“Consciousness is so turbulent” - Emily Horn
Vincent Horn is a mind hacker & Buddhist geek. He has been practicing meditation intensively since his freshman year in college. In 2006, Vincent co-founded Buddhist Geeks, which has gone on to become one of today's most important venues for exploring Buddhist thought & practice in the 21st century. Buddhist Geeks has been featured on the pages of the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Tricycle, and The Atlantic. Vincent was also honored to be part of Wired’s "Smart List 2012: 50 people who will change the world."
In this episode, Vincent and Jerry talk about their mindfulness practices, how Vincent navigated his own ups and downs as an entrepreneur, and how meditation and mindfulness can create better leaders, and better organizations.
And be sure to listen all the way through the end, as Vincent has included a 10 minute guided meditation for you to kickstart your own mindfulness practice.
Reboot Podcast #22 - Does Anyone Know what they are Doing? With Sharon Salzbe...rebootio
We’re often in (or feel we’re in) uncharted waters - a place where making things up as we go is a necessity. Feeling lost in those places can be anxiety-inducing. We feel incompetent. We feel shameful. We can end up feeling that everyone has figured it out but me. But how true is that, really? And perhaps the better question--how can owning my own anxiety in these areas help me step more fully into my authentic self and even increase my capacity for happiness?
We are honored to welcome one of our key teachers at Reboot, Sharon Salzberg, to the podcast. In this conversation, Sharon and Jerry discuss Sharon’s own entrepreneurial path, a new definition of success (and failure), authenticity, loving kindness and the question: Does anyone really know what they are doing?
Reboot Podcast #19 Building a House of Belonging with Tanisha Robinsonrebootio
What’s it like to find your path of authentic service in the world? What if you could use the pain of the past, a pain of not knowing where you fit in, of not knowing where you belong to propel you toward work that makes a difference? What if you could create a place of belonging? Well, it might look a lot like what Tanisha Robinson is building with Print Syndicate.
Started just 2.5 years ago with 8 people, Print Syndicate now has over 140 employees and will generate more than $20M in revenue this year. But the company isn’t just about shirts and home goods, it’s a place where people (including a black, gay, woman from a Mormon family of 7 in a small town in Missouri) have a place to self-identify and a place to belong. As Tanisha shares, running a company fueled by your passion to make the world better is both exhilarating and heartwrenching.
Reboot Podcast #20 with Bijan Sabet - Investors are Human toorebootio
It sounds so obvious, perhaps even tongue in cheek, but it also seems to be forgotten enough that it needs to be said aloud again: Investors are human too. They, like the entrepreneurs they back, can ride the rollercoaster of emotions that often come with starting a company. In this episode Jerry Colonna is joined by Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and they explore some of the tensions that often arise between investors and entrepreneurs, the emotional perspective of the investor, and the importance of purpose and artistry. As a bonus, it includes Jerry reading a blessing at the end.
To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done but who we become while accomplishing the task.
-David Whyte - Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
In today’s conversation Jerry is joined by Ben Rubin - Cofounder and CEO of Change Collective - an organization itself that is set on helping people make positive change in their lives. Ben comes to Jerry wondering how he can better deal with the negative inner dialogue. They quickly discover that inner voice, and more specifically the feelings that precede it, are a powerful indicator of an underlying fear. What opportunities exist in exploring that fear?
Reboot Podcast #27 - From Caring Comes Courage - with Jerry Colonna on Reboot...rebootio
From caring comes courage.
Lao Tzu
It’s wonderful to have the support of so many, to have so many who believe in you. But there is another side to it: the weight and fear of disappointing them. Zoe Weintraub is founder of Opus for Work and is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Zoe and Jerry discuss both the beauty and burden of external expectations, and ultimately find that when you follow the emotion and vulnerability associated with them, they expose your superpower hiding in plain sight.
Ben Saunders knows very well the ups and downs that come with attempting to do something extraordinary. Like so many entrepreneurs, he struggled with the challenges of being an effective leader, and faced the pain of fundraising or not meeting payroll. But Ben’s end goal was a bit different. He’ a polar explorer. Between October 2013 and February 2014, he and his companion Tarka broke the record for the longest ever polar journey on foot. On their path to the South Pole, they faced temps of -50F and wind chills near -70F all while they covered nearly seventy marathons back-to-back on less than four hours of sleep a night.
This record breaking journey was nearly ten years in the making for Ben, and truly was an amazing accomplishment, but despite all that he found the inner journey that followed even more challenging than what he faced out on the ice. In this conversation, Ben and Jerry discuss his journey on and off the ice.
Reboot Podcast #30 - Who Do You Turn To? - with Yancey Strickler and Ian Hogarthrebootio
There’s a saying: Behind every great man is a great woman. I would add: behind every great entrepreneur is a great friend. The entrepreneurial path simply can’t be traveled alone. So when Jerry asked Kickstarter’s CEO and Co-founder, Yancey Strickler: Who do you turn to? He response was immediate: Ian Hogarth, Co-founder and Chairman of Songkick. We’re grateful to have Yancey and Ian join Jerry in today’s podcast to talk about their friendship, the importance of peer relationships in entrepreneurship, the relief of being heard by those who can empathize with your experience, as well as those who can challenge you from a place of love and deep understanding. Enjoy this discussion with Jerry, Ian Hogarth, and Yancey Strickler.
This conversation was recorded in early December, and since then Ian has announced his intention to give up the Co-CEO role at Soundkick and focus on his role at Chairman.
Reboot Podcast #22 - Does Anyone Know what they are Doing? With Sharon Salzbe...rebootio
We’re often in (or feel we’re in) uncharted waters - a place where making things up as we go is a necessity. Feeling lost in those places can be anxiety-inducing. We feel incompetent. We feel shameful. We can end up feeling that everyone has figured it out but me. But how true is that, really? And perhaps the better question--how can owning my own anxiety in these areas help me step more fully into my authentic self and even increase my capacity for happiness?
We are honored to welcome one of our key teachers at Reboot, Sharon Salzberg, to the podcast. In this conversation, Sharon and Jerry discuss Sharon’s own entrepreneurial path, a new definition of success (and failure), authenticity, loving kindness and the question: Does anyone really know what they are doing?
Reboot Podcast #19 Building a House of Belonging with Tanisha Robinsonrebootio
What’s it like to find your path of authentic service in the world? What if you could use the pain of the past, a pain of not knowing where you fit in, of not knowing where you belong to propel you toward work that makes a difference? What if you could create a place of belonging? Well, it might look a lot like what Tanisha Robinson is building with Print Syndicate.
Started just 2.5 years ago with 8 people, Print Syndicate now has over 140 employees and will generate more than $20M in revenue this year. But the company isn’t just about shirts and home goods, it’s a place where people (including a black, gay, woman from a Mormon family of 7 in a small town in Missouri) have a place to self-identify and a place to belong. As Tanisha shares, running a company fueled by your passion to make the world better is both exhilarating and heartwrenching.
Reboot Podcast #20 with Bijan Sabet - Investors are Human toorebootio
It sounds so obvious, perhaps even tongue in cheek, but it also seems to be forgotten enough that it needs to be said aloud again: Investors are human too. They, like the entrepreneurs they back, can ride the rollercoaster of emotions that often come with starting a company. In this episode Jerry Colonna is joined by Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and they explore some of the tensions that often arise between investors and entrepreneurs, the emotional perspective of the investor, and the importance of purpose and artistry. As a bonus, it includes Jerry reading a blessing at the end.
To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done but who we become while accomplishing the task.
-David Whyte - Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
In today’s conversation Jerry is joined by Ben Rubin - Cofounder and CEO of Change Collective - an organization itself that is set on helping people make positive change in their lives. Ben comes to Jerry wondering how he can better deal with the negative inner dialogue. They quickly discover that inner voice, and more specifically the feelings that precede it, are a powerful indicator of an underlying fear. What opportunities exist in exploring that fear?
Reboot Podcast #27 - From Caring Comes Courage - with Jerry Colonna on Reboot...rebootio
From caring comes courage.
Lao Tzu
It’s wonderful to have the support of so many, to have so many who believe in you. But there is another side to it: the weight and fear of disappointing them. Zoe Weintraub is founder of Opus for Work and is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Zoe and Jerry discuss both the beauty and burden of external expectations, and ultimately find that when you follow the emotion and vulnerability associated with them, they expose your superpower hiding in plain sight.
Ben Saunders knows very well the ups and downs that come with attempting to do something extraordinary. Like so many entrepreneurs, he struggled with the challenges of being an effective leader, and faced the pain of fundraising or not meeting payroll. But Ben’s end goal was a bit different. He’ a polar explorer. Between October 2013 and February 2014, he and his companion Tarka broke the record for the longest ever polar journey on foot. On their path to the South Pole, they faced temps of -50F and wind chills near -70F all while they covered nearly seventy marathons back-to-back on less than four hours of sleep a night.
This record breaking journey was nearly ten years in the making for Ben, and truly was an amazing accomplishment, but despite all that he found the inner journey that followed even more challenging than what he faced out on the ice. In this conversation, Ben and Jerry discuss his journey on and off the ice.
Reboot Podcast #30 - Who Do You Turn To? - with Yancey Strickler and Ian Hogarthrebootio
There’s a saying: Behind every great man is a great woman. I would add: behind every great entrepreneur is a great friend. The entrepreneurial path simply can’t be traveled alone. So when Jerry asked Kickstarter’s CEO and Co-founder, Yancey Strickler: Who do you turn to? He response was immediate: Ian Hogarth, Co-founder and Chairman of Songkick. We’re grateful to have Yancey and Ian join Jerry in today’s podcast to talk about their friendship, the importance of peer relationships in entrepreneurship, the relief of being heard by those who can empathize with your experience, as well as those who can challenge you from a place of love and deep understanding. Enjoy this discussion with Jerry, Ian Hogarth, and Yancey Strickler.
This conversation was recorded in early December, and since then Ian has announced his intention to give up the Co-CEO role at Soundkick and focus on his role at Chairman.
Reboot Podcast #28 - Reclaiming the Shadow - with Tracy Lawrence on Reboot Po...rebootio
Tracy Lawrence, Co-founder and CEO of Chewse, and Jerry Colonna talk about authenticity, leading from the heart and on the power of embracing the lost and disowned parts of ourselves. For Tracy, it’s not only about being there for the little girl who was bullied in middle school, but also about owning her very own inner bully. Reclaiming that part of herself will not only impact her approach to the latest company experiment, but it also might affect her own leadership and bring her and her company deeper into alignment.
Reboot Podcast #05 - How Do You Define Success? With Jerry Colonna and Joseph...rebootio
Joseph Chura is the founder and CEO of 2 startups that employ nearly a combined 100 people, yet he feels a constant drive for more. In this conversation with Jerry, Joseph shares his struggles to be present, especially at home with his wife and kids. Why is the drive, the itch to not sit still, so strong? What’s he running towards? Or perhaps running from?
Joseph and Jerry explore why he feels compelled to run, take a look at how & what Joseph is using to define success and why mindfulness is about so much more than meditation...it’s about expanding the space between stimulus and response.
Hugh MacLeod has tapped into his own heart and his own woundedness so that he can speak to the hearts of people and organizations to inspire, to question, to laugh and to grow. Hugh joins Jerry in this episode of The Reboot Podcast to discuss how how he got his start, what motivates leaders, and how to work (and lead) from the heart. (Hint: often the "how" lies in identifying our own wounds).
Reboot Podcast #25 - Live Beyond Compare - Brad Feld and Jerry Colonna - Rebo...rebootio
It’s so easy, sometimes fun, sometimes painful, and always tempting to compare ourselves to others. As entrepreneurs, the temptation is even stronger. It can at times seem like there’s an endless supply of compare yourself material - from the media, to social media. Ask any Reboot coach...one of the busiest days as a coach is the day a big acquisition or funding announcement occurs. The second busiest is the day after. So what would it be like to let go? What if you stopped trying to be a VC / entrepreneur / father like everyone else? What if you were just you and that was OK?
That is exactly the advice our podcast guest offered up to a 34 year old Jerry Colonna - many, many years ago. We’re truly honored to have Brad Feld on the podcast with Jerry today. Brad is an investor, entrepreneur, and blogger who has been supporting entrepreneurs all over the world since 1987. Brad has also been a great Reboot supporter and teacher. In this conversation these two friends talk about VC’s as Dungeons and Dragons characters, Brad’s evolved investment criteria, and the single best piece of advice Brad offered to Jerry that changed his career.
Reboot Podcast #31 - Why Being Real Matters- with Evgeny Shadchnevrebootio
So many entrepreneurs seek to model their leadership after the high-profile, successful giants of business. Should I be leader more like Steve Jobs? How can I be more like Jeff Bezos? How can I be more like Travis from Uber? These are not only questions without answers, they are the wrong questions. The real question is, “Who the fuck are you?” You’re not Steve Jobs. You’re not Jeff Bezos. You’re you. What does the leader within you look like?
In today’s conversation, Jerry is joined by Evgeny, Co-founder and CEO of Makers Academy. Ev wrestles with the question of whether it’s possible to scale an organization built around trust, or does success require a leader who governs by fear? Together they discover a more beautiful, more fundamental question --“Who is Evgeny?” In that answer they may find a path to personal alignment and more effective leadership.
Reboot Podcast #34 - Self actualization - with Henry May on Reboot Podcastrebootio
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung.
"Work is difficulty and drama, a high-stakes game in which our identity, our self-esteem, and our ability to provide are mixed inside us in a volatile, sometimes explosive ways.” from David Whyte in his incredible book, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a pilgrimage of Identity.
That volatile, explosive mix is a gift. It presents a tremendous opportunity for us to do our own work, our inner work, and further develop our own understanding of self. In our conversation today, Jerry is joined by Henry May, founder and CEO of CoSchool, based in Columbia. Henry comes to Jerry with this very issue: How might the journey of entrepreneurship, specifically his own, open up new opportunities for him to grow? Or said more directly: How might he use his work at Coschool to do the real work on his humanity?
Reboot Podcast #26 - Finding your Business Soulmate - Founders of The Grommet...rebootio
Two co-founders, who refer to each other as business soulmates, have found themselves in that special place of alignment. A place in partnership where they align not just intellectually, not just energetically, not even just at a values level, but at a human level. Jules Pieri (her second time on the show) and her partner Joanne Domeniconi oni are the Co-founders of The Grommet. They join Jerry to talk about the beginning of their partnership, where and how they found alignment at the human level, how it has evolved over time, and the challenges it represents as they scale the business
Reboot Podcast #36 - The Quest - with Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer on Reboot P...rebootio
Time and time again, I get the pleasure of seeing skeptical, but open Reboot Bootcampers enter the Colorado wilderness with instructions from Jim looking for a conversation – and time and time again I see them come back in shock with how the land opened new insights up for them. Jerry included.
In today’s special episode, Jerry Colonna, Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer talk about the power and opportunity of time on the land, how Jerry’s own experience on a vision quest, which was guided by Jim and Jade, and why a quest could change your own awareness forever. If it terrifies you, you are ready…
Reboot Podcast #39 - New Choices with Mary Lemmer on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Mary Lemmer came on to share her emotional story of seemingly everything working against her; her body giving in, her relationship ending, her business coming apart, losing her dad's approval, all in a very short period of time. Physically and emotionally, these were painful experiences for Mary and yet, what if they were exactly what she needs? What if this is the moment she was waiting for?
Reboot Podcast #15 - Becoming a Leader: The Crucible of Co-Founder Conflict w...rebootio
JW Player has come a long way. The JW player and platform is now used by over 2.5 million publishers and 20% of the fortune 1,000 companies. Each month about 1 billion people watch video on their platform. Behind those numbers are real people--including three co-founders who, over the last eight years, have experienced their own profound personal growth and leadership transformations.
In a special first video episode, only fitting for the co-founders of one of the world’s largest video platforms, we have the 3 co-founders of JW Player joining Jerry in person. In a very open conversation, they explore key challenging moments in their company and partnership history -and how they emerged from those moments stronger and more committed than ever. It's an inspiring story of leaders born through adversity
Reboot Podcast #9 - Investing in Trust - with Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Fred Wilson barely needs an introduction for his role and impact in the startup community both as blogger and co-founder of Union Square Ventures. Fred’s also a big reason why I’m here giving this intro: his blog ultimately led me to meeting and now working with Jerry; and his family podcast, Positively 10th Street, was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to. Feels like things have come full circle.
So I’m thrilled to have Fred join Jerry for this episode. In 19 years of friendship and partnership in the startup world, these two have seen just about everything. In this conversation they share some stories from the Flatiron Partnership days, what makes a perfect board, the importance of trust in investing, and what makes a good leader. They even discuss the sheer terror they felt on their own entrepreneurial journey. There’s a lot of great material referenced in this discussion, so we’ve gone ahead and compiled a bunch of links from this show on our podcast page at reboot.io/podcast.
In what we hope will be a series of several, enjoy this first Reboot conversation with Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonna.
Reboot Podcast #33 - Do I Even Have A Superpower?- with Kent Cavender-Baresrebootio
Have you ever asked yourself the question: I wonder if we'd be better off with someone else in my role?
In this podcast, a listener, Kent Cavender-Bares from Rowbots comes to Jerry with a question a similar question about his superpower: "What if my deep integrity, my commitment to simply telling how it is, is the reason we’re unable to fundraise? Do I even have a Superpower? Wouldn’t Rowbots, be further along if someone else was leading?" Jerry and Kent explore the double edge of a superpower, and how the path through his challenges may lie in a new set of questions: How can I be even more like Kent? How can I embrace my superpower? How can I believe in myself? And why is that so damned important?
Reboot Podcast #8 - How Introspection Changed My Business - With Blaine Vess ...rebootio
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle
Entrepreneur and CEO Blaine Vess has an impressive story. Studymode, the company he helped start and bootstrap from his dorm room almost 16 years ago, now has 30 employees and sees between 60-90M visitors a month. It’s rare to find 15 year old bootstrapped companies. It’s rare to have the same CEO for 15 years as Blaine has been. But last year, Blaine wanted more for his company and himself. He wanted to know how to help push his company to the next level. To achieve that, he didn’t look elsewhere, he looked within.
In this conversation, Jerry and Blaine talk about Blaine’s “year of introspection”. It included a stop at one of our bootcamps, working with a coach and a therapist, and that year ultimately helped him understand how and why he was holding himself back. Perhaps Blaine and Jerry’s conversation, our first of 2015, may spark your own year of introspection.
Reboot Podcast #32 - Invest in Being Yourself - with Bryce Roberts and Chris ...rebootio
VC’s Bryce Roberts of OATV and Indie.vc, and Chris Marks of Blue Note Ventures both found the standard issue of the VC world was not a fit for them. They both sought out to set a new path, one that aligned with who they are and what they value. In a conversation with Jerry, and each other, they explore the challenges on their journey, and the potential opportunities they have to better connect with entrepreneurs through those challenges. This conversation may leave you asking yourself:
In my own work, what are my values? What are my priorities? What am I wearing today?
Reboot Podcast #37 - Are you a Servant Leader - with Patrick Campbell on Rebo...rebootio
For leaders the temptation to tell, fix, and even do is so strong. “I know the way,” or “I have the answers,” or “the buck stops with me.” Sometimes it’s impossible to resist the ego boost of providing the answer, giving the fix, telling the way. But what impact does this have on the team, and ourselves? And is it even true?
Jerry Colonna is joined today by Patrick Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Price Intelligently – a bootstrapped company in Boston. Patrick and Jerry explore different leadership styles, the power of “if I die docs,” and how the secret to leadership, and servant leadership, may not lie in having the right answers, but instead asking the right questions.
Reboot Podcast #23 - With a Little More Care… with Sherman Lee and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Sometimes we spend so much time looking at where we aren’t or where others have gone that we don’t fully appreciate where we are and how much we’ve grown on the journey.
A year ago today, Reboot didn’t have a podcast. A year ago today, Sherman Lee was staring down a draining bank account, a shaky business model, and a crippling fear: if I fail, I won’t be able to provide. A year later we sit with our 23rd podcast episode, a return visit from Sherman one of our first guests, and an opportunity to appreciate Sherman’s journey and growth since we last spoke.
Reboot Podcast #10 - Fail with Honor - with Derek Bereit, Beth McKeon, & Jer...rebootio
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
Most startups fail. We all know this as much as we try to forget it. The absolute hardest, hardest question an entrepreneur can ask themselves is: When do you know it’s over?
In the first of two conversations in this episode, we are joined by Derek Bereit, CEO and Co-Founder of Symptomly, who is staring down the end of his runway and wrestling with this very question.
In a second conversation we hear from Beth McKeon, Founder and CEO of Kids Calendar, who is dealing with another common challenge: How do you find, recruit and hire the right person for your startup at the stage that it’s in?
As always we’d love to hear feedback from you either on our website or on twitter @reboothq. Now on with to the conversations.
Reboot Podcast #29 - Who's in Your Corner? - with Carrie Barryrebootio
Carrie Barry has had her own great challenges to overcome, including real struggles at home that forced her to leave at the age of 12 and strike out on her own. She’s proven resilient, stitching the struggles of her past into the fabric of her being and choosing to appreciate and utilize that pain into the work she does today. Carrie Barry is former Olympic Boxer and entrepreneur who owns and runs a boxing gym in Boulder where people come to break a sweat, get a hug, and learn some valuable life lessons. She also happens to be, in a twist, a boxing coach for 2 of Reboot’s finest: Jerry and Ali. Join Jerry in getting a little coaching, and a lot of inspiration in this conversation with Carrie Barry.
Reboot Podcast #7 - The Relationship between Depression and Entrepreneurship?...rebootio
After years of rapid growth and expansion, followed by a serious year of depression, Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, found himself in a room surrounded by VC backed CEO’s and entrepreneurs where the question was posed: “How many of you struggle seriously with depression or severe anxiety or emotional issues?” He watched almost every person raise their hand. It’s shocking how universal depression is in startups. For anyone struggling with depression, it’s helpful to know you’re not alone. In this podcast, which is slightly different than past episodes, Jerry converses with Rand about his experience - his “loop,” how shame and guilt are at times his driver, the importance of understanding one’s emotional state, and how he’s made progress in coming out of his own depression, including his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or anyone dealing with their own depression.
Reboot Podcast #38 - Plant seeds of your life - With Congressman Tim Ryan on ...rebootio
Congressman Tim Ryan is our guest for Episode 38 of the Reboot Podcast. Tim is a special guy, and not just because he’s a congressman, and not just because he’s from Ohio – though that’s pretty great too – but because he’s committed to bringing heart, humanity, mindfulness and a long-term focus into a space that doesn’t always welcome it: government. In this conversation (originally recorded in November), Tim shares his journey to mindfulness, his ongoing practice in noticing his own inner conversation, and his commitment to mindfully planting seeds for the future and having the patience to watching them grow.
Reboot Podcast #04 - The hidden burdens in our work – with Jerry Colonna, She...rebootio
How can you save a business from the brink of bankruptcy and grow it 2,000% in 10 years, and yet feel like it could all go away in any given moment? Or face the fear, the weight, that you must be chief breadwinner...for you, your family, your co-founder and team’s family as well? Fear is pervasive in our lives, and in the crazy world of startups and entrepreneurship it is an always present participant. In this episode, we have two entrepreneurs dealing with two different and yet similar fears, fears that entrepreneurs will know all too well.
Reboot Podcast #44 – We are Designed to Fail – with Nicholas Russell and Jerr...rebootio
Startups fail, we hear that all the time. Failure is good, we hear that all the time too. But we rarely hear about the pain, the shame and the second-guessing that comes with it. Even worse, at least for me, we rarely hear about the opportunities that lie, or may lie in something ending beyond just a pivot or a lesson learnt. In that moment, reading that email on the bench, my feet hurting, I wished someone would have told me what I know now to be true. This startup failing is not proof that something is broken within you. In fact, it's an opening and an opportunity to find something new within you and for you.
Reboot Podcast #28 - Reclaiming the Shadow - with Tracy Lawrence on Reboot Po...rebootio
Tracy Lawrence, Co-founder and CEO of Chewse, and Jerry Colonna talk about authenticity, leading from the heart and on the power of embracing the lost and disowned parts of ourselves. For Tracy, it’s not only about being there for the little girl who was bullied in middle school, but also about owning her very own inner bully. Reclaiming that part of herself will not only impact her approach to the latest company experiment, but it also might affect her own leadership and bring her and her company deeper into alignment.
Reboot Podcast #05 - How Do You Define Success? With Jerry Colonna and Joseph...rebootio
Joseph Chura is the founder and CEO of 2 startups that employ nearly a combined 100 people, yet he feels a constant drive for more. In this conversation with Jerry, Joseph shares his struggles to be present, especially at home with his wife and kids. Why is the drive, the itch to not sit still, so strong? What’s he running towards? Or perhaps running from?
Joseph and Jerry explore why he feels compelled to run, take a look at how & what Joseph is using to define success and why mindfulness is about so much more than meditation...it’s about expanding the space between stimulus and response.
Hugh MacLeod has tapped into his own heart and his own woundedness so that he can speak to the hearts of people and organizations to inspire, to question, to laugh and to grow. Hugh joins Jerry in this episode of The Reboot Podcast to discuss how how he got his start, what motivates leaders, and how to work (and lead) from the heart. (Hint: often the "how" lies in identifying our own wounds).
Reboot Podcast #25 - Live Beyond Compare - Brad Feld and Jerry Colonna - Rebo...rebootio
It’s so easy, sometimes fun, sometimes painful, and always tempting to compare ourselves to others. As entrepreneurs, the temptation is even stronger. It can at times seem like there’s an endless supply of compare yourself material - from the media, to social media. Ask any Reboot coach...one of the busiest days as a coach is the day a big acquisition or funding announcement occurs. The second busiest is the day after. So what would it be like to let go? What if you stopped trying to be a VC / entrepreneur / father like everyone else? What if you were just you and that was OK?
That is exactly the advice our podcast guest offered up to a 34 year old Jerry Colonna - many, many years ago. We’re truly honored to have Brad Feld on the podcast with Jerry today. Brad is an investor, entrepreneur, and blogger who has been supporting entrepreneurs all over the world since 1987. Brad has also been a great Reboot supporter and teacher. In this conversation these two friends talk about VC’s as Dungeons and Dragons characters, Brad’s evolved investment criteria, and the single best piece of advice Brad offered to Jerry that changed his career.
Reboot Podcast #31 - Why Being Real Matters- with Evgeny Shadchnevrebootio
So many entrepreneurs seek to model their leadership after the high-profile, successful giants of business. Should I be leader more like Steve Jobs? How can I be more like Jeff Bezos? How can I be more like Travis from Uber? These are not only questions without answers, they are the wrong questions. The real question is, “Who the fuck are you?” You’re not Steve Jobs. You’re not Jeff Bezos. You’re you. What does the leader within you look like?
In today’s conversation, Jerry is joined by Evgeny, Co-founder and CEO of Makers Academy. Ev wrestles with the question of whether it’s possible to scale an organization built around trust, or does success require a leader who governs by fear? Together they discover a more beautiful, more fundamental question --“Who is Evgeny?” In that answer they may find a path to personal alignment and more effective leadership.
Reboot Podcast #34 - Self actualization - with Henry May on Reboot Podcastrebootio
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung.
"Work is difficulty and drama, a high-stakes game in which our identity, our self-esteem, and our ability to provide are mixed inside us in a volatile, sometimes explosive ways.” from David Whyte in his incredible book, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a pilgrimage of Identity.
That volatile, explosive mix is a gift. It presents a tremendous opportunity for us to do our own work, our inner work, and further develop our own understanding of self. In our conversation today, Jerry is joined by Henry May, founder and CEO of CoSchool, based in Columbia. Henry comes to Jerry with this very issue: How might the journey of entrepreneurship, specifically his own, open up new opportunities for him to grow? Or said more directly: How might he use his work at Coschool to do the real work on his humanity?
Reboot Podcast #26 - Finding your Business Soulmate - Founders of The Grommet...rebootio
Two co-founders, who refer to each other as business soulmates, have found themselves in that special place of alignment. A place in partnership where they align not just intellectually, not just energetically, not even just at a values level, but at a human level. Jules Pieri (her second time on the show) and her partner Joanne Domeniconi oni are the Co-founders of The Grommet. They join Jerry to talk about the beginning of their partnership, where and how they found alignment at the human level, how it has evolved over time, and the challenges it represents as they scale the business
Reboot Podcast #36 - The Quest - with Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer on Reboot P...rebootio
Time and time again, I get the pleasure of seeing skeptical, but open Reboot Bootcampers enter the Colorado wilderness with instructions from Jim looking for a conversation – and time and time again I see them come back in shock with how the land opened new insights up for them. Jerry included.
In today’s special episode, Jerry Colonna, Jim Marsden and Jade Sherer talk about the power and opportunity of time on the land, how Jerry’s own experience on a vision quest, which was guided by Jim and Jade, and why a quest could change your own awareness forever. If it terrifies you, you are ready…
Reboot Podcast #39 - New Choices with Mary Lemmer on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Mary Lemmer came on to share her emotional story of seemingly everything working against her; her body giving in, her relationship ending, her business coming apart, losing her dad's approval, all in a very short period of time. Physically and emotionally, these were painful experiences for Mary and yet, what if they were exactly what she needs? What if this is the moment she was waiting for?
Reboot Podcast #15 - Becoming a Leader: The Crucible of Co-Founder Conflict w...rebootio
JW Player has come a long way. The JW player and platform is now used by over 2.5 million publishers and 20% of the fortune 1,000 companies. Each month about 1 billion people watch video on their platform. Behind those numbers are real people--including three co-founders who, over the last eight years, have experienced their own profound personal growth and leadership transformations.
In a special first video episode, only fitting for the co-founders of one of the world’s largest video platforms, we have the 3 co-founders of JW Player joining Jerry in person. In a very open conversation, they explore key challenging moments in their company and partnership history -and how they emerged from those moments stronger and more committed than ever. It's an inspiring story of leaders born through adversity
Reboot Podcast #9 - Investing in Trust - with Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Fred Wilson barely needs an introduction for his role and impact in the startup community both as blogger and co-founder of Union Square Ventures. Fred’s also a big reason why I’m here giving this intro: his blog ultimately led me to meeting and now working with Jerry; and his family podcast, Positively 10th Street, was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to. Feels like things have come full circle.
So I’m thrilled to have Fred join Jerry for this episode. In 19 years of friendship and partnership in the startup world, these two have seen just about everything. In this conversation they share some stories from the Flatiron Partnership days, what makes a perfect board, the importance of trust in investing, and what makes a good leader. They even discuss the sheer terror they felt on their own entrepreneurial journey. There’s a lot of great material referenced in this discussion, so we’ve gone ahead and compiled a bunch of links from this show on our podcast page at reboot.io/podcast.
In what we hope will be a series of several, enjoy this first Reboot conversation with Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonna.
Reboot Podcast #33 - Do I Even Have A Superpower?- with Kent Cavender-Baresrebootio
Have you ever asked yourself the question: I wonder if we'd be better off with someone else in my role?
In this podcast, a listener, Kent Cavender-Bares from Rowbots comes to Jerry with a question a similar question about his superpower: "What if my deep integrity, my commitment to simply telling how it is, is the reason we’re unable to fundraise? Do I even have a Superpower? Wouldn’t Rowbots, be further along if someone else was leading?" Jerry and Kent explore the double edge of a superpower, and how the path through his challenges may lie in a new set of questions: How can I be even more like Kent? How can I embrace my superpower? How can I believe in myself? And why is that so damned important?
Reboot Podcast #8 - How Introspection Changed My Business - With Blaine Vess ...rebootio
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle
Entrepreneur and CEO Blaine Vess has an impressive story. Studymode, the company he helped start and bootstrap from his dorm room almost 16 years ago, now has 30 employees and sees between 60-90M visitors a month. It’s rare to find 15 year old bootstrapped companies. It’s rare to have the same CEO for 15 years as Blaine has been. But last year, Blaine wanted more for his company and himself. He wanted to know how to help push his company to the next level. To achieve that, he didn’t look elsewhere, he looked within.
In this conversation, Jerry and Blaine talk about Blaine’s “year of introspection”. It included a stop at one of our bootcamps, working with a coach and a therapist, and that year ultimately helped him understand how and why he was holding himself back. Perhaps Blaine and Jerry’s conversation, our first of 2015, may spark your own year of introspection.
Reboot Podcast #32 - Invest in Being Yourself - with Bryce Roberts and Chris ...rebootio
VC’s Bryce Roberts of OATV and Indie.vc, and Chris Marks of Blue Note Ventures both found the standard issue of the VC world was not a fit for them. They both sought out to set a new path, one that aligned with who they are and what they value. In a conversation with Jerry, and each other, they explore the challenges on their journey, and the potential opportunities they have to better connect with entrepreneurs through those challenges. This conversation may leave you asking yourself:
In my own work, what are my values? What are my priorities? What am I wearing today?
Reboot Podcast #37 - Are you a Servant Leader - with Patrick Campbell on Rebo...rebootio
For leaders the temptation to tell, fix, and even do is so strong. “I know the way,” or “I have the answers,” or “the buck stops with me.” Sometimes it’s impossible to resist the ego boost of providing the answer, giving the fix, telling the way. But what impact does this have on the team, and ourselves? And is it even true?
Jerry Colonna is joined today by Patrick Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Price Intelligently – a bootstrapped company in Boston. Patrick and Jerry explore different leadership styles, the power of “if I die docs,” and how the secret to leadership, and servant leadership, may not lie in having the right answers, but instead asking the right questions.
Reboot Podcast #23 - With a Little More Care… with Sherman Lee and Jerry Colonnarebootio
Sometimes we spend so much time looking at where we aren’t or where others have gone that we don’t fully appreciate where we are and how much we’ve grown on the journey.
A year ago today, Reboot didn’t have a podcast. A year ago today, Sherman Lee was staring down a draining bank account, a shaky business model, and a crippling fear: if I fail, I won’t be able to provide. A year later we sit with our 23rd podcast episode, a return visit from Sherman one of our first guests, and an opportunity to appreciate Sherman’s journey and growth since we last spoke.
Reboot Podcast #10 - Fail with Honor - with Derek Bereit, Beth McKeon, & Jer...rebootio
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
Most startups fail. We all know this as much as we try to forget it. The absolute hardest, hardest question an entrepreneur can ask themselves is: When do you know it’s over?
In the first of two conversations in this episode, we are joined by Derek Bereit, CEO and Co-Founder of Symptomly, who is staring down the end of his runway and wrestling with this very question.
In a second conversation we hear from Beth McKeon, Founder and CEO of Kids Calendar, who is dealing with another common challenge: How do you find, recruit and hire the right person for your startup at the stage that it’s in?
As always we’d love to hear feedback from you either on our website or on twitter @reboothq. Now on with to the conversations.
Reboot Podcast #29 - Who's in Your Corner? - with Carrie Barryrebootio
Carrie Barry has had her own great challenges to overcome, including real struggles at home that forced her to leave at the age of 12 and strike out on her own. She’s proven resilient, stitching the struggles of her past into the fabric of her being and choosing to appreciate and utilize that pain into the work she does today. Carrie Barry is former Olympic Boxer and entrepreneur who owns and runs a boxing gym in Boulder where people come to break a sweat, get a hug, and learn some valuable life lessons. She also happens to be, in a twist, a boxing coach for 2 of Reboot’s finest: Jerry and Ali. Join Jerry in getting a little coaching, and a lot of inspiration in this conversation with Carrie Barry.
Reboot Podcast #7 - The Relationship between Depression and Entrepreneurship?...rebootio
After years of rapid growth and expansion, followed by a serious year of depression, Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, found himself in a room surrounded by VC backed CEO’s and entrepreneurs where the question was posed: “How many of you struggle seriously with depression or severe anxiety or emotional issues?” He watched almost every person raise their hand. It’s shocking how universal depression is in startups. For anyone struggling with depression, it’s helpful to know you’re not alone. In this podcast, which is slightly different than past episodes, Jerry converses with Rand about his experience - his “loop,” how shame and guilt are at times his driver, the importance of understanding one’s emotional state, and how he’s made progress in coming out of his own depression, including his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or anyone dealing with their own depression.
Reboot Podcast #38 - Plant seeds of your life - With Congressman Tim Ryan on ...rebootio
Congressman Tim Ryan is our guest for Episode 38 of the Reboot Podcast. Tim is a special guy, and not just because he’s a congressman, and not just because he’s from Ohio – though that’s pretty great too – but because he’s committed to bringing heart, humanity, mindfulness and a long-term focus into a space that doesn’t always welcome it: government. In this conversation (originally recorded in November), Tim shares his journey to mindfulness, his ongoing practice in noticing his own inner conversation, and his commitment to mindfully planting seeds for the future and having the patience to watching them grow.
Reboot Podcast #04 - The hidden burdens in our work – with Jerry Colonna, She...rebootio
How can you save a business from the brink of bankruptcy and grow it 2,000% in 10 years, and yet feel like it could all go away in any given moment? Or face the fear, the weight, that you must be chief breadwinner...for you, your family, your co-founder and team’s family as well? Fear is pervasive in our lives, and in the crazy world of startups and entrepreneurship it is an always present participant. In this episode, we have two entrepreneurs dealing with two different and yet similar fears, fears that entrepreneurs will know all too well.
Reboot Podcast #44 – We are Designed to Fail – with Nicholas Russell and Jerr...rebootio
Startups fail, we hear that all the time. Failure is good, we hear that all the time too. But we rarely hear about the pain, the shame and the second-guessing that comes with it. Even worse, at least for me, we rarely hear about the opportunities that lie, or may lie in something ending beyond just a pivot or a lesson learnt. In that moment, reading that email on the bench, my feet hurting, I wished someone would have told me what I know now to be true. This startup failing is not proof that something is broken within you. In fact, it's an opening and an opportunity to find something new within you and for you.
Zelle Nelson and Maureen McCarthy are not only co-founders of The Center For Collaborative Awareness, but they are also married to each other. They created a collaboration process called “The Blueprint of We” in 1998 as they began their dating relationship. This collaboration process is used to build and sustain healthier, more resilient business and personal relationships, which makes day-to-day interactions effortless and time together creative and productive. This process is facilitated through completing a document that has five components: The Story of Us, Interaction Styles and Warning Signs, Expectations, Questions to Return to Peace, and Short and Long-Term Agreements. Maureen and Zelle are using the Blueprint of We process and document to create a place where people actually look forward to going to work where everyone’s knowledge, passions, and interests rise to the surface to create a stronger and more vibrant company or community.
Reboot Podcast #41 - Being a superhero with John Guydon on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. How does that land for you? For me, I got to be honest, it feels like it was written for somebody else, a different type of person, a more capable and more talented and more powerful type of person. But it wasn’t. It's a reminder to us all that within us, we have the capacity to, as our guest says today, make really heavy, seemingly immovable things, move. In other words, we have great power if we choose to own it. The choice is always there and ours to make
Reboot Podcast #40 - Going beyond blame with Dave Zwieback on Reboot Podcastrebootio
Why the rush to assign the blame? There is something calming about finding a target. It's like this moment of being lost in a rough sea of chaos and uncertainty. A person to assign the fault is like an unsinkable lifeboat to grasp. We climb aboard and take a deep breath and relax. "Well, that’s solved." We do it as individuals, we do it as organizations, we do it as a society. But what incredibly valuable opportunities lie in resisting this urge to assign fault? What might what we learn in what didn’t or did work if we explore a bit more?
Reboot Podcast #43 – The Dharma of Inclusivity – with Konda Masonrebootio
There is real suffering out there and that suffering that is causing violence. What are some of the causes of the suffering and how might we address those?
It’s a true honor to welcome entrepreneur, creator, and teacher, Konda Mason to the podcast for an important and timely conversation with Jerry. This discussion was recorded last week, and we thought it was really important to get this out sooner rather than later, particularly given the events in Orlando. Konda and Jerry address some of the source causes of this suffering, this pain, and what opportunities might lie in remembering we’re all in this together. This conversation will challenge you on your own privileges and inspire you find new ways of connecting with people from all backgrounds.
Reboot Podcast #03 - This being so, so what? – With Jerry Colonna and Nigel S...rebootio
As CEO of a young startup, you can often feel what you are facing right now can make or break your company, can make or break you. And you will likely find yourself in this place more than once. Nigel Sharp, CEO of Armenian based Lion Sharp, finds himself in one of these very moments. He feels the energy of a promising product, and the reality of 6 months of runway. How do you balance the excitement and challenges? How do discuss the reality of your finances with your team? How do you discuss your fears, not only of failure but of success?
Reboot Podcast #45 – What’s Love Got to Do with It?- with Fred Wilson and Bra...rebootio
How can you expect to serve others, whether it be customers, portfolio companies, or your organization if your own house is not in order? We are so fortunate to welcome Brad Feld and Fred Wilson back to the Reboot Podcast. Jerry, Brad, and Fred have a friendship and history that goes back 20 years, and the wealth of experience between them is truly incredible.
How to Create Meaning in Life and Work by Anne Pryor for the Shift NetworkANNE PRYOR, MA
How to create meaning in life and work practical insights and resources on the spiritual journey by Anne Pryor, MA. Article prepared for the Shift Network participants of "Accessing Spiritual Messages for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation."
Keep your thoughts healthy – with Eric Zimmer
It’s really easy to get stuck into a pattern of circling around the same negative thoughts over and over.
It’s also really easy to shut down any of your negative thoughts and say, “Everything’s great!”
In this episode, among other things, Eric and I cover how to keep your thoughts as healthy as possible without going to either extreme.
http://rachelrofe.com/keep-your-thoughts-healthy-with-eric-zimmer
Want More?
If you liked this, there’s plenty more where it come from. Let’s stay in touch!
We can connect in any of these places:
Main website: http://www.RachelRofe.com
A Better Life Podcast – where these transcripts are taken from:
http://www.rachelrofe.com/podcast
Rachel's books – Learn new ways to improve your life:
http://www.rachelrofe.com/booklist
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/RachelRofe
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/AbetterlifeRR
Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/RachelRofe
Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/chooseabette...
YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/RachelRofe
YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/Chooseabetterlife
Did you miss our last episode?
You can get it here: http://rachelrofe.com/how-to-be-charismatic-with-jordan-harbinger
IRVIN YALOM This is the same group about four meetings later. .docxchristiandean12115
IRVIN YALOM: This is the same group about four meetings later.
JULIUS: Good to see everybody.
TONY: Good to be back.
BONNIE: Good to see you.
STUART: You look well, Julius.
BONNIE: You do.
JULIUS: Yeah? Well, I'm feeling not too badly. Have you been--it's interesting, Stuart, that you commented about that. I appreciate that.
STUART: I think that we all think about you quite a bit. And your situation.
JULIUS: How do you feel about that?
STUART: A little nervous. It's difficult. And I believe we said several weeks ago that we were going to try to talk about that a little bit more directly. And I don't know that we have.
PAM: I think I have seen a lot of different words around Julius' illness, situation. Everybody seems to--how do you feel about that, Julius?
JULIUS: I'm not sure about your question, Pam. What are you asking me?
PAM: Julius has cancer and that is devastating. And somehow we tend to use different words. You just used "situation." I have heard other people say "illness." I want to check in with people.
TONY: I'm fine with whatever we say as long as it's not confusing.
JULIUS: You have been feeling confused?
TONY: Just sometimes I don't understand what everybody is talking about. I don't know how to put it. Always on the spot. I don't want to talk about it right now.
JULIUS: You say you don't want to talk about "it" right now. What's the "it?"
TONY: Sometimes, especially recently with Philip, he uses a lot of terminology that is difficult for me to understand. It's just hard to put my head around things sometimes. I just feel dumb sometimes. But you guys know that.
REBECCA: No.
PAM: Tony, sometimes you say the most straight from the hip, pivotal thing to people.
TONY: That's good to know.
REBECCA: And I think it is hard for all of us to wrap our minds around somebody who has cancer.
TONY: Yeah, I think I was just saying that whatever the word is, like melanoma, malignant, things like that were just kind of always--it took me awhile to kind of get my head around it.
JULIUS: Well it has taken me a bit of time to get around it, too.
TONY: I bet.
JULIUS: And I--I'm glad in some ways, Stuart, that you led the meeting off with asking me about that because, as we have been talking this last while, for you to go to feelings is not an easy thing. What is it like for you to tell me that you are concerned about me?
STUART: Well, I am. I'm definitely concerned. I know we all are. And this group is certainly a place where we can come to talk to one another and I worry about that being upset. And I also know that you are responsible for bringing us here together. So I have a lot of gratitude.
JULIUS: Concern. Gratitude. Feels good for me to hear. Obviously I want to know that what I do is of value.
TONY: Helps me out a lot. Well, you know, all of you help me out a lot. But like I said a few sessions ago, just, I don't know, without this group I wouldn't have a touchstone to be able to kind .
The Reboot podcast was started because we believed that there needed to be an authentic, real conversation about the emotional journey of entrepreneurship. One that included its valleys and not just its peaks. 1 in 3 entrepreneurs will struggle with depression or burnout in their career, yet when it happens to them, many entrepreneurs feel totally alone in their experience.
Rob Symington is founder and entrepreneur who experienced a debilitating period of burnout following the launch of his startup, a startup that was inspired by the idea that work could be more fulfilling, less stressful and generally improve people’s lives no less. In this conversation, Jerry and Rob discuss his experience, why Rob believes it’s so important for him to share it, how he is moving forward, and the fact that the pressure of doing something you passionately believe in can challenge you unlike anything else.
How to Create Meaning in Your Work and Life by Anne Pryor MAANNE PRYOR, MA
Anne Pryor shares her personal development journey and practical tips and resources that may help others on How to Create Meaning in Your Work and Life.
Changing the Story - Using Social Media in Library Customer ServicesRob Wannerton
A short presentation on the ways Brunel University Library is using social media channels in delivering customer service and CRM, including Pinterest & Storify.
Presented at "Professionalism & Engagement in Customer Service: M25 Customer Service Group Conference, November 7th 2013", Kings College, London.
Similar to Reboot Podcast #11 - Stop and See: Mind Hacking, Meditation and Leadership - with Vincent Horn (12)
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This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
buy old yahoo accounts buy yahoo accountsSusan Laney
As a business owner, I understand the importance of having a strong online presence and leveraging various digital platforms to reach and engage with your target audience. One often overlooked yet highly valuable asset in this regard is the humble Yahoo account. While many may perceive Yahoo as a relic of the past, the truth is that these accounts still hold immense potential for businesses of all sizes.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
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At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
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Reboot Podcast #11 - Stop and See: Mind Hacking, Meditation and Leadership - with Vincent Horn
1. Reboot011-Meditation_Leadership
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Welcome to the Reboot podcast. I'm Dan Putt, one of the partners here at Reboot and I could not
be more excited about this conversation. We're here to showcase the heart and soul of authentic
leadership, to inspire more open conversations around what we consider the most important part
of entrepreneurship, the emotional struggle; and hopefully, we open up some hearts along the
way. We are extremely grateful that you have taken the time to be with us and look forward to
this journey ahead with you. Now, on with our conversation.
"Consciousness is so turbulent." That quote is from Emily Horn, a mindfulness coach and
teacher and Emily Horn is the wife of today's guest, Vincent Horn. Vincent recently joined
Reboot as a mindfulness coach and teacher. Vincent, can you tell us a little more about how you
came to work with Reboot?
Vincent: Yeah, about two years ago, Jerry started to work with me as a coach and most of
our conversations as he supported me with running Buddhist Geeks were about how I was or
wasn’t bringing mindful awareness to work, to this project. So about a year in, October 2013, I
joined the first CEO boot camp as a participant and then a year later, I came back to teach
meditation and mindfulness and was really thrilled to be supporting other entrepreneurs and
learning how to integrate the practices of mindful awareness, compassion, what I sometimes
called mind hacking into their own work. So it's with a lot of gratitude that I'm joining the team
and I'm really looking forward to supporting folks as they go through their own process of
entrepreneurship; the crazy journey that it is.
Dan Putt: And now on to today's conversation where Vincent talks about the work he does
with mindfulness, mind hacking and how it can make you a better leader.
Jerry Colonna: Hey Vince, how are you doing?
Vincent Horn: Yeah, good Jerry. Good to be here with you.
Jerry: It's good to have you. Hey Vince, before we get started, why don’t you take a
minute and tell us a little bit more about yourself and your background and
what you're doing and what brought us to this moment in time.
Vincent: Well, let's see; I was a computer engineering student who dropped out to
meditate and that led me to a place called Naropa University which you know
well. I finished my degree there and while I was there – and Naropa is
interesting because it's one of the few Buddhist inspired universities I think
that exist.
Jerry: Yeah.
Vincent: And I don’t know if you have heard this but when I was there, we used to call
it the Buddhist Harvard.
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Jerry: [Laughter] I hadn’t heard that and Vince knows but I'll say it loud for
audience, I'm the chair of the board of the trustees at Naropa so he's making
my heart go pitter-patter. [Laughter]
Vincent: And when I was there, I really wanted to bring together my interest in
meditation and the inner world with the technology side of things that I kind
of in a certain way had to put aside. As a result of that, there was a
conversation, a podcast that was born, called Buddhist Geeks. It was really me
and a couple of friends' attempt to explore the relevance of that ancient
practice and a series of practices in contemporary culture with modern
technology changing as rapidly as it is and a culture that is increasingly global
and interconnected. As part of that, we started a company that first was really
just kind of a hobby and then it became a lot more than that because people
really found what we were doing to be interesting and insightful. So we ended
up building really a company around it and I served as the CEO of that for
several years. I am doing so now and the capacity of a non-profit which we
recently transitioned to. As part of that, I also started teaching meditation
several years ago and part of that has connected with your work in Reboot and
I have been kind of participating in the CEO bootcamps as a – I guess,
meditation instructor, would be the right way of putting it. So that's been
really cool, the kind of bringing together now of my long-term interest in
business practice with meditation and mindfulness practice.
Jerry: Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why I was excited to be able to have this
conversation with you. Our relationship now is several years old and I have
watched your transition from various stages as Buddhist Geeks has evolved
but also as and you'll appreciate this phrase because this is a very Naropa-esq
thing; that you've taken your seat really in the world as a meditation instructor
and really as a leader in thinking about the role of mindfulness in the
workplace. But you know, I was curious; take me back a little bit. I remember
some of the initial conversations that we had as our friendship was unfolding
and I'm thinking about the – some of those early days and some of the
struggles that you experienced and even some of the things that you shared
with the group when you were actually a bootcamp participant. Could you
share a little bit about that?
Vincent: Yeah, I mean it's so funny because when I went to the bootcamp, the first
thing I realized is, you know, everyone there was going through similar
challenges to me even though their businesses often look quite different.
Jerry: Yeah.
Vincent: And so I don’t think anything that I was going through is going to sound
unfamiliar to people who are in this position. But you know, the main things
were fear, insecurity, not knowing if I had what it takes to build a long-
standing, sustainable organization and to really actualize the vision that was so
3. Reboot011-Meditation_Leadership
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important to me. I dealt with really challenges around being so deeply
invested in the company that any time there was a criticism or attack on
certain things, I would feel it personally ripple through me. Challenges
connected to that, challenges around learning how to balance my sort of
contemplative idealism [Laughs] I guess with just the practical skills of
learning a business and managing people and managing cash flow budgets and
things like that. The practical stuff.
Jerry: Right.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: And I was struck – you know, we had that email dialogue in anticipation of
this conversation and you were talking about how in a way – and I'm going to
mangle what you said because I don’t have it in front of me but the – how the
inner state was being reflected in the company. Is that – do I have that right?
Vincent: Oh yeah, totally. Doing meditation practice for a long time, I noticed that I
would go through these cycles, these moods I guess you could call them. One
day I'd be feeling great, on top of the world, seeing everything clearly,
knowing exactly what to do, feeling completely invincible and then, you
know, three days later, it's like my whole world was collapsing and I didn’t
know what to do and was uncertain and afraid and hopeless and yet still
needing to publish the next week's podcast. And I started to really see the
cycles that I had experienced in mediation and was really learning to work
with the ups and downs of life that they were reflected in and unfolding
through the phases of business. Oh I hope that – 'I am so excited I met this
new investor, they are going to invest in us, they totally get what we are trying
to do' and then it's like three days later, 'they haven’t signed the term sheet yet.
I am really scared [Laughs] what's going to happen next' I started seeing like
these same cycles were happening in my inner world as were happening in my
business and they really weren’t that disconnect actually.
Jerry: It's like the theoretical became visceral.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: That's probably not an entirely accurate word because I know from my own
practice that you do see the turbulence of your own mind, the up and down,
the roller-coaster and you do experience it. But then there's a funny thing that
can happen which is that you step into your job, you step into your role and
it's like you somehow expect that whole experience will shift and not happen
because you are at work.
Vincent: Yeah. Like, there's these two compartments; there's my life and then there's
my work and in my work I'm supposed to be this person that has all the
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answers and knows what to do and somehow it just doesn’t really work.
[Laughs]
Jerry: Yeah, you know, and I remember my own laughter and crazy response when I
realized that; holy mackerel, I'm the same human being in my life as I am at
my work, at my job. Of course, you say it out loud and the absurdity of that
observation just sort of hits you because what did you expect? Did you expect
to drop your humanity the minute you walked in the door?
Vincent: Right.
Jerry: I wonder, in thinking about that and as a long-time practitioner, I am going to
presume, even though I am a long-time practitioner, I am pretty crappy at this
that you have the ability to observe things on occasion. I wonder if you could
make any observations about the people that you worked with and their
responses to your inner state.
Vincent: Yeah, and I appreciate that you said 'on occasion'. [Laughter]
Jerry: Well, that's why we call it practice, right? [Laughter]
Vincent: Exactly. Yeah, you know, I work closely with a few people on Buddhist Geeks
and I noticed especially being in the leadership role where they were looking
to meet a really, I think take the lead on things in terms of action but also in
terms of holding some sort of emotional stability and intellectual stability that
when I was really unstable and wasn’t able to really observe what was
happening and just was lost in the torrential pouring out of different feelings
and experiences that they would freak out. They would freak out in response
to me often and then when I was, they would be cool. Not always because
sometimes they would help me see that I was freaking out and would be like
my greatest allies but I felt often that because I was in that position, and even
in that position, there's a certain level of just connection there where people –
they really do respond directly to my change of state and awareness of it or
lack thereof.
Jerry: To me it's a further explication of that notion that when a leader sneezes,
everybody catches a cold. It's an understanding that what's going on for us
internally in that very human aspect of our experience, affects everybody
around us.
Vincent: Yeah, we can't hide it.
Jerry: We can't hide it and nor can they inoculate themselves from it. I mean they
can create some resiliency to it and learn to separate; okay, that's Vince's
anxiety versus my challenges and my issues that's going on there.
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Vincent: Yes.
Jerry: But there again, I find it interesting; if we were to talk about say your
relationship with your wife Emily, we might be able to discern well, you
know, that's Vince's stuff and then Emily's got her stuff and we could sort of
apply the filter being able to separate out. But for some reason, we go into a
work environment and we think like there again, we're not going to be human,
we are not going to have the sort of emotional triggering that happens in the
environment that somehow we are not going to replicate all the same
emotional vicissitudes of our life in the office and it's not going to trigger
those things. And we're surprised when it shows up that way.
Vincent: Yeah and it's extremely challenging when it feels like there's so much on the
line. So I think that part, the feeling of vision being on the line or the
company, people's livelihoods and investors who you are serving I think when
all of those things are there, it makes it sometimes even harder to stop and sort
of reflect on that and work with it in a vulnerable way because it feels like if I
do that, then I'm going to be letting all these people down or I might fuck up.
[Laughs]
Jerry: Yeah.
Vincent: So, yeah, it makes it somewhat more challenging being in that position.
Jerry: Yeah, I think in listening to your reaction to it or seeking about the ways in
which the emotional stakes of success and failure, seem to be so much greater
in those environments perhaps not necessarily in our key romantic
relationships but certainly in many other environments. I'm thinking about the
way we care about the people that we work with when we think about
potentially succeeding or failing. As you well know, this podcast and
everything that we are doing right now is all part of Reboot and Reboot is a
new entity and I stepped into the seat as CEO and we were having a meeting
the other day and I asked my colleagues to help me with the way I tend to
internalize ultimate responsibility for everything and the desire to be able to
sort of navigate that anxiety that can arise. So, if we don’t get enough
attendees at a camp or if somehow the business doesn’t hit its financial
milestones, I start to feel it viscerally as if it's my fault.
Vincent: Right.
Jerry: And does that resonate with you?
Vincent: Oh yeah, like taking responsibility for everything as if like yeah, I am the
ultimate source of responsibility for everything; which is incredibly neurotic
[Laughter] no offence.
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Jerry: Oh it's neurotic and it's egotistical, you know, it's reifying of the self and the
sense that you know, it all flows through me. It's not [Unclear 0:16:25] in that
sense. The only thing that gives me a little bit of relief is to know that it
doesn’t necessarily directly aggrandize my sense of self but I guess in a sense
it does. I'm curious, what role do you think meditation plays in enabling you
to work with these situations?
Vincent: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because for me, it's been a foundational skill ever
since I was I guess 19 so it's one of the first things that I try to use when I am
dealing with these situations and I think the main thing that it's enabled is first
just an awareness of what's arising in my own experience, that I can sort of
see clearly 'oh, this is how I am feeling, this is how it feels in my body, these
are the thoughts associated with it' and it's like I can take a step back and just
see what's happening with my own system first. That seems to – as you talk
about with people all the time, it creates this sort of space or this gap or this
opening to be able to interject a little intention, like a little – just a micro-
moment of steering things in a new direction. That's been hugely helpful in
being able to respond to some of these situations because I can at least take
responsibility for my own experience and see that it's not being necessarily
created by anyone else. It's real but it's something that's happening for me and
me alone. I think that's kind of, I'd say, the fundamental level, the thing that
has enabled.
Jerry: How does it then impact the rest of the team?
Vincent: Yeah, I think when I am able to, as you put it earlier, take my seat and be
present for my own experience, the rest of the team I think recognizes that it's
okay to like say certain things, it's okay to bring up stuff. There's not a feeling
of everyone walking on eggshells trying to avoid irritating me or pissing me
off because they know that at some point I'll come around to [Laughs]
acknowledging what I am experiencing and taking some amount of
responsibility for it. I think that's what I have noticed.
Jerry: I think the core question, you know, as practitioners, I really relate it to your
thought that turning in effect to the cushion and taking your seat on the
cushion has become a sort of first response. I know that that's true in my own
life that when the biggest challenges are happening beyond my daily practice,
the people in my life will laugh because I'll say, "I got to go sit" and what that
is, that's me saying to myself, I have to go pause.
Vincent: Right.
Jerry: I have to go stop. I have to go reinforce the phenomenon of being here now.
But sometimes I think what happens for us long-time practitioners is that we
lose sight of really helping people understand of why that works and the ways
in which that work –
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Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: – because it becomes so much a part of our response to the world.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: So do you have any – why does it work?
Vincent: Yeah, I mean, it seems like from what I can tell, there seems to be two main
elements to why it works and I have heard – expressed really simply as
stopping and seeing. I like that formulation with other ways of talking about it
but what you just described as that period in your day where you go and just
pause, that's the stopping. It's the interrupting whatever is happening to make
space for a more simple way of being and noticing. Then that's not really
enough though if we just stop. We have to also see what's there to really bear
witness to whatever is present, whether it's something quite pleasant and
enjoyable like joy or calm or clarity or having brilliant creative ideas or it's
actually something more difficult to bear like sadness and grief or frustration,
confusion, just being able to see those things and being able to really know
what they are like and become intimate and familiar with them because they
are not really going to go away any time soon. That's something that I think is
also – it's a realization that dawns gradually and I wouldn’t say that I fully
understand it because I still find myself wanting to get away from and rid of
those human experiences. But I think that stopping and being able to let go of
whatever we are kind of enamored with or caught on or stuck on – the kind of
attention traps that we get into –
Jerry: Mm-hmm.
Vincent: – and then being able to see what's operating and see how it's presenting itself
in our actual experience, in our first-person subjective experience. Like a
scientist of the mind studying and becoming really familiar with the patterns
of the body and emotions and thoughts and being able to kind of, in some
ways, know them with a deep precision and a deep care and a deep allowing
that I think really starts to transform one's relationship with experience and it
starts to develop all these meta-qualities of wisdom and of opening of the
heart and patience and all these virtues that various wisdom traditions and
philosophies always describe as being really good ideas. [Laughter]
Jerry: Well, and not only wisdom traditions of the past but wisdom traditions
Harvard Business School describing as the good qualities of a leader.
Vincent: Absolutely; I mean, they are one and the same, right?
Jerry: That's right.
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Vincent: There's a perennial-ness to wisdom; it's not something – it's not a fad, it's not
something that comes and goes. It stands the test of time.
Jerry: Yeah. You know, as you were describing it, I had a few different memories, a
few different thoughts and one is – the first is to really elaborate on this
because we have been talking about the anxiety, and we talked a little bit
before about that emotional roller-coaster ride of when you see, when you are
so attached to the enterprise that everything becomes so intense for you as an
experience and I was thinking about, what I often refer to as the feeling of
standing still while your hair is on fire. That sensibility that comes over when
you are trying to do this new startup or you are trying to do something that
hasn’t been done before and you are so attached to the outcome that it
exacerbates almost an inherent anxious state of mind. So I was thinking about
that and then I was thinking about my own experience with my own therapist
and I was talking to her just the other day and I said, aside from the fact that –
I asked her, "Why am I so anxious?" And she said, "Well, take a look at your
parents." But leave that aside for a moment. She said, – she asked a really
cutting-through question; you know the way a good teacher will cut through
and ask a good question?
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: And she said, "What feeling or what experience are you trying to avoid by
being anxious?" It was so powerful and of course, the feeling that I was trying
to avoid, and this sounds kind of strange, but it was actually of being scared. It
was like the anxiety was a mask for the scary thought. It wasn’t the scary
thought itself.
Vincent: Yes.
Jerry: And the scary thought was that the thing that I was holding close to my heart
wasn’t going to work out and there was a corollary feeling of disappointment
and anger and I didn’t want to experience those either because those are
painful.
Vincent: Yes.
Jerry: And so what my mind did was, it wrapped the whole thing in a candy coating
of anxiety and said, here, 'swallow this buddy boy'. In the stopping and seeing,
which I loved the way you framed it, in the stopping and seeing, I get to see
past the experience of the anxiety to the experience of being scared right
through to the experience of disappointment and anger.
Vincent: Yes and I think where the rubber hits the road on this practice and where it
becomes imminently practical is you know, when you see that or when I see
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that or when anyone sees what's actually there and then we come to have a
complete experience of it. We are really fully able to be with it and bear
witness to it and then it suddenly changes how we operate. We have a new
vantage point on which we see what we are doing because we are no longer
kind of caught in the attention trap of anxiety. Now we are like – we have
actually faced our fear. [Laughs]
Jerry: Yeah.
Vincent: Been with it.
Jerry: Yeah.
Vincent: And then I think that's where the most practical aspect of this practice is it
helps move us through the things we are most scared of facing and then it
transforms us in the process.
Jerry: It's like the energy it takes to try to move away from it –
Vincent: Oh gosh.
Jerry: – becomes anxiety.
Vincent: Yes.
Jerry: And the energy that it takes to stop and see is that meditation moment, is that
mindfulness moment which then causes the opportunity for a transformation
of how we feel about what's actually going on.
Vincent: And then that energy like you say, it's freed up suddenly.
Jerry: Yes.
Vincent: It's liberated.
Jerry: Yes and I think I have seen in organizations that when that energy gets
liberated, it becomes creativity, or it becomes innovation, or it becomes
spontaneity which is ironic because typically the thing that is provoking the
anger or the guilt or the disappointment or that core primary feeling that we
are trying to move away from, typically those are things that could require and
be best served by our creativity, by our spontaneity our intelligence, our innate
wisdom.
Vincent: Yes and I would say from my experience, even crazier and weirder is those
fears that I think most entrepreneurs have, they're tied in with the feeling of
not being creative enough or not being innovative enough or not – it's the very
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thing that we are scared of not being able to do that's preventing us from being
able to do – to actually have the capacity to succeed at what we are doing or at
least to find out that it's not going to work.
Jerry: Yeah, it's really quite perverse if you think about it.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: It's like our emotional reaction fosters the very conditions we are trying to run
away from. It's like, I have this image of being chased by the bear and the bear
is sitting on your tail right there; every time you run away, it's still there
whereas if you stop running and confront it, or since we are talking about
Eastern traditions, it's probably a tiger more than it's a bear. It's always a tiger,
right? [Laughter]
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: And if we stop and turn around and look at the tiger, and deal with the tiger,
there's a transformation that starts to occur.
Vincent: Yeah. And that's a really different way of approaching business; it's like
letting go as the main mechanism for being able to step into something new as
opposed to kind of being like, okay I know what I need to be and I'm going to
step into it. It's a slightly different kind of way of doing it.
Jerry: Yeah, I am sitting here thinking about the folks who might be listening to this
and thinking that if I were them, I would say – and if I were new to a practice,
I would say, okay, this is all well and good for me as an individual but I've got
a whole team of people. How do I either a) get them there if I believe this will
work and b) how does this impact that organization?
Vincent: Yeah. I hear what you are saying and I could imagine that as well. I think one
insight that sort of started dawning for me in the last few years that's been
really helpful for thinking about this is that meditation isn’t a solitary activity
actually. It's a social – it's also a social action because – I mean, as we know
from neurobiology, there's this great phrase, "Neurons that fire together, wire
together."
Jerry: I love that.
Vincent: It's a beautiful phrase and when you think about us individually as neurons
within this larger collective of other neurons, because we know that actually
the way that our neurobiology works is through mirroring. We are actually
firing and wiring together collectively not just inside of our head and so
whatever stability, whatever peace of mind that we have developed, it actually
ripples through the network of human consciousness and potentially even
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beyond that. So I think when people are thinking about this with respect to
teams, again, it's – our state of mind is constantly informing and shaping just
as others are on us, each other. So I wouldn’t even say it's really always
necessary for other people to have to learn these skills or do this as much as it
is for us to kind of do that first and to set an example for what could be
possible. I think people always respond more to actual, what in the Zen
tradition they call live words, live actions. It's not just the idea or the concept,
it's actually the embodiment of those things. I think that has a really much
bigger impact at least that I have seen from my own mentors and in my own
experience.
Jerry: I think you've explained it so beautifully; there's a phrase that I often repeat
that I learned from Cesar Millan, the dog-whisperer.
Vincent: Nice.
Jerry: And that is, "When the alpha-dog is unstable, the pack is unstable" and in any
organization, the leader is the alpha-dog and I think what Cesar is identifying,
he's making an observation which is true of those sentient beings, dogs or as
our partner Ali would make the observation about horses. It's the positive
impact of one individual learning to manage or learning to be with – I don’t
like the word 'manage' because it implies a kind of repressive response but
learning to be with the emotional turmoil that's going on and to find the ability
to stand still and see in the midst of all that. That becomes the neurons that
start to fire together and then they become wired together and I can see how
this would then lead to deeper teamwork.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: And so you see it in an orchestra or you see it in a basketball team in the
famous example Phil Jackson working with the Lakers back when he was
coaching with the Lakers and teaching them to meditate together and then go
out on the court and the flow that occurred between player and player was
beautiful.
Vincent: Yeah, and I was thinking as you were saying that and this is kind of in some
ways the magical part of mindfulness and meditation practice to me is – and I
don’t completely know how it works actually is that the more capacity I have
to hold my own experience and to be with it and to allow it, the more I seem
to be able to do that for others and the more they are willing to open up and
share what's happening and to be vulnerable and to acknowledge the things
that are difficult to acknowledge. I think even though that feels really scary at
times, because it's so intimate and so bare, it's also the thing that leads to the
most deep and meaningful relationships and enables the kind of teamwork that
it's like at such another level because it's almost like one organism as opposed
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to all these people here that are just slamming into each other, trying to avoid
hurting each other's feelings.
Jerry: Or being hurt themselves.
Vincent: Or especially –
Jerry: Yeah, I think that it's the very thing that you identify that is the currency by
which it happens and that is, it's not necessarily – you said, it's hard because it
requires a kind of – and the word that pops in my head is vulnerability; it's
that vulnerability, it's that rawness of the experience that I think becomes the
actual currency by which that connection occurs.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: It's because I'm allowing myself to experience those things that the mirror
neurons that exist between the two of us within a group get bonded.
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: I witness your vulnerability and I resonate with it.
Vincent: Yeah. I mean, I feel like in the bootcamps that we have done, half of what
happens that's so profound is that people really just sharing and opening up in
that way and revealing to each other our own deep humanity.
Jerry: I did a – Khalid, Ali and I led a management off site the other day for a client
company and there was this powerful moment where the CEO had said to us
at the beginning, "Listen, one of the challenges we have is that we are not
necessarily working as collaboratively as we'd like and I'm finding myself sort
of not being brought in to assist. I know that there are things that I can do to
bridge connections between the departments." So we said, okay, we'll explore
that and what started to unfold was that there was this collective yet unspoken
belief that it was not okay to ask for help. The most powerful moment was
when the CEO realized that that’s exactly the way he had grown up; that it
was wrong to ask for help and that it would cause him to be criticized and
chastised by his mother. So, there was this slap-the-forehead moment where
they realized, or he realized that he had replicated unconsciously that
experience. So in essence, the whole offsite was a moment of sitting still and
seeing because the presenting idea was 'we are not collaborating' but the real
issue was this collective engagement, it's not okay to ask for help. So then we
got a chance to choose what is the leadership culture we want to create. Oh,
we want to say and we want to force ourselves to lean into a difficult thing
which is to teach each other and hold each other accountable for that very act
of asking for help. That was quite powerful. So if there was one lesson or
teaching you could draw out as it related to the application of these and you
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and I love this term when we talk about mediation, these age-old technologies
to the work environment or to an individual but I am really focused on the
collective at this point; is there anything that you would say?
Vincent: Yeah, [Laughs] that's such a [Unclear 0:39:59] one Jerry.
Jerry: Yeah. [Laughs]
Vincent: Oh there are so many things.
Jerry: I mean, for example, the importance of your individual practice and then the
relationship to the collective.
Vincent: Yeah. I think the thing I'd say as a kind of framework or like an idea to help
see why awareness is important and why mindful awareness is so critical is –
and I think this is something I found extremely – I keep coming back to this
again and again is that whatever we're able to see, to experience, to make into
an object in our awareness is something that we are no longer blindly
identified with and caught in. As soon as we are not caught in it anymore and
because we can see it, we can work with it. Once it's an object, once we are
aware of it, we can actually work with it. When we are not aware of it, when
we are blindly identified with it, it's like when we are in a movie theater and
we are totally so absorbed in the movie that we forget that we are even in the
theater. Once we realize that this is actually a play in a way, that this is
actually a story that's unfolding right here, you know, and become aware of
certain aspects of that story, we can begin the story in a new way. We can
[Unclear 0:41:39] – take a little bit more of a creative position and I think the
beauty of that is the malleability of reality when we start experiencing things
that way.
Jerry: It's almost like the sitting and seeing enables more adult participation and
engagement with your life; adult meaning a kind of – I hesitate to use the
word 'choice' but a kind of more active participation –
Vincent: Yeah.
Jerry: – because the movie-goer is sitting in the audience having the experience
happen to them versus really being engaged in the experience itself.
Vincent: Mm-hmm.
Jerry: Well, that's beautiful and I know I have put you on the spot there and –
Vincent: Thanks.
Jerry: – you responded really well and I appreciate that.
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Vincent: As you always do. [Laughs]
Jerry: That's my job, my friend. [Laughs]
******
Dan: Before we end this episode, we'd like to share a guided meditation that Vincent recorded
for the mobile mindfulness app, Buddhify. We hope you enjoy it.
Vincent: How we experience the universe affects how we experience ourselves. In this
meditation, we'll explore two ways of perceiving the observable universe. The first way will be
as ourselves arising within the vast physical cosmos. The second way is as all conscious
experience arising within our awareness. By meditating in this way, we gain a deeper familiarity
with two of the most core ways of knowing reality. One from the Western-scientific tradition and
the other from the Eastern-contemplative traditions. We'll begin with the universe you probably
know best; the physical one.
Take a moment to relax your body, relax your mind and close your eyes. As you relax, let your
attention settle on the inner movie theater of your mind, the screen of your imagination. Begin by
picturing yourself in the room that you are in just as it is. Imagine the setting and layout and feel
yourself inhabiting that place. Now allow the picture to expand to include your city perhaps as an
aerial shot. See how much space you take up in this space, how much smaller you are.
Now expand your imagination even further to your region or state and then to the country that
you are in. Notice where you are in this picture. Now we're going to allow the aerial shot to go
all the way into space; imagine seeing the Earth from the perspective of the International Space
Station. See where you are on the planet, notice how vast the Earth is, this big, blue marble.
Now expand even further out moving away from the Sun, past Mars, Jupiter and the rest of the
planets in the solar system. See the Sun shrinking into a smaller dot and the Earth starting to
vanish from sight. Take in the whole system from the very edges of our solar system, vast open
space and us, sitting on Planet Earth not even visible now, hurtling around our small Sun.
Now allow your mind's eye to zoom out even further moving much faster than the speed of light
and go back all the way to the point where you are taking in the whole of the Milky Way galaxy.
Take in the 300 billion or so points of light that make up the luminous core and spiraling arms of
the Milky Way. Notice where the Sun is located, nearly halfway between the core and the outer
arms of the galaxy in the rural backwaters of the Milky Way. How much space do you take up at
this scale?
Continue zooming out going far enough back to take in the Virgo super-cluster; a cluster of tens
of thousands of galaxies including our own Milky Way. Notice the self-similar pattern of
organization even at this scale; how shining points of clustered matter and light come together
with vast distances of space in between.
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Continue zooming out further and further watching innumerable galaxies stream by, going all the
way to the point where you can see the entire observable universe. Take in all of the known
universe with its hundreds of millions of galaxies, each of which contain trillions of stars and
planets. Notice how inconceivably small you are from this vantage point. What does this vantage
point bring up for you? Awe? Fear? Confusion? Wonder? Notice how seeing yourself as a tiny
part of the vast cosmos changes your experience.
Now during this whole thought experiment, every single thing we've imagined has been in your
mind. You didn’t physically travel to the outer edges of space. Instead you imagined your way
through a series of complex thoughts. Notice that as you sit here, not only are thoughts arising in
your awareness but so is every other aspect of your experience; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, the
sensations of your body, all wash through your experience. Waves of thought and emotion
course through this field of sensory experience arising, persisting for a while and then changing.
Notice how not a single thing arises outside of your experience. All of this is happening in your
awareness. Furthermore, it's the only experience you have ever known; can you think of anything
that you have ever known which you didn’t know through your direct experience? From this
vantage point, every single thing we have thought, felt or known has arisen within this human
experience of ours. See what it's like to take in the entire observable universe as what's currently
arising in and as your awareness.
Anything you can imagine as being outside of it, including the vast magnitudes of space, arises
as a thought within this experience. We are the universe knowing itself. Take another minute to
feel what this way of experiencing yourself and the universe is like. [Silent pause] Now,
reflecting back on the meditation, take note of what it was like to imagine yourself as a small
part of the vast physical universe. How did that contrast with experiencing the whole of the
universe as that which is arising in your experience right now? How can these two different
perspectives help illuminate more of who we are and the universe we inhabit?
As you end this meditation and go about the rest of your day, see if you can feel what it's like to
be able to toggle between these two modes of experiencing; each literally revealing an entirely
different universe. This has been a Buddhify meditation by Vincent Horn. You can find out more
about my work at Vincenthorn.com and Buddhify.com. Thank you for your time and attention.
******
So that’s it for our conversation today. You know, a lot was covered in this episode from links,
to books, to quotes, to images. So, we went ahead and compiled all that and put it on our site at
Reboot.io/podcast. If you would like to be a guest on the show, you can find out about that on
our site as well.
I’m really grateful that you took the time to listen. If you enjoyed the show and you want to get
all the latest episodes as we release them, head over to iTunes and subscribe and while you’re
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16. Reboot011-Meditation_Leadership
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[Singing] "How long till my soul gets it right?
Did any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo,
King of night-vision, King of insight."
[End of audio 0:55:34]
[End of transcript]