NBA Playoffs with Daniel Gurevich 002
Daniel and I sit down for a quick podcast on game one of both the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference finals series. It’s always enjoyable chatting with Daniel about the NBA…especially since he’s a clear headed, rational fan and I am…well…I am not.
Enjoy!
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NBA Playoffs with Daniel Gurevich
What is it about the sound of a basketball going through a net that is so soulfully uplifting? I don’t know the science behind the power of the swish but I do know that Jon and I were having a hard time keeping our basketball high to ourselves.
Hey all, this is Daniel Gurevich, your recent Mindsoak guest and basketball fanatic. I got to talk basketball for sixty minutes with Jon and we went in depth breaking down the second round of the 2016 NBA playoffs. We dive right in, but we sort of implicitly nod at each other rather than discuss why we love the game of basketball so much.
Its a game of teams as much as it is a game of individuals. One star player might be able to take over a quarter or a game, but the world champion is always about which assembly of players most cohesively comes together as a team. A good team has talent, a knowledgeable coach, and a fire to win. A great team has discipline, a top to bottom community working together, and a refusal to lose.
Time will tell if Jon and I have what it takes to be the Golden State Warriors of the podcasting world. Take a listen and hear us bite off more than we can chew.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jon surrounding our time at TEDxDesMoines organized by Alexander Grgurich. Jon was exploring the format of TEDx conferences whilst I was there to support my fellow organizer and friend Alex. Our introduction that day set the stage for a snowballing basketball exchange over Twitter. Today’s podcast was nothing more than the universe adhering to the law of entropy – Jon and I added our share of chaos into the world while covering the NBA playoffs. I look forward to future dialogs and rants with Jon; for your sake, I hope they’re recorded.
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The Chris Stone Episode
Two things have happened since I released my episode with my high school coach, John Riggins.
One, it reconnected me with other people from my formative years, re-establishing relationships which never went dormant, yet weren’t being activated regularly. I had so much fun talking to Riggins I quickly wanted to make this a part of Mindsoak.
The idea that our stories, our memories and our perspectives on past events can just inform, inspire and entertain others. After all, stories are universal.
Two, after my last episode with Paul the idea of Mindsoak took on a new meaning for me. As I discussed in a couple other places, I have a new appreciation for how the words I am speaking and the stories my guests and I are sharing are a time stamp on my life. A stamp for my kids to listen to later in life.
While I’m not changing the format of Mindsoak to become a time capsule for Filitti lore, it has given me permission to enjoy being more personal with sharing my stories.
And there’s no better person to start this conversation with than Chris Stone, the guest of this episode.
Chris played an important role in the life of a 14 or 15 year old Jon Filitti. Chris was two years older than me and took me, and others, under his wing for cross country, track, basketball and everything else that had to do with high school life.
Chris, along with Peter Rastrelli and Dominic Laufenberg, treated us with respect and lead us to become good athletes, good teammates and more importantly, good people.
Chris and I reminisce on the importance of sports and/or school activities in young people’s lives, the importance of teamwork and community at all levels of life, the dedication it takes to commit oneself to a greater good and, most importantly, the battle of all battles, the International French Toast Races.1
It was great talking to Chris again and, like always, I love talking community, team building, greater goods and the development of grit, which I believe we get when we are out for a sport, a theatrical production, a musical endeavor or many other events you can be a part of in high school.
It should also be noted that while editing this episode I was lying in bed with my wife and son. I had headphones in as to not disturb them, but once I got to the end and talk of stealing bases during my first and only foray into baseball and talk of the French Toast races, it became clear I should unplug and let the family hear the tales.
With great joy they listened and cackled with laughter. They’ve heard the stories before, but having Chris on to add to the texture created more ambiance. Retelling an old memory to my family added a new memory to my life. Interesting how that works…
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I know, I know. This isn’t a thing…but it should be. How French Toast racing isn’t an Olympic event yet is beyond my comprehension. Or at least a national sporting association, like the NFTRA (National French Toast Racing Association if you were having a difficult time figuring that out). At least something like that. I’m still working on a better association name, send ideas if you have them. Anyway, I can already picture the production of the television broadcast. A five camera production. One camera for each contestant (and we would zoom in really closely so we could see all the chewing and slobbery action). One camera for each coach…and yes there will be coaches (who will also server as paramedics should a choking incident occur and yes, a choking incident will occur). And one camera for the crowd, who will be seated safely and cleanly behind a sheet of plexiglass (a la NHL games). ↩
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Edge of Happiness
Happiness is important. It’s everything really. Without it…well what the hell are we doing if we aren’t striving for happiness. It’s what makes us feel most alive.
For today’s Mindsoak episode I’ve got something a little different. I know I’ve been playing around with the format a bit and have been enjoying that quite a bit…but this episode is actually an honest to goodness promotion of an upcoming event which I’m excited to share with you.
Getting to know Michael C. Bryan over the last month or so has been a blast. His energy and positivity are uncontainable. But I’ve already said enough good stuff about him already so I’ll skip over it here.1
But today I got to talk with Dr. David Sitt for the very first time. David is licensed clinical psychologist in New York City, founder and President of the Mindful Consulting Group and CEO of Edgycation. Line up the same adjectives I used for Michael and pass them out to David. Inspiring? Check. Engaging? Check. Positively enchanting? Check.
Why have them on together? Well, Michael and David met at some point, hit it off, combined their efforts and are now putting on a seriously amazing seminar on May 19th, 2016. I dig these guys so much I wanted to take a brief pause in regular programming and get them on for a quick 25 minute promotional podcast and learn more about the event and their team-up.
The event is called Edge of Happiness and is taking place in New York. Unfortunately I can’t make it. But maybe you can if you live nearby.
What’s it about? Well, answer me this question first. Are you miserable at your job? Unfulfilled in your relationship? Worried about your future? There’s no way you can expect to be happy if you don’t answer these questions.
Michael and David are going to combine exercises from positive psychology, mindfulness training and cutting edge tools used in Fortune 500 companies, to provide you with the skills necessary for success in today’s fast paced world. You’ll learn everything you need to become happier inside and out.
How’s that for a seminar?! Yea…I know, I’ve never been to one like that either.
So take a listen to these two guys, get a sense of what it’s going to be all about and then let me know if you want to travel to New York with me on May 19th. We can share the plane ticket. I’ll sit on your lap.
To find out more about Michael visit www.mcbhappier.com or follow him on the following social media platforms on Twitter at @MCBHappier, Instagram at @mcbhappier and Facebook at www.facebook.com/namastebmichaelbryan.
To find out more about David visit www.drsitt.com or follow him on the following social media platforms on Twitter at @EdgycationNYC, Instagram at @edgycation and Facebook at www.facebook.com/edgycation.
SHOW NOTES: During the show there were some difficulties with the connection. It’s not too bad, but it’s there and you’ll notice. It seems in order to have a three-way call over wi-fi the planets must align perfectly and a butterfly better not sneeze.
Also, there are times when it seems Michael is cutting off David. That’s not because Michael’s a jerk..it’s because he had a better connection, thus his audio never stuttered. So during my editing I had to cut right to him when David was cutting out.
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The Michael C. Bryan Episode 002
So I had Michael back on the show.
And gave him complete freedom to ask me questions and steer the direction of the podcast.
And to hold me accountable and challenge any of my shallow answers.
To take a deep dive in to when I feel most alive and how I can increase my happiness.
And boy did he dive in.
Backflips and all.1
Michael inspired often. And I let go and answered as honestly as I could…and then even more honestly after a couple more prompts from Michael.
It felt vulnerable. But not difficult. It took effort, but felt effortless. It was enjoyable. It was freeing.
The hope of this episode, and all future episodes with Michael, is for the listener to hear the dialogue, to hear the desire for more happiness and apply this process to their own lives.
To enrich yourself by learning from others.
Future episodes with Michael will revolve around other guests2 who will be taken down a similar path of exploration. Some guests will be named. Some will remain anonymous. But all will inspire us to live a happier and freer life.
And that’s my money back guarantee 🙂
To find out more about Michael visit www.mcbhappier.com or follow him on the following social media platforms on Twitter at @MCBHappier, Instagram at @mcbhappier and Facebook at www.facebook.com/namastebmichaelbryan.
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The Amikam Levanon Episode
One of the troubles of starting a new goal, creating a startup or being an entrepreneur is the struggle with isolation. It’s not complete isolation but it’s interesting that of all the guests I’ve had on the podcast it is one of the topics which usually rises to the top of our conversation.
If it’s not lamenting about an feeling isolated, it’s making sure they have friends and colleagues around to prevent the feeling of isolation.
When I was asked to join the open beta for a new service called Perspectivo it became clear early in the process they were on to something.
Perspectivo is a social network which connects you to new perspectives. It allows you to access the experience of others. In fact, here’s how Perspectivo explains it’s platform:
Perspectivo is a place for people to discover new possibilities and solutions to any dream, goal or challenge based on the experience and wisdom of those who have “Been There, Done That”.
Sounds wonderful doesn’t it?
Like most things I come across, I wanted to learn more about the creators behind Perspectivo. Thankfully, one of Perspectivo’s cofounders was willing to come on and give Mindsoak a backstage tour of the company and platform.
Amikam Levanon, Perspectivo’s CEO, was wonderful to have on the show. We discussed what led him and his cofounders to think up and develop Perspectivo. We discuss the biggest challenges of the beta and get a sneak peek at a couple of features they’re planning to release in the future.
But we also meander into a conversation about the important role culture plays in our lives and in our creativity.
Amikam, who has lived in Africa, Jerusalem and Japan, has plenty of insight on how culture plays a role in our experiences and creations. We take a tangent to discuss the importance of language, how different words have different meaning for different cultures. Words like “ego” and even words as seemingly simple as “I”.
To learn more about Perspectivo and to get started learning and sharing experiences by visiting their website at www.perspectivo.com.
Learn more about Amikam on Twitter at @AmikamLevanon or on LinkedIn.
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