dave radparvar

open by wonder

“I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.”

-Gerry Spence

(I came across this quote on the background of @dan_gould’s twitter page. Absolutely love it.)

Holstee Manifesto

Here is the Holstee manifesto. It is a combination of thoughts and feeling that have been floating around my head for quite a while now. With a few tweaks from Mike and Fabian it was complete. It really captures our personal feelings and vision for what Holstee can mean to people. So with out any further introduction, here it is. (As always please let me know your thoughts!):

HOLSTEE MANIFESTO

This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over-analyzing; life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once: seize them. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people. We are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Life is short. Live your dream, and wear your passion.

Download “The Manifesto”

the mind is grounded in flight

Last week after returning from a trip to the west coast to visit our family and do a bit of leg work for Holstee I was discussing with mike how inspired and empowered I felt.

Its incredible how a small diversion from the daily predictable flow of a sequential lifestyle can yield such inspiring productivity. Much of this is because we are often forced into a reactionary personal and professional life…but more on my concept of reactionary later – it deserves its own post.

Back to flying. Its funny, every time I fly no matter where I am going or what is happening at that point of my life I have a mini epiphany. The freedom from reality – no cell phone, no email, no RSS feeds, no twitter –> no information overload. It allows me to take a step back and look at myself (ironically – as I write this while flying) from above.

Its also a time that my imagination and thoughts run wild. I am currently flying to SF and decided to bring David Kelly’s ‘The Art of Innovation’ to read during the flight. I read the ‘10 Faces of innovation’ a while back and had been meaning to read this for a while but waited till I finished ‘Blink’. I am finding the book highly relevant but super challenging to make progress in. Every few paragraphs I get lost in a day-dream.

Dreams are great. In fact I think imagination plays a more critical role in success than people give it credit for. I was recently listening to Brian Johnson’s ‘Philosophers Notes’ podcast. He read a fascinating quote they outlined the following concept: If your mind can dream it than it is only natural that your body can create it.

I was momentarily stunted when I first heard him read the quote. I thought that it was surely for the birds and I began to think of examples, but the more I thought the more I was convinced. Its true, anything someone is able to dream of they are able to create. The difference is the details.

Lets look at history. A while back someone dreamed of going to the moon. People probably laughed. But once you break down the process down to the very last screw and nut which keeps the astronaut in place while taking off it becomes tangible – fantasy becomes reality.

On a natural, almost evolutionary, level I think its only natural that we can only think of what we can actually achieve. Our greatest talent among our companions in the animal kingdom is our mind. We aren’t great swimmers, climbers, runners, or even the best communicators, but we have a level of imagination and critical thinking which has yet to be seen at the same level in other species.

We must harness this talent. I am a true believer that every person has something they offer that they offer better than anyone else in the world has or ever could have. I don’t think these talents are instantly identifiable, and I am not sure that the need to be because indirectly you will use your talent as it is needed, by the people around you that need it.

You could have a mind wired to constantly smile, or a brutally honest analytical sense – in either case you are able to impact other peoples lives. I just hope people use their talents unknowingly or not to create a positive impact sharing positive energy with everyone they connect with.

Love & Ideas

“Logic and over-analysis can immobilize  and sterilize an idea. It’s like love – the more you analyze it, the faster it disappears.”

-Bernbach

2 keys to satisfaction

I have realized these two ideals are the driving force for my life, the combination of both has helped me achieve the most satisfaction in my existence.

Learn to question everything.

There are no absolutes – no truths, only interpretations.

Learn to appreciate everything.

Whether you love it or hate it, there is something to be learned and taken away. In this ‘take-away’ there is value, which should be appreciated.

the price of a lesson

“Lessons are cheap, not learning from them is expensive.”

- Me

compassion is fun

i found this video both true and inspirational:

the more i see

“The more I see, the less I know.”
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers

 The more i see:

I am a huge fan of looking up at the stars and for me this quote captures the feeling I get when I look up at stars very well. There is nothing more humbling than looking up at the stars. It makes you realize how small the earth is in relation to the universe, how small the country you are in in relation to the world, how small the state you are in is in relation to the country and how small you are in relation to the state. Then you can take the final step and see how small you are in relation to the universe.

The less i know:

In the same moment of realizing how small one is in the universe, one can also realize how little they actually know. This universe is filled with knowledge and opportunities to learn. However there is just too much to learn, so we tend to focus. We learn about the areas we are in, and the trades that we make on a daily basis. But there is so much knowledge each person in every corner of the earth has, and knowing I will never be able to learn everything is frustrating. Then coming to realize that the earth is such a small part of the universe, and questioning how much more knowledge is floating around the unexplored universe is even more humbling.

(This quote is from the RHCP song Hey (Snow), I think this is a great line. I did a little bit of further reading, it seems as though John Lennon made a very similar quote earlier. In any case I am not too concerned with who said it first.)

uncovering old philosophies

i was just doing some PC cleaning and I came across a small philosophical piece i wrote in 2002 (about 16 yrs old). I think its an interesting piece. I no longer agree completely with this view it at this point, but i never the less find it to be thought provoking. I especially find it interesting to look back and think about what things were going on in my life at that time, and thinking about the reasons why i may have written it.

here it is, unedited (grammer mistakes included )

 
Spontaneous Philo (2002)

LIVING LIFE

  TEMPORARY GOAL OF LIFE[1]:

 Achieve the greatest amount of positive live emotion with the least amount of stress.

 There are three various ways in which one can go through life. 

                        Living Life

                        Losing Life

                        Controlling Life

 1) The first is living your life.  By this I mean that a person acts when acted upon, and makes no real plan or scheme for success yet still works hard when opportunity arises.  This person experiences all emotions in the real and is not thoroughly prepared for any emotion.  By “living life” one experiences the greatest feeling and a stress free life yet not necessarily a successful life by today’s high standards.  The most simplistic example of this is a man who works an average job and instead of hustling to make more money through more hours or a second job this man is satisfied with his level of input and output. This man does not plan, scheme or use great intellect to acquire his goals instead he acts primarily on instinct. 

 The next two ways to go through life are extremes and are completely opposite in theory.  Yet because of the nature of the extremities they will ultimately yield the same result.    

 2) The next is losing you life.  This occurs when one becomes completely careless in the quest for success in life.  This person cares not about there future yet only for the exact moment the live in.  This person will not even have the opportunity for success because they don’t want it bad enough.  Because this apathetic person did not thrive for luxuries in life they do not possess any, thus leading to the majority of their feelings being that of depression. 

 3) The third and final is controlling life. While it seems as though this is the ideal way to live in truth it is not. By planning the future and acting on plan instead of instinct one can find themselves lost in emotion.  Elaboration: By deciding every word you say before you say it can lead to a detachment from the emotion every word carries.  By scheming the outcomes of situations people disengage from reality and enter a game. The person that “controls” their life never experiences life in the real, and while they may be successful through every possible window inside they have never felt true emotions of pain or suffering. 

 Now that all is said and done find where you reside; I assume not many people who are losing the game know it and there for can’t admit it.  Although those who are sure they are controlling their own lives may want to reassess their goals of life, and if they truly are happy. 

 The best place to be is between living and controlling.  It is hard to say which is more important because in terms of happiness they go hand in hand.  

 People can not achieve great happiness after working hard for success throughout there life.  Is it more important to enjoy life now or later?  Keep in mind that fate is indeterminable and people may die and lose their later.  Although don’t let this be a trigger to completely live for the now and temporary enjoy all time; this most definitely will lead to losing life.  It is extremely difficult to implement a new way to live life after years of another way, yet these are all things to keep in mind when trying to get the most out of the time we have to spend here. 

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[1] Temporary because I have yet to come up with the ultimate goal of life.

clearing my head

I had a lot on my mind the last few days, so i just now decided to take some of it off, literally…I gave myself a haircut

 It is the shortest it has ever been. I did it all with a buzzer, GI jane style, it was pretty fun. Note: I didn’t really cut my hair cause I had a lot on my mind, I just cut it because I find it a great challenge to cut my own hair and I like challenges. Plus it always grows back, so it’s the ultimate artisitic canvas. You cant mess up and if u do, it will correct itself over time.

 As to the things floating around my head…my internship is coming sadly to an end at the end of the month. I have truly enjoyed my time at XING especially with the guys in my “Block”. I have also begun to think about my plans for the summer.  I will most likely be travelling through France on my own and staying with other friendly and open minded travellers through couchsurfing.com . This should really help me keep costs low, as I am travelling for an extended period of time, on an extremely tight budget. After France, there is a possibility of road tripping through Ireland, with my friend Neevus. And if the opportunity exists, perhaps island hoping with the original ‘Factor’.

 I have also begun to think about my thesis paper for my school here in Germany. It is supposed to be about 40 pages. For me, the most important thing is that I find the topic interesting and it is something that will be directly useful for me and its readers. I would like whatever I write about to have an actual value off paper. For example, a business concept put to action.

 I have also started investing for shorter term gains through zecco.com. My current strategy isn’t anything new. I keep up to date on industries that interest me and check out the historical trends of companies I am interested in. I do a bit of technical analysis. Invest a little money and hope for positive news releases. It makes for a fun hobby and I have already learned a lot about the game. It is important to be able keep a clear head in times of great gain or loss. Reminds me of a quote from the film ‘Blow’:

 “…when you’re up, it’s never as good as it seems, and when you’re down, you never think you’ll be up again, but life goes on.”

 I have also begun to think about my options after college. A lot of this decision is dependent on my last semester of university in Boston, starting in January. It seems like forever since I was on campus at NU and I am not sure what to expect when I get back academically and socially. The fact that I was able to become comfortable in a new language and experience a new culture in the short period, that will amount to about a year and a half is very satisfying. And something that I would like to challenge myself to again. I would love to test myself again, in somewhere even more remote and foreign to me, perhaps in Asia, Africa, or south America. However the thought of settling somewhere more home feeling is also very appealing. There are many things I want to do, but I put off until I am able to truly embrace them (or at least have a house to keep them in), for example, kite-surfing is something I am eager to try, as well as drums, larger paintings, perhaps sailing (sport sailing a hobie cat), more skateboarding, and rock climbing, to name a few. I suppose there is always a middle ground between the options and that is most likely how they will develop. It is just difficult to foresee an outcome in this point in time.