Inner Growth

I was listening to Ram Dass on Experiments in Truth again a few months ago. I first heard the program several years ago, but it's one audio that I like to revisit from time to time. You don't have to listen to the whole thing, you can just dive in anywhere and pick up nuggets. He's so great, so funny.

So I was listening to him talk about how his spiritual teacher had said he's the kind of person that needs to be constantly moving around, or he'll grow moss. Or something to that effect. I'm para…

Honestly, teaching is one of the most beautiful things you can do in life. It carries with it so many benefits.

As you may know, I recently started taking on a few coaching clients again, after about a 4-year hiatus. And I'm so glad I did. And my new Calvin Show is a great way to share some of my accumulated wisdom as well.

What's so great about it?

• It forces you to clarify your thoughts, your understanding, which will inevitably deepen your own understanding
• You get to experience the joy …

Ciao,

Oh, boy. I'm a little hesitant to share this, because, (a) it's just embarrassing, and (b) I feel like I've shared enough music-related stuff recently, but here goes.

Sometimes it just seems like we have so much resistance towards what we really want.

Since I started playing the piano around age 9 or so, I've dreamt of a grand piano. And I've never owned one. Why? I'm not sure. Excuses are aplenty. Money. Space. Blah.

In 2012 while we were still living in India, I came across a music s…

Tell me. Have you ever had that experience that you wanted something, but it wasn't happening. Then the moment you got really clear on exactly what you wanted, it just happened?

Here's a story where I did this: After Burning Man in 2014, I really got into mixing drinks, "mixology", as they called it. I'd read 10 books, I'd started to learn the classics, stocked up on equipment, learn my way around the world. But I knew I wanted some hands-on practical learning as well, not just from books and v…

I love this feeling of knowing I'll make something happen. Right now I'm feeling that with public speaking (it's a big part of my plan for raising the visibility of Simplero in 2016).

At first, there's hesitancy. You're not sure if you can do it. You'd like it, but you're also a bit torn. Maybe it requires a lot of effort or a lot of travel. Maybe it requires you to dig deep or to face some unpleasant truths. Maybe it's scary doing that thing, being on stage, performing in front of people, putt…

Happy New Year. I hope yours started well. Mine has gotten off to an amazing start.

I wanted to let you in on some things concerning Simplero. TLDR: I'm doubling down on Simplero, and specifically on finding the right people to hire.

I did my usual New Year visioning, getting clarity on the direction I want to move in, and what's going to be critical this year. Only this year, I didn't feel moved to do nearly as much as last year, I think because I've spent much more time during the year getti…

I used to smoke. About a pack a day. For many years. I quit january 1st, 2005, and I haven't looked back.

In fact, I quit twice. I quit in March 2002, shortly after moving from New York to Copenhagen. Then I saw a friend smoke at his wedding, and he looked so cool and my quitting had been so easy that I thought I could take a puff without getting sucked back in. I couldn't. Two and a half more years of smoking went by before I finally quit.

When I quit, it was important for me to make the inne…

I'm so excited about the process of expressing our creativity, We can do it on many levels, of course. Ultimately, our whole lives are creative expressions. But a lot of us get stuck along the way.

I was talking to someone in my building the other day. Chinese American, she wanted to do work that made money, so she became a lawyer, and now she hates going to work every day, and she's yearning to do something else. I told her about me picking up music again, and Phoebe told her about getting int…

Back from a trip to Denmark. My dad turned 80, and I'd written him a song ("Song for my Father") which I performed on the very guitar he got for his 18th birthday. He and many others were very moved. It was a great experience.

Lest week we talked about your zone of genius. Today I promised I'd talk about reality.

We all have the capacity to be dreamy, head in the clouds, envision things that don't yet exist, dream of futures we wish to create. We also have the capacity to delude ourselves, to …

If there are two things I truly believe in, it's finding your zone of genius, and facing reality head-on.

Your zone of genius is that place where you're just flowing, having a great time, creating amazing value for people, and it's easy and doesn't feel like work. You're like "wait, I get paid to do this?". If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

A lot of us have found our zone of excellence, and we're truly really excellent there. But it's not our zone of genius. It's not what we're mean…