A Mindful Week 38: The "Future Is Now" Issue
A dive into the future of Biotech, Building an AI for Nature & the Books you need to read to Scale your Organization.
Hello Makers,
I will spend this November in Japan.
You are not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.
I remember that I once came to Japan to study and lose myself. But instead, I found a new way of being. I found new ideas of living. And I found a new idea of myself.
This brings up the question:
What if you stop seeing destinations as places, but as an invitation to see things with new eyes?
This will be my mantra this month, as I am revisiting Japan.
I am interested in interviewing founders, disrupters, and creative makers. If you know cool people there, please connect me.
Wishing you fun with this week’s edition of “A Mindful Week.”
Yours,
Nikolas
The Ultimate Booklist for Founders: Book Recommendations
Building an organization for success is hard. Enjoying the process is even harder. This week, I shared the ultimate Scaling Up list for founders. Next to my choices, you will find your 25 favorites in the comments.
Inviting the future into the present: Neri Oxman on the Lex Fridman Podcast
MIT professor Neri Oxman invites the future into the present. Here are some of the boxes she ticks with her work:
Building an AI for Nature: ☑
Creating compostable materials:☑
Prototyping how sustainable architecture looks like: ☑
Listen to this wonderful conversation that made me hopeful about the future.
Slow down with this visual masterpiece: After Yang
After Yang is the next A24 joint that makes your heart melt: Set in a not-so-distant future, we follow Tea-shop Owner Colin Farell navigating being human. Set in a world where machines mirror our humanity back at us.
The movie is a calm, soothing, slow visual meditation. I loved it for its audacity to focus on the little details: It plays with light. It imagines fashion in the future. And it reminds me of the timeless joy of slowing down and seeing beauty.
Playlist: Soul Jam
Smooth, smoother, peanut butter.
一 Mind Travel I:
Application for next year’s meditation retreat is open. As usual, it will be an intimate group of fewer than 12 participants, which is unusual and rare in meditation retreats.
The next retreat will be on the topic of “wise, compassionate leadership”. It will take place in May, set at a lake outside of Berlin.
I wish to create a space of care, nature, food, science, and deep training for you to cultivate your beautiful mind. If you want to join, write me a message about why you should be the one joining.
に Timetravel:
If you are the nostalgic type, or if you are new - here you find the last „Mindful Week“ inspiration letters. Let me know what you want to read next.
Quote, I’m reflecting on:
Pomegranates are bleeding on the branch. Even moonlight is ashamed. Lemons are heartbroken and taste of very old regret. Almonds have become stones of mourning. Morning prays to start over. Avocado and olive trees have cried out all their oil. A rose still grows. But only because a child tends it who has not yet been told what to believe.
Jaiya John
Want more…
….here are some portals into the Nikolas Konstantin Multiverse:
Training the Theory and Art of Meditation: A Beautiful Mind Course
You asked me if I could pack the meditations and lessons of my workshop into a portable format.
Here is my clumsy attempt at distilling the feeling, models, and mental training into something that could work for the online world.
If you want to train your mind but also want to understand the theory from science and meditation traditions, this one is for you: So far, I have included The Guide to the 3 Styles of Meditation E-Book, 4 hours of theory, 10 + Meditations & Retreat Mode (create your own silent retreat with my retreat recordings). Join and let me know what to record next.
The Best of Management and Leadership: Founder Playbooks
As a founder coach, I scan the best of leadership literature, Harvard Business Review, and mindfulness so you can focus on what matters most—building a thriving organization.
Some of that theory makes it into my library, featuring the best of management and leadership theory. So far, I have made those "Founder Playbooks" only accessible to my coachees. But I decided to open it for you. Join the club and tell me what I should write about next.
About
A Mindful Week is an almost punctual newsletter about living a reflected life curated by executive coach & meditation teacher Nikolas. If you like what you read, share it with a friend.
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