Alexander Crawford’s Post

I am reading Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish. If you don’t follow Shane Parrish, he produces a lot of really good content. I am not too deep into the book yet, but what I have read so far is really good. The basic premise is this: - We are all equipped with basic instincts for survival (emotion, ego, belonging, status quo). -These instincts are our default positions. They are great when trying to fight for survival, but they wreak havoc when trying to think and reason - To think clearly, we need to train our default position to be consciously pausing and applying reason Easier said than done no doubt - but he provides tools to do this. This is one of those books where each time he gives an example, I see myself in it as well as multiple other people I have worked with/known over the years. I have spoken with several guests on The Driven Crowd podcast about these topics. One of my favorite questions is asking how someone deals with a nasty problem that is suddenly thrown onto them. Many of us have the flood of emotion, fear/anxiety/anger/panic. How we deal with those emotion dumps is key though. I am looking forward to seeing how Shane deals with that topic.

Origins of FE Constellation’s new Radical Rest course 🌷 Dr Lou Mycroft FRSA and Joss Kang - co-founders of FE Constellations - have been busy researching the HUGE topic of #rest since last summer. As part of the research process we read loads, following the experts, engaging in conversations up and down the country and abroad. We are hugely indebted to Shawn A Ginwright's excellent book, 'The Four Pivots' (check out his podcast with Brené Brown too) and Tricia Hersey - the Nap Minister. After our initial research phase we coded our freshest thinking, resulting in six themes that have helped shape course design:  🔸Purpose and Language: Rest for Health, Rest for Hope 🔹Radical Rest: Political and Cultural 🔸We are Exhausted 🔹Doing Rest Work: Challenging Inequality through Slow Ontologies 🔸Re-setting Personal Relationships with Rest 🔹Rest as a Lever for Systems and Culture Change This research forms the backbone of our new semi-synchronous course - Radical Rest. Check out Lou and Joss’s podcast episode on Radical Rest if you want to know more about our early thinking and design process.  It’s been a long time coming! But we are so delighted to launch this course to anyone who values their rest as part of the wider #FEConstellations offers. We have two versions; a self-paced course and a taught course. #Changemakers, secure your place now at: https://bit.ly/445nTeq 🌟

When I think about what I was doing -- or rather, not doing -- at age 22, I am even more impressed at the vision and ambition of Nick Triantos, who has just launched his new podcast called "The Early Days..." His vision for the podcast is to interview people about the early days of their lives and careers, to give people like him -- i.e., people just starting out, in their 20s -- a better sense of how successful people dealt with all of the choices, challenges, decisions, struggles, successes, etc. early in their lives and careers. I liked the idea immediately -- thinking also about the wonderful Katie Kirsch and her organization, 20! -- for (at least) two reasons: 1. I thought such a focus on people's "early days" could yield some interesting conversations and insights that might be of use to people in their 20s navigating all of the chaos of life today; and 2: I was also intrigued at the idea of talking about my own "early days," and some of the chaos, struggles, challenges, I faced in my 20s. I was happy, and honored, to be the first guest on Nick's new show, and I encourage anyone interested in hearing about people's "early days" to check out this burgeoning innovation! New Podcast: The Early Days, With Your Host, Nick Triantos https://lnkd.in/eDu4A-wc

𝗘𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 – 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽 Thanks to your insights, collaborative spirit, and sense of community, 2023 has been a massive year.   Together we have been able – with the help of our corporate partners - to address some of the biggest issues and challenges faced by advisors over the last 12 months.   Here’s what we did in 2023, with your help: Hosted over 3,500 advisors at 2 x ALPD Days Distributed over 20,000 CPD points Published 8 digital whitepapers on the industry’s most current topics Released 196 podcast episodes (which were downloaded 97,495 times) Published 53 articles (with unique views of 11,781)   Additionally, we published our inaugural What Advisors Want Report, summarising the 15 topics you engaged with the most throughout the year. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out here - https://lnkd.in/dgP2jABe   From all of us at Ensombl, we want to wish you and your team a safe and enjoyable holiday break, and a prosperous and fulfilling 2024, when we can once again help drive the positive evolution of advice. #financialplanning #financialadvisors

E191 - Future Paradigms with Lyla June Johnston, Manish Jain, Bayo Akomolafe and Helena Norberg-Hodge // Compelling Voices In Urgent Times How do we create radically new perspectives and prosper antidotes that forge systemic change? In this episode we hear powerful voices gathered from previous podcast episodes including Bayo Akomolafe, Lyla June Johnston, Manish Jain and Helena Norberg-Hodge; all of whom recently shared their insights at Planet Local Summit. This episode gathers deep insights into the predicaments of our time. It is an invitation to radically inspire our imagination, shift our perspectives, ask different questions and explore new ways to become involved in serving each other and the world we live in during these turbulent times. We learn about :: their personal lives and motivations to serve humanity and the wider living world :: what it means to live in a “post-truth” world :: how we can free ourselves from the reductionist and destructive systems of our time and its consequences :: what antidotes we can cultivate to forge systemic change :: how we can unschool, revolutionise learning/education and create future vision to serve humans and more than humans better :: sacred knowledge & activism :: listening to each other & listening to Earth :: localism, alternative food systems and gift culture Read more and listen to the episode on the blog, iTunes and Spotify. https://buff.ly/3Qbr5AH #sacredactivism #localism #unlearning #posttruth #gifteconomy #freedom #imagination #allthatweare

New Trending Globally podcast episode: What happened to the ‘American dream’? Here’s a depressing fact: it takes longer to travel from Boston to Los Angeles today than it did 50 years ago. Getting to the airport, getting through the airport, the flight itself — just about every part of the process takes longer than it once did. According to The New York Times senior writer David Leonhardt, this is just one example of the stagnation defining so many aspects of America’s society and economy today. From life expectancy to education outcomes to rates of income inequality, by so many measures, American society simply isn’t improving for as many Americans as rapidly as it once did. By some measures, it’s not improving at all. In other words: the American dream is increasingly out of reach. Leonhardt’s newest book, “Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream,” explores the data and the history behind this dimming of the American dream. This spring, he came to the Watson Institute to discuss the book with Jeff Colgan, director of the Watson Institute’s Climate Solutions Lab. In this episode of Trending Globally, Colgan talks with Leonhardt about the cultural and political shifts that have contributed to this change, and about what needs to be done to make widespread prosperity attainable in the decades to come. Listen to the full episode: https://ow.ly/oY3850R7NsT

ISO podcasts for your holiday travels? GeoWealth has got you covered with a handpicked list of must-listen podcasts for Financial Advisors! Dive into insightful discussions, industry trends, and valuable perspectives.  #financialadvisor #FA #podcasts #femalehosts

"Change the paradigm and you change the system." Easy right? Donella Meadows has long been a key figure in my design and professional education and this wonderfully delivered podcast series highlights the significance of her work (and the challenges that remain since she and others delivered a groundbreaking report delivered to the The Club of Rome in 1972). I highly recommend this podcast series that unpacks the impact of "The Limits To Growth" on government and business. This work predicted where we'd be today so it's worth taking a listen. As I work with teams and clients, I'm confronted with some of these questions as we all ponder our role in society whether as individuals or as organisations, especially as we watch our planet go through what many call a 'polycrisis': 1. Where are we going? What is our purpose? 2. What is progress, growth and economy on this planet in service of? 3. What are some of the questions we flee from in the public arena that we should be talking about with empathy, humility and conviction? 4. What are the new hopeful stories we should hear about so we restore our faith and unpack how we can be part of a regenerating future? 5. What small step can we each take today to change our own paradigm? As to number 4, I'm inspired by those who have paved a path that I now walk on and Donella is one of these people who reminds me to always contemplate my actions - for the survival of us. #regenerativefuture https://lnkd.in/eYDnNjps

I've become a huge fan of my friend Alex Grodd's new podcast The Disagreement. It's risen to # 2 on my go-to podcasts, which is pretty impressive for something that didn't exist a couple months ago. Sorry, the Ezra Klein show still has pole position 😂. The Disagreement is the rare space to listen to a thoughtful discussion of a polarizing issue. It's not the talking points laden monologues and outright falsehoods of presidential debates, nor the circus of Crossfire, nor the hyper-structure of Intelligence Squared. It's a plain English conversation about pressing issues argued from two sides that attempt to listen to each other (some episodes more successfully than others). Speaking of disagreements, in the little world of #educationreform, two great, conflicting, thought pieces came out recently reflecting on the last few decades. Robert Pondiscio in The 74 Media questioning what we're accomplished since "A Nation at Risk" and suggesting a new way forward, and Andrew Rotherham on his Eduwonk blog, telling us to "Buck up!" (links in comments 👇). Both authors are steeped in the facts and history and are fundamentally optimistic, which I think would lead to a great conversation. Alex Grodd, perhaps they can be some of your next guests!

Are you seeking visions of better futures? 🕵♀️ If you are, then you'll be glad to know that I’ve created a video podcast to support your search. It's called, The Pull! The purpose of The Pull podcast is to leave behind what’s not serving us and bring into being what we yearn for. At The Pull we are deepening our understanding of the context behind our current horizon of ill-fit futures and exploring societal visions that pull us towards better futures. Conversations will cover topics such as speculative fiction, civilizational design, strategic foresight, and human transformation. I believe that by connecting people with a range of marvelous possibilities, the conditions necessary to generate more beautiful realities can be brought into being. Do you feel this belief is rather grandiose? Even...foolish. Or, do you believe that it's rather sane and sober? You can learn more about The Pull through a quick 3 minute read on Substack: https://lnkd.in/dD5HZQh9 The Pull is also my personal experiment, introduction, and immersion into the topics and people whom I can’t help but dive into. I am not a tenured Professor or seasoned Futurist. However, I have been intensely curious about Futures for many years. Perhaps, someday, I will feel I am enough of a human to be sharing such outlandishly grandiose ideas. On that note! Subscribe and follow me on either of the channels below if you feel the pull (See what I did there? 😋 ) to do so: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dWxJfgfY   Substack: https://lnkd.in/dbrM38w3 LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/dx6n43uA