Shows
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0027 - Compounding DisinterestWhat does it mean to get better each day? Why should we? What happens if we don't? Could we get worse?
Does 'worse' compound too? Oh, no!
Every cliche demands some examination. Every life, a hint of rumination. Sure, get better each day, but after reading the fine print.
These little soundbites are best heard on a walk or while running an errand (okay, fine, you can fall asleep to it).
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2024-01-2110 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0026 - Satisfaction by the SliceWhat is my purpose? What should I be doing with my career? How can I find satisfaction?
Welcome to a newer, more personal TMP. My mind isn't quiet at the best of times, and since I'm not special, I thought yours might fancy a chat, so I thought I might as well share the noise. These little soundbites are best heard on a walk or while running an errand (okay, fine, you can fall asleep to it).
TMP Links:
TMP Website: https://www.themaximumproject.com/
TMP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themaximumproject
TMP Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themaximumproject
TMP...
2024-01-1310 min
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0025 (Chinwags) - Ethical AI ft. Johannes CastnerIs life deterministic, or does free will exist? A belief in the latter may better serve us, but this question is no longer philosophical. AI is a human creation capable of eradicating free will in insidious ways for aims, from creating echo chambers through seductive 'personalisation' to winning elections and ambient wallet theft. It doesn't need to be that way.
Irrespective of our view, AI affects how we live, work, and interact with the world. What are the consequences of this development? What is AI? Why does it matter? And what can we do about it? What d...
2022-11-211h 22
Break the CycleBreak The Cycle - Episode 28: CuriosityThis is an episode for me! Why? Because I love the learning that a meandering conversation can bring. There is a certain level of curiosity one needs to find the nuggets of learning in most inane conversations and believe me, the lesson is always worth it. But I wasn't always like this. Thankfully, I had Adarsh to whip my ass in shape over every single phone call we had. Adarsh Nalam is a communication consultant and corporate ghostwriter by profession and (as much as he would hate me for saying this), one of the greatest 'thinking-doers' I know of...
2022-06-301h 58
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0024 (Chinwags) - The Gift of Craft ft. Les EdgertonLes Edgerton is a writer. He is also a writing mentor, published author, trauma survivor, father, husband, and human being with a rich and complex past.
As someone capable of preventing and inflicting harm with equal intensity, Les has spent time in the navy as a cryptographer and in prison for burglary. As a bystander, perpetrator, victim, and astute observer, he has dealt with the evil side of the human condition and lived to tell the story. For more about Les, I recommend reading his memoir - Adrenaline Junkie.
This episode, however, is about the...
2022-02-191h 37
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0023 (Chinwags) - Executive Equilibrium ft. Tushar BajajTushar Bajaj used to be my boss. He is also someone I’ve always enjoyed speaking with. Tushar is an executive leader at MSL, an integrated communications firm part of the Publicis Groupe. Not originally from a communication background, he dipped his toes in a bunch of ventures before landing in the field that has been home for the last decade. I’m yet to find a topic he can’t talk about and a room that won’t listen to him in rapt attention.
Yes, he’s smart and has a fantastic voice (you’re in for a right...
2022-01-281h 06
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0022 (Chinwags) - Authoring Strength ft. Dan JohnYou’ve thought about getting fit, haven’t you? And you’ve slipped in the quest a few times, too, eh? It’s a massive concern but might just need a few tweaks to fix. The first tweak? Your mindset.
I heard of Dan (or ‘Coach’ as I’ve been calling him on intuition) through Dinesh, my trainer, who I’ve mentioned a few times now. Dan John is a weightlifting and strength coach. He is also an All-American discus thrower, academic, and author. If that’s not enough, Dan holds the American record for the weight pentathlon, which...
2022-01-141h 08
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0021 (Chinwags) - Understanding Resilience ft. Rob WrightRob Wright is a resilience specialist. If that has you intrigued, then, well, it should. Rob is the founder of GIANT, a company that supports the emotional and mental well-being of workers, workplaces, and communities through his skills as a resilience expert, coach, speaker, and writer. Compassionate and straight-talking, Rob has a pragmatic approach to compassion. His style all but obliterates the strict boundary between thinking and feeling that we are all conditioned to believe. To combine passion, purpose, and profitability, Rob is adding value through his mission of helping people be their best selves by overcoming stress, overwhelm...
2021-12-241h 22
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0020 (Chinwags) - A Catalyst of Catalysts ft. Padmakumar MMTeachers are often formative influences in our development. But, unfortunately, they are also subject to more flak than is often due. So when I thought it would be fascinating to hear their side of the story, only one name came to mind.
Padmakumar MM heads the Media Studies department at CHRIST University, one of India’s leading private universities. An educator for 16 years, he has an astute sense of the benefits of the education system and its limitations. In his academic career, Padmakumar has led the revision of CHRIST’s media studies curriculum and introduced several programmes to me...
2021-12-101h 29
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0019 (Chinwags) - A Cat Named Death ft. Allen JustinAllen Justin is an artist, therapist, and teacher who lives in Goa with his cats - Death and Patronus. Living with borderline personality disorder, Allen has found refuge in art and a keen interest in science. He is currently building a body of work as he continues to navigate his condition while helping others discover their life path. Allen is vocal on social media about mental health, science, and motivation. His art is a mix of abstract styles that invite the viewer to co-create a narrative of meaning in what might be a riff on the subjective nature of...
2021-11-261h 25
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0018 (Chinwags) - The Nature of Art ft. Ramya SriramRamya Sriram is a comic creator and writer from India currently based in Cambridge, UK. Her comic strip, The Tap, attempts to capture her bizarre, wild, and wonderful experiences as she figures out her life's purpose. A keen traveller, Ramya has had her travel writing featured in a host of publications alongside recognition for her art. She is also a poet and content marketer. As someone who uses words and images to soothe, sell, and survive, Ramya has a keen sense of the benefits and struggles of the artistic process, and this conversation is for anyone looking for a s...
2021-10-011h 08
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0017 (Chinwags) - A Life Entangled ft. Prithvi RajPrithvi Raj is a product developer at Cadabams Group, a mental healthcare organisation based in India. I first met Prithvi after a guest lecture at Christ University, where he and his team met me after class to workshop some ideas for Indest, a student-run NGO that Prithvi founded in high school. After finishing his undergraduate degree in mass media, literature and psychology, Prithvi began focusing on mental health and now combines his interest in technology, culture, social work, and entrepreneurship. His insatiable curiosity, commitment to a cause not forced on him by circumstance, and innate ability to lead with...
2021-08-111h 17
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0016 (Chinwags) - Drive by Tune ft. Micah BedfordI met Micah when I was teaching a public relations course at Christ in Bengaluru. He reached out to me for a chat after class, and we’ve been in touch ever since. Now, Michah always struck me as a bright, driven, articulate young man with the existential humdrum that characterized my teens, so I took a shining to him and our conversations. When he dropped out of college, I was on the fence about the idea. But the discipline, drive, and passion he shows for what he does will see his choice vindicated. Micah is a 24-year-old musician-producer wh...
2021-07-241h 17
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0015 (Chinwags) - Determination by Design ft. Caoimhe KellyCaoimhe and I met through, you guessed it, The Portfolio Collective. I left a comment on one of her queries on the community board, and we’ve been in touch since. When we first spoke, Caoimhe’s combination of quiet grit and commitment stood out to me. Her story, and storied career, is an excellent example for people looking to see the benefits of sticking with something.
Caoimhe is a driven and curious innovator. She loves finding new ways to integrate creativity and responsible design choices to create brand-right products and aesthetics. Seventeen years in the shoe indus...
2021-07-121h 32
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0014 (Chinwags) - Sergeant Sisterhood ft. Heather SharpHeather Sharp is the founder of Forces Wives Challenge, a community of military wives who discover their unlimited potential through challenges worldwide. Heather and I met through The Portfolio Collective, a community looking to help independent professionals build rewarding and lucrative careers. We have been in touch since we first spoke in an online breakout session. I am amazed by Heather's relentless commitment to her cause and community, as I think you will be too.
Having served a decade in the British Army, starting in 2004, Heather left the regular forces in 2014 to take care of her young c...
2021-06-2546 min
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0013 (Chinwags) - Competitive Contentment ft. Brian CarvalhoBrian Carvalho is a communication consultant and amateur musician. With over 25 years in the PR consulting game, he currently leads communication for the Live Love Laugh Foundation, Anna Chandy and Associates, and several other organisations. Brian has vast experience working with founders and senior leaders and driving communications strategy in the social impact, healthcare, technology, education and related industries. Brian also runs PRune, a collaborative effort with Melissa Arulappan. PRune is a knowledge-sharing platform for public relations practitioners in Bengaluru that brings experts together to provide insights on real-time trends and developments that impact and shape the PR industry.
I m...
2021-06-111h 11
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0012 (Chinwags) - Go with Your Gut ft. Sahana DasharathiSahana Dasharathi is the founder of Dash of Nourishment. A practising nutritionist, Sahana specialises in sports nutrition, weight management, gut health, lifestyle management, auto-immune disorders, and hormone imbalances and disorders. She has worked with corporates like Northern Trust and FirstSource while working with Right Living, a nutritional counselling and education firm in Bengaluru. She then worked with another company, Nutrifymydiet, which focused on sports nutrition, helping clients address lifestyle disorders and weight management. In her time with Nutrifymydiet, she also worked with the Indian hockey team. In 2019 September, Sahana decided to start her private practice and take the solo...
2021-05-2850 min
The Maximum ProjectTMP #0011 (Chinwags) - In the Driver's Seat ft. Dinesh BorwankarDinesh Borwankar is the founder and head coach at Movement Strength Performance (MSP), a functional strength and conditioning centre in Bengaluru, India. He is an ACE Personal Trainer, that's the American College of Exercise. Dinesh was also an elite cricketer in what is now a previous life, playing for Karnataka through age-group cricket before moving away from the sport in 2018 to focus on his fitness career. I started as a client with Dinesh last September, and he has me feeling stronger and more mobile than I ever have since I could lay claim to being an adult (at least...
2021-05-141h 36The Maximum ProjectTMP #0010 - Creative By DesignAre you creative? What was the first response that came to your mind? I have had a lot of conversations with people who don't believe that they are creative. I was one of those people myself until I realized I couldn't avoid being creative any more than I could avoid being human. It comes with the box.* I thought I'd create a piece with the most common arguments for not being creative or to at least postpone the expression of said ability. Have a listen. And then read that question again.
Neil Gaiman's 'Make Good Art': https://f...
2020-04-2217 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0009 - The Liberation of RealityEveryone will die.
That's not a foreboding statement. It's a reality and one that we may wish to start acknowledging every now and then. Collective paranoia and pithy truisms can provide short-term solace, but is that really how you want to go about your business? Today's reflection is a freestyle 'rant', perhaps not in the truest sense of the word, and I hope it draws your attention to that most valuable of human qualities - self-reliance.
You can read the stunning essay on Self-Reliance here: https://emersoncentral.com/ebook/Self-Reliance.pdf
A bit...
2020-04-1613 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0008 - Unexpected Feelings of WorthlessnessSolitude makes us more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and state of mind. Maybe that's why it can be intimidating. Have you had a day where things start off dandy but as it progresses, your mood changes. What was once a fairly relaxed setting quickly transforms into a mire of worry and worthlessness. Where does that feeling come from? Why do we always feel the need to do more? I hope this wee riff on tackling a sense of inadequacy gives you a moment to take a step back and create room for curiosity instead of criticism.
2020-04-1513 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0007 - Doing Good or Feeling GoodHow often do we find ourselves in self-destructive patterns? Have you ever had those moments of self-awareness where you see what you're doing and decide to change? If you said 'yes', you're probably going to say yes to my question. Have you fallen off the willpower 'wagon'? I've been talking to friends about addictions, vices, and self-destructive behaviours. Do we have them just because we're mindless pleasure seekers? I don't think our situation is hopeless and, even if it is, that doesn't mean I won't think about it. Also, I seem to have misquoted who I believe is Arthur...
2020-03-3011 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0006 - The Trauma of DisciplineHave you ever felt that surge of pain at the end of a relationship? The edginess of possibly losing work or the anxiety of a conflict about to explode? Why is it that suffering always seems impossible until it passes? My theory is that we don't practice trauma enough, specifically through the disciplined consumption of perceived agony. Death. Breakups. Bankruptcy. Loss. Each of these is a possibility, and it is their existence that makes the alternative desirable. Perhaps the answer to dealing with distress is not to insulate ourselves from all pain but to expose ourselves to it in...
2020-03-2512 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0005 - Breathing RoomHow often do you base your reactions to people on how you feel? Ever so often, in a burst of anger that goes against my 'inner peace', I have said things that I will regret later - a joke, a jibe, a retort, or even just a point that could've been made better. First, there's the exhaustion from the aggression, then the guilt for saying what I have, and the shame for being the person that does all those things. I could use grit and willpower to be someone else, but that hasn't worked, and I don't think it...
2020-02-2512 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0004 - The Anxiety of ExpectationIf I didn't have a clear image of how you would like things to turn out, would uncertainty still bother me? A vision is useful for direction, but it can be distressing if I keep thinking about how it may not come to fruition exactly as I picture it. When it comes to people, this becomes a delicate dance between my expectations of interactions and the (sometimes messy) reality of experience. Oh, and then there are other people and their preferences, quirks, and neuroticism (or lack thereof, the horror!). Will we ever know exactly how people see us? Does...
2020-02-1917 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0003 - Colour Me SocialOur anxiety is often spiked by the prospect of interacting with someone. What are the thoughts that create it? Are your thoughts your own? Where do they come from? Do the people we encounter have anything to do with them? Well, it would help to take a look. Your host has the sniffles, so please excuse the occasional interruption.
2020-02-1615 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0002 - Unremarkably ExceptionalDo you ever sit back and wonder where your life is going? Or where it has ended up? I did. I do. Often. Lately, I've replaced the impulse to freeze with the tendency to take a small step towards any one of my goals. One pushup. One sentence. One good meal. After all, what is an exceptional journey but a series of unremarkable but consistent steps?
Also, I mention this stellar Tim Urban post in the episode: https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/life-is-picture-but-you-live-in-pixel.html.
2020-02-1212 minThe Maximum ProjectTMP #0001 - Welcome to The Maximum ProjectThe first episode of The Maximum Project where Adarsh introduces the idea. Listen till the end for a little special something that might move you, get you thinking, or crack you up. Who doesn't need a laugh, eh?
2019-10-1711 min