Ep. 19: Matt Candler

Matt Candler is one of my favorite kinds of people. He’s humble. He’s funny. And he’s not willing to change paths.One of the hardest things for each of us to learn in the course of our lives is the way we used to do things isn’t the best way anymore. We often wrestle with the guilt of our old misunderstandings, or we feel that “sunk cost fallacy” in all the time or energy we spent in something that no longer fits us.It takes tremendous courage to change.When reviewing this episode, that’s the thing I think we all can learn from Matt’s example. His humility is palpable — understanding the heavy weight of his privilege, and constantly seeking out folks with a different experience to continue to learn from.When he ran 4.0 schools, I was always impressed by how much he looked to other business models and organizational styles to inform education. “We’ve always done it this way,” is a poor excuse, and he built an organization that is constantly challenging us to be better adults for the children in schools.And when he burnt out of running a nonprofit (because who doesn’t?), he didn’t double down and force anything. He built a gracious transition, and shifted into his latest joy: electrifying everything.I hope in this conversation you’ll hear how humor and humility overlap, and take away the great gifts of an active practice of compassion.Stay curious.Chapters00:00 — Welcome & introduction02:00 — Growing up Presbyterian and performing spirituality10:30 — Family legacy and emotional inheritance16:00 — Leaving conservative faith for inclusive community19:20 — Creating a modern spiritual practice24:30 — Loneliness, creativity, and finding joy again31:00 — Parenting, presence, and play as spiritual work39:00 — Compassion meditation and forgiveness45:00 — “Like me” awareness: seeing our shared humanity55:00 — God as the space between us Referenced Concepts & Resources* Hebrews 12:1 — “Surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…”* Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg* Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) — Stanford University* Dieter Rams — Less but better* Walt Whitman — “I am large, I contain multitudes.”* Flatland by Edwin Abbott — on geometry and spirituality* Artwork by Nic Aziz — @nicoelganso/Connect with Vera LesterLearn more or work with me → veralester.comSchedule a coaching inquiry → https://veralester.as.me/Coaching-DiscoveryFollow on Instagram → @verarocksSubscribe to Curious Hearts wherever you listen.If this episode resonates, please share it or leave a review — it helps other curious hearts find the show. 💛 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veralester.substack.com/subscribe