Peter wrote:“Overwise.” What a good word. I’ll understand it as having excessive knowledge about living while lacking the embodied wisdom from the lessons of doing things, making mistakes, and being foolish.
An adjacent phrase: “underlived,” which I’ve seen defined as “to live in an overcautious or unfulfilling manner.” While the underlived are not always overwise, the overwise are always underlived. The lived do not have time for the excessive thinking that leads to overwisdom.
Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Peter Lindberg's article Overwise, underlived today seemed to fit here best.
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
I recently heard an interview with Daniel Troia about a film he made about cycling across the US with no food or money. Here is a trailer for the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8s_1p09P60
"We Are All In This Together" traces Daniel Troia's cross-country bike journey with no food, no money and search for human connection. The film captures the interactions that Troia has with the people who lend a helping hand and shows that those who face the most adversity in their lives, often have the most to give.
Here is the interview I heard:
https://rolfpotts.com/podcast/bicycling-the-usa/
He also has a film available on YouTube about his tour through Europe (Two Wheels to Freedom):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bw-6gYdqNw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8s_1p09P60
"We Are All In This Together" traces Daniel Troia's cross-country bike journey with no food, no money and search for human connection. The film captures the interactions that Troia has with the people who lend a helping hand and shows that those who face the most adversity in their lives, often have the most to give.
Here is the interview I heard:
https://rolfpotts.com/podcast/bicycling-the-usa/
He also has a film available on YouTube about his tour through Europe (Two Wheels to Freedom):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bw-6gYdqNw
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
What a nice kid!
Back in the early 90s, Mrs. Ego and I went to the author talk and signing at a local bookstore for The Kindness of Strangers, the book that motivated him to do his journey. I remember leaving the bookstore really troubled by the story he told. While the message was inspiring, I couldn't get past the fact that he was begging for help, mostly from people who did not have the means to help themselves.
Basically, this kid did the same thing, but I like him and I like what he did. I am not sure why the two strike me as different. Anyway... good for him!
Back in the early 90s, Mrs. Ego and I went to the author talk and signing at a local bookstore for The Kindness of Strangers, the book that motivated him to do his journey. I remember leaving the bookstore really troubled by the story he told. While the message was inspiring, I couldn't get past the fact that he was begging for help, mostly from people who did not have the means to help themselves.
Basically, this kid did the same thing, but I like him and I like what he did. I am not sure why the two strike me as different. Anyway... good for him!
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
They discuss this dynamic a little in the interview with Rolf Potts. His plan for riding across the US was to rely heavily on dumpster diving, and to a lesser extent a network of friends, people on social media, and the broader cycling community.Ego wrote: ↑Fri Aug 30, 2024 1:04 pm
While the message was inspiring, I couldn't get past the fact that he was begging for help, mostly from people who did not have the means to help themselves.
Basically, this kid did the same thing, but I like him and I like what he did. I am not sure why the two strike me as different. Anyway... good for him!
They talked about the fact that those with the least to offer were often the first to offer up help. He wouldn't even be asking for anything, but other homeless would offer food or water when they saw him on the street. After talking with some of them, he realized that it was important that he accept their help, because it was a way in which they could be of service and maintain some of their own humanity.
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Some inspiration from Casey Neistat. 17 years pursuing the impossible dream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IiTdSnmS7E
And a follow up reminder to Do Hard Things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StMltAX0mp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IiTdSnmS7E
And a follow up reminder to Do Hard Things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StMltAX0mp0
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Personally, I'm not inspired. Too much of a Goggins vibe to this guy - "do hard, pointless things for narcissistic reasons". At least he doesn't do Goggins' self-hate.Western Red Cedar wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2024 6:57 pmSome inspiration from Casey Neistat. 17 years pursuing the impossible dream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IiTdSnmS7E
And a follow up reminder to Do Hard Things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StMltAX0mp0
For comparison, this is someone I find inspiring:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki
He voluntarily got locked up in Auschwitz during WWII so that he could learn in details what was going on there. While he was in the camp, he organized an underground resistance movement, consisting of hundreds of inmates. After he gathered enough information, he escaped, and wrote a report on what he saw, which was the first source of information on Holocaust available to the Allies. Shortly after the end of the war, he again did a similar thing - he was sent by Polish government in exile (residing in London) to report on the doings of Soviet-backed communist government that took over Poland.
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Yeah, I also like me some spreadsheets, and I think the journey is the point of any of these difficult metric-based challenges, but running is such an obvious choice. I don't know if you would ever see anybody on this forum want to take on Elon Musk in the most children by multiple wives challenge. Although, the human I know of IRL with highest ranking (15/3) was an engineer by profession, and he made the kids I knew put themselves through college by working at fish factories in the summer. So, more of a "Cheaper By The Dozen" frugal type. According to an Existential Risk expert who was recent guest on Nate Hagen's videocast, the original E.R. guys defined an existential risk as being anything that would prevent humans from spreading out across the galaxies, which kind of makes sense from an extremely long-term perspective, and/or if you consistently tend towards Maximization in Optimization mode. Obviously, this is not true of typed as INTj Musk, because he also wants to set a record for Minimizing government spending. Maybe ENTJ type would be the most consistent Maximizer? Dunno. People are weird, but they do tend to stay fairly consistent in their form of weirdness.
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
Any time someone puts down or comparisons someone else's post in this thread, I'm going to post a Goggins and/or Jocko inspiration-porn video.
I worked out to this video today. And it felt great.

I worked out to this video today. And it felt great.
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
DW and I ventured out yesterday to try and see our first cherry blossom in Japan. On the way to the park, I saw a blind man crossing the street and immediately thought of this video, which I probably revisit every month (adding a new link):jennypenny wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:58 amI try to collect moments. I step back and watch the movie that is my life for just a second, because it’s easy to miss the good stuff, the magic, when it happens. But I try not to. I try really hard to realize it when it’s amazing, and even when it’s not....
We think our heroes have to be good at throwing or catching balls, or have their name printed on a jersey, and then we sit down on a barstool and drink beer and watch them have the time of their lives on a TV screen. My heroes are my belay partners.
Blind people who cross the street by themselves, people who tirelessly refuse to make excuses and those who discover that inside, we are all capable of surprising ourselves.
We all have dreams, but they don’t mean much if we don’t act on them, if we put them in a drawer we label “Someday,” for when we think we’ll have more time. I try to get out there, to go to amazing places, to have incredible conversations with incredible people. I think it all adds up somewhere. And when it does, you’re not doing something. You’re being something. And what I want to be is happy, and excited, and inspired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWtQ8IJoKn0
Okinawa Cherry Blossoms:

After the park we wandered through the city, got distracted by a dozen quirky thrift/vintage stores and artisanal shops. Decided to stop for taco rice in the public market so DW could have an early dinner. They had a guitar so I got a small cup of sake from a vending machine and played Tom Waits, Neil Young, the Pixies, the White Stripes, and Old Crow Medicine Show for folks in the market. Watched a multi-generational group practice moves in a dojo on the way home.
Japanese Thrift Store:

Local leather and handmade goods store (we enjoyed watching the crew work and talking with the owner):

Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
This is a big annoyance I have with certain types of content. There are a handful of content styles but when I see someone in this category it's a huge annoyance for me.Ego wrote: ↑Fri Aug 30, 2024 1:04 pmWhat a nice kid!
Back in the early 90s, Mrs. Ego and I went to the author talk and signing at a local bookstore for The Kindness of Strangers, the book that motivated him to do his journey. I remember leaving the bookstore really troubled by the story he told. While the message was inspiring, I couldn't get past the fact that he was begging for help, mostly from people who did not have the means to help themselves.
Basically, this kid did the same thing, but I like him and I like what he did. I am not sure why the two strike me as different. Anyway... good for him!
Once example is a clueless Irish guy that does travel vlogs in Southeast Asia. Even when viewers explain things to him he seems to completely ignore their advice and is always going into his journeys lacking prepardness. Then, of course, he has trouble. And then people help him. He is not poor at all. I recall him mentioning a watch he bought himself for his birthday or something. The price of that watch is probably higher than a full year of median household salaries in the countries he travels.
There's another guy that really irked me. An older Australian guy that retired from a lucrative real estate career. He has numerous Ferraris and expensive motorcycles. He rides Harley Davidson cruisers even when he should use an adventure bike or dual sport. Then, most videos, he gets himself stuck and interrupts the lives of strangers, asking them to rescue him.
It's also true that another side of the coin here is - it can feel good to help people, and some of the people who do help will feel better overall and be happy about it. The other day I came upon an old lady who, I realized later had probably fallen over on her bike. Her bicycle was all messed up and I sorted it out for her. It was very easy and he was very thankful. I felt great about it. But if helped her and later realized that she manufactured that scenario to make a vlog about... I'd REALLY not like it
What I specifically dislike about it is that these guys are creating a scenario where other people will feel an obligation to help -- in order to create content that they alone will profit from. So I feel it's exploitative and also just stupid.
I do believe some implementations of this type of content can be great. I was listening to a video the other day of Robin Greenfield. He's doing this series where he, more-or-less, is sharing all of this actions and involvements that could be considered his dirty-laundry. In one video he was talking about his involvement with the Discovery Channel. First he did this survivor-man type reality show, which he explained was super fake and he was very disappointed. He parleyed his involvement in that show into getting Discovery to allow him to make 'his own' show (called "Free Ride") where he had (more) control. In that show he tried to mimic something he already did - traveling starting with no money and very little resources. The show had a surprisingly big budget... In the end he was disappointed that too much of it was fake and the show ended up being more about manufactured drama than the actual subject/intent. He essentially said that the original show he made was better. In that show I guess he didn't even have a camera. People he met shot some videos and emailed them to him and he cobbled those together into something. I know that his intentions are good so I won't be annoyed like the two guys I mentioned above. I'm trying to find it but so far I only see this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ6QxwZQVeA
Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread
What if she had manufactured the scenario in order to round up and filter some men worthy of being introduced to her beautiful granddaughter?C40 wrote: The other day I came upon an old lady who, I realized later had probably fallen over on her bike. Her bicycle was all messed up and I sorted it out for her. It was very easy and he was very thankful. I felt great about it. But if helped her and later realized that she manufactured that scenario to make a vlog about... I'd REALLY not like it

For better or worse, the dance of the behaviors or social manners often sorted under the descriptors of "charming" and "gallant" often requires some level of manufactured display of vulnerability and competent assistance. I can also picture this sort of thing as a 4 quadrant model with Hot Mess vs. Vulnerable and Self-Aware vs. Naive/Stupid. We like Robin Greenfield, because he is mostly in the Self-Aware Vulnerable quadrant. There is also a level of relativity in this model. For example, my super-frugal, uber-wealthy friend gifted me with some new black tights, because he noticed that I had holes in my tights, and I said something along the lines that I was ADD procrastinating on sewing them up. So, I was communicating "self-aware, hot-mess", but he saw it as "naive, vulnerable" and "I reminded him of his sisters on the farm in his poor childhood."
I don't purposefully wander around in holey black tights in order to attract gallant behavior from grouchy old men, but there are some behaviors that I do consciously enact, because learned from something like a charm manual. For example, fairly often if a G.O.M. takes me out for dinner, I will kiss him on the cheek and thank him for dinner. But, I am more likely to do this with the sort of recently divorced guy who feels like he has not been appreciated for anything he does for many years. Much less likely I would do this with powerful grouchy old guy who is accustomed to getting his ass kissed by other humans looking for favors. Also, it has been my experience that it is virtually impossible to date in my region and drive a crappy car without virtually every man you date becoming obsessed with helping you with your crappy car. I don't like this, so I prefer to either own a pretty good car or no car when I am actively dating. My Smart car works well in this regard, because it is in pretty good shape, but nobody I date ever wants to drive or ride in it. It's kind of the automotive equivalent of a cute purse.