Shows
Digital Social HourHow Mid-Term Rentals Can Make You Financially Free | Jason & Jackie McClure DSH #1206🔥 Jason & Jackie McClure on Mid-Term Rentals, Financial Freedom & Finding Purpose 🚀 In this episode, we sit down with Jason and Jackie McClure, real estate investors and founders of Vetted Homes, to talk about mid-term rentals, building passive income, and living a life of true freedom. They break down: ✅ How insurance-backed rentals can generate massive cash flow ✅ How they built their real estate business while homeschooling four kids ✅ Why giving back is the key to fulfillment Whether you're an investor, an entrepreneur, or looking for a better way to create wealth and impact, this...2025-02-2753 min
BONDcastMusical Inspirations (Mr. Sean McClure)In this episode, we’re talking with Sean McClure, the Senior Program Coordinator for the Center for Research
Engagement and Collaboration in African American Life as well as the project manager for the Slavery, Race and Memory Project at Wake Forest University. Sean explains how educators can blend their love for music with their instructional skills to transform the lives of their students. You can find out more about Mr. McClure and his work at urbanmusicws@gmail.com and www.urbanmusicws.org.   2024-06-1836 min
NonTrivialNature is not Magic, Just Different: Why AI Shouldn't Surprise YouIn this episode I use a recent statement made by Sam Altman, regarding the emergence of intelligence, to highlight the outdated way both laymen and many scientists view AI specifically, and complexity more broadly. I argue that, despite what we are told, a truly scientific and rigorous theory or decision does not demand a causal explanation, and in fact such causal approaches are quite counter to doing good science today.Sam Atlam's excerpt: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C60dq1Oyw_r/Tweet: https://twitter.com/sean_a_mcclure/status/1789315878544453977...2024-05-1731 min
NonTrivialTo Be Brutally HonestSome performances deliver deep authenticity, with standup comedy being a good example. Extremely authentic performances show us something we all should have; that ability to reach deep within us and share what we're really thinking, despite the risk this might pose to our normal, settled lives. Humans have evolved to filter for authenticity, as this leads to better information groups can use to solve problems. The world needs our authenticity, we just have to find it.Suggested Reading Related to Intro ExampleIs This Anything? by Jerry SeinfeldEpisode Music (adapted) f...2024-01-3117 min
NonTrivialYou Need More Bad IdeasHistory is loaded with "bad" / "dumb" ideas. And this includes those made by high-ranking officials and government agencies. Looking at the various schemes and plots left on the drawing board one wonders how anyone took them seruously. But most of today’s useful inventions were deemed absurd at the time. This tells us that we need to have a lot of bad ideas to land on good ones, and if that's true, then we should be more concerned with taking the shots, then landing the shots.Suggested Reading Related to Intro ExampleNuking the Moo...2024-01-1924 min
NonTrivialThe Danger of Being DisconnectedOur lives are adversely impacted when our interactions are purely transactional. We see this play out in devastating fashion in industry, where certain businesses can cause great harm to society due to their insulation and disconnection from the lives they sell to. But this isn't just for businesses. Our personal and professional lives depend critically on organic, face-to-face interactions with real people. In this episode I argue that a successful life needs to be in direct contact with the effects of what we say and do, and that this is only possible by being in real groups with real...2024-01-0838 min
NonTrivialFinding Stability in ChangePeople look for stability in the labels we give ourselves. Our job, our title, our salary, the associations we join. But the only thing truly constant in life is its ever-changing nature. Those labels we take comfort in are in constant flux, getting reshaped and redefined by a changing economy, and the technologies that drive it. In this episode I argue that instead of looking for stability in the not-so-stable categories we create for ourselves, we can find greater security, peace and contentment by embracing the dynamics of life.Suggested Reading Related to Intro Example2024-01-0232 min
NonTrivialChannel the MysteryWe do things for the mystery more than the facts. Scientists go on into the deepest parts of the ocean, yes to conduct research, but under highly uncertain and dangerous circumstances. What really drives deep sea exploration is the mystery. This is true of anything we create. If we are writing a book, yes there is structure, yes there are facts, but ultimately we are trying to deliver a kind of mysterious synthesis that precipitates out from our efforts. In this episode I argue that we need to channel the mystery to create our best work. If that's true, th...2023-12-3026 min
NonTrivialThe Worst Time to Learn What You “Learned” in School Was When you Were in SchoolSchool shows us topics worth learning, but it does not, I would argue, impart genuine comprehension. And yet, everyone’s life contains the same patterns that lead to what we are shown in school. This means that the knowledge locked away in textbooks is actually most useful to us later in life. In this episode, I argue that we should look to embrace scholastic information later in life, when our experiences give the collective knowledge of humanity meaning (and utility) to our lives.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check ou...2023-12-1348 min
NonTrivialThe Detriment of Passion: Why the Best Time to Work is When We’re Not in the MoodWhen we are not in the mood our energy is low. But when our energy is low our mind is better aligned to what matters when it comes to doing good work; contemplation, reflection, prioritization. Critically, not being in the mood means not going down too many wrong paths. In this episode I argue that the best time to work on a given task is when we're not in the mood, and discuss how we should stop waiting for mental energy, and instead wait for mental clarity.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast...2023-12-0833 min
NonTrivialChoose Your Thoughts, Or They’ll Choose YouOur lives are a product of our thoughts. Our thinking directly latches onto tangible things in our lives. And whenever we think about our thoughts it’s always after-the-fact (introspection, therapy, etc.). But some thoughts we know do not lead to good outcomes (non-negotiable), and are thus not worth struggling with. In this episode I argue that there is no point in allowing thoughts that we know lack utility, or lead to poor outcomes, into our lives. If we don’t choose our thoughts, they’ll choose us. I put forward a disciplined approach to actively choosing our thoughts, and thu...2023-12-0532 min
NonTrivialOur Brains Know More Than We Do: Trusting our Mind’s Ability to Learn AutomaticallyA formidable skill is one that is related to a high level of expertise, surpassing the norm. It is one that is difficult to acquire, requires significant effort and dedication. Formidable skills are ones that are largely automatic. The automation comes from the mind figuring things out in ways we don't understand. So much of honing a formidable skill is learning which parts are automatically handled by the mind, and which parts require our deliberate attention. To get really good at something, we need to actively let go/trust that our minds can figure things out (better than we ca...2023-12-0134 min
NonTrivialDo A Lot, By Doing LessDoing more with less means being able to create a decent amount of content in a small amount of time. To create a lot using a small amount of time (and other resources) requires one to find something generative. Something generative is highly efficient because it encapsulates and expresses a high degree of abstraction and complexity in a compact form. We can do a lot more by doing less, if we learn to look for universally true things in our work. We need to learn how to find and develop universal primitives that allow us to tackle a broad...2023-11-2929 min
NonTrivialFind the Slowness that Moves YouMoving slower means we can focus on what matters. But it's also true that moving fast is a signal that we are figuring things out. In this episode I argue that to really get good at something we should find the slowness that moves us. We should seek ways to move slowly, and expect brevity.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-11-2431 min
NonTrivialLook for Conversations, Not AnswersSo much of life is about searching for answers. Answers have to do with information, but real-world information has no “location" (it does not exist at a single point inside the space of possibilities), meaning that in some sense, answers don't exist. In this episode I argue that we should be looking for conversations, not answers. Conversations provide us the kind of information that can move us in positive directions. If this is the case, then we should place ourselves into environments that facilitate having good conversations.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.co...2023-11-2129 min
NonTrivialHow to Choose a HeroThere are 2 kinds of heroes; extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances, and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The problem with heroes portrayed as extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances is that they are far less relatable, and more rigorously, reveal less useful information. In this episode I argue that our choice in heroes should be aligned to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, based on concepts of disorder, information and pattern.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-11-0541 min
NonTrivialMake Life the MeditationMeditation is a practice that has been around for thousands of years and is used for various purposes. But meditation is practiced periodically, once a day at best. This means the state of mind that makes the most difference in our life only makes up a small portion of our life. We need our most important state of mind to always be on, with us as we interact with the world. We need to see meditation not as a once-in-a-while session, but as an ever-present state of mind.Support the showBecome a Member...2023-10-2336 min
NonTrivialIt Takes a Logical Mind to Listen to EmotionsLogic and emotion are both important. But society often chooses one or the other, rather than having them work together. This occurs because society tries to attend to emotions rather than use them effectively. If I redress my logic in the hopes of appeasing someone who's "offended" we fail to reach a rational solution. If I maintain my logic absent the other person's emotions, their feelings are not being acknowledged. Neither works, yet logic and emotion must be compatible. I show how the proper way to use our emotions is to recast what we feel onto logical structure. This...2023-10-1831 min
NonTrivialBuilding a Better World from WithinWe all want a better world. But society cannot be forced into a specific governance or morality. In this episode I argue that we need to build our world from within, as individuals with solid moral and intellectual integrity. Only through a better inner world will our collective world reflect the truths we deem most important as individuals. I offer a solution that rises above any specific world view, promoting a better world without compromising other's existing beliefs.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Version...2023-10-1331 min
NonTrivialYour Real Audience Isn't Born YetWe all want our voices to be heard. But the reality is most of us will never live to see much of an audience. We need to realize we’re not really speaking to today’s generation, as much as we are to future people who will encounter our work. There are countless examples throughout history of people who died never seeing their true impact. As long we make our thoughts tangible, our audience will always be much larger than what we see today.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Chec...2023-10-1128 min
NonTrivialContentment is Better than HappinessWe are told by society to chase happiness; that the "pursuit of happiness" is the most sensible goal in life. But I argue that happiness has much in common with misery when it comes to pursuing goals. Both happiness and misery are emotional extremes, and both things we cannot control. Making that which we cannot control a goal in life is untenable. I argue that we need to see the pursuit of contentment as being far superior to the pursuit of happiness.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out t...2023-10-0825 min
NonTrivialCapturing Ideas the Moment they ArriveOur best ideas come unannounced. We might be walking, taking a shower, playing with our children, etc. But this means when we sit down to do our actual work we are missing so much of the original inspiration and energy. We’re missing the quality insight we had in the moment. I argue that we need to capture our ideas the moment they arrive if we are to deliver truly authentic and in-context work. I put forward a solution to make this possible.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check ou...2023-10-0529 min
NonTrivialSeeing Past NarrativesLife is full of narratives. They're how we make sense of the world. But narratives exist somewhere between truth and nonsense. The challenge is to see past the narratives, aligning our lives with that which is true. I discuss the technique needed to see past the narratives in our lives.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-09-3030 min
NonTrivialNipping Temptations in the BudTemptations are things we desire to do, but are also things we deem wrong or unwise. Temptations take us away from who we want to be in life. Temptations start off harmless, but have a tendency to grow without notice, until we are living an incorrect life. I argue that we must learn to stop problematic distractions early, by replacing our damaging preoccupations with more productive and authentic actions.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-09-2822 min
NonTrivialCollaborating Doesn't Mean Being NiceCollaboration is good, but friction is needed to solve tough problems as a group. The quality of information depends on stark individualism, rather than some engineered collaboration based on excess politeness and etiquette. In this episode I argue that collaboration should not be equated to "being nice", and that the energy and authenticity we need to work well in groups depends on a good deal of friction and even anger.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-09-1920 min
NonTrivialMost Barriers are Imagined: Turning Intention into LifestyleWhen we think about the things we want to accomplish, we often frame them in terms of the barriers we need to pass. But this isn't the case for things that comprise our lifestyle. When something is part of our lifestyle we just do it, and often do it well. Exercise, writing, whatever; our goals become far more obtainable when we stop putting them on pedestals and instead just move. I discuss how to turn what we intend to do into things we always do.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com 2023-09-1127 min
NonTrivialDo Many Things to be Good at Any One ThingWe are often told that if we want to be good at something we should focus more. But a single (real world) task has multiple facets that must be honed, and you cannot learn those facets from the task itself; they must come from other areas of life. In this episode I argue that to be good at any one thing we should do many things. Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-09-0526 min
NonTrivialThe Wise Don’t Silence Their OpponentsIn 2014 there was a debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham regarding whether or not Creationism is a viable explanation for earth's origin. Regardless of which side you agree with, there was what I consider a problematic response from some of the scientific community, which was that the debate never should have happened, because it gave a voice to something counter to the scientific consensus. I argue that such a response is antithetical to science itself, which, above all, is supposed to be a process that welcomes debate and updates its position as needed. I argue that no matter...2023-08-3123 min
NonTrivialRewarding Dumbness: How Modern Society Filters Away IntelligenceHuman society has always applied filters, to select who should be in a particular group. This is both evolutionary and required for good social dynamics. But we also apply filters institutionally, using systems of meritocracy to vet candidates both in academia and industry. I argue that these institutional filters are far too narrowly-defined to account for the complexity and high-dimensionality of human intelligence. I argue that today's complex world suffers from such narrow filtering, elevating a kind of "dumbness" in society. What we need now, more than ever, are problem-solving groups, composed of diverse individuals, filtered not by standardized...2023-08-2628 min
NonTrivialTurning Truth into TechniqueAs we go through life we notice things about our ability to perform, like when things work and when they don't. But most people tend to leave at that, hoping they'll gravitate towards the better parts over time. But what really transforms our ability to perform is when we convert the things that work into specific techniques we employ. I'll give an example of just how powerful this is, and discuss how we can all turn the truths we notice into techniques we live by.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com 2023-08-2229 min
NonTrivial"Discipline" is Really Just One's EnvironmentIn this episode I challenge the idea that discipline is what's needed to achieve successful outcomes. Discipline requires we act against our instincts and willpower. Anything so opposed to our natural evolution can't be right. I believe that what looks like discipline in successful individuals is really just the behaviour people take-on when they put themselves in the right environment. I argue that the most important decision we can make regarding how to accomplish anything is what environment to place ourselves in.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out...2023-08-2026 minNonTrivialMissing What Matters: How Today's Books Lack AuthenticityMany of us are avid readers, because reading helps us learn about important topics, and more importantly compels us to create things ourselves. But today's nonfiction is loaded with so many references and footnotes that their isn't much room left for the author's authentic opinion.I argue that many creators are researching themselves out of their opinion, leaving us with dry commentary devoid of what matters; the author's rich and messy experiences.I argue that we need the organic mess as much as any rationalized arguments, and that THIS holistic and imperfect form o...2023-08-1628 minNonTrivialBewitched by AI: Showing is Not CreatingAI is getting impressive. But being impressed is not an objective measure of progress. For a technology to truly bear the mark of innovation it must enable us to create new things. I argue that few people are creating anything new with AI, rather they're just showcasing what it can do out of the box. I'll look at ChatGPT as an example, and put forward how I think AI should be used as a starting point for building something AI cannot do on its own.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com 2023-08-1233 minNonTrivialCreativity Demands Less Options: How Structure Compels OriginalityIn this episode I argue that true creativity demands that we have less options available in our attempt to build something new. I first acknowledge that creativity requires freedom, and freedom includes having a number of options, but then also discuss the problems that arise by having too many options. I will argue that creativity works better when we are constrained by good structures, and that what might first appear as a set of overly-restrictive constraints, in fact compels our creativity, with increased restriction leading to more imaginative and original work. I'll end, as always, with some ideas on...2023-07-1622 minNonTrivialNeuro-Nonsense: The Folly in Trying to Find the Location of BehaviorIn this episode we look at how neuroscience tries to explain human behaviour by identifying specific regions in the brain. I'll discuss how such targeted approaches are problematic in science, and how Neuroscience is just another example of a complex science acting as though it's far more simple and deterministic than it really is. We'll look at the myth of root causes, why nature doesn't localize behavior and what needs to change to study complex phenomena correctly. Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://w...2023-07-0818 minNonTrivialContributing Without Compromising: How to Meet Expectations, Our WayWe need to contribute to society in order to survive, and that means having a job. But many people hate their job, and find it difficult to feel fulfilled while earning a living. I believe there is a solution that exits at the interface between what we expect from the world and what the world expects from us. There is a way to remain focused on what we love, while still delivering on tasks we don't find enjoyable.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Version...2023-06-0430 minNonTrivialThe Structure of Intuition: Recognizing the Cost of PrecisionIn this episode I argue that intuition is more rigorous than precisely defined arguments, such as those constructed using mathematics. I talk about the cost of precision in real-world situations, offer an approach to formalize intuition, and suggest that when it comes to establishing the connection between our ideas and reality we should always let intuition lead.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast2023-05-3032 minNonTrivialLet Nature Choose Your Deadlines: How Focusing on Structure Beats Focusing on TimeIn this episode I discuss deadlines, and the critical difference between the artificial ones we create to manage our lives, and the real ones dictated by nature.I discuss how our manufactured deadlines run counter to the natural rhythm humans use to create, and how we need to somehow reconcile our modern use of manufactured deadlines with the realization that good solutions only exist at nature's deadlines. I spend time describing nature's deadlines as high points in complexity, and put forward what I think is the best way to ensure we build what nature expects w...2023-05-1342 min