Reviving Excellence: The Return of Live Well and Flourish

The revival of *Live Well and Flourish* is predicated upon the profound realization that the pursuit of an excellent life is not merely a matter of planning, but rather an emergent process that unfolds organically. I have returned to this podcast after a hiatus, motivated by a rekindled desire to engage deeply with the concept of living a life imbued with meaning and purpose. This revival seeks not only to reflect on my own journey but also to assist listeners in navigating their paths toward flourishing. I acknowledge that the essence of an excellent life transcends material success, emphasizing a life of virtue and fulfillment that arises in response to life's inherent unpredictability. As we embark on this renewed exploration, I am committed to providing insights that resonate with your own quest for excellence, fostering a collective journey toward a more meaningful existence.

The inaugural episode of the revitalized Live Well and Flourish podcast delves into the profound motivations behind its return, as articulated by host Craig Van Slyke. He reflects on a period of personal disillusionment that led to the podcast's hiatus, revealing a deep-seated yearning for a more meaningful engagement with the concept of an excellent life. Van Slyke's candid exploration of his own struggles with purpose and fulfillment resonates with listeners who may have encountered similar challenges in their own lives. The episode sets a contemplative tone, inviting the audience to join him in a quest for deeper understanding and personal growth.

A pivotal theme in this discourse is the concept of the ‘emergent life,’ which stands in stark contrast to the rigid structures often associated with conventional success. Van Slyke posits that true excellence arises from fostering conditions that allow for organic growth and self-discovery. This philosophy encourages listeners to abandon the constraints of a preordained life plan and to embrace the unfolding nature of their own journeys. By prioritizing virtue and purpose, the podcast aims to equip individuals with the practical wisdom necessary to navigate the complexities of modern existence.

In addition to philosophical reflections, the episode introduces structural changes to the podcast format, including the incorporation of dialogues with ChatGPT, an AI entity that will serve as a conversational partner in select episodes. This innovative approach aims to foster richer discussions and provide listeners with diverse perspectives on the topics at hand. Van Slyke expresses his commitment to delivering insightful content that not only informs but also inspires listeners to actively engage in their own pursuits of an excellent life, thereby reinforcing the podcast's mission of using practical wisdom to cultivate personal excellence.

Takeaways:

• The revival of Live Well and Flourish aims to assist individuals in their quest for an excellent life by providing reflective and insightful content.
• This podcast emphasizes the importance of understanding that an excellent life is not merely planned, but rather emerges organically through lived experiences.
• The host expresses a personal journey of rediscovering purpose through the podcast, highlighting the significance of meaningful engagement in living well.
• Future episodes will feature dialogues with an AI co-host, fostering dynamic conversations that explore various topics related to flourishing in life.
• A central theme of the podcast is that living an excellent life involves setting conditions rather than adhering to rigid plans, especially relevant in tumultuous times.
• Listeners are encouraged to actively engage with the content, as the podcast seeks to provide valuable insights that contribute to a fulfilling life.

Links referenced in this episode:

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the first episodeof the revival of Live well and Flourish.
In this episode, I'll sharewhy I'm bringing back the podcast
after its hiatus, explain someexciting changes to the format, and
most importantly, talk abouthow this revival will help you on
your journey to living anexcellent life.

(00:28):
Welcome to Live well andFlourish, where I help you understand
what it means to live aflourishing life.
I'm your host, Craig Van Slyke.
If you're ready to thinkbeyond material.
And external success, ifyou're ready to.
Take control of who you areand the kind of life you live, if
you're ready to flourish, thisis the podcast for you.

(00:48):
Welcome to the revival of Livewell and Flourish.
I put the podcast on hiatus afew months ago because I kind of
felt burned out.
Producing the podcast justwasn't fulfilling anymore.
Over time, however, I foundthat I missed thinking about how
to live an excellent life.
But bringing back Live welland Flourish adds about more than

(01:08):
an excuse to think deep thoughts.
I realized that I wasn'tfulfilling my purpose anymore.
At least not sufficiently.
My purpose in life is to helpothers live excellent lives of meaning
and purpose.
Although I pursued thatpurpose in a variety of ways for
several years, Live well andFlourish was a huge part of living
my purpose.

(01:29):
Because I wasn't sufficientlypursuing my purpose anymore.
I felt an odd sense of.
I'm not even sure how I canexpress the feeling.
It was this weird sense ofsomething being off deep in my soul.
Yeah, I know how that sounds,but that's really the best way I
can express it.
Something just wasn't beingnourished in my soul.

(01:51):
Something fundamental in mylife was off.
The only big change I couldidentify was Live well and Flourish,
no longer being a part of my life.
So Live well and Flourish isreturning driven by two underlying
motivations.
My desire to reflect moredeeply on living an excellent life
and my fundamental need tofulfill my purpose.

(02:13):
While these motivations mightseem a little self focused, I'm not
sure that matters because I am100% convinced that you and others
will benefit by listening.
Yeah, maybe some episodeswon't resonate with you, but I'd
be willing to bet that you'llget something out of each episode,
even if it's just confirmationof what you already know.

(02:35):
There are going to be a fewchanges to Live well and Flourish,
but nothing that fundamentallyalters its purpose.
One thing that will change isthat I'm taking the perspective that
an excellent life, a life ofvirtue, purpose and fulfillment,
isn't planned.
It emerges.
I'll talk more about this ideain the next episode, but for now

(02:55):
I'll just say that theemergent life is the polar opposite
of the grind culture.
The emergent life focuses onsetting conditions for living an
excellent life rather thanplanning one out, and that can be
especially useful in turbulenttimes like now.
This second change is going tosound odd, but stay with me.

(03:15):
Doing a solo podcast is kindof tough in some ways.
The host me?
I have to carry the whole load.
It's easy to fall into thetrap of being preachy, which is something
I think happened to Live welland Flourish.
I started to feel like I waslecturing to you rather than talking
with you.
That's not great, unless thehost is incredibly talented, which

(03:38):
I am not.
But having a co host orbringing on guests, well, that has
its own set of challenges andediting, unpredictability in a bad
way, scheduling and production complexity.
I do two other podcasts, onewith a co host and one with a co
host and guests.
Those podcasts serve theirpurposes pretty well, but Live well

(04:00):
and Flourish is ultimately anintimate peek into my brain, or maybe
my soul.
It is intently personal, so cohosts and guests don't really work.
Although I may invite somepeople to join me from time to time.
I was faced with a dilemma.
Neither solo nor co hosted,nor guests quite work for Live well

(04:22):
and Flourish.
So what should I do?
Here's where it gets weird again.
Please stay with me.
This is going to sound like atangent, but there's a point.
In the last couple of years,I've become enamored or maybe obsessed
with generative AI like ChatGPT.
In fact, I write a newsletterand co host a podcast on AI in higher
education called AI Goes to College.

(04:45):
What does this have to do withLive well and Flourish's revival?
Well, I think I'm going tohave an occasional co host.
ChatGPT.
ChatGPT has a very coolcapability called Advanced Voice
that lets you have veryrealistic conversations with the
AI Chatbot.
I swear, it seems real sometimes.

(05:06):
For some episodes, ChatGPT,who I'm going to call CG and I will
talk about topics that requiresome back and forth to nail down.
Solo episodes will be straightforward.
Get to the point.
Get out.
Conversations with CG will beless structured.
The discussions will flownaturally, going back and forth,

(05:27):
sometimes following twistypaths to get to something important.
After each of theseconversations, I'll do a recap at
the end to try to pulleverything together.
My conversations with CGaren't going to be some parlor trick
that lets me show off.
They're a way to show howideas can emerge through dialogue.

(05:47):
More importantly, they're away to make you a part of the journey
in a little bit different way,even if it's just listening in on
our conversations.
I think of these conversationsas kind of coffee shop chats with
someone who's really wellread, thoughtful, smart, and perhaps
most importantly, tolerant ofmy meandering thought processes as

(06:08):
I try to figure things out.
Frankly, I really don't knowhow any of this will play out.
I just know that it will beinteresting and I'm confident that
the right path will emergeover time.
So here's what you can expectLive well and flourish is returning
with some changes, but itsheart remains the same, helping you

(06:29):
live an excellent life.
The underlying philosophy isthat an excellent life of virtue,
purpose and fulfillment emerges.
It cannot be planned out and forced.
Finally, sometimes it'll justbe me, and sometimes I'll have conversations
with ChatGPT CG here's mypromise to you.

(06:49):
I'll do my very best toprovide insights that will help you
live an excellent life.
I'll do my part, but you'llneed to do yours as well.
We'll talk more about that inthe future.
For now, I very much hopeyou'll join me on the path to living
a life in which excellenceemerges naturally and and beautifully.