100 episodes

modern tales of an ancient pursuit

Leaning Toward Wisdom Randy Cantrell

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.9 • 10 Ratings

modern tales of an ancient pursuit

    Some Days You Eat The Bear…

    Some Days You Eat The Bear…

    February 1974, Baton Rouge. Near the entrance to Louisiana State University. A record store, my favorite hang out. Leisure Landing.



    I enter the store and a record is playing. It's alt-country. Weird. Because the guy's name is Ian Matthews. Ian isn't a southern United States name.



    I grab the album cover and begin to read the back. Two players who I already admire are on this record. Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan fame and David Lindley of Jackson Browne fame. I love both of these guys. I'm enjoying this record. Ian is an Englishman playing alternative country, folksy tunes.



    Some days you eat the bear...



    Some days the bear eats you.



    I've never heard this artist before.



    I've never heard this phrase before either.



    But I'm street smart and quickly discern it means, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."



    That's today's show. A new episode from inside The Yellow Studio 4.0.



    Enjoy!







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    • 18 min
    Up All Night: Breaking Spinning Plates

    Up All Night: Breaking Spinning Plates

    "The only way to learn how many plates you can spin is to break some plates. The question of capacity guarantees failure."        - T.S. Elliot



    He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.  - Jim Elliot (no relation to T.S. that I'm aware of)

    I'm not a plate-spinner.



    I am able to multi-task, but it's not actually multi-tasking at all. It's really intense focus on a single thing with enough speed to get a number of things accomplished over a short period. That makes it look like multi-tasking.



    Themes of the week have been:



    Self-control or self-regulation - manifested in the struggles people have with porn addiction, marital infidelity, alcohol, work, parenting, unruly children, loneliness and more

    Capacity and resources - what's our limit?

    Congruency - frustration in hearing people (often bosses) say one thing, but do something completely different

    Failing to figure out how or where we fit - not understanding why or how we're making a difference / wondering if we are



    I've got too much going on - too many irons in the fire. I'm working on it and I'll share more.







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    Help Me Reach My $1,000 Goal

    I plan to start vlogging from Hot Springs Village, Arkansas because the place is spectacular.

    The scenery will make for a great backdrop. Plus, there are many places I'd like you to see.

    To help, click the link (or the image below) to donate any amount you'd like.

    Amazon Gift Certificates (use RandyCantrell@gmail.com).

    Thank you!

    • 43 min
    Doing Hard Things Well

    Doing Hard Things Well

     







    Galatians 6:7-9 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."





    Show High-Lights



    Anybody can do easy. It requires resolve and grit to do difficult things. It requires skill, talent and solid determination to learn to do hard things well.

    We're the constraint.

    The value is in battling ourselves, not others.

    Feelings don't equal evidence. Figuring out what's real and what isn't is hard work worth doing well.

    Don't discount your will power. Don't over-estimate it either. It's a major component of the work, but it's not the only component.

    Who you surround yourself with matters. The environment we put ourselves in has a major impact in our ability (and agility) to navigate figuring out how to do the hard things well. We're all influenced by our surroundings. Guard your environment.

    Beliefs become reality. But delusions - which seem real - are still delusions. That's why evidence based living is still the path forward to mastering hard things.

    Consider what's possible even if you initially think it's not. Learn what you don't yet know. Figure it out. Just make sure you're not restricting yourself with false notions. Don't feel sorry for yourself or feel like others can do it, but you can't.

    Ponder your ideal outcomes. Imagine what might be available - and possible. Often, there's sufficient evidence for what probable, while we refuse to think it's even possible. It stops us dead in our tracks when we could be many miles further up the road to greater success!

    Compounding is powerful. Doing a little bit consistently over time likely beats trying to sprint until we're winded.





    Learning to do hard things well takes time and repeated efforts that become ingrained. Doing hard things well is habitual. Otherwise, it's inconsistent. Anybody can be a minor league player. Only those who perform well every single time can be major leaguers.

    Laziness and procrastination are easy. That's where the masses live. Don't be fooled into thinking you can behave just like them and achieve something greater than average. Or worse.

    Berating yourself is worthless. Accurate self-examination is priceless. See yourself for what you truly are and fix what ails you. Lean into your strengths. Shore up weaknesses so they don't derail you. Devote yourself to making yourself better in every way. Accept nothing less. Remember, you'll either make a way, or you'll make an excuse.

    Learning means making mistakes, but it means making mistakes where you're still doing your best - and making mistakes you know you can recover from. When you get it wrong - and you will - determine that you'll make it right. Only fools repeat their mistakes. Learn from yours and get better. Always be getting better!

    Working is hard. Retirement is hard. Health is hard. Sickness is hard. Being in a great relationship is hard. Being lonely is hard. Whatever you choose to name, on either end of the spectrum - it's hard. Every day we get to decide which hard we'll pursue. But there's a major difference in the positive things that are hard. They require more effort on the front end. A higher investment upfront. By doing that, we may be able to forego a tougher consequence.

    Self-discipline is the key. Let's be clear about the definition of discipline. Discipline is the quality of being able to behave and work in a controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards. Self-discipline is our ability to control ourselves. 

    Execution matters!

    • 48 min
    Leaning Toward Creativity

    Leaning Toward Creativity

     



    About 15 years into my podcasting journey I recorded an episode entitled, A Virtual Tour Of My Podcasting Studio. I published it 9 years ago today, January 25, 2015. In 2019 I published an update, Welcome Inside The Yellow Studio (This Is How I Podcast Now). Since then I've tried to keep a page on my personal website updated - Inside The Yellow Studio.



    The technology has changed monumentally since I began almost 24 years ago. Things have gotten so much easier - and so much more refined. As much as I enjoyed those early years when all of us were figuring it out, today is better. Today's show is less about the operational part of podcasting though and it's more about the metaphor of The Yellow Studio - creating, publishing and sharing. It's about the broadcasting of stories, ideas, observations and insights. It's about a journey into creativity. Well, it's about a journey deeper into creativity. I won't bore you with the earliest memories of the journey which began in childhood engaged in all sort of acts of imagination.



    As much as I love to learn, which requires mounds of consuming (reading, listening, observing), I'm more in love with creativity, crafting something from mostly nothing. Starting with a spark. Sometimes small. Sometimes not. A burning ember sometimes. A bolt of lightning at other times.



    Creativity takes practice. As in, you have to do it. Also, as in you have to do it repeatedly to improve.



    Bouts of creativity against not being creative at all have prevailed my entire life. As a little boy playing with an impressive Matchbox car collection to laying in the yard looking up through the pines at the clouds wondering what to do next. Enthusiastic hours spent building a fort in the woods or a treehouse in the backyard coupled with lethargic hours spent telling ourselves we had nothing to do. Boredom always best fought off by engaging the gears of our imagination so we could create hours of delight often doing something we'd not done before. Or doing things we'd done a million times before. And ready to do it again one more time because we loved it so.







    Please tell a friend about the podcast!



    • Join our private Facebook group

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    Help Me Reach My $1,000 Goal

    I plan to start vlogging from Hot Springs Village, Arkansas because the place is spectacular.

    The scenery will make for a great backdrop. Plus, there are many places I'd like you to see.

    To help, click the link (or the image below) to donate any amount you'd like.

    Amazon Gift Certificates (use RandyCantrell@gmail.com).

    Thank you!

    • 38 min
    Shameless Retirement

    Shameless Retirement

    Shameless



    An adjective meaning insensible to disgrace



    Retirement



    A noun meaning a withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from active working life or the age at which one normally retires



    The United States adopted an initial retirement age of 65 with the Social Security Act of 1935. By the mid-20th century, almost all countries had adopted a retirement age of between 60-65. About 40% of Americans receive Social Security retirement benefits as their exclusive income. The average benefit is just over $1700 monthly.





    Financial advice is varied, but advisors widely suggest no more than 70% of your retirement income should come from Social Security. If you were to collect the average amount - $1700 - then you'd have a monthly income of about $2400 if that math worked in your life. That's $28,800 a year, hardly a comfortable living for most people.



    However, as of this year (2023), the average check to 65-year-olds is about $2500 a month. Apply that 70% suggestion, then your total monthly income could rise to $3600, or $43,200 a year. That's $14,400 more than $28,800.



    Lots of people are doing the math urging folks to collect Social Security as soon as possible - age 62. For some, that may make sense. For others, it may not. I'm not an accountant or financial advisor. I'm just a guy sitting inside The Yellow Studio making observations about all this now that I'm 66-1/2, full retirement age.



    Full Retirement Age



    Full retirement age (FRA) is the age you must reach to receive full retirement benefits from Social Security. Your FRA varies depending on the year you were born. The FRA in the United States is 66 years and two months for those born in 1955, increasing gradually to 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Since my wife and I were born in 1957, 66-1/2 is our FRA. I achieved that in November and Rhonda hit it here in December.





    Life is more than numbers, but the numbers matter. What about things other than numbers?



    Routine and habits tend to overpower older lives. Neuroscience informs us that we're all subject to habituation.



    Habituation



    Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations. The American Psychological Association says it involves "growing accustomed to a situation or stimulus," thereby diminishing its effectiveness.



    We commonly call it being stuck. Getting in a rut.



    What produces satisfaction or happiness?



    Meaning is number one. Control is number two.



    We need meaning in our lives. Some way where we measure our worth or value in the world.



    We also need a degree of control over our own lives. Freedom is choice - the ability to make a choice is largely how we execute control.



    As we grow older both of these can be challenges. No surprise because both are challenges no matter our age.



    We've all experienced moments where we hit a high in meaning and control. Like that first big raise we got, it didn't seem to last. Things seem to settle into some sort of a norm sooner than later.



    The hedonic treadmill is the idea that an individual's level of happiness, after rising or falling in response to positive or negative life events, ultimately tends to move back toward where it was prior to these experiences. It's like that proverbial set point for our weight. Changing that thermostat is hard. Doable, but hard.





    This is where habituation is a double-edged sword. It helps us progress and move forward even though it may rob us of some joy. And without habituation, we're incapable of moving. Imagine having to make every little decision afresh every day. How exhausting would that be? So we need habits to a point.

    • 50 min
    Be Careful About The Hit Song You Record ‘Cause You’ll Be Playing It The Rest Of Your Life

    Be Careful About The Hit Song You Record ‘Cause You’ll Be Playing It The Rest Of Your Life

    Sorry. My usual show notes don't exist. And I was too lazy this time of year to write them. But I do have a couple of calls to action.



    One, join us over in the Facebook group if you care. I'd love to have you in the group.



    Two, support my efforts to lean hard into video in 2024. My goal is to crowd-fund $1000. I'm about 50% there so it's coming along. But you can help me out if you'd like (see below).







    Please tell a friend about the podcast!



    • Join our private Facebook group

    • Email me

    Help Me Reach My $1,000 Goal

    I plan to start vlogging from Hot Springs Village, Arkansas because the place is spectacular.

    The scenery will make for a great backdrop. Plus, there are many places I'd like you to see.

    To help, click the link (or the image below) to donate any amount you'd like.

    Amazon Gift Certificates (use RandyCantrell@gmail.com).

    Thank you!

    • 36 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

meganmosley ,

New listener

I’m new to this podcast, but have been enjoying it immensely! I’ve always been a huge fan of podcast & during my sometimes multi-hour long commutes to work as an interpreter I like having shows that keep my attention, but also help me think critically & learn something - this podcast does just that!

David Jackson ,

Make Me Think - And I'm Your Friend

I have a new routine. I recently moved to a place that has lakes and geese. There is a walking path around the lake, so once dinner is done, and the sun begins to hit the road, I grab my phone and earbuds and head to the lake. It is my time to work on me. To reset my attitude, my outlook, and perspectives on life. It is my time with my friend Randy who makes me think. The music gives me time to consume the last thing Randy just said that has me going Hmmmmmm (and to drown out the Geese who are really beautifully annoying). It not meditation, but it does have me looking inward. So click subscribe, and give it a shot. You'll be glad you did. - Dave Jackson

RNshell ,

Lifetime of knowledge

I've learned so much wisdom from Randy throughout my life; these podcasts do not disappoint. I started listening because I love the man as the elder of the church I attend and want to support him, yet I remain listening because I'm intrigued, interested and invested in what he says.

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