‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’
We’ve all said it, at one time or another. When we receive criticism and feedback that disrupts our confidence or seems to utterly miss the point of what we were trying to do. So we reject it – screw them, screw their stupid views!
But that’s a mistake. We can’t travel through life without calibrating ourselves to the environments and people we encounter. The trick is learning to discern which feedback is important and what the feedback is actually expressing.
Not all opinions are equal, and in this episode we lay out the ground rules for telling which is which. 50 Cent used both drug addicts and fan forums to shape his strategy; Eleanor Roosevelt asked the nation to write to her; and Vincent van Gogh listened to no one. Who was right?
This episode is all about avoiding delusion while staying true to your vision. Is listening to your gut a good thing, or is it another illusion? Should we apply a Tim Ferriss-like scientific method to problems, or is this just another way to keep a safe distance between ourselves and experiential reality?
We push you to get into some uncomfortable situations and be open to the lessons you’ll learn; explain why witness testimonies cannot be trusted; and how to decide whether you’re making art for its own sake, or if you really want to find a connection with a broad audience.
In fact, do creators even know what they’re doing? Most of the time, not consciously, it turns out…
There’s also time to hear about Dre’s time-travelling coaching service and his superiority complex (which is complex), while Jon recalls the time he was told he doesn’t know anything about a subject he’s spent 10 years researching, and then makes a deeply ill-advised ‘your mum’ joke.
This Episode Includes:
- Serving your audience without betraying your vision
- Why the customer is always wrong
- Whose opinions actually matter
- Semantics and how to overcome them
- 9/11 memories and how they warped over time
- Ugliness mirrors
Mentioned in the Episode:
- Breaking Convention 2017 – the psychedelics research conference we attended
- Our exclusive interview with Rick Doblin – the founder of MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
- The brilliant world of Rick and Morty
- Brené Brown on whose opinions you should care about
- Our super popular interview with Don Howard Lawler: The Shaman’s Path
- Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy
- Peter F. Hamilton’s work involving Gaia – check out a short story, A Second Chance At Eden
- The complexities of ‘treason’
- Yoval Noah Harari’s book, Sapiens
- Rolad Barthes’s essay, ‘The Death of the Author’
- Iain M. Banks’s Culture novels, including The Player of Games and Use of Weapons
- Carpool Karaoke with Adele
Be Silly. Be Kind. Be Weird.
