#153 Beyond Mimetic Desires - Luke Burgis on the temptations of conformity, contemplating life in Starbucks, thick desires and thin desires, letting go of control, the importance of play, learning from different work cultures, his stay in Rome and becoming a father

83 snips

Jul 3, 2023

Guest

Luke Burgis

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Safe Route & Blame

Following the safe route offers a sense of security and blame avoidance.
CEOs hiring McKinsey exemplifies this, as it provides cover if things fail.

ANECDOTE

Prestige Bug

In NYC, Luke got infected by the "money bug," aiming for Wall Street riches.
He realized the emptiness of this pursuit quickly after starting his summer analyst job.

INSIGHT

External Validation

External validation from prestige never truly fills internal insecurity.
It creates a superficial golden layer, while inner emptiness persists.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Luke has a background on Wall Street and has founded 3 companies in Silicon Valley. He describes his adult life as a constant state of uncertainty. At some point, he took a classics course, which he completed in a 24-hour Starbucks in a couple of months while living in Las Vegas. This led to him to contemplate deeper questions, leaving "entrepreneur Luke" behind and spending 3 years in Rome. Luke is now a Professor at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship and has written a book — "WANTING: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life." The book is one of the best ones I've read in the past couple of years and we talk about some of the ideas in the book and how they intersect with Luke and my life.

🎥🍿 YOUTUBE: WATCH HERE

Links:

Personal website
Twitter: @lukeburgis
Luke's book: Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
Luke's Newsletter

⌛TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Intro

(02:16) - The scripts that Luke grew up with

(15:57) - Book publishing the temptations of conformity

(23:22) - The memetic desires & The romantic lie of our own desires

(28:52) - Doing the classics course after hours

(33:40) - The importance of play & Feeding the spirit

(36:27) - Thick Desires & Thin Desires

(46:10) - Creativity, Being open & Letting go of control

(50:36) - Learning from different work cultures & transcending the system

(57:46) - "The Three Cities Problem" — Reason, Faith & Technology

(01:06:07) - What’s next, preparing to be a father

(01:14:35) - Luke's path role models

(01:17:33) - Closing remarks

NEW: The Pathless Path Hardcover Premium Edition

📘 My 2nd Book Good Work: Learn More
📕 Buy My First Book, The Pathless Path (65k+ Sold): The Pathless Path
😁 Join 500+ In My Cozy Community: Pathless Path Community

📲Connect + Follow Paul

X: @p_millerd
Instagram: @pathlesspaul
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Pathless (26k+ People)
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

Accounting, Taxes, and Payroll for Your S-Corp (Ideal for $60k+ income): Collective
Looking for alternatives to traditional health insurance in the US? Check out Crowdhealth
I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Yours Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
I use and love the Readwise reader for notes and highlights: Join Here for a 2 month trial