Aron Ralston is an avid outdoorsman, author, and motivational speaker. In April of 2003, he dislodged a boulder while descending a slot canyon at Blue John Canyon, in Eastern Wayne County, Utah, crushing his hand and pinning it against a canyon wall. After five days of entrapment with little water and food, Aron resorted to amputating his arm in order to free himself. The incident is documented in his autobiographical memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place and is the subject of the Oscar-nominated film 127 Hours, directed by Danny Boyle, and starring James Franco. (from Aron’s site.)
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Fantastic conversation. Perhaps the thing I liked the most is the fact Aaron sounds like a totally normal individual. This ‘trial by fire’ (or rock) didn’t turn him into a Boddhitsava or an enlightened being; it just helped him see things much more clearly than most. Reminds me of how even those guys who survived the crashing of their plane in the middle of the Andes still suffered from problems of depression and addiction years after that grueling experience.
Speaking of rich fuckers who don’t treat their employees too well, Elon Musk is a terrible person. He’s a media hype job, a corporate mascot, like Steve Jobs. I don’t want to go into the whole thing with billions in state subsidies, tech that promises to save the environment but actually does the opposite and never even gets made anyway, etc etc. Suffice to say he’s the enemy.
The stages of grief part of the podcast and parts of the movie reminded me of the movie "The Edge" where Anthony Hopkins says that people lost in the wilderness die of shame. They dwell on everything they’ve done wrong instead of using their brains to make it out. Aron’s message is very similar. Great stuff.