My Current Take with Lon Schiffbauer: Recent Episodes
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My name is Lon Schiffbauer and I’m a college professor, psychology PhD, author, five-time Ironman, business-owner, and father of five, trying his best to muddle his way through life. Sometimes I nail it; sometimes I crash and burn in apocalyptic fashion. Regardless, I always learn something new and look for ways to benefit from these afterwits. In this podcast I explore what it means to live a “good” life, whatever that means. The rules? No pretention, no judgement, and no zealously holding fast to our ossified worldviews. Paraphrasing Dickens, we’re all fellow travelers to the grave; each of us following our own unique path. And once in a while it’s edifying to take a look at the journeys of others.
There are any number of reasons I like Batman, but a major component is his accessibility, and by this I mean, the idea that I, too, could be like Batman. Many in the comic book fandom have argued that Batman is the most powerful superhero in the DC universe, this despite the fact that he has no “superpowers” per se. He’s just a schmuck like the rest of us. Chuck Dixon, long-time Batman writer, says that Batman is “at heart a wish-fulfillment character.” And for me, well yeah. I mean, I’m not interested in dressing up as a bat and fighting crime in the pale moonlight, but I suspect that the characteristics and attributes that make Batman such a formidable doer of deeds can likewise serve us in life, business, or whatever challenge is set before us.
Businesses come in many shapes and forms, and Darrell has seen many of them. But now his business venture is that of building a racing career. Many have dreamt of doing something so bold, but Darrell is out there making it happen.
When Claire decided to try to make a piece of jewelry she saw in Moab, Utah, rather than buy it, she had no idea that she was about to discover her passion, as well as start a thriving business. You can check out Claire's shop at: https://www.canyoncreationsjewelry.com/
One of my techniques for achieving some level of happiness is learning to love what I traditionally hate. In this episode I talk about how I recalibrated by attitude toward yardwork, and how I'm about to do the same thing when it comes to distance running.
Even the most driven and motivated of us can find ourselves losing steam periodically and slipping into the productivity doldrums. It’s at times like these that we can become demoralized and sort of drift away from our goals. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Here are 20 techniques you can use to get back on track and start crushing it again.
I’m obsessed with productivity. There isn’t a minute of my day that isn’t dedicated to the setting and accomplishing of goals. From the moment I wake up to make my wife breakfast to the last 10-minutes of the evening in which I’m cleaning the downstairs to “reset” our space for the next day, I’m always directing my efforts toward specific, clearly-defined objectives.
And once in a while, in my more lucid moments, the thought occurs to me that this is all bullshit.
There are any number of quotes out there, either real or apocryphal, that talk about the idea of luck. General Douglas MacArthur is purported to have said that “The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.” Then if Pinterest is to be believed, President Thomas Jefferson said, “I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
These and other quotes have a common thread: the idea that luck is not some external capricious force working upon us, but rather an environmental condition we create for ourselves by way of hard work. It’s a very western, internal-locus-of-control approach to the whole idea of luck, one to which I subscribe, at least in part.
"Perfect" isn’t just a meaningless term that has managed to ensconce itself into our collective psyche, it’s also counterproductive. Perfectionism can create and prolong a sense of anxiety and stress in our lives. So rather than insisting upon perfection, we instead should be progressing toward excellence.
Before we get started, let’s get something straight: multitasking doesn’t work. Now, yeah… I know. The title… We’ll get to that, but first, we need to acknowledge the cold hard truth that multitasking turns us into morons. Still, we're going to do it anyway, so let's figure out how to do it the best we can.
Start a podcast; how hard can it be? I mean, it's hardly rocket science. But you know what, it's trickier than you might think, especially for a consummate learner such as myself.
Some productivity gurus tell us to focus on the desired outcome, while others tell us to focus on the systems that help us get there. So, which is it?
Learn how fashion designer BreeKel Orton follows the advice of Mark Twain as she build her fashion business.
Andres Domingues III teaches us that sometimes accomplishing our goals can be a grind, but it's by working smart and being consistent that we are successful.
You can follow Andres on Instagram and TikTok. Visit his Linktree at https://linktr.ee/king.dom
Actor Jade Gottfredson teaches us about holding onto goals, even when life requires us to put them on the back burner now and again.
For most of us, our goals are pretty straight-forward and relatable. Not so for Ryan Pivirotto, 2018 US Winter Olympian for the Short Track Speed Skater Team. He takes this stuff really, really seriously.
You know the adage, that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. In my experience, this is true, so let's talk about how to plan.
Making our goals S.M.A.R.T. helps move them from vague aspirations to actionable objectives. In this episode we'll talk about how to use this simple but powerful structure.
We’re generally hardwired to please. We all have a need to establish close personal bonds and relationships with others, and to thereby find emotional and caring support and security. This means that we’re loath to jeopardize these relationships by saying "no"—relationships upon which we depend to feel a sense of caring support, security, and belonging.
In our last episode I suggested that one of the reasons you may be struggling to reach your goals is because you’re undervaluing yourself, your time, and your resources. However, there’s more to it than valuing our resources. It could be that you’re failing to reach your goals because you lack an enabling infrastructure.
Think about a goal you set sometime in the past but struggled to see through to the end. We’ve all got them; new years resolutions that fell by the wayside, or life ambitions that never seemed to come together. Now, think of some of the reasons this goal went unaccomplished. If you’re anything like me they include things like I just couldn’t find the time, life got in the way, or I lost my motivation and willpower. When this happens it’s easy to get down on ourselves and think that we’re weak. But that’s not it at all. You’re not weak. The problem is that you’re undervaluing yourself.
I'm Lon Schiffbauer and I live my life by setting and accomplishing goals. In this inaugural episode of Life in a Nutshell, I list my Top 5 reasons why I love setting goals, as well as introduce you to this new podcast, one dedicated to helping people set and accomplish meaningful goals.