Wimberley, Texas; miles and miles from everywhere.
Well Hello, Big, Wide, Wonderful World of Steemit!
Fitness, entrepreneurship, writing and being a soul-searching, Ayahuasca psychonaut most definitely form an unusual Venn overlap. But from what I’ve seen and heard thus far, the Steemit community embraces and encourages the interesting and non-conventional. And as it’s only natural that the newcomer be asked to approach the elders “open kimono”, as it were, here I am, drawing back the proverbial drapery...
I first heard of the Steemit community at the annual Austin, Texas Voice and Exit gathering, which bills itself as the festival of the future; a kind of intellectual Burning Man, if you will. There, in the midst of the 300-person-strong swirl of free-thinking, free-markets, and“maximizing human flourishing”, Steemit’s message of block-chain based, decentralized social media plucked an unmistakable chord of “fuck yes!” deep in my soul. It sounded totally unique and, well... worldchanging.
And sparking world change through disrupting the status quo is what I’m all about. As a “serial entrepreneur” in the health and wellness arena, my mission -- my why in life -- is to unlock the vast human potential imprisoned in poor health. I might not have the answer to sustainable renewable energy seeded within me, but if I can play a part in liberating it from imprisonment within another, then I’ve served my dharmic duty.
My business pursuits are fixed on that north star of my “why”, and by way of mission, vision and intention, I navigate accordingly. I’m an owner and co-founder of Paleo f(x), the largest of it’s kind event and platform in the world. And under the Paleo f(x) umbrella reside many other business passions: mastermind events state-of-the-art fitness studios, proprietary fitness equipment, a personalized / individualized supplementation business and, coaching, both of the fitness and entrepreneurial variety.
Kicking off Paleo f(x), 2016 with my wife, Michelle
As Friedrich Nietzsche famously quipped, “he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how”. I can attest to the fact that the road hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been pretty damn fruitful so far. I hope you’ll join me as I document my successes and struggles. And I look forward to the community’s comments and inspiration along the way!
Lecturing on the many benefits of strength training, at Harvard
I also love to write, blogging frequently at either the Paleo f(x)™ site, or at my personal site, Theory to Practice. And as the name Theory to Practice implies, I wholeheartedly subscribe to the dictum that knowledge is not power, it is only potential. Informed action is the only true power, and it is only by action that meaningful change is manifested in the world.
In addition, an as of yet unpublished novel, The Blood of Samuel sits in the digital equivalent of a dusty pile on my hard drive. Possibly Steemit is a way for me to have that labor of love serialized and let loose upon the world? Hell yes. Bypassing the “old guard” by way of a decentralized publishing process is something I’ve long wished to do.
Free Markets, Free Thought, and Free Expression
I believe the Steemit community would agree as I do, that an individual should be empowered to be fully sovereign, solid and strong in the six areas that constitute a truly free-living entity; that is: mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally and financially.
Sovereign in that no other man, government or agency can claim legitimate dominion over any other.
Solid, as in well-rooted, secure and uninhibited by the prospect of pending interference by said man, government or agency. Secure in knowing there is a viable, swift and competent process of unbiased redress should infringement upon these birthrights occur.
Strong, as in “greater than resilient”; more toward, antifragile. A Nassim Taleb concept that (along with epistemocracy), I view as, not just pertinent to survival, but of living a fulfilled, happy and productive life. In Taleb’s definition of the term, resilient entities survive unharmed and unchanged in the face of assault. Much like a palm tree following a tropical storm. No worse for the wear, but certainly no better than before.
Antifragile entities, on the other hand, find a way to become increasingly resilient following an assault. Our body’s own immune system is an example of an antifragile entity in action, in that it surviving a pathogen attack, it “learns” how to defend against a similar attack in the future. The best human-designed of all systems mimic clues that evolution, biology and nature provide. Antifragility being one of the most potent of those lessons.
So these are the areas I wish to explore more in life, as well as with the Steemit community. Both in my own writing, and in the partaking of others’ creativity. Being a free, and creative thinker, as well as being of epistemocratic nature, I thrive on learning new things, as well as having my own beliefs challenged.
Some ideas that I’m currently pursuing, and would love to explore further with the Steemit community:
- How plant medicine (specifically, Ayahuasca) can enhance the soulful expression of entrepreneurship, and encourage definitive world change via one of the greatest tools known to man: capitalism. That is, what I’ve found is that all driven entrepreneurs posses the business acumen to achieve ever greater material value. They posses the business chops, vision, and wherewithal to create systems and process to see a project through from bootstrap startup to sustained profitability. So far, so good.
But what I’ve seen lacking in these types though, is the calm, infectious joy that those who are truly at peace exude. True success being the result of leveraging those well-honed entrepreneurial skills in the pursuit of what one deeply enshrines, and seeing the world transformed as a result. The fact of the matter is though, that many among even the most wildly of materially “successful” entrepreneurs have no idea whatsoever of what would truly make them happy. Is it really a bigger McMansion? Another foreign sportscar? Is happiness really measured in the units and magnitude of distance created between the haves and the have nots? They don’t know themselves at a deep level… or even at superficial level for that matter! And after having been a long-time entrepreneur myself, and after having completed 35+ Ayahuasca ceremonies, I see myself as a guide of sorts to help those who wish to tease these questions out.
- How can genetically determined methylation cycle malfunctions be overcome and, in some cases, reversed? What are the latest techniques that can be realistically employed to improve body composition, mental performance, vibrancy and athleticism? This extends beyond what is normally considered research and bio-hacking, and morphs into a convergence of radical “citizen science” and investigative journalism. Think Sebastian Junger meets Timothy Leary meets Bruce Lee meets the old soviet era, East German sporting dynasty.
- Decentralized intentional living communities: what are the known attributes and mechanisms behind those that have flourished? What can we learn from those that have failed? How does the regular (radical?) Joe and Jane successfully navigate the transition from established banking and currency exchange to a block-chained, crypto-currency landscape?
- Fiction, storytelling and myth are tools by which humankind has taught and transferred “truth” from one generation to the next. A process that has been denigrated by the emergence and success of the scientific age. How can the powerful tools of science and myth find a happy coexistence in today’s culture?
So thanks for hearing me out. I’m beyond stoked to join a community wherein one is both nurtured and pushed to his intellectual limits. An antifragile community built of antifragile constituents and ideas.
I’ll wrap this up by noting that the exploration and connecting of “disparate dots” moves both the individual and humankind forward at a lightning pace. Juxtapose that idea with Max Planck’s observation that “science advances one funeral at a time.” What I’ve seen thus far within the Steemit community is the ability for us, as a supportive community, to be a quick and disruptive force to the status quo.
And if that’s what we’re here to do, then sign me the fuck up!
Heal thyself, harden thyself, change the world -
Keith
Please come by the Paleo f(x) site and consider dropping in for one of our events. And if you like my message, please spend some time on my personal site, Theory to Practice, or follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. As well, I'd love to connect over at Steemit Chat.