Episode 5: The Art of Learning with Leah Conroy

In this episode with Leah Conroy, we discuss the value of intense focus and consistent practice in the art of learning. Leah’s experience is vast. She began as a windsurfer in the San Francisco Bay and moved on to surfing in the rough waters of Ocean Beach. She worked as a biotech scientist at Harvard Medical School and a surgical technologist at Stanford, both of which impressed upon her the importance of donating blood. Leah also talks about the joy of returning to the piano later in life, the parallels of riding horses and riding waves, how to take care of yourself out in the water, and why every surfboard has its reason. I hope you will listen, I learned a lot from this interview.

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] A return to piano
[06:10] The art of learning
[06:54] Taking care of yourself in the water
[14:36] Every board has its reason
[22:25] Windsurfing the bay and surfing Ocean Beach
[29:28] Donate your blood
[32:57] Riding horses and riding waves

Quotes:
"I wanna be able to look out at the waves and say that biggest wave that I saw breaking before I put my wetsuit on, that set wave. I want that one. I am not going to go out if I don't want that wave."

"I do believe that anything that's difficult to master, you should try to do it every day."

"I didn't mind becoming a surfer too at 29. People thought that was crazy, up in Ocean beach in San Francisco. Most of the people learned when they were about 10, and it just wasn't an endeavor that especially a woman would take up later, that was considered old."