'Podcast' by Damola

The first audience to tell your story to is an audience of one - you. Before you decide to share that story with others, start by telling it to yourself. Your story matters. It always has. Telling your stories to yourself helps you see yourself, and see the plots clearer. It helps you understand facts, fiction, reality and what meaning you decide to give each. I’ve written before about how the sto...

If you are reading this, it’s likely you are doing both right now. We all are. None of us is grown up. And none of us is dead - at least not while reading this. Of the two states, the latter is what I’m sure about. We are all growing, if we choose to. And we are all dying daily, whether we choose to or not. That’s good news. Now we can forget about becoming grown ups and focus on the verb - the gr...

Shame says, "I am bad," so we treat it like a sentence. Guilt says, "I did something bad," so it’s easier to admit and fix. Shame says, "you are broken, end of story”. Guilt says, "you broke something" and we can choose our next step. What separates shame from guilt is that one focuses on the person, the other focuses on the action. When put this way, guilt feels more empowering than shame. But he...

Loving any human being may hurt. Loving someone messy definitely can hurt. But the wholeness of genuine love outweighs the hurt. I am responsible for how I love people. They are responsible for what they do with their lives. Although I’ve known this for years, I still forget. I love my parents and will never be responsible for the decisions they made. Some of those decisions were beneficial. Some...

A is where you are now. B is your next step. Z is the big picture. It’s the end you have in mind. Often times, C to Y will change. Trying to make them perfect may be a waste of time. Focus on understanding the reality of where you are and what you want to do next. The rest will always be taken care of. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

Have you ever wondered how many things in life we learn by seeing and following examples, instead of following rules? You learn to write by interacting with examples, not rules. You learn to be a better human being by seeing examples, not by learning rules of being human. You teach kids how to act in a tough situation by becoming an example of how to act, not by giving them rules to follow. The ru...

All activities can fall into two categories: the ones that grow love and the ones that reduce it. We often track how productive our activities are. What if we are intentional about checking how loving they are? And how they enable life in yourself and in others. What if more of the things we do everyday grows love? Track love every hour (or everyday). Think about the interactions you’ve had in the...

There are two questions we all get to answer at every turn in life. The first is this: what happened? Remember that scene in The Lion King where the wise Baboon, Rafiki persuaded Simba to return home and save his pride? Do you remember how guilt had already played a number on Simba? How he has told himself that he was responsible for the death of his father. He had told himself stories of why he c...

These are my notes to self. Yours, if useful. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

I was thinking about hobbies recently, and realised that I’ve been collecting questions my whole life. Not answers. Questions. Weird questions. Beautiful questions. Terrible questions. Meta questions. I just never thought of it as a hobby - until now. It was just something I do, for the sake of it. It started before I was a teenager. I collected ‘words on marble’; words, sentences and aphorisms th...

Surprisingly, it doesn't cost me management fees and has been immune to the ebbs and flows of the market. It compounds and pays dividends that are invaluable. Well beyond what we can measure. Where other assets fluctuate between boom and bust, this one slowly compounds and keeps giving regardless of external conditions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscri...

Knowledge alone doesn't protect us. Even after reading this, you’ll likely still underestimate these things. Without clarity and constant reminders , we remain vulnerable. These things are invisible, as though designed to be overlooked. We underestimate how quickly we adapt. We underestimate the strength we truly have. We underestimate our attention. We still underestimate how incentives work. We...

The theory of relativity isn’t wrong. Neither is that of memetic desires. It’s true that many define their experiences relative to those of the people around them. Relativity influences meaning. It’s also true that we can experience peace when we remind ourselves that most people and things aren’t existing relative to us. They simply are. We complicate things when we measure our satisfaction, happ...

This piece isn’t just about parenting. Listen to it again with you in mind. Read it at www.bydamo.la/bypeers This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

What does judging others do for us? It validates our sense of importance. It reaffirms the ways we are right and others are wrong. It breeds moral superiority. Read on at www.bydamo.la/judging This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

This is the only time you can tell a lie. Read along at www.bydamo.la/lie This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

The difference between good friends and best friends is simple. Good friends consume things together. Best friends create things together. Read along: www.bydamo.la/besty This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

We know that with great power comes great responsibility. But the inverse is also true. With great responsibility, comes great power. We can start with one. Embrace responsibility. And see as things unravel. Read along at www.bydamo.la/greatpower This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

Sometimes, that’s worth searching for. I still live by my commitment to do interesting things with people I find interesting. And between those doings, I enjoy the warmth of things that are neither interesting nor boring. Read the article at www.bydamo.la/ninb This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

Most simple rules make it easier for us to stick to them. We set them once and refine them so they keep being useful. Simple rules matter. They rule. Read the article at www.bydamo.la/srr This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

One of the things I implement when operating a business is to ask whoever is responsible for a goal to write their own standard operating procedure. I now use a similar framework when using AI tools - for research or when playing around. Read article at www.bydamo.la/agent-responsible This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes...

Let’s face it. Several new ideas may not work. That’s not a problem. The problem is that it takes us too long to realise a pivot is necessary. Read the article at www.bydamo.la/nowhere This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

Everyone has courage. Not everyone generates the right amount of courage to take the actions that move them forward. Courage = Commitment ÷ Fear Read the article at: www.bydamo.la/ccf This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

We all contribute. Our reasons may be different. Our actions are similar. And the world is better for it. Read the article at: www.bydamo.la/htc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la

What does your name mean? The answer to this question changes based on the life you live. How you live projects meaning to your name. Read the post at www.bydamo.la/name This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bydamo.la