I Can See For Miles and Miles

This week I started to watch the YouTube site of Beau Miles (thanks to Scott Nasello for the link!).

The video that started my multi-hour consumption of his videos was a short film entitled 'The Human Bean: 40 days on a tin-bean diet'. The experiment was inspired by John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat, in which a family of poor, super healthy kids eats an almost exclusively bean diet. Beau wanted to see what the diet did to his mental and physical state. It's a worthy watch.

But the one I wanted to lean in on is 'A Mile an Hour'. He describes it as: 'A different kind of marathon; running one lap an hour, for 24hrs, around my perfectly mile long block. The rest of the time I do as much as possible; making things, odd jobs, fixing stuff. It's about running, doing, and thinking.'

Throughout the 24 hours, he focused on both running and taking on a variety of projects. In a blog post, Beau goes through a breakdown of the goals for the day. That is, outside the 4 hours of running and 2+ hours of cooking and eating. He did approximately 8 hours of jobs (28 completed); pruning trees, fixing broken things, mending pants, hanging pictures, oiling the fence, chopping wood, shaving, playing scrabble, writing...

Phew! I'm tired just after reading how the 24 hours unfold. You should watch the whole process unfold with the video; it's a great one.

The takeaway is perfect:

You can do a lot in 86,400 seconds. We get this slab of time, as the reading goes (as we all know) every day of our lives (thanks Johnny). Filling it with what might be called 'tasks of purpose,' you subject yourself to feeling time as slow, fast, exciting, or cruel-based on the task at hand. Your body, which is, in fact, your brain (which is you), dips and spikes around a whole range of realities and energy.

So I found myself asking more than once this week - "what did I do with my 86,400 seconds" today?

Often I was happy with the answer; other times, not as much. But it's an essential lens into not only how but what you spend each day doing.

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Forward Thinking

This year, whether personally or professionally, I have found that having a "Personal Board of Directors" is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself.

Adventures in Life calls these folks 'Accountability Partners'.

My accountability partners will keep me going. They will ...

Hold me accountable to my aspirations

Support me when I need it most

Remind me of why often

I will do the same for them.

I love where Coach Willis has centered his focus on.

Thought of the Week

I can't remember when I discovered the art Hugh MacLeod - I think it was back in 2009 with his book "Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity" (I even have a signed copy from its launch). I've honestly been following his work for even longer; it’s always inspiring and thought provoking.

Latest obsession

Scan Thing is a wild app for capturing and saving "objects" around you for iOS and Mac. With it, you can quickly scan objects, people, animals, plants, and art - an excellent tool for writing decks directly from the camera, an image, or a PDF.

Super useful and fun.

This weeks "Deep Links"

Here's are a few of the articles and videos that resonated with me over the last week:

• Fascinating story behind the naming of the Welsh village "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch". A tailor came up with the name to make the village an attraction; it kinda worked. - More
• "The Side Hustle Blues" explores the fastest way to kill the side hustle - focusing on more than one thing at a time. Adventures in Life is quickly becoming a weekly staple for me - More
• 'The orchestra speaks'. There is no more iconic superhero movie theme than Superman: The Movie from John Williams. Watch and read more on "How John Williams Changed Superhero Movies in 5 Minutes" - More
• Another one is from "Adventures in Life". "Face the Storm" offers solid advice on how to 'stop running from the inevitable, and face it head on' - More
• 'I hope Zuckerberg is in jail by then ... this is an enemy of the United States of America. He doesn't give a $&;! about us… it's just about filthy lucre ... and Sheryl [Sandberg] is a complicit.' Powerful words from Ken Burns in this week's Sway podcast "‎Is Ken Burns Taking Up Too Much Space? He Doesn’t Think So." - Listen
• Best leadership read of the week: "But, will it make the boat go faster?". Having clarity on what you want to do next, and how to base decisions off a single question - More
• It's 2021, so nothing surprises me anymore. "People hanging hammocks on power lines is another example of stupid things kids do" proves the point - More
• "Take Charge of Your Life by Changing Your Route" explores the idea that 'most of us are running the wrong route and don't even know it' and how, like runners, in life, things that are rewarding are achieved by 'choosing the route' rather than letting the world dictate the route for you - More
• Who can argue with "Happiness Is a Warm Donut"? I can get behind the premise of 'during difficult times, there are small ways I can experience happiness' - More
• Fun for the entire family this summer in "Roadside America - Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions". Pick a state, and you'll find out the weirdest attractions for you to go visit (such as "Dick and Jane's Spot") - More

Fin

This week I discovered a wacky fan edit of a cult-classic scene from Twin Peaks.

Pieced together from the audio book version of Mark Frost's "The Secret History of Twin Peaks" it contextualizes an interview with Douglas Milford and reminds us that 'the owls are not what they seem'.