Ep 4 - George Philip LeBourdais: Exploring the Arctic Circle to Finding Meaning in Life

Meet George Philip LeBourdais, who also goes by GP, and is a Stanford Ph.D. in the History of Art & Architecture. He's also studied aesthetic judgement on a Fulbright Grant in Switzerland and curated the Stanford Digital Humanities lab for two years. He's currently the Head of Partnerships at Polygence, a research academy dedicated to providing high school students with research opportunities.

GP shares fascinating stories from his dissertation, from challenging the norm by applying new computational methods to Art History to actually exploring the Arctic Circle. He talks through instances of self-doubt and systems he's built to overcome them, including free writing, transcribing dreams, and meditation. He breaks down the principles he lives his life by, from being in the moment to not getting affected by external circumstances and how he's reached a place of contentment. Listen to the episode to gain some truly insightful and powerful techniques to living a more meaningful life.

Resources:

The Five Agreements (Ruiz): https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-Agreement-Practical-Self-Mastery-Toltec/dp/1878424610

Icebergs and Creativity (GP): https://thepointmag.com/criticism/icebergs

GP's Links

Website: https://www.georgephiliplebourdais.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/glebourd (@glebourd)

Email: gp@polygence.org

Contact Us:

Akash Shroff: https://linktr.ee/akashvshroff

Arihant Choudhary: https://www.arihantchoudhary.com

Parth Behani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parth-behani

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:07 - GP's Art History Dissertation on the Arctic Circle

08:43 - Experience with Climate Change and it's Narratives

13:40 - Systems for Productivity and Overcoming Self-doubt

19:35 - Sacrifices and Contentment

25:04 - College Life, Triple Majoring

27:20 - Time management and Scheduling

33:20 - The Power of Boredom, Productivity Slumps

39:54 - Guilty Pleasures, VR Games

44:03 - Parting Message & Finding your Sense of Purpose