Breath, Stoicism, and The Power of Not Knowing with Carl Smith

In this episode, hosts Dave Prior and Stuart Young sit down with Carl Smith, a "philosophical futurist" and leader of The Bureau (https://thebureau.community/), a community of over 1,500 creative leaders. The conversation explores how to "tune up" your personal and professional systems to better serve yourself and others by embracing vulnerability, mindfulness, and the power of imperfection.

Key Topics and Takeaways

• The Trap of Busyness vs. Productivity: Carl shares a recent "reset" triggered by a Saturday morning spent staring at spreadsheets. He discusses the danger of moving from a "creating" mindset to a "protecting" mindset, and how his attempt to become more efficient unintentionally made his team inefficient. 

• Energy Management and Burnout: Carl defines burnout as a state where you send all your energy out and none comes back. He uses a slot machine analogy to describe how different interactions can either deplete or replenish your internal "jackpot". 

• Self-Regulation Power-Ups:
• Speed Journaling
• NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Relaxation)
• Nose Breathing (Yes, it's a thing)
• Health Tracking Systems and why you might need more than one
• Stoicism


You can find the podcast here: https://systemsofimperfection.riverside.com/

Links from the Podcast

• No One Is Coming to Save You: The Power Ups to Help Surf the Chaos https://tinyurl.com/5dsh2n4v
• The Bureau of Digital https://thebureau.community/
• Breath by James Nestor https://tinyurl.com/38uemcx4
• Outlive by Peter Attia https://tinyurl.com/4e5a6nc3
• The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins https://tinyurl.com/2rpwe93u
• Project to Product by Mik Kersten https://tinyurl.com/2rksj6bw
• Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman https://tinyurl.com/46xeh8nn
• Everyday Stoicism by Gareth Southwell https://tinyurl.com/5c5n5392
• Daily Stoic Podcast byRyan Holiday https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-stoic/id1430315931
• Life Saver Graphics LLC https://tinyurl.com/yfr95r8u




Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Systems of Imperfection

03:22 The Importance of Self-Care and Productivity

05:50 Navigating Work Overwhelm and Chaos

08:55 The Role of Community in Professional Growth

11:45 Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence

14:50 Mindfulness Practices for Better Living

17:47 The Power of Authenticity in Leadership

20:59 The Intersection of Technology and Humanity

23:59 Stoicism and Its Relevance Today

26:54 Embracing Imperfection and Learning from Mistakes

29:52 The Future of Work and Community Engagement

32:57 Creating Value Through Collaboration

35:54 Final Thoughts on Being Human in a Digital Age

56:09 Outro.mp4

Contacting Carl

• The Bureau:  https://thebureau.community/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-w-smith/

Contacting Stuart 

• linktr.ee/stuartliveart



Contacting Dave 

• linktr.ee/mrsungo

Are you the hero or the villain in your team? w/ Carl Smith and Jesse Wroblewski

Most of us tend to view ourselves as the hero of the story, but it's a pretty safe bet that Darth Vader also thought he was the good guy.  So how do you know if you're actually the villain? Carl Smith and Jesse Wroblewski join the podcast to share ideas on how to figure out if you're Batman or The Joker on your team.

You can find the podcast here.

Takeaways

• Being a hero or a villain is subjective and depends on the perspective of others.
• Leaders should be aware of their actions and the impact they have on their team.
• Empathy and self-reflection are important in avoiding villainous behavior.
• True communication and understanding can help build stronger relationships within a team. Difficult conversations and honest feedback are crucial for effective leadership.
• Fear and pressure can lead to toxic leadership, and it's important to find healthy ways to manage negative energy.
• Having a coach and seeking unfiltered feedback can help improve self-awareness.
• Decommoditization is a strategy to differentiate oneself in a competitive market.
• The Bureau community is a supportive and inspiring network for professionals.

DPM Radio Interview

< Begin Shameless Plug...
The 2014 Digital PM Summit IS ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY! Sign up at http://www.dpm2014.com/ and you'll spend two day in the company of a few hundred project managers and digital media professionals who are part of a growing community of passionate, committed, creative people who are incredibly energizing to be around.
...end shameless plug>

If you'd like more detail on why this conference is so inspiring, check out the Digital PM Radio interview I did.  It was a little weird to be the one being interviewed for a change, but I had a great time. Carl Smith a great interviewer.