weak" and how that interacts with the concepts of self-reliance and privilege; and alternatives to the broken model of growth capital/capitalism, such as mutualization, B-corps, or mission-driven companies. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod28 + JOIN THE COMMUNITY: http://radreads.email

Philip Simon is the "Rad Genius." His life and career have bucked convention and traditional narratives, and are the consequence of a ravenous curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Philip's story starts in the library, where as a kid he would read multiple books a day (an estimated 1,500 by the time he graduated). After graduating, he dabbled in the Marines, moved to a cave in Greece to pursue a life of asceticism (i.e. severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence) and restored ancient fresco paintings. He taught himself financial markets by reading “every single word” of the Financial Times and Economist for four straight years, which led him into cold calling for stock brokers, an Internet startup (the Ladders) and the world of high frequency trading (GTS). + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod28 + JOIN THE COMMUNITY: radreads.email

Venkatesh Rao defies labels - he's a blogger, thinker, consultant whose ideas span the digital economy, science, philosophy, and the zeitgeist. Rao is the creator of Ribbonfarm and Breaking Smart and we discuss “paycheck addictions” and the wave of transformation that's going to hit the economy. Is becoming a free-agent a way to stay ahead of the curve? How should a mid-career executive prepare? An immersion in the technology conversation is a must - but so is the ability to emotionally self-regulate. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod27 + JOIN THE COMMUNITY: radreads.email

Today's episode should be called mindfulness for hyper-driven skeptics with no time. Holly Rogers is a psychiatrist at the student counseling center at Duke University and the co-founder of the center for Koru Mindfulness. Holly's training as a psychiatrist provides a repertoire of research for the benefits of mindfulness, such as improving cardiovascular health, building a tolerance for discomfort, and my personal favorite: noticing tiny pain points with clarity and making adjustments that compound over time. We also discuss the “lowest effective dose" (10 minutes for 4 weeks), why today's college students are way more anxious than in the past, and why mid-life crisis seem to be starting earlier. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod26 + JOIN THE COMMUNITY: http://radreads.email + SUPPORT THE PODCAST: patreon.com/radreads  

Let's talk Hedge Funds! Ted Seides is a long time hedge fund investor and the host of the Capital Allocators Podcast. He's a kindred spirit and we overlapped during the go-go days of the hedge fund industry. While this industry has some of the smartest and hardest working individuals, it's also got some perverse incentives, outright greed, and is a breeding ground for the Three Es (Ego, Envy, Entitlement - all of which I experienced). The industry is undergoing tremendous change and we discuss sussing out internally motivated individuals, the keys to growing wealth, and how money makes you more... of what you already are. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod25 + JOIN THE RAD COMMUNITY: http://radreads.email + SUPPORT THE POD: patreon.com/radreads

Maya Benattar is a psychotherapist and music therapist. She gives us a lay of the land of therapy and how it differs from life coaching. We talk cultural stigmas, different approaches such as CBT or psycho dynamics, and the difference between Trauma with a "big T" and a "little t." Most of us have experienced (little t) trauma in the form of bullying, otherness, and insecurities such as body image. We explore the myth of being emotionally self-sufficient, Maya's work in helping clients hold dual perspectives, picking podcasts over music, and navigating the emotional side of Tinder. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod24 + JOIN THE RADREADS COMMUNITY: radreads.email

Andrew Taggart is a practical philosopher who works with executives and entrepreneurs. He challenges them to investigate life's basic assumptions, even if it's uncomfortable. We discuss high performers' antagonistic relationship with time and their desire to turn life into a series of problems which can be solved - and how this can mask our confounding relationship with mortality. Instead of avoiding these question, we consider how "an examined life, is a life lived more fully." + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod23 + SUBSCRIBE: http://radreads.email + SUPPORT: patreon.com/radreads  

I often get listener pushback when we discuss happiness and introspection - this skepticism comes from the fact that the learnings aren't grounded in data and they lack the pragmatism and relevance to our daily jobs. Today's guest, Caroline Webb bridges that gap. She's a former McKinsey partner, leadership coach, and economist and is used to C-Suiters pushing back on topics that are too "woo-woo." She's the founder of SevenShift, where she uses insights from behavioral science to help executives improve their working life. We discuss humans' natural tendency to scan our environments for threats and how this impacts our brains. Are these threats real? How do we stop negative thought spirals? Is technology a source of threats? And a reader favorite, is fear a good motivator? + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod22 + JOIN OUR COMMUNITY: bit.ly/RadReads

Auren Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur and investor in over 75 tech companies. He’s the CEO and Chief Historian of SafeGraph and co-founder and former CEO of LiveRamp. This is a conversation about thinking, reasoning, and cultivating self-awareness. We discuss: default options (such as going to college or buying a house) and the need to reaffirm these on a regular basis; combatting status-seeking behavior; the challenging skill of holding two opposing views at once; how being "cool" or a social outcast impacts entrepreneurship; and why when it comes to work-life balance, Auren thinks we should recruit “proud members of the anti-balance society.” + FULL SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod21 + SUPPORT THE PODCAST: patreon.com/radreads    

Jocelyn K. Glei lives at intersection of the creative process, self management, and the future of work. She's a creative polymath who's held editorial positions, written a book on email, and just launched the podcast Hurry Slowly. Tactically, we chat about how people with corporate jobs can "flex their creative muscles" and why inbox zero is so damaging. Theoretically, we debate the subjective nature of time, how productivity requires a deeper conversation on achievement, and how the best things in life are imperfect and thus cannot be optimized.

Have you ever wondered how a single moment can change everything? Venetia Pristavec is an observer and storyteller. She happened to take a picture of a mattress on her floor and then rented it out to a stranger on the Internet. She then became convinced of the power of small human interactions and went on to join that small company, Airbnb, as their 7th employee. She rode that rocket ship for 5 years yet realized that while she was the voice of the company, she didn't know her own voice. We have a really deep conversation, covering her thyroid cancer, turning into (as opposed to away from) others' suffering, and why Venetia asks people pleasers about their "relationship with anger." + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod19 + BUILDING A SECOND BRAIN: Is your digital information causing creative paralysis? Redesign your workflow from first principles with Tiago Forte's Nov. 6 class at bit.ly/radbrain (affiliate link)

We've all been in that meeting during which leadership says they're ready for change. Yet deep inside, you know that it's the classic Innovator's Dilemma and you'll be sitting in that same meeting for the next 10 years. In this episode, I interview Kevin Delaney, co-founder and editor in chief of Quartz about building a company in a time of flux for the media industry and challenging many of the established norms. We discuss how his leadership philosophy has evolved, what to do when your "staff is under siege" (from deep-pocketed competitors), the differences between Gen Z/Millennials/Gen X, and the practice of writing letters to our children that they'll read at a much later date. + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod18

Tiago Forte is our resident productivity guru and he interviews me in Part 2 of our workflow series. We nerd out on our productivity toolkits and blockages and I dive into my passion around human connection - and the systems I use to accelerate serendipity and build community.   + SPONSOR: Join Skillshare the online learning community with 17,000+ classes in business, design and more. Get one free month of unlimited access. http://skillshare.com/rad + SIGN UP FOR TIAGO'S CLASS: bit.ly/radbrain + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod17

Tiago Forte is our resident productivity and workflow guru and the founder of Forte Labs. This is part 1 (of our 2 part series) in which we geek out on our First Principles (i.e. building blocks) of workflow, productivity, and personal knowledge management. Tiago approaches these questions through the lens of design thinking and also reflects on some of the blind spots in his system. + SPONSOR: Join Skillshare the online learning community with 17,000+ classes in business, design and more. Get one free month of unlimited access. http://skillshare.com/rad + SIGN UP FOR TIAGO'S CLASS: bit.ly/radbrain + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod17

Bart Lorang is the founder and CEO of FullContact. FullContact is a high-growth, venture-backed company (having raised $50 mm) with 250 employees and multiple offices across the world. Bart and I discuss work-life balance and how Bart balances self-care, spending time with two young kids, while being a devoted father/husband. Bart drops amazing CEO wisdom on how empathy can be learned, thwarting your team’s fight or flight reflex and how culture is meaningless if it doesn’t terrify people. + SPONSOR: Join Skillshare the online learning community with 16,000+ classes in business, design and more. Get one free month of unlimited access. http://skillshare.com/rad + SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod16 + SHOW SOME LUV: patreon.com/radreads  

Mark Pollard is a straight up OG: he created Australia’s first Hip Hop zine and designed web sites during the early days of Web 1.0. Mark is the founder of Mighty Jungle, where he helps founders make their brands make sense — through brand strategy and mental workouts. Mark's fiercely analytical and left-brained, but also “rebelliously creative” with a strong understanding of human biases. In this episode we reminisce about the 90s, chat about the chaos of his teenage years, which really influenced how he thinks about masculinity and its toxic elements. Mark’s got a phrase: “We know men through their deeds and ideas” which launches us into the challenge of separating achievement and identity. And finally, Mark shares the Mighty Jungle playbook, conducting a master class in storytelling, ideation, and writing. And for those building a personal brand, heed his advice on cliched buzzwords such as joy and empowered. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/radpod14 SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/RadReads MORE ON MARK + Mighty Jungle Website +