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Behind The Action

Brandon T. Adams is an ambitious leader who tells stories with video. BTA is also an author, investor, speaker, and advisor who uses his experience to accelerate fellow founders. Join us for this VIP conversation on how to earn your way onto cap tables, building an audience that cares, all that is Rise and Record, the value of masterminds, his first video, pro tips for content creation, and what to do when you’re with Kevin Harrington and your private jet lands in the wrong country.

To celebrate the 10th episode of YDNTP, we collaborated with BTA to bring you into our studio! Along with listening to this show anywhere you enjoy podcasts, below is a special video of our time together. Enjoy!

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By Ben McDougal, ago

Wildly 41

I turn 41 at 1:41PM EST on May 19th, 2023.

As I reflect on a few recent birthday wishes, my 33rd birthday wish was granted, there’s less anticipation and a compelling sense of retirement from 39 remains on tap, and this year’s birthday definitely feels less poetic than Eclipsing 40, but I’m still here. Let’s celebrate.

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What’s one word to describe your work?

One word to sum up my work this year, is wild. I remain thankful for the privilege to perceptually learn through the art of connection, content creation, and exploration on the frontiers of technology. Here are a few ways we’ve continued to collaborate together!

Along with the wild in my work, I’m just as grateful for the health and happiness of family and friends. There are countless milestones that have brewed joy in different ways. While most will remain cherished without sharing, here are a few memorable moments that have art to accompany the adventure. Stay wild my friends!

©1982-2023

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

Shifting Gears

Imagine the howl of a distant motorcycle bolting through the night. Hear the speed. Feel the wind and wait for the clutch to drop, knowing more power awaits.

The first gear is dedicated to initiating motion within the engine. It won’t get you far, but as the red line wraps, a shift bring you into the next gear that builds on the momentum. As that next gear tops out, yet another shifts moves you further, with higher gears that bring you to full speed.

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I owned a motorcycle in college. In addition to speeding up, shifting gears also helps us slow down. I treated the danger with respect, but after pushing a Yamaha FZR600 to 150mph, twas time to sell this bullet on wheels. A face full of wind feels great, but a convertible will now suffice.

Any journey is a dance, but your destination would not have been reached without an ability to temporarily lose power in exchange for more lasting capacity. Whether it’s personal or in business, recognizing a limit prompts a well-timed shift to keep moving forward.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Sedona Sands

We’ve all had experiences that touch our soul.

Perhaps it’s exploring the universe at an observatory, a scenic nature hike, an inspired talk from someone who seems to know just what you need to hear, or a concert that takes you to a different state of consciousness. Whatever the experience may be, we are moved in these moments, but how can we ensure the energy from such occasions don’t fade?

Perhaps adding a mental bookmark can thicken the moment? Even if it’s a short, but focused mediation in the moment of impact, might this attention make it easier to revisit the sights, sounds, and feelings of a past experience? Stories, photos, and video are fantastic reminders of what we saw, but connected meditations may provide added layers of internalization.

This story of curiosity begins in the sands of Sedona, Arizona. As we hiked the Airport Vortex, my wife and I found a shady spot to rest on the mountainside. Michael Kass, a friend, colleague, and facilitator who helps others shift consciousness one breath at a time, had given me a special gift. It was a personalized, recorded meditation for my 40th birthday, which I named Sedona Sands and minted this NFT to commemorate. As my wife and I sat together, listening to this thoughtful gift and breathing with the land, I was thankful for such serenity with someone I care so much about. I was also (pleasantly) distracted by the scenic view, with beauty that made it had a hard to close my eyes. 12 minutes soon passed and while I felt a flowing sense of gratitude, it didn’t feel like an enlightened moment at the time.

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Here are a few meditations to enjoy.

Now…for the wizardry.

Fast forward two weeks. I was visiting 1MC communities in Kansas City, Wichita, Iowa City, and Chicago. Within the whirlwind of travel, I had an evening to unwind. After enjoying a serendipitous sunset overlooking the Arkansas River, soaking in the hot tub with a good book sounded like a relaxing way to finish my day. After reading a chapter, I thought it might be interesting to shift gears by revisiting Michael’s recorded meditation. This was the first time I had listed to it since we enjoyed it in Sedona. To compliment the steam, I put a cold towel over my eyes and let cool water run through my fingers. Within an instant, the recorded meditation brought me back to that shady spot on the mountainside. The red rocks surrounding us. I could feel the desert air. My wife was with me and I was there!

This same mediation was enjoyed at a different time and place, but the energy was deeply connected. I look forward to exploring how momentary, connected meditations may allow the powers of our past to continue guiding us through the grounded energy of this great adventure called life.

By Ben McDougal, ago