People
Anthony Bourdain - Chef, Author, Travel documentarian
Mike White - Writer, filmmaker
Volodymyr Zelenskyy - President of Ukraine
Mike Cho - Founder of Seattle’s recently-closed Pizza Professional
Sarah Minnick - Chef at Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, Portland
David Chang - Founder of Momofuku
Jerry Saltz - Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine
Lex Fridman - Research Scientist, MIT
Peter Hambling - Co-Founder, Co-Owner, and Co-Conspirator, Digital Control Inc.
Sarah Polley - Filmmaker
Steve Fleischmann - Seattle business leader, entrepreneur, philanthropist, adventurer, and 4x cancer survivor
Sri Ramana Maharshi - Indian Hindu sage and jivanmukta
Marpessa Hennink - Fasion model
Rick Owens - Fashion designer
Kristan Sargent - Coach and therapist
Hideo Kojima - Game designer
Gabor Maté - Addiction expert, speaker, author
Julio Torres - Writer, comedy, actor
Todd Field - Filmmaker
Nate Bargatze - Comedian
David Goggins - Ultra-endurance athlete
Brian Johnson - Founder + CEO of Heroic, coach
Books
When I Reach for Your Pulse by Rushi Vyas
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Maus by Art Spiegelman - “finding that it totally lives up to the praise it’s received. It’s inspiring me to read more.”
This Miraculous Life: A Memoir by Robert Maoz Krzisnik
Misfortune: A Novel by Wesley Stace
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird
Settings for these Scenes by Genevieve Kaplan
Vivian Maier Developed: The Untold Story of the Photographer Nanny by Ann Marks
No Budu Please by Wingston González, Urayoán Noel (Translation)
The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind by Stephen Larsen
Pragmatism by William James
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Judaism by Rabbi Benjamin Blech
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats: A Novel by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Carol Tavris
What Makes Us Human by GPT-3, Jasmin Wang, and Iain Thomas
Useful Belief by Chris Helder
Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness by James Baraz
Japanese Mind by Roger Davies and Osamu Ikeno
Deep Knowing: Entering the Realm of Non-Ordinary Intelligence by Kim Hermanson
Tao Te Ching: A New English Version - Stephen Mitchell translation
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
Georgia O’Keeffe: Arts and Letters by Jack Cowart
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Asata by Asata Shakur
How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz
The Kindness of Strangers by Mike McIntyre
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (1909)
The Girl with the Loading Voice by Abi Dare
A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
The Prophet by Kahil Gibran
History of Rock for Big Fans and Little Punks by Rita Nabais
End of the World is just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan
Surrender by Bono
The Trump Tapes (audio version) by Bob Woodward
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
4000 weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Con/Artist: The Life and Times of the World’s Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro
How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan
The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michaels
Coming Alive by Phil Stutz and Barry Michaels
Eat a Peach by David Chang
Questions are the Answer by Hal Gregersen
The Book of Dust Volume 1 by Philip Pullman
Practical Guide to Breathwork by Jesse Coomer (audio version)
Breath by James Nestor
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Slough House books by Mick Herron
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
Deep River: A Novel by Karl Marinates
An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill (Colonel W. F. Cody) by Buffalo Bill
Do Design - Why Beauty is Key to Everything by Alan Moore
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Power, Resistance and Liberation in Therapy with Survivors of Trauma: To Have Our Hearts Broken by Taiwo Afupa
Ogilvy On Advertising by David Ogilvy
The Psychology of Money by Morgan House
Our Search for Belonging by Howard J. Ross
The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned by Jason T. Eberl
Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic by Paul Ehrlich and Sandra Kahn
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch
Phillip K. Dick - A Collection of Short Stories by Phillip K. Dick
Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural by Stephen Addiss
The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art by David Lewis-Wiliams
The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future by Jeff Booth
Harry Bosch Series by Michael Connley
Podcasts
60 songs that explain the 90s - “Wildly entertaining and the host, Rob Harvilla blows my mind every single episode and inspires me to be a better writer.”
The Dad Edge Podcast - “The mission of the Dad Edge Podcast is to help you become the best, strongest, and the happiest version of yourself so that you can help guide your kids to the best version of themselves. Simple as that.”
How I Built This - “Interviews with business leaders that are honest, introspective, and educational and inspire me to do the best job possible.”
The Original Guide to Men’s Health - “Midlife is humbling and this podcast, hosted by my old urologist (now retired) opens a dialog to subjects that as men we too often refuse to confront and inspires me to be more open about the aches and pains (emotional and physical) with my male friends.”
Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity
Conversations with Tyler - (Rick Rubin episode in particular)
Dave Chang Show - (Jerry Saltz episode)
Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean P. Hayes, and Will Arnett
Friendship Onion w/ Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd
Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People
Power Hungry with Robert Bryce
Broken Record with Malcolm Gladwell - Rick Rubin episode
Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell
Star Wars TV ‘Cast: Andor, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan, Boba Fett by Podcastica
Higher Practice: Culture, Society & Trauma - Gabor Maté interview
WTF with Marc Maron - interview with Sarah Polley
Huberman Lab - “In an ocean of podcasts, Andrew Huberman provides a constant voice around topics that I have grown more interest in. These include gut health, creativity, nutrition and exercise, self reflection, longevity and more. All the topics he covers and the discussions with guests are informative and shine a focused lens on each topic.”
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown - Episode with Chris Gerner Part 1 and Part 2
Fireside Chat with Dennis Prager
Lex Fridman - episode - Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, inflation, and the future of money
Music
Turnstile - “Turnstile has always released great hardcore albums, but their latest album ‘Glow On’ brings sounds and an overall feel to the surface that goes beyond what you would typically hear in hardcore. Trusting their individual influences and combining them into something truly unique and inspirational, something that continues to push their sound into new heights, and a sound that allows them to continue to evolve.”
Burt Bacharach (RIP)
Moon Panda Chiller - Playlist
Alice Coltrane - album Kirtan: Turiya Sings
Hiroshi Yoshimura (吉村弘) - album Wet Land
Bach - Die Kunst der Fuge in D minor, Tatiana Nikolayeva
John Carpenter - albums Lost Themes I, Lost Themes II, Lost Themes III
Ryuichi Sakamoto - album “12”
Late Night Tales - a series of artist-curated playlists
Coming Home by Little Element
Louise Charbonnel - Voice France 2022
Jørgen Dahl Moe - Voice Norway 2022
Another Late Night: Fila Brazillia - Artist-curated playlist
Another Late Night: Zero 7 - Artist-curated playlist
Another Late Night: Rae & Christian - Artist-curated playlist
Another Late Night: Groove Armada - Artist-curated playlist
Late Night Tales: Nouvelle Vague - Artist-curated playlist
Art
Experiences
Raising my son as he approaches 1 year old - “Everyday with my son is new. Everyday I see more and more of the world through his eyes, as he slowly unravels what it means to be alive. Every new texture, every new food, every new sound. The gift that is being the one to help curate and teach him everything about life will forever be one of my greatest achievements, and I can’t wait to see the man he grows up to be.”
I’m inspired daily by my wife and kids and anyone who is overcoming obstacles, establishing their place in the world and finding success. It’s rarely a straight path between two points and the path we each take creates a tapestry that impacts ourselves and those around us. I love the tapestry they are each weaving.
I’ve been enjoying visiting record stores and rebuilding my vinyl collection - particularly music from the 80s and 90s that I’ve never heard on vinyl.
Allowing myself to be who I am with a client and not feeling like I need to follow a blueprint
Experimenting with MidJourney , ChatGPT, and Dall-e- - “AI has changed my ideas how I make them, how I concept art and work, and i’m sure it will eventually ruin everything but right now it’s a fascinating use of technology that has my creative mind racing”
Practicing gratitude.
Spending more focused time with my kids.
Volunteering at a crisis center.
Seeing William Kentridge’s The Head and the Load
Visiting Joseph Campbell’s archives on the campus of Pacifica Graduate Institute which I’d wanted to see for 20+ years. To hold the very books that inspired him to write and teach about mythology and comparative religion.
Being in nature near trees and water.
Connecting to the energy within me - being in the flow.
Completely uninhibited dancing.
Eliminating violent tv shows and political news.
Making a point to be extra nice to a few people every day.
Being in a sauna.
Planning a 3-week vacation to Europe.
Taking new Peleton classes I haven’t taken before.
Having one of my favorite artists invite me to his gallery/studio to talk about film cameras.
Going to a friend’s roller disco 50th birthday party.
Hearing Miriam Toews read her new book “Fight Night” at Elliott Bay Books
Studying EMT course books in all of my free time. Inspires me for the next level of training.
Moving from the UK to Germany
Taking a four-part online course from Rooted Global Village: Where do I belong? An exploration of identity and belonging for bi-cultural and multicultural bodies.
Seeing Visqueen at the Tractor Tavern
Being in Lisbon, Portugal
Traveling to Italy
Curating this list - Send me your inspirations
Attending the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational
Lectures
Movies
Till - “Beautiful and careful storytelling. At a time where the likes of Ron DeSantis are working hard to suppress our nation’s difficult but critically important history, it’s inspired me to be more politically aware.”
Everything, Everywhere all at Once
Philip K. Dick - A Day in the Afterlife
Poems
The Orange by Wendy Cope - “A dear friend shared this poem with me and I printed it out and taped it to my office wall. It’s an everyday reminder of life’s everyday moments, the ones that when added up upon reflection can open ones eyes to the infinite amount of small joys that occur everyday.”
Documentaries
Mission: Joy - Finding Happiness in Troubled Times - An exploration of the remarkable friendship between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Stutz (shared by multiple people)
Diana Vreeland - The Eye Has To Travel
Rivers & Tides - Andy Goldsworthy Natural Sculptures With Ice, Stone & more
Great Art Explained - YouTube series
Design
Odyssey Works - Deeply personal and immersive performances for one
Daily tous les jours - creates collective experiences for public spaces
Video
How KAWS Became the Face Of Contemporary Art | Blueprint - KAWS went from a skater kid doing graffiti around New York City to illustrating the beloved animated series Doug to creating instantly recognizable pop art that gained visibility the world over. The artist, painter, designer and toymaker details how he linked with Nigo and Pharrell in Japan, collaborated with Jordan and Uniqlo for sold-out capsules and created motifs that elevated fine art into the cultural zeitgeist.
TAL R : - Shortly before he turned fifty, we had the unique pleasure of spending six months with Danish artist Tal R, while he was in the process of making his grand series of nine enormous railcar paintings, ‘Habakuk’. Watch the intimate and biographical film.
DAVE | Dave’s Mountain Dew Rap Pitch - Season 2 Ep. 7 Highlight | FXX - an example of someone putting it all on the line and saying “fuck it, I’m going for it.” And also apparently a demonstration of being selfish by not attributing your partner her role in your success.
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) by Paul Tschinkel
DAVE | Dave’s Mountain Dew Rap Pitch - Season 2 Ep. 7 Highlight | FXX
Bitcoin & Michael Saylor - A Masterclass in Economic Calculation
Blogs/Vlogs
Art2Life Vlog by Nicholas Wilton - These are great. He talks about art making in such a clear way.
Conversations with Tyler Cowen - Derek Sivers
Books I’ve Read - Derek Sivers (technically not a blog post. Derek’s updated list of books he’s read accompanied by his notes. Very useful and insightful).
Reading the Bible start to finish - Derek Sivers
Magazines
Noema - exploring the transformations sweeping our world
TV
American Horror Story - especially seasons 1 & 2
The Last of Us - Season 1 Episode 3 resonated with many
Station Eleven - “I hate post-apocalyptic stuff and this story is so inspiring- the urge to create must live!”
Games
Food
Carla Lalli Book Club - “a cooking club I am in with 2 very good friends. I have a running group text with a few good friends where we often share recipes we are cooking, recipes we want to make, and at times make the same meal on the same day. It’s been a fantastic way to feel connection when, with our busy lives and children, can’t always enjoy meals together.”
Personal Work
Webcasts
Discover your Shadow - introduction to shadow work
Newsletters
3-2-1 Thursday by James Clear
Curiosity Corner - Sahil Bloom
Art21 - presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art
Colossal - the best of art and visual culture from Colossal
5 Bullet Friday by Tim Ferriss
Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson
Technology
Runway ML - harnessing the power of AI to quickly create engaging videos
Readwise (product) - have your kindle highlights emailed to you every day
Scrib - like Netflix for ebooks, audiobooks, documents, podcasts, and even sheet music
YouTube - “Allows me to express myself, solve problems and see awesome things.”
Woebot - “Your personal mental health ally that helps you get back to feeling like yourself. Grounded in science and powered by natural language processing, Woebot is easy to talk to and fits right into your life, whenever you want to chat.”
Bitcoin - “inspired to learn more about how it is and will shape our future”
AI - “exploring as a creative generator in the midst of the controversy it’s creating”