RWL Newsletter
Greetings from... Arlington, Virginia! I'm a man on the move this semester. I'm in Arlington for a conference on the Esoteric Adam Smith. Yeah, it has nothing to do with healthcare or leadership. It's from my troubled youth as a history of thought economist. Why do other people have troubled youth stories that are so much more interesting than mine? Nevertheless, it's really fascinating to take a break from what has become my normal role of being focused on current issues of organizations and people working today to sit for three days and listen to scholars discuss the work of an 18th century philosopher and his influences that reach back to antiquity. There is something grounding about that.
Anyway, I was listening to an interview interview with the writer Anne Lamott, who is very funny and insightful, and she mentioned she had a TED Talk where she talked about 12 Truths she had learned from life. So I thought I would build this week's newsletter around happiness and well being. It's not so much a leadership newsletter, except that happiness and well being are actually really important for leading well. Maybe it is a good theme. Here's your links - as always, I'd love to hear what you think!
Read
What: Forbes, The Science Of Spirituality: A Psychologist And A Neuroscientist Explain Being 'In The Flow'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/08/22/the-science-of-spirituality-a-psychologist-and-a-neuroscientist-explain-being-in-the-flow/#53ddf3ce4e0b
Why: This article links spirituality and flow. I like how they explain flow. From the article:
“The simplest metaphor is that it’s like driving a car with one foot on the break and one on the gas,” he says. “In the analogy, the gas is our brains’ the natural function, and the brake is self-referential processing. If you take foot off the break, the brain functions more effortlessly. Our brain is like ‘thank god, you got out of the way.’” And that’s when we get into the flow.
I had a number of good conversations lately about meditation, and I think I'm about ready to give it a try again. I like the idea that all religions include some sort of practice that allows you to set aside the critical self in order to get to flow.
Watch
What: 12 truths I learned from life and writing | Anne Lamott
https://youtu.be/X41iulkRqZU
Why: As promised above. She's funny and sincere. I love the part about grace. That resonated with my personal experience.
Listen
What: Tim Ferriss Show, Brandon Stanton – The Story of Humans of New York and 25M+ Fans
https://tim.blog/2018/06/18/brandon-stanton-humans-of-new-york/
Why: OK - Tim Ferriss makes really long interviews. I have no problem with that. But I really want to point you to two parts of this interview.
At about the 42 minute mark, Stanton talks about doing something that "nourishes your soul." Listen to about 10 minutes there.
And then at the 1 hour 20 minute mark he gets into asking good questions. That's an incredibly important skill for a leader. So what if Stanton is a photographer and international best selling author? You can learn something from him.
I know I've cited a different Stanton interview before, but he's so good, it's worth listening again.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
Have a great weekend and do amazing things!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau