EP 27: Why We Desire What We Desire With Luke Burgis

On episode 27 for The School of Unlearning, I sit down with professor and author, Luke Burgis. Luke recently wrote the book, "Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life" and on this episode he helps unpack what mimetic desire is and how we can more intentionally identify and choose what we want in life. Luke helps us more consciously examine why we want what we want and nudges us through his tactics in the book, to remember what it means to be human. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• How a few core learnings influenced the way Luke grew up
• How Luke came across the work of French Theorist, Rene Girard on mimetic desire 
• What mimetic desire is: comes from the Greek work, "to imitate"
• Why our desire to mimic is innate in all humans and why it's not something we want to get rid of, but rather, intentionally embrace 
• Why it’s important to question what we desire 
• Why the drive to become a business "unicorn" is skewing our vision of success
• What role fear and threat play with mimetic desire
• How social media highlights and fuels mimetic desire 
• What role compassion plays in mimetic desire 
• How emotions like anger can spread the fastest on social media because, "the lack of strong bonds between people, allows anger to spread faster" 
• How we can view social media as one step in the direction towards connection vs the entire medium to fix complex issues
• How embracing silence is "spiritual distance" and why this is a key tactic in Luke's book, "Wanting" 
• How Luke defines unlearning and what he is actively unlearning in the business world

 

About Luke:

Luke Burgis has co-created and led four companies in wellness, consumer products, and technology. He’s currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship where he also teaches business at The Catholic University of America. Luke has helped form and serves on the board of several new K-12 education initiatives and writes and speaks regularly about the education of desire. He studied business at NYU Stern and philosophy and theology at a pontifical university in Rome. He’s Managing Partner of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator that he started to build, train, and invest in people and companies that contribute to a healthy human ecology. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Claire, and her crazy New Orleans cat Clotille.

About Elisa: 

I am a Conscious Leadership Coach and host of The School of Unlearning Podcast. I coach leaders/executives and teams all over the world to shift their mindset. Together we move from serious to curious and from fear to love. 

Forget what you learned, work is a medium for connection, play and yes, love. Click here to work with me.

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