Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 52

SPOS #892 – Laura Gassner Otting On Finding Success In Wonderhell

Welcome to episode #892 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #892. Friend, author, speaker, thinker and executive coaching powerhouse, Laura Gassner Otting, is not just a catalyst but a virtuoso of ambition. She is someone who traded law school for a spot on a presidential campaign, she’s shaped history, and now, she’s sculpting futures (yours and mine). How? By challenging the mediocrity that binds us to our comfort zones. From the White House to her own executive search firm, she’s navigated change like a seasoned captain steering through turbulent seas (and the work world just got much more turbulent). Laura built one of the swiftest-growing search firms, becoming the ally to dreamers and doers across all shades of ambition. Selling her firm was no swan song. It was a crescendo to new heights. These days, Laura’s not just seen on Good Morning America or the Today Show… she’s felt in the hearts of her readers, in boardrooms, and on stages. With books like Limitless and her latest, Wonderhell, she’s become the ringleader of a movement and community. Her philosophy? It’s not about pursuing success but about defining it. It’s a journey from profit to purpose, wrapped up in big ideas, larger-than-life goals, and an audacity that’s contagious. Her community work isn’t a footnote… it’s a testament. Building schools, running marathons, igniting political action – these aren’t hobbies, they’re hallmarks of someone ignited by big challenges and bigger ideas. Rebel? Sure. Instigator? Absolutely. Provocateur? Without a doubt. Laura’s the embodiment of business acumen with a twist of revolution, served up with a side of ceaseless determination. Let’s dig into how we can all be limitless in our dreams without getting trapped in Wonderhell. Before we do, I’m also honored that Laura is one of our Thinkers on the ThinkersOne platform. Want to add big smarts to your meeting? Get personalized video experiences from top Thinkers like Laura to surprise and inspire your team – in-person, hybrid, or virtual! Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 53:14.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Laura Gassner Otting.Wonderhell.Limitless.LGOtv.Sign up to Laura’s newsletter.Check out Laura on ThinkersOne.Follow Laura on Facebook.Follow Laura on LinkedIn.Follow Laura on Instagram.Follow Laura on X (or Twitter).This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #892.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #685

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

To Watermark AI, It Needs Its Own Alphabet – Wired . “Since I’m feeling promotional, here’s an Op/Ed I wrote for Wired a couple of weeks ago. There’s been a ton of talk about watermarking AI-generated content. But how? We can digitally sign music and photos, but text is the lingua franca of the Internet. So how do we identify things an AI generated on a character-by-character basis in blended paragraphs? And how do we do so in a way that doesn’t need the permission of the platforms (Word, Facebook, Gmail, iMessage, etc.)? Turns out there may be an answer hiding in plain sight, which is already supported by billions of devices and everyone knows how to use. Just give AI its own Unicode 𝖺𝗅𝗉𝗁𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗍 (and yes, if that last word looks weird, it’s because it’s a demonstration).” (Alistair for Hugh). Block ‘Em Pop ‘Em Puppets – Broke Deck Creations . “If you remember Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, you may want to stretch and drink some water, because you’re probably old. But the kids are OK: Second only to the chicken-on-the-feet, pool-noodle Marco Polo game that took the Internet, this is a genius idea. I don’t usually promote merch (mine or others), but this one’s kinda worth it. Definitely making myself one when I get a free afternoon.” (Alistair for Mitch). Oregon could be oldest site of human occupation in North America, UO find indicates – The Oregon . “Humans may have been in North America 1,000 years before previously thought, with a new archaeologic find in Oregon suggesting human habitation from 18,000 years ago, placing Oregon as the original site of humans on the continent.” (Hugh for Alistair). How solar power is keeping Lebanon’s lights on – Future Planet – BBC . “Lebanon is one of those fascinating places — famed as a beautiful city, dubbed the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ (that sounds pretty colonialist, doesn’t it?), but more known in the past decades as a city torn apart by civil war and unrest. It’s also a place where solar energy is having a huge impact.” (Hugh for Mitch). Abandoned Home of a Toy Store Owner – 60 years of unopened toys left behind! – Dark Exploration Films – YouTube . “What makes something truly collectible? Something worth saving? Something worse holding on to and passing down over generations, as its value and rarity increases? Someone once told me that it doesn’t matter what you paid for an item… it’s what the next person is willing to pay for it that truly matters. This could be Post Malone paying over two million dollars for a Magic: The Gathering card or a random Funko Pop! that I have displayed in my home office. I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I collect comic books and follow many YouTubers and TikTok channels. I watch people buying, selling and trading comic books online (someone once coined it, “expensive paper”) and I see so many of the same books showing up again and again. I’ve begun to wonder what truly makes something so collectible if it’s so readily available. It’s not like you don’t see the same key comic books over and over and over again. Then, I stumbled on this video. There’s that other saying… one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure? I’m seeing tons of good in this abandoned home just laying there that would garner heavy prices at their local ComicCon…” (Mitch for Alistair). Chaos in the Hamptons: Tracy Anderson devotees gripe about $5,500 mats, $90 classes, and power struggles among ‘queen bees’ – Business Insider . “Collectibles are one thing. Status is another. One could argue that they are concentric circles of the human condition. This is a wild read. Health matters. Health is important. Getting healthy and staying that way is something we all need to focus on. The bigger question here is: What makes this one some much better than any other one? We’re pulling at a thread this week: Value, quality and reality in a world where we can make almost anything seem like a scarce commodity. It could be a comic book that was just published last Wednesday or where a yoga mat is located is someone’s studio. The strange things that people do…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Clickbait And Switch – Canada’s Big Tech Showdown

Oh, Canada…

Canadian news publishers (aka the big traditional media companies) and broadcasters are in a buzz, but getting stung in an attempt to get Big Tech to pay them for their links or repurposed content.
Why?
The Online News Act, known as Bill C-18, came to life in June.

What’s the big deal?

The Canadian Government laid down the law.
Google and Meta must now pay publishers for linked or repurposed content (while, at the same time, Big Tech does not share in any of the advertising or subscription revenues that is generated from this referral traffic).
In layman’s terms: The government and media companies want the Canadian media advertising dollars back home, and hate the idea that all of this money, advertising and traffic is going to Silicon Valley.
With that, Meta/Facebook/Instagram made the call to no longer display/share news to their Canadian users (and, yes, this includes all news… not just the content created in Canada).

Yikes!

Canada’s Competition Bureau has just been called to action.
They’ve been tasked with investigating Meta (Google has yet to stop the flow of traffic to these media companies) and stop them from blocking news content.
That’s right, Facebook can’t cut Canada off.

The players in the game?

News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and CBC. They’re unified, issuing a joint statement.

Their plea?

Stop Meta’s “abuse of its dominant position.”
They’re calling it anticompetitive.

Which, is bizarre…. right?

The government is telling Meta, that what they have done in the past is, essentially, “stealing.”
Meta is kinda saying, “we don’t consider sharing links and generating traffic to another site stealing, but if you do then we will stop doing it,” and now the government is going to force them to keep doing what they’re doing?
Can anyone demand that a thief keep on thieving?

The stakes are high.

Access to the advertising market is under threat.
Social platforms may reduce the visibility of smart and accurate news to Canadians.
This opens everyone up to more Misinformation spreading, local news hurting, and audiences becoming less informed.
Oh, and Google might jump on the bandwagon too.

What’s the twist?

Media outlets rely on traffic and revenues from social media.
They’re biting the hand that feeds them.
Are they just wanting more?
Are they just angered that in more than two decades they have not been able to make significant financial digital advances?

The cost?

Think hundreds of millions of dollars.
Can Canadian media organizations handle that kind of loss in traffic and attention?
Doubtful.

And here’s the weird part…

Media companies want tech giants to pay for traffic that’s driving ad revenue and possible subscriptions to their sites.
Meanwhile, social media platforms are told to pay for sending traffic?
What about every other blog, online platform and more that do this… and make their living from this reciprocation of traffic and users for advertising and revenue?

Don’t forget the little guys.

Online-only players are in the mix as well (some small… and some big).
Most depend on Facebook for their content reach.
What’s their fate?

Did the government try fair negotiations with everyone at the table?

Was there a back-and-forth on how everyone can work together in a more equitable way?
Maybe put the “links-for-money” model aside and ask Big Tech to help fund more journalism or other kind of mutually beneficial modeling?
Maybe help Canadian media outlets generate more traffic?
To many, this smells like a one-way street and a massive miscalculation on the part of the government and media lobbying groups.
Now, media companies are begging Canadians to come to them directly (they’re doing this by taking ads out in their own channels).

It’s a wild ride.

The Online News Act is shaking up the Canadian media landscape.
Who wins, who loses?
Only time will tell.

But one thing’s clear: This isn’t business as usual. If laws do get set in Canada, they might create a precedence that actually hurts the consumers the most.

What is Tech Tuesday?

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM and Jack 103) on the air at 95.9 Star FM to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture.
We call it Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on 95.9 Star FM, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage.

Mitch Joel · Clickbait and Switch – Canada's Big Tech Showdown – Tech Tuesday – August 8th, 2023

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Joanne Lipman On How To Find Your Next – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #891 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

Journalist, media executive and author, Joanne Lipman, is back with a great new book, Next! – The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work (many know her from her previous effort, That’s What She Said). Joanne is revered for her innovative leadership across various high-profile media institutions, including USA Today, USA Today Network, Conde Nast Portfolio, and The Wall Street Journal‘s Weekend Journal. Her editorial acumen has guided these organizations to earn a total of six Pulitzer Prizes. Starting her career as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Joanne shattered glass ceilings to become the first woman Deputy Managing Editor. During her tenure, she orchestrated the creation of Weekend Journal and Personal Journal, leading coverage that garnered three Pulitzer Prizes. Further solidifying her “star editor” reputation, as termed by CNN, Joanne was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast Portfolio (which was a great business magazine), winning National Magazine and Loeb Awards. In 2015, Lipman achieved another milestone by becoming Gannett‘s first Chief Content Officer. As the Editor-in-Chief of USA Today and USA Today Network, she skillfully managed over 3,000 journalists across 109 metro newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press and the Arizona Republic. Under her leadership, the network clinched three additional Pulitzer Prizes. Beyond her editorial roles, Joanne is an accomplished speaker, television commentator, and an on-air contributor at CNBC. She shares her vast journalistic experience as a lecturer at Yale University and has been honored as the inaugural Distinguished Journalism Fellow at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. She has also co-authored the highly praised musical memoir, Strings Attached. Her vast accomplishments aptly justify The New York Times‘ portrayal of her as the “innovator in chief.” Joanne explains that her latest book, Next!, is the ultimate guide to reinventing how you live, work and lead, backed by cutting-edge science and inspiring true stories. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #891 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #891 – Joanne Lipman On How To Find Your Next

Welcome to episode #891 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #891. Journalist, media executive and author, Joanne Lipman, is back with a great new book, Next! – The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work (many know her from her previous effort, That’s What She Said). Joanne is revered for her innovative leadership across various high-profile media institutions, including USA Today, USA Today Network, Conde Nast Portfolio, and The Wall Street Journal‘s Weekend Journal. Her editorial acumen has guided these organizations to earn a total of six Pulitzer Prizes. Starting her career as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Joanne shattered glass ceilings to become the first woman Deputy Managing Editor. During her tenure, she orchestrated the creation of Weekend Journal and Personal Journal, leading coverage that garnered three Pulitzer Prizes. Further solidifying her “star editor” reputation, as termed by CNN, Joanne was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast Portfolio (which was a great business magazine), winning National Magazine and Loeb Awards. In 2015, Lipman achieved another milestone by becoming Gannett‘s first Chief Content Officer. As the Editor-in-Chief of USA Today and USA Today Network, she skillfully managed over 3,000 journalists across 109 metro newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press and the Arizona Republic. Under her leadership, the network clinched three additional Pulitzer Prizes. Beyond her editorial roles, Joanne is an accomplished speaker, television commentator, and an on-air contributor at CNBC. She shares her vast journalistic experience as a lecturer at Yale University and has been honored as the inaugural Distinguished Journalism Fellow at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. She has also co-authored the highly praised musical memoir, Strings Attached. Her vast accomplishments aptly justify The New York Times‘ portrayal of her as the “innovator in chief.” Joanne explains that her latest book, Next!, is the ultimate guide to reinventing how you live, work and lead, backed by cutting-edge science and inspiring true stories. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:00:28.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Joanne Lipman.Next! – The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work.That’s What She Said.Strings Attached.Follow Joanne on Twitter.Follow Joanne on Instagram.Follow Joanne on LinkedIn.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #891.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #684

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

A beautiful, broken America: what I learned on a 2,800-mile bus ride from Detroit to LA – The Guardian . “This is a heartbreaking article about traveling across America by bus in 2023. I absolutely love our neighbors to the South for many things, but somehow, public infrastructure and runaway growth have created two parallel nations. Reading this, I couldn’t help compare it to some of the bus and train stations I’ve visited in Northern Europe that are models of efficiency and clarity.” (Alistair for Hugh). General Magic . “At Startupfest this summer, we were lucky to have a screening of the Blackberry movie, and a Q&A with the co-author of Losing The Signal, the book by tech reporter, Sean Silcoff, on whose work the film was based. It was a great movie, a weird mashup of Halt And Catch Fire, The Big Short, and maybe Schitt’s Creek. But I now want to watch this documentary on General Magic, a company whose vision exceeded its grasp, but which envisioned the modern smartphone long before even the Internet was widespread. And its founding team (in 1990!) went on to build much of what we take for granted today.” (Alistair for Mitch). How old coal mines can help the climate – Future Planet – BBC . “Using abandoned coal mines as a giant geothermal heat pump, to heat homes and offices with no CO2 emissions.” (Hugh for Alistair). How to Help Students Resist Their Phones and Develop Better Digital Habits – Edutopia . “My family includes a tween daughter who would spend 26 hours a day with her screen, if given the opportunity. Her love of screens comes naturally: I myself have engaged in a many-years-long effort to reduce my phone addiction (here’s my solution: delete Facebook and X from your phone, and if you’re not ready to ditch your accounts completely, make sure you don’t know your passwords). A teacher contemplates how to help his students concentrate.” (Hugh for Mitch). Does Sam Altman Know What He’s Creating? – The Atlantic . “There is a saying – which I will paraphrase here: Often the inventor does not know what the invention will be used for. In the case of creating an alien intelligence (aka, artificial intelligence), this takes on a much more cerebral experience. It’s hard to think and imagine the ways in which any technology might be used. You could use the Internet as a reference point here, but I would still consider that way too pedantic as a comparison. This article questions OpenAI’s Sam Altman. And, while he is very public and if often in the media discussing the work, it still all feels a little too… surreal… and science fiction-y. I’m still not settled on how I feel about AI. I’m generally good with the generative tools… but the real AI stuff? I dunno…” (Mitch for Alistair). Scandinavian heavy metal: Why Earth’s happiest place makes the darkest music – Big Think . “I love article likes this. It has a lot of my favorite tropes: Heavy metal music that most people can’t stand (and I can’t stop listening to). A country that lives a culture for a better humanity… there’s so much in here to unpack and savor. It’s a great read and it shows you how the darkest of music can come from the happiest of places. Enjoy it!.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Normand Guilbeault On This Month’s Groove – The No Treble Podcast

Normand Guilbeault is this month’s conversation on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.

Groove – Episode #104: Normand Guilbeault by No Treble

You can listen the new episode right here: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #104 – Normand Guilbeault.

Who is Normand Guilbeault?

Immerse yourself in the vibrant rhythm of a maestro’s journey, Normand Guilbeault, who has been at the heartbeat of Canada’s jazz and improvised music sphere for over 40 years. This virtuoso double bassist, composer, and multi-talented artist continues to command respect, being both the puppeteer and star player of a plethora of ground-breaking projects. His finesse on the bass strings, coupled with his leadership in crafting musical narratives, has made him a sought-after accompanist for both homegrown and international artists. This has also earned him a string of accolades and recognition from esteemed institutions like the Canada Council for the Arts. Norm’s musical romance with Montreal’s jazz royalty, such as Nelson Symonds and Bernard Primeau, are well documented. He himself became the headliner in the late ’80s, with his ensemble even bagging the Du Maurier Jazz Prize at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1994. A few years later, The Jazz Report honored him with “Acoustic Jazz Group of the Year.” International artists, like Paul Bley and Kurt Rozenwinkel, were enchanted by Norm’s distinctive style and rhythmic prowess. Quebec’s eclectic creators, including Karen Young and René Lussier, became regular collaborators. Norm’s Anishinaabe-Algonquin Métis heritage is a proud melody that plays throughout his life’s symphony. His contributions to the First Nations art scene are significant, involving dynamic collaborations with talents like filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin and poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine. Besides music, his social work resonates with the First Nations’ cause, manifesting in his tenure as an Indigenous liaison officer at a federal penitentiary and his current role as a spiritual advisor at the Waseskun Healing Center. Noteworthy works like ‘Hommage à / to Mingus and Kawandak’ echo his inspired artistic endeavors. And let’s not forget his role as a co-founder of the Montreal Off-Jazz Festival, adding another vibrant string to his bow. This kaleidoscope of daring endeavors affirms Norm as an indispensable force in jazz’s vibrant music scene. Decades into his career, his music continue to jazz up the canvas of our musical landscape. Whether he’s putting music to the poetry of Jack Kerouac or bringing his Tribute To Mingus at this summer’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. Enjoy the conversation…

What is Groove – The No Treble Podcast?

This is an ambitious effort. This will be a fascinating conversation. Our goal at Groove is to build the largest oral history of bass players. Why Groove? Most of the content about the bass revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. For us, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. They are a force to be reckon with. These are the stories and conversation that we will capture. To create this oral history of why these artists chose the bass, what their creative lives are like, and where inspiration can be found.

Listen in:  Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #104 – Normand Guilbeault.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends). 

Pico Iyer On The Search For Paradise, Solitude And Society – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #890 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

I often think of Pico Iyer. It could be while I travel… it could be while we were in Covid lockdown. His words truly resonate with me on a very deep level. Pico is an acclaimed wordsmith who began his journey in Oxford, England. With the King’s Scholarship at Eton and a Demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford in his kitty, Pico’s academic prowess earned him a Congratulatory Double First and the highest accolades in English Literature. In 1980, he joined the teaching fraternity at Harvard, earning a second Master’s degree and an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters. Since 1982, Pico has delved into full-time writing, weaving tales on diverse subjects from the Dalai Lama (a personal friend of his) to Islamic mysticism, and from the Cuban Revolution to globalism. His body of work encompasses over 15 books, including enduring bestsellers such as, Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, and The Art of Stillness. These literary gems have been translated into over 20 languages, amplifying his voice across the globe. Besides his own titles, Pico has penned introductions for over 70 other books, composed a screenplay for Miramax, and written a libretto. Complementing his book writing, Pico has contributed upwards of 100 articles annually to international publications such as Time, The New York Times, and the Financial Times. His knack for insightful storytelling has led him to the TED stage (which is where we first met and connected), where his four talks have garnered more than 10 million views. Pico’s life beautifully balances between solitude and society. Since 1992, he has divided his time between a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California, a sanctuary that nurtures his craft, and suburban Japan, where he engages with the rhythm of daily life. His journey underscores the harmonious fusion of stillness and movement, solitude and engagement – a fitting testimony to the art he so eloquently writes about. His latest book, The Half Known Life – In Search Of Paradise, is one that I read with stillness and slowness… like a fine wine. Paradise is many things to many people, and this book is an incredible journey to uncover it. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #890 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #890 – Pico Iyer On The Search For Paradise, Solitude And Society

Welcome to episode #890 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #890. I often think of Pico Iyer. It could be while I travel… it could be while we were in Covid lockdown. His words truly resonate with me on a very deep level. Pico is an acclaimed wordsmith who began his journey in Oxford, England. With the King’s Scholarship at Eton and a Demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford in his kitty, Pico’s academic prowess earned him a Congratulatory Double First and the highest accolades in English Literature. In 1980, he joined the teaching fraternity at Harvard, earning a second Master’s degree and an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters. Since 1982, Pico has delved into full-time writing, weaving tales on diverse subjects from the Dalai Lama (a personal friend of his) to Islamic mysticism, and from the Cuban Revolution to globalism. His body of work encompasses over 15 books, including enduring bestsellers such as, Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, and The Art of Stillness. These literary gems have been translated into over 20 languages, amplifying his voice across the globe. Besides his own titles, Pico has penned introductions for over 70 other books, composed a screenplay for Miramax, and written a libretto. Complementing his book writing, Pico has contributed upwards of 100 articles annually to international publications such as Time, The New York Times, and the Financial Times. His knack for insightful storytelling has led him to the TED stage (which is where we first met and connected), where his four talks have garnered more than 10 million views. Pico’s life beautifully balances between solitude and society. Since 1992, he has divided his time between a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California, a sanctuary that nurtures his craft, and suburban Japan, where he engages with the rhythm of daily life. His journey underscores the harmonious fusion of stillness and movement, solitude and engagement – a fitting testimony to the art he so eloquently writes about. His latest book, The Half Known Life – In Search Of Paradise, is one that I read with stillness and slowness… like a fine wine. Paradise is many things to many people, and this book is an incredible journey to uncover it. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:17:52.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Pico Iyer.The Half Known Life – In Search Of Paradise.Video Night in Kathmandu.The Lady and the Monk.The Art of Stillness.Pico’s TED Talks.Follow Pico on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #890.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #683

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

AI has poisoned its own well – Tracy Durnell . “When an AI consumes data it hallucinates, it gets dumb, fast. AI has a malnutrition problem, which is a major challenge for the growth of generative AI. There aren’t good solutions (sidenote: I’m actually working on a proposal for one; more details soon, hopefully.) But it’s an issue Tracy Durnell explains perfectly in this blog post.” (Alistair for Hugh). Everything Sucks Now – Wisecrack – YouTube . “I just deleted Facebook from my phone again; I’d been lured back by the need to use its Events feature for a while, but as usual, partisan dogmatists don’t like it when a pragmatic centrist says the quiet part out loud. ‘Is The Age of Online Friendship Over?’ is a legitimate question. Twitter, which was my home turf, has gone largely quiet (if you don’t count the crypto-turned-AI experts who are promising a single prompt to change your life). Cory Doctorow calls this Enshitification, which he digs into here.” (Alistair for Mitch and video below). The simple ways cities can adapt to heatwaves – Future Planet – BBC . “Turns out green spaces are pretty important for cities trying to deal with major heat waves. Ditto rivers. Not a surprise. Also I’ve seen a few articles recently on the impact of painting concrete surfaces white (guess those Greek Islands are on to something).” (Hugh for Alistair). Rooftop Gardens Can Help Alleviate Heat in Cities, Study Finds – EcoWatch . “While we’re at it, let’s make lots of rooftop gardens to help reduce urban heat sinks. (Ping me if you are interested in my experience with rooftop gardening!).” (Hugh for Mitch). How To Do Great Work – Paul Graham . “I save a lot of articles and, in many instances, it’s not me coming across the link but rather being referred to it by someone else. Mea culpa to when I don’t remember which person shared a link (or on what platform) to properly accredit them. I am sorry. This week, I do remember the sources for my choices. First up, is this great essay from famed tech guru, Paul Graham, about how to do great work that Tobi Lutke from Shopify tweeted out. I could pull a quote from almost any paragraph in this essay… it’s a beauty. Do you have to work hard? Yes. Do you have dig down deep? Yes. Do you have to be willing to be wrong and correct course? Yes. There’s a lot in here (along with a great exercise to find your own path), and I’m not convinced many people are willing to put in the work to find our their own personal path. Don’t believe me? Most people won’t even make it through this whole essay, let alone do the work that Graham suggests… sadly.” (Mitch for Alistair). UES Barnes & Noble Opens To ‘Unprecedented’ Neighborhood Welcome – Patch – Upper East Side . “The transitions in the book publishing and book retail business are fascinating to watch. First, it was big-book sellers like Barnes & Noble that were destroying the industry, then Amazon came along… then it was both Amazon and these big-box retailers that were the problem… then, suddenly, when Barnes & Noble was faltering everyone got worried that book stores might disappear completely… suddenly we’re rooting for any book store that opens anywhere… and, actually, I celebrate that as well. Massive crowds show up in New York City to celebrate the opening of a Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side. Books make us better. This one made me smile (and, yes, my explanation was a massive over-simplification of the many issues that the industry has gone through!). Thanks, Laura Gassner Otting, for the share!” (Mitch for Hugh).   

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

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