It doesn't take the keenest eye to notice that TOA has entered a bit of a lull in these summer months. There could be a long explanation here, but I think it's easier to say that I've been busy.
I believe it was Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert series and author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, who pointed out that the key to productivity is matching the mental state to the task. This might be relatable to anyone who has organized their workday to leave the mindless tasks for the final hour, or to the reader who saves a certain type of book for the beach (I know it's called a "beach read", but I don't really know what that means). I think I've learned the wisdom of this insight from these years on TOA - at certain times of the year, conditions dictate that I lower my energy level a little bit and focus on easier posts for the sake of keeping this train running on schedule.
So, as promised in the July newsletter - it's time to walk down memory lane and pick out a few of my favorite podcast episodes of all-time. As noted in that post, this idea started in the spring as an email exchange, which makes it a logical candidate for this moment - in some ways the work is already done, and I have merely designated myself with the lofty assignment of writing the equivalent of a back cover blurb.
I'll start the series with this Men In Blazers episode, a repost of a 2014 show when English sports promoter and former Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn joined the podcast for a memorable "pod special". In this episode, he shares his "10 life lessons", but it's more about the stories that he uses to illustrate each one - his first business venture as a schoolboy, meeting Don King, why he stopped lying, the nature of getting free stuff, and more. You can skip right ahead to the nine-minute mark, where Hearn shows up and sets the tone by announcing "Good evening, colonies!" to the New York City crowd. I've listened to this episode several times in my life, so I suppose my actions speak a louder recommendation than could any more of my words. If all of this sounds vaguely familiar, I wrote a little about this episode in this 2019 post.
The reason I chose this episode to open the series is because of one specific story, which starts at just past the twenty-seven minute mark and last for about ninety seconds. Hearn talks about a potential business deal that he calls off at the last hurdle, citing "because I don't like you" as the reason for changing his mind. One of the biggest factors contributing to my busyness at the moment is an apartment search, which upon first glance might seem entirely unnecessary given that I've spent almost seven years in my current unit. So why move out now? I've been asked this question all month - by friends, by acquaintances, by realtors, by everybody - and I've given everyone a truthful response. However, these responses have never included the most truthful reason, the proverbial Real Reason, which is that I concluded during the pandemic that I don't like my landlord. I could sit here and list every little thing, but that isn't the point. The point is that if I am going to send someone over twenty thousand dollars a year in rent, then I better like the person, or at the very least retain a neutral business-minded opinion of the person, and that just isn't possible anymore in my current situation.
We'll be back this week - hopefully - with some real posts, and maybe another podcast episode. Thanks for "reading"!
