🔑 Key Takeaways
- The Beastie Boys' journey from early misogyny to personal growth and the importance of taking risks, meditation, and managing grief in achieving success.
- The Beastie Boys' journey from a wild, celebrity image to a more intentional and introspective musical style was prompted by negative effects of fame and manipulation by record labels, and their ability to recognize and adapt to change.
- The Beastie Boys took back control of their image and reinvented themselves as true to their values, prioritizing their love for music over being a mere circus act. Their privilege allowed for a realization of their impact and made room for positive change.
- Balancing creative freedom and commercial success can be challenging, but valuing personal connections and utilizing newfound artistic freedom can ultimately lead to success.
- Failure is not something to be ashamed of, but an essential ingredient for learning and growth. Encouraging children to make mistakes and embracing courage is crucial for their development.
- Creating is not an easy process. It requires refinement, suffering, and the willingness to take risks. Embrace early failure, keep pushing through, and follow your calling for a fulfilling creative journey.
- Adam Yolk's advocacy for Free Tibet was inspired by his encounters with the Tibetan people and his commitment to the Dalai Lama's teachings. His concise explanation of Buddhism offers a powerful message for anyone seeking clarity, compassion, and transformation.
- Letting go of ego can bring out kindness, clarity, calm, compassion, and connection. Anyone can benefit from Buddhism, even famous musicians like Adam Yauch. By sharing relatable Buddhist teachings, the Beastie Boys hope to inspire a more fulfilled life.
- Incorporating meditation practices like TMR and yoga in one's routine can help in calming the nervous system and reaching a state beyond ego which can aid in coping with uncertainty and high-energy demands in life.
- Practicing meditation and yoga can provide a sense of something beyond the ego and bring balance and stability to our lives. Consistent practice can lead to glimpses of transcendence and a connection to something greater than ourselves.
- Coping with life's challenges is difficult for everyone, but communication through music can be healing. Seeking professional help and supportive relationships can be an effective way to navigate life's difficulties.
- By practicing meditation and loving-kindness, we can become more patient and mature in navigating difficult situations. We can learn to view negative thoughts and emotions with warmth and avoid getting stuck in a shame spiral. By understanding the concept of the second arrow, we can strive to change our relationship with pain and use it as an opportunity for growth. Talk therapy and meditation can both be useful in this process.
- Using tools like loving kindness meditation and having a supportive community can transform how we navigate difficult situations. It's important to prioritize spending time in nature and develop a vocabulary to overcome negative feelings. Learning from uncomfortable moments can strengthen relationships.
- Taking time to immerse yourself in nature or creative activities like music-making can bring profound appreciation for life's unique moments and the impact of our creative expression on others.
- Creating music with friends is a special experience that can resonate with others, while listening to music with loved ones can bring people closer together. Keep asking questions and discovering new things about your friends, even after years of friendship.
📝 Podcast Summary
Mike D from the Beastie Boys on Personal Development, Music History, and Overcoming Failure
In this 10% Happier Podcast, Dan Harris interviews Mike D, one of his personal musical heroes, from the Beastie Boys band. They talk about how Mike D reconciled the misogyny of their early work, how they freed themselves from feeling imprisoned by their own personas, the role of failure in success, the value of taking risks when you're being creative, the influence of meditation and yoga on their music and parenting, and how they managed grief in the wake of the untimely death of Adam Yolk. The conversation is a mix of nostalgia, music history, and personal development. Harris admits to being a fan from junior high, at the Worcester Centrum, where he saw some of their early concerts.
The Evolution of the Beastie Boys: From Wild to Introspective
The Beastie Boys journeyed from being immersed in music, to becoming celebrities in the culture they had always dreamed of. The success of Licensee and the money generated from it led to the band being manipulated by the label they were assigned to, causing conflict with Russell Simmons of Def Jam. This led to the band's transformation from a wild and crazy group to more introspective and intentional music, such as Bodhi Sava and Shambala on Ill communication. The transformation was prompted by the negative effects of fame and being manipulated by others. Ultimately, the Beastie Boys' musical journey has been shaped by their environment, success, and ability to recognize and adapt to change.
Beastie Boys Take Control of Their Image
The Beastie Boys felt imprisoned by the personas they had created, which were being taken too seriously by the world. They realized they didn't want to just be a circus act as a job and wanted to get back to making what they loved. They had to take the band back and re-invent themselves, ultimately becoming closer friends. They were able to do this because of their privileged upbringing, where they were taught that they had a voice and that their opinions mattered. They also realized that joking about being misogynistic on a record could empower people to act that way, which didn't feel good. Inventing their own myth felt freeing, but they didn't want to be manipulated into doing something that wasn't true to them.
Collaboration, Friendship, and Artistic Freedom: The Beastie Boys' Journey to Success and Failure
Collaboration and freedom can produce great artistic works, but commercial success can be unpredictable. The Beastie Boys valued their friendship and mutually enjoyed spending time together, which allowed them to work through creative differences. They found success with their first album, but faced challenges with their second because they were free of any external pressure or influence. Though Paul's Boutique was a commercial failure, over time it became a beloved record. The Beastie Boys were grateful for the experience and perspective it gave them, and were able to thrive creatively and artistically due to their newfound artistic freedom.
The importance of embracing failure and taking risks for personal and professional growth.
Failure is not a bad thing, but rather a key ingredient for growth and success. The fear of failure is instilled in us from childhood, particularly when it comes to academic performance, leading to a belief that failure is shameful and something to be avoided. However, embracing failure and taking risks is essential for learning and growth, both personally and professionally. This applies not just to individuals, but to the upbringing of children as well. Allowing children to make their own mistakes and learn from them is crucial for their development. Courage is also a key factor in embracing failure and taking risks, and it is important to recognize and acknowledge it as such.
The Struggle of Creating: Suffering, Refinement, and Taking Risks
Creating something is embarrassing and requires a lot of refinement and suffering. Early drafts of creative work may suck, but it's necessary to go through the process of refining and improving it. There is no instant gratification when it comes to creating, especially in the written word. One needs to keep pushing through and suffer for art. Failure can pave the way for greater artistic freedom. Taking risks and following one's calling can lead to courage and new experiences that may even enrich the creative process.
How Adam Yolk's Trekking Journey Led Him to Become an Advocate for Free Tibet
Adam Yolk's experiences with Tibetans on his trekking journey exposed him to Buddhist concepts and the political plight of Tibetans, leading him to become an advocate for their cause. He embraced the teachings of the Dalai Lama not just philosophically but in a principled, courageous, and heart-centered way. This led him to organize the first huge charity concert for Free Tibet in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, with tens of thousands of people attending. Yolk's concise explanation of Buddhism as a manual to achieve enlightenment and a system that Tibetans have figured out is a powerful message for everyone seeking clarity, compassion, and transformation.
The benefits of a quiet mind through Buddhism in everyday life
Quieting the monkey mind by clearing away the ego's noise allows for the good stuff to come out - kindness, clarity, calm, compassion, connection. This is the aim of Buddhism, which is designed to make us happier and better people. Even those who may lead a worldly life, like Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, can be drawn to this philosophy and benefit from it. The band members themselves feel lucky to exist and continue to create and comment on their experiences from a genuine place. By distilling Buddhist information in a relatable way, they hope to inspire others to lead richer, more passionate lives.
Meditation as a Tool for Coping with High-Energy Demands
Mike, one of the members of the Beastie Boys, practices TMR (Transcendental Meditation) as a way of coping with the high-energy demands of performing on stage. Buddhism resonated with his bandmate and he went to India to study yoga which helped him in calming his nervous system and taking him to a place outside of the ego. Practicing routine in life and having a spiritual or meditative game is helpful to cope with uncertain situations. Meditation practices like TMR and yoga can be helpful tools to calm the nervous system and to take a person to a place outside of ego.
Finding Transcendence through Meditation and Yoga
Meditation and yoga provide glimpses of something beyond the ego, a transcendental experience that is part of an ancient lineage of practices and postures. These practices have survived for thousands of years, likely because they provide a sense of something much bigger beyond ourselves. Similar to the transcendent feeling achieved through music collaboration, these practices can help bring balance and stability to our lives that may be filled with adrenaline and ego exercise like being a correspondent in war zones or being a musician on tour. It's important to keep showing up and practicing as it can lead to glimpses of transcendence.
Coping with Intense Experiences: Musicians and War Correspondents.
Musicians and war correspondents face similar challenges of coping with intense experiences and trying to find meaning in their lives after those experiences. The adrenaline and sense of transcendence in music can be addictive and healing for some individuals. Communication through music can be a healing tool, as shown by the example of two friends playing together after a tragic loss. Coping with loss and change can be difficult, but seeking out professional help and supportive relationships can be an effective way to navigate life's challenges.
How Meditation and Loving-Kindness Practices Help us Let go of Resentful Behaviors and Self-Victimization
Meditation and loving kindness practices can help us let go of resentful behaviors and self-victimization. They infuse us with patience and equanimity and help us become more mature in dealing with situations. We can view our negative thoughts and emotions with warmth and move on, rather than getting stuck in a shame spiral. The concept of the second arrow highlights that we should not add voluntary pain to the situations that life presents us with. Instead, we should strive to change our relationship with that pain, which can lead to growth. Both talk therapy and meditation can be important tools in this regard.
The Importance of Loving Kindness Meditation, Community, and Nature in Prioritizing Life and Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Having a tool like loving kindness meditation can quickly change the dynamics of the situation. It's important to have smart people around you to give you a compassionate smack on the snout or supportive words that redirect you away from your shame. Community plays a huge factor in overall happiness, and being in nature, like surfing and being in the ocean, can be a transformational experience and help prioritize life. It's crucial to have a vocabulary for things that make us not feel great, and to figure out what to do to overcome those feelings. Skylar's credit for calling out when he was uncomfortable is a proud parenting moment, and it's crucial to learn from such moments and move on to maintain healthy relationships with loved ones.
The power of creative expression and connecting with nature.
Getting out of your head and immersing yourself in nature or other activities like music, yoga or meditation can take you to a profound place of appreciation. Every moment is unique and we are not in control. The experience of creative expression like music-making does not end after the production of the music. Once the creative expression leaves the artist's control, it becomes a master record that people buy in a store or stream through their phones. The impact lies in the experience of the listener and their interpretation. The creative expression can be a transmission from a more sophisticated world than the one we inhabit.
The Meaning and Impact of Music in Our Lives
Music is a powerful medium that can add meaning to people's lives and become a part of their identities. Creating music with friends can be a fulfilling and serendipitous experience that resonates with others beyond just a single song. The process, karma, work, and nanoseconds leading up to that moment are crucial. While it's difficult to explain or understand, the band is lucky and grateful that their music has become a part of people's lives. Listening to music with loved ones can be a wonderful bonding experience. The podcast also highlights that even long-time friends can learn new things about each other, and it's never too late to ask questions.
