What Is Humans‪?‬ Shane Strunk and Dennis Kluba

No idea is original? Every single idea that you have had has been informed by a million different stimuli before you. Your childhood, the sandwich you ate yesterday, the way your shoelaces didn’t tie quite right every single thing is a culmination of experiences that have crossed your mind. This can be a sobering thought…one that shouldn’t be digested lightly. There is a piece of us that wants to hold on so tightly to ideas, sentiments and beliefs that we believe to be our own. We take pride in them, they are ours aren’t they? 
 
The reality is this idea of hubris and originality can hold us back from creating the idea that unlocks the world for so many people. The minute we believe an idea is solely ours we covet it, and hold it close to our heart, scared that anyone might claim it as their own, and god forbid poke holes in it. That however is the genesis of how real innovation and originality is created. By sharing your ideas and experiences with others they can give you feedback that you haven’t been privy to. 
They make your idea stronger because they have different experiences than you do. Those ideas are then boosted by collaboration because you have engaged new ideas and thoughts that were never before thought of…all because you shared it, and weren’t worried about the credit. No idea is owned by you, but great ideas are born out of what is already in existence and then iterated upon. Remember that the next time you are worried about sharing a new thought in fear that it might be stolen or your bubble might be burst because of someone else.
 

Rick Rubin said in the Creative Act, “Doubt your work, but don’t doubt yourself.” Or something to that effect. The idea was that doubt might not be the worst thing in the world. Doubt is vilified in society. “Doubting Thomas” is even a saying that we use to describe people who are nervous or anxious about a plan, idea or themselves. Doubt can be detrimental though when it is tied to all or nothing statements. Those statements might include, “I can’t” “I could never” “I hate”. These statements are finite or concrete. There is no room for growth. Doubting your work on the other hand is another story. 
 
The language around your work could look like, “I can improve on that version”. You have made something, and you know there is room for growth. “I might not have given my all that time, I think I can try harder next time.” These phrases create room for growth, and they also indicate that work has already been done. When we doubt our work we scrutinize it and realize we can improve. When we doubt ourselves we never do any work to begin with. 
Doubt your work and not yourself. You are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to, but there will always be room for improvement. The only way that we will be able to start and gauge how we are doing is by starting and continuing. The language that we wrap our central nervous center with will undeniably become our reality. Speak growth into existence. Doubt your work. Never doubt yourself. 
 

Ok we realized that when we originally aired this episode it didn't necessarily get the credit that it was due. Our guest Tanner James is a long time friend and mentor to both of us, and we released this episode when Shane and I were both travelling and a little all over the place. We want to rerelease this episode because of how valuable the conversation was not only for ourselves, but also for others at home. I hope this time you are able to better enjoy the ups and downs of Tanner's creative journey.
"This episode was recorded at 7ish in the morning. Tanner sat down in the studio with us and settled in. We were lucky enough to steal a couple of minutes of his time as he was boarding a flight to Japan later in the day. It seems this detail is important to share because it mirrors so much of his way of life. From the outside looking in he moves quickly to and from the next adventurous and awesome pursuit, but always taking the time to engage and connect with friends in his home town of Venice Beach. The conversation we had today begins to peel back some of the layers that explain exactly how Tanner got to where he is now. Like many Tanner wasn't an overnight success. From his hometown in Minnesota to photographing stars like Dwayne Wade, to becoming a model and now content creator everthing kind of seems like a blur. 
Tanner as we already knew is an open book. He explains how he fell in love with photography, despite family and friends choosing more traditional hobbies and career paths. His love of skating created some unique opportunities down the road, but not without some obstacles in the way. He teaches us valuble lessons in believing in yourself and taking the leap long before you think you're ready. His life today is a testament to this. Whether it was when he moved to California without a plan, or becoming a model in the middle of the pandemic with zero prior experience he is constantly going all in on his dreams. Tanner's most recent journey into content creation makes complete sense considering all his roles up to this point. Listen in on today's conversation to learn a little more about what it's like to photograph Oscars nominees, model for brands like Hoka and Converse all while eating some of the best food in the world!"

This is a finance term, we will not be trying to explain finance in this episode because as everyone knows we are not experts in this subject. Rather we are going to explore how the idea of economies of scale informs other facets of our lives inside and outside of business. Economies of scale primarily refers to the connection between the costs of production as a company grows. In layman’s terms this is the advantage that you or a company may have by increasing production. If we are planning for success which we always should be we have to be looking down the road a little bit to see what’s on the horizon. 
 
If we are lucky enough to see that we are going to have to increase production efficiency in order to continue growing at the rate that we want to, then we have achieved economies of scale. As we grow, someone who has been there before is used to producing at a higher clip than you are. This could be as simple as balancing work and family, like a parent with ten years experience. This could be something like completing a homework assignment much quicker due to more resources than yourself. The worst thing that could happen is output goes up but average costs per unit does as well. 
 
To avoid diseconomies of scale in our lives we have to work on communicating early and often. If others around us know that we are growing and thus need help, have less time etc. it makes them aware of your change in behavior. We must also trust in others around us to help carry the weight as production increases. Ultimately you are one person and your limits do exist. By trusting the people around us this drives average cost per unit down in our life as a whole. With another set of hands we are able to move quicker, faster and farther than we ever would have been able to by ourselves.
 

Our Central Nervous System sits behind our brain and dictates over all other things how we act and behave. We have three phases inside of this central nervous system; ventral aka free, sympathetic aka fight or flight and then dorsal aka depression. Those three phases supersede our feelings and our moods. Your CNS can be affected though by your daily habits and routines. When we are operating at a high capacity we are resting and working equally creating a flow state where we feel free and creative. 
 
In society we are often told that more is more. The harder we work the more successful we will be, but there seems to be a limit. We have to focus on rest and recovery the exact same way that we focus on the work or else we will slip into the sympathetic phase. A fight or flight moment in which we are neither free or creative, but rather stressed and frantic. While this is ideal in times of severe distress this rarely is the phase that high level performers operate at. 
 
By stepping back and keeping up with daily maintenance we are able to get into flow more often than when we run ourselves into the ground. The ability to step back and recognize when we are overwhelmed and run down, isn’t made better by working harder. Being held accountable for these behaviors takes pressure off of our Central Nervous System and puts it back onto our daily behaviors. When we change our mindset around work life balance we can have a better understanding of when we are at our best.
 

A mentor of ours named Logan Gelbrich recently introduced us to a new phenomenon, named breaking frames. The idea that in order to grow we have to ultimately break the frame in which our capacity is limited to in order to expand it and take in new information. We have a limited understanding of the way the world works, moves and acts based on previous experiences. Those could be from our family and friends, society or coaches mentors etc. If we don’t seek out new and disconfirming information we fall prey to only achieving growth when tragedy strikes. 
 
We are forced to either grow or to sit in pain when tragedy strikes. This could be something like a death in the family, losing your job or a break up. We then find ourselves changing and growing out of necessity, but the argument we have in front of us is the idea that we could instead grow before tragedy strikes. We could potentially do this by seeking information that goes against what we may previously believed to be true.
 
Seeking out this disconfirming information is difficult, but we can break the frames that previously limited our understanding. New possibilities and explanations either reaffirm what we already believed to be true or it has forced us to grow and learn before tragedy strikes. This topic was very poignant for us at the What Is Humans? Podcast and we hope that it means something for you all at home as well!