Cathy Erway on Using Reflection to Hone Writing Focus

In Chapter 6 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, writer and healthy food advocate Cathy Erway answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Writing a memoir and charting two years of her life helps Erway focus on healthy, just, local and seasonal eating advocacy projects.  Writing, from blog or recipe posts to magazine articles, provides Erway a timeline of experiences she can reflect upon and learn from over time. 

Cathy Erway is a Brooklyn-based author, part-time cook, freelance writer, radio host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Andrew Epstein on Making Time for Reflection in Your Life

In Chapter 17 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, charter school CFO Andrew Epstein answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Epstein is always thinking about ways he can get better - as a partner in his personal relationships, as a partner to his boss, as a friend.  Setting aside time before and after dinner Epstein tries to make it a habit of having these thoughts so he can put them to work in his life.

Andrew Epstein is CFO of the Ascend Learning Charter School Network.  Previously, Epstein was a finance executive at Democracy Prep Public Schools and an operations executive at Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records.  He is a former Teach for America corps member and middle-school science teacher.  He holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Kyung B. Yoon on How Reflecting Back Can Move Your Career Forward

In Chapter 1 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Yoon uses reflection to think about work she enjoys doing and work where she excels.  This process helps Yoon figure out what next steps to take in her career and find ways to eliminate inequalities and inequities and create social impact. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Career Advice for Gen Y Women Professionals

In Chapter 7 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?"  As a Wellesley student, Yoon remembers wanting to have it all.  Experience teaches her you can have it all but not have it all at the same time.  She advises young Gen Y female professionals to invest in careers early to gain educational credentials and work experience to provide negotiating and bargaining leverage later in life and career. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Jullien Gordon on Finding a Spiritual Community

In Chapter 6 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach Jullien Gordon answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?"  Gordon talks about finding a spiritual community after relocating from the West Coast to the East Coast.  He details why that is important to his well-being and what he and his wife are doing to fill that void short-term - watching Agape Sunday services online - as they look for the longer-term connection.  To complement this resource, Gordon invests in his marriage, daily journaling and weekly meetings with his coach.  Jullien Gordon is a high performance coach and consultant to organizations, individuals and teams who want to increase employee performance, motivation, engagement and retention.  He earned a BA from UCLA, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a Masters of Education from Stanford University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: At this moment in your life, where are you seeking advice and coaching?

Jullien Gordon: That’s a good question. I’ve had a very difficult time finding a spiritual community in New York in the way that I found it in California, both in Oakland and in L.A.

Erik Michielsen: What have been the challenges in finding that spiritual community in New York versus what you’ve found in Oakland and in Los Angeles?

Jullien Gordon: My spirit is at my core. And it is the reason I’m here and the more connected I am with that source of energy, the more powerful I move through the world. I mean there’s different types of energy, there’s your spiritual energy, there’s your emotional energy, there is your mental energy, and your physical energy. And for me, my spiritual energy is definitely at my core. We had initially found a community, that community—I like to say transcended and kind of evaporated, and so we are in search now. Currently we watch Agape Live on Sundays which is—Agape is a spiritual community in Los Angeles, California, and we watch that service through live stream at noon, Eastern Standard Time. And so that’s been our way of connecting, but if we could have it here in person, we believe that that would be more powerful for our growth and development. I do have a coach who I meet with about every two weeks who supports me, and holds space for me and challenges me and holds me accountable. So that’s been a powerful space for me and I invest in that. Outside of that, it’s been just a lot of deep introspection in terms of journaling on a regular basis. I call the first 30 minutes of my day first period and I use that space to meditate, to journal, to reflect, to read, and so my books and my own journaling and my own writings have been kind of my space of coaching and analysis. But I wish I could have a community of people who have a similar vision as me that I could meet regularly to work through some of the challenges that I’m having as an entrepreneur, as a man, as a husband, as a son. That would be a very healthy space for me, but I haven’t been able to find it yet, so it’s been a solo journey—or with the exception of my wife, she’s been my greatest source of feedback and accountability and safety, and so I wouldn’t—and I’ll call her my coach in a lot of ways.

Lulu Chen on How Reflecting Helps You Plan for the Future

In Chapter 3 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Reflecting helps Chen appreciate what she has today.  It helps make better career plans, especially as she has grown into her 30s. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Lulu Chen: I think it’s given me perspective just reflecting back on previous jobs and like life experiences and relationships. It’s—I don’t know. It makes me appreciate what I really have today, and it gives me perspective on what’s really important and what my priorities are. 
I think when I was younger I just kept working so hard but I didn’t necessarily think about the direction, you just think, “Oh, you just work really hard. You just keep doing this, and good things happen,” which generally I—you know, I try to be positive and hope that that’s still true, but sometimes I think you also have to strategize directionally, you know, sort of—kind of plan it out a little bit, and I’ve gotten better at that too as I’ve gotten older.

I think sometimes speaking to some of my friends, my peers, and having them kind of compliment me or point things out, that’s when I reflect back, and I really appreciate it, you know. It’s very hard for me to take compliments sometimes and I also—Yeah, I just forget, you know? I forget to stop and just think about things and, you know—just, you know, keep going.

Hattie Elliot on What You Learn Producing a Reality TV Show Pilot

In Chapter 2 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "What Happened With Your TV Show Pilot and What Were the Takeaways from the Experience?"  Elliot talks about what she learned producing a docusoap reality television series called "The Grace List" based on her life and her business.  The experience gives her a firsthand view of how television is made and how a show concept and characters can change after a network buys the show. 

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What happened with your TV show pilot and what were the takeaways from the experience?

Hattie Elliot:  Wowsers, that was an incredible whirlwind. So last year, I was producing a pilot for a TV show on my business called The Grace List. And it was really kind of a pseudo—they called it a docu-soap, it profiled my personal life and my search for love along with, you know, “the daters,” you know, members of The Grace List. And it was a great concept. It was an incredible, incredibly unbelievable, unbelievably frustrating, chaotic, ridiculous experience, but at the same time, really extraordinary, and like I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world, but I just now understand why Lindsay Lohan and all these celebrities are so dysfunctional, ‘cause I feel like I’ve got a very good head on my shoulders and I’ve worked very hard for years, but even I was like, wow, to keep—be level-headed in this industry, it’s tough. 

It was a huge undertaking. I was very, very proud of the initial pilot, which the network bought, they then decided to re-tweak it and reshoot it, and change the premise quite a bit, and cast the characters, and I was really devastated, to be honest, about the final product, I was absolutely—I really worked so hard and was very actively involved, but the final edit, I was just didn’t feel—I didn’t wanna put my name on. I wouldn’t. It was very upsetting especially after putting all that time in. Do I have regrets about doing it? Never. It’s like I would rather have loved and lost, you know, I would have rather had that whirlwind experience, I learned so much. I don’t regret it. 

But would I do a show again? I might with caution, but now I understand why reality shows are never around real businesses, you know? Because when you have a real company, it’s your baby, like I take great, great pride in this company that I built, and what I do, and I’m very protective of my friends and family, and so I’ve never just been willing to sell out, you know, for 5 minutes of fame, and, you know, crouch shot on the cover of Us Weekly or something, like, it’s just not my thing. 

So at this point, the project, the second round went actually to an offsite which is basically like where all the network execs meet and see if it’s gonna go to season, made it through the offsite, went to focus group testing, and I think about halfway through focus group testing was dropped, and it was a real blessing, actually. And there’s definitely some other show concepts in the works, but they’re very different. And they are concepts that I really believe in and that I feel like I can really do justice to now that I realize what goes into a show and what—what’s negotiable and what’s not negotiable, and what the actual process is, time-wise, commitment-wise and, you know, what you have authority to have edits on and stuff, so I’m excited. It really has—it was a—it really led to a lot of opportunity for me, a lot of opportunities, so—Yeah, it was a trip. Albeit an entertaining one.

Hattie Elliot: How to Reflect on and Improve Your Life

In Chapter 10 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  She finds what separates the inspiring people in her life from others is how they reflect back, learn from their choices, plan for the future and execute on these plans.  Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Hattie Elliot: Wow, reflection I think is one of the most painful, difficult, spectacular, and just brutal processes but ultimately in life, one of the most unbelievably rewarding. It’s why—you know, when I think about New Years and birthdays and things like that, and anniversaries, it’s why people oftentimes get very sentimental because it’s a time that you—you not only look forward but you often tend to look back, it forces you to reflect. For me, as tough as it is, I think my life has been so much more rewarding to me because I just—I force myself to kind of constantly kind of acknowledge where I am and reflect back. Coming here for instance, you know. Checking in every year with you, and talking about the business, it forces you to reflect about when I was like sitting in this seat last year, like where was I? What’s changed? But I think one of the most liberating and awesome things in life, too, about being an adult, is you have the ability, you reflect back, you reflect on the good stuff, the tough stuff, but then you have the ability to really figure out--to change what’s wrong. And I think that that’s really what separates people that I really admire and that inspire me from others is that they are people that can confront that, they can reflect back, they can acknowledge it and be accountable for things in their life and what they might need to change, and what their aspirations from what they want and they come up with a plan, and not only do they come up with a plan, they’re not all show no blow, they actually execute on that, and to their best. We’re not always gonna be successful at everything but, you know, to the best of their ability. It’s something that I really strive to do in my life, and it’s something that when I look at people that I really—I hold dear and that I really admire, and wanna be surrounded by, who inspire me to do better and be better, that’s a quality that they have as well, is ability to really reflect.

Erik Michielsen: Where do you even get started with that?

Hattie Elliot: First, I think it’s realizing what reflection is and that’s what it is. It’s that feeling that you have on those particular days, the day that your father passes away, the day that your niece was born, the day that comes around every year, something significant in your mind. I kind of even trick myself but, you know, I set up—and this is just my own little trick that I play with myself but it forces me to do it, is I set up little, you know, marks that I can use, like kind of I hedge timelines in my mind, whether it’s every Friday where I was the week before, or the first weekend of every month, and there are just specific times where I force myself to look back at my to-do list the week before and what was going on, and—what was going on with everything in my personal life, my professional life, with my finances, with the—with our membership members, with the events that I was doing, with things that made me happy, sad, and just kind of see which of those things that I can personally change, or there—that I can take action on, that’ll make this time next week Friday when I reflect that I’ll be in a better situation. Or this time next year on a date that will forever be set in my mind. Because whether it’s a happy date or a sad date, where hopefully I’m in a better place because you make your future. You make your destiny—I mean we can all be struck down with bad luck, but we do have choice, we do have the ability to be better and do better and to move forward. And that’s what I choose. That’s what I choose.

Hattie Elliot: How to Stay Composed and Perform Under Pressure

In Chapter 12 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?"  Elliot embraces working in complicated environments with many moving parts.  Experience and reflection teach her to stay calm and be mindful of what is most important when unexpected things happen in her event planning and destination travel business. 

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What does it mean to perform under pressure in the work that you do?

Hattie Elliot: Wow, I think that that’s one of the reasons that I can do what I do. When you’re dealing with so many people and so many personalities and so many vendors, and then on top of that, just kind of any sort of production, planning these trips, these events, these destinations, you know, it’s a perfect storm, there’s always gonna be, you know, anything and everything you can imagine could go wrong, will at some point. It will. It just—It’s just the nature of the beast, it’s the nature of the business.

So being able to not freak out, not like completely lose my marbles, but keep calm, has really—Number one, I think I would absolutely hate, hate, hate, hate what I do if I got freaked out easily. It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers, that’s like one positive attribute I have, like, it really takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. So—but I really genuinely I don’t think could work in the business I did if I couldn’t operate under extreme pressure and extreme kind of crazy circumstances as if nothing’s happening and the sun is shining and the grass is green, and there’s birds tweeting, and rainbows everywhere, like, sometimes you just gotta just keep your eye on the prize and compartmentalize when everything is—when shit is hitting the fan, just like, you know, great, awesome, like, we’ll put that shit in the corner there and pretend there’s like rainbows and butterflies and just, you know, and just, you know, move forward, and it’s part insanity and part brilliance I think that it takes to do that but it’s what I do.

And I think it’s the reason I’ve been able to be successful at the business that I’m in. And I think for people that I know, I used to—I have to say this is learned. I have not always been like this. I’ve really, through the years, made a vested effort, and it’s part of this whole idea of really acknowledging and reflecting where you are. I think it gives you a really, a healthy and honest perspective on what really matters. So if the electric goes out, if, you know, the—we’re on a trip and, you know, literally, like, shit hits the fan and a holding tank explodes onto the boat which is a foul situation, don’t get me wrong. It kind of makes you realize, honestly, if no one’s dying, and no one’s sick, that everything else is kind of like, you can figure it out, you can MacGyver it, you know, it gives you that kind of perspective when you’ve really gone through adversity, you really realize what matters and, yeah, and maybe that’s why it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. But I feel like I’ve got a pretty, you know, healthy perspective on what’s worth really, you know, having a breakdown about, and there’s not much. 

Hattie Elliot on How Entrepreneurship Fosters Personal Growth

In Chapter 14 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "How Has Your Entrepreneurial Experience Helped You Grow as a Person?"  For Elliot, it comes down to learning from reflective moments and accepting the accountability that comes from the entrepreneurial experience.  This gives her a greater human perspective and has taught her to be more accepting and less judgmental of others. 

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How has your entrepreneurial experience helped you grow as a person?

Hattie Elliot: It’s funny. It feels like we keep coming back to the theme of reflection. When you are an entrepreneur, you know, when things go wrong, when you’re—you know, when you’re having trouble paying your rent, when you have employees that make major blunders, you realize 99% of the time it’s your fault, because you didn’t communicate something properly. When you are delivering a product and there’s an issue, the weight is on you. There’s really not much room for hiding behind a wall, I would say—like when you’re in the corporate world often, there’s so many levels, like when I was in advertising, you’re part of such a big team and there’s so many levels just to put together one project, when there’s a major eff-up, like, you know, there’s enough people to distribute the blame, like when I make a mistake, it’s my own, and it’s a very tough and humbling thing but in terms of personal growth, it really forces you, number one, to be accountable for your actions, if you’re gonna be a successful entrepreneur, I think accountability and reflection just are key. You need to—when things aren’t going right, you need to confront it. You need to be accountable. You need to figure out what went wrong. And not have an ego about it and figure out a way you either—I mean excuse my language, but kind of shit or get off the pot type of thing. 

If you go around blaming other people, which a lot of us have the ability to do, it’s an easy way out; you’ll never be successful. You really won’t be. So I think it’s really a matter of really acknowledging there’s this constant—you’re constantly forced to reflect, acknowledge and be accountable for your actions, which I find to be, in the grand scheme of life, has been a really incredible journey, but definitely not an easy one. But I kind of feel like I can take on the world now because I’ve had great success, I’ve had great failure, ups and downs, but it really—it gives you better perspective as a human being, it makes you a lot more sympathetic, less judgmental and more understanding towards others, and I think that that makes—has made my life, at least, so much more just rewarding on all levels, and so much more wonderful. 

Adam Carter on Adding Reflection Into Daily Routines

In Chapter 3 of 13 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, micro-philanthropist Adam Carter answers "What Role as Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Carter details the importance of starting each day with a personalized yoga routine and meditation practice and how he has developed his daily routine over time.  This helps prepare him for the day and gives him a daily opportunity to reflect and be mindful of his environment, his decisions and his plans. 

Adam Carter is a micro-philanthropist currently living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is the founder of the Cause and Affect Foundation which raises small amounts of financing to provide direct-to-source project funding for individuals and communities in need across the globe.  To date, Carter has traveled to over 80 countries.  He earned an MA in International Development from George Washington University and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Adam Carter: I think we all have our own form of spirituality, and for me personally, I’m a very regular practitioner of yoga and meditation, so, for me, about five days a week, you know, I start my day with a yoga routine that I’ve developed over the course of the last decade, that continues to evolve, and, so, for me, being able to start each day, ground myself, and my practice ends with meditation that really helps me focus on the day, and helps me focus on and who I am, and it really helps me. I think sometimes, you know, we’ll wake up, people wake up, they have that cup of coffee and it’s just like, the day just like hits them head on, like, full on. It’s really been valuable for me to be able to kind of ease into my day and to be mindful, and doing meditation really helps me kind of be mindful throughout the day. Whenever I can I try to just kind of take a deep breath, take a step back and just kind of, center myself because things can get stressful when you let them pile up and your mind’s going a mile a minute. So for me to be able to ground myself every day has been especially important because I’m often living in different places, and I don’t have the routine that a lot of people have, so I might be waking up in a completely different bed. I might be—find myself in a completely different—it could be a city, it could be a shanty town, it could be on a farm, you know, who knows where I am, but having that—being able to ground myself in that sense, or with that sense of reflection has really allowed me to maintain some consistency in my life.

Ken Rona on How Reflection Informs Manager Career Growth

In Chapter 9 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Ken Rona answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Rona refers to fundamental attribution error, which is where you take credit for good things and blame bad things on the external world.  Understanding this bias helps Rona reflect and make sense of challenges and his choices to overcome them.  Ken Rona is a Vice President at Turner Broadcasting, where he leads teams across advertising sales, big data software development and business strategy.  Rona earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Ken Rona: You know, there’s that line about a self-reflected life is not worth living. I take some of that to heart. When I have a challenge, I try to think about what role I’ve played in creating it. Do you know what the fundamental attribution error is? 

Erik Michielsen: Tell me more about that.

Ken Rona: Sure. It’s a psychological phenomenon, right, that many people experience. And the notion is that when something good happens, it’s because I’m great.  Right? And when something bad happens, it’s because the world is against me. Right? Or you know, it’s your fault, basically. Right? So you blame good things on yourself—Or you take credit for good things, but for negative things, you attribute to the rest of the world. And that’s one where, you know, when I think about something, I really try to separate that out. I really try not to take too much credit for the good, nor try to put so much of the bad, some of the negative factors on the external world. I try to kind of have a much more balanced—I try to—because I know about this I’m biased. I try to think about how to have a really honest assessment about what my role in whatever the challenge was, was. And I found that helpful. 

And I actually—it’s actually my—almost my talking point for the year has been to tell people about this. Because I have been in a situation in business where it happened with a vendor, where they were blaming something on us that was—like their product failure. They’re like, well, you’re not using the product right. Look guys, it’s your product. Right? Like, you know, why would you not take ownership of your product, and like blaming your customer is not a good way to go, right? But—So I’d say that’s kind of the—how I think about reflection. I guess it’s an empirical question if I do it enough or not, it’s certainly it seems to be okay but I think that you have to—especially as you get more senior, as you get more senior, you really have to think carefully about what your role in things are. And to make sure that you’re having the appropriate amount of influence, how you’re doing that influencing, where you use more direct power, right? 

I used to be accused of being a bit -- my elbows were too sharp. My elbows are probably always gonna be too sharp for the level I’m at, but I think that my use of the elbows is much more surgical. Right? I’m not like whacking them around, I’m more like—I’m more just going… And it was funny, I have a staff member who works for me and he’s—I—Do you know this notion in a—like World of Warcraft in a multimassive, multiplaying—massively multiplayer role-playing game, you have roles, right? And one of the roles that people have is they’re called tanks, and a tank is basically like a character that is designed to take abuse, right? 

So that while everyone else is running around stealing the vorpal sword, you know, the enemy is beating on the tank. Right? He is that guy. People just beat on him and he just takes it and takes it and takes it. And he’s—has much more—much higher emotional intelligence than I have, right? His EQ is much higher. I think. Because he takes that stuff and he takes it with a lot of equanimity, right? He’s just like really cool about it. And somebody was taking advantage of him. And I said, dude, they’re taking advantage of you. He said, I know, what should I do? I said, you gotta throw the elbow, man. Like so there are times when like being the calm voice, right -- the tank, is not always the right thing, right? Sometimes you gotta go a little bit on the offensive. 

So I’ve tried to be more—I’ve tried to kind of take actually from him the “be cool,” right? And I’ve tried to be a little more tank-ish. But I’m much more surgical about my use of my elbows.

Mark Graham on How Reflecting at Work Improves Job Performance

In Chapter 12 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Mark Graham answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Working in digital media producing Internet content, Graham uses reflection to help his team grow and learn from its mistakes and successes.  Personally, Graham finds reflection valuable assessing achievements and reviewing how his personal relationships are growing over time. 

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at VH1, an MTV Networks company. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Mark Graham: Reflection is certainly very important. One of the great things that I really love about producing content for the internet is that everything is very, very measurable. At the end of every month, I put together a report for our team to show our team’s performance over that month in terms of which stories were popular, which stories got shared a lot, which videos got viewed the most. You know, really helping sort of us learn from our successes and also taking a look at projects that we had high hopes for that maybe fell a little bit flatter than we had originally pegged them to. 

So reflection in that particular aspect is certainly very important to me on a professional level, understanding, learning from our mistakes, helping to continue to grow for the future using the analytical tools we have available to us to be able to help motivate the team, show them things that they did well, and like I said, things that we continue to learn on. 

And my personal life it’s very important as well, you know, opportunities like this to sort of look back over the last year of your career, things that you achieved, things that you hoped you’d achieve and maybe didn’t quite get there, I think that that’s very important as well and it’s—you know, as someone who is sort of is constantly chronicling in their life on the internet through blog posts and Twitter feeds, and Tumblr posts, and Facebook—things like that. It’s always fun for me to sort of go back every couple of months and sort of take stock of what’s happened in my life, be thankful, be appreciative for the blessings that I have, the friends that I have, the relationships that I’ve made, both personally and professionally, and you know, it’s really I think important to take time to savor that stuff. That’s not to say to dwell on it or spend extensive amounts of time looking back at the past but, you know, I’m a fan of nostalgia, and it’s always good to look back at successes you’ve had and things you’ve done well and use them as motivation for the future.

Anatole Faykin on How Reflection Informs Personal Growth

In Chapter 3 of 12 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Faykin finds it hard to realize and define his growth without reflecting.  He prefers not to reflect alone; rather he enjoys having a friend's company and talking through what has happened and how it informs his present and future state. 

Anatole Faykin is an entrepreneur currently working on a new startup as part of the Startup Chile incubator program in Santiago, Chile.  Previously, Faykin founded Tuanpin, a Shanghai, China-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011. He has worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startups. He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Conrad Doucette on How Reflection Informs Personal Growth

In Chapter 4 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, musician Conrad Doucette answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  When Doucette looks back on his past, he reflects on decisions he did and did not make.  As he gets older, he finds he is better prepared to think through why he made those decisions and how to better prepare for the future. 

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for Takka Takka, which released its 3rd studio album, AM Landscapes, in late 2012.  He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts.  When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks.  Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

Matt Ruby on Finding Meaningful Work Expressing Yourself on Stage

In Chapter 13 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  Referencing what he shared in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Ruby defines meaningful work starting with the truth telling and story telling elements.  He adds that, at a deeper level, being able express himself on stage gives him a pulpit to share.  He follows up that moment of expression by reflecting on what he has done and learning from the experience.  Ruby talks about the flow state he is able to enter working the room. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian and comedy writer based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University.

Stacie Bloom: When to Step Back and Think About the Big Picture

In Chapter 8 of 18 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Neuroscience Institute Executive Director Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "When Are You at Your Best?"  Bloom notes how she benefits from taking a step back from the minutiae of daily live to get a strategic, big picture perspective and make decisions.  While she enjoys performing under pressure she notes the importance of gathering different insights to make the decision. She shares the experience of putting together the Neuroscience Institute for NYU Langone Medical Center. 

Stacie Grossman Bloom is Executive Director for the Neuroscience Institute at the NYU Langone Medical Center.  Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and, before that, held editorial roles at the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Medicine.  She earned her BA in chemistry and psychology from the University of Delaware, her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did post-doctoral training in Paul Greengard's Nobel Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  When are you at your best? 

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  I think I’m at my best when I’m under pressure. I think I’m at my best when I have the opportunity to think strategically and take a step back and look at the full picture. I think you know it’s very easy in any job to get very wrapped up in the day-to-day minutiae and all of the little details, it’s not so often that you have the opportunity to just take a deep breath, take a step back, assess the overall picture and make very strategic and important decisions. And I think those are the times when I’m at my best. 

Erik Michielsen:  How have you come to realize that over time? 

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  You know, I think when I started this job as executive director of the NYU Neuroscience Institute, there wasn’t a lot going on at the very, very beginning. We had to lay out all these plans and that was the time that I was thinking most big picture strategically, and then as it was rolling out we were hiring people, I was putting together the administrative infrastructure, we started recruiting the faculty and life became more about, you know, how do we on board this person? Where are the fire exits? You know, I have to go through this checklist for human resources and train all of these people? How do I get them on payroll? What are their scientific areas of interest? How do I transfer their grants over? And I realized, wow, I’m gonna get really wrapped up in these daily details, at least once a week, I need to stop, and think back at why are we here? What’s our vision? What’s our mission? How are we accomplishing it? What are the steps that we’re making? What are our major accomplishments? What are our goals? And allow myself the opportunity to think that way and give myself the time to work like that.

Stacie Bloom on Reflection-Informed Personal Growth

In Chapter 12 of 18 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Neuroscience Institute Executive Director Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Bloom shares how reflection has become more important as she gets older.  Now in her 30s, Bloom uses reflection to set more clear priorities in her work and her relationships. 

Stacie Grossman Bloom is Executive Director for the Neuroscience Institute at the NYU Langone Medical Center.  Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and, before that, held editorial roles at the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Medicine.  She earned her BA in chemistry and psychology from the University of Delaware, her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did post-doctoral training in Paul Greengard's Nobel Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  What role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth? 

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  I’ve become a much more sort of reflective person over time. I think, you know, I was in my 20’s, I was running around all the time, I was doing a million things, I didn’t really think about my actions, I just sort of lived for the moment. And now I realize I wanna create a legacy, and I wanna build a great Neuroscience Institute at NYU, I wanna help contribute to an effort that really will bring benefit to people’s lives, and in my own personal life. I want to have a successful relationship with my husband, and I wanna raise great kids. And a lot of that is looking into myself and my actions and my behaviors, and trying to make the best decisions that I can to make sure that I’m gonna be proud of my life.