Last month, I got an email from Matt Hanna, Director of Curiosity at Thought Mixing Bowl, who had come across my profile on Creative Mornings, the breakfast lecture series for the creative community and asked me whether I'd be interested in having a conversation with him on his podcast.
Thought Mixing Bowl is a different kind of podcast, rather than a one-sided interview, it's meant to focus on real connection and conversation. Matt is particularly interested in exploring the idea of how to live a better life with other creative people.
The interview revolved mainly around the following questions:
- What are a few mottos you live by to try to live a better life?
- What are the important questions you find yourself tackling routinely?
and was followed by a couple questions I asked Matt in return.
Also, Matt composed a short instrumental piece of music inspired by our conversation (what he's calling "Conversation Pieces"). He based the piece around my motto of simpler, greener, and happier.
I was both flattered and scared to be asked to participate in my first recorded interview and I have to admit that it took me a long time to decide whether I would share it with you. But hey, it's the 21st century, and nothing can be kept secret for too long, so here it is. I hope you'll like it!
(Please pardon my accent and the 1'000 "basically", "definitely", "actually", "eventually", "you know", "I mean" and "realize" you'll be hearing in the next 30 minutes.)
Here are the books, articles and links I referred to in the interview:
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L'art de l'essentiel ("The Art of Essential") by Dominique Loreau who is particularly interested in the Japanese way of life,
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Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson, whose family of 4 only produces one handful of trash per year,
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Costa Makers, the coworking space I opened in California in 2014,
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Four Ways to Figure Out What You Really Want to Do with Your Life, a Lifehacker article by Thorin Klosowski,
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How to Decide What to Do with Your Life, a Lifehacker article by Leo Babauta,
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Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, who, faced with the prospect of being unable to explain why we eat some animals and not others to his son, sets out to explore the origins of many eating traditions and the fictions involved with creating them.
What about you, what are a few mottos you live by to try to live a better life? What are the important questions you find yourself tackling routinely? Also, what did you think of this podcast? Would you like to hear me talk a little more? I have this slight obsession with podcasts and contemplate on starting my own. Do you think that would be a good idea?