Issue 5
Welcome to a previous issue of The Journal. To get the latest issue delivered to your inbox, once a month, sign up for the newsletter here.
The Journal podcast: Jason Freid
In this month’s podcast, I had a chance to sit down with Jason Fried, Founder of Basecamp. Jason is a technology pioneer, having been one of the first to embrace and build hosted applications in the cloud. He’s also an early champion of distributed companies (i.e. remote workers, as illustrated in his book, Remote).
Jason and I get into building a company culture and taking care of your employees for the long term. After hearing about how Jason runs his business, you’ll likely consider quitting your current gig to join his team. Yes, his company perks are that good.
Listen here: iTunes, Web, RSS (45:20)
AI is coming, here is what you need to know
Like me, you’ve probably read casually about AI, but outside of Google or Facebook beating board game champions you don’t have a firm grasp on where we stand.
The best no-nonsense explanation of where we stand today is on the blog, Wait But Why. You’ll soon see why Elon Musk considers Wait But Why one of his favorite websites.
Wait But Why: The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence
I tried Transcendental Meditation (TM)
The guys on the left are the Beatles, the guy on the right is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM), a meditation technique he brought to the west in the 60's.
TM is certainly popular amongst the celebrities. The Beatles, Opera, Huge Jackman, Jerry Seinfeld, and a bunch of other pop-stars, CEOs, and hedge fund managers all practice TM. So if my skepticism level was a 7, it quickly shot up to a 10.
Three friends recommended TM to me, my buddy Anish (former co-worker at Google), Tim Ferriss, and Dr. Peter Attia (listen to him on Tim’s podcast) with each of them having had great results.
I still had a few questions before jump in, though. Namely, how does TM differ from apps like Headspace or Calm? Apps which I’ve been using for years to meditate.
Headspace is what’s called “mindfulness meditation,” a form of meditation that has been adapted from traditional Vipassana and focuses on being in the present moment. TM is mantra meditation. A mantra is a word or sound repeated to aid concentration. Like Vipassana meditation, mantra meditation has also been around for thousands of years.
I’m always game for something new, so I signed up for four days of TM training (1.5 hrs a day).
Day 1:
The first thing you learn is your mantra and the technique. Once you receive your mantra from your teacher, you close your eyes and repeat the mantra over and over in your head, returning to your mantra as the mind wanders. I’m simplifying a lot here, but you get the gist. This is done for 20 minutes, twice a day.
I was a little bummed after the first day. It felt as though I could have learned this basic technique from the internet without paying for the class.
Day 2–4:
I’m so glad I followed through and continued days 2–4. Even though the technique takes just a few minutes to learn, there are a ton of roadblocks that creep up. For example, I found my mantra was overlapping with my breath (distracting me), then my heart beat (distracting me), and then outside noise (distracting me). Other things like focusing too hard on the pronunciation of the mantra (preventing me from relaxing properly) also threw me for a loop. Thankfully the instructors had seen these issues many times and helped me resolve them. This is why you pay for the class.
So…what happened?
Nothing, for the first week or so. Then, little gaps in the day with less background stress, and moments of extreme stillness while meditating. The daily practice is starting to feel like a nice little reset button in the morning and afternoon. Almost like waking from a nap, refreshed and with less stress. I will say I’m impressed with how quickly the results are coming, and also excited to see how things go once I deeper my practice with time.
Would I recommend you try it? Well, it’s expensive, my four-day course was $950 in NYC (they do offer a payment plan and financial assistance for those that need it). I plan on continuing the practice for the next few months and will report back.
Learn more:
- Buzzfeed tries TM for 60 days
- Jerry Seinfeld talks TM
- Official TM website
Video/Art: LEDs set in motion to create human form
“When arranged and animated in order, the points of light represent the human anatomy. Instinctively, the brain is able to stitch the disparate points together and recognize them as one human form.” ~Hannes Koch
1 minute of all-out exercise may have benefits of 45 minutes of moderate exertion
More positive data for fans of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I’ve tried HIIT on and off for the last few years and have recently reincorporated it into my weekly workout regimen. It’s great for keeping me trim (fat burning). Full protocol and details in the article. As always, check w/ your doc to make sure you’re healthy enough for HIIT.
Monthly wisdom
“Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.”
~Elon Musk
See you next month, be well.
-Kevin
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