Personal

Recursion

The achievement of writing every week for two years has me considering the future of this ambitious frequency.

For most of us, the recurring year-end audit includes a look back on how we spent our time. I love how writing helps me coordinate, understand, and translate thoughts, but the contemplative time poured into Roasted Reflections has also required intentional, lasting dedication.

As I sip on The Holiday Walk, considering what’s next, I wonder if I should give myself a break? Reducing the frequency would add ease and would subscribers even notice? Increased personal bandwidth and self-doubt aside, I still really enjoy shipping this art and I love considering how my writings will help unfold a life well lived. Along with personal growth, hearing how these weekly jolts help people is deeply rewarding and I believe we collectively have more to share.

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Ready to write more? Let’s collaborate on a Caffeinated Contribution!

Recursion is a computer science term that describes the process of defining a problem in terms of itself. This form of problem solving divides a problem into smaller parts of the same type. I’m quick to encourage others to start/continue writing so I’ve decided, at least for now, to keep building. By writing, I will uncover why and what to keep writing. Expanding this web of thoughts will feed an intrinsic motivation toward perpetual learning and will remained brewed to keep you building as well.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Sequencing

Perhaps everything is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters?

Even when it all connects, discovering how endless sequences relate is impossible for even the most methodic mind. Be it system thinking, design thinking, meta-synthesis, neural networking, or whatever mindset you choose, the intensity of such complexity makes it hard to see how a few things connect, let alone immeasurable members in infinite streams.

Machines can add computed awareness, but the squishy nature of each member within a sequence feels like it will remain a futile enigma that will forever transform based on if, who, what, when, where, why, and how something is being observed.

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Nerd alert, but hopefully you’re smiling because that first sentence and many of the terms I’ve sprinkled in, is how a sequence is defined in mathematics.

The processing power required to source the root connection(s) of every moment would paralyze your thoughts. One reason our brain is awesome, is its ability to deduce answers with limited real-time input, but even the way our brain works is like a sequence of positioned memories that provide reasonable assumptions toward what’s next. This saves time and helps us avoid insanity, but it’s interesting how this type of internal sequencing actually mutes the depth of each sequence.

Enjoy the moment and be a serendipitist, but keep a hint on how each member fits into the length of sequenced sequences (not a typo, haha). This mindfulness brews awareness, appreciation, and understandings from the past. It also adds a lightness to each moment, thanks to the liberation of future elements that are yet to arrive down string/stream.

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Merry Holidays! This year-end tour of seven 1MC communities in just four days, was wonderfully wild. As I shared in our Roasted Reflections Discord server, we’ll also be minting the last 5 tokens in the Roasted Reflections NFT Collection, we’re hosting a nationwide holiday party for active 1MC organizers today, and I’m looking forward to crafting the year-end Twitter thread (example) to highlight my second full year of writing every single week! Whoa, cheers to sequencing, eh

By Ben McDougal, ago

Time Trappers

Storytelling, enhanced with trapped time, defines our civilization.

Voices were first translated into writings to stretch the impact. Humanity continued to bring the past to life with audio, photos, and then video. We’re now adding telepathic communication and other weird ingredients to the technology soup that’s made to trap time. Leaders who leverage these tools are time trappers who wield an ability to more actively appreciate life experiences.

To test your time trapping skills, grab a device and look through your own creative content. Whether it’s writings, audio, photos, video, or other types of art, go back to see what was captured this week. Now, rewind further. Revisit this day last year, two years ago, five years ago, and ten years ago. Embrace nostalgia, then consider the quantity, quality, and different types of content you’ve created.

Avoid distractions and stay in the moment, but if you’d like to enhance your time trapping capability, think of fun ways to create more organized content. This may be journalling, recording a podcast series, finding a day dedicated to taking an exorbitant amount of photos, or editing a video from individual clips. As content comes together, organize it and push past fear by shipping the art. Creation, organization, and sharing will avoid everything going numb within a device. The value in doing this can be seen as we write into physical notebooks or treasure a healthy bookshelf; when music lovers choose vinyl over endless streaming or that live theater performance compared to any TV show. Exertion from those generous enough to create, organize, and ship their art makes thoughtful time trapping more demanding, but more fulfilling as we extend time beyond the moment.

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What’s our first memory together?

We are already cyborgs and biotech will further augment the way we seamlessly capture, organize, and share our realities. Until we autonomously enhance our bandwidth, telling a story, writing, recording audio, taking photos, or shooting video will still take manual effort. Let’s mitigate the risk of AI and optimized efficiency, but might the elbow grease required to set each time trap make our personal creations more memorable? Yes, and even as future tools add ease, ingenuity and creativity will remain an essential currency that adds heartfelt context to trapped time.

Without a thesis, care enough to habitually go beyond what’s expected. When premium human time and ambitious initiative becomes a fundamental part of your creative practice, you’ll be an active time trapper who stays in-tune, organized, and inspired with timeless purpose.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Sticks on Ice

A friend suggested I write about micro vs. macro.

These two words have related, but opposite meanings. Everything happening right now (micro) is transitory, yet these micro-moments coalesce into the story of our comprehensive progress (macro).

The distraction of each micro-moment is impossible to avoid, but the Canadian saying, keep your stick on the ice, reminds us to chill, keep it simple, and be ready for anything. No matter where stuff lands on the spectrum between good and bad, micro eventually accumulates into macro. Alright, take a deep breath, enjoy a sip, and let’s brew on how staying mindful of the macro, helps us appreciate the micro.

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Want me to lean into a topic on your mind? I’m ready when you are.

Last week’s writing on intrinsic motivations seemed to resonate, as it was encouraging to hear from many of you. After a few dispirited days, I was back at full speed with Global Entrepreneurship Week. Our web3dsm gathering, 1 Million Cups, an angel investor event, premiering our Techstars Iowa Accelerator 2022 Demo Day video, and watching friends like you bring so many things together, was a groovy way to celebrate entrepreneurs who serve their local communities and bolster the global economy.

A focal point for me, was an opportunity to speak at the United Fall Leadership Conference. To maximize the impact, I cranked up the volume in a new talk tuned specifically for students and educators. I call it “No Permission Required”. The energy of accelerating others is unmatched, but there’s an extra boost as we’re exploring education and making a ruckus to activate linchpins along the way! It was cool to connect with 200+ high school students from all around Iowa and one of my sessions was recorded, so here’s me sharing my heart in full effect.

Alright, by now you’re thinking, how does this have anything to do with micro vs. macro or staying ready for anything by keeping your stick on the ice?

Well, after this whirlwind of wonderful, the brutal cold season found it’s way into our home. The highs of so much stimulant collided with the lows of isolating sickness. As always, mental fitness was tested. Within the worry of caring for loved ones and the frustration of my own pain, the goodness from days before felt distant. Agitation is hard to fend off during tough times, but with sticks on the ice, we can better embrace the challenge, bend without breaking, and appreciate what makes good times great.

As we give thanks, keep your stick on the ice by recognizing how special each micro-moment is, as they compile into our own macro-moment called life. Happy Thanksgiving!

By Ben McDougal, ago

Winterizing

As temperatures drop, those who live in seasonal climates start preparing for winter. Winterizing your world can mean many things. There are chores to do around the house, gatherings to coordinate, and year-end tasks to finish strong in business. These activities can be uplifting, but the cold that’s coming can also be disheartening.

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My favorite season is the transitional times between each season.

We often resist things we can not change, and this resistance causes suffering. To stay centered, find enjoyment in your changing reality. Celebrate the subtle elegance of winter and remember that all things have a beginning, but also an end. As we accept change, we become more resilient, which invites openness and more enjoyment within the moment. This makes the bitter cold feel refreshing and even in the coldest of winters, an invincible summer will burn from within.

By Ben McDougal, ago