<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p><em>---</em></p> <p><br /></p> <p>Today's show features one of Dan's personal musical heroes, Mike Diamond — "Mike D" from the Beastie Boys. Their conversation is wide ranging and covers topics from the role of failure in achieving success to Mike's personal meditation practice. They say, "never meet your heroes", but Mike D doesn't disappoint in this smart and thoughtful discussion. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>Mike D formed the Beastie Boys with Adam Yauch, aka MCA, in the early 80's, winning a number of Grammys and spanning a multi-decade career. In 2018, along with his bandmate, Adam Horovitz, Diamond co-authored <a href="https://beastieboys.com/book/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Beastie Boys Book</em></a>, which told the story of the band in its own words and reached #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. A limited series of live shows, in which the two brought stories from the book to life, was captured in the 2020 film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCyqR2RXoQU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Beastie Boys Story</em></a>. </p> <p><br /></p> <p><em>Content Warning: The content is a little mature at points so take care if you're listening with kids.</em></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>How Mike reconciles the misogyny of the Beasties early work</li> <li>The evolution of the band — and how they freed themselves from feeling imprisoned by their own personas</li> <li>The role of failure in achieving success</li> <li>The value of taking risks in creative endeavors</li> <li>Watching his late bandmate, Adam Yauch, find Buddhism, and how that impacted their music</li> <li>The addictive nature of adrenaline when performing</li> <li>The role meditation and yoga played for Mike as he tried to calibrate the highs and lows while on tour — and how these practices also now play a role in parenting his two kids</li> <li>How he works through self-judgment while meditating</li> <li>How he and the other surviving bandmate, Adam Horovitz, managed their grief in the wake of the untimely death of Adam Yauch</li> <li>And how a Beastie Boy came to embrace, of all things, loving-kindness</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Show Notes:</strong> <a href="https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mike-diamond-597" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mike-diamond-597</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Failure for Growth
Actively seek opportunities to fail, as Mike D states, ‘Failure is just the greatest thing to ever happen to me.’ Allow yourself and your children the freedom to make mistakes, as it’s crucial for learning and development.
2. Take Courageous Creative Risks
Don’t compromise your artistic vision for guaranteed commercial success; instead, make courageous efforts in your creative pursuits. This can lead to long-term artistic freedom and quality, even if it initially results in commercial failure.
3. Prioritize Collaborative Relationships
Shift your paradigm to make relationships within collaborative efforts the primary, most important thing. Strong bonds among collaborators are crucial for navigating challenges and ensuring the longevity and quality of shared work.
4. Balance Your Nervous System
Implement practices like yoga or meditation to calm your nervous system and balance the intense highs and lows of demanding experiences, such as performing or high-stress work. This helps prevent burnout and promotes overall well-being.
5. Cultivate Daily Equanimity
Engage in a regular meditation practice, such as 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation daily, to infuse your life with patience and equanimity. This practice is particularly beneficial for managing stress and improving parenting.
6. Practice Loving-Kindness Meditation
Utilize loving-kindness meditation to release resentful behaviors, foster self-compassion, and quickly affect the dynamics of challenging situations. This tool can lead to rapid reconciliation and a shift away from self-victimization.
7. Avoid the ‘Second Arrow’
When experiencing initial pain or negative emotions, be mindful not to add a ‘second arrow’ of self-judgment, shame, or self-victimization. This Buddhist concept teaches that additional suffering often comes from our reaction to the initial pain.
Actively cultivate a community of smart, compassionate people, whether called a sangha or satsang. These individuals can provide crucial support, offer guidance, and help redirect you from negative thought patterns, contributing significantly to happiness.
9. Connect with Nature Regularly
Immerse yourself in nature, such as surfing or hiking, to gain perspective and reduce self-judgmental thinking. This practice can quickly transport you into a profound place of appreciation and help reprioritize your life.
10. Persevere Through Creative Suffering
Understand that creative endeavors, particularly writing, often involve significant ‘work, refinement, and suffering’ without immediate gratification. Embrace this process, as it is essential for the development and quality of your work.
11. Communicate Heartfeltly Through Art
Engage in collaborative artistic pursuits, like playing music, to experience transcendent and heartfelt communication that goes beyond words. This can be a powerful form of healing and connection with others.
12. Reconcile Past Problematic Actions
Acknowledge and learn from past problematic behaviors, especially those from youth, by reflecting on their ramifications. This process of maturity allows for growth and a shift towards more progressive and thoughtful actions.