BRAIN FOOD vol. 2

Flow State is defined as fluidity between body and mind.

What happens to our brains in this space of total focus and immersion? ?

The prefrontal cortex (complex decision-making, awareness of self and time) surrenders to sub-cortical brain regions. This shift to the faster parallel processing of limbic regions sparks new and spontaneous connections between information and events.

The fruit of this change??

Peak performance of art, play, and work.

Great epiphanies occur with brilliant momentum and energy; and for Silicon Zombies Podcast , August was no exception ??

The Shashi Hotel

On Aug. 4th, we celebrated our 75th episode at the Shashi Hotel in style (shout out to Garrison Brothers Distillery , United Airlines , and Modern Luxury ). Special cheers to everybody who flew in for the event, including Zécca Lehn , Matthew Lopez , and the Necodex team ????

Can't wait for the next delicious Garrison Brothers Distillery tasting ??

Photos by: Drew Altizer photography

Limits to Abundance ft. James Loperfido

The first week we had ?? James Loperfido ?? discuss everything from Epigenetics (study of how behavior effects genes) to the power of blockchain in global politics. Forever a fan of the stoics , James shared a few philosophical gems including:

"Ego is the enemy,

the obstacle is the way"

The Stoicism happiness triangle:

1. Take responsibility
2. Focus on what you can control
3. Live in Areté, or expressing your highest version moment to moment

Being curious about finance/economics/frontier technology - for the sake of improving the quality of daily natural lives - has been a lifelong joy and pursuit. James Loperfido also shared that inherent in globalization is complexity theory; and an increasingly interconnected economy means when things are bad, like:

• currency manipulation
• pandemics
• natural disasters
• supply shortages

Then things get remarkably worse for everybody by orders of magnitude.

However we can provide a diplomatic global governance framework with the Blockchain, allowing interoperability through coordinated legislation and policy. In fact he's bullish on innovations around decentralization, often bridging the gap between pragmatist and futurist.

As such, James also took a crack at defining #web3

A movement towards an economy of where you become owner of your own data; where you don't have to rely on a 3rd party to make transactions
        

The second week was also magic ??

Collective Art Collaboration ft. Antonio Di Francesco

?? Antonio Di Francesco ?? (aka the Italian Stallion with an exit) explored collective art collaboration: The Past, Present, and Future of how Art and Tech 'mesh'.

He says we are also in the midst of a empowerment mindset shift, where

"Creators are the next wave of entrepreneurs; making a living from their passion through technology"

Having been in town for The Future Forum - an experimental 3-day conference in San Francisco for 200 of the world’s most thoughtful and ambitious individuals, Antonio was able to meet creators and visionaries working to improve the future of humanity. CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman believes we will have near-free energy in 10 years, and that we are probably 20 years from AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence. Sam also suggested it's best to invest in our strengths, not our weaknesses. Similar to DALL-E (a neural network that creates images from text) is Wavv, empowering musicians by removing 3rd parties. Wavv's CEO is our awesome friend, virtuoso composer, and pianist, Ivan Linn .

The Adaptability Quotient ft. Olga Bortnikova

Startup founder and travel junkie ?? Olga Bortnikova ?? knows what it’s like to navigate challenges with resilience. She shares the 'Who, How, and Why' of adapting to change as well as #crisismanagement and how its helped her in the #traveltech space.

And Tripsider has certainly tapped into something special, having scaled from 2 people to 60 in 4 years, as well as closing seed funding and being featured of Forbes . Simply put, their main value proposition is to connect tourists and self-contracted, expert guides.?

Olga Bortnikova explained (as did James Loperfido a few weeks earlier) that even though it sounds simple,

"It's so important to be honest with yourself about what you actually want"

She also expounded on some of the technology they leverage, including Spiral Dynamics, or

The model of the evolutionary development of individuals, organizations, and societies

        

As for what's in her 'hindsight portfolio' - or what she'd tell herself 10 years ago, it'd be to

"Act according to your dreams faster"

Nick Hammer , CMO at Unity Central asked about how to create truly unique experiences, the kind of adventures you stumble upon with a certain type of person, motive, and scenario. Olga appreciated the spirit and aligned values of assimilation here - noting that it get's easier the more you've traveled (and Olga's been to over 40 countries!) ??

Rising Above the Noise ft. Michael McCarthy

The last show in August was none other than the luminary Michael McCarthy , Editor-in-Chief of Modern Luxury . Michael taught us not just how to stand out, but how to connect. Right off the bat he mentioned 'break on through' just like The Doors ??

Whats the TL;DR of standing out? You need to have a 'news peg' or whats happening right now. A restaurant just turned a decade old? Not a story. But a new chef, or a new fall menu, now there's substance to respond or engage to. The other piece of advice is reach out at the right time; 6 -8 months out before is best to properly work into the magazine's narrative. Oh, and don't forget how far excellent photography will take you ??

"Everybody has a good story to tell. As a journalist, it's our job to find it"

- Michael McCarthy

How do we drive deeper connections? Do your homework. But more prep isn't always better. A recent example was his interview with William H. Macy (who started off by playing the ukulele and singing for 15 minutes) before they got into his distillery he just bought. By knowing to focus on what matters to him, Michael stayed away from the banal questions that William probably gets asked daily.

Also fascinating was Michael's approach of briefly talking first to get people more comfortable. It gives them a chance to listen and chance to gauge our energy so they know how to react. Of course it's case by case, but helpful reminder nonetheless. Hope to have Michael back on again soon! ??

Bryan Talebi Hosts 'Future of Humanity Summit' in Vegas

The man, the myth, the legend Bryan Talebi turned 40. Instead of throwing just another party, Bryan brought together some of the brightest minds in space travel, politics, biology, investing, AI, and more.

Nouriel Roubini , Creon Levit , Brindley Woods , Nancy Conrad , Jeff Pollock , Reese Jones , Thomas Markusic , Ari Eisenstat , Rachel Lyons , Maria Laws , Alex Tsado , Roger Sels , Daniel Id?kowski ????/???? , and others tackled the big questions around the climate, equality, robotics to name a few. Each talk felt like a master-class of what's next and how to get involved. To say it was inspiring would be a huge understatement.

Reese Jones of Singularity University shares the increasing rate of innovation throughout human history, and some of the challenges that come with it.

Shout out to Ruby Yeh , Zécca Lehn , and Conor Riley for being such wonderful travel companions and community builders ??

If you are interested in getting involved in Ahura AI or Bryan Talebi 's venture fund, feel free to reach out. ??

LA Tech Week 2022

Tech went glam from August 15 - 21, and LA pulled out all the stops. Andreessen Horowitz hosted a talk titled 'The Art of the Deal' with Ari Emanuel and Marc Andreessen , where they ribbed each other and shared nuances of some big wins and losses. Ari at one point in referencing being a grinder, saying

"Entrepreneurship is like chewing glass, you eventually like the taste of your own blood"

-Ari Emanuel

Ran into some old friends, including the celebrated serial founder Sonny Mayugba , whose startup Azra Games is absolutely exploding. Congrats Sonny on the new round and recent growth!

Also spent some time with the inimitable Christopher Voss - if you haven't seen his TED talk , you are missing out. Already looking forward to next year- Big thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Jeffry Marinelli for hosting us! ??

Burning Man 22'

Me and Peter Wang took a mental health break to move and groove on the playa (aka no show last week). Met a ton of lovely people, & learned a lot about community and collaboration at scale. Back with great stories, inquire within. Props to Sandra Larson for being the best dressed on the playa. Close 2nd place was Peter with Sailor Moon leggings.

Surf and Sales Podcast

Sales guru's Richard Harris? and ??♂? Scott Leese had me on their show, the Surf & Sales Podcast - link here . Thank you both for a real good time! Would love to have you gents share your wisdom and witticisms on Silicon Zombies Podcast when it makes sense.

Founder of the Month???

Vickey Li knows that the 'office' is changing, innovates accordingly with Veery

What is Veery? A marketplace that matches companies with the perfect workspace for their teams in the dynamic landscape of commercial real estate.

Veery was built upon her experience working with fast-growing companies for their office expansion in Shanghai, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. As an individual passionate about real estate, she is creating a new way of office leasing to connect companies and landlords with a curated, scalable office solution that is flexible, reliable, and self-driven.

congrats Vickey on the recent round and growth!
        

Shout out to our sponsor,?Necodex ?- be sure to check them out if you are looking to build web or mobile software.?Bizinta Inc. is a huge fan of their team and work ????

What a brilliant group of leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. Can't wait to see where we go next! Stay tuned for for September, and reach out if you are free September 22nd for a private event at the Rosewood Hotel Group in Menlo Park.

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