Strands of Genius: Talking to Conspiracy Theorists, When Love is Boring, Carbonated Ice Cream
plus: an invitation to join us in our Experimental Learning Community
WRITING FROM | Beersheba Springs, TN
WORKING ON | Finalizing the last of the ELC modules, last minute tweaks to our Zee Melt presentation
LOOKING AHEAD |
Aug 21-Sept 10: Beersheba Springs, TN
Sept 3/4: Insight Training Workshops [Closed to the Public]
Sept 10 - Oct 9: Athens, GA
Sept 2nd: Next Community Meetup | #SoSG Out of Office Hours [1st Weds every month]
Sept 3rd: Zee Melt 2020 | $39 for a shi^load of good content, if we do say so ourselves
Sept 15th - October 28: ELC 1 - Experimental Learning Community | 7 week Commitment
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Huge congrats to Tim McGraw and the entire Em.co team on Tim’s 18th worldwide #1 Country Album! James Slater wrote an absolute banger of a love song in Damn Sure Do that I can’t stop playing on repeat. (Also worth a listen: Hard to Stay Mad At, Good Taste in Women) Oh, and another reason to celebrate?! Tim’s album of greatest hits has officially spent 3 YEARS (156 weeks!) on the Billboard 200 as of August this year. Go Tim Go! Go Em.co Go!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Candles & incense, my new thick & super grippy yoga mat and super cool strap with loads of loops, yoga with Danny & Liz & Megan, Kim’s birthday celebrations, Avatar the last Airbender, thunderstorms, orb-weavers (especially the ones with the neon yellow triangles on their back), Marty & Mom, pork tenderloin, neighbors to help us finish off some food, From the Corner of the Oval (a memoir from an Obama-era stenographer that reads like Sex & The City), Here On Earth, launching an Experimental Learning Community <3
THE SCHOOL OF STOLEN GENIUS PRESENTS
Out of Office Hours | recurring the 1st Weds of each month |
Sept 2nd = Next Community Meetup. Bring a problem to discuss, a question to ask, or come hang out and chat with other members from around the world. Free for Members & Apprentices of the SOSG, $25 for non-members.
Experimental Learning Community | Sept 15-Oct 28
Mastermind like program for people who are crazy enough to join us in this Experimental Learning Community. Limited spaces. Free for Apprentices of the School of Stolen Genius, $175 for non-Members.
:: THE LINKS ::
HOW TO TALK TO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS AND STILL BE KIND
There’s a guy we know who is a conspiracy theorist. When I post something about Black Lives Matters, he jumps in to tell me that Wayfair is secretly a child sex trafficking ring masquerading an online furniture store. Thanks, Instagram? Which is why I particularly loved suggestions in this article, some of which have come from r/ChangeMyView, a place on Reddit “where people go to have their own beliefs challenged.” Over the course of a few days of interactions, it became clear the guy wasn’t willing to talk in good faith, and that there wasn’t any evidence that would change his mind. However, the same framework of tips worked especially well when talking to my Aunt, who shares very different politics than me. We had a 90 minute conversation about politics (really, just politics) that was enjoyable, in part because of the way this article framed our conversation. [MIT Technology Review]
WHEN LOVE IS BORING
“People celebrate “losing themselves,” and “falling” for someone; they get tossed and turned like they have no say in the matter; they let themselves get pulled emotionally willy nilly and chalk it up as “passion.” “Boring” is better than “impassioned,” and while most great relationships have a blend of both, forced to choose, we should readily take the former. Consistently warm is far more hospitable than hot and cold for long-term emotional wellbeing.” More on that from Kris Gage. (Kris Gage)
CARBONATED ICE CREAM IS REAL, Y’ALL
Yes, yes, we all scream for ice cream, but we also cheer for smart innovation. Ice cream companies have to get their product to the end receiver in under 30 hours. And these massive refrigerated trucks they use, they’re not great for the environment. From Popular Mechanics, “But two researchers at Cornell University have a better idea in mind: instant ice cream that vendors can make right at the end of the supply chain to avoid these costly mishaps.” This is so cool, y’all. (Popular Mechanics)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING COMMUNITY ::
When we first launched the School of Stolen Genius, we knew that community would be a part of it. But we weren’t sure exactly how we wanted it to come to life. So we poured our early efforts into creating decks to steal, tools that could be used.
And on the side, I facilitated two 14 week women’s groups, centered around our friend (and friendly competitor) Mark’s course. The level of commitment required was more than I expected, even with a co-chair. But the experience was incredibly enjoyable and impactful, as I heard time and time again from the participants — and as I felt, myself.
We’re using learnings from that experience to guide our Experimental Learning Community, or ELC for short. Free to Apprentices within the School of Stolen Genius, or $175 for those that don’t like to sign up for subscription learning platforms :)
This group will meet Wednesdays at 12p ET / 5p GMT. It will be a Mastermind-like program, except without the pomp and circumstance. Each session will have an activity or prompt that you'll be able to repurpose within your own organization, whether you’re a senior leader or a budding genius.
But it will also feature a guided discussion, ones that sit between the agency roundtables that we’ve run for leadership teams, and supper club conversations. We’re not going to tell you exactly what each session will entail, but we’re pretty confident that it will add value to your life — personally and professionally.
Spaces are limited; We ask that you only sign up if you can commit to attending at least 5 of the 7 sessions. (Ideally we’d get your presence for all 7 sessions!) If you can't commit to being an active participant this time around, stay tuned for our next ELC.
Sept 16 | 90 min | Introductions
Sept 23 | 60 min | Peer Assist
Sept 30 | 90 min | Monthly Module
Oct 7 | 60 min | Challenging Conventions
Oct 14 | 60 min | Wu Wei
Oct 21 | 90 min | Monthly Module
Oct 28 | 90 min | Closing Ceremony
So, what?
If you're one of those who likes to be the first to jump into things... if you're into the idea of connecting with like-minded individuals from around the world and excited about stealing some genius... we want you :) Let’s do this!
:: AND NOW… EVERYTHING’S CANCELLED ::
A Film by Pham and Mitch deQuilettes
“Social distancing boundaries helped us form a visual theme and allowed us to capture natural moments. We’d set up a shot outside a window and roll for 15 minutes, knowing we’d only use 5 seconds of it. We’d do a scene or two a day around golden hour with one of us having to motivate the other because we were either too lazy or too high. After two months of shooting 40 plus people, we came up with this piece, an exploration of our “qua-routine” in Los Angeles and how each of us cope to find a silver lining to this fucked up, once in a lifetime experience.”
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Send ‘em our way!
It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)