Evergrowth Mastermind: Recent Episodes
Evergrowth Mastermind
Our Mastermind group focuses on exploring enticing topics in an intimate yet open round table format. As we delve into a wide range of subjects, our talks unfold organically as they go.
We strive to provide impactful insights to bring this knowledge back to our professional and personal lives. Engaging with a variety of guests, steaming our sessions live, and record the audio cast at our monthly sessions allows us to share these wonderful insights to a larger community.
Adversity is defined as adverse or unfavorable fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress. We sometimes think of it in extreme terms, from all the media centred around tragedy and our brains' predisposition to gravitate to bad news. But quite simply, adversity is life. To believe you could go through a life without some pain or suffering, is unrealistic, and a toxic narrative that some do try to weave on social media.
And yet, the fact that we’re here today, talking on the tools we are, have food in our fridges, running water, are adversities our forebears survived so we wouldn’t have to. Yet the struggles never end. As with the pandemic since last year, many people have been affected greatly as we discussed in our last talk, some of which had their livelihoods disrupted or taken away completely. And, depending on many factors of where you live, what your culture is, or the colour of your skin has levels of adversity some of us have never had to experience or might not fully understand.
Then looking at resilience, which definition was apt in how it contracts to dealing with adversity, that resilience is the ability of a person to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, major life changes. Another word given to this meaning was buoyancy. The concept that, no matter what happens, no matter the depths of chance, injustice, or struggle one faces, that they will always float back up to the top, and keep moving on about their lives in spite of all that.
Perhaps two sides of the same coin. For one to know stability they must also know risk, yet, does each pose potential danger should we settle for one or the other?
If you think risks are something grand like quitting your job to start a dream project, jumping out of a plane, betting your life savings at a casino or stock market, whether you should travel during a pandemic, you’re very likely missing the obvious risks and challenges you face every single day. You see, the problem is how humans’ minds work. We’re shortsighted, and limit our thinking to recent events, especially those which are glorified in the media. The virus, terrorism, politics, pressing threats to our safety all around, and frankly is nothing new with being a human. There has never not been, nor will be, a time where humans are not living in a state that risks their livelihood or survival, as it’s an essential element to being alive.
Do you realize that choosing to brush your teeth or not is a risk to your life? What type or quality of foods you eat and where then come from is of gravest risk to your daily and long-term health. How about whether you remembered to wash your hands often enough pre-pandemic, or to stop and take a breath and regain control over your stress level? Because these risks are considered so small, our brains are experts at downplaying them, focusing instead on the pink elephant fears delivered to use through every device near at hand continuously. Risk is in a way linked to fears, for when we fear something yet seemingly must consider doing it, we stop and try to weigh what risks that something may produce. Yet why do we so easily dismiss the minor risks every day? Why can’t we contextualize the genuine dangers from small repeated actions over a lifetime as the actual risks we must address and have the forethought to overcome?
This is where the idea of stability comes into play for us. Our brains thrive on homeostasis, the state in which we perceive, whether or not true, that everything is in a well enough balance that we’re ok not rocking the boat and making changes, even the smallest of one. We believe if things “aren’t too bad” that however poor the current conditions of our daily life are, they are bearable, within a range of problems/stress/risks that seem manageable and thus we are ‘stable’. That isn’t to say there isn’t some validity in that one’s life might not have stable elements. From Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with Physiological at the lowest level, one is arguably on a stable footing already if they have access to shelter, food, and water. From this vantage point, up the pyramid one could view the higher levels as risks already, and be content to stay fixed in their stability.
Thus, seeking only stability in life is meek an outcome as wantoningly disregarding the small daily risks, both ultimately leading to an unfulfilled end. Surely not wanting to reach higher feels quite comfortable and likewise ignoring the minor risks now seems like nothing to worry about. Neither of which will serve you well in later years.
We need to both be comfortable in being uncomfortable, pushing at our edges and striving to do better, while avoiding caring about the preceded colossal risks and addressing the very real near ones we can actually control every day. Reaching higher on Maslow’s hierarchy will force you to always have the underlying stability, as it is required in order to reach and risk for a greater state of life. Even if you were to achieve the highest level, the journey never stops or ends and the risks too never cease to exist.
To put this into context for the future you, some sage advice from my eighty-eight-year-old grandfather, “If I had known I’d lived this long, I would have taken better care of myself”. It’s safer to bet you’ll live much longer than you are predicting, and that the state or quality of your later years is determined but how you choose to live your life, right here, today.
Perhaps two sides of the same coin. For one to know stability they must also know risk, yet, does each pose potential danger should we settle for one or the other?
If you think risks are something grand like quitting your job to start a dream project, jumping out of a plane, betting your life savings at a casino or stock market, whether you should travel during a pandemic, you’re very likely missing the obvious risks and challenges you face every single day. You see, the problem is how humans’ minds work. We’re shortsighted, and limit our thinking to recent events, especially those which are glorified in the media. The virus, terrorism, politics, pressing threats to our safety all around, and frankly is nothing new with being a human. There has never not been, nor will be, a time where humans are not living in a state that risks their livelihood or survival, as it’s an essential element to being alive.
Do you realize that choosing to brush your teeth or not is a risk to your life? What type or quality of foods you eat and where then come from is of gravest risk to your daily and long-term health. How about whether you remembered to wash your hands often enough pre-pandemic, or to stop and take a breath and regain control over your stress level? Because these risks are considered so small, our brains are experts at downplaying them, focusing instead on the pink elephant fears delivered to use through every device near at hand continuously. Risk is in a way linked to fears, for when we fear something yet seemingly must consider doing it, we stop and try to weigh what risks that something may produce. Yet why do we so easily dismiss the minor risks every day? Why can’t we contextualize the genuine dangers from small repeated actions over a lifetime as the actual risks we must address and have the forethought to overcome?
This is where the idea of stability comes into play for us. Our brains thrive on homeostasis, the state in which we perceive, whether or not true, that everything is in a well enough balance that we’re ok not rocking the boat and making changes, even the smallest of one. We believe if things “aren’t too bad” that however poor the current conditions of our daily life are, they are bearable, within a range of problems/stress/risks that seem manageable and thus we are ‘stable’. That isn’t to say there isn’t some validity in that one’s life might not have stable elements. From Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, with Physiological at the lowest level, one is arguably on a stable footing already if they have access to shelter, food, and water. From this vantage point, up the pyramid one could view the higher levels as risks already, and be content to stay fixed in their stability.
Thus, seeking only stability in life is meek an outcome as wantoningly disregarding the small daily risks, both ultimately leading to an unfulfilled end. Surely not wanting to reach higher feels quite comfortable and likewise ignoring the minor risks now seems like nothing to worry about. Neither of which will serve you well in later years.
We need to both be comfortable in being uncomfortable, pushing at our edges and striving to do better, while avoiding caring about the preceded colossal risks and addressing the very real near ones we can actually control every day. Reaching higher on Maslow’s hierarchy will force you to always have the underlying stability, as it is required in order to reach and risk for a greater state of life. Even if you were to achieve the highest level, the journey never stops or ends and the risks too never cease to exist.
Topic Context
As mentioned in chat and around the previous forward thinking topic on robotics and automation, we’re looking at another aspect of the future to help open your mind to the realities of what is coming, and how prepared you will be to meet it.
Less a talk about doomsday, skynet, Cyberpunk dystopian futures, because honestly we’re already living in a dystopian world... this talk is to help us explore the possibilities that will arrive in our lifetimes, the philosophy we hold about this future, or those we may need to adopt to survive..
As with human beings being “blindsided” with COVID, humans are in for a radical change in the next century that leads into transhumanism, and eventually become posthuman, or as coined by Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus in his incredible Sapians series. I think I’ve plugged his stuff enough over past talks, but seriously if you haven’t read or listened to the series yet, I implore you to dive into it, you will not be disappointed.
Now, before we jump into our questions, unlike past talks I want to help describe some terms to help guide us along our talking points so we can have common ground on the different states Home Sapians would be moving through.
- We have classical humans from the stone age, where we were hunter gatherers spreading out across the globe after becoming the dominant Homo species, through the eradication of others.
- From this evolved through the ages in thought, language, philosophy and writing leading up to the renaissance age in the 16th century
- Once the industrial age began after this, humans' breadth and reach across the planet changed forever as science and industry exponentially grew, and we started to spread to all corners not yet touched with a mind for any resources we can get our hands on, relatively, in the aims to better ourselves.
- Leading into the present day and the past century, the exponential growth in science and now tech has reshaped our lives, such that we live longer and the chance for healthier lives, and wield incredible technical power we so often take for granted. In theory at this point we are still Home Sapians
- Transhumanism is then the next step along our path, where we start exploring biotech to start augmenting ourselves, in an effort to address aspects that are not serving us, or we desire to change for the better.
- Finally, we breach at some point into the posthuman realm where we have changed ourselves so entirely that we can no longer actually be considered Home Sapians.
Talking Points
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Are you ready to become more than human?
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What do you see from your field, and knowledge of biotech or technology do you see changing you as a person?
- What are things about yourself that you would change if you have a magic “biotech” wand to change those things?
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No more being tired, or angry, or depressed. Imagine what you could accomplish
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What fears does the becoming posthuman hold for you?
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If you replace half of your body or mind, and evolve beyond being human, what does the world and your relationships look like?
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What of your soul, or the concept of humanity persists when physically and mentally you’re no longer human, have you lost what made you, you?
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Will you still be relevant if you ignore it?
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Your friends, family, or children start to embrace becoming more than human, but you have reservations or objections and want to remain whole.
- What happens to you?
- Can you still be relevant to them, or will they leave you being like an old toy they don't care for anymore?
- Can you still even comprehend the way the world looks for them that you could even aling on matters of the heart and mind?
We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this months episode, we explore the dynamics and differences of what it means to simply just work for a living verse chasing after a labour of love, whether or not these two can coexist, and finally, what you life would look like if you ignore a labour of love completely? As always, many insights were found in our conversation. Enjoy!
In this episode we explore the ever present robotic future in the work place, coming to some interesting conclusions. With resistance and the grand effort to move that future forward, more pragmatic aspects of why you should always be ready to adopt and stay relevant were revealed in this exciting chat. Enjoy!
In this episode we explore the concepts of stories in our lives, what kinds of stories run your life right now, how these may be helping or hindering you, and whether you're able to start writing your own future. Enjoy!
In this episode we explore the concepts of socializing and relationships, looking first at how our relationship affected us as a child, how those relationship shaped our personalities (or vice versa), and how relationships last. Enjoy!
In this episode we explore the concepts of self-care asking first the question of whether it's really a thing or something impressed upon us, what you do you do to take care of yourself regularly, and whether this affects your confidence or success in live. Enjoy!
In this talk we're explored the topic of speaking, how it has played a role in your life, whether it's something you're born with or develop, and how far can you take things with your influence of voice. Enjoy!
In this months topic we explore spiritually, what it means in the modern day, how it affects us or those around us, and what it means to have it or lose it.
In this months, Pushing our Minds to the Limits, we explore how we handle the average, what reaching or passing your limits entails, and what's the risks (or are there) of not pushing to reach those limits.
In this session, we explore what fitness and health look like, how they affect one another, how fitness has impacting our lives, and tying back into our last talk on food, how nutrition comes into play with these things.
In this session we explore the differences and contrast of eating for the sake of nutrition, being healthy, and how our upbringing and culture helped shape the journey we've taken with food during our lives.
In this session, we are revisiting our topic from a year ago in Realigning Your Financial Journey, as we explore the topic of finances again, and to determine how the past talks helped move our finances in a better direction, and what tips we gain from the venture.