Episode Details
February 15, 2025
32 minutes
- Defining Solitude and Its Importance – Doug and Jeremy discuss the power of solitude and why it’s essential in today’s fast-paced, work-focused world.
- Setting Boundaries for Solitude – How Doug and Jeremy have learned to carve out personal time in their lives amidst busy work schedules and family commitments.
- Work-Life Balance Challenges – The struggles Doug and Jeremy face in maintaining a balance between professional demands and personal time, and their journey to improve.
- The Impact of Solitude on Relationships – How solitude affects their relationships with their wives and children, and the areas where they’re still working to improve.
- Personal Growth Through Solitude – Jeremy shares how taking time for himself during a tough period led to better mental health and stronger relationships.
Featured Quotes
"Taking time for solitude isn’t just about being alone, it’s about creating the mental space to reconnect with what truly matters."
Jeremy Axel
"In the business world, we’re often consumed by the hustle. But finding moments of calm can make you more productive and more present for the people you care about."
Doug Cox
Episode Transcript And Overview
A lot of us live in a world on nonstop work and focus, but this can often be self-imposed. Learning to set aside time for solitude and calmness can improve your mental state, your relationships, and your productivity. In this episode, Doug and Jeremy discuss solitude and explain how they have come to cultivate it in their lives.
Jeremy and Doug begin by discussing their work, and how it often keeps them from having time to themselves. They discuss some of the boundaries that they have set to make time for solitude, and the areas they still have for improvement. They also explore how solitude (or lack thereof) has affected their relationships with their wives and children.
Timeline Notes
Today’s episode is about cultural intelligence, which is very relevant in today’s world an can be a blind spot for those of us who grew up in smaller towns. Jeremy and Doug gained most of their cultural intelligence in college as they met new people and gained awareness.
The talent that Fluent Conveyors sees and aligns itself with culturally is more global and culturally diverse than ever. That may be intimidating for a lot of organizations that want to create a homogenous environment.
Jeremy wants to start building cultural differences into the Fluent Conveyor’s company values. While efficiency and high quality are still prioritized, there are other values that the team should take into account to fully represent its teams.
One example of how Jeremy has had to gain cultural intelligence is when people ask for days off for cultural reasons that he is not familiar with. He has had to learn how to trust his team to make the right decisions and make up for any time they take off.
Cultural intelligence is also at play in families and relationships. Jeremy’s wife has traveled all over the world and brought Jeremy on international trips as well. He has taught cultural intelligence to his children by showing them different foods and traveling with them.
After Doug’s father moved for work at the height of his career, he introduced Doug to some of the new cultures he interacted with. Doug also learned from his wife, who was also more well-traveled than him.
Many Americans learn about other cultures through how American media represents them, which often does not paint an accurate or complete picture.
The best thing you can give your kids is travel. It allows them to experience a world outside of their own, which helps contribute to their cultural intelligence and empathy.
Cultural intelligence is also about self-awareness in that it requires you to understand that you don’t know everything. Team members with different cultural experiences will be able to catch blind spots that you will miss.
Notable Guests
Whoopi Thomas
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Jeremy Axel
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