Stuff I Learned Yesterday
About Stuff I Learned Yesterday
Stuff I Learned Yesterday is a podcast that aims to encourage, inspire, challenge, motivate, and improve the lives of those who listen to it. Stuff I Learned Yesterday is released each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each episode ranges from 5-15 minutes long and contain short stories based on real events and lessons learned by the hosts. Friday episodes are called the Friday Forum and are filled with inspirational and motivational thoughts submitted by Stuff I Learned Yesterday listeners. Submit your story for a Friday Forum episode by calling 304-837-2278, visiting our feedback page, or click on the Send a Voice Message button on the left hand side of this page.
264- Haters Gonna Hate, Hate, Hate
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:43 — 5.1MB) | Embed
We use the word hate way to often. “I hate Mondays,” “I hate my job,” “I hate Brussels sprouts,” “I hate that song”
Even young kids overuse it, “I hate my teacher,” “I hate homework,” and when they don’t get their way “I hate you”.
But is this term appropriate for all of these circumstances? Isn’t hate too strong a word? I mean, wars have broken out over hate. Hitler hated Jews, North Korea hated South Korea, Catholics and Protestants hated each other in Northern Ireland, and today ISIS hate the USA. Read More…
263- Confronted by Criticism
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:57 — 5.7MB) | Embed
Isn’t criticism great? Don’t you love it when someone criticizes you? My personal favorite is when I get criticized by someone who has no idea what they’re talking about. Okay, I’m not fooling anyone. Criticism stinks and we all know it.
When I made the decision to start podcasting, I never once thought about any criticism that might come in. It never even entered my mind. It didn’t take too long for some stinging comments to start coming in. Here are a few of them: Read More…
262- Friday Forum
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:38 — 5.5MB) | Embed
Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share contributions from Zachary and Faith. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More…
261- Looks Can Be Deceiving
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:32 — 7.8MB) | Embed
This past weekend my son and I went to an outdoors show in Ottawa, Canada’s Capital. There were exhibitors, displays and presentations about camping, canoeing and kayaking, mountain climbing, white water rafting and so much more. Ryan and I got to meet Kevin Callan, aka The Happy Camper who is known the world over for his outdoor experiences.
One highlight of the show was a huge central pool where various canoe and kayak demonstrations were held throughout the day. Ryan is a member of his university’s kayak club, so he was more interested in these presentations than I was. During one of the demos I found myself at the back of the crowd standing next to a man that had a huge bushy Grizzly Adams type beard, a threadbare military style jacket, old jeans and boots and a worn out ball cap on his head. For all intense and purpose he looked like he could be a homeless person there seeking shelter from the cold. Now, I know looks can be deceiving, and since I also knew how much tickets to the event cost, I figured he wasn’t some vagrant passing time. So, being the person I am, I struck up a conversation with him. I motioned to the pool and asked if he ever kayaked. He shook his head and told me canoes were more his thing. So I asked him where he liked to canoe and the conversation took off from there. Read More…
260- Seize the Day
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:10 — 7.1MB) | Embed
Inspiration is powerful, isn’t it? Inspiration is like a mighty river that brings life to the world around us. Mark was inspired to podcast because of me. I was inspired to podcast because of Cliff Ravenscraft. Cliff was inspired to podcast because of Leo Laporte. Inspiration that started with Leo trickled to others…MANY others. I can’t even begin to count the number of people who have been inspired by Cliff. His influence is tremendous. Read More…
259- Friday Forum
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:29 — 6.4MB) | Embed
Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a contribution from Bonita. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More…
258- Unplugging From The World
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:07 — 5.3MB) | Embed
Early evening found the four of us getting ready to watch a movie. Hunger Games Mocking Jay part 1 in case you’re interested. While sitting in our living room, waiting for everyone to join me I decided to take out my iPhone to check what NHL hockey games were going on that night. I saw my Toronto Maple Leafs would be playing the Calgary Flames and I thought they may even have a chance against them. I read a couple of articles pertaining to the upcoming game, then checked Twitter and Facebook. At one point I glanced up wondering when we were going to start the movie only to see my wife and both my kids also sitting in the living room. All three were looking at their phones. I had been so focused on my iPhone that I hadn’t even realized any of them had joined me. I made a decision then and there, that for the entire weekend I would be unplugging my cellphone. I went into the settings panel and turned off both data and wifi, blocking my iPhone from the world, in effect turning it into a… well, just a normal plain old cordless phone, imagine that. I then set it “do not disturb”. Read More…
257- Stuff I’ve Learned
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:45 — 6.5MB) | Embed
By now I think most of you know the story of how this podcast came to be, but just in case you don’t, or you need a refresher, this is for you.
I cut my teeth on podcasting by doing podcasts on TV, film, and technology with the primary focus being on TV. Obviously that’s still the major thing we do here at Golden Spiral Media. However, after talking about those things for over 5 years, I had a desire to do something else. It wasn’t a desire to stop talking about that other stuff, it was a desire to talk about a wider variety of things. Read More…
256- Friday Forum
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:55 — 6.1MB) | Embed
Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a contribution from Barb. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More…
255- Going Through Life With Blinders On
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:29 — 4.4MB) | Embed
We have a metal gazebo on our deck. In the spring, summer and fall, it shelters us from the sun while we sit on our outdoor furniture. In the winter months, when our furniture is put away, we hang a bird feeder from a ceiling hook in it’s centre. The feeder is mostly protected from the elements and having it so close to the house allows us to watch our feathered friends from the warm comfort of our kitchen and living room.
We watch sparrows, chickadees, finches, nuthatches as well as the odd woodpecker as they feed on the black oil sunflower seeds we put out. Some mornings there could be as many as 30 or 40 birds coming and going from the feeder at any one time.
Last week, while watching with my wife, she wondered if the birds ever got tired of eating the same thing over and over. She decided to look up online what other things we could feed them and as luck would have it, we had many of the suggested menu items in our pantry. My wife filled a bowl with tasty bird treats and trudged through our snow filled deck to put the bowl on the ground beneath the feeder. Read More…