The Bledsoe Show

*/ ?>

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Health
**The Bledsoe Show**

We dive deep into creating a life optimized for the modern world.

Latest Episodes:

NEW PODCAST LAUNCHED TODAY Jun 12, 2024

I'm here to let you know that after taking exactly a year off from recording shows I'm back in the mix.

Here's the link to subscibe and download all the new shows: https://themissionafter.transistor.fm/

Farewell Show: Peace Be With You with Mike & Max Jun 12, 2023

Don't Eat People... Unless You Have To May 15, 2023

Lazy & Paranoid with Mike & Max May 08, 2023

God's Toolbox with Mike & Max May 01, 2023

Chat-GPT & Health Apr 24, 2023

On Violence & Encouragement with Mike & Max Apr 17, 2023

Chat-GPT-4 & Spiritual Enlightenment with Mike & Max Apr 10, 2023

Food, Sex, That's All with Mike & Max Apr 03, 2023

Conviction & Conversion with Mike & Max Mar 20, 2023

Hitler's Dad with Mike & Max Mar 16, 2023

Monday Morning with Mike & Max

How to Select a Training Partner & Do the Best Program with Mike & Max Mar 06, 2023

This week on Monday Morning with Mike & Max

We get super nerdy on today’s show about fitness.

From selecting training partners to tips and tricks to make yourself stronger.

Psychic Poison with Mike & Max Feb 27, 2023

Did you know that 4% of the population are psychopaths?

This is a consistent statistic that has been repeatedly published over different decades. Sure, the dumb ones end up in prison, the smart ones end up in finance & tech, and the vain ones find themselves in politics.

What’s the possibility that psychopaths are largely responsible for WHAT you think. Those who are responsible for what gets displayed on your smartphone every time it buzzes you? WHAT can and cannot be on certain platforms. What’s deemed dangerous for the public because they’re looking out for “your safety”.

Programs that are focused on how long they can hold your attention. That’s the end goal of the algo.

Programs that have been written by 4% of the population. 4% who value power, and have no idea what love is.

Will you leave your mind up to them to tell you what’s important… or will you take your consciousness into your own control?

Disrespect in the Name of Authentic Self-Expression with Mike & Max Feb 20, 2023

I’ve witnessed women tear each other apart emotionally in the name of “self-expression”.

Self-expression is a characteristic of “self-love” and I want everyone to experience it.

For most people, they’ve suppressed it for so long, that when it finally comes out it is jarring for everyone around them.

The pendulum swings and they could give 2 shits about how you feel about it. Self expression usually follows the deep realization that everyone is responsible for their own experience. And in that realization the person suppressing knows that they’re the one who is actually responsible for their life.

… and everyone else is responsible for theirs.

So in the vein of this partial reality, expression is unleashed on the world around them. They no longer are playing the “character” that everyone has been conditioned to know. In turn, their reality is challenged and their triggers surface.

The result? Hurt feelings, disagreement, and conflict.

It usually takes awhile for the newly self expressed to learn how to do it gracefully. And in truth, to learn how to authentically express their heart… and not their wounds.

That’s the key. In the beginning of perceived self expression, the person expressing themselves isn’t actually their SELF. It’s a wound. It’s BS.

This is why when I’m helping someone through this phase that we are becoming objective enough to see if it’s the heart or a wound.

Knowing this nuance will save everyone a lot of pain and suffering. The road to self expression doesn’t need to be littered with the hurt feelings. It can be done from a place of love. It can be done gracefully.

This is a mark of a good leader. Yes, authentic wounded-expression will likely get you a lot of attention, but it won’t be the attention you want in the long run.

We want to get attention through love.

Can you respect yourself by allowing self-expression while also respecting others?

We get into the nuances of this concept on today’s show of Monday Morning with Mike & Max.

East Meets West Showdown Feb 13, 2023

One of my mentors once told me “powerful leaders hold paradox”.

As many paradoxical statements can land, I wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about. I had to go look up the word. Needed the definition first. So in case you are like I was I’ll save you a google search.

From Merriam-Webster

: one (such as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases

So what does it mean to hold the damn thing? To be able to hold two seemingly contradictory qualities at the same time?

Took me years before it landed and ever since then it’s landed more and more. The mind likes to think only one way. Thinking there can only be this or that. What about this AND that?

So what happens when you take seemingly contradictory philosophical concepts that were each developed in isolation (mostly) and then introduce them to each other? That’s what we get when we look at the history of western philosophy vs eastern philosophy.

Most people see these two sets of philosophies in contradiction to one another.

The east holds the truth of everything existing as a circle. The 4 seasons, each year returning. The revolution of time & space, always returning back to where we started.

The west holds the truth of progress. The beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega. The truth that the universe is evolving in a way that never repeats itself.

Two seemingly contradictory philosophies. Both of which most people could not hold simultaneously… but for those who can, the world is your oyster.

Checkout today’s Monday Mornings with Mike & Max podcast. We’ll do our best to tickle your brain.

The Wild, Wild World of Ayahuasca with Hamilton Souther Feb 09, 2023

The prohibition on plant medicine is slowly lifting and we find ourselves at critical crossroads.

With a lack of acceptance in the west for so long, we end up with a gap in education about traditional medicine. Medicines that used to be typical have become shrouded in mystery.

Education that was passed down from former generations has been all but forgotten. But few people have walked the uncommon path to study with elders hidden deep in the Amazon jungle.

And I’ve been able to wrangle one of these fascinating people who have been willing to put it all on the line. This man walked away from the comforts of modern American life in order to follow visions that were delivered to him deep in meditation.

No, he didn’t do a google search to find his local shaman. In fact, when he got the message there was no google to point him in the right direction.

You’ll have to watch/listen to the show to get the whole story. I didn’t know much about Hamilton before the show, but by the end I’ve made a friend that I look forward to sitting in ceremony with.

Enjoy the show,

Mike Bledsoe

P.S. if you want to book your own experience with Hamilton at Blue Morpho Tours simply click the link and you’ll be guided to right where you need to be.

Quantum Mechanics of Scarcity & Abundance Feb 06, 2023

Nothing better than regurgitating shit you saw on a documentary.

That’s usually the extent of most people’s knowledge on the subject. Good thing we’re extra smart over here. The bottom line is our perception of the world shapes reality. You know, actual reality.

I’m not playing that silly game where I say “your perception is your reality”, because that’s BS. Your perception is your perception and reality is reality. You are not the Almighty Creator. If you think that’s the case, stop doing drugs. I’ve got a program for you that will get you back in alignment.

But get this, how you perceive impacts what’s happening in and around you. If you perceive that everyone is an a-hole? You’ll likely make choices that will put you in the way of moody people, and you’ll give off the vibe that you want that energy.

You may think “Mike, who really wants to create that?” Here’s the deal, whatever you believe to be true your subconscious will fight, tooth and nail, to find/create the evidence. No matter how silly it seems to your conscious mind. That ego lurking around in the background really likes to be right. In fact, being wrong is one of the worst things that can happen to the ego. Feels like death.

So choose your beliefs wisely… and maybe try to let go of beliefs and just sit with what you know. It’s a lovely place. As I sit in that space I realize I don’t know much and I’m very happy about it.

Elevate Your Spirit & Have Fun Doing it with Vanessa Lambert Feb 02, 2023

Does spiritual development always have to be hard?

Can we make it easy and fun?

Over the years I’ve found that we can access the greatest part of ourselves while accessing joy and community. And if you’ve been following me for very long then you know that it always leads to the dancefloor.

Why are we doing all this work anyway? Let’s enjoy ourselves.

Slip into a conversation about the fun side of personal and spiritual development.

Vanessa Lambert is a former CrossFit competitor, surf instructor and firefighter, turned Kundalini Yogi and founder of Bee the Wellness luxury retreats.

We dive into her upcoming Bee-Fest in Mexico (April 26-30) and discuss the power of community and integration.

And if you’re ready to go on an adventure check the Bee-Fest site and use the code “BLEDSOE” for $500 off your all inclusive ticket.

Relationship Debt & Covid Trolls with Mike & Max Jan 30, 2023

Do you ever find yourself in a relationship where the other person starts acting like you owe them something?

I know I have. And it doesn’t feel very good.

It usually starts with one party doing all sorts of things for the person without asking. It’s all very nice until one day BAM! There’s an unmet expectation that was never communicated.

This is usually followed by the “you nevers”, “you always”, and “why can’t yous”. Before you know it, you’ve been caught in relationship debt. Is it real? Not for you. But for the other person, you’ve got a bill to pay.

Join Max and I as we explore this topic on today’s Monday Morning with Mike & Max.

Oh yeah, we also go off on our experience of people in relationship to Covid over the last 3 years.

How to Get on Stage as a Coach with Kyle Gray Jan 26, 2023

As a coach there’s nothing more valuable to your business than getting in front of your ideal audience.

And with the coaches I’ve worked with this seems to be the biggest barrier to success.

But anytime we start to think about what it takes to get on stage whether it be in person, a podcast or IG, the gears come to a screeching halt. A lack of knowledge about how to actually do it creeps in.

Then the self doubt.

Then the distraction of another certification. BTW, on today’s show Kyle Gray unveils his newest business idea “Certaholics anonymous”.

That’s usually the cycle coaches find themselves in. Don’t know what to do to get in front of more people so I’ll get another cert. Then I’ll finally be able to distinguish the self doubt that’s causing me an eternal internal discomfort of not being good enough.

But what if we could just get to a place where we’re comfortable with who we are. Comfortable with being alive. What would be possible then?

I have no idea, since my life is full of discomfort. But I’ll tell you one thing, it’s much better to seek meaningful work than to try to be comfortable. Yes, the meaningful work will result in challenges and discomfort, but what else are you going to do?

Just sit around in the lap of mediocrity. Not us.

So if you’re ready to dive into a real conversation between two coaches who know how to get in front of people and get them enrolled in your vision you’ve come to the right place.

The Illusion of Equality and Transcending Suffering with Mike & Max Jan 23, 2023

Men and women are created equal…

But not in all things.

Well at least in the way it’s practiced. I’m afraid people have confused equality with being “identical”. And I can only imagine how boring that world would be.

Instead of seeking fairness I think we can do a better job of honoring and celebrating our differences. To do otherwise is to reject nature, other, or God. However you want to see it.

So instead of focusing on what someone else has that you wish you did. Instead of seeking fairness in whatever single area you want to focus on. And zoom out. Allow yourself to see the entirety of YOUR being. See the entirety of THEIR being.

Just because another may make more money, you wouldn’t want the rest of their life. Your riches are greater than that.

Want the secret to having a perspective that is not only more helpful for the mind to hold, but is actually more close to the TRUTH?

Move the mind from an illusory place of “what isn’t” to a space of reality where we’re focused on “what is”. That is. Illusion is “what is not”, while REALITY is “what is”.

Sounds simple, but if you go about the world while practicing awareness you may notice that your mind gravitates to the illusion… most of the time. This is a great recipe for suffering.

And I’m not about that suffering. That shit is optional. Doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it’s right there in any moment that you want it.

Ok, enough of the sermon. This is one of many topics Max and I dissect on today’s Monday Morning podcast with Mike & Max.

How to Be the Alpha in the Room & Thrive in Chaos Jan 19, 2023

I’m not talking about that fake alpha facade you may be familiar with on reality tv shows.

I’m talking about the real alpha stuff. The alpha with substance. The one that doesn’t have to be the loudest in the room because they know who they are. They know what they’re capable of.

And whether everyone else recognizes it consciously or not, the alpha is who is in charge when everyone else has no idea what to do.

You don’t get there by acting confident. You get there by being competent. Will you be the alpha in every situation? I hope not. That would mean you’re not surrounding yourself with people who are better than you at what you want to get better at.

The path to alpha is filled with humility. A true alpha can put down his need to be right and look good, in order to gain the competence. It’s a long game. Can you look dumb now, so you can be in charge later?

Most people have no interest in this. The path is too frightening and they’ll continue to live a life of mediocrity.

Join Mike Salemi and myself on today’s show as we discuss leadership, hierarchy, violence and the functional purpose of being prepared.

The Easiest Way to Solve Big Problems Jan 16, 2023

You may think that solving problems through play is a novel idea.

But the reality is, it’s the most foundational way that we develop the skills of curiosity and honing the capacity for focus.

Play is the very first way that we learned… and then things got serious.

Max and I discuss how forgetting to play has hurt us in the past and what we did to lighten the mood and come up with creative solutions to dire situations.

And as great teachers from the past have asked “when was the last time you danced?”. “when was the last time you sang?”,”when was the last time you told a story?”

This is where we can identify when we got “stuck” and had a hard time moving forward.

How to Be a High Performer in Relationships with Stefanos Sifandos Jan 12, 2023

I know a lot of you either consider yourself a high performer or want to be.

But if you’re not a high performer in relationships then you’re likely holding yourself in the other areas of your life.

Drop in to today’s show with Stefanos Sifandos as we discuss his journey as a high performer inside and outside of relationships.

This is a man of wisdom. Man, or woman, I recommend listening.

Sex, Tantra, and Finding a Mate with Mike & Max Jan 09, 2023

Today Max and I discuss what we’ve learned about sex, masturbation, porn, and tantra.

It wasn’t an easy road. In fact, it feels a lot more like stumbling around in the dark.

You don’t have to stumble too far yourself though. In this show we discuss a few things we’ve learned over the years that have enhanced our sex lives and relationships.

Discover Connection with Brad Lancaster Jan 05, 2023

What’s it like to put all your fears on the line and approach complete strangers with odd requests?

Today we find out. My guest is Brad Lancaster of the YouTube channel “Discover Connection”.

A filmmaker discontent with the amount of connection he was experiencing decided to put himself in precarious situations and film it. I’ve watched several of his videos at this point and I love every single one.

Join us as we discuss what led him to where he is now and where he’s going.

Mike Bledsoe

P.S. Curious about your own ability to connect better? January 8th we’re launching the School for the Living. A major component of what we’ll be doing is connecting better with ourselves and those around us. Go to schoolfortheliving.com

Will AI (artificial intelligence) kill us all? Jan 02, 2023

Human curiosity is an interesting thing.

To the uninitiated it is viewed as an assault. When someone is questioned on their beliefs their identity is threatened and defense mechanisms step in to guard our precious self.

Will AI loosen the grip our minds have on who we think we are and lead to enlightenment? Maybe.

It will definitely change the landscape of our world whether we are guided into a higher calling or slip into slavery.

Join Max and I as we wade through the BS of our minds for your entertainment.

From Stoned to Conscious: Cannabis Use and Expansion with Ryan Sprague Dec 21, 2022

In the last couple decades cannabis has slowly moved into our culture that has become more and more accepted. Normalized.

But the true power of it is commonly overlooked. With stereotypical stoner movies creating a particular narrative that people who use cannabis are slow, stupid, and find themselves in strange predicaments.

And while the stereotype may be true in some cases, there is another story to be told.

Cannabis an incredibly potent plant medicine that when used correctly will expand your consciousness. Make you a better, more aware person.

It’s not just for numbing out physical pain or anxiety. Yes, it’s used for that in a very incomplete way most the time, but there’s so much more you can do with it.

Cannabis when used to its full potential can be as revelatory as any other plant medicine out there.

And today we have Ryan Sprague on The Bledsoe show to share about it. I met Ryan a few years ago and his use of cannabis has been incredibly enlightening to me.

Puberty Blockers & Mind Control with Mike & Max Dec 19, 2022

How does social mind control work?

Are there specific examples of it at play?

That amongst many other interesting topics are on the menu for today’s Monday Morning with Mike & Max show.

Heroes, Devils, & Conspiracies with Mike & Max Dec 15, 2022

Tattooed Heretic of Natural Birth & Death, Nathan Riley, MD Dec 08, 2022

Today’s show is with Nathan Riley, MD, FACOG. He’s a holisitc OBGYN as well as a Chek Institute professional.

That’s right, a couple of dudes sat down to talk about birth.

As someone who is obsessed with human development this interview was a real treat. What could be more pivotal to your development than what happens before, during, and after a pregnancy.

For the ladies out there, I hope you find the conversation insightful.

For the men, I know this will be insightful. We play a major role in the whole experience… and we’ll never know what it’s like to give birth.

I’ll never give birth to another human which is a bummer, but my role for my future children is no small feat.

When Thanksgiving Dinner Goes Wrong with Mike & Max Nov 30, 2022

MDMA vs Cocaine with Mike & Max Nov 21, 2022

How to Win an Argument with Mike & Max Nov 14, 2022

Suffering & Preparation with Mike & Max Nov 07, 2022

Do You Have Skin in the Game? with Mike & Max Oct 31, 2022

00:00.00

Dr_ Placebo

Pretty funny before they wouldn't They wouldn't know what I wanted like they didn't understand what come sit stay meant so I was like yeah that's Fine. You're just Puppies. You don't understand what I want now. I'm certain that they understand what I want and sometimes they just won't do it. There's like a little rebellion phase that's happening right now.

00:31.38

mikebledsoe

This payback.

00:35.46

Dr_ Placebo

And well you know so far. We've just been using carrots. Basically no stick for our condition and.

00:45.42

mikebledsoe

Ah.

00:54.30

Dr_ Placebo

My special lady friend is a really kind soul it it would she would like lose her mind if I struck a dog I don't want to anyway. But I I get this feeling that they know that I'm all bark and no bite. And that's why they're like yeah okay keep talking big fella like I'm just going to do what I want to do.

01:17.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um I learned this trick for dominating dogs which is you want to make sure you got control of their snout when you do this because I've done this with a big pit before which is you bite their ear so you take like your.

01:32.74

Dr_ Placebo

01:34.67

mikebledsoe

Your canine and you dig it into their ear until they until they yelp and then they know because that's how dogs talk to each other right? like 1 dog is going to dominate the other and then they they bite an ear or they put their their mouth around their neck and then the other dog kind of gives up.

01:45.40

Dr_ Placebo

Right? right.

01:54.57

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, oh man, my dogs battle each other so aggressively all day long I mean I'm glad we got two I can't imagine just getting 1 dog and I don't like to say that too much. Because I don't want to make everybody who just got the 1 dog feel bad but it seems like they have some level of communication between them that I will never really understand they're on the same level. You know what? I mean.

02:20.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

02:25.85

Dr_ Placebo

They can play in a totally different way. They communicate in a totally different way. Um, but man it is it is aggressive and then I remember like oh yeah, playing it is two things. it's ah practice for killing and and it's ah socialization that's that's what play is and for humans that's not how we play typically but that's in the animal kingdom that's what play is that's how you first learn how to how to kill things or not get killed depending on what the animal is. If you look at though I'm trying to think of ah what play looks like for herbivores. It doesn't occur to me right now. But for carnivores there's its play is basically practice for killing and it doesn't it's. Just reminds me of the circle of life. Something needs to die so that you can live and it doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian you got to kill that plant and that plant becomes part of you so it's kind of like the highlander there can be only one like you can. Eat it or it eats you basically and then when you die provided you you don't put yourself into one of those fancy boxes then you get eaten again after it's all said and done and that's ah I mean that's a funny thing maybe not cemeteries aren't funny.

03:56.41

Dr_ Placebo

In a traditional sense. Maybe but it is weird that we try to take the the physical body out of the ecosystem. It's a really interesting practice.

04:07.50

mikebledsoe

I Mean it's happening. You know we build homes we built. Ah, you know because nothing in nature is Square. You know have straight lines like I look around my house I've got a flat floor flat ceiling flat walls and they all meet at Ninety degree corners. And for the most part So We we basically separate ourselves from nature by putting ourselves in these boxes and then when we die we want to continue the separation So casket we go I need a new buck. This one doesn't have to be as big.

04:24.31

Dr_ Placebo

And.

04:36.49

Dr_ Placebo

I need and I need a new box.

04:44.60

Dr_ Placebo

Um, that is kind of funny. That's like the whole whole life is like I need a new box I need a car that's like a mobile box and then I need a new house and that's a stationary box and then I need a coffin That's a very snug. Ah airtight.

04:58.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you leave you leave the box. That's your house to get in the box that your car to go to the box. That's your work and or or maybe you're just building boxes for your work too. Like yeah yeah.

05:01.72

Dr_ Placebo

Waterproof box.

05:07.72

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

05:14.33

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I mean if you're in construction you're building boxes. Basically it's it's funny. It's just so it's more ah comfortable on the inside right? I'm surprised. There aren't more oh it's It's actually because Ah. Squares tessellate the best so you can line a flat plane full of squares and rectangles. But if you try to do it with Circles. You have a lot of space left over but I think ah, a big dome would be really cool.

05:45.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's um I'm sure you've been in some cathedrals where the the ceilings you know they're they just kind of go up into a point where I've been in. Um I've been in big malokas.

05:52.56

Dr_ Placebo

Beautiful.

06:00.30

mikebledsoe

And the jungle where they're doing medicine ceremony and it all goes up to a point and I heard somebody talking about why don't we build our homes with a point um and or a cathedral like what why don't We build our home like a cathedral where there's this. Point that's going up right? and I think it might be that It's a little ungrounding and your attention gets funneled into that single place whereas with a box you can diffuse your attention a little more easily.

06:39.15

Dr_ Placebo

Um I think it's probably that plots of land are rectangular and a rectangular house will maximize your living space on them honestly and.

06:46.70

mikebledsoe

I Mean what if you had a rectangular house with ah with your ceilings coming to a point like to a single point like a tepee.

06:57.30

Dr_ Placebo

And and no ah, no rooms just 1 big room and.

06:59.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, may well that that would suck So the round room doesn't really.

07:06.40

Dr_ Placebo

Right? I mean there there are some cool. Ah, there's some cool domes. There are some really cool like I've looked into it. Ah you know me I've looked into a lot of different alternatives for how to live and how to eat how to live how to exercise like what alternative is there. Let me.

07:15.65

mikebledsoe

Ah I mean.

07:22.79

Dr_ Placebo

Let me at least examine it and you can you can get a house built like a dome you can buy yourself a plot of land and you can have basically a kit sent to you because it's all triangles you know Buckminster Fullers the inventor of the geodesic dome. And it's ah it's a kit that 2 people can put up this whole thing because it's just like 1 row at a time of the ah same side same size triangles the whole way through and it's really kind of an interesting thing. Um.

08:00.27

Dr_ Placebo

But I think a lot of it has to do with the the plots of land and blending in.. There's most places that people live. There's a homogenization right? You you kind of want your house to look sort of like everyone else's and everyone has. This idea of what a house should look like like a fancy house looks like this and a medium fancy house looks like this and a not as cool house looks like this or whatever and we have these ideas of what it should look like right. Um I think it is if you have a rectangular plot of land though you're going to get more ah space with a rectangular house that that's for sure.

08:49.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think we need to start creating triangular plots of land. Let's see what we can do with that you might be able to fit more houses in a single in ah in an area who knows.

09:00.11

Dr_ Placebo

Um, that would make the thing that would make the well you also need roads too right? So it's ah it's interesting though to look at um.

09:05.91

mikebledsoe

Those damn roads.

09:18.80

Dr_ Placebo

Like New York city right is basically a grid like you know if you're on a and tenth street. you know exactly how to get to b and Twelfth street you know exactly how to get there

09:27.74

mikebledsoe

Well the but 1 of the best grids on the planet is phoenix completely flat. It is a straight up grid. Well I think about I think about ah like New York or Boston you look at the East Coast and

09:34.65

Dr_ Placebo

Because just straight up grids. Yeah.

09:44.51

mikebledsoe

A lot of those roads were built when you know it was horse and buggy or carriage and so they're not that wide and then only that they have to they have the there's might be some old buildings that to go around So it's not it is grid but not as great as Phoenix which was way more planned and then you have to worry about the.

09:53.90

Dr_ Placebo

Aha.

10:00.49

Dr_ Placebo

And more modern right.

10:03.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the coastline you have the coastline that you have the that you have to work around. That's why on the west coast like you know like you can end up on a street that you're going east 1 minute and then north the next minute because it's having to go around everything but you go somewhere like Phoenix where it was.

10:17.40

Dr_ Placebo

Right? so.

10:19.64

mikebledsoe

Laid out in a grid. It's flat. There's nothing to go around is just a desert and now you now you get like this really, you can you can go to a street in Phoenix and look down the road and see blocks and blocks and blocks and blocks down the way without without any any blocking your view.

10:25.91

Dr_ Placebo

Great.

10:37.20

Dr_ Placebo

Um, and a lot of older cities are are more like um branches of like root systems or capillaries. Like Paris for example, there's like a central location and then it branches off. It's not really a grid. It's more like branches and rings. It's it's really interesting to see how we try to ah transport people around and if ah. If a place is growing um it it actually makes a lot of sense that it would be more like ah, a branching type of thing like a root system.

11:15.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think about shapes and um, what that does relationally for people or communally and one of the things that happens at burning man is everything's done circular so you have the center of the city.

11:21.65

Dr_ Placebo

Nothing of 1

11:30.84

Dr_ Placebo

And.

11:31.66

mikebledsoe

Basically black rock city and then ah the roads are by time so 2 to 15 to 30 so you've got a clock so those are your roads that that extend out and then the rings going around are abcd and of course.

11:42.26

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

11:51.55

mikebledsoe

Every year that like the D is different like you know, depending on the theme or whatever. But in this circular community.

12:00.81

Dr_ Placebo

So of course I don't understand that less.

12:04.34

mikebledsoe

Ah, what do you mean? Oh sorry, No no, no, no like E might be a different word. Yeah elephant one year. Yeah.

12:09.82

Dr_ Placebo

Abcd and then it's different like it's bigger or.

12:17.25

Dr_ Placebo

Like Elephant Okay, got it? Okay, ah you're like of course I'm like am I supposed to feel stupid now.

12:24.33

mikebledsoe

But the whole point of this podcast and see if I can make max feel stupid. But ah it hasn't It hasn't worked I don't know. Ah so that I think the circle um.

12:34.14

Dr_ Placebo

I Always feel stupid. Ah.

12:42.60

mikebledsoe

When people this is this really cool topic to talk about because we're talking about environment. How environment it's what raises and rings. Yeah Raisin rings are who I like that. So with the raisin rings. What I what I think is happening. There is it.

12:47.58

Dr_ Placebo

So it's rays and rings. it's it's rays it's Rays Rays and rings. Yeah.

13:01.51

mikebledsoe

Creates more? Um, it's It's hard to to say this is where this ends and this begins as much and there's more opportunity for people to interact from someone across town. So I can just follow this road and then now I'm on the other side of town.

13:20.52

mikebledsoe

Whereas with a block. It's like if I want to go? Yeah, you know if I want to go anything other than North Southheast or west if I want to like cut across town then I'm zigzagging or I'm having to make this big loop. But with the raisin rings you you can start at the center and then get anywhere. You want.

13:22.30

Dr_ Placebo

So.

13:35.18

Dr_ Placebo

13:38.86

mikebledsoe

By just pointing and going. So I think there's.

13:47.61

Dr_ Placebo

Um, I mean you're always going to have to take somewhat of a circuititous path no matter if it's a grid or raises in rings that's kind of the nature of roads.

13:50.14

mikebledsoe

No matter what but I wonder I wonder what creates how what the social impact is if we're say say you're in ah and a structure you go into a tepee.

14:03.17

Dr_ Placebo

And.

14:05.59

mikebledsoe

Or you go into like a lot of like places where you do ceremony. They're all circular structures almost always yeah and it's because it it's like diminishes hierarchy and then ah.

14:16.80

Dr_ Placebo

Nights of the round table. Totally.

14:24.10

mikebledsoe

I Think it makes things more communal people are more if you're sitting in a circle you're more likely to talk to each other than if you're sitting in a square then it kind of feels a little weird. So I wonder.

14:34.83

Dr_ Placebo

Or like a big long rectangular desk where I sit at the head of the table in a really really big chair which is of course how I like to have all my interactions with all my lackeys lining the sides.

14:36.42

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, exactly? Yeah, so yeah.

14:48.71

mikebledsoe

A good example like I had dinner a few weeks ago where there was a dozen of us at a table at a restaurant and half the table I didn't talk to almost the entire time. But if we were sitting in a circle. It would have been a completely different experience so thinking about cities that are designed to be squares or circles. Um.

14:53.16

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, right.

15:03.46

Dr_ Placebo

15:08.71

mikebledsoe

Also I I heard this recently that ah cities that are more circular based get more rain on average I need to find the information like actual data on that. But yeah.

15:27.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

15:27.47

Dr_ Placebo

More rain all fit I mean that's ah I have no clue what you're talking about I Understand the words you said and I wonder if it has to do with places that have more rainfall had. Earlier civilization and earlier civilizations had more circular ah systems of travel. But yeah, that's really interesting. Yeah.

15:53.14

mikebledsoe

Could be could be yeah I Just I think about um the older I get the more I think about how the environment is shaping. People's behavior in general because I think that the majority.

16:07.33

Dr_ Placebo

Button.

16:10.68

mikebledsoe

I know we talk about incentives here a lot too. But if you look at in what your environment and how that shapes someone's behavior and then the incentives put in place those 2 things are likely the biggest drivers of ah behavior.

16:21.32

Dr_ Placebo

Click m.

16:29.33

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, right? So where where you are and then the carrots and the sticks. Basically when I was doing a lot of ah virtual reality. It made me think a lot about environment because when you set up ah like a fancy.

16:29.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

16:47.13

Dr_ Placebo

Vr system. They have basically different areas where you can do different stuff. It's very compartmentalized and of course as you know I've been learning a lot about compartmentalizing with the puppies because you need to have them in a specific zone that is cleared. For puppies to not destroy all your shit basically and then you know I had this idea of basically you have a console for work and that's where you always do work and then you have a console or you have an area for eating. And that's where you always do your eating and then you have a place where you do your bathing and your bathrooming and we sort of have that. But um, just to even focus it down even more So. There's no question about what you do. When you're in a specific Area. You're like okay I'm at the console I'm doing ah you know writing and emails boom and that's the only thing I do in that place and when you're in a virtual reality. It's It's exactly that you can't do. Anything else because as soon as you're like oh I think I'm going to play a game. You actually are like teleported basically to a different place so you're not even there Anymore. So I think that's actually pretty valuable is to have a place where you go to work.

18:18.83

Dr_ Placebo

Place where you go to eat a place where you do this. It's not necessarily very very flexible. But I think it can help you get into that laser versus the lantern type of focus.

18:29.11

mikebledsoe

What you know? ah when Covid hit a lot of people were concerned that you know work wasn't going to get done and then they found out that people were working even more hours when they were working from home and they're.

18:45.40

Dr_ Placebo

18:46.55

mikebledsoe

Inability to compartmentalize work from the rest of their life was demonstrated and and a lot of people didn't know how to manage that.

18:57.91

Dr_ Placebo

So so so they all became entrepreneurs.

19:01.95

mikebledsoe

Well, ah, the the amount of freelancers that exist is has skyrocketed in the last few years Tons of new freelancers. Um I did a presentation recently where I was highlighting that it was um I want to. Can I remember off top my head I want to say at least 15 % of the workforce in the us of freelancers maybe more um and it's just like it's growing at ah at such a fast pace and it's and it's a sign of the decentralization of. Of labor and ah these companies don't want to have you know people don't stay with the company for 203040 years anymore like they used to the last time I heard a figure on it was the average and this was like. Ten years ago they were talking about how average employment link has gone from 30 years to 7 I'm sure it's more like three or four years now so people are switching jobs a lot faster. Um companies want to be more agile.

20:05.13

Dr_ Placebo

Whoa.

20:12.81

mikebledsoe

Which means they need to be able to exchange their people out faster which means that employment contracts get replaced with with and and people are becoming more specialized due to technology. So now it's like I specifically work in this type of marketing you can hire my firm which might just be me.

20:26.63

Dr_ Placebo

Who.

20:32.42

mikebledsoe

And might be me and a team and now I'm ah now I'm contractor so now these what's happening is companies are even the big ones are reducing the amount of employees they have and they're increasing the amount of ten ninety nine s they have the the contractors.

20:35.89

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

20:50.17

Dr_ Placebo

In.

20:50.38

mikebledsoe

And um I my theory is this is this is part of the why they want to hire 87000 irs agents is because you have a bunch of people who have had taxes deducted out of their paycheck.

21:01.93

Dr_ Placebo

21:09.32

mikebledsoe

Every paycheck for their entire life. They just went freelancer. They just turned ten ninety nine they didn't file their they didn't ah pay quarterly payments. They went to file realized they didn't have the money to pay the tax and not only that we're in the middle of recession.

21:17.12

Dr_ Placebo

So.

21:27.88

mikebledsoe

So and people are out of money already anyway and so now that's one I'm sure that's a ah factor. It's playing in in this decision try to squeeze the middle class more All these freelancers is ah is because of ah.

21:31.97

Dr_ Placebo

And.

21:42.62

Dr_ Placebo

21:46.15

mikebledsoe

People don't know how to file their taxes now. So now they gotta hunt these people down.

21:54.29

Dr_ Placebo

Well I mean I I think it's even more simple than that if you hire a bunch of those thugs. It's ah 2 ways to win and no ways to lose because you're not even paying them with money that you earn you're paying them with money that you steal. So It's like.. It's kind of like two ways to win and no ways to lose which is a good way to go through life If You're an individual like give yourself opportunities where you have multiple ways to win and no ways to lose. Ah so I think it's more just like they can and why wouldn't they if that's their prerogative. But.

22:26.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, no.

22:30.90

Dr_ Placebo

I Mean we don't want to have the whole podcast be ah, just about that. Probably just just another episode of fucking Max Angry. Ah. Episode 51 max is pissed Again. Ah.

22:50.41

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's not fair.

22:53.35

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, oh man, but it's not fair, but then again like once again like it's so important to have perspective and recognize that there's this constant rebalancing between business. And state where the the business is like okay you know you're going to work in our coal mine and by the way we have a little general store on the way out so you can spend all your money at our general store after your you know.

23:25.56

mikebledsoe

That I tell you about this.

23:28.16

Dr_ Placebo

12 hour shift in the coal mine you know because I feel I feel like ah yeah, yeah, yeah, like only 30 episodes ago. Ah like you you basically have your you basically own this little work town more or less.

23:33.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah man that shit blew my mind.

23:46.97

Dr_ Placebo

And South Park app actually did a little episode about that. Ah, where all a lot of the people were working for Amazon and then ordering packages on Amazon so they basically just got a job at Amazon doing grunt work. So they could support their habit of buying shit from Amazon it's like work 16 hours what do you get another day older and deeper in it. It sounds and it's like this whole thing. Ah so there there's like a constant. You know rebalancing of that right? but it still it still falls into the natural order of an alpha dominating everybody else and it doesn't matter if you're a wolf or something like that. You know it doesn't matter what animal. There's always this pyramid. Type hierarchy and um, you know that's I know you talk about decentralization a lot where everybody is more or less free to make their own choices and once again, that's what that's what America was originally intended to be I think was. Everybody's more um, sovereign over their choices and the consequences of those choices which is a big part of it right.

25:05.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, with that comes the responsibility right? The yeah and that's I mean I think that's the key to the development of consciousness and people's ability to get in greater contact with reality is to. Suffer the consequences or reap the rewards of your behavior and when you're shielded from any of that.

25:32.58

Dr_ Placebo

And that's also the worst. Oh that's also the worst type of governance is when the people making the decisions don't assume the consequences for their behavior right.

25:45.11

mikebledsoe

Right? Well this this happens in um and business as Well, right? So when we look at and it usually so government creates Corporate. You know the idea of corporations right. Some some businessman comes along and says look if you allow me to create a corporation then I can and it'll shield me from liability from personally personally from my decisions in business and they go Oh. There's a great idea. It's gonna make a lot easier for. For investors.

26:26.93

mikebledsoe

I lost you for a second you there? Okay, good. Um and so and so this idea that people are now shielded from liability now you've got.

26:27.22

Dr_ Placebo

Yep.

26:32.78

Dr_ Placebo

Oh yeah, I'm here.

26:43.76

mikebledsoe

You know, ah was just we can take it up and in their notch. You know you got Pfizer who was had the largest fraud case in all of human history and had to pay out all you know how much money it was it was a ridiculous amount. Not as much as Alex Jones Doesn have to pay for running his mouth but ah, that wasn't a fraud case. So this is like 1 of the biggest fraud cases in all of history less than a slap on the wrist and then ah, what. And which results in people dying. The results are people dying and what happens with a Ceo fizer the one who's ultimately responsible for the company. Nothing nothing the company pays the fee pays the fine. No repercussion. And a lot of people go well, that's capitalism and I go no this is this is a people who are capitalistic who are capitalizing on the use of government for violence so without without them leveraging government. Pfizer would be in every individual if you take the government out. Well then people start looking around with well who do we blame you know and you can start pointing fingers now I don't think that I think that the.

28:12.29

mikebledsoe

Even going after the Ceo of a company that just makes a drug is a diffusion of responsibility I would say what doctor prescribed this doctors are are shielded from liability as long as they follow these rules now they can't be found guilty of anything in court. Even if they were truly negligent and not practicing medicine appropriately as long as they follow the algorithm so you have all these things all these rules that are put in place. All these things are shielding liability that create an environment where people actually. Are not practicing judgment from moment to moment. They're just doing what they're told.

28:57.60

Dr_ Placebo

Like which is what you would want if you were in charge hundred percent like if I'm in charge I don't want people questioning what I say I would like to have a small secret group of advisors.

28:59.31

mikebledsoe

Um, which is yeah.

29:15.61

Dr_ Placebo

That help me make decisions but I wouldn't want the broad population to question anything I'm saying under any circumstance because that would just make things very difficult to do what I want right? So It makes sense that you would not want that. What's. Interesting to me is you know there's all this like wrongful death. Let's call it I think that's what we would Call. That's let's call it wrongful death if you can if you can pay a fine for wrongful death. Why can't you have a slave.

29:52.24

mikebledsoe

Ah.

29:53.14

Dr_ Placebo

Like like if there's a number that they've decided is like okay that's all right? You paid the money you you do your thing That's fine like why can't you have an indentured servant or something like that. It just seems I don't know.

30:09.77

mikebledsoe

Stop using your logic max. You're gonna you might trigger somebody. Ah.

30:17.75

Dr_ Placebo

It's like we try to say oh you can't value a human life and yet we do all the time.

30:21.34

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's worth $15 an hour for minimum wage for for minimum people. Um.

30:33.61

mikebledsoe

I Mean we do have all right all right? So so.

30:35.58

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's It's a little bit weird the way we try to like value human life. Ah like monetarily it sort of makes sense I guess like what you'd like I don't know the way that we.

30:44.40

mikebledsoe

Well, this is how I break it down look.

30:51.48

Dr_ Placebo

The way that we punish wrongdoing is really weird it Most of the time doesn't really provide any relief to the victimized party right? Someone commits a crime and we're like we're going to send you to Jail but then the victim is just fucked basically still.

31:07.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

31:11.38

Dr_ Placebo

So the taxpayers foot the bill of this alleged criminal now. But there's no like rested I mean once again like a lot of the stuff is done as badly as possible but like you say it's all about the incentives at play more than anything.

31:24.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if someone wrongs somebody else or say we want to be humane right? We're not going to pay him back? Yeah, so like you Rob somebody maybe you you injure somebody and.

31:31.95

Dr_ Placebo

Pay him back. Pay him back.

31:41.67

mikebledsoe

They lose an eye or an arm or whatever it is. They can't do their work anymore. It's like all right? Well now you're working for them. You're not gonna enter.

31:50.63

Dr_ Placebo

Insurance companies figure it out insurance companies figure out exactly how much they're willing to pay if you hurt your leg. They know exactly if you have a pancrea Titis they have a schedule.

31:55.35

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

32:06.63

Dr_ Placebo

For exactly how much they're going to pay to help you resolve your pancreatitis. So why don't we have I mean look you just put me in charge and I will fix everything ah right before I'm assassinated.

32:08.30

mikebledsoe

Um I Love how we're solving all the world's problems right now.

32:20.75

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so I mean this is interesting like you're right? There are all sorts of formulas for figuring out what the cost should be so somebody injures somebody else. It's like okay you owe me X amount of dollars and you've you've got to give me.

32:27.25

Dr_ Placebo

And then ah.

32:40.88

mikebledsoe

2 wo-thirds of your money that you make until then and so you're basically you basically lose your freedom of labor and time and of your own life in exchange for your wrongdoing and no one had to die that person could still improve their skills.

32:44.49

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

33:00.25

mikebledsoe

As a and they're late their skills of labor that could still contribute to society. They could still help build the wealth of the society and the person who is wrong gets made right.

33:13.89

Dr_ Placebo

Well and that's what taxation is right? It's part-time servitude and people don't recognize what an imposition that is especially when you consider the fact that there's no incentive for the people spending those stolen dollars to be efficient with them. You know.

33:25.68

mikebledsoe

Um, right? But what about the roads max. What about the roads.

33:33.53

Dr_ Placebo

Um, we would We would never have roads ever unless we were like deeply gouged every fucking year. There's no way. No one would think to lay down asphalt.

33:41.42

mikebledsoe

A lot of the roads out in California were not poured by anyone wasn't paid for gut by government. It was private roads that were built by lumber companies and other things that were later.

33:49.24

Dr_ Placebo

I Mean it's ridiculous like these arguments. But.

34:00.60

mikebledsoe

Purchased by the government but government didn't build those roads.

34:06.55

Dr_ Placebo

Well and just to push back I agree with you and I'm also glad that we didn't just let the lumber companies go full hog and completely take down every tree that existed in the western side of the United States because when you start looking at how efficient we have gotten at processing the environment. It is. It is really insane honestly, how good we are at catching fish. How good we are at processing lumber. Um the speed with which we can. Expand and procreate I mean even with relatively few offspring ah per couple per coupling. We can spread crazy fast. Um and I was I was watching this thing the other day it was about.

35:03.98

Dr_ Placebo

Another animal documentary. You know I love that stuff and these fish these fish these herring on near Vancouver island they go to lay their eggs. There. They do 20000 eggs per fish up to and they they plant them all individually. Everywhere. So. There's this huge influx of like a million fish. They each drop off like 20000 eggs and a lot of them get eaten by in the environment and then you have these wolves on Vancouver Island and they have like 2 wolf pups like 2 compared to 20000 so the amount of sophistication required and the investment per offspring is so significant the more complex of an animal you get. But I mean look how crazy good humans are at keeping offspring alive. It's incredible. So. On the one hand I guess I'm glad we didn't just go total free rain on ah you know, cutting down all the forests and eating every single animal. Um, but at the same time There's an incentive if you're a lumberjack to not. Ah, cut down every single tree right? So once again, you just want the incentives to be in place I always think of the Roman Bridge builders that's like my favorite example, you build a bridge you have to stand underneath it when we test it out that that's my favorite example.

36:33.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

36:40.89

Dr_ Placebo

So when you're looking for someone who's going to work for you. Make sure that their performance and their incentive are related. Simple is that if you're looking for work ah make sure that your performance and incentive are related. And all the other stuff we're talking about is mostly mental masturbation. Um, because it doesn't really affect the bottom line of what an individual can do what an individual can do is um, get clear on their values. And figure out how to provide value so value and values and regardless of what you decide to do as a profession just make sure that the incentive and the ah consequences are in the like the same place. Basically. So you can get so you can earn more if you do better and you earn less if you do worse and that way you really have Um, you're like the master of your destiny so to speak.

37:43.94

mikebledsoe

I Want to go back to the lumberjacks. So there's no one So there's an incentive for them not to cut everything down but the problem is sometimes people are short sighted. You need somebody else to come in with an objective.

37:59.22

Dr_ Placebo

True.

37:59.67

mikebledsoe

And objective perspective and go hey hey I'm looking at the bigger picture here. Don't do that anymore. Do it like this and then people either listen or don't listen, but that's where government comes in this because the government says well you have to listen to me or else I'll conduct violence on you? yeah.

38:17.44

Dr_ Placebo

Shoot you right? or put you in a box back to our boxes. We'll put it. We'll put you in a box that you don't want to be in you want to be in this other box. But we're going to put you in this one.

38:18.40

mikebledsoe

So you know yeah.

38:31.43

mikebledsoe

So How do you?? How do you motivate people I mean some people will argue that um I mean I do which is the lack of of ah the repercussions hitting that person individually is what's keeping them From. Understanding their their um the impact they're having and that's been going on generation after generation after generation they're shielded from it so people are actually become too dumb to realize the the impacts of of their behavior. So How do we.

39:07.96

mikebledsoe

How do we do? How do we do that without threatening violence like how do we get people to expand their awareness and not do dumb stuff without threatening them.

39:07.99

Dr_ Placebo

Well ignorance it.

39:21.76

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, well, it's like ah it's like heaven and hell basically it's it's a carrot or a stick and people are the natural condition of humans is ignorance the natural condition of any animal. Ignorance so you need to have some sort of carrot and some sort of stick and ah heaven and hell are really good examples of that but you need to have some sort of ah constructive incentive I Think that's why religion did work so Well. And has continued to work really well because it's like ah it's It's an untouchable goodness and badness like you can't even imagine how excellent heaven is and you can't even imagine how awful hell could possibly be.. You're like oh. You know about hell if you burned your hand.. It's like way worse than burning your hand.. It's like a thousand times worse than that and it's forever and you're like oh fuck forever that seems like a really long Time. You're like okay I guess I won't covet. My Neighbor's goods or something like that right? so. I Guess it's kind of the same thing. Um and some people don't give a shit about whether the local wildlife stays alive and some people take it way too Far. They're like oh you can't You can't build this.

40:52.70

Dr_ Placebo

Bridge here because it's going to impact the spawning of the the spotted pigmy something or other you know what I mean and you have like 5 ah people working full time to figure out and. Make up some fancy charts about why it's bad that you can't ah bad to build that bridge. So I don't I don't think there's a definitive answer other than you need to have with any group you need to have some sort of hierarchy because it's got to ultimately be somebody's decision.

41:29.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um I guess my question is does the hierarchy need to need to include violence you you guys just that's human nature. We need somebody who's gonna like to say you know what you better behave wrong gonna beat you down.

41:38.85

Dr_ Placebo

Well I think.

41:50.73

Dr_ Placebo

You know, a lot of people are robbing stores right now. Um from what I understand and I don't know if I'm getting bad information or not well I mean at my local home Depot I See a lot of ah tools.

41:54.57

mikebledsoe

I mean it's mostly in in Northern California

42:07.15

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah.

42:07.86

Dr_ Placebo

That are now locked up that were no were not locked up before and ah, you know there are some like there are some things that you can go on like next door and it's mostly a bunch of curtain twitchers like look lo and busybodies.

42:22.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

42:27.76

Dr_ Placebo

Just like oh can you believe these damn kids were riding their bikes without a helmet and it's like yes, kids are stupid and 1 of them might die and that'll be really sad but like do we really need to talk about it. Um, but they also discuss like what's going look and and you might die.

42:36.10

mikebledsoe

Ah I never wore a helmet when I was a kid just for the record.

42:46.57

Dr_ Placebo

You know it's just you got to accept the consequences right? code of Hamurabi had clear consequences for every crime if you pluck out a man's eye your eye gets plucked out if you kill a man you get killed if you rape a woman. Have to marry her and pay her dad 50 silver shekels. It's really weird rules but they had a clear consequence for every crime that there was and so people are talking about folks just walking out of stores with a bunch of stuff and I can't imagine. Being a business that's open all the time that people can just jack your stuff and walk out because the consequences of trying to stop them. Are you probably get sued or something crazy like that which is. Is way worse. We're talking like ah you know the litigiousness of our of our culture is so pathetic. Honestly, it's ah it really makes it harder for everybody.

43:51.77

mikebledsoe

Well this is the difference between what I saw between California and Florida we could take the 2 extremes here is you had people writing and stealing and all that stuff and in California you know you actually tried to stop.

44:08.43

Dr_ Placebo

And.

44:10.29

mikebledsoe

Like if you harm somebody and trying to stop them from stealing from you like you're going to be in trouble and they're not going to charge a person for theft and they're just like no property rights just aren't honored there or in Florida my buddy he lives in Miami and. All the rightots were were going pretty strong like two and a half years ago and I forget exactly what what person in government said this you know don't know if it was like the sheriff or if it was the mayor or the governor or whoever it was they were like all right. If you own a store and people are coming in that try to Rob you, you can shoot them. We encourage you to they basically encourage the behavior that you're gonna get you know? Ah, ah, what's it called. They're gonna try to do something to you in California. So.

44:56.92

Dr_ Placebo

And.

45:06.18

mikebledsoe

All these business owners. They're like okay so they go to their stores. They aren't armed I think 1 or 2 guys got shot they died and then all the writing stopped and it it's the you that um.

45:06.81

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

45:16.48

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah Incentives work the incentive to not get shot is tremendous.

45:26.47

mikebledsoe

But the thing is is what you have in in Florida was the government getting out of the way you say you know what we're actually not going to ah get in the way of you protecting your life your property. Your labor because your property is your labor It's a product of your labor and you know our job is to make sure that ah we're not going to fuck that up and that if someone else comes and fucks up your your property your labor your your life then we're going to help you know, bring.

45:53.27

Dr_ Placebo

Yep.

46:04.00

mikebledsoe

Some type of ah Justice there. But in the meantime if you are going to be able to bring your own justice very quickly and defend yourself because if you break if someone breaks into your house. They have to me they initiated violence. They just. They broke a window. They didn't harm me physically but they they have just that they put their life on the line there because I have no idea what their intentions are right.

46:36.70

Dr_ Placebo

I totally agree and you don't have enough time to figure out if they're just trying to take your television or if they're trying to murder you and then take your television like there's no way to tell so basically in Florida what they did is they.

46:45.38

mikebledsoe

There's no way to tell.

46:53.29

mikebledsoe

Right? right.

46:54.37

Dr_ Placebo

They did not interfere with self-defense. That's all they didn't do right? So if you just don't interfere with self-defense things have a way of rebalancing themselves and it reminds me of when I was in Oklahoma with ah my grandpa.

47:12.21

Dr_ Placebo

He took me to this jewelry store where ah we didn't have to go there like he wasn't going to pick up jewelry or anything. He just knew the owner of the jewelry store and wanted me to meet this guy and see the bullet holes in the wall.

47:28.29

mikebledsoe

Ah, and yeah.

47:28.30

Dr_ Placebo

Because this guy I was like fourteen years old I was like whoa this is pretty heavy stuff. Ah, and so basically some some guy came into the jewelry store and said to the owner give me your money but the jewelry store owner had a shotgun mounted. Underneath the ah ah like display case and he just fired out like both barrels of a shotgun basically and he left the little beeb's ah, some of them were red some like red Beebe's in the far wall and he just left them. There. And I was just saying wow that is like a strong incentive to not do that and it's like if that's not ah if it's not okay to defend yourself. Do you really want to be part of that group and I think for most rational people they would say no. Right? I don't want to just be a sitting duck. Basically.

48:27.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think it's um I found it interesting over the last couple years how a lot of the same people who have been preaching consent around sex are the same ones that.

48:43.54

Dr_ Placebo

Oh yeah.

48:45.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, will be the first ones be like don't defend yourself and went from things that aren't rape. It's like it's like it's like it's like ah sex gets put in a super special category I think I think I.

48:52.82

Dr_ Placebo

Totally.

49:03.61

Dr_ Placebo

Rape is not about sex Rape is not about sex. It is about choice almost everybody really likes sex. It's just that they want it to be their choice right? That's it. It's like most people like food.

49:11.00

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

49:20.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

49:20.57

Dr_ Placebo

They just don't want to be like force fed food through a funnel or something like that. It's all about choice. It has nothing to do with sex is like just barely the ah the medium for that removal of choice.

49:32.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I think when it comes to sex is extra touchy because women specifically are at a disadvantage in those scenarios right? It's very rare.

49:45.93

Dr_ Placebo

Well why would you say that I don't understand can you explain because women are just as strong as men.

49:52.38

mikebledsoe

So ah.

49:57.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, they can also have penises.

50:04.50

Dr_ Placebo

And their penises are just as big. Ah god.

50:04.70

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, ah actually to make this a little bit more clear for people. Um, yeah, if you're if you're a man then your your job and for sex is to penetrate and then for the woman is to receive that Penetration. So.

50:22.56

Dr_ Placebo

Oh God I've been doing it all wrong.

50:26.76

mikebledsoe

Ah, so ah, yeah, it that the the the penetrators are are more likely to be the rapist is what I'm getting at so that's right the point.

50:38.31

Dr_ Placebo

The penetrators are the perpetrators is what you're saying.

50:42.38

mikebledsoe

More often than not so um, so I think that in our society sex is ah yeah, that for some reason it's way touchier when it comes to consent when it comes to sex but it. There it when it comes to physical violence or when it comes to injecting people with experimental drugs go going to War Consent. It's I.

51:11.10

Dr_ Placebo

Going to war taxation.

51:16.78

mikebledsoe

Tell people who go who have the realization that I'm um, talking about here and they go holy shit like these people are like arguing for consent here but not over here and there's a lot of things like that I go. Well yeah, it's because people don't understand principles. People are. Ah, if they were actually principally based they would then say well consent matters in every situation. There are no special occasions for when consent is is not okay or you know isn't isn't useful.

51:53.63

Dr_ Placebo

Agreed greed.

51:54.25

mikebledsoe

And so ah, the majority of people in politics the majority of people who care about politics are very hypocritical so you know if you're getting mad at somebody else about you know because if you look at the left. They basically say we want consent for this but not this if you look at the right They say the same thing we want consent for this but not this and they're basically just arguing over who's going to be able to boss the other one around and who's going to not be bossed around.

52:29.21

Dr_ Placebo

Right? There's like 5 things that they'll never agree on and never budge an inch and then 1000000 things that everybody agrees on because it's just super obvious and that's what keeps people divided the five things that no one will budge on.

52:35.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, the 5 the 5 things.

52:49.10

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, yeah, you're 100% right it is all about consent I think um I mean there's not much else to say really, it's just that people are trapped where they're just feeling something.

53:02.65

mikebledsoe

5 my.

53:04.75

Dr_ Placebo

Something just feels wrong to them. But the other thing feels right to them and we're we're trained to seek authority from some higher figure and that person is going to make it right. That Authority figure is going to make it right? and it's always like people are always in favor of that people want the leader with a big stick who says my way or the highway until the other guy gets in charge like I feel like a broken record sometimes. But it's like everybody is like oh we hate that guy in Charge. He's doing all these executive orders and then the next guy comes in and they're like yeah look at our guy taking charge making those executive orders. It's like no dude What? like? okay.

53:53.18

mikebledsoe

54:00.46

mikebledsoe

Terrible.

54:02.11

Dr_ Placebo

Democracy is also a bad idea. That's why capitalism at least true capitalism would be a lot better because look if 51% of the people vote that it's okay to rape the other 49 of their stuff or their anuses. Whatever. Right? It doesn't matter. That's okay, according to democracy because it's still just glorified mob rule that they put their leader in charge and they can pretty much do whatever the fuck they want because they have the biggest stick around and it's just crazy that people think that is the best way to go go about it. Rather than mostly leaving it up to the individuals each and every day to decide what they value and how they want to spend their dollars how they want to spend their time how they want to spend their ah resources right.

54:51.12

mikebledsoe

Um, but how could we control them the ah.

55:02.27

Dr_ Placebo

I Mean some things you need if you're going to be a leader though. You do need to have some sort of um, incentive for people to want to be part of your group right? That's the.

55:11.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you got gotta to make someone else the villain you know like I'm gonna save you from these people over here I mean I learned most of what.

55:17.82

Dr_ Placebo

That's the main thing.

55:24.16

Dr_ Placebo

I'm going to save you from an invisible scourge that is ravaging the world by the way. It's totally invisible. You can't see it don't breathe the air. It will kill you.

55:33.67

mikebledsoe

Other Invisibles scourges inflation. Let's see inflation is Evil Ah, ah, there's another one. Ah and this up.

55:46.70

Dr_ Placebo

So do we talk about how we're trying to fix inflation by printing more dollars and giving everyone more money. Do we talk about that.

55:50.81

mikebledsoe

And and inflation terrorism. These are things that are invisible that ah you can you can scare the be Jesus out of people. So like you know we're gonna get those terrorists I'm like who are the terrorists. You know the terrorists like can you show me one of them.

56:06.81

Dr_ Placebo

Well, if terrorism if Terrorism is controlling people through if terrorism is controlling people through fear. No one is a bigger terrorist than our own media and government. No question. Not even.

56:08.67

mikebledsoe

Are they wearing a uniform.

56:16.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah says Cnn.

56:24.25

Dr_ Placebo

not even close. It's not even close it's so it's so crazy far ahead like Al Qaeda we shouldn't even know their name based on the small percentage of terror they've instilled versus these media conglomerates which people are mainlining. Every day like a fucking drug. They're like oh god I forgot I wasn't supposed to be I forgot I was supposed to be afraid every second of every fucking day right.

56:51.34

mikebledsoe

I Think the same thing goes for um I got the inflation I think dude.

56:57.20

Dr_ Placebo

Oh my god North Korea North Korea is going to get us that country across the sea that can barely feed themselves. Oh god thanks for reminding me to be afraid of North Korea

57:08.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah was it last night I was hanging out with some friends and they were talking about the chinese have created an artificial sun that's 5 times hotter and I go well where is this. And go it's in a nuclear. They got some like reactor or whatever and I'm like man I'm having a really hard time believing this because the chinese are terrible innovators. They're very good at copying things ah like 80% as good as it was originally intended to be but they're not making anything new. They're definitely not creating a sun and extracting energy from it and they were getting I think something like that.

57:54.42

Dr_ Placebo

Well, do they just mean a nuclear reactor that is more efficient because those things are very those things are very hot and you'd be sort of I I believe we can make stuff that's hotter than the sun. Um, don't quote me on that. But I think there's a lot of stuff that we can. Make that's hotter than the sun. It's not necessarily true that we can extract a ton of energy out of it Although Nuclear power plants are crazy efficient compared to anything else that we've sorted out So if they have a nuclear reactor. That's even you know 20% more efficient.

58:18.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

58:31.20

Dr_ Placebo

That might actually already be hotter than the sun but probably whatever information they read is so misleading right? because now we're trying to get eyeballs that have just been skull fucked every day for the last decade of like the 1 thing you should be afraid of or.

58:50.24

mikebledsoe

Um, well there' a the conversation I was having with my friends yesterday went from it went from China's got a sun. It's hot than the sun or ah, that's hot than yet the sun and then.

58:50.26

Dr_ Placebo

Is the apocalypse happening today here's what you should do. It's like every this is like oh my god like how could you? ah.

59:04.89

mikebledsoe

It was all ref in the conversation about ah Russia and nuclear war unlike I'm like oh you just got like spun up so anything that you could be afraid of from a country that's on the other side of the planet. You're freaking out and then they're like yeah I mean they mean nuclear war I'm like I'm like.

59:12.20

Dr_ Placebo

Great. Okay.

59:24.52

mikebledsoe

Russia can't is not gonna get a warhead into like America. It's not gonna like they don't have the they they could shoot something this direction but I don't think it's gonna make it and and again, yeah, it's not good.

59:39.72

Dr_ Placebo

And if it did what's the probability that it hits you.

59:42.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean people are then they're like oh the fallout and all this I'm like unlike maybe but here's the thing with the chinese sun and the russian nukes I can't do a damn thing about either 1 of them like I I'm not. Ah.

59:59.57

Dr_ Placebo

Better start building that Bunker blood. So the blood so bunker. Okay here.

01:00:04.16

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh we should start selling this all right. The new new New direction for the show. We scare the shit out of people.

01:00:12.36

Dr_ Placebo

You can order your blood so bunker and it it 5 5 3 2 4 5 call now to reserve your blood snow bunker. It comes with six months of food six months of water. You're welcome simple simple as that right.

01:00:17.30

mikebledsoe

That's a.

01:00:25.80

mikebledsoe

that's ah that's Alex Jones's that's Alex Jones ' whole thing just scares the shit of you. Oh my god the world's gonna end the pedophiles are gonna drop nukes on us. But and then it's like commercial comes in. It's like.

01:00:30.56

Dr_ Placebo

I Mean. Totally yeah.

01:00:40.98

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, the pedophiles are going to drop new on.

01:00:41.31

mikebledsoe

Buy the fair supply by my food supply.

01:00:47.74

Dr_ Placebo

Right? Totally by this bucket of slop that will keep you alive in your bunker and okay so one 1 thing that's practical insurance and acceptance most people aren't spending their lives all that well anyway.

01:00:50.17

mikebledsoe

01:01:06.87

Dr_ Placebo

Now I'm not 1 to judge right? But if you're just afraid you're just afraid all the time like is that really a way to live and there are only 2 things you can do about the future insurance and acceptance and if you're going to get insurance.

01:01:07.36

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:01:22.78

Dr_ Placebo

You got to set it and forget it Otherwise the insurance is a waste of fucking time. It's like buying fire insurance and then every day worrying that your house is going to burn down. It's stupid. Yeah, very nice. Excellent.

01:01:31.13

mikebledsoe

That's why I cover my house with water every morning you know, just in case. Yeah.

01:01:41.25

Dr_ Placebo

I'm sure it takes ah a really long time. Ah, just and I'm sure it's really good for the materials to be constantly drenched in water.

01:01:44.56

mikebledsoe

Um, oh I I got ah I got a buddy who lives in tahoe and was it last year. Yeah, it was last year basically tahoe was on fire.

01:02:00.27

mikebledsoe

While burning renegade burning man was happening so he walks out of his house. He sprays it down with a hose and then he just leaves the hose on to try to make the property as wet as possible gets in his car and goes to burning man for a week

01:02:12.80

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

01:02:20.28

mikebledsoe

And that was acceptance. He's like he's like I did the best thing I could do and you know my house and might not be there when I get back.

01:02:24.80

Dr_ Placebo

That's an option that is an option.

01:02:31.96

Dr_ Placebo

Insurance and acceptance you got to figure out what'll make you feel comfortable and just set it and forget it. There's no point in buying the insurance If you're going to worry about it all the time and you ultimately. Like everything comes back to accepting your own impermanence and the ego is only ever trying to gain more and more permanence so they're at odds with one another. So unless you bring acceptance into it. There's no amount of insurance that'll make you feel really safe. You'll be.. You'll be deep in a bunker. You'll be like oh fuck I forgot about Earthquakes I'll be totally fucked down here in this bunker If. There's an earthquake and then you're like okay I need a I need it to be in the Sky. No I need it to be on the Moon. And then you live on the moon and you're like fuck. There's no asteroid defense on the moon and it's like ah I don't know kind of like the same Hedonic treadmill where you are just so focused on material. Um things. You're like oh I need a better house and a better car and a better this and a better that and you know realistically ah, most people just want to feel ah like they're in flow with whatever the thing they're doing is some sort of play.

01:04:01.73

Dr_ Placebo

For some people play is playing cards with their friends or having ah an adult beverage with friends and just talking but people really just want to play more than anything else. But if you're so hellbent on like I got to get safe I got to get safe I got to get safe. You're just gonna be stuck in your lizard brain. So You're not going to make a very good forwardthink decision. You're gonna make short-term decisions that assuage the fear of the lizard. So You know we have those 3 tiers lizard mammal and wizard and if you don't feel safe. You're gonna be stuck in Lizard mode and be like I got to get safe I got to get safe I got to get safe. You won't go to the mammal level where you're like I got to find love I Got to find love I Got to find love of course it's the easiest thing to find you just you just be Love. That's it. It's it's like. The easiest thing ever and the hardest thing for most people to do and if you feel safe if you feel that not only are you loved but you are loved then you have this wizard brain that can be creative and think of new things and. Tell jokes and play music and play games and think about what would be good in the future without being totally trapped by the fear of the lizard or the lack of love in the mammal. But if you're if you're stuck just like being bounced around from fear to fear.

01:05:34.19

Dr_ Placebo

Via Terrorism I mean you're just playing into the hands of the people who are profiting from that terrorism right.

01:05:39.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and you got to be careful I mean media? What what media are you consuming the fact that you're here consuming this media I think you've made a good choice. But yeah, if you're consuming Cnn Msnbc Fox News they're gonna be just scaring a shit out of you all the time. Um. And then.

01:05:59.37

Dr_ Placebo

And it and it probably won't even change your decisions in like a constructive way. It'll just make you. It'll just make you more afraid right.

01:06:03.38

mikebledsoe

Not in a good way Now it'll make you more it. Ah you know you got fight flight freeze most people freeze you know I don't know what to do I'm going to freeze and they they they freeze in.

01:06:13.20

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah.

01:06:20.43

mikebledsoe

Being able to move forward in their life. Um, so you got also need to look at who you're hanging out with if you're hanging out with people who are always talking about prepping for the apocalypse you're probably not going to make a lot of forward motion in your life. Ah, if shit hits the fan. You might be a little more prepared may probably not.

01:06:34.11

Dr_ Placebo

Totally.

01:06:39.15

mikebledsoe

Because my my whole thing on it is I hang out with some people who sometimes get a little far into the prepper mode and I help you know fish them out a little bit and then I also have another group of friends who that never crosses their mind whatsoever and every you know unicorns and rainbows are coming.

01:06:49.62

Dr_ Placebo

Yep.

01:06:55.75

Dr_ Placebo

At once.

01:06:58.91

mikebledsoe

The reality is somewhere in the middle and the but it's helpful because I like to visit the friends that are unicorns and rainbows because it helps balance me out ah from like hanging out with people who are like freaking out the end is coming I'm like look.

01:07:00.72

Dr_ Placebo

Right? so.

01:07:17.88

mikebledsoe

Things are gonna change. It may be really uncomfortable but like as you were saying the impermanence is always there So how it changes and you think you're gonna predict that I've never predicted how something was going to go accurately. Ah.

01:07:29.70

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

01:07:37.27

mikebledsoe

I Mean only vague predictions will be like oh this guy will win. This guy will lose or this even then my predictions aren't that great like the the track record's not amazing is like oh this business work. This one won't well I thought all my businesses were gonna work and not all of them did so not the way I.

01:07:45.00

Dr_ Placebo

01:07:55.82

mikebledsoe

Not the way I wanted them to um, they worked in their own way and so same thing with life.

01:07:59.75

Dr_ Placebo

Right? Ah so you want the preppers you want the preppers to set up your insurance and you want to hang with the unicorn and rainbow crew because it's going to be a lot more fun. Ah.

01:08:07.67

mikebledsoe

I Don't let out my secret man.

01:08:17.27

Dr_ Placebo

Oh Wow I couldn't have figured that who could have figured that out.

01:08:18.94

mikebledsoe

Ah, blowing my cover bro. Yeah.

01:08:23.52

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, ah boy I'm sure no one would think of that your plus plus if everyone else do is does it then you can't right? That's like ah it.

01:08:32.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean we might end up with a lot of really healthy adjusted people if they all did what I did but instead I need to keep some of them in the clouds and some of them in in deep fear.

01:08:44.66

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's not ah, it's well it's not a 0 sum game right? It's actually the more like so the micro level like for you and I as individuals. Um the more value that. We can provide the better off. We are the more concrete. Um, our values are the more that we know and can love ourselves the easier it is to make decisions and broadly speaking in a community the more value every individual provides the healthier that. Community is because if you have people who earn nothing and don't provide anything of value. Well here's what you can do you can work. You can beg and you can steal and those are the only 3 ways you can get stuff Basically so if everyone. Has something valuable then we can all work and earn and the overall value and the health of the group economy community whatever is significantly higher I mean that's hopefully what's happening here is there's a small group of people. Maybe a large group of people who are listening to these are like oh yeah, you know what? I I now can work past this fear I was having and maybe I can ah accept my own mortality a little bit more so I can create more value for myself and that has.

01:10:19.11

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, a network effect to everything around them or a butterfly effect or a domino effect. Whatever ah analogy works for you right? So it's um, when everybody does better every does everybody does better even though that sounds really stupid. But it's true.

01:10:30.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and the only time that's not it doesn't seem like it's true is when people start getting into comparison. It's like the United States due to capitalism has become the wealthiest country on the planet and the average person is.

01:10:37.89

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

01:10:47.62

mikebledsoe

Look if you're an american you are the 1 % globally and yet people can't seem to to understand that. Um, so it's good to the only the only time that's not going to apply is if you start getting into to relative comparisons. Inside of ah ah, a small bubble which might be a a single country.

01:11:18.70

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, that's true and and we're taught to look look up right? Who's doing better than us. Um, and if it's inspirational for you Then that's good and if it makes you envious then that's probably not as good.

01:11:19.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:11:35.39

Dr_ Placebo

Because as we like to say envy is the only one of the 7 deadly sins that you can't have any fun at so why? bother? ah.

01:11:42.78

mikebledsoe

I I yeah say we shut it down at that max you want to summarize I mean I think we we had ah another show that was full of many different topics.

01:11:58.62

Dr_ Placebo

Well I I really enjoyed myself and as far as value is concerned I think there's hardly anything more valuable than your physical and mental health and if you'd like to put some skin in the game you can order. A program at macshank.com and you will be much better for it and I thank you all for listening Mike.

01:12:20.11

mikebledsoe

Excellent. Yeah I'm still up to some secret stuff. You can get on that email list on the the link over in my Instagram account people have been trickling in to strong trickle. Um, and yeah. I'll email you about what's coming up. Got a new course I'm launching the day before this podcast comes out. So if you're not checking the emails and you're already missed out but I'll be ah, posting some more stuff up in the next month so be prepared.

01:12:36.80

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

01:12:55.52

mikebledsoe

And my yeah, yeah, it's it's exciting stuff my Instagram account at Mike Underscore bloodso and I'll see you guys next week

01:12:56.66

Dr_ Placebo

Very exciting.

01:13:03.56

Dr_ Placebo

Mean. Love you buddy.

Adrienne Jezick, Emotional Resilience through Cold Exposure Oct 20, 2022

Channeling Flow without the Ego, Monday Morning with Mike & Max Oct 17, 2022

Pioneering Health Optimization Medicine with Dr. Ted Achacoso Oct 13, 2022

10 minutes after meeting Dr. Ted Achacoso (pioneer for Health Optimization Medicine), he hands me a clear troche and tells me to put it under my upper lip.

This was a trust fall… and he passed the sniff test. Soon after the consumption we sat down for a podcast interview where I experienced my awareness shift and expand into the conversation.

From gene editing to studying consciousness and the chemicals that dictate it… we cover a lot of ground. Dr. Ted views medicine through the refreshing lens of “optimization” which creates a totally different experience of health and medicine.

Whether you’re an MD or health practitioner wanting to learn how to better serve your clients… or simply a student of health and consciousness this show will deliver.

Talk soon,

Mike “the psychonaut” Bledsoe

P.S. Links to the project we discuss on the show: https://homehope.org/pages/start-here

More Money, Less Effort, Monday Morning with Mike & Max Oct 10, 2022

Charles Clay: How to Turn Humble Pie Into a Purposeful Pivot Oct 06, 2022

Are You Too Busy to be Successful? Oct 03, 2022

Mike & Max break down the 80/20 rule on how to optimize your business and life.

How Conspiracy Theories Can Make You a Better Person Sep 29, 2022

Kyle Kingsbury, Mark England, and Adam Chin. They all have something in common.

A couple weeks ago I invited the best narrative geeks in the game over to the studio to have a little fun with conspiracy theories.

And as you probably already know, conspiracy theories are just theoretical narratives that are labeled as such because it counters the narrative held by the majority.

Buying into any single narrative can be dangerous. Ken Wilber (one of the greatest philosophers of our time) once said “extremists believe that a part is the whole”. That is they only know a part of the truth but treat it as the whole truth. Extremists are dangerous. They start conflict and can never bring peace.

So, whether you’re down with the mainstream or you’re a hardcore conspiracy theorist you’re probably wrong, and partly right. Either way, on today’s show we discuss how to wade through the BS and get down to the facts that will actually help you live your best life no matter what the rest of the world is doing.

Optimization vs Resilience with Mike & Max Sep 26, 2022

How to Be a Man in 2022 with Matt Coast Sep 22, 2022

Matt Coast is a former Navy Seal turned women's dating coach. We discuss what's happening in society in 2022 and how we as men can show up to be our best for the women in our lives and for the planet.

How Training Your Eyes Will Make you Better at Everything Sep 19, 2022

00:10.29

Dr_ Placebo

Welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Today we're going to talk about Mike's funny glasses and we're gonna continue to cut through the Bs where we see it and then we're gonna add some BS. of our own Mike what's up and what's up with the glasses.

00:33.17

mikebledsoe

Absolutely only the most helpful BS in the world. So ah, you know I had to get the we've already used that title. Ah.

00:38.00

Dr_ Placebo

Oh can we call this episode constructive lives fuck. Okay I Guess that's really all there is is that all language Anyway, whatever right.

00:48.14

mikebledsoe

ah ah I mean the enlightened folk out there I think I would tell you that. So yeah, the glasses are to solve ah a problem that was created by trying to solve a problem that we're trying to solve a problem. So. Ah, basically well these are blue light blocking glasses. So these are not my I still have twenty I'm forty years old 2020 vision to this day I ah I have to acknowledge my parents for their good genetics.

01:19.73

Dr_ Placebo

Quit bragging.

01:26.50

mikebledsoe

And ah and and my own personal work of doing a lot of things outdoors. No but ah, it's funny because I did start getting some floaters in my eyes and but not I mean I don't even notice them unless I'm like staring at the blue sky you know type of thing. But I.

01:37.10

Dr_ Placebo

01:46.21

mikebledsoe

Was somebody asked me about their floaters and I go I go you know I'm not really sure what it is but I'm sure that if your body is incredibly healthy and doesn't carry a heavy toxic load and a lot of inflammation your eyes are probably eye health overall is going to do well. But so um. Was like you know what? and it's funny after that conversation I started noticing I was like oh when I'm looking at screens all day. My eyes I can tell like there's I go from being in my living room and then I sit down I have this I have a really big screen at my desk and I got the screen.

02:22.70

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

02:23.68

mikebledsoe

To improve my posture. So if you if you've got a tiny screen you're more likely to be hunched over trying to look at it and your head's gonna jut forward. But if you have a big screen. It's positioned right? You actually have to like sit back a little bit your chin tucks and you go into a much better posture. So I got this big screen and then I.

02:33.46

Dr_ Placebo

Yep.

02:42.81

mikebledsoe

Realize that my eyes are just getting blasted by a ton of blue light when I'm looking. There's artificial light I'm just staring right at it for hours and hour hours and hour hours and hours a day and I was like oh I need to get some blue light blocking glasses. So these are like my daytime I have some that.

02:47.24

Dr_ Placebo

And.

03:01.32

mikebledsoe

When the sun goes down I just swap it out with something that's more heavy duty. Ah and when I wear these glasses my eyes like my nervous system. Overall it's not just my eyes. My nervous system tends to be calmer throughout the day so looking into the blue light all day without anything to block it. Yeah. It was frying me. So yeah, we'll see. We'll see if.

03:21.60

Dr_ Placebo

I Smell a sponsor.

03:30.11

mikebledsoe

You got to be on my email list be on my email list. You might get links to the you know these products these magical products.

03:31.34

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, ah, um, man and ah, all right all right I like it. You know I noticed um because I play tennis and. I Don't know if you know but you really need to be able to see quite well to play tennis at a distance in a variety of light scenarios and I noticed a couple times when I was on the computer a bunch before it Just absolutely. Put my ability to see the tennis ball in the basement. It was really rough. So I try to think of it like you know, um, like rpgs like role-playing video games and some you know you're you're going around. Maybe you're fighting monsters or some shit. But occasionally you find yourself.

04:10.54

mikebledsoe

Here.

04:28.90

Dr_ Placebo

A little console and I kind of think of ah life that way a little bit. It's a role-playing game and I try to be really mindful of how much time I'm spending at the console.. There should be a really compelling Reason. To use the screens basically and we we really we really don't know what the total cost is um, certainly there's the old ah example of the accountant becomes nearsighted and the farmer becomes farsighted. Right? And so I think the cycling between is the key.

05:06.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, dude I I agree this is a I love we're talking about this because Ashley and I oh my my mistake, my fiance and I forget her name. Ah yeah.

05:21.39

Dr_ Placebo

Jennifer should come up with a fake name.

05:23.75

mikebledsoe

Do that now I'm gonna be in trouble. Ah, she'll be the last person listen to this show. She she hears me rant enough. Ah the we we were having date night last night and one these little fancy blind bars. We had bread and accoutrements.

05:34.68

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

05:41.63

mikebledsoe

And i't know what that word means but I know when I order it I Love the food that's put in front of me So the ah the oh yeah, the charouty as well.

05:53.29

Dr_ Placebo

Charcotery is what I like I can say feed me meat and cheese in like 10 languages.

06:00.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean that's that's that's the necessary skills to have any travel. So. It's basically food and and bathrooms. But ah ah we were talking about Myopia and so I had I. Talked about ah I saw a study there day and said there's a huge rides in Myopia and that is nearsightedness that means that people can see just fine something that's in the room with them but something that they try to see far away appears to be blurry and um. You know it's attributed to the fact that everyone's looking at things really close but hardly ever looking at anything very far away and ah that that had me thinking about a concept and I don't know where I picked this up but I I didn't invent it myself.

06:45.19

Dr_ Placebo

Edit.

06:56.68

mikebledsoe

Which is ah basically the idea is that the more time you spend looking close if you're in a room and all that your your brain actually has a hard time conceptualizing very far out into the future your ability to project. Further out your ability to consider more is hindered and so your eyes are basically just like your your brain is reaching out in front to try to capture some sense of the world and ah if you spend a lot of time.

07:29.63

Dr_ Placebo

07:34.42

mikebledsoe

And a small space. You're probably gonna think small thoughts. You're gonna have there's gonna small thinking your ability to think into the future is gonna be minimized and you know what? what? Mate. What I thought about next is you know the last two and a half years people spent. There's a 2 wo-year period where a lot of people probably the most people most people who were already indoors way too much now decide to lock themselves inside a house and stare at screens instead of.

07:52.34

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

08:08.21

mikebledsoe

Instead of looking at somebody who's ten feet away they're always eighteen inches away and if you're on your phone dude it's it's like it's one foot away from your face. So now you have an entire population of people who are near so ah near sighted they're they're myopic their thinking becomes myopic. So.

08:09.71

Dr_ Placebo

08:27.38

mikebledsoe

As above so below. So whatever's happening in your physical world is going to dictate how your internal world is if you're living in a messy chaotic space your mind is likely gonna be a little messy and chaotic. So this I remember back to when I was living in California and remember. You remember my house and had that big window that was just dude I spent most of my time like I would wake up and walk in the backyard and look over the cliff into the expanse of the ocean and all that and at any time I could leave my computer and put my eyes out there. And it was all it was really nice to be able to get that that contrast and I and it felt good now. You had the practice of looking across the way and trying to spot little boats or a house down the way and to help with my eyesight and.

09:14.56

Dr_ Placebo

09:23.80

mikebledsoe

And it got me thinking about just my ability to operate in business if I'm in front of a computer screen all the time you know how does that hinder my ability to plan for the future to see greater opportunities or am I going to be able to just see what's in front of me right now.

09:42.42

Dr_ Placebo

Man I love what you said there starting about ah 2 two and a half minutes ago in case, anyone wants to timestamp this for later ah, because as soon as you said myopia I was thinking ah visual and psychological right? You get totally locked in.

09:54.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

10:00.19

Dr_ Placebo

Your your world literally shrinks your peripheral vision goes away and from just a more mechanical standpoint your muscles in your eyes and just outside your eyes are going to learn to stay frozen. In that certain area. You know most people are looking between twelve inches and twenty four inches away from their face all the time and if you want to do that. That's fine, but just understand there are going to be tremendous costs to this behavior right. The muscles on the inside of your eyes and outside of your eyes are going to start to freeze into that position because remember your body is always and exactly adapting to whatever you do so just the same way if you sit in a chair all the time your body is going to go. Okay, we sit in a chair a lot How do we make sitting in a chair easier. So if you're looking at a screen that's right in front of you or even papers that are right in front of you which I would argue is a little healthier for you to not have light emitting straight at you but instead have it be bouncing off a page but. Ah, you know before there were screens people were still damaging their ability to see further away by honing in on something really close like a scholar or an accountant or something like that.

11:32.78

Dr_ Placebo

Going to get really good at looking at little spreadsheets but they're not going to be very good at seeing far away and it kind of reminds me once again of specialization. It's so useful to have you know 1 person counting the beans. They're locked away in an office all day. And then you have the visionary who never has to look at a spreadsheet in his life. He just looks up from the highest tower to survey the whole situation and lets someone else take care of the details and probably the best. Progress I've made in my life was when I had a clear um separation between those activities. So someone who was really specialized in those minor details. Would take care of that while I was able to see more like the big picture and connecting all these different ideas. So the ah connection between your vision. Ah,, let's call it physically. And your vision psychologically is completely interlinked and there are even um, different physiological responses to the position of your eyes even just looking up for a while.

13:02.96

Dr_ Placebo

Been playing a little volleyball recently and so of course I've I've tried to break down all of the volleyball shots and the stances that you find yourself in and sort of like deconstruct volleyball because I don't like to be bad at Sports I like to be good enough to really enjoy them. And I was just thinking how in volleyball you're basically looking straight ahead or up the entire time and I was like wow this would probably be 1 of the best things for people to do just force them to look up and extend. If they're spending tons of time looking. Let's say down at a 30 to sixty degree angle now they're looking up at a 30 to sixty degree angle and everything is up and the hand-eye coordination. Everything is pointed upwards so that. Ah, equal and opposite force could be really beneficial. So just not only the um the distance away from the object and certainly being able to track an object in and out is one of the more fundamental visual skills but also just the angle. Of your eyes has a big influence on your nervous system. You know you snap your eyes up. You should be going into extension. You snap your eyes down. You should be going into flexion so like a fetal position so the position of your eyes and the distance away.

14:33.56

Dr_ Placebo

Is going to have a big influence on your nervous system Vision's really complex. So one of the most complex things to understand.

14:37.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the other thing is is I mean if you study any body language like I I watched a bunch of videos by this guy who worked for some intelligence agency where he was. Talking about? Well you can you know their eyes do this. It's a tell right? and then I got into a little bit of Nlp and it's you and you can you can watch people when you're talking to them now and you'll I'll ask somebody a question and they'll start looking up into the right or up into the left.

15:00.00

Dr_ Placebo

15:08.26

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

15:14.15

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

15:16.38

mikebledsoe

And then if I ask them how they're feeling and if they're going to be honest with me a lot of times they'll look down like their eyes will will settle straight ahead into my eyes or they'll drop down or they'll they'll want to close their eyes and so yeah, well the the idea the idea that I'm thinking about.

15:30.00

Dr_ Placebo

Submissive.

15:35.59

mikebledsoe

Is is when the eyes go up a lot of times they're searching for something in the mind they're looking for a memory right in some people say I don't know how accurate this is up into the right you know is more creative processes are going and that part of the brain up into the left is a little more linear thinking more organized.

15:40.36

Dr_ Placebo

E o.

15:55.40

mikebledsoe

And so I mean I've watched people as I ask them questions and be in conversation. They're looking up and then they're looking to the right and up to the left and I can I can like I can actually see them searching for the information they're looking for.

15:57.51

Dr_ Placebo

16:09.28

Dr_ Placebo

That's why I always just roll my eyes whenever you talk so you can't get a read on.

16:14.86

mikebledsoe

Um, but yeah, ah I mean try try looking up and looking down and see how that impacts.

16:15.40

Dr_ Placebo

But but.

16:23.73

mikebledsoe

Your experience in that moment. I mean anyone can try this right now just look down or close your eyes see what happens look up see what goat happens and to me for me. It does it shifts I can I can watch my awareness. Go up into my head or my awareness fall into my body.

16:43.60

Dr_ Placebo

Well, that's amazing I Think a good example is the connection I'll just bring it back to movement because that's sort of my thing still I Guess if you want to like mellow yourself out. You would basically take a lightweight and do some Romanian Deadlifts and you would look down you would you would you would look down.

17:18.10

Dr_ Placebo

You would kind of bend over so you're folding into that fetal Position. You wouldn't stand all the way up and that's going to bring you down that's going to take your nervous system way way down and then um, the opposite would be. You're doing something where you're looking up. And exploding upward whether that's throwing a medicine ball or a sandbag in the air. Um, ah, jumping all that kind of stuff you go up explosively man you are going to jack your nervous system up big Time. So. 1 of the things I've noticed is you can use the eye position as a way to influence the nervous system. Especially if you sync it up with ah synergistic movements along those lines is really powerful. Yeah, you take someone in the very beginning of a session.

18:01.19

mikebledsoe

I Like that.

18:08.51

Dr_ Placebo

And they're all lethargic and you have them throw a medicine ball up overhead as high and far as they can and snap their eyes upward and within a few repetitions they're they're just absolutely bringing up the level into more sympathetic which is where you're going to get a little more aggression. And then at the end if you want to bring someone back down, you just have them do something kind of eyes down and I'll just say fetal Ish position. Yeah.

18:38.65

mikebledsoe

Interesting I like that a lot I like that a lot um are you familiar with Paul check's totem.

18:47.15

Dr_ Placebo

No, ah no.

18:51.21

mikebledsoe

Basically has a hierarchy of of what dictates the health of the body. So at the bottom of the totem pole is the Musculo skeletal system and then you have the organs and then you have ah ah I think breath. And then you have ah your jaw basically your ability to masticate and then you go up level the stibular system and then you go to the ocular system which is the eyes and then above that is consciousness and all of all of like.

19:12.31

Dr_ Placebo

Oo a.

19:26.83

mikebledsoe

The idea is consciousness as we were talking about last week is what if something's off in your consciousness. It's going to filter down into your ocular vestibular your jaw your breath your organs and your musculoskeletal system. So if you end up with an injury. It may not just be 1 thing so ah say more.

19:47.18

Dr_ Placebo

It reminds me of the neural hierarchy. That's what I've heard which is visual vestibular and propriepptive so visual is the highest vestibular is second inropriacceptive which is your your body and your stuff is third and I've had. Lots of firsthand experience where improving someone's ability to see whether that's just moving their eyes or tracking an object through space has had a really significant difference I mean it feels like Voodoo almost. The fact that some people can have a pain in their back or their shoulder. We do something with their eyes and then it resolves itself and the the criticism of stuff like that is they're like oh well, it won't maybe it won't stay that way but I I would say that anything you can do. To get someone out of the fire basically and into a situation where they can move. Well again is really valuable. So I've seen how that neural hierarchy has played out to be true. You know if someone's got a visual problem. And they don't know that they have a visual problem and their leg hurts. You can do leg circles forever. But it doesn't resolve the root cause which is higher up on the hierarchy just like you know if you.

21:20.50

Dr_ Placebo

Give someone liposuction but you'd never repair their relationship with food. They're just going to get fat Again, you know what I mean so it's about addressing things at the root cause of it and the neural hierarchy is a top-down understanding I mean that's why I say vision is so complex because.

21:24.84

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

21:39.70

Dr_ Placebo

Our whole frame of the world is based on our ability to distinguish 1 thing from another and being able to label those things so when you see something it's fucking insane. But is actually really going on like we talk about all the different words that the eskimos or inuits have for snow a lot of different words for green and all of it has to do with being able to distinguish 1 thing from another and initially it was just ah like which way is up. Ah, is this thing going to eat me or not in fact, the evolution of the eye is a really interesting thing. There's a book ah by Isaac Asimov who I thought was just a sci-fi writer but he was also a science writer and it's called the human body structure and operation and it talks about.

22:33.29

Dr_ Placebo

Evolution of an eye which started out just as a few um photosensitive cells that could basically just detect photons so you know on the body of some organism. They can detect light or no light and then it turned into a little cup. So It could take in a little bit more light and then this eyeball evolved over time and that's also why like a lot of sea creatures are black on the top and white on the bottom so they are camouflaged against the surrounding environment. If You're an orcca whale and you're above something you're coming out of the they're coming out of the light so you want your belly to be light colored and if you're lower, You're going to be coming out of the darkness so you want the top to be darkly colored and a lot of fish are colored that way specifically. So It's a. Quite an interesting game of cat and mouse between vision and camouflage. Really interesting.

23:33.73

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, just goes back and forth. Yeah I think I was watching one of these dock 2 series on like a planet earth or something like that and they were talking about the evolution of the eye and how basically. The the basic functions of our eyes are the same as the a fish and just kind of basically well really.

24:00.33

Dr_ Placebo

I think I was saying that last week. Yeah, maybe to you maybe to someone else I talk about that all the time because um, that's there's more similar than there is different. With animals and the fact that a fish eye in your eye are so crazy similar is that blows my mind really because that's a very different creature but in a lot of ways you know they eat or get eaten.

24:27.13

mikebledsoe

It's tripping.

24:35.48

Dr_ Placebo

Shit stuff out and they have to see what's going on and we're not that different fundamentally. Of course we have all this other ah different stuff like language and metaphor and symbolism and arguably more complex relationships. But even a lot of very simple creatures. Have eyes I mean even ah tardigrades which are like the little water bears. Um, there are really really tiny microorganisms that can survive the.

25:02.68

mikebledsoe

Are they that that like the smallest are they the smallest living Organism or.

25:11.15

Dr_ Placebo

They no no, no, no, no, they're really weird. They have like 6 legs they're they can survive the vacuum of space they can turn into a crystal if there's not enough water it can survive like radiation. They're really weird. Ah they're. Called water bears but the real name is a tardigrade and they have tiny little eyes. It's a single cell little black spot here and here just in the same place that you would imagine an eye should be and even they have these little eyes. It's it's really trippy. It's it's a huge advantage in the primordial soup to be able to see a little bit further and we talk about ah projection on this show quite a lot and so being able to see further literally with your eyes. And then being able to see further. Let's say ah philosophically or symbolically with like your third eye and being able to project and plan into the future goes right in line with what you were saying before about that myopia of we could call it a. Mindopia like myopia of the mind. Basically that is ah synchronous with the myopia of the vision and once again, it's it's fine because that's how we get the comparative advantage of having someone who's purely focused on a few details.

26:25.82

mikebledsoe

Ah.

26:42.81

Dr_ Placebo

While someone else can be focused on the big picture and not bother with those details so much.

26:57.23

Dr_ Placebo

It's like having a lookout on a ship. Their job is to see and the Captain's job is to choose what to do about that.

27:03.46

mikebledsoe

Very specialized.

27:08.14

Dr_ Placebo

That's that's the name of our game. We specialize you you go kill the stuff I'll cook it I don't know why I made myself the lady in that example, right? there but but that's what it is specialization. Yeah no.

27:21.87

mikebledsoe

Ah I'll be the dude I'll be the dude I okay well at the end of the conversation I had with my fiancee last night was you know what do we do because you know I did go we but we both left.

27:25.38

Dr_ Placebo

No, one's going to believe that though.

27:38.90

mikebledsoe

California we're living in Texas and there you know, depending on where you live you may have some views that you can look out really far but where we live that's not really the case so spend a lot of time indoors especially because it gets so hot and we get outdoors quite a bit but. If I were to look at the amount of time I spend indoors and looking at screens versus out in nature and looking far away. The ratio is skewed a bit so we've made a commitment to spend more time outdoors my birthday. We're going to go backpacking. We'll be in tahoe next week um

28:16.85

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, nice.

28:17.90

mikebledsoe

You know? So we'll be so we're doing that and spend a lot of time in nature. Go hiking every day and yeah, so I think that I mean the way I I typically run my life is and ah you know just a sequence of extreme events and it's like. Extreme smallness in my my office and then going out and being nature for 3 4 or five days and then come back to the office for a week and then back and forth which I think is okay for a period of time but the overall goal is to live somewhere where I can regularly. Exercise my vision and and yeah and have that balance.

29:00.98

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, maybe take up bird watching probably some birds down there in Texas really you have a little journal.

29:06.50

mikebledsoe

Dude I did so much bird watching when I was in California I ah I you know I lived on that lagoon and I had those I had those? no but I would go out there and I I could I got to where I could predict. No. Every month there was a different type of bird that was coming into the trees these trees in the backyard and they'd be migrating and coming through and then these birds would come hang out for February and then they would disappear and then in April another different type of bird would be hanging out in the same trees. Ah, and.

29:24.50

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

29:28.93

Dr_ Placebo

29:38.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah I spent a lot of time out there just checking the birds out.

29:44.63

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah that's a really ah engaging activity. Actually it's really weird. It's kind of like ah I had this idea that if you see a shooting star. It's lucky, but really. Is it lucky because you are making a wish on the shooting star because if you are that's cool. You're setting an intention. But also if you just happen to be outside looking at the night sky enough that you see shooting stars then that already means like you're bringing that luck. Into your life like that's a healthy behavior and you know it's not like ah this is good and this is bad kind of thing but you know if you are looking at something like straight. Ah you know eighteen inches in front of you ah getting that tunnel vision versus. Actually laying outside and looking at the stars. It's a very different kind of experience. So even if you don't make a wish you just happen to put yourself in a situation where you can see some some shooting stars. It's like you already did the thing that sets you up. For a little bit more peace of mind and relaxation.

30:57.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, how often do use Stargas I don't do it hardly at all anymore it it only happens when I'm traveling and I'm out of the city because the city really messes it up.

31:08.20

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

31:13.30

Dr_ Placebo

Um, ah the last few weeks of having puppies I've done very little I've done more helping them chase crickets so ah, looking down I'll like find 1 and point it out and then let them go like try to catch it.

31:21.52

mikebledsoe

Perfect.

31:30.91

Dr_ Placebo

At night but I would say at least once a week I was ah laying outside at night. Um, and just looking up and it's it's ah another one of those really soothing experience it and it's not for everybody like I mean you don't have to do any of that shit it just. Can be a ah nice way to sort of temper the constant ah dopamine buffet that we have available to us.

31:59.24

mikebledsoe

All right? This is probably the first time I mean since the invention of the light bulb is you know the last hundred hundred and fifty years I mean really for the average person hundred years the first time that star gazing was not a thing.

32:16.28

Dr_ Placebo

32:18.67

mikebledsoe

Sun goes down. Everyone's hanging out there's little to do after dark. Maybe you got some candlelight but the stars I mean when you know when you go out into the country you get away from the city. The the stars are so much easier to see it's It's something worth looking at. But if you're.

32:22.37

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

32:30.35

Dr_ Placebo

And.

32:36.30

mikebledsoe

And L a and you're trying to look at the stars. Good luck.

32:40.86

Dr_ Placebo

Right? I mean you'll still see stars. You just won't see as many and I would argue that you're better off to to look up at least a little bit I mean should we just call that ah call this episode look up even.

32:42.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

32:57.26

Dr_ Placebo

Even that the metaphor of look up is ah synonymous with having a positive attitude right? You can you can look up. You can also look down on somebody. That's a pretty ah unhealthy behavior I would argue you.

33:11.24

mikebledsoe

Look up to look down on.

33:15.53

Dr_ Placebo

Look up to somebody yeah look up to look down on. Yeah, it's It's pretty big.

33:18.41

mikebledsoe

You know.

33:35.10

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, do you do any? ah exercises for your vision.

33:39.25

mikebledsoe

Ah, there's one I don't do it frequently enough. But um one I like to do is I wrap a towel around my head um Criss Crosss it to basically keep my head from being the thing that turns basically stabilize that and then take my eyes I got a mandala.

33:50.92

Dr_ Placebo

And. E.

33:56.77

mikebledsoe

Hangs in my garage gym and I circle the mandala with my eyes and I'm I'm really focused on going slow and smooth and then if I find an area where my eyes want to skip which everyone will find some area. It's like oh down and to the right.

34:13.19

Dr_ Placebo

34:16.27

mikebledsoe

My eye kind of jumped from here to here. Can I go back smooth it out and then keep going and if you can if you can go each way you know from right? you know, clockwise and counterclockwise around the mendala smoothly then you're going to be in a pretty good space. Ah.

34:18.90

Dr_ Placebo

In a.

34:36.36

mikebledsoe

That's also one way that they're able to see if you had a concussion in the past is if you're if you're either unable to I remember I was I being worked on once and I couldn't look up to the right I think it was.

34:40.10

Dr_ Placebo

He.

34:52.91

mikebledsoe

Was having trouble looking up to the right? they were doing an eye test on me and they were like oh did you have a concussion and you know where were you hit now. Of course I don't know which concussion they're talking about ah but the the ah.

35:05.10

Dr_ Placebo

So.

35:10.14

mikebledsoe

They they said oh yeah, a lot of times people they were hit up and to the right, their nervous system remembers that it basically thinks it's still happening and then it's that reaction to try to you know your eyes lead the way and you and you get away from whatever. Ah.

35:19.74

Dr_ Placebo

35:29.69

mikebledsoe

Force was coming at you and having maybe having some damage to the brain in that area keeps your eyes from being able to go back up and so one of the ways to help heal. The brain is through vision.

35:47.54

Dr_ Placebo

Absolutely I think being able to or not being able to but doing a few um circles with the eyes closed and then with the eyes open really smooth is a very simplified and good way to. Improve your ah overall ability to interact with your environment and then another good thing to add is throwing a ball against a wall with some letters drawn on it and calling out the letter that you see right before you catch it. So You're really tracking something in space I would say.

36:21.42

mikebledsoe

So you got letters on the wall. Oh on the ball.

36:24.80

Dr_ Placebo

Those are probably 2 of the biggest ones on the ball so you take a tennis you take a tennis ball and if you imagine the tennis ball is a cube you draw a letter or a number on each of the 6 faces of the cube. So whatever, whatever you see last you call that out. And do you have to draw anything on it. No, but if you do you're going to track it a little bit longer. So it's going to make you a little more attentive to staying focused on the ball. So even if that was all you did I mean I've written tons of stuff. About vision. It's in a lot of the programs that I've made. But if you just did some ah eyes closed circles and then eyes open circles and then throw a ball against a wall and track it through space that is going to go a really really long way. To improving your overall eye ability and if you do find a spot that's difficult. Um, you know, hold those 8 cardinal directions up up to the right, right? down right down down left left up left and back through.

37:20.00

mikebledsoe

I Like that a lot.

37:38.57

Dr_ Placebo

And what's interesting is if you do it with the eyes closed. You can focus a lot more on the extra ocular muscles because you're not receiving a lot of input about like oh I'm trying to look at this or that you can really just focus on the movement of the balls in the sockets.

37:54.41

mikebledsoe

You can feel it more.

37:57.16

Dr_ Placebo

Actually some of the yeah, it's some of the fastest muscles blinking is the fastest thing but your eyes can move really fast, pretty pretty fascinating that we can like look and cover so much distance. Like you can cover way more distance by looking and moving your eyes than you can by moving your body So It's a huge huge advantage. A lot of creatures don't have eyes and they figure it out just fine. They basically have to sniff and bump into stuff.

38:21.90

mikebledsoe

From.

38:30.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was ah I was watching a ah documentary on hunting and they were talking about they they were with these tribes people who had basically um. They would find an animal. They want to hunt and then they would basically creep up on it and then chase it until it ah was exhausted and they would kill it persistent hunting and um it was.

38:59.10

Dr_ Placebo

And persistence hunting.

39:06.97

mikebledsoe

Really interesting because I mean the the human body is made for that endurance. It's able to endure whereas an animal. Maybe some of these animals may be really fast but they can't cool off fast enough ah like a cheeah like you chase it long enough. It's going to tuck her out.

39:16.74

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, like a cheetah. Yeah. But dude Cheetahs have absolutely shit endurance like they can they can They can hum their motor for like cats in general but Cheetahs especially they can rev it really high but they just can't go very long and.

39:26.22

mikebledsoe

So yeah I think that's cats in general.

39:41.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

39:45.30

Dr_ Placebo

I I talk about this all the time actually because if you look at the human body ah compared to a lot of other animals. It's It's so fucking flimsy it's were. We're Squishy. We're Squishy. We don't have Claws. No armor, no poison. No Venom We're not particularly Fast. We're not particularly Strong. We don't have a lot of offspring. It's It's like really sad but we have Thumbs. We have neocortex and by working together. That's basically good enough that we can have these like.

40:17.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

40:21.50

Dr_ Placebo

Squishy Bipedal bodies and just dominate every other animal.

40:24.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I mean one of the things about the persistent persistence hunting the two things that stood out to me was one is we as humans can keep our bodies cooler for long distance than than a lot of these animals and then.

40:42.28

Dr_ Placebo

Sweating.

40:42.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, just being able to sweat versus you know, most perspiration coming through the mouth through a lot of these maybe an antelope or something like that that they're chasing down or a buffalo and the other thing is ah if you look at the anatomy of a lot of apes.

40:51.57

Dr_ Placebo

That's why dogs pant and.

41:01.81

mikebledsoe

They I don't remember the exact like joint it is That's in the neck you may know that allows us to stabilize our vision on the horizon while we run So ah, a typical ape wouldn't actually okay.

41:16.72

Dr_ Placebo

It's a vestibular ocular reflex. So that's one of the drills I have people do in Primal Athleticism is to keep your gaze fixed on a spot on the wall. You can draw a spot or put a Post-it note and you move your head left and right you tilt it left and right.

41:20.74

mikebledsoe

Is this a.

41:25.58

mikebledsoe

They have.

41:34.22

Dr_ Placebo

And you nod up and down and you can stay focused on the spot over there. You can do figure eights and if I do figure eights I can still see you crystal clear and that's that's pretty wild. Yeah yeah, this yeah.

41:45.58

mikebledsoe

I Like that just doing it with you for the people who are only listening which is everybody. Ah.

41:52.23

Dr_ Placebo

You're really missing out on our funny head movements while we stare into each other's eyes.

41:53.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it really stood out to me is the the thing that really the the 2 things that allowed humans to consume more meat and more what I would imagine be enough fat. To to sit well 2 things. The fat helps build the brain and gives you the ability to sit and think because you you get a ton of calories for you know you expend some calories you kill the animal. But now you have a lot of calories to sit around. And consider things or to build something whereas ah most animals I think they spend their days finding the food chewing. Well a lot of apes I know it's chewing. Yeah.

42:36.28

Dr_ Placebo

It's chewing chewing and it's just chewing. They're just chewing all fucking. How do you get to be a giant gorilla with huge muscles and you're a vegetarian you have to be chewing all fucking day. You're just chewing all day.

42:50.13

mikebledsoe

All day.

42:55.61

Dr_ Placebo

And we have these vertical bodies So We're also not encumbered by gravity the same way like if you imagine just how much less work you have to do by stacking your entire mass like a pillar. Instead of like a bridge. You know if you're a quadruped you're basically doing a plank all fucking day. So you're constantly expending energy just to to stand. Let alone walk. You're expending even more energy. So The fact that we can use our Skeleton to support our structure in.

43:17.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

43:33.36

Dr_ Placebo

Perfect alignment with gravity more or less with these nice Arches through the neck and the spine and the hips and of course our hips are highly optimized for ah, walking and running especially walking. It allows us to cover a lot of ground much slower. But a lot more ground with a lot less energy expenditure. It's incredible and see further. It's like we're in a constant ah prairie dog position where we're up being able to see further along the horizon right.

43:53.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what.

44:05.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the do you have any exercises for working peripheral vision specifically it seems like the the figure 9 might help a bit.

44:18.91

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, ah, um, so if you're doing it yourself. You bring your arms all the way out to the side and you start. Ah, you point your Index fingers straight up and you look straight ahead and you start wiggling your fingers and slowly. Bringing your arms forward until you can see your wiggling fingers and what's interesting is um I can't remember which book I wrote it in but the eye loves movement. The eye is attracted to Movement. So if you um, try to see something in your peripherals. That's.

44:38.37

mikebledsoe

No.

44:56.17

Dr_ Placebo

Still,, you're probably not going to see it because what ends up happening is you only see like a small field of vision of your focal vision. It's called versus your peripheral and your brain fills in the rest. This is what this is why vision gets so fucking Crazy is. You see stuff and then your brain fills it in based on what it thinks is supposed to be there. But if you have like wiggling objects come in from the outside of your periphery you're going to see them a lot easier because your eye is attracted to movement and of course that's ah, an evolutionary advantage. That you want to see any shit that's moving way more than stuff that is ah, not moving right? Another another thing you can do for a peripheral vision is if you have like ah a partner to do that for you coming in.

45:38.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, something I want to kill or avoid to be killed by.

45:54.54

Dr_ Placebo

From the peripheral or even throwing a ball over your head in front of you So you're waiting your partner is behind you and he tosses a ball ah over the back of your head into your field of view and you try to catch the ball. As it goes from your peripheral and to your focal vision. Yeah yeah,. But even if you just do the the the finger wiggling thing that'll give you something and it kind of reminds me of that.

46:10.95

mikebledsoe

I Like that a lot that sounds fun.

46:28.92

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, martial Arts Soft eyes where you try to diffuse your focus like the lantern versus the laser like we talk about.

46:44.47

Dr_ Placebo

Right? No, we haven't talked about that I'm getting getting and getting a lot of silence over here.

46:48.56

mikebledsoe

Um, totally I yeah I'm having a you know I didn't get a lot of sleep last night is two weeks in a row I'm just I now I know you.

46:56.87

Dr_ Placebo

Here We go with the fucking excuses you son of a bitch I don't want to hear that shit just fake it.

47:04.97

mikebledsoe

Um, just having I'm having I'm having a time in my life. You're gonna have to carry me a little bit I think we're gonna We're gonna be okay max.

47:10.11

Dr_ Placebo

Um, fake it like your wife cinnamon. Your wife's name is cinnamon Cinnamon cinnamon.

47:17.35

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, cinnamon cinnamon cinminnamon in oh I think we covered a lot of good ground here. A lot of practical ah advice things for people to do go outdoors.

47:31.10

Dr_ Placebo

Are.

47:35.70

mikebledsoe

Ah, make sure you're looking far I don't think anyone needs to be told to look close I think we're getting plenty of that just make sure you're getting some type of balance there move your eyes around ah circles are great. Ah, what else you say we got. Ah.

47:43.68

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

47:54.25

Dr_ Placebo

So you have ah visual tracking so being able to track a ball coming in at you. Um, there's way more. But for the sake of simplicity. Yeah, even if you just did the eyes closed ah circles and holds.

47:56.58

mikebledsoe

Yep.

48:10.71

Dr_ Placebo

Eyes open circles and holds and then tossed a ball against a wall preferably like twenty Ish feet away and then the other thing I would say is whenever you sit down at a console set a fucking timer. We have. These magic rectangles and one of their functions is that you can set a timer just don't get frozen in any single position. You know you want to have the farmer vision and the accounting vision. You want to have the lantern and the laser and it's the Alternating. You know another thing I have people do um in the primal athleticism program I do nearf far drills which is you basically put a post it on the wall twenty thirty feet away and you draw something on it a letter a number something that you have to really be able to focus on. And then you hold another one in your hand like let's say twelve inches away so you have something that's twelve inches or twenty inches away in your hand and then you have something that's about 20 to thirty feet away on the wall and you basically try to see how quickly you can cycle between focusing on each one so you know let's say I have a written in the post it in my hand and I have b written in the posted on the wall and I'm going to try to cycle between a and b back and forth as quickly as I can and of course you can move the post it around.

49:42.29

Dr_ Placebo

And have it be down a little lower but the main thing is that you're just changing the distance of your focal point because if you're focused on the post it in your hand. You're not going to be able to see what's written on the posted on the wall and if you wanted to you know?? um. Upgraded a little bit. You could write like love on the wall and courage in your hand or something like that. So you have more of like a psychological thing going On. It's you know a little bit sterile to be like ah look at a and then look at B Ah so as long as you're going to do that You might as well.

50:16.36

mikebledsoe

I think you should put Mike and max on these postcards that that you know, ah if you if you go to if you go to the website and there's a lead.

50:20.78

Dr_ Placebo

Right? perfect.

50:31.58

mikebledsoe

Well, there's a pdf over there. Ah.

50:35.95

Dr_ Placebo

This is getting weird I love it. But basically you just cycle back and forth see how quickly and use a metronome if you have 1 available to you get free app on your phone and cycle between the close and the far vision.

50:37.18

mikebledsoe

50:52.20

mikebledsoe

But the you introduced me to using the metronome with training for all sorts of different things that was incredibly useful for me appreciate that I Highly recommend it? yeah.

50:54.93

Dr_ Placebo

So that's another thing you can do. Ah.

51:05.90

Dr_ Placebo

Oh my god yeah, it's ah it's an absolute game changer people are so focused on how much mass is being moved versus how much acceleration is happening. And 1 of the most fundamental physics. Equations is force equals mass times acceleration and I think it's hilarious. This perverted obsession. We have with mass and this complete neglect of acceleration when in actuality. Um, people care way more.

51:25.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

51:41.50

Dr_ Placebo

About how fast they can move rather than how much stuff they can move and the people who have the best longevity are the ones who retain their ability to be able to move quickly and in fact, that's the athletic attribute that deteriorates more rapidly. Which is why ah sprinters you know tend to peak before age 30 but power lifters tend to peak often in their 40 s late 40 s fifty s so ah, way too much focus is spent on. The amount of mass that is being moved versus the amount of force that is being generated which includes the acceleration and a metronome improves your coordination. It proves your rhythm and it also is a way to very easily ah increase the force. By increasing the acceleration as opposed to just increasing the mass really powerful stuff. I mean there's a lot of other eye Exercises. You could do with it. But yeah for sake of simplicity ah eyes closed make Circles eyes open make circles throw a ball against the wall.

52:37.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah, love it.

52:54.80

Dr_ Placebo

And then try that near far drill and then use a timer so you're not stuck ah on any 1 ah console for too long. You know there's like the twenty Twenty rule every 20 minutes look twenty feet away for at least 20 seconds that's fine ah a little bit longer would be better though. You know so every 15 minutes or so look at something further away for a little while it'll make a big difference.

53:20.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so we call it is anything else. You want to leave him with feel like got some Yeah, everyone's got homework to do. Don't go back and put these things into practice.

53:31.80

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

53:37.52

Dr_ Placebo

Do do some drawing and doodling do doodling is better than dawdling is what I say so if you're if you're stuck like draw dry it out. You know, a lot of ah. 1 of the big advantages we have is being able to draw symbols and shapes and connect different ideas together. So if you're if you're not sure just start just start drawing shapes and ah connecting words and ideas with lines so you can see it all. Big picture and I think this is probably one of the things that I do best because sometimes I have difficulty staying engaged with details but I will often get out a piece of paper and just draw down some ideas but I'll connect them with ah shapes and lines and diagrams. And I'll try to make some math equations there too but getting your ideas. Ah not only down on paper in words but also connected together in shapes and symbols and lines is really powerful and so you will be able to improve your ability to visualize. And ah envision the future if you use some symbols on the paper. So ah I'll just I'll close with that. Thank you guys. You can see me Maxshank.com Mike Bleso you can find him on his new newsletter where you can get.

54:53.15

mikebledsoe

That hurt.

55:04.61

Dr_ Placebo

Hot Fresh ah wisdom delivered to your inbox and then also blue light blocking glasses I think you can learn the secret as well.

55:16.90

mikebledsoe

Yep yep, just go go go find on the newsletter. Maybe one day I'll yeah I mean if you actually there's if you Dm me I can get you on the newsletter. But right now I don't have anywhere.

55:19.50

Dr_ Placebo

Where can they find that strong coach. What where do I sign up for your newsletter dude right.

55:33.76

mikebledsoe

For anyone to sign up so I'm ah.

55:34.84

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, how convenient it's like it's like a secret club with no sign on La door.

55:43.42

mikebledsoe

I Got I've got a I got my email list that people that got in or get my messages. The people who want in are confused. It's okay I'm I'm rebuilding some things. Ah.

55:56.86

Dr_ Placebo

Ah I like it so send you a dm Mike Underscore blood so if you want to get in on it I like it.

56:00.74

mikebledsoe

Yeahp Yeah I'll I'll add you and yeah I like to keep it tight I Only want to be talking to people who really want to be talking to me. So yeah, yeah.

56:08.70

Dr_ Placebo

All right? nice. Keep it keep a clear vision until next time folks. Thanks Mikey! Love you buddy.

56:15.61

mikebledsoe

Love you lady y'all.

Love, Power, Attention with Mike & Max Sep 12, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Oh last too bad. Yeah, it's great. It's great.

00:00.00

Dr_ Placebo

All on my end I Still don't see it look. Do you see that see the levels. There's nothing there. You think it's great that we can only hear you talking on the recording is that what you're telling me.

00:15.28

mikebledsoe

Now I can we can hear you just fine. We're working on Max's audio again. Um, how's your week ben.

00:17.27

Dr_ Placebo

If you say So oh.

00:28.30

Dr_ Placebo

My week's been good. How about you.

00:33.35

mikebledsoe

Ah, man, it's been ah, it's been a lot of lot of fun I'm I'm rereading a book right now dollars flow to me easily by Richard dots and highly recommend it to anyone who well. Wants easy transformation. So that's really the book has little to do with money has everything to do with ah creating an inner state that ah of goodness allowing that to emerge and then ah.

01:00.62

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

01:10.26

mikebledsoe

Allowing the universe to deliver all your intentions and desires to your doorstep. So if if money is what you need to reach your desires then you know I find that when I find that inner peace and goodness and just sit in that. Really cool things. Emerge.

01:33.25

Dr_ Placebo

Kind of reminds me with ah dog training that it's not about training the dog. It's about training the person a lot of the time and as far as creative work is concerned if you are in a.

01:42.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah for.

01:49.42

Dr_ Placebo

Ah heightened state of some kind whether that's a flow state or otherwise you're just going to do your best work right.

01:55.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know what? I Also find that I've never figured anything out in Business. It's never been. You know there's definitely things to Learn. There's skills to learn. You know, managing finances and budgets and. Learning how to copyright and all these things are really useful skills and it doesn't mean you need you, You should avoid learning anything but it ah for me to sit with oh I'm going to sit and think my way to a solution when I'm having a problem is rarely.

02:26.51

Dr_ Placebo

What.

02:32.43

mikebledsoe

Ah, how it works out I can't even think of a time where I thought my way to a solution most of the solutions that have occurred to me has just been. You know you're in the shower or something or ah, you know I'm thinking about something I go to the fridge.

02:37.25

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

02:43.83

Dr_ Placebo

And.

02:49.87

Dr_ Placebo

Who.

02:50.15

mikebledsoe

So it's um, yeah, what I like about this book is it really puts me in that place of just observing what's good and then watching these things these ideas emerge and I definitely had that experience yesterday and um.

03:03.19

Dr_ Placebo

03:09.23

mikebledsoe

Was being interviewed by John North um of weightlifting talk and he he and I had like similar rises of notoriety in the in the weightlifting Crossfit world and like at the same time and then also had you know.

03:24.60

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

03:27.79

mikebledsoe

Kind of disappeared into the ether around the same time I I ah regularly get hit up by people on Instagram or Twitter and they're like oh shit, you're still alive like yeah yeah, still hanging out still doing some stuff and we had he. He.

03:30.30

Dr_ Placebo

And.

03:37.52

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah. Um, funny wo who.

03:47.14

mikebledsoe

He asked me he goes he goes look. We can talk about all the good stuff we could talk about the good times. But why don't you tell us about the dark moments in your career in business I was like oh boy, Oh boy I can deliver that.

04:01.74

Dr_ Placebo

Um. O.

04:05.32

mikebledsoe

There's some dark moments. And yeah I don't know how long the show went on for it felt like 2 hours and it was you know I think it's the most emotional I've ever been on a podcast I don't think I've ever been interviewed and gotten that emotional.

04:09.82

Dr_ Placebo

Whoa.

04:14.54

Dr_ Placebo

Whoo.

04:19.92

Dr_ Placebo

Woo Whoa. Oh.

04:25.11

mikebledsoe

And um, yeah I really just I but basically I covered the year of 2017 for me and I didn't go through the whole year in detail but I went through the the thing a lot of the stuff that you know it's a good story. So I recommend anyone go listen to that. Um.

04:45.43

mikebledsoe

Ah, do weightlifting dot com and you click on the podcasts. Ah and it was.. It was so emotional and it brought up. You know? Ah, Ah, you know if I could label the emotions. It was just there were it was just ah, a constant flow so much. So like I don't think I felt my emotions that deeply for that period that extended period of time in a very long time and when I got off the show. My fiance she she went off to dinner with a friend of hers. So I go sit in the sauna afterwards and meditate and just Sawa and cold plunge and then came home and got in bed and it. It occurred to me I was like this story that this story of 2017 is there's so many lessons that I learned that I really a lot of times I share the lessons in a very straightforward way but not in. But I could be sharing it from a place of storytelling which as you know that's the best way to get a point across is if you can embed it in a story.

05:52.98

Dr_ Placebo

So.

06:00.80

Dr_ Placebo

We need an arc with no arc no one care. No one cares without an arc. It might be true. It might be correct, but no one cares and that's been ah that's been something that I have hardly capitalized on much.

06:03.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so no one cares.

06:17.43

Dr_ Placebo

Because I don't care about the story interestingly enough I just want the I want the bullet points I want them in the correct sequence and I want as little fluff as possible but that's just not how people work.

06:23.76

mikebledsoe

I yeah.

06:34.10

mikebledsoe

No yeah mean we live by narratives and archetypes and archetypes is even a narrative about a type of person and ah you know? And yeah, so in in the world of you know speakers you know.

06:35.16

Dr_ Placebo

The.

06:51.61

mikebledsoe

I know you know this is every great speaker has got their keynote story and speakers that have been around for a long time people who get on stage. They'll have 2 or 3 depending on the situation and I've had so many I've had like so many they. So.

06:55.80

Dr_ Placebo

A good.

07:10.83

mikebledsoe

Speaking Coaches Love targeting me as a client they're like okay you know you're you're good on Stage. You're good at telling stories all this but you haven't really honed in on a story that converts people into a product that you're selling or a service. Or whatever and I go Yeah, you know, ah all the greats. The people who can sell a lot. They do it through storytelling and I've tried different stories and nothing really nothing really stuck. Nothing was super powerful and.

07:48.58

mikebledsoe

I'm in bed last night and I'm I'm simply in the fields of my feelings and emergency goes. Oh that's that's the story. You should tell because these guys were on the edge of their seat at the end they were blown away they were it was it was obvious it was and I had never told the story in.

07:56.13

Dr_ Placebo

Are.

08:07.62

mikebledsoe

That much detail before on a podcast partly because lawsuits are a part of it and ah you know while lawsuits are going on. You can't go around telling stories about it. But it's ah.

08:19.40

Dr_ Placebo

Um I would check with someone who knows these things rather than your hunch.

08:23.37

mikebledsoe

I Think enough time has passed I think I'm okay.

08:31.30

mikebledsoe

Ah I'm pretty sure. Um, yeah, the contract said something about 3 years and it's been more than three years. So I'm not too worried about it.

08:42.63

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's Interesting. You mentioned that because I find I know I'm in the minority but I find ah nothing ah less genuine and more fake when I see a speaker going through this big personal story. I'm like I I want to go like I know what you're trying to do. Can you stop it. You're annoying me like I came here to learn something and if you give me this long thing about your life I'm only going to leave. Basically so I I I know I'm in the minority. Um, with with that. But I mean.

09:02.81

mikebledsoe

Okay, yeah.

09:12.55

mikebledsoe

You are.

09:17.76

Dr_ Placebo

Really successful guys. Ah, really do like Tug the heartstrings they play they play a crowd like a fiddle and it's quite a cool skill. But if I'm in the crowd I I like start to hate that person almost and I hate that person that's too strong but it makes me.

09:30.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah there.

09:36.60

Dr_ Placebo

It makes me ah feel less connected to them because I know that they're not doing this to provide a service they're doing this to like puff up their character right? who.

09:48.20

mikebledsoe

Right? right? Yeah I mean um I think you and I are like in that way and that might be why we avoid you know, telling that story and um.

09:54.98

Dr_ Placebo

It depends on what message you're trying to convey to right? like it's possible to tell a good story without making it about yourself right? You can talk about like.

10:08.66

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

10:12.65

Dr_ Placebo

Costs and benefits and consequences and archetypes without telling a 20 minute personal story during a 30 minute lecture

10:21.35

mikebledsoe

Well one of the most popular one of the most popular books on leadership a couple years ago was extreme ownership and I don't know if you read that is by Jocko willing and the entire the there's like ah a paragraph that gives the lesson embedded in.

10:28.43

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I did.

10:37.93

Dr_ Placebo

These war stories. It's worst. It's war stories and I was like what what? yeah.

10:39.20

mikebledsoe

this this story it's all war stories war stories with like ah like you could you could have gotten the point in like 2 pages the entire book. But it's buried in all these war stories and everyone loved it and I was like I like I was it was okay.

10:54.25

Dr_ Placebo

I Find that? yeah well, what's funny is um, like I I don't like the book I think he is a really interesting character and it's the perfect example. Of who you want to lead a team of killers like but but is that who I want to emulate in my personal life as a leader and it's like I don't think so you know there are qualities that you can pick and choose and that's why it's so tricky to.

11:13.20

mikebledsoe

Yes.

11:21.66

mikebledsoe

Right.

11:30.89

Dr_ Placebo

Pick someone to emulate consciously or subconsciously because you're only ah seeing a window into their life and you may not want their life. Um, right.

11:40.31

mikebledsoe

Well in addition to that I mean you referred to dwayne the Rock Johnson in that regard before I think even on the last show but the the and I agree with the Jocko thing there was there were.

11:50.95

Dr_ Placebo

That's my go to.

11:56.52

mikebledsoe

There were certain things about that book and his attitude that just don't don't jive with me either and it's always been funny because people people are like oh my God It was so good I'm like well what parts are like all of it I'm like ah maybe not all of it. But some of it was Good. Um. And it because we do. We do need to be careful about who we model and.

12:21.57

Dr_ Placebo

We're supposed to think that the books are good sometimes sometimes you're just supposed to think a book is good like my ah my friend was really kind. She got me a Tony Robbins book ah his newest who is his newest one life force.

12:33.64

mikebledsoe

I who.

12:37.66

Dr_ Placebo

Um, and before you think this is a plug This is the opposite of a plug. Whatever I'm about to do right now I was like I was it was fucking unreadable. It was so embarrassing like it was a giant infomercial of widgets that he's invested into.

12:41.84

mikebledsoe

Ah me. But.

12:49.41

mikebledsoe

12:57.47

Dr_ Placebo

Very unclear, very superficial, hardly practical, really like off the-wall shit that applies to nobody I Fucking hated it and of course I told my friend this too I told my friend this I was like that's one of the worst books about health that I think I've ever Read. It was hard to Read. It wasn't Useful. It wasn't simple. It wasn't clear but I really appreciate the gift. You know what? I mean like don't like hey I I Really appreciate that someone would buy a book for me I Think that's really nice but I don't have to like it just because.

13:25.97

mikebledsoe

Ah, good effort.

13:36.43

Dr_ Placebo

Um, you're supposed to like it and I think that happens quite a lot and.

13:39.62

mikebledsoe

Well, you're gonna be my editor for my book. So it's gonna it's gonna have to pass the the max shank Sniff test.

13:47.69

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, oh dude, ah call me the copy doced. Yeah copy doctor a doctor the copy up I'm I'm great I'm great at that sort of thing.

13:50.91

mikebledsoe

The what the copy Doc Oh okay, all right, all right? Perfect Oh perfect, all right look at that look at that folks. We finally agreed to do something outside of the podcast. So.

14:04.44

Dr_ Placebo

Oh perfect.

14:10.16

mikebledsoe

Ah, well you brought up something interesting and because ah we are we learn through modeling but we also have anti-models and there are people that we don't want to be like and we got to be ah, equally careful of that. So. There's a number Tony Robbins would fall in this category right? Maybe maybe for you I'm the same way I've never.

14:34.73

Dr_ Placebo

I Think he does some great stuff by the way I think there are people that he legitimately helps so much and I think that's fantastic and I think that book was awful.

14:42.98

mikebledsoe

I agree. Yeah well I think his style overall is just not for me I don't think you're going to find max and I and a crowd of 10000 people you know psyching ourselves up. It's just not kind of not going to happen and we don't need that we're we're past that.

14:53.93

Dr_ Placebo

Woo Totally right? Hey people like different things.

15:01.96

mikebledsoe

And people like different things but we're not going to model Tony Robbins you're you're not going to find max or I on stage. You know, screaming at people and getting them pumped up with music and jumping around and it's just not going to happen. And we should. We should just do it just to just a fuck with people like.

15:20.32

Dr_ Placebo

Cut to a year we're both on stage with headsets on. Are you guys ready to do fire breathing and then ah.

15:32.28

Dr_ Placebo

I would do I would do a fake one I would I would do a fake one and just ah play a character I think that would be hilarious.

15:37.80

mikebledsoe

Too bad We don't live in the same town Anymore. We can make a bunch of Spoofs about personal development programs. But ah, we got to be equally Careful. So ah, you know I don't think I shared this with you privately. But I didn't share this On. Podcast and I'll I'll share it I won't mention who this person is but I was hanging out with this person and they refused to wear a seatbelt why because they were because there's a law that says they're supposed to so they just don't want to do it and then the same person.

16:13.64

Dr_ Placebo

Rebel without a cause sure.

16:15.25

mikebledsoe

Ribble without a cause and the same person opens up their mail at the house opens it up. There's a picture of a license plate and saying you were speeding in the zone or whatever he rips it in half throws in the garbage can he's a god that's the thirteenth one this year and. Ah, and you know I I don't disagree I would handle that differently. But there's a lot of like really easy easy legal ways of getting out of traffic tickets that involve automatic cameras. They pretty much have. You pretty you challenge it at all and they have to drop it because nobody caught you in the act. So ah, the the point is is a lot of times people who who are the rebel without a cause they just rebelling so they they may find some. We could say some people just rebellious in nature like I'm I'm very rebellious you're rebellious I can tell you that you you don't match the status quo heartily at all and yeah, and.

17:18.57

Dr_ Placebo

But only because they're really Ill like if they were healthy I would like I I don't even really want to be a rebel I Just want to get a good result. But.

17:26.76

mikebledsoe

But to be. Yeah, you're selective right? And so I remember you know I'm in the car with the person and they're not wearing their seatbelt I'm like why you know why didn you put on the seatbelt like yeah, that and I go Well, you know it's it's you're following in the same trap of lack of critical thinking.

17:48.68

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

17:49.85

mikebledsoe

You don't want to be like this person so you don't do anything like that person does it like ah Tony Robbins like you were saying there are some aspects of his life that should definitely be emulated. But if you go look I don't like Tony Robbins I'm not can do anything and this is a lot of people and people general.

18:00.13

Dr_ Placebo

Yep.

18:07.15

Dr_ Placebo

So it's the devil.

18:07.59

mikebledsoe

A lot of times generalize this to say wealthy people. Oh I don't wanna be like I don't want to be like that greedy rich guy. So I'm not gonna have any money I'm like you know you can have money without being greedy right? like there's and there's collapsed distinctions in there but you gotta be careful about.

18:20.98

Dr_ Placebo

Right? Yep I know Yep, it's the same ah like God and the devil ad hommonym appeal to authority thing.

18:27.37

mikebledsoe

Who you're modeling and then who you're anti-modeling.

18:36.32

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, um.

18:36.94

Dr_ Placebo

Over and over like if you dislike somebody personally and that causes you to ignore the lesson they have that would help you then you're an idiot you're you're overly emotional and you're conflating this personality that you don't like. Thinking that they are wrong and that's just simply not the case right? You have to be able to dislike somebody and still be able to use your logic to determine whether they're right about something or not and I've had plenty of opportunity to do this because ah, especially. In ah like the copywriting world right? like there's there's a supreme emphasis on exaggerating the truth and maybe even being like a bit of an egomaniac and so those are traits that I really dislike personally and there are even people.

19:18.11

mikebledsoe

Um.

19:33.63

Dr_ Placebo

That I dislike personally but I still want to take the um the idea separate from the individual. It's like ah is Bill Cosby still funny yes absolutely fucking. Hilarious 1 of the best comedians of all time and whether you think he is ah guilty of certain crimes or not should be irrelevant to the comedy. Um, and this is not a popular take by the way I'm not going to win any friends with this. Idea. Ah okay I think people like ah Bill Cosby less than hitler somehow even though it's entirely possible that the guy was completely set up which is crazy to think about you know, speaking of all that I think it's so funny.

20:08.60

mikebledsoe

Um, I'm going to follow it up with a hitler one. So we'll just lose everybody.

20:21.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah Trump.

20:27.20

Dr_ Placebo

That we we collectively kind of watch the news and we see something or we hear something we're like whoa how did that happen and then we watch a movie and we go whoa. That's amazing. So realistic and we never think that some of those movie people would. Like create some news like if you're directing a movie. You're organizing thousands of people, computer programmers actors extras camera people and it's like you think these ah geniuses of illusion. Never fabricate some sort of reality of.

20:48.91

mikebledsoe

No, ah.

21:05.31

Dr_ Placebo

Of course they do is. It's very. It's very interesting. How quick we are to throw people under the bus just because ah he said she said kind of thing.

21:13.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's absolutely right? Yeah, the the I would say the movie. What's happening in movie theaterore and what's happening in the news is is very much alike I think there's tons of crossover there I mean it what this is.

21:28.87

Dr_ Placebo

Of course, there's incentive to do So What do we? What do we know? if there is an incentive and opportunity it happens like there's enough people that if there's incentive and opportunity. It's happening. You don't have to like it. But that's what's happening.

21:36.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

21:44.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's I'm gonna go into like conspiracy theory land a bit but that but there's there's actual evidence of cia being involved in hollywood in the early stages of of Hollywood coming around. Um.

21:46.43

Dr_ Placebo

Are.

21:58.48

Dr_ Placebo

If if they weren't They'd be stupid to be the central stupid agency if they weren't using the fucking movies and like I mean are you kidding me like this whole.

22:00.92

mikebledsoe

They yeah.

22:08.93

mikebledsoe

Ah.

22:12.14

Dr_ Placebo

Even the word conspiracy is used as an ad hominem attack when the word conspiracy just means that people meet up in secret everybody people meet up in secret all the fucking time That's like almost all that happens.

22:19.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and um, and people have theories about them about these meetings now it and ah even before the cia I mean that's how they drummed up.

22:27.71

Dr_ Placebo

No deck.

22:35.18

mikebledsoe

Ah, interest or support for the war effort in World War two is they would they would show these they would they would show these hype videos like sizzle reels basically of why you should support the War effort World War Two and.

22:38.52

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

22:51.86

mikebledsoe

It worked it hyped everybody up and they use movie theaters for that early on so when you look at what how that was used then and then you look at ah who if you watch the news like so Cbs is probably the worst Cbs Nbc you watching these major news networks. Almost every evening you're going to see them interviewing somebody from the cia or somebody who used to work for the cia or the Fbi or something like that these intelligence agencies have totally got these ah news agencies by the balls.

23:19.54

Dr_ Placebo

23:30.74

mikebledsoe

Like they they basically get to weave whatever narrative and they desire and people just buy it hook line and sinker and so I bring this up because yeah, the differences between Hollywood and what's happening in the news same thing same people. Ah.

23:34.41

Dr_ Placebo

Well. O.

23:47.63

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, no doubt like there's too much incentive and opportunity for that to not be going on I would say it would be foolish to not do that if one of the main goals is to control the domestic population and then.

23:50.16

mikebledsoe

Same narratives.

23:56.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

24:07.36

Dr_ Placebo

Maybe like a secondary goal is ah to defend against foreign invaders because one of them is way more likely to cause a problem actually historically speaking I mean yeah.

24:15.85

mikebledsoe

1 the and the United States that's absolutely true because get waging war on the us is difficult. There's you know two oceans between every yeah, geographically we're positioned really well. There's there's a lot of reasons.

24:25.97

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, there's a lot of reasons lot of reasons. Yeah, you got to watch out for Knida I hear their military has grown to 2000 people I don't know why I'm talking I don't know why I'm talking on Canada.

24:34.42

mikebledsoe

Um.

24:38.76

mikebledsoe

Sorry Canadian listeners to get fired up.

24:45.18

Dr_ Placebo

Like Well what's the point there's it's like ah it's like picking on the small kid that's like hardly fair. Yeah, it's kind of funny I Guess yeah.

24:51.51

mikebledsoe

Is got. It's like ah south part in South Bark and the was it Terrence and Philip did you ever watch south part.

25:02.14

Dr_ Placebo

I watched ah tons of South Park I actually even caught their ah concert they did to celebrate their ah 25 year ah anniversary um, is on. It's on Youtube they showed the whole thing. It was incredible.

25:08.11

mikebledsoe

Did you? Oh I thought you caught it live.

25:16.96

Dr_ Placebo

Oh no, no I didn't go live but I did watch it at home. It was fantastic Man it was crazy I mean they got like ah the remaining members from rush to come play. You know they had they had like these serious rock stars like come out of retirement.

25:26.18

mikebledsoe

Oh man.

25:34.67

Dr_ Placebo

Just so they could play with the guys who made south park and I mean it just shows that what they've created ah goes across all these different genres of art and culture and I think those guys are absolute creative monsters. They played a ton of so it was just those guys are crazy talented crazy motivated. It was a hell of a cool thing to see ah six days to air. Great documentary. Terrific. That's how they stay so current. Meanwhile you know Simpsons. Ah.

25:59.88

mikebledsoe

Well they they put the shows together in six days yeah Yeah

26:14.16

Dr_ Placebo

Which also ah used to be a great show. Um, they're like six months out basically of what's going on so South Park is always crazy current on what's going on because they ah condense that creative work so much.

26:31.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah, my my my favorite south part ever to this date I think I laughed harder on any other one was the ah when they covered the recession 2007 2008 and and when they chopped it.

26:42.57

Dr_ Placebo

Oh that was good. So so funny.

26:46.97

mikebledsoe

Head off the chicken and let it run around to figure out which who's gonna get bailed out next shit shit sent me over the fucking Moon I was I lost it ugly these people are complete geniuses is this so good.

27:01.42

Dr_ Placebo

He's like trying to return a margarita v he's like well what we did is we took your Margaritaville loan and we bundled it together with a bunch of other Margaritaville loans and we traded it on the open market and then we have people betting. On the viability of the payback of those marker. It's like a fucking margarita maker but they're just going through the whole thing. Ah but through the lens of like an overpriced beverage machine is so funny. Those guys are absolute studs anyway, yeah so.

27:26.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

27:32.76

Dr_ Placebo

Back to conspiracy theories. Ah which are really just ah I Guess it's like ah hypotheses right? It's not like it depends on.

27:42.35

mikebledsoe

Right? Well here's the thing is here's the thing is I think we're conspiracy theories people with conspiracy theories get in trouble is when they believe them ah or people who hear conspiracy theory they believe it and it's as if they forget the theory part. And ah, you know there's you know who people are treating like conspiracy facts or conspiracy truth or whatever you want to call it and that's it's it's funny I get sometimes I'll meet somebody who's way into that I'm like like.. What do you believe? I'm like dude I have a hard time believing my own thoughts most of the time let alone some really complicated explanation of how we got this result and somehow you've connected all these dots.

28:27.26

Dr_ Placebo

28:34.74

mikebledsoe

That are this infinite amount of information and go I know who the bad actorress I'm like oh I don't fucking know but I I do know who to avoid though.

28:41.80

Dr_ Placebo

You know what? I think about all this I think that well when when I think about this sort of thing because I I try to use the scientific method which is not ah science tm it's the scientific method. Which is ah see guess test and record right? And if you're really being scientific about things. It really means you're using the scientific method and one of my favorite examples of abandoning the scientific method. Is by people who are atheists. This is a very very funny thing to me because in order to be an atheist the definition of an atheist. Is you believe there is no god certainly but what's funny is that is so far. Equally unproven as the fact is there are 1 or more gods now once again, it depends on your definition of god if you say god is something you believe without proof then there are ah you know certain gods available. Some people could say that money fiat money. Which is faith money is a type of god based on your semantic definition. But what's funny to me is that atheism is a religion of there is definitely no god meaning it is having faith that there is 0 gods.

30:16.86

Dr_ Placebo

And religion is a faith based on. There is 1 or more gods. But if you are truly scientific about it. They are both equally invalid because the burden of proof should be on the one who's trying to prove it. So to me atheism is the absolute funniest religion because it's just based on elitism of I'm too smart to believe in 1 or more gods. But I'm also but that's what I'm saying. It's ah it's a cult.

30:41.50

mikebledsoe

Well I think a lot of people just that they claim it because they don't want to appear stupid. Yeah.

30:50.28

Dr_ Placebo

Of I'm smart. It has no bearing on science whatsoever agnostic is perfectly reasonable but atheism is ah like super unscientific right? So just because no one has proven. There is 1 or more gods doesn't.

31:02.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

31:09.83

Dr_ Placebo

Mean that there is definitely no gods. So it's ah it's like the funniest tribalistic religion that claims to be scientific, but their proof that there is no god is just as scientific as the proof that there is 1 or more which is zilch. If we're talking about the scientific method and that's what's so funny to me. So it's that my favorite example is that atheism is a religion also with no proof and so like like it's it's great.

31:43.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's I think there's a ah Terrence Mckenna quote and he he says something. Ah I'm not gonna quote it exactly but basically take a a scientific based sciencebased atheist and.

31:44.77

Dr_ Placebo

You. Oh.

32:00.98

mikebledsoe

To explain how the world started and it's like look you just give me 1 single miracle and I can explain everything else and it's like oh yeah, so you kind of stuck there.

32:07.90

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

32:15.95

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, totally even the name is very funny. The big bang that it's like the least scientific ah label I've ever heard. There was a it. It sounds like a a fucking ah ah, primitive tribe.

32:21.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's um.

32:33.90

Dr_ Placebo

Trying to explain lightning or the sun. First there was a big boom and then there was fire.

32:34.12

mikebledsoe

Well.

32:41.51

mikebledsoe

Um, as you're you're so spot on so well we got this new telescope out there supposedly I don't know what to believe anymore. Um, probably cgi. Well you you know about the new telescope they put out there that makes the hubble. It's like 20

32:49.88

Dr_ Placebo

I Think telescopes are awesome I Well I I I totally telescopes are cool telescopes and microscopes are.

32:58.47

mikebledsoe

I Forget how many more times more powerful than the hubble it is but.

33:06.81

Dr_ Placebo

Incredibly cool.

33:08.71

mikebledsoe

So cool. So um I guess that all these scientists are questioning themselves now they these astrolog astronomers now astrologists astronomers. Um.

33:19.35

Dr_ Placebo

K five.

33:25.48

mikebledsoe

They're questioning everything because they're looking out there and going oh is the universe contracting and they're doing their job. So but here's.

33:31.70

Dr_ Placebo

Wait They're questioning everything. Do you mean? they're doing science.

33:43.50

mikebledsoe

I Mean we've already talked about this the scientific community at large is primarily filled with institutional thinking you know and ah yeah, so like I think some of these scientists are having you know existential crises at this moment is what it sounds like.

33:45.82

Dr_ Placebo

Um, ah so it's a it's a little religion. It's a little religion. Yeah.

34:01.84

mikebledsoe

Because the the new findings put the big bang in question and now they're going. Well we got to find an answer and it's interesting how we as humans. It's like we need to have some type of ah there's this desire to to ah Certainty. It's like if you. If you're an atheist or you're a Christian or you're a muslim or whatever it is. There's a level of certainty that's being clung to and that creates ah safety. So if I can come in the room and I can create certainty in the room then people feel safe and they. Their nervous system calms down and.

34:42.51

Dr_ Placebo

That's why people make bomb shelters and and hide away bunkers. It's because there's a natural tendency to expand your sphere of control and um. So that that is a hunger that can never be totally filled because you're always going to find some new thing further as you project into the future. So. The only path is some acceptance right? But if you're a hardcore control freak and you must know and you must have certainty. Then there's no end to the certainty because then you'll be like okay, what about 10 years from now. Okay, what about 15 years from now. Okay, what about 50 years from now. Okay, what about my great-great-grandchildren how do I make sure that they survive to be 1000 years old and.

35:31.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's interesting. You bring that up the so we think about certainty and we're we're talking about how the universe started people are desiring to have certainty around that so they either choose a religion that has a story about how it started or.

35:32.70

Dr_ Placebo

There's no end to it.

35:47.45

Dr_ Placebo

Um, how nice that they don't have any real problems.

35:51.22

mikebledsoe

Which which I I really like I really like ah yeah I like and I really like a lot of ah religious genesis stories because there's so many metaphors in these genesis stories around language and basically.

36:09.88

Dr_ Placebo

Um, in the beginning there was the word and the word was god.

36:09.99

mikebledsoe

Ah, the the exactly and so yeah and if you if you it's so easy I remember being a kid and hearing that and I go I don't know what the hell that means and. All right? So then he created Adam and then he created the mountains and the earth and oceans and all the ship in the the birds and the fishes and um, it's really like the way I read that now is it's um, it's a metaphor for consciousness.

36:28.41

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

36:42.33

mikebledsoe

Consciousness came online for human beings when language came online. Oh I now have a word for this and this word separates me from the from God the natural world and when when read that way. It makes a lot more sense to me. But when some.

36:45.15

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

36:57.72

Dr_ Placebo

To me God is the genesis of an idea like that's why they say ah you know the word is God and God is the word is that that's the genesis of an idea. So ah, interestingly enough by that logic God is in fact, real. It's just been made by man just like logic is real and it's also a God Basically an idea that's been invented by man. Yeah.

37:24.78

mikebledsoe

Well the well the idea the idea that um was it men don't have ideas ideas have men. Ah who that that's ah man was that voltaire not quite.

37:30.73

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah.

37:37.64

Dr_ Placebo

I think that was ah max shank who said that actually I'm just going to misattributing all these baller quotes from like many centuries ago and they'll be like wasn't that Plato I was like no that was me.

37:41.55

mikebledsoe

Um, so ah, the a did I I.

37:55.31

Dr_ Placebo

Because no one will no one will follow up very few people.

37:59.22

mikebledsoe

I love posting really like I'll come across a quote and I'll put it on Twitter and then one out of 10 times I was like you know that's normally attributed to Martin Luther King Junior however it was really said by so I'm like get the fuck out of here focus focus on the quote. Don't worry about where it came from.

38:12.43

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I used to be like that too I used to be totally. Ah well my favorite quote is what's more important the quote or the quoter and that's ah my quote which is fucking hilarious I think because does it really matter who said it and what's funny. Is it.

38:24.97

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh.

38:30.16

Dr_ Placebo

Does it does a lot of the time sometimes there's a great quote from like an unknown monk in ah, 1500 Bc or something like that or 500 a d or whatever and people are like oh that's really cool but that would be the easiest quote to poach.

38:49.00

mikebledsoe

Right? Like you know or you know the and Chinese proverb unknown um know yeah and you know that who you're quoting a context matters. So you know if it's a quote. Yeah, but.

38:52.78

Dr_ Placebo

Right? right.

39:01.32

Dr_ Placebo

The appeal to Authority That's God Also so God is the genesis of an idea. It's a word. It's a new idea and it's also um, that appeal to an authority. It's ah like a focal point.

39:11.28

mikebledsoe

Well are are you coming? Are you coming at this from the perspective that that people create thoughts or ideas.

39:23.61

Dr_ Placebo

Um, that's a good question I I believe that ah the thoughts that people have are a combination or permutation of what they have experienced. So. If you put a human being in a vacuum and just gave it food. It wouldn't learn. Ah how to speak it wouldn't learn language so it's just some sort of um. Synthesis or combination or permutation of everything that you are aware of and that's why the idea of having like the genesis of language at all is very interesting and there's a specificity of language. That occurs in many different animals like dolphins and orca have different languages or at least Orca have different languages based on the pod or the family that they're a part of ah green monkeys can lie and say look out. There's a hawk or and we don't know if it. It means hawk or if it just means danger from above but they have distinct calls for danger from above or danger from low below and what they'll do is they will lie. So like if you have a banana I'll say look out a hawk in green monkey language and you'll look out for the hawk and then I'll snatch your.

40:38.97

mikebledsoe

40:51.33

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, your your banana right? So like it's literally the oldest trick in the book which is look over there while I Rob you so so language ah is I I think um the genesis of some ideas. But.

40:57.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so.

41:08.71

Dr_ Placebo

You know a polar bear may not have language but it can still plan a spider doesn't have language but it can still plan out an attack where it will like walk around and jump around until they're above their prey and then dangle themselves down mission Impossible style. So.

41:23.92

mikebledsoe

Well well the question I got to ask next is so are are you I find there's 2 camps. There's one camp which is the most popular camp which is. The the materialistic view which is ah consciousness is a byproduct of biology like the biology exists not is what makes consciousness possible or is our.

41:51.49

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

41:56.59

Dr_ Placebo

And.

41:57.93

mikebledsoe

Is physical matter a ah ah manifestation of consciousness.

42:05.38

Dr_ Placebo

Um, you know that's a I knew that's the question you were going to ask actually? um, ah fortunately I have the exact correct answer which is ah how could I know? Ah, it's like ah I.

42:15.78

mikebledsoe

Ooh.

42:21.20

Dr_ Placebo

I can think so does that mean I am so is it I think therefore I am or I am therefore I think basically so our sensory ah Organs influence the way we interpret the world.

42:28.17

mikebledsoe

Right.

42:40.26

Dr_ Placebo

as well as um the the influence of our surroundings like in Africa there's way more words for green because the distinction between different plants is a little more important different words for snow in the inuit tribes. Because that distinction is way more important for survival. Um, whether you are ah, an animal having ah an experience of consciousness or whether you are a consciousness who has called yourself an animal is sort of like a chicken or the egg type of situation. My. My personal perspective is that the I that I refer to as I is um, basically a fabrication of our culture so without these ideas of. Names and things like that you would just be an animal and all animals have some level of consciousness ah mushrooms have some level of consciousness. It's it's a different level of consciousness than a human being. But the fact that they can you know send information miles across a web of mycelium as soon as they figure out how to digest a certain type of material like the biggest living organism is actually a mycelium I think it's an Oregon.

44:11.64

Dr_ Placebo

And it's several square miles in size which is pretty cool and what'll happen is they'll encounter a material that they can't digest figure out a way to digest it and that information that signal will get sent all the way across the mycelium.

44:14.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

44:29.63

Dr_ Placebo

To the other side and then they'll start being able to digest that material whether that's like some sort of rocky mineral or ah or what have you? Ah so different animals and fungi have different levels of consciousness but ah just like the. Story of of God or no God or these gods or those gods. That's that's our invention.

44:57.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the um, the perspective I I tend to hold is consciousness creates. There's when I when I went through the hermetic principles. The first principle is that everything is of mind and ah. The idea is that ah everything everything occurs in the mind first and when I when I'm holding that perspective I I find that to be the most useful I don't know which one is true and.

45:31.88

Dr_ Placebo

And.

45:34.10

mikebledsoe

Like you had said, there's no way to know. Um, you know I I think some people have had some experiences that would have them really believe one way or another for me personally I find it to be more useful to ah to be of the. Belief that consciousness is creating everything it to me. It makes everything a little more malleable and if I believe that anything could be changed through thought. Ah then.

46:10.40

mikebledsoe

Then that that seems much more powerful to me and.

46:14.32

Dr_ Placebo

There's a great book by Richard Bachman called illusions that I really like it kind of talks about that. How you you know like ah the only reason you can't swim through the earth and stand on the water is because of your belief in the illusion.

46:18.25

mikebledsoe

I've read that? yeah.

46:30.80

mikebledsoe

Well here's the thing is okay so I the way I see is you don't have a separate mind that I have there's one mind we all share it. You just have different you just you just? yes, you just.

46:30.87

Dr_ Placebo

That it can only work a certain way.

46:42.87

Dr_ Placebo

For humans humans only so one species has one hive mind. Basically yeah.

46:52.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we have a certain filter. Um, you know what? I'm gonna have to sit with that one I'm gonna go back and sit with that that question ah because they animals just may have the filter. So the way I see is we share the same mind Consciousness is expanding.

46:59.74

Dr_ Placebo

And.

47:09.81

mikebledsoe

Um, the universe is doing its thing and um may Ornet may not be expanding I'm sure it goes through expansions and contractions just like everything else. Another hermetic print principle being as above so below and.

47:21.46

Dr_ Placebo

How could we measure.

47:27.20

mikebledsoe

We can measure it to a point. But yeah, once you get out there. It's not going to happen. Ah so ah, we all have like this super mind and this is why a lot of the same ideas occur to people around the planet simultaneously or they've done studies with rats where. They're teaching them something in a lab in France and then a lab in Alaska they see those rats be able to solve whatever puzzle that was taught to the rats in France and so you know there they never so met they stayed in those locations. There was no.

47:53.45

Dr_ Placebo

48:03.33

mikebledsoe

No communication between the two that we we would know about and yet they still do that So there. There are some I don't of I would call it ah evidence for it. But there's definitely correlative evidence for that argument and so I really like to think about it as like. These aren't even my thoughts I'm not these are thoughts that are flowing through me and my filter is allowing me to have you know certain thoughts where I'm allowing those thoughts to come and go and so I become a lot less attached to like this is even mine I get a conversation with someone we're having where brainstorming. It's like. This isn't really my thought it's not your thought it's you know it's this is just a thing that's happening right Now. So I like the thing about it like that and I find that to be ah the most useful there's another point I was going? yeah.

48:49.32

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

48:57.34

Dr_ Placebo

It makes you sound pretty cool Either way I but I think so ah yeah, it's like ah I I don't think you're using it that way. But it's funny because it's kind of like.

49:01.28

mikebledsoe

Does it perfect. That's what I was going for I mean that's the real use utility here.

49:14.95

Dr_ Placebo

Kind of like the coolness factor is apathy. So the super enlightened factor is it's not about me man. It's just about you know the collective. Whatever's going I'm just a conduit I'm just a channel for what's happening now there there is no me man and you're like fuck that guy sounds really cool.

49:25.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

49:33.24

Dr_ Placebo

And then what ends up happening is the guy's like fuck. Maybe I am really cool and then it it comes like crashing down and I've experienced that personally a few times myself where I'm like oh man I'm really just like you know I'm I am I'm in it. It's not. There's no me I'm just like.

49:40.90

mikebledsoe

Um, be.

49:52.95

Dr_ Placebo

It's all happening right now and I'm a big part of it and then I go fuck I think I must be pretty enlightened and then just fucking back to the basement like shoots and ladders all the way back to level 1

49:58.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the prop the problem is when you get credit for it. That's that's when it happens someone else gives you credit you give yourself credit and then yeah, then it all just falls at pieces.

50:06.65

Dr_ Placebo

Well, that's what.

50:14.14

Dr_ Placebo

Well and that's also like the the bane of the guru like I was talking um talking with my buddy Brian this morning. Um I know I was well I was talking to him. But yesterday I was talking to ah another gal who works with me Victoria and she got me this lovely book. Ah, that I haven't read yet. Just got it for me wrote a really nice note in it. Ah and I was like oh man, that's so nice and it's by brene brown and brene brown is one of those people who if you're a lady you have to think she's awesome and. I think she is I think she's got a ton of really good ideas. But I think um as you embody the guru more and more you have to create more stuff so you have to muddy the waters a little bit otherwise you sound like what people call a broken record. So what I notice. Is that someone will have a few fantastic idea and I don't know I haven't read the book. It could be like life changing best book I've ever read. But if a pert.

51:18.31

mikebledsoe

Rene Brown is good but to me falls into a similar categories Tony Robbins there's some good stuff in there. But if you dig further beyond the self-love conversation. She gets look. She's an expert in 1 thing and. And think she got lost in some other stuff.

51:35.24

Dr_ Placebo

So selling herself right? And that's what I'm talking about with guruism like you have people with good ideas like Jocko. Ah good ideas. But there's a hunger for more and people are like guru. Ah please tell tell me what. Tell me the truth illuminate the way and if the guru says I already did it fits on an index card like I'm done like go do the thing I said people are like I think I'll find a new guru and they're like wait a second I just thought of something in fact, in.

51:57.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

52:08.50

mikebledsoe

I got bills to pay. Ah.

52:11.00

Dr_ Placebo

In fact, it's even it's even better than what I taught you before. In fact, this secret I Just I just unveiled and you know so like the that's what I mean with like the bane of the guru is now you have embodied the guru. And I felt that happen to myself which is why I just fucking vanished off the face of the internet for several years and people are like what what totally totally man.

52:34.54

mikebledsoe

As you're as you're talking about this. Um I relate completely because I I kind of I fell off as well. Yeah, it was like it's like oh I got to keep making shit up. Ah life is actually pretty good. It's pretty simple, pretty straightforward.

52:45.86

Dr_ Placebo

I Wrote 200 plus articles about exercise I Taught 200 seminars all over the world I wrote all these books and video courses and they're excellent by the way like my latest couple primal athleticism and elasticity available on maxshank.com Are so good. They're They're really good. But also if you are having to keep pace with some sort of artificially imposed ah like guruism you're going to muddy the waters a little too much and that's. Um I don't know other than repeating yourself a lot if there is a way to avoid that because there's definitely a hunger and a thirst for knowledge and if you have embodied the characteristics or the character. The avatar of the guru. There's There's definitely a pressure to to make more of this this thing than there actually needs to be.

53:43.48

mikebledsoe

But me.

53:50.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well um, think of my friend Jesse Elder who's amazing. Love that guy and so inspired by his creativity and he tends to attract hit huh.

54:07.11

Dr_ Placebo

Here comes here. It comes. Ah.

54:07.94

mikebledsoe

But he had. He's very good at attracting a crowd and he's got that guru vibe goinglling on and the thing that impresses me with him is when I met him in 2014 he was just getting started on the like speaking gig thing.

54:12.97

Dr_ Placebo

So ah.

54:23.49

Dr_ Placebo

Um.

54:24.94

mikebledsoe

And what he was talking about then and what he's talking about now is very much the same but he's so good at creating new context and and weaving together stories to bring people in so like it's it's he he really has gotten it to some core truths and he's really good at.

54:38.74

Dr_ Placebo

Whoa.

54:44.85

mikebledsoe

Ah, communicating it. But what I'm most impressed with is is a ability to communicate those in a way that people can receive has continuously improved over the years and I love seeing you know I'll see him speak and then three months later seem to speak again and he's cleaned it up or he's tightened it up or he's.

55:02.41

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

55:04.37

mikebledsoe

Ah, or he's using a new analogy to get the point across like guy. He's like oh now he's nailing it now. He's nailing it. It's almost like watching you know a comic you know, develop a routine over a year yeah it's like the first show you're like yeah, it's a little clunky and then by the time they're on Netflix special. it's it's tight

55:09.85

Dr_ Placebo

Who hone their routine. It's magic.

55:24.50

mikebledsoe

So I think that there's I think there's ah that impresses me and I really like that. So there's that's somebody who does have he doesn't I don't think he tries to be a guru but he definitely has you know people people follow him like.

55:27.13

Dr_ Placebo

Whoa.

55:34.36

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

55:43.60

mikebledsoe

Cult Leader style.

55:43.21

Dr_ Placebo

And that's what will happen if you get better and better at transmitting ideas right? is you will You will attract a crowd and so it's like can you maintain that integrity without the crowd.

55:48.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

55:59.52

Dr_ Placebo

Transforming you into something different like I saw this great video the other day by this Youtube channel after school and it showed this ah transformation of this kid who was like a violin prodigy and then he turned into this guy who just. Eats tons of food like he challenges himself. So the guy gained like hundreds of pounds of fat. He oh dude. So it's like 1 of the most recent after school videos Skool and it goes through this like no one cared that he was ah.

56:22.31

mikebledsoe

What.

56:36.21

Dr_ Placebo

A Violin prodigy but he like ate a big meal once and people were like yeah we like that and so he he was transformed by by the audience because they were craving something else and he's like okay I'll I'll just be that right.

56:51.38

mikebledsoe

Or he's craving validation are you? Oh you're gonna validate me. Yeah, we want to be loved.

56:56.51

Dr_ Placebo

Aren't we all We want to be Loved. We want. What do we want? um attention power Love mostly we want Love if we can't get Love. We'll settle for power if we can't get Power. We'll settle for attention and if you ah aren't getting the attention you want. And then you do something and suddenly you are oh look out that's temptation big time like I used to get ah like high fives and praise and people would even applaud if I could drink the most poison in college like if I could drink a ah. An alcoholic beverage Really fast. So before I knew what was going on I'm taking like 4 lokos and shotgunning them before ten a M because everyone's like Wow What a what a tough cool guy you are and I I Really liked that positive feedback. So yeah, it's.. It's easy to see why people go down certain paths because these ah these base desires for love power attention ah are almost impossible to avoid.

58:10.55

mikebledsoe

Well that that makes me think about my my fitness career and I remember I was I was fifteen years I was like well I had like um.

58:15.49

Dr_ Placebo

Me too I talk about that all the time.

58:24.23

mikebledsoe

I didn't feel like I was getting love. So yeah, maybe it was attention but the what ended up happening is I remember I couldn't I couldn't wait till my fifteenth birthday because on my fifteenth birthday I was allowed to go to the gym and lift weights because my parents didn't want me to stunt my growth and which we know is all bullshit now. But.

58:39.13

Dr_ Placebo

But depends on depends on the level I think if you do gymnastics from age 5 You're probably going to grow less.

58:43.77

mikebledsoe

Like a lot mom.

58:50.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so ah, as soon as I turned 15 I started working out all the time. My dad worked construction. He saw that I was basically burning a lot of energy unnecessarily you know wasn't.

58:54.93

Dr_ Placebo

O who. What right? right? o.

59:06.26

mikebledsoe

And wasn't making any money. Ah, he's used to like yeah pick up heavy shit and walk around and you know we make money when we do it. We're we're being of service and and my perception of how he viewed what I was doing was ah that it was just a ah superficial. Ah, frivolous pursuit and he was like he's like you're never going to make any money. Ah, you're never going to make any money working out and I remember thinking I was like I'll fucking show. You.

59:27.30

Dr_ Placebo

Frivolous.

59:36.94

Dr_ Placebo

Um, I'll show you dad I'll show you? um oh my God are those like the famous last words I'll show them I'll show all of them.

59:45.80

mikebledsoe

Um, and that's what you want to make yourself miserable live like that. So and there were what will ended up happening is I ended up proving him wrong. Um.

59:54.71

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, bro.

59:58.53

Dr_ Placebo

And.

01:00:01.65

mikebledsoe

And but it's not like I only got paid to work out sometimes I was getting paid to work out but I was getting paid for a bunch of other shit too And um, no, that's not true when I was in the Navy I got paid to work out.

01:00:06.44

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, dude, you never got paid to work out though you got paid to like run a company built around people working out you.

01:00:22.13

Dr_ Placebo

That's ah like you got paid extra. You didn't get paid to work out motherfucker you got paid to be in the Navy bitch. Basically what I'm saying is your dad was right.

01:00:23.50

mikebledsoe

No, no, no I mean it was it was.

01:00:32.97

mikebledsoe

Ah, well I'll tell you there there is that I was I was.

01:00:38.20

Dr_ Placebo

Your dad was right? That's all I'm saying.

01:00:41.75

mikebledsoe

I do remember I was I was nineteen years old I was in I was in coronado I'm running on the beach with a group of guys and all we're doing is you know, swimming running and managing being cold as fuck and that was it and I was like I was like.

01:00:48.10

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

01:01:01.79

mikebledsoe

Fucking Did it I'm getting paid to work out and you know it was very short lived Um, because.

01:01:02.41

Dr_ Placebo

And also not true. You were basically paid to be a weapon and your exercising was like greasing the barrel and the parts basically like.

01:01:14.92

mikebledsoe

Um, you are 100% accurate about that. Yeah I was ah you know, ah, it's so funny like people are like wow thank you know you're a veteran. Oh thank you I'm like um I'm like I'm like as I got duped you know like I got.

01:01:25.35

Dr_ Placebo

Thank you for your service.

01:01:35.14

mikebledsoe

Like you're like congratulating me for being a ah for getting duped I appreciate it. Yeah I went and basically worked for the the biggest gangsters on the planet. So cool you know? ah I was muscle for the biggest gangsters on the planet for.

01:01:47.53

Dr_ Placebo

Um, hey if you're gonna be in a gang be in the toughest one. It's still like. Ah.

01:01:51.85

mikebledsoe

Ah, through a period of time being the biggest baddest toughest one and I was so so eat it.

01:01:59.91

Dr_ Placebo

It's still the great. It's It's still the great pirates. It's the same shit is still ah the great pirates who has the fastest boats who has the best range. It's ah hilarious. How true that is.

01:02:02.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:02:08.18

mikebledsoe

Totally yeah so it's funny because a number of years ago. Not that long ago I remember I had that memory I go I go oh my god this is about five years ago I was like oh my god is my entire. Fucking career built around that moment where I was going to prove my dad wrong. do I do I really like working out. Ah do I like talking about fitness do I really like these things and the reality is is yeah I do love health and fitness and I i. Find time in the gym almost every day and I enjoy myself in there. It's one way I show myself love and it doesn't play nearly the role it used to There's so many other interests that get play time and then in addition to that i. I'm showing myself love by taking care of my body but I'm not working out for any type of validation from other people anymore. So it's it's caused me to be in a much better spot and dude I probably make less money because I I seek less validation.

01:03:08.31

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I get it.

01:03:21.22

mikebledsoe

Ah, if I if I was one of those people I I listen like no like no the Alex warmosi was talking about this in a video. He's basically saying like insecurity is what you need to be a you know 100 millionaire I'm like you might be right because i.

01:03:22.39

Dr_ Placebo

You don't have the same motivation to like you don't care like so value.

01:03:38.94

mikebledsoe

Have very few insecurities these days and the necessity that.

01:03:42.22

Dr_ Placebo

If you don't feel secure if you don't feel secure with $50000000 then a hundred isn't going to make you feel secure. You know what I'm saying like that that's sort of like what I'm talking about is like who's to say that what's right for you is right for me. It's like why? ah like Gary Vaynerchuk

01:03:51.67

mikebledsoe

Um, a.

01:03:59.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:04:00.33

Dr_ Placebo

Gary Vee that fucking guy that guy to me is out of his god damn mind and he might have a few good ideas like let's not discount it. But.

01:04:08.94

mikebledsoe

Ah I'll say he's made improvements over the years his message five years ago versus today has as improved and from what I can see.

01:04:16.60

Dr_ Placebo

And that's cool, but like what we said is you know when we see other people we see through a window so we don't see the big. We don't see the whole thing that's going on and there is nothing to cloud our evaluation of it. When we look at ourselves we look into a mirror so we see basically the whole thing and we have our ego in the way. So that's why I say it's harder to look into a a mirror than it is to look through a window but of course that's because you don't see the big picture. You're more objective rather than subjective about the whole thing. But with um, you know these guys who assume this avatar you know they they embody this persona and you're almost caught in a loop where you're it's sort of a sunk cost fallacy you know Gary Vee I got to own the jets. Someday and look for him that might be exactly the right thing. So I don't want to say that that's a bad goal because it's his goal but it's not my goal like I would not trade ah playing tennis and hanging out with my dogs more often. Ah. To sacrifice maybe owning a sports team because to me that's like no extra value. You know what I'm saying so that idea of insecurity will lead you to a hundred million I mean maybe maybe not but like.

01:05:48.19

Dr_ Placebo

Why do you want that in the first place is it because you really believe in what you're doing is it because you feel like 10000000 just won't be good enough or 20 or or whatever I mean it's ah it's really a funny thing like how we fall into these patterns.

01:06:00.19

mikebledsoe

I I invested in a sports team once to look cool. Yeah yeah, and then the entire league went belly up like two months after I invested and I lost all my money.

01:06:06.17

Dr_ Placebo

Really nice.

01:06:16.55

mikebledsoe

That I what I felt cool for about three days and I I got like I got like 15 now I would say the highlight this is the highlight.

01:06:16.61

Dr_ Placebo

did you feel cool for two months though did you feel cool for two months though did you get any swag like like ah a hat.

01:06:35.50

mikebledsoe

Is what $60000 got me by the way is got me about 10 or 15 tickets at Madison square gardens in New York City ah some like front row shit and I got to like.

01:06:42.97

Dr_ Placebo

So.

01:06:48.19

mikebledsoe

All my all my northeast friends I called him up I was like meet me at Massison You know we're gonna meet at the bar Beforehand have some drinks go watch the teams compete. So like I had ownership in it. It was the grid league. It was that Crossfit Rip off.

01:06:56.30

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, what? what? sport.

01:07:05.34

Dr_ Placebo

Nice.

01:07:06.80

mikebledsoe

And which I think that sport still exists I actually prefer it over cross so there are things I actually prefer about it over Crossfit it definitely produces high power athletes that athletes were bigger and more skilled because it was not as much of an endurance sport.

01:07:14.51

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah.

01:07:22.56

Dr_ Placebo

And.

01:07:24.53

mikebledsoe

More of a power sport and um, and yeah I got tickets and I you know I got to be the cool guy I got to like call call up all the other fitness influencers that were in my world and we're all sitting together and dude we had a great time. We had a great time.

01:07:31.88

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yep.

01:07:38.75

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, yeah, yeah.

01:07:43.47

mikebledsoe

It It definitely put me I had status and and I rode that high. Yeah I purchased status more than once and I.

01:07:46.44

Dr_ Placebo

You can bias status us. You can also sell status for money. It's a very funny. It's very funny how that works.

01:07:57.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so ah, yeah, it was very short lived it went it went I went from like feeling like the coolest guy to um and I only owned a ah like three percent of the team. Ah I went from feeling like Mr Cool guy status but then like.

01:08:10.82

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

01:08:17.58

mikebledsoe

You know a month or 2 after that maybe a month after that the whole thing just came crashing down and then I felt like the most foolish guy like ah I'm foolish and the swings were big. The swings were big. Ah no more sports teams for me.

01:08:21.23

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

01:08:33.60

Dr_ Placebo

But you know that's also that's also been ah part of what has attracted you so much Wealth is because it's been a little bit easy. Come easy. Go right? You've been willing to bet.

01:08:47.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah I do have investments in 2 companies are looking to go public so that you know, um now I'm not going to now.

01:08:47.80

Dr_ Placebo

You've been willing to bet big and you've gotten paid out big and hey there you go can you can you reveal what they are. You don't have to you don't have to reveal the the brand specifically. But. Um, what sector is it like nutrition. Is. It.

01:09:07.52

mikebledsoe

Ah, um, one one nutrition and 1 um oh emotional wellbeing company technology into tech company.

01:09:21.47

Dr_ Placebo

So like software as a service kind of thing. Oh cool. That's awesome. You know that sounds a little bit more aligned with ah your values than ah purchasing a piece of a sports team.

01:09:23.47

mikebledsoe

No, it's not software. It's it's hardware and software. Yeah, there's there's ah over over a dozen patents in there which is also nice.

01:09:38.95

Dr_ Placebo

For a sport that no one cares about that's good. That's good. That's good man. That's very that's awesome.

01:09:41.80

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, you yeah much more aligned. Yeah, it's exciting and the products are solid. So I write I Really love it.. That's the things like man. Ah you know you for me. And we've talked about investments before I Really like to invest in things that I find exciting and I believe in and products that I would use or do use and um, and yeah, it just it's not nearly as much of a stable way of investing but you know.

01:10:00.32

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

01:10:10.95

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

01:10:13.97

mikebledsoe

I've had some wins some losses. But overall I'm up So I call it good.

01:10:19.28

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, my my investing strategy is to um, make sure there's some stuff that I don't touch that's professionally managed in a really cautious way and then I can be like a freewheeling ah gambler with the rest and just ah, you know.

01:10:27.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:10:32.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean that's.

01:10:37.49

Dr_ Placebo

I'll like I'll like pay an engineer to design something for me and ah so far that just has always gone to 0 But the fact of the matter is but but that's my whole point is like you know cost benefit and risk assessment is like if you're going to invest in something that can go all the way to 0

01:10:49.88

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

01:10:56.92

Dr_ Placebo

Should be something that can one hundred or one thousand or ten Thousand x in return and as long as you don't put all your eggs in that basket. You're going to still be okay now granted, that's not right for everybody like I read Richard Branson's book and it fucking almost gave me stomach ulcers. He's like.

01:11:05.81

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:11:16.77

Dr_ Placebo

He's like so things I mean he'd already mortgaged his house and his boat several times and bankrupt several times and then finally finally virgin music is this international company. They got tons of amazing artists. They got a huge library. Things are going well and he's like I think I'm going to start an airline and in order to do that. He had to borrow against this successful business to buy like airplanes and engines his fucking dude his board members were like threatening to.

01:11:41.58

mikebledsoe

Did had like break at break. So many rules you never borrow against a company to fund another company.

01:11:52.50

Dr_ Placebo

His board members wanted to kill him. They're like why are you doing this. He's like I need 50000000 for a fucking engine. We hit a bird you hit a bird on our first flight and we owe 100000000 to the bank of England already and I'm just watching. Um.

01:11:57.31

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:12:09.70

Dr_ Placebo

I'm watching this I'm like this guy is risking his entire life and what's crazy is there's this survivorship Bias which is another one of those cognitive biases. There are a lot of people who make choices like that and then they fucking go broke and it's game over but the ones who.

01:12:15.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:12:25.91

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, survive are the only ones that we hear about of course not of course not.

01:12:28.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but going broke isn't doesn't mean it's over. You know it's I mean I think was it. Ah you know whatever you think about Trump that guy has been you know filed bankruptcy I think ah 2 or 3 times for and maybe not him personally but businesses.

01:12:44.37

Dr_ Placebo

Dude you you know what? this is actually one of my favorite stories because um, he owed I think he owed like over a billion dollars and was like bankrupt right? And so.

01:12:45.69

mikebledsoe

So like that's it. Okay.

01:12:58.38

mikebledsoe

It's so crazy.

01:13:01.43

Dr_ Placebo

What's interesting is people who hated him would bring that up as like a bad thing like oh he can't he can't manage his company look. He's a failed businessman and I was like but the rest of the story is that he paid it all back eventually.

01:13:11.53

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:13:17.59

mikebledsoe

Oh.

01:13:19.72

Dr_ Placebo

Like that's what's so crazy like once again, love them or hate him that guy is a character and a half. He's definitely got some negative traits that I personally can't stand and he's got some traits that I find extremely admirable to like face total obliteration and then. Come back out of it is a really admirable quality and if you get too ah enveloped in your hatred for someone you won't recognize the positive things. So I Thought the fact that people I thought I thought the.

01:13:48.57

mikebledsoe

You lack learning at that point.

01:13:53.94

Dr_ Placebo

Fact that people saw that as a negative when actually that's probably the biggest positive is that he faced that total failure. Super bankruptcy I don't know if there's a word for us just like so much and then he's like I'm gonna. I'm going to pay it all back I'm going to come back out of this and I'm going to work and pay it all back and that is ah to me that's way more of a positive than a negative.

01:14:19.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, that's crazy I didn't know that part of the story only heard the headlines interesting. Let's ah I don't really pay attention that shit. Um.

01:14:26.56

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, wait what weird? Well what was what was the topic today by the way I think it was how's your week one.

01:14:35.71

mikebledsoe

But what was a topic. Yeah, that's how we started I was thinking about idling this show. Love power attention. Yeah yeah, dig it.

01:14:44.59

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I mean that's it right? Yeah I like it I think it's good to evaluate where you are trying to get love from beware of guruism. Ah, both ways. If. There's a guru that you hate but he says some things that you need to hear you should probably ignore your hatred for him and ah accept what's really useful and if you ah idolize someone you might not be as discerning. And what is actually going on there right.

01:15:18.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I want to remind everybody is beware of who you're modeling and who you're anti-modeling and use your critical thinking skills to be able differentiate between the the traits that somebody has versus.

01:15:27.51

Dr_ Placebo

01:15:36.80

mikebledsoe

Their entire being and be able to extract out what's useful for you and what you want to have for yourself and what you want to not have for yourself and make sure to go over to macshank.com purchase. Ah those books and digital products and I can guarantee. It's good stuff. I've I've trained with max a bit I always learned something new that gets me thinking for weeks and weeks afterwards sometimes months. Even so yeah, you showed.

01:16:05.68

Dr_ Placebo

Oh that's very exciting. It's very nice of you to say Mike I actually just had ah ah the first member of the gym come back in town for a visit he lives in Indiana now and he started training with me thirteen years ago when I started the gym.

01:16:14.15

mikebledsoe

Thank you.

01:16:20.70

Dr_ Placebo

And he took a class with me and he's like wow that was so different that was amazing and I was like god I hope so I hope I have some different ideas from thirteen years ago it's definitely ah it's been it's been such journey man and there there is probably there are probably few industries.

01:16:30.57

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:16:38.96

Dr_ Placebo

More mentally ill than the fitness industry. It's so much about how things appear to be rather than the way things are so ah, thank you guys for listening. Thank you Mike check out Mike Underscore bled so as he.

01:16:41.38

mikebledsoe

I am okay.

01:16:54.90

Dr_ Placebo

Makes his Instagram farewell to farewell to her before going on to other things I think.

01:16:59.67

mikebledsoe

Dude I'm I'm I'm close I'm getting there. There is another platform.

01:17:04.58

Dr_ Placebo

For so for all of you following Mike if all for all of you following Mike Ah just switch over to at ma shank instead I'm like I'm like a vulture like.

01:17:12.61

mikebledsoe

Um, will the ah there's ah pick up the dead pieces.

01:17:20.00

Dr_ Placebo

I'm just circling around the giant carcass of Mike Bloodso Fit guru

01:17:26.76

mikebledsoe

Ah, fuck. Yeah I am looking at a new platform that we may be able to host this podcast on and some other things so be on a lookout for that And yeah, yeah, a buddy of mine. He's he launched it.

01:17:38.17

Dr_ Placebo

That's exciting.

01:17:43.82

mikebledsoe

And I haven't talked to him in years and I got the phone with him yesterday and was like oh shit this is legit. So um, people are problem solving problems. Ah, and yeah, if you want check out me my my stuff you know like max said Instagram account but also you can head over to thestrongcoach.com

01:17:47.90

Dr_ Placebo

Oh no.

01:18:03.30

mikebledsoe

Got some ah cool products and services over there and a summit coming up in November later y'all love you max.

01:18:08.76

Dr_ Placebo

Later y'all love you.

Is Drinking Pee Good for You? With Hedi Sime Sep 08, 2022

Scientism with Mike & Max Sep 05, 2022

Thriving vs Surviving With Allison Pelot Sep 02, 2022

Today I’m talking with Allison Pelot, the author of Finally Thriving, on the difference between surviving and thriving.

Don’t miss the boat. Give it a listen.

Wisdom from Hunting & Puppies with Mike & Max Aug 29, 2022

00:01.66

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's been. Ah, it's been a week connected so took last week off and we're doing this a little late this week. So I'm sure we've got plenty of catching up to do.

00:09.20

Dr_ Placebo

It feels weird to not talk to you for this long it. It's a part of my way of life now I mean now the only constant in my life is the puppy schedule which I am now strictly adhering to.

00:15.30

mikebledsoe

It's it's strange. Yeah.

00:28.90

Dr_ Placebo

And.

00:30.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, how's that ah I've heard I remember Tim Ferriss was writing about getting a dog and how that was created like a new level of discipline and grounding in his life. Are you experiencing something similar.

00:36.28

Dr_ Placebo

But.

00:43.14

Dr_ Placebo

Totally I was even talking to um, an inventor friend of mine at the gym the other day and we were. We're talking about history and fighter pilots and things like that and how a lot of them say that basic training was the worst thing ever. Ah, during it but the best thing ever Afterward long term and I could describe my my whole life as trying to free myself from any obligation and any schedule whatsoever and what's funny is that I.

01:03.38

mikebledsoe

Wow.

01:19.83

Dr_ Placebo

I did I was able to do that I basically freed myself of ah, any obligation. Ah, and you know that's when you can get real weird right? But it's ah.

01:31.82

mikebledsoe

Been there? Yeah, ah.

01:35.80

Dr_ Placebo

But with puppies if if you try to freewheel like that They'll just destroy your life I mean the life I had already is gone. No question. Whatever I was doing before.. It's like a distant memory.. It's so interesting How this has become an all. Consuming thing So fast.

01:56.85

mikebledsoe

All right I Want to see these puppies so you got to send me some I'll throw it up in the blog by the way. Um I I'm gonna start having these ah these are gonna be. We're gonna have full blog write ups for the show.

02:02.50

Dr_ Placebo

02:14.16

mikebledsoe

Ah, they're gonna be posted I'll have a substack up soon that they're going to be going on and people will get emails with a summary and a little little email about the show whenever it pops out every Monday and then the blog will have a written summary.

02:14.55

Dr_ Placebo

Rad.

02:29.61

Dr_ Placebo

Wow, That's pretty exciting.

02:31.32

mikebledsoe

We should be able to just click to from the emails. So if yeah, if y'all were wondering you know when we were gonna turn pro. it's it's happening you know what's really interesting is I remember with barbell shrugged episode 42 was a pivotal show for us. We'd learned something on that show like and we were trying to improve the craft of podcasting and I remember it was episodes 42 through 45 was us going through this transformation and immediately people. Started messaging us saying I don't know what you guys did but whatever you're doing keep it up the show the show that you know is like episode 42 was the best episode 43 44 or 45 you're like oh this is just the new normal. And yeah, so we're on episode 43 of the Monday morning podcast and ah yeah I feel like we're hitting a ah stride with that as well.

03:38.84

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah I like the vibe that we've cultivated here. It's really serious topics I mean arguably some of the most serious topics imaginable. It's like ah death and kinks. And entrepreneurship and relationships. But the we're pretty chill about it. It's like serious topics with a ah relaxed vibe.

04:02.13

mikebledsoe

Well I think a lot of people avoid these topics because they don't they whenever it was brought up in the past for them. They didn't have a level of levity that was part of the conversation if we can lighten it up a little bit makes it way easier to consume. So yeah I think.

04:12.27

Dr_ Placebo

04:22.20

mikebledsoe

Enough about enough about us just tooting our horns. Even though we have a lot of horns that too. Ah I think that? Ah yeah I want to fill you on what I did last week you know I got so I got stuck in maui for 2 days and hi now.

04:31.39

Dr_ Placebo

Lay it on me, you poor you poor dear.

04:41.37

mikebledsoe

I I remember I remember having it was kind of like the it's like the first time I was ever used by a woman for my body. You know I had this moment of like oh my god you just wanted me for my body I feel so dirty. And about 2 seconds later I was like oh my god she wanted me for my body I was like yes so maui similar similar situation I go oh oh bummer I'm missing my flight I'm like well I'm in Maui I'll go to the beach.

05:16.66

Dr_ Placebo

So you missed your flight on purpose. Ah.

05:19.40

mikebledsoe

No, no, absolutely not no I um I spent a week in molakai which is ah ah, an island with a population of 7000 people and 22000 axis year. So I was hunting out there which was just. The most fun I've ever had hunting it. It was so cool. Definitely going back fact I'll probably go back and I'll invite people to come with me as I so I typically do and yeah, you do.

05:47.37

Dr_ Placebo

So you can get a free ride I know you're game blood. So like he's like I love this thing gosh if I just invite like 10 of my friends I can do it for free and if I invite 20 then I have a new career.

06:00.82

mikebledsoe

Not not not only not only not only do I get to go for free I might get paid and even if I don't tax write offs baby like I'm going to be applying for my Ffl license like all my guns should be tax write offs.

06:12.45

Dr_ Placebo

Boom.

06:20.35

mikebledsoe

Organize a couple of hunts. It's a business to business.

06:23.51

Dr_ Placebo

And you know what? it's actually ah we're joking about but it's super authentic and that's one of the things I like about you is you? You are that firestarter you get excited about something and then you get other people excited about it I've seen it happen. Many times throughout the years that I've known you so it's.

06:43.10

mikebledsoe

Um, sometimes I regret it I'm like oh man I Really kind of screwed that person up but and you know who you are. You're listening out there.

06:46.65

Dr_ Placebo

Well.

06:56.10

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah.

06:56.40

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, so so what do you use? Did you ah hunt them with a knife Ninja stars spear I would love to go spear hunting I feel like that would just be super gangster like a pointy stick.

07:02.30

mikebledsoe

You know, um, are you not not for deer but you can do that for hog I know there's a place in Arkansas basically where you can hunt hog with a spear and they use ah they use pit bulls they put like kevlar jackets on these pits and then basically you chase the hogs down the the dogs get a hold of it and while the dogs are holding it you you you stick the pig so that's.

07:26.61

Dr_ Placebo

Um, amazing.

07:32.35

Dr_ Placebo

That's ah, got to be a very visceral feeling if you'll excuse the pun.

07:37.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um, so that's a possibility. But yeah, what what we did was ah I was shooting a rifle. He's a rifle I have a I have ah a savage ah savage one Ten ultralight.

07:43.53

Dr_ Placebo

22 I'm guessing

07:53.87

mikebledsoe

Ah shoots a six five creed more which is a much faster round than what most hunting rifles are firing like it's a newer round There's there's some others that are faster but this is one of those ah speed matters because the amount that that round will drop. Or how much it'll be impacted by wind actually gets reduced a bit so there's fewer adjustments that have to be made when you're shooting really far. But um, exactly exactly.

08:21.93

Dr_ Placebo

There's less time for it to fall along the same amount of distance if if it's going faster. It's like a laser pointer hardly falls at all.

08:30.82

mikebledsoe

ah hardly but ah yeah so we're out there hunting I got to got to kill early in the the week spent a lot of time just chilling. You know we were very living very primitive. Um I mean we weren't cooking over campfire. But we it was pretty close. You know a shitting outdoors sleeping on a one inch mat ah doors wide open but ah.

08:54.77

Dr_ Placebo

Well, it makes 2 of us shitting outdoors at a but mine was a plumbing emergency though. So me and the dogs were ah we were all using the yard.

09:05.12

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah I'm sure the neighbors love that the it's like whoa. What's that smell.

09:12.83

Dr_ Placebo

That's the least of their worries with what I do in my backyard.

09:18.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so I I finished the hunt have a great time. Got to connect with some guys. Um Ben Greenfield was on the hunt with me in fact, him and his 2 boys and yeah, just a beautiful time and yeah I go to you know I leave.

09:26.93

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

09:35.60

mikebledsoe

Molokai that island I hop on maui to to get on my plane to come home and the flight gets canceled so I find a hotel and then I go back to the airport the next morning and I get on the plane and then they cancel that flight or they delay that flight an hour and they. Delay that flight by an hour about 5 times so I'm just yeah I'm just hanging out the airport you know twiddling my thumbs and ah, finally like they're like oh we'll put you on a flight for tonight.

09:55.21

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

10:09.23

mikebledsoe

So come back in 5 hours I'm like all right I went back to the beach and while I'm at the beach I check my phone and they're like oh your flight for tonight got delayed till tomorrow morning. So I I went from like booking a flight where I was gonna catch a red eye on this nice first class.

10:19.90

Dr_ Placebo

Wow man.

10:28.28

mikebledsoe

Seat and I was going to be able to sleep on the way home and I was gonna be home in like 12 hours to it being like a 24 hour you know added an extra stop in there just to get me home and basically showed up home two days late. Ah my fiance was not happy about that.

10:39.59

Dr_ Placebo

Oof.

10:46.79

mikebledsoe

And then ah yeah, just just now recovering so basically lost the night of sleep. You know.

10:55.48

Dr_ Placebo

Sweet. So did you bring back? some meat did you? ah you you brought your own rifle with you. So I'm guessing you checked that and that was no big deal ah is really interesting.

11:05.45

mikebledsoe

No big deal. Dude after after fly I've never flown with a gun before but after going through the process I realized you could pretty much ship any gun anywhere you want inside the us like they don't They're not really paying that much attention to it honestly. So.

11:21.14

Dr_ Placebo

I Think it has to do with the volume right? I mean there's just so many packages going every which way but that's got to be an odd feeling because you I'm sure you walk into the airport with a rifle right? like.

11:28.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

11:36.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I walk in I check in and then I go I got to go up to like the special baggage place and I go I've got ah I've got ah a gun in here and like oh okay, well here's a special form you know which is basically almost nothing sign it.

11:39.40

Dr_ Placebo

That's funny. Yeah, yeah.

11:51.79

mikebledsoe

Walk it over to a special Tsa section. They take it and then I see it when I land and you know when I landed they didn't even um, ah one of the trips that didn't look get my Id when I picked up my rifle I'm like so anyone could have just walked up and grabbed this. It's like there's a very interesting. Thing going on here.

12:11.40

Dr_ Placebo

I'm so you know I don't know how much that happens but I I only check a bag under duress like I don't check bags when I fly the bag stays with me because I see that I see the carousel with all the bags everywhere.

12:20.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah I try to do that.

12:28.36

Dr_ Placebo

And I'm like how do people not just pick up bags all the time like if I was ah a crooked thief. That's the only place I would go I would just go to Airports grab a random bag off the carousel slap ah a funny ah extra tag onto it. So It looks like it's immediately mine keep like a little pink scarf up my sleeve throw throw the pink scarf on the bag people would never think that's that there'd be oh that guy has the same bag as me, but with a pink scarf on it and you see these bags just making laps around there. You're like how. How did they not get stolen all the time.

13:06.64

mikebledsoe

Well with with my my flight being delayed like it was I Ah, my bags arrived a whole day before me. So I'm like all right I got a rifle that's arriving at airport a whole day before me. Hopefully it's there when I get there and it was It was fun.

13:11.78

Dr_ Placebo

This is something.

13:19.44

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, hopefully no one picks it up.

13:23.91

mikebledsoe

But um, yeah, the meat's being shipped to me they I almost I had to fly in with a cooler because the island is too primitive to carry enough coolers. You're not going to go into like the local hardware store and grab there's 8 of us hunting 8 coolers. It's not going to happen. So um, ah.

13:38.17

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

13:42.20

mikebledsoe

I Opted to instead of carrying it back which I could have I just said hey ship it I'll pay for it and thank God I did because that meat would have not done well over two days of just being in a cooler. Um, but on the spot we did eat Raw heart So we made like a heart seviche so it technically wasn't a heart raw because it was.

13:43.36

Dr_ Placebo

Meaning.

13:52.10

Dr_ Placebo

If.

14:01.28

Dr_ Placebo

Acid cooked.

14:02.50

mikebledsoe

Had some ah yeah, acid cooked a bit but had some raw liver. We killed that week and ah I got to drink amniotic fluid. So one of the deer had been pregnant and we were able to get the amniotic sack.

14:21.46

mikebledsoe

Puncture a hole in it fill a cup I drink that I tell you what the rest of my day I was I was on point hump and yeah, just running around hump and deer. Ah yeah, it was interesting I mean basically like drinking stem cells.

14:28.75

Dr_ Placebo

Humping deer.

14:33.70

Dr_ Placebo

Just as I let you're sprouting hooves. Maybe you'll get antlers wouldn't that be a trip I'm not going to read too much into why? That's the case but that's a cool.

14:40.90

mikebledsoe

Oh I think I think Ashley would be ended at the antlers. Yeah.

14:52.80

Dr_ Placebo

Cool thing I bet we can already do that I bet we already have the possibility to do weird shit like that like they grew a human ear on a mouse like twenty fucking years ago so I would not be surprised if they could grow you a set of antlers if you really wanted to.

14:54.10

mikebledsoe

Ah, so yeah, that was the.

15:11.59

Dr_ Placebo

Personally I'm waiting for the ah Elephant Trunk ah surgery where I can get an elephant trunk like maybe in the middle of the chest or something how useful would that be super sensitive I could drink out of it hold.

15:22.34

mikebledsoe

Extremely You just pick off or just shit up I've always wanted an action arm. Yeah.

15:31.90

Dr_ Placebo

Hold liquids I can sniff with it I mean so crazy strong Never go to the gym again I just have this like absolute unit of a tentacle.

15:44.27

mikebledsoe

What we want to talk about today. What do we? What do we want to dig into.

15:51.83

Dr_ Placebo

I mean hunting is a cool thing. Um, gosh I mean with the dogs ah speaking of hunting right? like there are hunting buddies. You were even saying before how they. Throw the kevlar on the dogs for hog hunting which is pretty wild. Um man I I have an appointment with a dog trainer I think next week or something like that and I thought I was doing really badly. As ah as a dog owner I thought I was so behind thought I was just a total disaster apparently I'm like way ahead of the curve talking to this lady though but having 2 dogs that are siblings. Brother sister is way tougher because.

16:25.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

16:42.99

Dr_ Placebo

When you're trying to train them up. They're just you know, biting each other so you get 1 to listen to you and the other one just tackles the one who's listening so it's kind of a funny experience but I could do a whole show on the puppy lessons I've learned so far I started a puppy journal.

16:50.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

17:02.92

Dr_ Placebo

And I also realized that you know dogs don't have a prefrontal cortex but they're basically like people and I think we give ourselves way too much credit for.

17:12.32

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, um.

17:20.73

Dr_ Placebo

Like how clever we could be versus what creatures of ah routine and reward. We really are so you know me I like to ah synthesize things into a little ah easy to remember stuff. So.

17:27.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

17:39.98

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, demonstration is greater than explanation is a good one that applies to both dogs and people and that's also the um, the heart of the the type of teaching I like to do it's like teaching without attachment. To the result of the student because it's a very heavy burden to I used to feel super obligated um to all my customers, especially all my subscribers because the reality is they absolutely um, like made my life I mean the amount of people who bought books and bought videos.

18:18.90

Dr_ Placebo

Um, super enriching both ways. So I felt this obligation like I gotta get them to do this thing. You know so I would explain the ever lovingving shit out of it instead of just being the example and doing the demonstration. It's the same with dogs course dogs don't speak English So An explanation is even more stupid but for a human I think um, same kind of idea is way better to set the example than to than to preach. Ah my opinion of course.

18:51.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah man Ah, just finished a book last week or so wanting is the name of the book and basically just talks about how we model you know by? everyone's just modeling someone else. The desires are modeled. You don't know.

19:05.69

Dr_ Placebo

That help.

19:09.20

mikebledsoe

You walk into a bar. You're not you don't want to have a drink but you walk in your friends got a Moscow Mule you're like ah man I need and know I wanted to have one of those but now I do I think that people really can resonate with that that you know there's like I'll have a i. I was at a restaurant a couple weeks ago and for a friend dinner. Everyone ordered drinks I wasn't going to order a drink now I've got a scotch in my hand so you know there's ah no man I can't be the weirdo. Yeah.

19:38.60

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, baby, you don't want to get kicked out of the tribe dude pour me a drink too. That's that's the that's the toughest 1 right is to be exiled out of the group um in a lot of cultures that was. Way worse than death I mean it meant death but a slow suffering dishonorable death. You know your family. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's it's it's it's a public shaming that leads to a slow death versus.

19:58.35

mikebledsoe

Well, you got like death and shame stack together like the you didn't die for a good reason. He he died because you meant you're an asshole.

20:14.80

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, like a tribal respect and a quick death which you know one's way better.

20:17.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, not in battle. Um, yeah, say you you want to without your puppy Journal I also have my journal from the hunt. So I think we just go through our lessons.

20:27.18

Dr_ Placebo

You know if you give me a yeah Pauseit or you can ah keep everyone entertained and I'll go grab that.

20:34.52

mikebledsoe

I'll pause it real quick. Go get it so you want to go first. You want me to go first. We got we got puppies and hunting journals.

20:44.19

Dr_ Placebo

Puppies and hunting Journals I Love it. Let's ah, let's start with hunting.

20:50.53

mikebledsoe

Right? We'll go with hunting right? So um, we actually did a bit of like that the hunting trips I do with Manzel is is. Is a little different than most people first I'm not going to read it. It's very personal. maybe maybe I'll get the balls to ah, go out. Yeah well I I wrote ah I wrote a letter to the deer I was hunting.

21:14.62

Dr_ Placebo

Personal like sexual what kind of hunting were you doing out there.

21:23.54

Dr_ Placebo

Cool.

21:26.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, wrote a letter a love letter to the deer I was hunting. Um, um I had I had an insight over the week that I asked myself.

21:29.69

Dr_ Placebo

What else.

21:46.80

mikebledsoe

Where am I because everything slowed down I turned my phone off completely off grid and noticed I asked myself where am I seeking stimulation over solitude and you know really noticed around. 2 3 days in how I was really was it. It took me 2 3 days to for the mind to slow down and be on island time because we're hanging out with some people who are from molochi so these are these are like they're not from the city these are.

22:16.71

Dr_ Placebo

22:23.35

mikebledsoe

These are Hawaiians that are like true true Hawaiian like they haven't been you know, westernized as much and I mean they have but like you know they they hold that Island time thing. Everything's super chill slow motion. Um, and you know for.

22:25.12

Dr_ Placebo

They're hunters.

22:36.52

Dr_ Placebo

Moon.

22:42.77

mikebledsoe

Ah, guy like myself who's going high speed a lot That's just a. It's a bit jarring but I I really started asking myself. You know where am I where am I yeah seeking stimulation. Yeah, ah yeah, so ah.

22:52.75

Dr_ Placebo

It's like pulling the e break pulling the emergency break at a hundred.

23:02.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah I really reflected on that and then I I noticed that I need to remove some things from my schedule. There's there's just too many commitments in the future So started moving some things around and some things that I previously.

23:05.65

Dr_ Placebo

23:19.62

mikebledsoe

Couldn't didn't even consider could be removed or moved and I was able to do that. Um, yeah, actually my summit um I'm gonna move the dates of the summit supposed to happen.

23:24.57

Dr_ Placebo

Really anything. You'd like to share that's pretty cool.

23:36.68

mikebledsoe

Was supposed to happen next month. But I'm gonna move it to November and you know that's a lot. You know there's people who are looking forward to those specific dates. But I I feel as though it's it's if I wait any longer to make the the announcement but you know it would be a little. Too late for a lot of people. But I think we can do it a month out and be okay. Ah really really got to reflect on how I'm the ah I am the ah result of my ancestors choices. You know whether.

23:58.74

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

24:14.87

mikebledsoe

They be wise choices or or foolish choices every single choice since the beginning of of my lineage has really created this result that I'm right now and I'm I'm the 1 choosing moving forward, but really, um.

24:17.14

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

24:33.16

mikebledsoe

Recognizing that a lot of things that got me to where I am was actually foolish choices I think a lot of times people think about their ancestry. You're like oh there's so much wisdom there I was like there's a bunch of idiots in there too and and what what? what am I What am I making sure. Ah.

24:50.68

Dr_ Placebo

Um, just ah, just a long line of Horny retards. Um.

24:53.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, was like is like okay like I need to be intentional about what I'm carrying forward because not everything. Not everything is Good. You know and how am I am I carrying those those lessons and how do I Harvest The wisdom From. My lineage without carrying on all the the the Foolishness. Ah.

25:20.54

Dr_ Placebo

Man Ah, you're talking about ah many many multiple generations but even just the immediate ancestors the parents That's ah that's a really big deal is ah you know I worked with so many people coaching wise and you know I don't want to.

25:30.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

25:38.43

Dr_ Placebo

Be, the guy who's laying everybody down on the psychiatrist couch right? but the reality the reality is that a lot of people are working through some sort of ah resentment or ah. Kind of the opposite like a personal resentment because you can't live up to your parents' expectations. It's like 1 or the other right either resent your parents for doing a bad job or you feel bad about yourself for not doing a good enough job. Ah, a lot of the time and.

25:58.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so.

26:05.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:10.77

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, working through those things but not ah, not judging because whether it's yourself or your ancestors whatever which you can think of them all as the same thing in a certain sense. Um, you know everybody's doing whatever they think is going to get them what they want. Based on how they think and feel all the time like everybody's always doing their best and I remember the first time someone told me that I was dating this lady who is ah pretty significantly older than me and she said everyone's doing their best and I said no, they're not I was like 20 years old

26:48.11

mikebledsoe

Ah, well here's the thing is like I think I think where it gets I think where people get confused about that is like ah everyone is doing their best. But I think there a lot of times people who say that assume that we're all going the same direction is like.

27:05.19

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's based on how you think and feel at the time is my little caveat based on how you think and feel at the time. Everybody's always doing their best and you know I've talked about it So many times if you're um, getting what they want either love power or attention love power or attention.

27:05.45

mikebledsoe

Like yeah.

27:13.50

mikebledsoe

But they're best at what getting what they want? Yeah so not not not for the greater. They're not doing the best they can do for the great Great greater humanity.

27:22.42

Dr_ Placebo

And if you can't get 1 you'll move on to the next one no no and and actually no one is the only reason people do that is because it feels good to them right? The same reason that a guy sacrifices all his worldly possessions to join a monastery is because he thinks that's a good deal. It's not because he's like a.

27:34.30

mikebledsoe

Right.

27:42.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

27:45.45

Dr_ Placebo

Like a noble person. He just thinks that'll get him a better result.

27:50.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah all right? So so another another phase of the hunt. We actually had a ah guide take us to some old ruins that were incredibly old I have no idea I probably wasn't paying attention to that part.

27:53.49

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, on.

28:08.72

mikebledsoe

Um, one of those things you're like ah we suspect this is five hundred or a thousand years old I I don't know so ah, we went to a site where it was ah there's ah, a lot of evidence and a lot of stories to support the idea that there were human sacrifices happening. At this very specific site. So ah.

28:29.60

Dr_ Placebo

You got my attention human sacrifice that was the topic I didn't know I wanted to talk about but now that we're here I'm so glad can we do a whole episode on human sacrifice. That's that's such an incredible idea. That's such an incredible idea.

28:43.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think we should do that next week. Yeah, next week well what's interesting is ah ah one of the things I started exploring ah while I was there after this is I've um. So I used to conflate or have the collapse distinction of service and sacrifice and I think a lot of people who come from a blue collar background do and so I've spent like 8 years you know I had that realization and started unwinding that.

29:05.86

Dr_ Placebo

Oh yeah.

29:19.69

mikebledsoe

And I spent 8 years only trying to be at service but but completely ignoring any possibilities of sacrifice and so I um, so I really did think about it really did cause me to think about sacrifice like ah the final hunt I ah hunted. Ah, multiple times while we were there and the final one was like really the intention was was around the sacrifice piece and I think it was really set up by that whole human sacrifice thing because they talked about how the the people who were being sacrificed.

29:49.94

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

29:56.70

mikebledsoe

Actually saw as an honor to be able to to be sacrificed who knows but um, so we we? yeah I mean that.

30:04.17

Dr_ Placebo

Right? And and everybody everybody's convinced that it's going to be better to do this that That's the whole idea right? We were just talking about that they're doing it why because they think it'll get them a better result than not doing it.

30:12.37

mikebledsoe

Totally totally.

30:21.17

mikebledsoe

72 version versions. Ah but the so we sat at the site and journaled about ah death. So as as we're sitting at the site of human sacrifice talk about death. Um.

30:23.32

Dr_ Placebo

A man.

30:38.49

mikebledsoe

Fast forwarding to my own death and ah where I got was you know spending some time thinking about how much you know will I resist death when it arrives at my doorstep or will I will I welcome it and I think that.

30:56.90

Dr_ Placebo

That's a tough one I hope I I hope I would but I'll probably be like a 80 year old guy and the angel of death will come by and I'll be like oh please no take my grandson instead.

30:58.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

31:11.94

Dr_ Placebo

I'll just be really cowardly at the end of it all have this like super wise life and then finally face it like anyone but me.

31:12.63

mikebledsoe

31:19.97

mikebledsoe

Ah, well like an asshole. Ah yeah I think there's an opportunity now I think I I know there's an opportunity to practice dying and practicing death and I think that's something that. I have experienced through through the use of psychedelics. Ah you know you take a big.

31:37.19

Dr_ Placebo

I Got a lot out of the digital death that I did that was really interesting. Yeah I I just evaporated one day like my friends were all getting messages from people like where's max is he's dead is he okay and it it was It was cool.

31:44.20

mikebledsoe

Digital oh that not going on Instagram.

31:57.17

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, because I was like really attached to um that feedback you know the the audience is like hey we we love you when you do that stuff and so in order to let go of that it it is like a little a little death.

32:06.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

32:15.27

Dr_ Placebo

Basically who yeah, that's it. That's you dude that was you.

32:15.95

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, I mean that happened when I left shrug. You know people people were like you know? Yeah I was like they were um yeah they I did not meet their expectations. Created all these expectations over years that I was going to be there every week and I was going to make them laugh and maybe they learn learn something and then I just stopped and people didn't like that. Um, yeah, so practicing death. Um.

32:50.50

mikebledsoe

And and then what I what I got to is like will I have regrets and what what just came to me the quote came to me in a moment. Are you put on Twitter so it's it's famous. But I said excuses are the seeds of regret and I was thinking about regret. And that's that's what may I see regret as a thing that would cause someone to resist death like oh I'm not done yet I didn't do the thing that I really wanted to do and I think that really is the difference between somebody who's eighty years old and is able to go in peace. And someone who's eighty years old and and dies with suffering and it what hit me was like anything that is an excuse that's that's what I need to be looking for you. Don't want to think am I going to regret this what you want to be thinking is.

33:43.20

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

33:48.25

mikebledsoe

Am I making an excuse about doing this or why am I am I telling myself reasons why this won't work even though it's something I really want to do and I mean knowing the differences between any excuse and a real reason. Ah.

33:52.11

Dr_ Placebo

His father.

34:06.68

mikebledsoe

Can be challenging at times. But I think that's something that each individual gets to learn in themselves and and these two things feel different an excuse feels different than you know, using your reason to to make your moves.

34:22.89

Dr_ Placebo

There's ah I think the difference between excuse and reason is really hard to pinpoint. Actually I think Excuse has a bit of a negative I mean everything.

34:30.40

mikebledsoe

Why I tell people to be unreasonable throw throw the reasons out the window like be rational, be rational rationalable be rational, but but don't be reasonable.

34:39.89

Dr_ Placebo

I like it. It's able to be rationed I like rationable that could be fun rational. Ah like okay so.

34:44.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, alright Hashtag rationable. It's a thing.

34:54.15

Dr_ Placebo

Responsibility is ability to respond. It's also a synonym for obligation right? and I think I think that's often how it's used like you list out you list out the responsibilities. Well you list out resp responses like okay, you've had people work for you right.

34:58.36

mikebledsoe

But I don't think I don't think it is a cinnament for that and I why think I think most people will perceive it that way.

35:13.42

Dr_ Placebo

And you list out what their responsibilities are like. For example, every day obligations. No okay you fucking whore Obligations accountabilities.

35:13.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah I call them accountabilities not responsibilities accountabilities. Ah.

35:30.50

mikebledsoe

Ah.

35:31.48

Dr_ Placebo

Whatever you want to call it. It's a thing that you got to do and basically in that situation. What happens if it doesn't get done and that's that's when ah, a reason to me is is always an excuse right? because what you're trying to do is you are trying to excuse. Use yourself from the obligation. Ah so to me, it's very different and like you know you've had a lot of people work for you and it's you can always come up with a reason for why you didn't do the thing you said you were going to do right? But it's still.

35:54.70

mikebledsoe

Um, ah.

36:09.52

Dr_ Placebo

It's just trying to excuse that accountability right.

36:10.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah I would say their culture that we we've cultivated with people who work for me. It's been a very like yeah I fucked up and I don't I don't get a lot of excuses from my people which is really refreshing just to.

36:19.19

Dr_ Placebo

Um, yeah, right? yeah.

36:30.80

mikebledsoe

Have people own it. Okay I think the problem with making excuses is you're doomed to repeat the you don't you don't feel the gravity. You don't feel the pain of of the impact that you made by by screwing up.

36:47.35

Dr_ Placebo

Totally the error.

36:49.43

mikebledsoe

Like the if you make an excuse for your yeah if you make an excuse for your error. You're sidestepping a lesson. But if you say look I simply screwed up I dropped the ball I'm now making a commitment to ah you know. I'm I'm making these specific changes in order to ah do it differently moving forward. Awesome! That's what I want to hear. That's why I want to hear from others. That's what I want to hear from myself. That's that's an attitude of of learning that's humility.

37:17.41

Dr_ Placebo

Totally no, It's curiosity too right? It's like what can be done differently and it frames it in a in a positive sense so you know right.

37:24.30

mikebledsoe

And.

37:29.39

mikebledsoe

We're moving forward instead of dwelling on the past we like we acknowledge that this happened but now let's move forward.

37:35.40

Dr_ Placebo

Well and that's kind of like the it goes back to the sacrifice or the martyr thing right? you you almost feel like you need to punish yourself a little bit and say how bad you were but it doesn't really do anybody and especially if you're like managing people you you kind of just want to be like man that's like wholly irrelevant. Really doesn't Matter. It's really just about what you can do moving forward differently that will make it so this does not happen in the future right.

37:56.50

mikebledsoe

I Think ah.

38:01.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I think the pain that we inflict on ourselves through the guilt can can help make the lesson stick like oh I don't want to feel like that again. So.

38:13.70

Dr_ Placebo

Well, totally man, you know shame can drive a culture in a big way. Um, and I know I've said it on the podcast before but 1 of the cultures that I find really interesting and awesome in a lot of ways is Japan where there's a really strong culture. Of honoring tradition and shame. Also, you know there's a lot less homeless people there because it's kind of a shameful thing and there's also a lot less ah broad creativity of brand new stuff. But ah surplus. Of refining old stuff. You know so they might not invent a rocket ship but when someone else does they'll make that rocket ship better than anything else because they'll have you know 10 generations of rocket scientists running the family business and trying to just. Make those marginal improvements. So I think you know shame can be a great motivator ah certainly I gravitate toward love being a motivator right so joyful expression of this ah weird. Black box algorithm that I am you know take what I got and and let it out there like you know, let it go basically um, kind of like we were talking about um service minus attachment. Basically so you do your thing but you're not.

39:42.47

mikebledsoe

39:46.70

Dr_ Placebo

Super attached to the result or or yourself as the procurer of that service.

39:53.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, all right moving on moving on in this journal see so I was asked for. We went on a a silent hike for a couple hours and ah.

39:57.90

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

40:11.68

mikebledsoe

We're We're asked the question, the prompt to consider while we walk and then you know Journal when we get back and before we get out the door I started making a list of ways in which I don't show up as my highest self um or you just sit look as how do you show up in a.

40:25.60

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

40:31.21

mikebledsoe

And the ways that you don't prefer or you you end up regretting I guess so these are these are the ways in which I am not showing up as my highest self when I am looking for acceptance by others when I seek stimulation over solitude. That's where I got that.

40:47.62

Dr_ Placebo

Another more.

40:48.29

mikebledsoe

Ah, when I fail to communicate my boundaries Well when I lack a hierarchy of values. Ah, and when I'm concerned with not looking bad.

41:01.96

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, those are good. Um, what was the prompt again. It was just go on this quiet hike and then Journal at the end.

41:08.92

mikebledsoe

Not yeah that well we were to consider this question in which way am I not showing up as my highest self and then 2 hour yeah Yeah

41:18.94

Dr_ Placebo

Okay, so now they provided that yeah that was actually the the thing I thought ah before when you're talking about what decisions will I regret. That's like the same. That's the positive way to say that. What? what would your highest self do here like and how how big a gap is there. Can you repeat that question one more time I'm going to write it I'm going to have ah my friends around here do that with me sometime same seems like a cool idea.

41:36.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

41:47.73

mikebledsoe

Cool, um in which way am I not showing up as my highest self.

41:51.94

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

41:56.20

mikebledsoe

Everyone out everyone at home gets to and get a couple chances write it down themselves all right? Everyone you got a homework expect you to fill this out I mean 2 3 hours I like that.

42:05.74

Dr_ Placebo

How how long was the silent hike. That's pretty nice.

42:15.90

mikebledsoe

You know what I found when I first got out there is like um actually felt overstimated coming in. Ah and I met several of the guys for the first time and everybody was wanting to talk and I was There was a part of me that was going man I really just wish this was a silent retreat I would like.

42:42.23

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, oh man, that's so funny to hear from you did.

42:47.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, so I'm I'm actually going to suggest a monzol about ah putting together. A I would love to do like a group hunting trip where the first 2 of three days is in complete silence. Only. Like a noble silence. You know I could ask you to like help me with something or or could you get the fuck out of the way or whatever it is or you know you you can you can state what you need in the moment but I don't yeah yeah.

43:10.25

Dr_ Placebo

But right.

43:15.72

Dr_ Placebo

Could wear a little wear a little chalkboards.

43:23.90

mikebledsoe

But ah, yeah, minimize the just the bullshitting interactions and yeah I would love to do like a two day and I would love to do as strangers I would love to go hunting with people I've never met before spend the first two days silent and then the third day because then I I think it would be really fun to. Because what your mind's gonna do is create all these stories about who this person is you know why? they do the thing they do, you're gonna create all of it and then you're gonna talk to them on a third day and they're gonna break all of it and you're gonna go oh my imagination is nuts.

43:46.16

Dr_ Placebo

Right? one? ah.

43:58.76

Dr_ Placebo

Totally well and as it relates to the dog thing. You know they don't speak English Um, they they pick up on your emotions and your postures and I know I've said it before even on the show but I remember you.

44:06.20

mikebledsoe

You don't say.

44:15.95

Dr_ Placebo

Said to me like dude maybe ten years ago or something like don't don't listen to the words people are saying just watch how they're being and so I started doing this thing where I mean I was tuning out like I wasn't listening to the words I was a really bad listener but I was just watching people's postures their hand movements.

44:21.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

44:35.80

Dr_ Placebo

And it it was like the it was like the teacher and Charlie Brown it was like wah walk walk walk walk walk walk walk and I was just listening to the musicality of the voice and all these different things and I would imagine if you are meeting people for the first time and you can't. Introduce yourself like that is such a trip because now you're going to be reverting to these primal instincts of like sizing people up, you're going to pay really close attention to people's eyes and I bet most people have never even ah. Come close to a situation like that I don't think I've ever been part of a group where we didn't introduce ourselves for two days like that's almost psychotic actually when you think about it. Everybody's got like guns and no one saying anything and they've never met before. I mean I don't want you to like give up on this dream but it is a sweet recipe for fucking disaster.

45:35.28

mikebledsoe

You know I'll try it out with guys I know first? Well we'll baby step our way into this find a few guys that are willing to do a silent hunting retreat and we'll go from there all like let's dig in this puppy journal.

45:49.53

Dr_ Placebo

Um, awesome dude I like the silent hike I like the silent hike thing. That's a cool idea. Well.

45:57.89

mikebledsoe

I did a whole day I took 2 guys up to I was up in Idaho and was in the sawtooth mountains and we did like ah man it was like a 12 hour maybe maybe thirteen fourteen hours

46:12.50

Dr_ Placebo

Was that a cattle drive or something. Wow.

46:13.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, not not just hiking up. The mountain started started at the bottom wearing shorts and it was hot and got up to the snow and basically just popped a little microdose and went fasted So all I brought was water.

46:24.60

Dr_ Placebo

Um, how cool.

46:30.75

Dr_ Placebo

Sweet.

46:33.13

mikebledsoe

And and we did a silent up and I and I ah I was in charge of the hike there was 3 of us I was like we can talk on the way down and and I I started hoofing. Yeah and we started hoofing it down and these guys were just hilarious.

46:44.45

Dr_ Placebo

Ah I like I like that a lot too that.

46:52.13

mikebledsoe

Just talking about candy bars like because we were fasted. They weren't used to any of this stuff. So the idea of like hiking silent fast. It was incredibly novel to them. So yeah.

47:05.80

Dr_ Placebo

It's crazy how much extra calories you're packing on you Even if you're a lean person check out, check out the math sometime like for those who are every you got to fast, you got to try it Out. It's so it's Stupid. You just you just shut up. And you don't eat for a while and it will heal you more than like 99% of the bullshit out there. But.

47:25.66

mikebledsoe

It is. It is the dude you just give your system a break. All you got to do is give your system a break and it'll fix itself for for most things.

47:37.20

Dr_ Placebo

Matt Imagine if you just ah had headphones playing music all the time. That's like the equivalent of digesting food all the time and it's it's just a different sense right.

47:53.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, 4

47:54.61

Dr_ Placebo

You don't give yourself a chance. Um, but some people are afraid they're like oh what'll happen am I going to like break down too much muscle or something like that like that like it'll happen in a fucking week I mean some some sure whatever but like a lean person has like one hundred thousand calories

48:05.22

mikebledsoe

It's all guy. Yeah dudes are well, there's um, sal.

48:14.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

48:14.74

Dr_ Placebo

Storage on them like ah, a lean, a lean man of average size has like a hundred thousand extra calories conveniently distributed mostly in the center mass of their body. It's it's really good design like we would all be dead if it didn't work this way.

48:33.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, it's there for sure. There sal sell from over at mine pump. Um, if you're familiar with the mine pump guys but they do like um, kind of like.

48:36.24

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

48:44.74

Dr_ Placebo

Do they like take ah do they like take pre-workouts and play chess or something.

48:49.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, they're like ah I would I would they're the closest thing the barbell shrugged but more for like the the aesthetic world whereas we were more in like the performance and they're They're really great guys I've been on their show a couple times they've been on mine. They're fun.

48:56.33

Dr_ Placebo

All.

49:05.75

mikebledsoe

And 1 of the guys on there I know for a period of time was doing a 72 hour fast once a month for the purpose of building more muscle so there's just like you want to train really hard if you want to grow muscle if you actually starve yourself a protein. There's a super compensation that occurs. So.

49:09.84

Dr_ Placebo

Oh.

49:24.78

Dr_ Placebo

It's like occlusion training you cut off the flow and then you release it and the floodgates open same deal.

49:25.55

mikebledsoe

It's yeah. Yeah, so I I think that for anyone who is concerned about that because I was actually you know for a lot of the hunts that I do we we fast coming in and one of my friends young younger guy. He was like yeah but you know I was just like worry about losing muscle I'm like you know. Ah, 72 hour fast done right? and when you reintroduce food you could actually put more muscle on because of that just watched all the all the gears in his head had to change direction and and ah yeah, but it's true.

50:02.81

Dr_ Placebo

Plus like what if you did lose a little bit of muscle. You think no one's going to love you after that Jesus Fucking Christ like.

50:13.29

mikebledsoe

Oh obviously? yeah, well its problem is like I mean you've experienced this is you get praise. It's like oh man, you got a 6 pack. Oh man like get all this praise like well that's must be why people like me.

50:14.84

Dr_ Placebo

I Mean they won't love you as much. Obviously now you're fucking Scrawny bitch who's going to love you now.

50:27.16

Dr_ Placebo

I. Totally totally I mean I feel like I've said this so many times but I would lift a really big weight over my head. Let's say and people would be like hey Wow Max We Really like that.

50:33.21

mikebledsoe

And then you take that away like oh no, one's gonna love me now.

50:47.85

Dr_ Placebo

Can you lift a bigger one be like fuck. Yeah, are you going to love me more if I do and they're like yeah I'm like great I'll do that.

50:53.75

mikebledsoe

I mean it's super simple if I put that I think about a year ago I put ah ah a Instagram throwback video of me squatting like I don't know what it was like four 25 for reps or something like that the bars bouncing and shit.

51:04.75

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah.

51:10.32

mikebledsoe

And I got like almost a record breaking amount of likes on that you know and I basically like I basically said in the the what's it called the caption I said in the caption of like yeah this was like peak me hating myself. Ah and like.

51:12.43

Dr_ Placebo

Oh yeah.

51:25.57

Dr_ Placebo

Totally.

51:29.21

mikebledsoe

This is all the things I've done a change and all that you know what ended up in some of the comments people actually read the caption but a lot of comments are like yeah man that's big weight I'm like you like let the fuck is going on. Love me. Um.

51:38.64

Dr_ Placebo

Good job and you're like they love me. They really love Me. You know it reminds me of why Envy is such a bummer ah number one. It's the only of the deadly Sins. You can't have any fun at ah which I've always thought was really cool and the no no lust is great. Gluttony.

51:58.61

mikebledsoe

Ah, interesting. Yeah, there's not really a payoff for it right? like people use it people use it for motivation. Yeah.

52:08.13

Dr_ Placebo

Lust gluttony sloth I mean that's that's like a great day as far as what I'm concerned but but like ah yeah, ah today is gluttony day. Ah but like envy day is is the worst and here's why it's extra bad though.

52:13.20

mikebledsoe

I Set aside days for that. Yeah yeah.

52:26.60

Dr_ Placebo

So it's funny because it's not that fun but also with envy we're only envying like 1 little bit a fraction of someone's life where we're not envious of the whole thing. Because if we were we would do that same shit ourselves like nobody can see in that video all of the sacrifices you were making and even at the time. Ah maybe you were self-aware enough to be like hey you know I I did this.

52:47.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

53:03.40

Dr_ Placebo

But you you guys probably don't want this in fact, ah you know like my I don't know if this is true. But for me it It was a lot of the time like my body hurts a lot. Um dude like that's probably the.

53:12.00

mikebledsoe

I was in so much pain. So I had to smoke during that period of time I was smoking weed every night to fall asleep I remember getting in bed and just like my body was hot. My my shoulders were throbbing like like things were throbbing.

53:20.27

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

53:26.58

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

53:30.88

mikebledsoe

And I'd be lay in bed and then my my ex wifefe would be next to me and she could just feel me she' like babe go smoke some weed you need to go to sleep so just turn into a nightly I smoked weed every night for for years.

53:35.21

Dr_ Placebo

53:46.13

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, totally I mean that's a good option as far as options go but that's what I mean about the the cherry pick Envy is like we're we're envious cherry pickers. We're like oh man look at that guy's house I'm like yeah that guy.

53:47.91

mikebledsoe

Just for pain relief.

53:56.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

54:04.81

Dr_ Placebo

Went to medical school. He worked 60 hour weeks and then he worked 80 hour weeks and now he finally has this big house and and and you're only going to be envy it like it's it's insane right? It's the same thing with us lifting these heavy weights we're like wow I wish I could do that I'm like no, you don't.

54:15.22

mikebledsoe

Right.

54:21.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

54:24.21

Dr_ Placebo

A no, you don't because otherwise you'd be doing it and B you don't understand the sacrifices that are being made here. You know it's ah it's hardly fair. But what's funny about that too is ah that's also what inflames people's desires the most like.

54:30.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

54:43.12

Dr_ Placebo

I I was honest, um, like I I was saying like hey man I I train a lot I do ah olympic weightlifting then I do gymnastics then I do a crossfit workout at the end then I go to Jujitsu and then in the evenings I do moyai for 2 hours training six days a week I'm running a business I'm a 23 year old absolute maniac investing all of my time into it and I'm like here's this workout and people are like yeah I want that too but they don't really is my point they just want like.

55:16.38

mikebledsoe

Now.

55:20.43

Dr_ Placebo

Like that Mark Twain quote a classic is something that everybody wants to have read but nobody wants to read. He's got some good ones? Yeah, all right.

55:31.21

mikebledsoe

Accurate. Ah I think he was ah somebody somebody called him the cause I was describing Mark Twain as someone who had never really knew much about him or read about him and and as I as I was describing.

55:39.76

Dr_ Placebo

And pretty sardonic guy.

55:47.70

mikebledsoe

They go. Oh he's probably the Joe Rogan of of that time I go you know what? I think you're probably right like that because he was he was funny. He he was he was doing a lot of writing and I yeah was kind of like comedy of that of that era I mean and and.

55:56.21

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

56:01.53

Dr_ Placebo

Um, he was a humorist that's actually the biggest humor award. We have is the Mark Twain ah prize right? There are some good ah acceptance. There are some good acceptance speeches.

56:07.53

mikebledsoe

Oh I didn't even know that I learned something new about Mark Twain today the more I learned about that guy the more of a fan I become just wild.

56:20.39

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, because it's it's you know some people who are just absolute um juggernauts comedy-wise but the Mark Twain prize is like a lifetime achievement award for comedy. So you know chappee has 1 Eddie Murphy David Letterman these guys like.

56:30.67

mikebledsoe

Now.

56:38.20

Dr_ Placebo

Really? ah, really skilled at the craft of humor and what I say is humor drops the guard like Lindsay has noticed that there's basically no conversation I have with someone where I don't a try really hard to make them laugh and b. Actually make them laugh because I don't I don't want things to be serious like that's the last type of situation I want I want to have things be be lighthearted and and humor is a good way to do that.

57:07.74

mikebledsoe

We go it. Loosens people up, you have you use humor it loosens up the mind people get up catch people off guard willing to entertain new ideas and this is why comedy is such an important thing in society and before you we had the modern comedians you have.

57:17.42

Dr_ Placebo

Right.

57:27.46

mikebledsoe

Want to go back far enough. You got the court Jester and I think a lot of times people think about the court jester as just some fool who knows some you know can juggle and shit. But in ah some traditions you know it's told that. The jester was there to keep the king in check the gesture was the only one that could make fun of the king right? and so it was like yeah and.

57:47.30

Dr_ Placebo

Right? Compartmentalized you can make fun of me and you're going to do it in a way that I feel okay about it. But but when you're when you're Queen or something is like you you drink too much.

57:56.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

58:03.62

Dr_ Placebo

Or whatever he's like fuck you queen I'm the king god damn it. But when the jester is like hey Mr. King guy can I fill up your wine flask again. Oh it's already empty. What does a pre you know Dadada whatever.

58:17.26

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, you want to break out the puppy journal.

58:22.30

Dr_ Placebo

Oh yeah, um I think the the main thing is ah compartmentalizing on on every level like literally you put them into a compartment you have nap time. Compartmentalized you have playtime compartmentalized. You have mealtime compartmentalized like the more you compartmentalize the lives of those puppies the easier it is like they know when we're outside. It's outside time like we've had them two weeks now and we're batting like I would say 98% ah of potties outside in the same place and I feel like that's really good. We've had almost no issues. No accidents inside the house which I'm real pleased about and when it's nap time. They go into the pen and when it's food time they come out and they get their food and then we pick the stuff up and wash it out because otherwise it's going to be crawling with ants. So everything gets compartmentalized. Um shoes can't live on the floor anymore. So that has to be in a compartment has to be out of reach so it's it's forcing me to get way tighter with my organization. So I think that's a positive I mean look once again like you could look at my story from the outside in and think.

59:57.91

Dr_ Placebo

I'm a certain way but it's just been like a disorganized mess of an insane guy who just happened to be very ambitious and motivated right? So it doesn't just because it like worked doesn't mean I did it well like I didn't you know what? I mean.

01:00:16.59

mikebledsoe

Ah, that that resonates like so so like how did you do it I'm like don't do it the way I did it.

01:00:16.88

Dr_ Placebo

It's ah yeah, totally men. Yeah, right? But what's funny is ah like instinctually they they want to do it that way because it's a proven model and you're like no dude do do anything but the way that I did it.

01:00:30.17

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:00:35.71

Dr_ Placebo

Do absolutely anything but that but anyway ah compartmentalizing is huge I already mentioned ah demonstration is greater than explanation I think that equation pretty much rings true for just about everything.

01:00:55.28

Dr_ Placebo

Um, it really reminds you? What's important like the live like we had to take the puppies. Ah 1 of them into the vet once already to the emergency room and and it's a very binary type of thing. Yeah puppy was really. Lethargic ah pissed herself is very scary I was surprised how much I loved these little fuckers already. Ah and it was like Okay, we either relax, chill out and ah, don't worry about it or we take her to the emergency room right now. Because living in limbo of like ooh. It's kind of scary. It's kind of bad is it's almost like ah an almost emergency is the worst fucking thing ever. It's like buying fire insurance. But then worrying every day that your house will burn down and I feel like that's how a lot of people.

01:01:47.69

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:01:52.71

Dr_ Placebo

Live their lives. Um, you know insurance is another thing we could talk about another time but that's not really related to. We did get puppy insurance which is a fucking scam and a half. Ah oh yeah I mean you know it's.

01:02:07.88

mikebledsoe

I've never heard of that before.

01:02:11.48

Dr_ Placebo

Just like anything else. It's ah basically a probability and a fee schedule. Whatever and so if you're going to buy puppy Insurance. You probably would also be well- served to buy some extra puppy food so you have like insurance against like a shortage in puppy food supply Anyway, whatever. Not not more insurance. Ah yeah, yeah, that's actually what it is. Yeah, Ah, it's well because I looked at the fee schedule basically and I looked at like what the payment is versus what they will pay.

01:02:31.27

mikebledsoe

Is like Health insurance for puppies her Why you say it's a you say it's a scam.

01:02:48.97

mikebledsoe

Right? And like dental insurance.

01:02:50.53

Dr_ Placebo

For each ailment. It doesn't seem like a very good deal basically to me. Ah, you know they have these maximums for certain things and I didn't think those maximums were very high like I I like to have insurance.

01:03:04.70

mikebledsoe

Why did you get it.

01:03:09.10

Dr_ Placebo

Um, because it is pretty inexpensive and I have had a lot of people tell me who have had dogs that it was worth it and um, so like basically it's a gamble essentially like ah having health insurance or not um.

01:03:16.74

mikebledsoe

01:03:27.38

Dr_ Placebo

You know I I prefer to bet on myself. Basically so um, you know if there's a catastrophe great but everything else just out of pocket. Ah puppy lessons. Ah first one is what you pet you get.

01:03:37.12

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:03:45.37

Dr_ Placebo

Which is ah kind of like a derivative of what is rewarded is repeated So that's a big thing.

01:03:49.95

mikebledsoe

I was I my mind jumped to Monkey pox.

01:03:53.92

Dr_ Placebo

What you pet you get? Wow I Don't think they can get Monkey pox.

01:04:03.55

mikebledsoe

A greyhound got monkey pox in France recently from a couple of men who have sex with men. Um, but ah god it's a real story. Yep yep, well well you know that.

01:04:07.99

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

01:04:11.85

Dr_ Placebo

Is that a real story that you're telling me how do you know this? Wow wild.

01:04:21.70

mikebledsoe

Monkey pox narrative right now is it's it's mainly just men who have sex with men. They're not saying gay men on on the news anymore. Ah, and then and then they report oh there's there's ah 13 cases of children getting it.

01:04:28.55

Dr_ Placebo

01:04:40.31

mikebledsoe

Oh it must not be sexually transmitted. Ah and then and then there's ah, there's a dog in France who's owned by a couple of gay guys and the dog gets it and they say it's concentrated around its mouth and belly.

01:04:41.84

Dr_ Placebo

Oh boy Well boy.

01:04:59.39

mikebledsoe

So it must be from ah you know, just close contact skin to skin contact. It's not ah well we didn't ask the gender that the reporter didn't ask the gender of the dog they screwed up.

01:05:04.29

Dr_ Placebo

Maybe the dog is a homosexual I don't know it's a gay dog I don't know oh God Yeah, you should definitely not fuck your dog.

01:05:20.92

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:05:22.41

Dr_ Placebo

I didn't even need to own dogs before I knew that.

01:05:29.95

mikebledsoe

All right? all right? all right? Ah what you pat you get not Monkey box. Ok the pumpy principles.

01:05:33.58

Dr_ Placebo

Ah, so I have I have the puppy principles right? which is ah patience positivity and playfulness and I think patience is really important. It's ah it's a little creature that doesn't know english. It doesn't know the difference between what you wanted to do what you don't want it to do and you you cannot get impatient with a dog or another person you can only get impatient with yourself right? You can get frustrated with yourself that things aren't already a certain way for you. It's like ah. I say there ain't no use wishing words you know oh I wish it were like this well wish in 1 hand pissing the other and see which fills up first. Yeah yeah, so.

01:06:20.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, another way of looking at it. Well Okay, yeah I like that's that's totally different than what I was thinking. But yeah I love wishing worse there. There's like little rules like that that are really useful like if you wish it were certain way that that's leading to suffering.

01:06:28.14

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

01:06:34.92

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

01:06:37.82

mikebledsoe

Another something that's similar to that is people who dwell on unanswerable questions like oh why did he kill himself. Well, you're never going to be able to ask him so like that that yeah yeah, maybe.

01:06:42.60

Dr_ Placebo

Right? Oh yeah, yeah, maybe after you die I don't know.

01:06:57.40

mikebledsoe

But but the the dwelling on that question doesn't serve you at all it only causes suffering I say that because that that happened to me but like you know and so it's it's ah the but I started noticing that people that.

01:06:58.96

Dr_ Placebo

No well man like.

01:07:15.77

mikebledsoe

I would be coaching someone and they'd get. They'd be getting tripped up on an unanswerable question I go Well you know what? Why did you? You know why did I get fired. They wouldn't tell me that I'm like all right? Well why is it matter you know. If they're not telling you did I Answerable question.

01:07:35.99

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's like why do you want to invest so much of your attention into something that you can't um, change with your actions so you have your locus of control which is monumentally small Despite. Ah, what the conventional wisdom may be like you have so little control. Ah, you don't even have control of your entire body like a lot of that shit is happening automatically so you have a super limited locus of control and yet I don't know some people.

01:07:58.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:08:12.58

Dr_ Placebo

Are like concerned about whether a gay dog in France has monkey pox. For example I mean that's really far outside their ability to control what's going on. So it's funny because like you're sacrificing. Yeah well, you're sacrificing your life for that and if you're doing it for.

01:08:21.50

mikebledsoe

Ah I watch I watched the news for comedy.

01:08:31.17

Dr_ Placebo

Entertainment or just idle curiosity like I Love ah listening to learning reading um shit that will maybe never benefit me in any kind of professional way likely something I can't influence but I. Go into it accepting that reality. You know what? I mean that's why I say I'm not into kink shaming like you do whatever you want if you want to hook up your nipples to a car battery. Ah you know, go with God Frankly, but don't expect that that's going to you know, improve your coaching business. Let's say you know.

01:08:51.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely.

01:09:08.10

mikebledsoe

I I.

01:09:10.40

Dr_ Placebo

It might it might ah so we have patience number one just like ah I'm being very patient with the erratic flow of our conversation right now then we have positivity because dogs hardly understand not.. It's very related to like what you pet you get, but you can't um so for Positivity ah reinforcement is greater than enforcement and in fact, you can't actually teach a dog anything. You can only reward something they're already doing and positively reinforce that ah like you you can't teach a dog to like like you can demonstrate how to lay down but really all you can do is positively reward the stuff you want. So. Patience Positivity and then Playfulness is ah maybe more of ah a lesson for people than anything else, but dogs are so good at playing. But if they don't play enough if they don't get their energy out if they don't have that outlet. They're going to be a nightmare. Just like a person people are fucking assholes if they don't play and get some physical activity and how could you blame them right? Yeah, you have this creature who arguably has a lot more um needs sociologically than a dog.

01:10:41.26

Dr_ Placebo

And if they're not getting them. Of course they're not going to act right? They're going to act a fool so you got to? Ah I think it's good to apply these same principles to yourself because people are like puppies. You know, arguably a little more complicated but. Being patient with yourself and others remember you can't be patient with others. It's just patience within your own self right? You draw your boundary or you don't ah positivity so you don't like force yourself but you reinforce the things that you do that work out well and then that playfulness is ah. Really important for connecting with other people connecting with yourself connecting with your body you mentioned before being stuck in your head. Um, play is a really good way to do that gets people out of the ego gets people out of their head and into their body and that's. Super good medicine for the culture we live in so those are the top 3 puppy principles I have um and then I have like the the tools of the trade. Basically so the carrot and the stick in my case are ah and what's funny is. Everybody's got an idea of how you should train dogs Some some people are like you should never say no to a dog you got to feed them a vegan diet. Let them sleep in your bed. Ah and other ones are like you know these prong Callers. You can actually put a shot collar on top of that and then when you dominate them every morning.

01:12:17.70

Dr_ Placebo

They'll really listen to you and I'm like okay Jesus Christ that seems like pretty extreme on both ends but everybody has an idea of how you should train dogs just the way everybody has an idea about how exercise should work. It's quite hilarious, but I have a spray bottle of water. And then I have a bag of treats. those are the those are the core tools I have I say treats are cheats basically and because it's not ah like you don't want them to to do things just for treats. You know what? I mean you need something to positively reinforce them. But ultimately I want these dogs to be ah individual certainly but an extension of myself so I can take them off leash. They'll listen to what I say they won't run into the street that kind of shit. Um, but treats. Ah, treats in a spray bottle like the carrot and the stick it's like god Giveth in 1 hand and taketh in the other. It's quite hilarious how well it works so the spray bottle is associated with no, they don't like it and it it does get them to stop the behavior which is good and then the other thing.

01:13:16.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:13:28.57

Dr_ Placebo

That is ah related to something you and I talk about a lot is the semantic precision and I know that most people will make this mistake ah with dogs because they make it with themselves is they have far too extensive.

01:13:47.38

Dr_ Placebo

A vocabulary that they use with people with themselves and certainly with dogs too was just talking to a dog trainer on the phone today and I have ah I have a little command list that I wrote down in order of like the the main ones that I wanted to use. And I was thinking gosh you know if I can get them to to come and sit within like the first week I'll be rock solid and within the first week I could get them to do that and I was thinking man this is um, this is amazing I don't. I don't confuse them with too many different um bits of vocabulary has to be as clear as possible. It's just like computer programming. Basically you know you can say ah like when you reinforce something. Man. It's so funny I'm I'm talking to my brother on the phone last week and we're talking a little while and then just during the conversation I'm like good potty milo good potty and my brother just starts laughing at me. He's like you are so well lame because.

01:14:56.99

mikebledsoe

Ah, well totally. Oh yeah, you have to.

01:14:58.00

Dr_ Placebo

I Don't want to miss the opportunity to positively reinforce that Behavior. So Basically anytime they do something you like good blank. Whatever that thing is good. Come good, sit good potty, whatever and by doing that. There's no confusion. Because I know they don't know words but as long as the sound is the same. Ah, That's really, that's really the key.

01:15:22.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think is why some people train their dogs in another language say German is that the only time that dog's gonna hear that word is when they're being spoken to So I.

01:15:31.00

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah.

01:15:39.29

Dr_ Placebo

Um, yeah.

01:15:40.39

mikebledsoe

I've heard of people doing that and that that would I think that would make the semantic precision even easier. Ah so.

01:15:50.20

Dr_ Placebo

It's a it's a greater distinction. Probably yeah.

01:15:52.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, because they're not gonna be hearing you say it outside of when you're talking to them. Well cool art.

01:16:02.22

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, it's been a really good experience. It Definitely ah rocked my world I don't have the same life Anymore. It's really super. Ah, super different I Love it. I Love Them. It's a fun time.. It's a nice. Ah. An aspect of myself I never thought I would entertain actually so it's ah the the newness is really fun. Yeah,, that's awesome.

01:16:28.26

mikebledsoe

Beautiful.

01:16:36.86

mikebledsoe

Think it's time to wrap this bad boy up we I think we packed it with a bunch of small lessons I was thinking about our writer putting this together and should be interesting. Ah.

01:16:42.76

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, well yeah, right? Um, well, you're probably the same way like ah.

01:16:54.98

Dr_ Placebo

There's that Mitch Hedberg joke where he goes I'm a comedian. So what I do is I sit in a hotel room and if I think of something funny and then I write it down or if the pen is too far away I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain't funny. So it's like.

01:17:07.66

mikebledsoe

01:17:11.78

Dr_ Placebo

If you're listening to stuff like this just keep something close by where you can jot down a note because frankly, um if you if you pick up on a little thing like I wrote some stuff down that that you mentioned because I just happen to have a pen handy.

01:17:30.21

Dr_ Placebo

It can be like 1 line from something you said might be infinitely more valuable than the entire rest of the conversation for a particular individual. So. It's really not about like the amount that you take in It's about the amount. It's about the things that like take you almost like it takes by surprise and it creates this catalyst where you're like whoa I never thought of it that way. That's really, that's really interesting like I'm going to do a silent hike I love the idea of no talking on the way up and talking on the way down.

01:17:51.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:18:08.60

Dr_ Placebo

I Think there's like a lot of good symbolism I Kind of like that better than just ah, ah like a silent hike and then come back and Journal later I like I like silence on the way up maybe Journal at the top and then ah talking on the way down like I.

01:18:22.92

mikebledsoe

Now meow.

01:18:25.80

Dr_ Placebo

That's something I want to set up That's probably the main takeaway I got from today. What about for you.

01:18:33.45

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:18:33.90

Dr_ Placebo

And Monkey Pucks in Gay French dogs. Obviously I mean.

01:18:43.29

mikebledsoe

Oh what do? what did I get out of today. Um I I mean I think the big thing is I just want a dog now. Yeah I have a house. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:18:49.95

Dr_ Placebo

Oh shit. Well you could have one now you have a house you got a lady you're getting married soon I think right is that right? That's pretty cool. Yeah could just go down to the courthouse one day. Also.

01:18:59.89

mikebledsoe

Sometime next year sometime in 2023 we're trying to make it happen. We'll see there's things happening I've mentioned that to her but we'll see how that goes I think she's a little more attached to the wedding than I am and yeah.

01:19:09.52

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, yeah.

01:19:15.83

Dr_ Placebo

It's what every girl dreams of baby you and me down at the courthouse random person as our witness.

01:19:17.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and well she she will remind me she like she's like you already had 1 of these I haven't like I yeah you right? you're right? Ah I didn't like my first one anyway, that's why I was that's I tell her it's like the first wedding sucked for me too. Anyways, so.

01:19:28.28

Dr_ Placebo

Sorry yeah.

01:19:35.79

Dr_ Placebo

Um, probably feels like an obligation for most dudes.

01:19:38.29

mikebledsoe

Was hungover. Yeah I was also hung over so I was just I was just trying to keep my shit together I was I was a mess my my mid 20 s were a mess.

01:19:45.77

Dr_ Placebo

I'll do it I mean I'm sure you were just as wise I'm sure you were just as wise back then as you are today. That's why you have no regrets baby you're like I would do nothing different. I'm just as wise as I was when I was 25.

01:20:00.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, oh man? Well my my brain's still catching up so I'm just gonna say I the puppies. Want wanting a puppy myself is my big takeaway. But yeah, all my travel I've had a lot of brain fog. So memory memory is still ah come back online that seems the thing be the thing with my cognition that lags the most with it's like the first thing.

01:20:21.42

Dr_ Placebo

Ah.

01:20:30.60

Dr_ Placebo

With with travel with travel specifically.

01:20:31.40

mikebledsoe

Starts going. Not my focus. Yeah, just just in general anytime my cognition takes a hit. It's usually memory is the the first thing that starts to dwindle. So yeah.

01:20:39.00

Dr_ Placebo

Interesting. Well do some sudokus or something I don't know fuck.

01:20:47.99

mikebledsoe

That's probably a good idea. Ah yeah, so make sure go to Max Shank Dot Com if you want some some what he what he selling these days sell all of it up.

01:20:59.95

Dr_ Placebo

I sell it all man ah dog training dog training. Ah puppy manual on the way I don't I don't It's funny I think it is easier to train a dog than a person because a dog a dog won't come in.

01:21:05.60

mikebledsoe

Like Shas dogtraining school dot com for sure.

01:21:14.85

Dr_ Placebo

And say I haven't eaten that much food. But I keep gaining weight like this.

01:21:16.71

mikebledsoe

Well, you know they don't have 20 years of trauma before they walk in your door. Yeah.

01:21:22.88

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, you know what's funny too is with that kind of thing. The solution might not be talking it out. It might just be letting it go and playing a little bit. It's very weird. Everybody's a little bit different bullshit.

01:21:35.63

mikebledsoe

Could be and not really big on talking things out. Ah.

01:21:41.73

Dr_ Placebo

Yeah, mean either as we fucking continue to talk shit for the forty third week in a row you li motherfucker I love it check out Mike Blood so Mike underscore blood cell.

01:21:43.74

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:21:48.80

mikebledsoe

Ah, that's right, that's right, all right? all right? Ah check in with us next week on Instagram yep, hit me on the Dms. Why have a conversation.

01:22:01.14

Dr_ Placebo

On Instagram for all kinds of wisdom about hunting and silence and I had fun. It was. It was nice chatting with you homie. Thank you again. Love you take care guys.

01:22:14.99

mikebledsoe

Love to bite.

The Nuances of Nutrition With Jeremiah Dupin Aug 25, 2022

In this episode, I talk with Jeremiah Dupin, international entrepreneur and founder of Poke Poke UAE. Jeremiah shares with us how his experience with chronic illness led him down a path to nutrition obsession. From there we’re going into a deep dive into the nuance of nutrition. What we eat really affects our day-to-day lives, and not enough people understand what they’re putting in their bodies, and how that affects more than just their bodies. It affects our mood, cognition, sex drive, and more. That’s why today we’re talking about why it’s so important to understand these nuances and make the right nutritional choices that are right for each of us. Check it out. You all are going to learn something today.

Your Brain on Nootropics With Mr. Noots Aug 18, 2022

In this episode, I talk with the inexhaustible Mr. Noots as we discuss nootropics, and have some fun along the way. Mr. Noots talks about his life from selling novelty test tube babies as a kid to buying his first laser to his time in the US airforce, and how the horrors of drug addiction set him down the road to become what he is today: the mind behind Nootopia. Along the way, we talk about the importance of self-awareness in biohacking and programming states of mind to learn new skills. But the most exciting thing we talk about in this episode is what Mr. Noots has learned in his mission to uncover the secrets of better nootropics. He tells us how people never experience an optimal state of mind because they’ve only experienced a suboptimal state and how effective nootropics make it possible to achieve these optimal states again and again consistently. It’s an incredible, wild ride of an episode. You should all check it out.

Decentralized Science With Kyle Bergquist Aug 11, 2022

Unburdened Leadership with Mike & Max Aug 08, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Well I think we should record now then you got 2 Eight week puppies a week old puppies. Yeah, you don't seem much like ah.

00:01.45

Max Shank

Yeah,, let's do it. Puppies are great. Yeah, ah. I don't seem like a dog owner at all. And in fact, so far I have not been.

00:13.52

mikebledsoe

No.

00:19.17

mikebledsoe

What did she do to you.

00:22.92

Max Shank

Made me an offer I couldn't refuse I guess I mean it's it's funny. Um, we talk about basically on this show. We talk about benevolent selfishness not in so many words, but basically do as good for yourself as you can. Well doing good for other folks and I've never wanted to have the responsibility required but I love dogs. Someone brings a dog into the gym and I'll just play with it the whole time I'll completely ignore the people right? but. I don't know there's a really nice, beautiful connection between beings between a person and a dog and Lindsay my special lady friend. She ah she just fell in love with this dog right. And I watch the two of them together I'm like man I don't want to because Lindsay and I cohabitate so I don't want to stand in the way of that so I was like ah I guess you can have a dog and it can live at the house but outside basically and then. Within 1 trip. Um, it was put on the table like we should take her her brother also so a pair of dogs and that seemed really nice and i. Kind of started to question all the resistance I've had toward that because resistance is a funny thing. It's either the exact right thing and in fact, you should experience a lot of resistance toward stupid risky behavior ah like jumping off cliffs. With no safety equipment. It's not really a reward there. The resistance to do that is is a good thing. It's a safety mechanism but basically ah I thought it would be good to to shake things up a little bit might as well go to instead of one also is. My thanking.

02:32.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think it's kind of like it's probably easier have 1 or 2 kids instead of 1

02:41.43

Max Shank

It's like ah, an energy balancing thing I feel like um, it's ah, a boy and a girl puppy and of of course I'm a boy and my lady is a girl I shouldn't say of course I mean who knows I could be whatever I want to be but it's like ah it feels like a good.

02:55.73

mikebledsoe

It's right can make it up anytime you want.

02:59.18

Max Shank

Yin Yin and Yang balancing so husky pomeranian mutts they're adorable. They're the cutest dogs ever seen. Yeah, one of them is and 1 of them is not.

03:00.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah I love that what kind dogs are these.

03:08.70

mikebledsoe

Wow They probably are furry.

03:17.77

Max Shank

It's they would don't even look like they're from the same litter.

03:18.69

mikebledsoe

Ah, interesting. Yeah, we're looking to getting a dog I think we're gonna end up getting a pit. We want to get like a big tough dog and like a little tiny. Yeah and then I have like a little tiny Yipper you know.

03:22.26

Max Shank

1 1

03:28.67

Max Shank

Ah, defense dog.

03:35.27

Max Shank

like like fuck what's his partner's name like Lenny in of mice and men and then the little shorter smart guy kind of you know I'm talking about ah man it's like ah there are these 2 guy.

03:37.24

mikebledsoe

So.

03:46.78

mikebledsoe

Now.

03:54.39

Max Shank

Someone and Lenny in of mice and men anyone who's read that book and remembers it is laughing right now because Lenny is this ah mentally challenged guy and then there's the who's huge and then there's the much smaller guy who basically. Calls all the shots and Lenny's like I like to pet rabbits and you know that kind of that kind of thing so you got the big. You got the big dog bringing the muscle and then you got the the smart dog.

04:13.33

mikebledsoe

Right? Yeah, yeah, so. Exactly exactly we'll make it work. Yeah um I had an interesting weekend. The ah my my fiance and I did a little couple's Journey. So.

04:25.00

Max Shank

Yeah.

04:38.14

Max Shank

Oh.

04:40.88

mikebledsoe

We took some special medicine. That's really good at opening the heart and creating more connection. So we had an all day experience together. Ah a variation variation which is.

04:46.47

Max Shank

Is that mdma.

04:55.35

Max Shank

Mdma is like hooking up your heart to an electrical socket. So.

05:01.45

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I took ah a variation of that slightly different. Ah it's it's better for 1 on 1 connections or connection to self if you were to take it in a big group. You would kind of find yourself being a little more hermit versus mdma.

05:11.60

Max Shank

Oh.

05:19.90

mikebledsoe

Where you're going to want to you know, be friends and make love to everybody? Yeah, so um, it's yeah, but.

05:20.70

Max Shank

Love everyone? Yeah right? What a horrible drug. What a horrific side effect you, you're gonna want to love everybody ban. It.

05:35.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's really difficult not to love everybody? Um, but it's it's a really good experience for um, you know, even though Ashley and I have had an enormous amount of personal development work and and. Ah, communication work and all these things and and we're probably we're we're definitely in the the point zero one percent of couples on communication and yet even though we're there with sobriety. We use a substance a heart opening substance. And you know we just start digging into areas that we weren't willing to or you know I think I think that these these medicines are so um, things that are really working on the serotonin. You don't really There's there's a level of presence that you're able to stabilize for a period of time there where it allows you to get deep with somebody so beyond just the being really happy and loving There's also a heightened a much heightened level of of presence and so I got to learn a lot. Yeah, a lot of openness. So like.

06:33.91

Max Shank

Oh.

06:42.95

Max Shank

Sounds like openness to yeah.

06:49.50

mikebledsoe

Like I'm open to hearing a prefer experience and she's open to sharing I'm open as open to listening. It's ah it's it goes both ways if 1 of us was using it the other unpleasant we wouldn't get nearly as far. Yeah.

06:51.50

Max Shank

Right.

06:59.15

Max Shank

Huh unless one of you was super enlightened and able to be very open on command I think that's that's why people say that comedians are modern day philosophers. Because that's ironically like None of the only people we listen to because you use humor and it drops a person's guard so it like opens them up in the here and now so they actually take it in rather than lecturing to someone where I don't know if you tried it, people don't love that they they close up.

07:21.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so.

07:29.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah now.

07:34.57

Max Shank

Real quick and so that's kind of like a bit of a psychedelic experience for someone to ah catch you off guard with the surprise of humor so much that it rocks your balance off center and so you're like whoa and you just fully like take that. That bit of information in and you know this openness and boundaries thing makes me think about ah the openness to to welcome new lives into my home. It. Ah it feels already like a psychedelic.

07:53.64

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

08:06.10

mikebledsoe

And.

08:12.64

Max Shank

I mean puppies are drugs Man are you kidding me now I'm like gonna love this thing Yo I'm like fucking rocking and rolling right now. It's insane. The fact that I've even accepted this I mean last week I would have never even considered it every time she asked I was like now I'm like I'm a.

08:12.94

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, you're gonna be high for at least six months you got it? yeah.

08:32.27

Max Shank

I'm a cat I'm a cool cat I'm a fat cat I'm a fucking cat I don't want any other things around I don't want to love anything else. That's why I told her I was like I don't want to love anything else, but it can happen really fast and that openness right? So what you're saying.

08:41.16

mikebledsoe

A Ah yeah.

08:51.30

Max Shank

With the medicine which is ah an exogenous substance. Basically that's taking you to that level of openness that is required for let's just call it complete communication where there's no like. Coversion right? oh.

09:10.10

mikebledsoe

About as complete as you're going to be able to get I mean if there's another more complete way I would love to be you know, be with that. But um, what we so fast. Well here's the thing is like I'm willing to share a lot of things.

09:20.62

Max Shank

So fast too.

09:28.97

mikebledsoe

Because I have some of the things I haven't shared up to this point because I'm afraid of how she'll receive. She'll receive it and when I'm having that experience and feeling this way I'm like well if she were to share if I were gonna were to share something that's triggering now's the time to do it because this't gonna be she.

09:33.90

Max Shank

Ah.

09:42.40

Max Shank

Wait till after you get married man. Forget it.

09:46.60

mikebledsoe

Is when she's gonna be the most open.

09:51.39

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, but yeah, so we had a nice time. It created a lot of closeness. Um and gave us like a really clear vision of where we're currently standing and where we want to go together and.

09:52.88

Max Shank

Ah, just put it off till later. It'll be. It'll be fine.

10:00.45

Max Shank

Yeah.

10:08.66

Max Shank

Whom.

10:10.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it was really really beautiful and I mentioned all this because it brought up because I know you and I like to have create distinction and we like to look at the juxtaposition of 2 things and the contrast of things and her and I both really care about.

10:29.40

Max Shank

E f.

10:29.94

mikebledsoe

People right? and we really care about helping people and being of service to people I know you are too and None of the the differentiating factors between how it expresses between her and me which I think expresses similarly amongst a lot of men and women. Is. She tends to really focus in on the individual like how do I how do I help this individual heal or how do I help this individual. You know, live out their best life and all that and whereas I'm much more concerned about humanity as a whole.

10:56.12

Max Shank

Um.

11:02.77

Max Shank

Move.

11:08.39

Max Shank

Totally.

11:08.76

mikebledsoe

How does how are how a society can benefit from how this person is behaving and so what's that what? well yeah, it's.

11:15.53

Max Shank

I can relate I can relate. It's a bit grandiose isn't it I can absolutely relate the that desire ah for for like it's so exactly me too. It's a big difference of scope.

11:26.81

mikebledsoe

Well well, that's where I'm making decisions from it's it's you know like I want to help this person but I'm not going to sacrifice the people around them in order for them to get what they need like they I want them to show up in a way that's good for everybody. Not just for themselves.

11:35.94

Max Shank

Oh.

11:43.53

Max Shank

Oh interesting I I took it to mean like she enjoys helping people 1 on one and you have this vision of being broadly beneficial to you know None or None or something like that. Oh.

11:58.39

mikebledsoe

No, no yeah I think that's I think that's also true. Um, but yeah, my my desire to help there I used to have the desire to help millions of people and and I know I've touched maybe close to that I don't know.

12:03.20

Max Shank

Misunderstood.

12:16.21

mikebledsoe

Ah, with with some type of message.

12:18.77

Max Shank

Depends if you count ricochets which I do and then and then like you've probably affected like a billion people right? I count ricochets. Ah.

12:23.10

mikebledsoe

Totally totally Rick let's count Ricoche's here I'm going to keep that one. Yeah, ah.

12:31.23

Max Shank

Ah, me too that was good that was like a little easter egg for us today.

12:37.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so um, ah so I think that men and this isn't you know there are no absolutes here. But I think men in general probably think about humanity as a whole and and women think about the individual and that's probably why women are. Going to be much more compassionate to a single person having that's down on their luck versus a man who's more like you know we need to clean up the streets. You know we look at the we have ah a homeless population in Austin Texas which is um, improving. It's getting smaller because.

13:12.25

Max Shank

Wow.

13:15.21

mikebledsoe

The citizens of Austin got together and voted a little over a year ago to create a camping in the city ban. Um, because years ago the the city decided to make it where people could camp in the city which created.

13:29.17

Max Shank

Yeah.

13:32.37

mikebledsoe

Ah, tent you know several tent cities around town that were just insane and and there's still an issue but you know like we're in the car regularly and these people are on something that's causing them to scream at people that don't exist on the street while holding a sign to try to get.

13:33.78

Max Shank

Um.

13:51.88

mikebledsoe

You to hand them money and um, it's you know and she's like well you know can we help this one person and I'm looking around going. How do we clean this shit up because like you know how much how much do you give this person.

14:00.40

Max Shank

Who.

14:11.52

mikebledsoe

Over time. How much help do you give them before you say look We just gotta push you to the outskirts. We don't know what to do with you like you are your responsibility and you're causing problems for other people so where is that line where we're sacrificing the whole we're sacrificing you know.

14:18.54

Max Shank

Yeah.

14:28.59

mikebledsoe

Many individuals because 1 individual can't get their shit together and it's um so it's it's very interesting to me. Yeah, it's just an interesting place to be is because I I what I'm seeing is if I care about humanity then I have to. Ah.

14:31.95

Max Shank

Totally.

14:47.89

mikebledsoe

The the best place for human the thing that creates the best place for humanity as a whole is when if each each individual is taking on personal responsibility and so.

14:55.80

Max Shank

You see that as just the best option was that the word used. Yeah.

15:02.36

mikebledsoe

It's probably optimal like if if humanity as a whole is going to flourish that would only happen under the circumstance of every individual taking personal responsibility. But what we have is a lot of people caring about.

15:12.41

Max Shank

Yeah.

15:18.71

mikebledsoe

You know the feelings of 1 person and trying to get everybody around them to mold to what they desire sacrificing 20 people to make one person happy. It's very interesting.

15:26.49

Max Shank

Ah, right? Well, it's all about it's all about so our our ah species is the the compassionate caring species now. We're still savage animals like a lizard dinosaur. Ah, baboon right? But we have this super high level of compassion which is the only reason ah and desire for connection emotionally and intellectually which is why people painted on cave walls. And left their handprints. There. There's no reason to do that unless you want another person to see it this desire to like leave your Mark and be part of the tribe and sustain and so that's also very easily leveraged to make absolute bad choices. But ah comparative good choices and it relates back to what we were talking about I think ah, it made me think of ah self versus system and I'm also very much system oriented like I it's hard for me to pick something specific to care about. Because the first thing I do is I see how it's connected to a none other things like like world hunger I always come back to this I'm like how is that even possible world hunger is impossible unless you're fucking with the ecosystem. You know what? I mean.

16:56.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

16:58.60

Max Shank

Like there's the right amount of creatures for a certain area or they overeat and then they under reproduce and it like has this normal recycling effect. So if you look at the big system. Totally so the difference between looking at an individual.

17:07.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, the the planet is abundant with food.

17:17.80

Max Shank

Person versus the system I mean look it's not good when someone shoots up a school. Let me be clear I don't think it's good when someone shoots up a school I think it's bad just so there's no confusion here but all but also um, like.

17:28.54

mikebledsoe

Okay, okay.

17:36.28

Max Shank

Let's just shut the fuck up like it becomes such a hot button story but it's such a low amount of the whole system right? So now we're like a fraction of a fraction I mean you could do the math like what's I'm not trying to.

17:45.62

mikebledsoe

Right.

17:54.53

Max Shank

Make light of the situation right? But it's None out of 350000000 people when you know a none are dying of diarrhea or something like that. It's like or fucking mosquitoes are taken out way more people than depressed teenagers with firearms. And so it's like we really don't it's so rare to see people think in systems because ironically the system itself is just taking people on a wave where they care about None thing at a time but they care about it with their whole heart. And they use none of their brain to think about the system at play here and they're like I care about Ukraine this month I care about George Floyd this month I care about police brutality this month or ooh I'm suddenly interested in Afghanistan again because they told me to be like what. What the fuck man I get it.

18:50.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's very and it is very interesting because I I don't know if it's just because I'm paying attention in a different way or things are actually have actually sped up the. The news cycle is perfectly paced to keep people distracted and if you try to stick with I'm like Afghanistan right? The Afghanistan issue went on the Afghanistan issue went on way longer than it was reported to have gone on. Ah.

19:13.33

Max Shank

Yeah, a trillion miles an hour

19:26.83

mikebledsoe

News about ukraine is dying off actually a lot of the news is now turning into the Ukrainian troops are are you know hiding in civilians' homes and Civilians are getting killed and they're they're breaking international law. But then the. The journalists are kind of like softening it Up. It's like yeah but they kind of have to and it's like no, that's fucking Illegal. Um.

19:48.42

Max Shank

Um, there's a huge reason like it's so good to just look through an abbreviated version of the amendments like 1 of the None rules is no fucking troops can stay at your house and like these people were smart.

19:55.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and that's a Us thing but that's also an international thing.

20:05.91

Max Shank

I Mean these people were smart putting these rules together. So there's there's a reason and and you said it here's how it ah shakes out right? yeah.

20:12.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, things degrade and when troops starts staying in homes and ah you know their job is to protect the population and now they're just putting the population in danger so that the gangsters in charge can win. And yeah.

20:29.70

Max Shank

Martial law mob mob rule.

20:31.51

mikebledsoe

And so yeah, and you know people are just jumping from None thing to another so I'm just pointing out in that news cycle. How like things have to shift in order to keep people distracted and you're right? It keeps them from thinking about the whole system. It keeps them from thinking about. Like why are we always in some type of pickle like the amount of like the fear cycle is just insane and um, you know I don't really? ah.

21:00.27

Max Shank

Because it pays because it because it pays I mean all of this is related to what you said about people making decisions on an individual basis. I mean it's very possible to run a tight ship as a dictator right? but. It doesn't rebalance as quickly or easily as when we're all just adjusting to the natural rhythms right? You vote with what you pay attention to you vote with your dollars you vote with who you spend time with and if you're always.

21:27.14

mikebledsoe

21:36.45

mikebledsoe

It's ah it's a slower. It's a slower and smoother evolution for everybody the the centralized decision making can be very herky jerky it can it can create whiplash and often does.

21:42.81

Max Shank

Yeah, oh no.

21:52.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, they get results quickly but how much harm is done in the process when when you're decentralizing the decision making like you're talking about it definitely creates slower reaction times but they're usually safer there. Any Danger is. Isolated to a single area and isn't replicated amongst the entire system and um people have a higher level autonomy which means that people are also experiencing the feedback of their behavior in a much tighter system that allows them to become you know, attain more knowledge and wisdom.

22:13.19

Max Shank

Oh.

22:28.26

Max Shank

22:29.87

mikebledsoe

Ah, without being robbed of that by having their decision making diffused over the entire population.

22:35.22

Max Shank

Yeah I really think of it like a shock absorber. Basically ah, it just has more ah more little shock absorbers rather than just 1 linchpin where one guy is calling all the shots and of course it's always the guy who.

22:38.99

mikebledsoe

22:52.93

Max Shank

Desperately wants the big chair and the big stick which coincidentally is the only person who should be disqualified from that position entirely It's just like it's good to remember with all this stuff. It. It is just mob rule based on a popularity contest. Like that's crazy. So I think it's um, maximizing attention but minimizing action. So if you have a news cycle. That's so quickly. Um with writers who know what fucking sets your ah heart and balls aflame ah they're going to. Use the software to even readjust and so there always have something that is commanding a tremendous amount of your attention but they'll never um, give you time to do any action about it. So you you have like None attention and zero percent action which is good if you're. Meditating about your unity with the universe but it's pretty shit if you're like watching people get murdered and bombed and.

23:58.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think this puts us in a very precarious situation. So um I think you and I both agree that that the United States as far as a group of people is probably the most advanced. Um, the plan is I say the largest group that's the most advanced politically government wise. It's a big you know 33350000000 people are all participating in a yeah for this.

24:20.30

Max Shank

That's such a huge group. Yeah I would say it has the best infrastructure for the most part.

24:33.36

mikebledsoe

You know, a lot of times people like to compare what's happening like the Netherlands to here or Denmark. It's like it's like those people have like ah like less than 10000000 people in the entire country. We have 330000000 this is a different. It's a different situation. Um.

24:36.20

Max Shank

Or Norway Norway. Yeah, right. Right.

24:50.70

mikebledsoe

But you know just just the fact that our country is based on on a philosophical these philosophical concepts of natural law. You know puts us ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. Um the expression of that. Yeah, so.

25:00.79

Max Shank

And it makes it more difficult. It makes it more difficult because it's a bit of a fractured culture Also like I think one of the things that I think that's why I interrupted you. It's so important I think I shouldn't do it anyway. But it's so important to recognize that.

25:11.63

mikebledsoe

In.

25:18.98

Max Shank

In America. The only thing that united us was a desire for freedom to manifest your own destiny now if that includes you know some native genocide then I think we were basically okay with that at the time not now. But at the time that was okay. But so that's the unifying idea but we don't have a culture like let's say Norway or let's say Japan some examples that I think of off the top my head where that there are so many things that are done that are not done because it's the law. Or even because it's profitable. It's done because that's what that culture does and that sort of unity makes things run way more smoothly.

26:00.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, well and everything comes down to narrative and so what we have in the United States is you know Ah the United States was like the beginning of the decentralization of of power of personal response. Of responsibility. It's a decentralizing of that and it's just continued to decentralize decentralized decentralize and what's happened now is there's been a decentralization of narrative and we have you know human beings for none of years grew up in a. With a lot fewer people a lot fewer interactions. We're exposed to way fewer narratives and variations of that narrative and if you go to somewhere like China or Russia I guarantee you that narrative is pretty fucking tight. There's not a lot of variation from. Whatever the top is telling the bottom and it creates a lot of unity like if everybody were buying into the same narrative. This is what hitler was able to achieve you know at the the early years he unified everybody with a common narrative.

27:02.67

Max Shank

Ah, right.

27:10.45

Max Shank

Totally f.

27:19.96

mikebledsoe

And everything went pretty well until you know he took control of all those people's minds and decided to take it sideways. But this I think a lot of people you know, either consciously or subconsciously are. Upset and I imagine a lot of people in these government agencies with ah a lot of these Intel agencies think that it's their job to create a common narrative to unify everybody even if it is reducing things like freedom of Speech. Um, and we know that by reducing things like freedom of speech that just leads to tyranny. Yeah.

27:58.62

Max Shank

The ends justify the means the ends justify the means I mean whenever you get someone with a grandiose idea like that Hitler Napoleon whatever it doesn't matter. They will. That's why I think orwell said it was the most dangerous type of guy because they think they're. Ah, justified in what they're doing. They think they're the hero so they'll commit atrocities thinking that they're the good guy and then there's no way to work them out of that idea and they think oh god that's why you know with everything happening I'm i. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if some really clever people. Ah for good reasons were like we need the world to stop working the way it does because if they believe a story that we are destroying ourselves and the world. Um, you know 7000000000 people plus this giant. Ah, ball or disc. You're on depending on what people are thinking now. Ah the turtle show. Yeah, it's half. It's a half dome. That's a great place to visit by the way half down in Yosemite. Beautiful 10 out of 10 recommend but I would.

29:00.32

mikebledsoe

The turtle show. Um, if.

29:15.37

Max Shank

I could totally get it especially as a systems thinker if I could push a button right now and murder 1000000 people and it guaranteed utopia for the remaining ah billions I would be an asshole not to do it almost right? So if you have that belief.

29:30.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

29:34.92

Max Shank

You're like I gotta fucking rape and kill these people for for for the greater good and whenever you hear greater good that that should be like if you hear the word greater Good rest assured you're gonna be bleeding from the Asshole soon. Either literally or metaphorically.

29:53.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so it it becomes concerning because I think that even though America and the ideals that it was founded on is create a situation where we have decentralized narratives and. And infinite narratives and variations of those narratives I mean you've got on. Um one side you've got say something like mainstream media and on the other side you have q and on and q and on is putting out None narrative and in ah in a very convincing way the mainstream. Media is putting out ah narratives and neither one of them are correct and both of them are probably just as far from the truth as the other one is and but then you have all these other variations and ah.

30:42.90

Max Shank

It might be the truth from their perspective by the way like it might be false information but they might believe what they're saying which means they're telling the truth but they're telling a falsehood. Also.

30:50.85

mikebledsoe

Of course. Yeah well I mean I like to define truth is just what has happened and what is happening and people's ideas or perceptions about the truth are are not the truth.

31:06.59

Max Shank

I call that a fact good hard hard to have 1 You can't have a complete one either. That's the problem.

31:08.86

mikebledsoe

So yeah, there you go? Yeah very few people have any facts. Um, yeah. Ah, yeah, so we we we were're in this really strange predicament predicament as americans and what triggered this thought for me was ah the other day China basically cut off like none of. Communication and interaction with the United States and basically said we're not going to participate in our military is communicating and all this stuff. This was ah Friday and I was like oh oh I've been in conflicts before and when one side goes.

31:46.80

Max Shank

How exciting.

31:55.77

mikebledsoe

Silent That's bad juju that's like everybody contracts everybody starts preparing everyone starts wondering who's going to strike first. These are these are these are the thoughts that run across people who are in conflict so people in the military. What do you think.

32:07.40

Max Shank

Winding up.

32:11.66

Max Shank

Move.

32:14.71

mikebledsoe

China Goes silent. What do you think the American military does fucking getting ready just relaxing launch hairs. Yeah yeah, so yeah, just give some space I need some space. Ah but I get thinking about it and I go Wow I look at um, ah.

32:16.51

Max Shank

Probably just just relaxes. No big deal. Yeah, they're fine. Give give them time. Give them some space.

32:34.64

mikebledsoe

You know if you go to say Ukraine right now like there's not a lot of slobs hanging around Ukraine or Russia there there might be some drunks but there's not a bunch of so weak slobs and you come.

32:46.21

Max Shank

Well, they're not a lot of weak people because they just can't be I don't know what you mean by slob but I definitely agree that if you're in an environment that doesn't permit it. It's kind of like that idea about world hunger like if you're in a place you're eating if you're in a really harsh dangerous place. You're tough and you're eating or you're dead. It's like when ah when that Ufc guy. Ah Kabib you remember him and I remember I was just watching because he was like trained in the mountains by his dad who was like a fourth generation. Wrestler.

33:05.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so like.

33:24.61

Max Shank

You know and he's just like running up a mountain with boulders when he's like 4 meanwhile you know you could have someone who's raised in Orange County and who's like you know I think I'm going to get into some kickboxing or something like that and they might meet in the same place like in the cage. That's just funny to me.

33:36.98

mikebledsoe

Right. Yeah, no, no and and depending on the sport you know 3 minute rounds the orange county guy might do all right? but I bet if he took it to 20 minute rounds you know we're in a different.

33:44.26

Max Shank

They're like not the same creature. Basically.

33:57.22

Max Shank

Right? Yeah, yeah, it was kind of like ah rocky versus Ivan Draggo also right rocky is just training in the barn with big hunks of wood and the other drawgo in the science lab getting injected with stuff and there's like a.

34:00.73

mikebledsoe

In a different place. So ah, yeah, yeah.

34:13.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, typical russian.

34:17.10

Max Shank

Super computer on the on the wall. Yeah is awesome.

34:20.54

mikebledsoe

Um, did you ever watch ah was it icarus the documentary on the russians doping program. It's really good. It's really good. You should check it out. It's on Netflix. So.

34:29.57

Max Shank

Now sounds amazing.

34:38.22

mikebledsoe

So I look at this and I and I look around in the United States and I'm I'm thinking I mean you and I both have been trying to help these people you know, get their shit together and there's a lot of people that need to get their shit together or it would would it be better for the rest of us if they got their shit together.

34:56.73

Max Shank

Who are we talking about now just people.

34:57.23

mikebledsoe

And um, you know if they did something you know people who think that they're doing their duty by getting a vaccine instead of just taking care of their health. Overall so a lot of fats. There's a lot of slobs getting ah vaccinations instead of just.

35:03.77

Max Shank

Oh shots fired folks to totally.

35:17.10

mikebledsoe

Creating some type of interest about their overall health or learning about how their body works. So.

35:20.26

Max Shank

Yo that that's a shocking funny thing I mean it's tragic also like I never hear I got to get this out though I never hear ads anywhere but I clicked on the radio because I didn't have my like. Ah, phone on Bluetooth It's it when it whatever I'm listening to the radio.

35:38.42

mikebledsoe

He's poor folks easy listening radio.

35:42.69

Max Shank

Ah, and I heard like a fucking a fucking jingle like a little jingle song about how you should get your kids this shot and it's like yo what the fuck I'm I'm just I'm listening to this I'm like are you fucking kidding me. Like how how is this it it sounded like I was listening to mother Goose Barney on sesame street talking about how you should you know fucking inject your None ar old with this experiment for for what the fuck and. Bet a lot of people do that and that thought made me really sad that thought made me really sad because I was like what no don't and and I realize that is what's happening.

36:24.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

36:31.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, was I think they created laws where like um, serial companies can't make can't target kids with like cartoon advertising. They basically can't advertise sugar cereal to kids anymore.

36:45.97

Max Shank

Yep.

36:50.65

mikebledsoe

But they're doing it with pharmaceuticals which is fucking insane.

36:52.98

Max Shank

Why can we advertise pharmaceutical I mean I'm a hardcore capitalist when I get right down to it. But Jesus Christ like that. But then again, then again you I still have that strong belief that the customer is always right? So it's not too. Ah. Like fight against these companies. It's to illuminate and like help people understand how to apply some logic and I think a big part of it actually relates back to the openness that you and I were talking about you have to be open to not know what's going on to be. To be wrong and you have to be open to the idea that the people who are in charge of both countries and companies may not in fact, be having your best interest at heart. So you got to use your critical thinking a little bit.

37:48.93

mikebledsoe

It's the only thing you have that's gonna that's gonna help you out like you can't rely on other people. Um well going to like ah I'm with you on the whole like you know both by the us being capitalists and that we believe in. Voluntary interaction between individuals and that means if someone is going to create and make a drug then I have every right to purchase that from them and there's no one has the right to get between the None of us on creating that transaction and here's the thing is with the. Pharmaceutical companies in the us. Yes, ah the us and New Zealand I think are the only None countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise at a citizens through media and the rest of the countries don't but here's the thing is not only have they allowed that to happen. Which I think that people should be able to run an ad for anything they want ah but they have also cornered the market. There's an entire agency from the government called the Dea who harass people who are and kill and and jail people.

38:47.82

Max Shank

Agreed agreed.

39:01.64

mikebledsoe

Who are selling drugs that they don't think should be sold and so you have an entire agency that their job is to squash out anything. That's not the pharmaceutical companies. So the pharmaceutical companies have leveraged the violence of government. While also creating deals to be able to market. So. It's a double whammy if you were to say okay, we're going to open up the entire market and everyone can advertise like if I want to advertise my cocaine if I want to advertise whatever it is you know or Lipitor or whatever it is. And that would actually cause people at least should cause people to to activate their critical thinking because now they have to go? Well, what's the difference between these two things and ah. Because right now they think the difference between those 2 things is None is safe and None is not safe and it's not safe or safe based on what somebody else thinks so they don't even think about they don't even think to do the research on it and so there's um so going to. Should people be able to advertise I say yes and we should do away with some people getting preferential treatment from the government that that is giving some people more rights than others.

40:27.39

Max Shank

Agreed and here's how I'm gonna tie it back to what we were discussing about openness and relationships and your experience. So there's this concept of nonviolent communication right? where you're not um.

40:42.55

mikebledsoe

In.

40:46.64

Max Shank

You're not an opponent.. You're a collaborator and in a country or a nation or a state of some kind. Ah they have a system of laws and the law is basically when the violence comes out. So imagine if you're in a relationship. And you have to use the threat of violence to control this party all the time that it's basically like the more you have to use the stick the more fucked you basically are you really shouldn't have to enforce. That many things with violence but ah, nothing is more effective. Certainly imagine if like every discussion you got into with a romantic partner. You were like blah blah blah.

41:34.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:43.48

Max Shank

Or I'll fucking beat you Yo I've never hit a woman unless she asked me to however, ah, there's like I would win easy in a in a in a fight. Of some kind if that was possible to just be like hey I say this goes or I will beat you like of course if you don't have any critical thinking. You'll just do that every time but it's pretty asshole move. But that's what law is it's like fucking do this or.

42:17.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

42:21.47

Max Shank

We will Imprison you or kill you or what the fuck ever and the irony is that it's all of the people who hide away from society the most who are voting the people in to control the people that they're. Afraid of because they're a little too free right? ooh that person might do a bad thing. We need more drugs off the streets. They got to stop with those violent video games. It's like fucking busybodies across the board. But ah you, um, you mentioned a good.

42:40.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

42:58.20

Max Shank

Ah, tonic for that realization which is to recognize that there's there's really no such thing as law. It's just consequences right? You do whatever you want? You know you're 100% free to do what you want all the time and there are just consequences right? I find that.

43:14.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, like.

43:17.71

Max Shank

Find that a very ah, comfortable way to live and it's also very accepting too because then you go everyone else is always free to do as they like and talk about the burden. That's off your shoulders because look these people these busybodies These are not happy people.

43:35.29

mikebledsoe

Now.

43:37.17

Max Shank

These might be the most ah mentally ah tortured people ever because they have all this attention. They have no action within their own lives and they're just trying to gain control by leveraging the violence. Of a more powerful entity right? So They're not powerful themselves. They're just trying to diminish everyone else because they're always afraid that someone might do something that that's not a happy person. That's that's no way to go. You know we got Avoidance. We got exposure right.

44:08.57

mikebledsoe

Okay, now.

44:16.98

Max Shank

Avoidance is a path that only leads you to an underground bunker where you are in complete control of the environment. But also you're completely trapped complete exposure is you just have no discernment so you probably walk off of a cliff or get eaten by a tiger or what the fuck ever. But. Um I think part of what makes the slobs or the weak people is they engage in a little too much avoidance and not enough exposure.

44:44.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, agree.

44:51.78

mikebledsoe

Out of thought that I lost but it'll come now we talked about um, rejection or acceptance tolerant. Yeah.

44:54.27

Max Shank

Is it about openness and acceptance we talked about that last week right the difference between tolerance. Yeah I mean it's this is a perfect example of that.

45:09.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah I.

45:18.82

Max Shank

Comes come.

45:19.49

mikebledsoe

This this cuts out the pauses. That's okay, if we pause.

45:25.12

Max Shank

In my normal life I do way more and longer pauses than on a podcast.

45:33.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

45:38.96

Max Shank

Also have a different agenda.

45:50.20

Max Shank

So what did you learn from your experience the one you were telling me about. Yeah.

45:53.33

mikebledsoe

Which one with my lady. Um I learned a lot I learned that you know we we we we. Did a question prompt which was tell me a story I wrote it up on a chalkboard tell me a story about a time you felt fulfilled and then just kept asking each other about stories of fulfillment and looking for patterns and so.

46:22.51

Max Shank

Oh.

46:28.61

Max Shank

Ah.

46:31.46

mikebledsoe

Um, was like oh okay I see a pattern of fulfillment for myself I see a pattern of fulfillment for her. It's like okay if we want to experience more fulfillment moving forward. We should probably do things that are similar to what made us fulfilled in the past and.

46:47.95

Max Shank

46:50.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's definitely patterns of that that was that was really cool to dive into you don't have to take anything to answer these questions or journal about that. But um, it does help and so that was really really beautiful.

46:58.46

Max Shank

47:07.76

mikebledsoe

None of the things I want to I want to cut back over to is my concern and ah, we're kind of jumping back and forth. But my concern is we have ah an entire country of people who. Can't agree on a single narrative or even 2 or 3 narratives and then you have countries like Russia and China who have that single narrative and even though we may be because society progresses and as the pendulum swings between organization and chaos.

47:42.21

Max Shank

Boom.

47:44.24

mikebledsoe

Definitely in a chaotic place and when we're experiencing chaos. It's a great time for someone else who's experiencing organization to take advantage of the people who are in chaos. So that's my one concern is even though we're we are advancing. We are weak during the advancement and um, you know when I heard the news that China Cut Off Communications I was like ah you know I've never seen the country more divided what a what a perfect time to.

48:14.98

Max Shank

Oh.

48:20.50

mikebledsoe

To pull out more tricks.

48:21.19

Max Shank

So when you say concern. Ah, that's like ah low grade fear perhaps of something specific ah happening because of that lack of open and ah.

48:40.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely got it? Yeah yeah, yeah.

48:41.80

Max Shank

Congruent communication. So you're concerned maybe about like war. Yeah yeah, War is not that Cool. You know how earlier I was like really anti-school Shootings I'm also very anti-war. I Know it's a bold stance to take.

49:03.89

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, Wars Funny man. It's just um, people just not getting along people people wanting to rule over ah over other people is what it comes down to.

49:16.50

Max Shank

You know one of the one of the most consistent thoughts I've had is like you know when you're a kid at least in my experience when you're a kid and you see None people fighting and you know there's no need for them to be fighting. Like you have this perspective where them fighting is retarded. It's stupid. There's no need for it. You know you have this unique perspective where you can see what each of them want but neither of them can see what they want. Like they're just blinded in this like cloud of dust and one of the most prevailing thoughts I've had as an adult has been this. This is just ah, a failure to communicate everybody needs to just settle down like relax. We all want basically the same thing but it's it's so surprising. That's the most lasting idea it just seems so unnecessary for people to speak to each other with such venom and it seems like. All these disagreements are basically manufactured. Um, yeah, it's ah I used to get really sad about that honestly and now I I kind of like that. Ah, that quote that ends up. Where you try to change your nation realize you can't try to change your city realize you can't try to change your family realize you can't try to change yourself and you're like man if only I'd done this sooner. It would have had that ricochet effect on out and ah. Mentioned in the past how the the distance between your zone of awareness and zone of control is like your feeling of powerlessness. So if you're aware of like a thousand problems globally which is like I don't know whatever. Twenty Thousand Miles Pi are cubed or squared or some shit like that I don't fucking know I don't I don't remember surface area of a sphere right now but your control area is very small. It's like five feet versus you know. None of Square Miles

51:45.30

mikebledsoe

Totally I've um, I've been experiencing like the the most grounded groundedness I've had in my entire life the last year and a half I just get more and more grounded and one of the results of getting more and more grounded is. Getting much more in touch with that reality of the only thing I can change is me and ah mikeness. Yeah, yeah, well because before I was had some grandiose thoughts about how I could make a.

52:04.85

Max Shank

Of this.

52:13.78

Max Shank

It's an it's a type of accept acceptance I think.

52:23.55

mikebledsoe

You know, a really big impact by you know, being really influential and and you know having a lot of followers or whatever. Yeah, like I know what to do.

52:30.88

Max Shank

I'll fix it I'll fix it. That was what I thought I'll I'll fix it and then ah I'm like I'm like just like those ah fucking grandiose big chair guys. It's like the same thing I Just don't want a big chair I'll fix it I'll fix it.

52:40.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just do what I tell you to do ah so fuck your ideas. So you know I um I just got become less and less concerned.

52:47.54

Max Shank

Yeah.

53:00.12

mikebledsoe

I keep up with what's going on I don't let it dominate my my thinking you know it's 1 thing to have awareness or to learn of what's going on around the world. It's another thing that dwell on it. Um, and I become much more focused on what I can impact immediately like you know how.

53:03.76

Max Shank

So.

53:20.20

mikebledsoe

Comfortable Can I make my home. That's a sanctuary instead of you know, trying to worry about like I don't care if I drive a fancy car I need where I spend the most time at my home people come to my home people come to my home and they go Wow this.

53:22.79

Max Shank

Ah.

53:29.29

Max Shank

Right? You got different values.

53:39.45

mikebledsoe

Place is really nice and comfortable. It's not It's not a big expensive home. It's ah it's a moderate home. It's a middle class home. Ah, but it's not but we've created a vibe inside that just. Very welcoming and peaceful and calm and so Ashley and I when we go out in the world. We we have this calmness and peacefulness about us and people they want to know how we do things and you know we get really strong reflections about us. And the thing is neither one of us are going out to try to teach people how to be much I mean this is about the extent of it right? Ah put a band man. Yeah there you go.

54:21.53

Max Shank

What is a good man but a bad man's Teacher. What is a bad man but a good man's job.

54:32.36

mikebledsoe

Ah, so you know the the thing that I keep circling ah since becoming more grounded is really the idea of leading. By example, if I'm not if I'm not happy with how other people are behaving then who I want.

54:45.84

Max Shank

54:51.40

mikebledsoe

Everyone else to be I have not fully embodied myself in a way that it's noticeable or I haven't done it long enough or repeated the behavior enough for people to take note or the benefits of taking those behaviors I haven't been doing it enough in order for people to take note but I'll tell you. That the majority of benefit that I that I think I have helped people achieve has been through modeling and because people learn through modeling they create their desires are created because of modeling and and.

55:25.57

Max Shank

Absolutely.

55:29.40

mikebledsoe

For me to think that I said something in particular to get somebody to a specific goal is that is incorrect. You know if I if I wasn't living my life a certain way. People wouldn't give a shit about the words that I was using and in fact, they're probably modeling.

55:38.91

Max Shank

On.

55:48.47

mikebledsoe

A lot of my behavior but are giving credit to the words that I use because people people want. That's the logical things like oh I heard this thing and then I put it in place and now that's logical. But I think.

55:55.16

Max Shank

Ah, well, you're.

56:03.60

Max Shank

I fixed it I fixed it and what it's what's funny is by being a model you unburden yourself of the responsibility of getting them to behave a certain way and you're not burdening them with a fucking command.

56:05.74

mikebledsoe

Most who are learning through modeling.

56:17.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

56:23.29

Max Shank

So You are completely unburdened. Ah because you're not trying to force them to be a certain way or manipulate them to be a certain way. People think the word manipulate has a lot of a negative connotation and it does but really, that's all we do. Is we manipulate the world and people for our benefit and sometimes for others.

56:41.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think well I had a conversation with a woman yesterday about this. She was talking about manipulation I was like well I like to create the distinction between influence and manipulation and ah in it with influence I am I am.

56:50.23

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

57:00.75

mikebledsoe

Making somebody else more informed about something so that they can make a better choice for themselves. Manipulation is I'm likely trying to make them less informed or confuse them in a way so that they'll do do the behavior I'll do not because they have ah a greater understanding.

57:04.25

Max Shank

The.

57:20.37

mikebledsoe

So that's yeah, so it's like instead of thinking about it as just like a spectrum of manipulation and say no manipulation is this thing and influences this thing they're very different in my mind So when I'm approaching people. The question I have to ask myself is you know.

57:20.83

Max Shank

It's like fraud. Yeah.

57:31.10

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

57:38.41

mikebledsoe

If you're if you're going out and you're going to talk to a girl are you are you practicing influence on the date or are you manipulating And yeah, that wasn't for you that wasn't for you. Um.

57:45.79

Max Shank

Manipulating for sure I mean wait wait that was oh that was a rhetorical question. Got it? Yeah oh got it I mean I.

57:53.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but I mean this happens a lot and like people talk about marketing and they're like they're like oh marketing is so manipulative I'm like well what kind of marketing are you doing? Are you.

58:04.31

Max Shank

That's why I bring up machiavelli do the ends justify the means if you believe in a product this is an easy argument to make if you believe in a product you should be willing to say anything to sell as many as possible. That's one way of looking at it so you could totally. Ah. Forgive psychologically ah any kind of what might be considered a dirty tactic but I want to ah touch on something None things actually before we move on 1 one of the things that is taken away one of the burdens that's relieved by just being the example. Is. You're not lusting after your own acceptance I'm gonna say that again. So you're not lusting after your own acceptance because what you're doing is you are looking to have someone say you fixed it or you did it. Or whatever. So instead of lusting after that now that desire's gone and if you look at it from a zen buddhist ah framework that desire being gone is going to bring you a lot more peace and a lot more clarity and a lot more flow. You're not going to feel that burden like. Oh I got to I got to like remind myself that I'm good by helping this guy and then another thing you said, um, that was related to being the example and you said it to me like ah.

59:23.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

59:36.73

Max Shank

It was at your house out here. It was a long time ago. It was like maybe five to seven years ago and yeah, he's been enlightened for a long time. Ah you you it was just about it just was one of those times where I was very receptive and I listened and i.

59:43.17

mikebledsoe

I've been enlightened for a while. All.

59:53.98

Max Shank

Started putting it into practice. A lot was I stopped listening as much to what people were saying and more focused on how they were being and now what I'll do sometimes is I'll I'll just try to listen to the noise that someone's making and look at their posture.

01:00:10.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:00:11.72

Max Shank

And I'll try to look beyond the words and see do they go up and down and up and down with their talk and ah du and is their music ah did and you see how the how that flow is kind of coming out. Ah it's It's really interesting to see how people are being. Ah. Because I think that's actually a lot more honest than what that because people are very tricky like have you ever Seen. Ah a really good actor fucking say any word combination and their expression on their face will trick the shit out of me my god.

01:00:46.28

mikebledsoe

That it's insane. Insane. Oh yeah, the the tonality thing is interesting. So your time about body language. Um, you know if somebody has really poor posture hunched over. Um I start I start.

01:00:49.99

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:00:56.98

Max Shank

And.

01:01:04.88

mikebledsoe

Noticing when they're more hunched or more open which may be rare that they're open. But oh wow they they don't feel safe or they have a history of not feeling safe and they just haven't had the physical restoration of their body. Um.

01:01:06.16

Max Shank

O m.

01:01:14.94

Max Shank

The.

01:01:23.46

mikebledsoe

It' not like like whatever is happening energetically takes a lot longer to manifest physically. And yeah me too.

01:01:29.28

Max Shank

I Used to cross my arms all the time all the time all the time and I would do that thing where you flex your knuckles into your arms from the from the back so that ah your biceps look a little bigger and your little forearm. Extensor muscles look bigger so you get these? Ah, It's like the standard personal trainer photo and I look back at I look back at all these photos I took and every single one I've got like fucking sunglasses ah under armor ah shirt that's skin tight. And my arms are crossed and I'm like that guy doesn't want anyone to know who he is that guy So now I'm super sensitive to it I notice when I see people cross their arms I think it's a really funky posture the the arm crop. Yeah.

01:02:10.62

mikebledsoe

Be yeah, exactly just.

01:02:23.65

mikebledsoe

We're putting the hands in pockets too.

01:02:27.00

Max Shank

What what do you do with your hands though. You can't just be like Ricky Bobby like I don't know what to do with them.

01:02:31.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's something about and there's a military thing. There's no hands in the pockets. Um, and what I noticed from years of not hanging out with hands in my pockets is. There's.

01:02:37.26

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, 1

01:02:47.69

mikebledsoe

Hands in the pockets is a really safe place to put your hands when you're insecure about like having a more open posture. It's like it's like halfway open and yeah it is kind of strange sometimes I I have to find things to do with my hands every once in a while I'll let myself put my hands into my pocket.

01:02:56.22

Max Shank

Yeah, interesting.

01:03:06.46

mikebledsoe

Only when I know that um you know it's not coming from a place of insecurity. It's like I'm hanging out my friends I just feel like putting my hands in my pocket I'm gonna fucking do it but it it is something that I was I overdid until I couldn't do it anymore and then that's when I recognized oh this is something that.

01:03:10.34

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:03:20.31

Max Shank

What.

01:03:26.63

mikebledsoe

It's a safety you know it's my safety blanket to put my hands in my pockets and kind of hard to be ready for shit when your hands in the pockets when you want to you want to be running down the road.

01:03:30.20

Max Shank

That kind of curiosity Impossible I mean unless you got something good in there then it's even better.

01:03:41.66

mikebledsoe

Running down the road with your hands in your pockets. That's that's when people knock their teeth out. No.

01:03:42.17

Max Shank

Oh yeah, yeah, that's not good, but if you got something interesting in your pocket and could be a great spot. Hey now. Um, yeah I think.

01:03:50.27

mikebledsoe

I've always got some interesting in there. So.

01:03:58.80

Max Shank

The curiosity we're talking about about posture I mean look it's no, It's no mystery that you and I are are nerds about things like this about communication about the way the body moves about integrating the body mind heart The rest of them Chakras and so. I Think that's one of those things that can accelerate that openness if you so curiosity is such a ah powerful force of moving into the Unknown. It's the difference between the unknown being scary and the unknown being exciting. And interesting. It's like an a curious is an opportunity forward right? It's the exact opposite of fear right? which is like ah a threat an unknown threat oncoming versus an unknown opportunity oncoming. And we're talking about using different medicines to do that. The other option is to be extremely invested into what you and I are talking about. So I Think that's one of the things that is attractive about using different medicines like I'm. I'm ah experimenting with some puppy medicine right now I have a feeling it's going to ah increase openness probably patience Positivity Ah love Perhaps I I don't know yet. It'll be really interesting to see how that. Changes my paradigm but I think that's really the the pull of those different medicines psychedelics. Whatever cocktail you and your witch doctor can concoct um, is because it can. Increase your connection and alleviate burdens very quickly. It's like you can either get high by doing breathing exercises and going for a run or you can get high by smoking some cannabis or crack or something like that. You know there are a lot of there are a lot of ways to do it. Sometimes you just have something That's a little more push button so to speak and short term. Well but the effects are long term a lot of the time I mean the walls aren't melting forever.

01:06:12.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and short term. Totally totally if done well now that would be terrible.

01:06:26.20

Max Shank

Thankfully, but but you get the you get the alleviation of some of that that guard that dropping of the guard and openness is what allows you to. See some of the filters that you've put on kind of coming back to the stories like I feel sad when I talk to people and I see them hardcore into one narrative or the other because you know, um, there's basically nothing you can say that will resolve that and I I Think. Can pick up on queues and I know a lot of weird facts. But ah once someone's locked into a narrative like that. It's very tricky to get out unless they themselves are getting curious and then you have a chance to take away some of those layers but I think sometimes.

01:07:15.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:07:22.89

Max Shank

Using those substances can sort of accelerate that process.

01:07:25.50

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, it causes a can cause a pattern interrupt I think most people that they're in a pattern that whatever narrative they're in is a pattern of thinking feeling behaving and most people no matter how much. Information may be counter to you know this being a good idea or or whatever they can't seem to break it until there's a pattern interrupt you know, somebody somebody ends up with heart disease or cancer or something like that like wakes some of its pattern interrupt is like oh I can't keep eating the banas.

01:08:00.40

Max Shank

Car accident for my mom car accident changed her life. She wasn't injured the car was totaled but ah the whole trajectory of her life changed and she was in her fifty s I mean she was already like a fully baked human so to speak.

01:08:04.25

mikebledsoe

Car accident. Yeah.

01:08:12.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so as it it.

01:08:19.90

Max Shank

So anything that changes. It's kind of like the only absolute is relativity so you and I our stories are just in relation to everything that we understand so we're like part of a ah net and um so I think we're like None musical note. And when you get together with ah lsd you strike a different chord than if you do heroin and if you hang out with puppies or if you drink coffee like I I drink coffee basically daily um some sometimes I'll skip for like a week or something like that. But I've been pretty. Hot on coffee for at least like six months now and I I enjoy it It's just a different ah chord. You know I'm a note coffee's a note boom play them at the same time. That's this different type of resonance and everybody needs and likes different things like these two puppies. Different personalities. None person should have coffee None person should probably do a microdose mushrooms or something like that. There's not a one size fits all for everybody which is also why those ah dictatorships inevitably piss off so many people. Because not everybody wants the same sized solution right.

01:09:36.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:09:40.82

Max Shank

Who So here's what I'm thinking I think we want to do a show about ah all the stuff that we like and I want to do a show called unfair advantages.

01:09:42.14

mikebledsoe

And we should wrap this up.

01:09:54.23

mikebledsoe

I Think we were talking about that last show and I forgot that unfair advantages and what else.

01:09:58.97

Max Shank

I'm all about it it like man. It's totally unfair. Ah just a show about stuff We like we. We just only talk about stuff we like I would love it.

01:10:07.89

mikebledsoe

Ah I think people would actually love that I think that would be. There's so many things that I love that I want to share with people that sometimes I'll share something I love and they're like oh man. Um, and I realized I wish I could have gotten this information to this person sooner or so many things.

01:10:16.40

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:10:24.38

Max Shank

Totally yeah, all right? Yeah so I think that'll be good ah man that was fun. What are what's what's our take home message today really curiosity openness.

01:10:27.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right I'll make a list I Like that idea.

01:10:39.80

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I think there's ah, there's a thread of communication and violence and the better we can communicate the the less we may experience violence there was a term that you were discussing which is. You know, releasing the burden and the phrase that came to my mind was unburdened leadership so leading by example is an unburdened way of being a leader and I think I'll name a show that and so so how do you be a leader without feeling all that burden.

01:11:04.10

Max Shank

Um, who I like it right.

01:11:18.85

mikebledsoe

Just lead by example and mind your own business seems pretty pretty easy. So those are my big takeaways from today's show

01:11:20.55

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:11:26.73

Max Shank

Yeah, and get curious about why you might be holding onto the rein so tight like like follow it down with the five Y's like why am I trying to control so hard on this ah closedness it was something I examined myself with dogs. Um.

01:11:40.29

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:11:46.69

Max Shank

Like I had I had always resisted it super heavy and I was like well why? what? What am I really afraid of here and is ah it's good curiosity and unburdened leadership I think are yeah, that's good if you can do that Honestly, you'd be.

01:11:53.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:12:03.77

Max Shank

Way better off and then Mike and I can feel good because we will have helped you and the ricochets will carry em off through our entire society and then we will finally be good. So thank you guys for listening. Love you guys! Love you Mike bye.

01:12:23.35

mikebledsoe

Legit. Love you Max Talk later.

When To Fight Hard With John Beneduce Aug 04, 2022

John Beneduce is no stranger to adversity & challenges. In fact, he actively seeks them out as he knows how important they are in helping him grow

It’s safe to say society is “prepping us to fight”. And if so, this man is one of the best to learn from

The Cure for a Curse Aug 01, 2022

00:00.33

mikebledsoe

Yes, I was just writing I was doing my books waiting on that max here and.

00:01.00

Max Shank

Oh.

00:07.77

Max Shank

We were just saying. It's nothing like a ah novel. It's nothing like a ah book. But that's how it all really began was we wanted to write down that you owe me 10 goats and I owe you. My daughter's hand in marriage when she comes of age or something like that right? it's it's Contracts. It's contracts. Basically I O use.

00:25.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah I remember. Ah yeah, it's a recording of of transactions so recording of contracts agreements the I remember um watching my.

00:42.30

Max Shank

It's like the word record you record a record.

00:44.30

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I remember watching my dad do the books for his business back in like you know the 80 s and 90 s you know I wasn't I wasn't aware enough to know what he was doing until probably the early 90 s but ah.

00:49.82

Max Shank

Yeah. E.

01:03.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah I just remember him like having an actual book of things and and writing in the ledger where the money went and this not I Just remember like that was the most frustrated I ever saw him like.

01:11.51

Max Shank

Oh.

01:18.76

Max Shank

Is.

01:20.69

mikebledsoe

Like the guy. The guy's a craftsman right? He he was a craftsman and so like ah he was a builder like he did a lot of ah home improvements but also built these really amazing cabins from scratch and yeah.

01:24.29

Max Shank

What craft.

01:36.18

Max Shank

No shit building a cabin from scratch is like a really cool thing I think now that's what I think is cool now I think that is cool now I used to think lifting something really really big over your head was super cool.

01:39.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so he was.

01:43.13

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:52.25

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:55.28

Max Shank

And it still kind of is but now making your own cabin from scratch that is fricking cool.

02:01.27

mikebledsoe

Well, it's interesting because you know he was so gifted at that and then because he wanted to do things the way he wanted to do them meant that he was going to own his own business which then came with all these other ah requirements. Ah, for.

02:18.27

Max Shank

Who.

02:20.53

mikebledsoe

To do that because and really the only reason is required is because you have to pay taxes. Other than that you you wouldn't actually have to maintain books. It'd probably be beneficial to maintain books to maintain a ah record of of your transactions and all that stuff.

02:31.97

Max Shank

Yeah.

02:37.60

mikebledsoe

But I think a guy like that would have done better just to have been winging it the whole time and put more of his attention into what he was actually skilled at.

02:45.24

Max Shank

Man that speaks so much to me because we could talk about this probably all day right? where these different personality types crazy thrive in one way and then really struggle in another way and it's like how do you. Compound and multiply your zone of Genius while minimizing the damage of one of these let's just call it a ah deficit or or just like a ah simple lack of desire to do you know back in the day if if you went out on the hunt.

03:15.51

mikebledsoe

Um, what.

03:22.60

Max Shank

Crafting is like a version of hunting or gathering kind of you can make that that leap it's about energy transformation and generation. Ah, there was no need to really keep a record because you either came home with food or you did not. There's no like little book. Oh I can.

03:35.72

mikebledsoe

Right.

03:41.83

Max Shank

Didn't get food again today. It's like no, we all know.

03:43.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think the only like thinking ahead that people had to do early on was if you lived up North you had to think about the seasons changing but aside from that you know if the the closer you move to the equator the less.

03:53.97

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

04:01.48

mikebledsoe

You really have to keep a record or think about much of the past or the future. It really is about. Did you bring home a kill today or did you find some food today or are we warm. Are we comfortable today? Yeah, so yeah, the um I you know what I I find to be interesting is.

04:10.29

Max Shank

Right.

04:21.38

mikebledsoe

I avoided doing the books in my business I avoided doing bookkeeping anything with finance at all and so ah, a little over a year ago I decided to I was talking to a friend I was talking to a friend like two and a half years ago and he was like well.

04:27.48

Max Shank

It. Ah.

04:40.29

mikebledsoe

You know you've never done your books I go no he goes you should probably do your books at some point just so you you know what's happening in the business like at a very granular level and I go I go. Okay, he goes I Still do my books and he's he runs multiple companies and.

04:47.89

Max Shank

04:58.20

mikebledsoe

This and that definitely a different personality than I am right? but but he was right. There was a there was a there was something about the business I didn't quite understand yes I could get by without it I didn't need to do it. But if I rip.

05:00.86

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

05:09.86

Max Shank

Um, well, you're a star Mike you can make it you can make it work even if it's not a good plan and I can relate.

05:23.74

mikebledsoe

It's how you broke up for a None

05:24.72

Max Shank

Oh you can make a good plan Work. You can make a bad plan work. Ah, just because you have those skills and I can super relate to that and when you're ah less wise you trick yourself into thinking. That you had a good plan but really, you had a shit plan and you just happened to pull a miracle out of your ass.

05:48.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's a pattern of behavior if you were to look back that the ah and it it is. It's like my whole family The ah the whole family. There was a saying growing up was like a ble so could fall into a pile of shit and still smell like a rose.

05:57.65

Max Shank

But.

06:08.40

mikebledsoe

like like 1 of those like we would put ourselves in these predicaments. But somehow we'd fucking escape. Yeah yeah, and it was kind of like a running joke. But the the thing is is when that is true when that's happened enough times. It starts.

06:14.20

Max Shank

Find the shower. Yeah.

06:22.76

Max Shank

Oh.

06:27.66

mikebledsoe

It's It's hard to make planning important when not planning you still get pretty good Results. Maybe not the ultimate result you're looking for but pretty good results and I think most people have ah they have developed some type. Of something in their personality ah patterns of behavior in their life where they have continued to get a reward and so that's why they keep behaving that way even though there might be some people saying hey you might want to try it this other way. It's like why would I listen to somebody suggesting to do it another way unless my weight. Hasn't been working but what happens is as we get to a certain point that has happened with me. It's like I keep butting up against the same ceiling right? It's like oh every time I try to make more than this amount of money I hit the ceiling every time I do this I hit a ceiling and or every time I have a certain goal I hit a ceiling in the in.

07:17.28

Max Shank

Oh.

07:22.65

Max Shank

On.

07:27.70

mikebledsoe

Reason is because the thing that got me to where I am now is probably the thing that's going to hold me back moving forward and I'm ah I'm a huge fan of of ah knowing your weaknesses and studying it.

07:33.46

Max Shank

Interesting idea.

07:46.19

mikebledsoe

A little bit just so you know what you don't know like I I do I learn enough about finance so that I know how to I can at least spot the Bs I can tell if somebody else knows what they're talking about. But if I don't know anything about it and I just straight up delegate it Out. I I think that's dangerous because I've done that before and gotten burned. How about you have you had like business partnerships and stuff like that where like not necessarily because somebody burned you. But.

08:12.67

Max Shank

Um, like you repeat that you you receive you repeat the same pattern is that what you're asking or.

08:18.90

mikebledsoe

No, no, no like if you don't know enough about a task that you have not developed yourself and say you completely outsource that task That's that's a problem.

08:29.86

Max Shank

Oh yeah, yeah, you put something you put something outside of your observation and and it leaves you vulnerable in in several ways I know at Discount Tire They don't promote anyone from the outside. It's only from the um.

08:47.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

08:49.31

Max Shank

The bottom up the whole thing and it's all about knowing every part of the process. Ah dude, you've said so many things that I want to respond to I took a couple notes here and the first one was ah in relation to the the bookkeeping. It's like.

09:01.15

mikebledsoe

You.

09:07.88

Max Shank

Reminded me immediately of the word intuitive eating and intuitive movement. So now we have intu intuitive finances. Ah here here on our show. We do intuitive finance is a new course coming out featuring ah featuring ah the.

09:19.79

mikebledsoe

Let me go see if that domain's available.

09:26.96

Max Shank

The crypto prince Mike Bledso and the ah the dinosaur.

09:29.82

mikebledsoe

Um, there's like so many domains I have to buy right now just spitting them out. Yeah.

09:35.97

Max Shank

Totally all right? So check it, you have intuitive eating and intuitive movement people are probably familiar with those terms but None of the things I was talking with my buddy about ah we're like man how are you shouldn't do. Intuitive eating if you suck like if you don't have knowledge and skills like intuitive eating is for sure the best way I would I mean it's a bold claim intuitive eating can be wonderful but you but also you need to have.

10:05.30

mikebledsoe

Well, you have to be in touch with your intuition for it to work for 1

10:14.61

Max Shank

Some understanding of what is in the food like you can't if you go on just like pure ah like gut reaction. You're just going to eat ah like chips and soda pop all day long because it's delicious. So with finances you dig into the books a little bit.

10:17.74

mikebledsoe

By the way.

10:34.52

Max Shank

Now you might have a chance to approach something. That's a little bit more intuitive because now you have that vocabulary that ah understanding of the elements right? So that was the None thing I thought of um, it made me laugh.

10:50.14

mikebledsoe

Let's you got to have this structure. You have to have this structure in order to flow and like an intuition and flow go hand in hand. Yeah, exactly.

10:55.40

Max Shank

Right? We're talking about that last week right we were talking about that last week. The pipes are the structure and it harnesses the flow in the direction you want it to go ah and then the other thing that was interesting. We were talking about how? ah. A good outcome doesn't mean you had a good plan and if you're a super achiever guy. You can basically make a bad plan work and you don't want to conflate those 2 you don't want to confuse those things and think oh my plan was good. Really no, you're a stud but your plan sucks and so that's kind of. Looking at those weaknesses and then finally um, the the the identity perpetuating patterns is a funny one to me like if you ah I don't I don't know if this is true. It feels kind of true to me. But if you pride yourself and you label yourself as someone who's extremely tough who can take a lot of punishment and get back up every time they fall down. I have this idea that life is going to feed you more of that. What do you What do you think about that your identity perpetuating your reality.

12:15.37

mikebledsoe

Um, oh yeah, absolutely the? Ah ah well what we have to talk about the reticular activating system in this case and ah the RAS as a part of the brain.

12:27.38

Max Shank

Save the 10 dollars words for another podcast you son of a bitch.

12:34.80

mikebledsoe

Is responsible for so spotting things. So for instance, um, if I go buy a red pickup truck. What am I going to see a lot of on the road red pickup truck. We all know this we've all heard you know and we've all had the experience of.

12:35.99

Max Shank

Fucking nerd.

12:45.98

Max Shank

You.

12:52.32

mikebledsoe

We become interested in something and then all of a sudden we we start seeing it everywhere and we see it's a sign. Um and and so ah, the same thing happens with identity. If we believe something about ourselves and I like the way you talk about identity max which is you know the story we tell ourselves about ourselves if we that is our identity and we have this story about what is true I also like to think about what we believe to be true about ourselves and what we believe to be true about the world. Those are the None big things to have beliefs about right? It's either a belief about self or belief.

13:28.64

Max Shank

Yeah, maybe that's what encompasses your identity right? is your place in the world. Also it's not just the label you attach to yourself. It's um, there's that classic phrase is you know. Life is happening for you. Some people believe and some people believe life happens to you I used to start off asking people questions like ah do you feel Life is more like a game a show or a ride I used to start all my like coaching programs with these weird.

13:47.29

mikebledsoe

Right.

14:07.70

Max Shank

Questions and then I'd ask people what the word intelligent means and people would stumble all over it and have no clue what smart even means and it was just like this fun thing but depending on how you see life if you see life is more like a ride you might have a hell of a wild and awesome ride. But it's going to be different than someone who thinks they are playing a game that they must win right? It's going to be huge difference.

14:27.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, totally yeah, right is passive that it's happening and there's not much I'm going to do um, a game I'm an active participant. It might be great. Ah.

14:36.17

Max Shank

Um, and it might be great. It might be great. The the thing is like I want to I make sure that people understand I'm not trying to say that one is superior although I love games and winning is fun. Winning isn't everything. But it's the only thing right? There's that all like ah but I've I've met people who live life like it's a ride and they they do well and they're very happy and I've seen people who. Live life like a game and it's a real challenge the whole time and it doesn't look as far and vice versa. So There's quadrants you know.

15:19.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think the ride I think the ride is a good way to go if you have momentum in a certain direction. There's like because well well what? what? ah.

15:32.12

Max Shank

Everybody's got momentum in a certain direction dude like you the word momentum starts with the word mom. As soon as you get launched out of a vagina there is momentum to you.

15:42.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well if you're if you're in a poor trajectory and you're on a ride then it's not a good thing. But if you have if you're going in a great direction with Momentum then the ride is probably really good for you. So.

15:45.53

Max Shank

Your life has momentum as soon as you cross the gate. Yeah.

15:58.64

Max Shank

I Like that we're going to bring it back to physics here. Yeah, we're going to coast a little bit kick push kick push Coast right? I think with when it comes to work which is ah a big part of.

16:05.45

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly.

16:17.36

Max Shank

Ah, even having any accounting or bookkeeping to do. It's um, it's nice to remember that the suffering that you feel the amount of effort you apply has ah very little to do.

16:35.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

16:35.97

Max Shank

With the result you know, ah Momentum and Aerodynamics are a really really nice example of that. So just just having ah a better, a better setup can be. Be a huge difference maker. It doesn't matter how much effort or suffering goes into it I think that's ah, another big identity thing I know for me that was ah that was a challenge I Thought that suffering was proportional to success or or good or goodness right? Um, and I think.

17:08.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

17:13.79

Max Shank

A lot of people still do believe that is my guess so like.

17:14.60

mikebledsoe

They do I talk to people who do all time I Want to go back to like the the collecting of evidence for what you believe about the world and what you believe about yourself. So this this identity you know who you believe you are and what you believe the world is and how you fit inside of it.

17:26.34

Max Shank

Oh.

17:33.77

mikebledsoe

You These are all just a series of narratives that are playing out most of these narratives were set up when you were a kid and you what you've been doing the whole time. He's been collecting evidence to support it you ah the that part of your.

17:42.86

Max Shank

17:53.20

mikebledsoe

Brain doesn't go out there looking for things that don't support it. They're going out there look for things that do support it and so you can tell? Yeah, so when you yeah so when you have stacked a lot of time.

18:03.25

Max Shank

Confirmation Bias I think is what that's called think like racism like racism you you get up ah in the morning your parents are racist. They're saying bad things about the neighbors. Maybe you live in a bad area where.

18:14.32

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

18:20.45

Max Shank

All your neighbors are bad white and black and yellow and different colors alike but you only look out like what you were saying with your ah reticular activating system is you look out for those things and not only is it that you see them. Because what you notice is so different than what you see and you just confirm those beliefs over and over again because your vision is crazy small and Selective. You know, kind of going back to the vision Piece. It's a very complex mechanism that. Creates a total illusion inside your brain.

19:02.83

mikebledsoe

There was a I was listening to a podcast by Lex Friedman the other day I forget who shared it with me. Um, but he's he's ah interviewing this like evolutionary physicist I don't know like so some some dude that's they. Is way smarter than either None of us and he was talking about.

19:24.72

Max Shank

Well I resent that clearly you don't know what the word smart means.

19:29.65

mikebledsoe

Ah, this guy. Ah, basically through mathematics is able to demonstrate how our perception is. It's impossible for our perception to match reality. And in fact, it's so far from reality that. Which which isn't not news to you or me but to a lot of people. They they do think that they're noticing some things and then they're perceiving others when in fact, it's None perception that's happening and if we look out through lens of evolution then what we're what we have is. Ah. Ah, ah, the fittest right? It's it's the fittest is what evolves it's not It's not the truth. So the truth does not actually ah doesn't come into play when it comes to survival so whatever you whatever you need to perceive in order to survive. Is how your entire consciousness will develop.

20:33.22

Max Shank

When you say truth What do you mean because I I would agree that what a person sees is dependent on their memory because what they're what they're doing is they're differentiating ah the way a picture is interpreted.

20:50.10

mikebledsoe

And um.

20:52.71

Max Shank

And the picture is just simply about the ah um, the reception of light and we only have a small visible spectrum. So you're talking about the truth being everything versus what is visible to the naked eye. Oh then.

21:08.25

mikebledsoe

That's correct.

21:11.57

Max Shank

Absolutely I mean there's ah there are some great pictures. You can look up on the electromagnetic spectrum That's like a really cool ah thing to check out. Everything is just buzzing around and some of it. We can see and some of it. We can't and some animals.

21:26.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and but it's not. It's not necessary. Yeah.

21:30.52

Max Shank

And see ultraviolet and Infrared. It's not Useful. It's really about what is a um I feel like I say it all the time.. It's like what is a predictable Pattern. What is a predictable pattern if you have a really hard turtle shell on your back. It's predictable that. Nothing is going to bite through it as long as you're inside the shell if you're inside a cave and the cave is sealed the the jaguar or the leopard or the line will not get you in the night those kind of things are um.

21:52.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

22:09.88

Max Shank

Stuff that we've learned based on what we've seen but it's not the the whole picture right.

22:13.80

mikebledsoe

No, no. But yeah, so we look for the fact is almost nobody has an accurate understanding of the world or of themselves. Well that.

22:26.49

Max Shank

What do you mean? almost nobody who's this who's this guy that has it all figured out I want to meet this dude and.

22:32.64

mikebledsoe

There's this one guy there's this one guy I think that he may have it figured out but he'll remain nameless.

22:40.97

Max Shank

He's the one he's the 1 standing on the milk crate at the corner of a Columbus and None right? it it is probably someone like that I mean hey yeah, the concept.

22:44.00

mikebledsoe

For sure for sure. He's the fuck crazy fucker lives under the bridge. Well, there's a have you read? the have you read this series by Jed Mckenna okay Jeed Mckenna wrote a ah.

22:57.58

Max Shank

23:00.16

mikebledsoe

Series. The first book is called spiritual enlightenment The damnedest thing and um I used to be really hesitant to even mention it in public. But I've gotten a little bit looser because you know what if you want to destroy your entire ego. You know who am I to stop you So the. This guy. Ah, this guy wrote this book on Enlightenment. He basically outlines how spirituality is actually ah will keep you from being enlightened and really creates a distinction between the 2 And you know that the the deal is you can't explain what enlightenment is because it's something that would only you can only experience once it's you can only experience it and then once you've experienced it. There's no going back to the illusion and.

23:53.90

Max Shank

Well, and once again, what are we trying to describe when we say the word enlightenment so just getting really right? It's ah it's a sign. It's a symbol that we're using to determine like this feeling that we we have this feeling in mind.

23:57.14

mikebledsoe

Was It's indescribable. Well well being well being well being. Well different people. Well a lot of people see it as a feeling but the the way the guy describes it This book is that you only see you you know the absolute truth at all times you're.

24:11.78

Max Shank

Right? and.

24:21.41

Max Shank

Yeah.

24:23.10

mikebledsoe

You stabilize that state of consciousness and um, basically life gets incredibly boring because there's no narratives I mean you can witness narratives but you're not actually participating um in them anymore at all.

24:37.11

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

24:42.64

mikebledsoe

There's nothing to believe about yourself. There's nothing to believe about the world outside of what you can directly validate for yourself through observation and even then the story that tying the the dots together to create a narrative just doesn't exist anymore.

24:59.11

Max Shank

It would be so hard to function with other people if you actually did that it'd be.

25:03.36

mikebledsoe

Well well in the book If you read the book series. You'd really, there's he he's basically documenting conversations and he fucking almost hates having to interact with people. You know it's It's not a you know he basically just sees everybody as little children.

25:15.30

Max Shank

Um, right.

25:21.59

Max Shank

Well that I agree with I mean people are like little children. Um.

25:23.32

mikebledsoe

Well, he gets into that in the book as well. I think you would enjoy the series. Yeah, it's a it's a trilogy. It's it's I chuckled my way through it and it was. It was pretty good. Ah although I.

25:30.36

Max Shank

The series. Okay.

25:40.35

Max Shank

I Feel like.

25:42.47

mikebledsoe

Read it in 2017 at it early Twenty seventeen it ah it did do a number on me totally totally.

25:46.65

Max Shank

Ah, might hit a little different now too. Ah I liked what you said about spirituality getting in the way of enlightenment because when I think of the word enlightenment I Like you know me I like to keep things as simple as possible because I'm not as smart as all these science guys and.

25:55.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:11.66

Max Shank

When I think of enlightenment I think about just a reduction in in mass. So you're you're reducing So you're trying to literally make yourself lighter. Yeah, it's like I wrote this phrase down that I've always loved. It's like you can only sharpen.

26:20.42

mikebledsoe

It's a destructive process.

26:31.20

Max Shank

By removing material like otherwise it's a different thing but you sharpen something by taking stuff away and ah there are a lot of different analogies in some ancient wisdoms About. You know, don't be sharp like a sword you know, let yourself become dull and plain like a stone in a River and that kind of stuff and I really resonate with that and the more you have to keep up with these stories the the more you are burdened. And so it's like how do you find a way to fully connect which is like flow in that moment without getting attached and you realize every attachment you have is derived from that identity that you have all all the attachments. Are in relation to your identity. It's like a big net where you're the center spoke or maybe a wheel where you're in the center and it's all these relationships with everything else.

27:30.19

mikebledsoe

Well, the way the way that Jed ah he describes it in the book. He's like you know, a lot of people like to think about what you're talking about these these these beliefs that are in our consciousness like I believe they're in this beautiful web. Or a net or something like that he goes the reality is it's a rat's nest. You have no idea what belongs where until you start pulling a thread and and even then you don't know what? Ah every what all it was connected to and um, yeah, so like that that really hit home for me when.

27:59.22

Max Shank

Um, oh yeah.

28:08.74

mikebledsoe

Because I up to that point I was thinking Oh there's this beautiful web and if I pull this part of the web then I'm not really sure what'll happen on this other side of the web but he's like now it's a Rat's nest. It's just as a is a disaster zone inside of people's minds. Oh.

28:17.48

Max Shank

28:23.29

Max Shank

Um, often yeah.

28:27.88

mikebledsoe

Which I find to be accurate because anytime I've worked with people through like a belief and then we watch it dissolve. There's just no way to predict how that's going to impact their life. It's like oh I didn't know it wass going to impact that area of your life in that way. Okay, that was a surprise.

28:43.17

Max Shank

Some people are more attached. Some people are a little some people have a pretty easy time letting stuff go and some people have ah a really hard time or.

28:44.79

mikebledsoe

Some people are more attached.

28:52.64

mikebledsoe

I have um so I have a ah story to share I have a ah mentee I was talking to yesterday and he goes mike do you believe in curses I was like well um, you know. If you're talking about someone putting a curse on you if you believe someone put a curse on you then the only way the curse will work is if you believe that the curse is real if you believe that someone put a curse on you then it weren't like you you are cursed and and.

29:21.25

Max Shank

Um, then it definitely worked. You're fucked. That's yeah.

29:29.50

mikebledsoe

And you're the only one that can undo it right? and so and so that was That's how I started he goes. He's like well well I met this guy and he said that he said that Um, my family had a curse and I.

29:43.89

Max Shank

Sounds like 1 of them spiritual ah barriers to enlightenment perhaps or maybe he was right I don't I don't know.

29:48.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well well Ego I Go what? Well I say I I was like well we have to Define Curse of course that we we do that on the show at Lot. We Define things and I was like like look I don't I don't necessarily believe in curses in the way that ah. People who use that language probably believe in them because I don't need to believe in the curse I Um I I think that people use that language when they're actually confused about what that is. It's like this. It's mystical. And that's one of the things that ah jeed was getting in the book with spirituality is there's so so much mysticism and that is there's so much mystery, There's so much that we don't understand that you have to buy into and that happens a lot in spirituality people start throwing these words around and I don't know what they're talking about.

30:44.60

Max Shank

On.

30:44.85

mikebledsoe

And I'm pretty sure they have no idea what they're talking about because they just strung together a bunch of words that don't make any sense to to anybody in the room and if I were to ask them to break it down in plain language. It's not going to happen and so anytime anyone starts using a lot of flowery language. Both me my fiancee would just leave.

30:55.95

Max Shank

Um, right.

31:04.62

mikebledsoe

Like neither one of us like to put up with that that shit you know and so that there's a lot of people in the quote unquote conscious community that exists that like you know I think they're doing good stuff I like them and all that but we're probably not going to hang out I don't want to like those people are confused. And so ah, what.

31:25.45

Max Shank

How could people not be confused I mean we act like it's just been this sequential build. But the reality is that cultures and nations and peoples and laws have just been patched together ah time and time again with. Almost never having a chance to really clean the slate. That's why when you have something like America it's like whoa. It's not totally blank slate but it's it's pretty close. They were like okay, let's let's think about this real quick like.

31:54.53

mikebledsoe

It was. It was pretty. It was pretty blank.

32:04.41

Max Shank

What are we going to do here and because and then of course now what we have is just the patchwork quilt of that initial weaving and we're just sticking stuff in here and we're like oh yeah, the school's not doing so good so they need more tests or we'll teach them the tests ahead of time and.

32:09.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

32:23.67

Max Shank

It's just all these fucking patches and ah so it's no wonder that it's just this absolute cluster fuck like you were saying where most of the stuff you just have to take on faith Ah, which of course is kind of kind of back to. Well.

32:35.95

mikebledsoe

We you don't have to I I I try not my my goal is I tell people a lot of times they'll ask me what I believe I go and I said you know I don't believe in much of anything if I can't validate it for myself then I'm gonna tell you.

32:42.72

Max Shank

Yeah I mean.

32:55.92

mikebledsoe

I don't know. Ah there are things that are useful if I were to believe when I believe this way it's something I can't validate for myself. But I can validate the result of believing it which is ah something I want in my life or something I don't want in my life. So I I like to.

32:56.92

Max Shank

33:04.61

Max Shank

And.

33:11.30

Max Shank

33:14.52

mikebledsoe

Be able to admit that I have no idea what the truth is but I do know what's useful and ah there are some things that I can validate for myself and I just know that now going back to the curse and and a curse on the family the the way that I. I Talked about that with him is that every family has a curse and the yeah and they they have some blessings as well. But the but the curse.

33:40.63

Max Shank

Whoa How about a blessing do they have blessings Also because if you can curse another person then it would stand to reason that you could also bless them The logic's not sound completely. But.

33:48.22

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, you could.

33:55.70

Max Shank

If you believe that you can be cursed. You probably also believe someone could say a prayer for you or give you a blessing or cast a magical spell.

33:59.91

mikebledsoe

But I think we've all seen this like I think what? But what he was talking about is that there's a trend in his family. There's a trend of this pattern of behavior and and it seems mysterious to to them and maybe to people around them who who.

34:08.84

Max Shank

In.

34:19.57

mikebledsoe

Are Not very good at paying attention. Um, they're not in that practice and so but if you pay attention close Enough. You have well there is a pattern of behavior that's leading to these cursed results right? These results to seem to be a curse. Well the curse is going to be a mystery until you. Until you go to? why are people why? what is the behavior that's leading to this and where did that behavior come from and.

34:45.17

Max Shank

Back to curiosity if you can get to that state like then then that's like as close as you can get to a ah blank slate moving forward is to get curious about what is rather than confirming what you believe I think is the.

34:52.22

mikebledsoe

Key So curiosity keep curiosity.

35:04.14

Max Shank

The major key so you're curious about what is or perhaps what can be ah and that way you are not confirming the pre-existing beliefs right? Which definitely feels more stable I mean everything. All the all this talk about writing stuff down and recording things is to increase predictability and stability. So I feel comfortable lending you the None goats.

35:30.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well this is what as you I said Curiosity is the cure for curses. So if you if we're going to show title somehow. So so so um, look so I'm talking to him and I go.

35:38.60

Max Shank

Um, cool. That's that sounds nice.

35:50.26

mikebledsoe

This is the curse is what your parents learn from from their parents and then what they taught you is is there's an ancestral pattern of behavior that's playing out and if you don't understand how that pattern works then it's going to be mysterious. And then someone's going to come along and and use the label curse because it's the word curse is kind of a mysterious thing in itself like Witches curse things and that you know it's kind of like it's magic. Yeah, so like I and then so I have to go back in that. Yeah.

36:15.78

Max Shank

Um, yeah, like a Hex or something like that. Yeah, but you can use magic for good too. You know.

36:24.97

mikebledsoe

It to something that's magical or mystical is just something you don't understand how it works yet. Yeah.

36:29.62

Max Shank

Yes, exactly magic You don't get the trick and as soon as you know how it works. It's not magic anymore. It's just a trick hey do the trick. You know it's magic when you don't follow what's happening and most things really are magic I'm a very curious guy I don't like to not know stuff.

36:36.33

mikebledsoe

Now.

36:47.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

36:49.43

Max Shank

Honestly, maybe it's maybe it's a character defect or an an effect I don't I don't know exactly what it is but ah, it's really difficult actually to know how stuff works just if you look around wherever you are right now and just try to figure out how all the stuff is working. Unless you are a like Captain Science or something like that. You're going to find it really taxing to figure out how everything works in the world around you and I think one of the things about objectivism which is where i'm. Trying to come at things from it's weird I'm like objectivist in terms of like if it works I'm going to use it and that's good enough for me and also a more metaphysical connection to an everlasting eternal and infinite source that is. Totally the opposite of objective. It's completely subjective. It's like a feeling that it's funny because it's either ah true or not true and so if I am making myself. Believe that it is true and it gives me a good feeling then I just kind of gave myself a little blessing basically and I think that's a lot of what religion is about It's like hey you know what it feels good that there is a wise fatherly figure who's not too hands on.

38:06.49

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

38:21.42

Max Shank

By the way, not an overbearing parent or father figure all powerful looking out for me. He loves me says so in the book. That's that's going to feel pretty nice I can totally understand what I would feel nice. Are you kidding.

38:33.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well you know, ah this brings up. Yeah well well I see a huge like a really beneficial place for religion. Um, you know when I look at when I look at you know people that are you know mainstream people.

38:38.37

Max Shank

About the boost in morale.

38:47.62

Max Shank

Fanatics. Oh.

38:51.95

mikebledsoe

Religion is a really great way to get them to behave like if somebody doesn't hasn't been through the questions and the logic and really sat with themselves and have an understanding of like ah of karma basically cause and effect how you know if I do this and I get this result. Most people have no idea that person is going to do really good going to church on Sunday and having the None commandments repeated to them and because the 10 commandments. It's kind of hard hard to argue with that shit like.

39:26.10

Max Shank

It's a bit outlandish really I mean no killing or coveting the neighbor's wife give me a break.

39:30.48

mikebledsoe

I think there was there was I think the one that don't covet your neighbor's wife is the only one that does not include an action that every the 9 commandments was don't do these things and then the last one was like.

39:47.64

Max Shank

Don't even want this.

39:49.67

mikebledsoe

Stamp out that desire like it was the it was the only one that was around desire. Everything else was about behavior so which is really really interesting that it that it that it was wrapped like that which I think is also really good advice. Ah you want to be miserable.

39:58.36

Max Shank

Um, it's like yeah, ah.

40:07.81

Max Shank

Just covet everything You don't have.

40:08.31

mikebledsoe

Like it. Yeah I mean just means to have envy you know to be jealous like it's like oh you know that dude's wife is hotter than mine I I think about her all the time talk about suffering you want to make yourself suffer.

40:21.16

Max Shank

How about the illusion. How about the illusion like that I mean you bring up a great point could talk about it all day. But I won't I mean look at what we do to fabricate a better illusion shiny sports cars glittery tits. We're doing the whole nine yards just to. We're so hyper audio visual. We're so hypervisual. It's insane and you know that.

40:46.44

mikebledsoe

I think 75% of your perception at least seventy five eighty percent on the yeah well the eyes are just an extension of your nervous system. It's just like your nerves have come out and it makes more sense. It makes sense.

40:53.42

Max Shank

Um, it's like.

41:00.69

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, no I follow I Follow what you're ah what you're going at um I think it's interesting. A lot of people consume media now with the sound off and it's just visual isn't that interesting.

41:03.82

mikebledsoe

Now.

41:10.63

mikebledsoe

I Do I I I have everything set up to where I have to like purposely turn the sound on and and I hope if you don't have a caption on your video I'm I'm skipping right over because I don't want to interrupt I don't want to interrupt my music.

41:19.50

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

41:24.52

Max Shank

Um, oh shit game over that.

41:29.22

mikebledsoe

And got my music playing to my phone now I'm going to have some fucking Instagram real barin now get out of here. So I caption everything. Ah.

41:33.86

Max Shank

Totally totally totally. But I think that just goes to show that we we are. We're very one-dimensional and very heavily focused on the vision and this whole this whole thing. It's like we're not quite.

41:42.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:52.86

Max Shank

Um, full slaves to our primal ah lust and hunger which that's pretty fun. That's one good option but we're also not fully bought in to this enlightened state either. You know? So we're not we're not really ah enjoying the primal ah savageness and we're also not really in the egoless enviousless wrathless smoothness of ah you know, connected communication and communion. With other things and ah creatures in your universe which is your unique perspective. So. It's a but it's a real bummer to be between those 2 is that's like the worst place you don't really get the benefit of either None you know you're.

42:35.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah.

42:46.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

42:49.76

Max Shank

Lizard Brain afraid all the time you're not really getting the you know the the lust and the hunger they're full due and you're not on the the wizard mode either sounds awful just bought in the illusion.

42:58.50

mikebledsoe

Terrible terrible. So ah, so so there there was this moment I had where I um I really got to have um, an appreciation for religion I was it was ah. 2018 I was in ah Paris France and I went to see Notre ah Notre Dame um and before it burned ah and I got to go I walked in.

43:22.62

Max Shank

Any.

43:33.80

Max Shank

Um I did too. It was awesome I might have been there in the same year I might have been there at like the same time is fucking weird. We were there on a date.

43:36.17

mikebledsoe

So cool. So I walked in I'm looking at oh oh weird. So they add all this these ah these these monk These monks had like these hats. You know you saw like the hats with the Jewels and.

43:50.57

Max Shank

Just kidding like.

43:55.44

mikebledsoe

And everything and are and I'm in there and I'm looking at the the cathedral from inside and I go and then I went and looked at the outside I was like man there is a lot of symbolism here and I was like this is super psychedelic like yeah, what I'm looking at.

44:08.63

Max Shank

Um, lot of fancy hats in religions too.

44:13.71

mikebledsoe

What I'm looking at is it looks very mystical and reminds me I remember looking at this one piece and I was like that's a fucking dmt trip right? there I'm gonna tell you right now I've I've been there and I and then I started seeing it everywhere I was like this is. These cathedrals in Europe are so psychedelic and so I'm in Notre domina and I'm like I'm like okay I'm getting a download here. Let's go home. Went back to the apartment I booked a tour.

44:32.94

Max Shank

Um.

44:45.59

mikebledsoe

For the next day I was like I need I need like a proper tour this me wandering around and by myself not going to cut it and so what do I do I drop acid before the tour because I'm a genius and ah. We signed up for a group tour but we were me and my ex-wife were the only 2 that signed up so we had a private tour while on Assad and we we got to go the guy was like I normally don't tell people about this because if there's catholics ah in the group they get really triggered.

45:06.25

Max Shank

Amazing.

45:20.80

mikebledsoe

Because there was so much of the symbolism on the church was taken from ah ancient Egypt and and basically every religion up to that point is represented in in Notre Dame um which makes it even more interesting than some of the other cathedrals. Yeah, it's.

45:34.90

Max Shank

See I didn't I didn't even know that that's awesome I checked it out but I did not get a tour I Certainly didn't get that.

45:40.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, there there is references in the architecture to ah the chakras 7 chakras it's very it to me. It was like very blatant but ah to someone who's.

45:48.49

Max Shank

So now.

45:54.34

Max Shank

Ah, neat. That's awesome. That's neat. No no, no, that's neat. No, that's really cool. This is neat.

45:59.19

mikebledsoe

Ah, he said 8 I was like but ah that is neat. So so i' go inside and I and I get to spend a couple I you know how long I spend because I'm on asset two or three hours with this tour guide and we're just jamming I'm like just pulling all the information out of him and I'm like I'm like well what do you think about this, he goes.

46:13.30

Max Shank

46:18.69

mikebledsoe

Oh you're one of those I was like yeah man I don't care like like let's really go there So I got to go there with this guy and basically what I got the conclusion I came to is these monks are sitting in the church in a dark room and they're in there just chanting chanting for days.

46:19.83

Max Shank

Are in.

46:37.72

mikebledsoe

Chanting and chant they're getting into these psychedelic states they're doing it through chanting. Maybe they're drinking some wine and chanting and they're getting into this weird state and maybe there's some mushrooms in the wine who the fuck knows and they get these. They get all this information they get they get to have contact.

46:43.57

Max Shank

Yep.

46:56.58

mikebledsoe

With the divine this they have this mystical experience that they then get their experience truth in a way that you can't explain to somebody else. But once you have this experience. You go. You know we probably you know.

47:06.12

Max Shank

Oh.

47:13.26

mikebledsoe

Property rights is a thing and the cat back then the Catholic Church controlled property if you want to buy or sell you know your deed it was held with the Catholic Church and and Notre Damme was ah was it started being built I want to say in 808 or 900 somewhere there and wasn't finished until like well technically still not finished. But. I think it was ah like a none project so it was not a short project.

47:36.19

Max Shank

Um, the 151516 sounds right to me fifteen sixteen hundred I can't recall maybe as late as 17

47:43.49

mikebledsoe

Well I think they then I think they may have had like a finishing point but then they started up again and depending on who was who was who believed what at the time they would like tear down a statue and put a different statue up and all the shit. Yeah.

47:51.63

Max Shank

Rebuilding and building.

47:59.10

Max Shank

Funky right? I remember there were some cool statues and like gargoyles and devils on the outside and shut like that there. It was actually the outside was super hardcore I remember looking at that for a long time. There was a lot of angels and demons.

48:01.37

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, it's like like super hardcore.

48:14.38

mikebledsoe

And Mary with Mary with a torch surrounded by gargoyles and yeah, it's fucking wild and so um, so I I got thinking about it and I got to appreciate I go all these peasants outside they're giving them gifts because they come out.

48:15.38

Max Shank

Devils and freaky shit. Yeah, you know that would.

48:33.28

mikebledsoe

After days of chanting go I got the message I had a meeting with god I had this divine mystical experience and you know what Don not don't try to fuck your buddys wife you know, ah and you shouldn't steal shit and you know what I mean like.

48:49.10

Max Shank

Um.

48:52.30

mikebledsoe

All these rules were created by the church. Um, but they're not they weren't new but like there was other rules like they had you know the church was running shit back then they were really running shit until around the fifteen hundreds and so um, ah.

48:55.35

Max Shank

Um, well those aren't new ideas though at that point either.

49:03.78

Max Shank

Yeah.

49:11.68

mikebledsoe

I Really just got a big appreciation for religion at that point because I go well for me to expect for everybody to have had I've had a lot of mystical experiences. You know that the meeting with God has happened several times where.

49:23.44

Max Shank

Um.

49:29.44

mikebledsoe

I Go into this really deep state and things become very obvious and the behaviors that follow like oh yeah I should change this I shouldn't shouldn't behave like this anymore like this because I'm at a blindment with this other thing and so as like I'm just making myself miserable.

49:35.35

Max Shank

What.

49:47.91

mikebledsoe

So when I first had that experience I go everybody should have this experience and then after years of promoting people to have this experience I Realized a ah most people are not willing to have the experience. They're not. They're not even curious about it. It's not interesting to them and then B some people.

49:52.47

Max Shank

Um I.

50:02.82

Max Shank

And.

50:06.73

mikebledsoe

Become curious about it and they probably shouldn't have touched it because they don't they couldn't they they can't handle. There's they don't have enough like some type of mental construct in order to handle the the weight of that experience because you're going from 0 to 60

50:24.37

Max Shank

Um.

50:26.10

mikebledsoe

And ah and a split second with some of these things. Um, and so.

50:29.42

Max Shank

Yeah, it's way faster than chanting. It's like you can achieve kind of a similar experience with a lot of different things like you can get the runners high or you can just ah smoke a blunt or something like that you can chant for three days or you can just drop some acid.

50:41.10

mikebledsoe

Totally yeah.

50:47.13

Max Shank

And so we have all these shortcuts to get into that state and I think it's a connected and receptive state. It allows you to see past your own illusion I think it it temporarily depending on the dosage right.

51:03.32

mikebledsoe

Yep.

51:04.40

Max Shank

Temporarily takes away that tight grip on the um ego that you've built essentially as a suit of armor to survive the environment that you live in and we live in an environment where stories matter quite a lot I Mean. Like the the reality of how I am on a day-to-day. Basis is so different than from what you would find if you just searched for me on the internet. You would think that all I do is play Sports lift weights.

51:33.37

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

51:40.74

Max Shank

And dance in my backyard with my shirt off but I call it mobility instead of dancing and that would be That's like the whole thing. That's that's the illusion that's out there. So whatever. Whatever avatar you project out you you use it. Maybe not as armor maybe almost as like a scuba suit to enter the environment of society that we're in so it's natural that you would want to do that. You'd want to have armor plating you'd want to have these ah pretty colors on this avatar. So people really like it and maybe someone will even love you. If Your feathers are are pretty enough and so everything is just reinforcing these ideas but it's still coming from like a lizard brain type of desire and so it's no wonder that people are a little tangled up. Like in like a ah web of self and parents and teachers and fame and shame and blame and all these different things like that's why when you were like oh people are just children I'm like yeah they're like often abused children and abuse is like. It happens in so many different ways. It's like ah probably like 1 of the least popular things to talk about is rape but the only problem with rape is the lack of consent because nearly everybody is on board with sex and a lot of people from both genders like raping. Also. But that's like maybe even another. Ah, that's a different can of worms that I'm not not looking to unpack right now off the cuff because well look. It's um.

53:23.68

mikebledsoe

Why'd you even mention it.

53:29.53

Max Shank

People have their boundaries crossed in a lot of different ways and the the thing is it's that feeling of having your boundary crossed and so people feel um, abused or diminished or beaten down or taken from in a lot of different ways and so it's like. That idea that ah wherever you get wounded the bone grows back twice as strong like the calcification is like your personality from all these miniature traumas you've had and if someone's. Forcing you to do None thing or another they're still forcing you to do None thing or another and how you can harmonize that into the future is going to determine how you find the world and you know there are different levels of trauma. But if you're not willing to let it go. You are just going to go ah equal and opposite to that force basically right.

54:25.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

54:31.37

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, So I'm not Surprised. People are all all twisted up with identity and perception and I know personally I've found a lot of peace through trying to see things as they are. And it's not something that is like on off switch but it can happen really fast all at once. In fact, just for anyone listening. It's kind of an interesting thing in my experience. It's not a linear progress on this sort of. Thinking it All. It's like giant leaps forward and then a little plateau and then a giant leap forward and then a little Plateau I don't know what it's been like for you. But.

55:17.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it? um well the giant leaps forward or never yeah, they can be difficult. But yeah, it seems like seems like there's this giant leap forward then I got to stabilize the jump right? There's not a. So like oh I jump forward and everything's Great. It's like oh now because in those giant leaps especially if you have a shift in your own identity then everybody in your life. You're about to ah destroy their expectations of you. The stability is gone.

55:37.27

Max Shank

But.

55:49.48

Max Shank

Well, the Stability's gone right? The stability.

55:54.85

mikebledsoe

There's chaos it creates chaos and it creates chaos for your friends and your family because they can count on you to behave like this whether it's a good behavior or not and they're even looking to count on. They're counting on you to behave poorly and then all of a sudden you do something in order to be successful.

56:05.51

Max Shank

Right.

56:13.73

mikebledsoe

And they may even get mad at you about it. They like like I've I've had people in the past that were like mad that I was successful enough to where I didn't have to run my gym anymore they were like oh you're like leaving.

56:17.74

Max Shank

They'll definitely get mad at you about it. A lot of the time.

56:26.48

Max Shank

56:30.18

mikebledsoe

Things behind you, you're you're changing and you're a different person like and they're mad about it I go Well yeah, that was isn't that the point like what do you think I was doing all this work for to stay the same.

56:34.66

Max Shank

Um, yeah, yeah, dude I remember that I remember the one that made me laugh The hardest um I fired this guy who worked for me because he was lying to me.

56:54.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

56:54.45

Max Shank

And if I can't trust someone. It's basically like see you later you know and 1 of the members at my gym texted me and said I can't believe you did this. You're really ruining my happiness.

57:05.62

mikebledsoe

Ah, you're in charge of their happiness. All of a sudden.

57:11.00

Max Shank

I just thought it was so funny. It was like anything different. This guy's like totally lost it and you know there are two sides to every story right? So there's no point in trying to have like an argument about its rightness or wrongness it. It just is what it is. It's like that Mark Twain quote how his. Taylor was the only reasonable person because he took his measurement new every time instead of measuring him against how he was in the past and dude absolutely like if you quit drinking I think that's ah one that a lot of people relate to you know.

57:34.38

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

57:45.54

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

57:48.86

Max Shank

Ah, used to be a bit of a party animal or just ah, a different type of party animal and as soon as you stop as soon as you stop doing that They're like what do? what are you doing? You're you're like ditching us. Oh you're too good for us or something I guess like no man like just doing a different thing.

57:51.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah I had the same thing quit drinking. Yeah.

58:03.26

mikebledsoe

Well it kind of sucks when you stop drinking because I had this experience I remember it was yeah it's like well 20 I remember it was like 2013 and i.

58:12.44

Max Shank

That's where our culture has fun for adults. That's like the place.

58:21.61

mikebledsoe

I had to actually cut back on drinking a little bit up to that point not completely I started smoking a little bit of weed when I was my and 2011 so I started smoking weed because I didn't like how I was behaving when I was on alcohol I was. Blacking out I was doing and saying stupid shit. Um I was around like my gym members. You know I'd be out at a bar with gym members. The next thing you know like like what what did I say last night I don't even know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, the next day is like.

58:52.55

Max Shank

Feeling of up.

58:57.14

mikebledsoe

I Just I don't know what I did but I got this feeling. It wasn't good. You know, ah and so I cut back the drink and I I discovered that weed if I smoked a little weed before I went out I would drink way less and then weed would make me way less aggressive.

58:59.53

Max Shank

Right.

59:14.18

mikebledsoe

So I could still be out I could still be sociable.

59:14.87

Max Shank

Um, oh you think Alcohol alcohol is like so crazy when you think about it that we're just like yeah whatever you can have it have as much as you want? whatever.

59:21.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but but I was using the weed to like offset the you know it calm me down and and then I would just drink less and because I was already kind of feeling it if I drink too much while being high that ah that. Wasn't fun I would I would hit it.

59:40.75

Max Shank

But it sounds like yeah I mean it sounds like you got to that point where you were ah using your intuition and getting curious about it instead of just writing the momentum of like oh it's Friday let's all get drunk because that's just what we do and I think a lot of folks.

59:52.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah now.

01:00:00.12

Max Shank

Maybe don't even like it that much. They just want to be liked so they'll do the thing that gets people to like them. You know, drinking can be a competition that you can win speaking of life as a game.

01:00:04.36

mikebledsoe

Well, it's.

01:00:12.87

Max Shank

As soon as I figured that out I was like hey I bet I could poison myself twice as fast as you motherfucker and that everyone's like yeah you did it.

01:00:19.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, if you ever win a drink game. It doesn't It's never as cool as you think it's gonna be and a lot of people need that liquid courage. You know like it's the only way they can. It's like ah well it's it's it's well they have to like D It's like.

01:00:34.52

Max Shank

Be sexual. It's the only way they can like let their guard down.

01:00:39.39

mikebledsoe

It detaches them from themselves enough to where they can just kind of let loose. But anyways I digress I um so in 2013 I started eating way more psychedelic mushrooms and then after my None big psychedelic mushroom experience.

01:00:44.50

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:00:56.66

mikebledsoe

I cut out alcohol a hundred percent I

01:01:00.40

Max Shank

Dude, we should do a series of shows on a different substance every week guys. We're gonna start it. Nice and simple coffee week. One is coffee nice and simple week two. We bring out a little booze week 3 weed week 4

01:01:03.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's not the None time I've heard this pitch.

01:01:12.40

mikebledsoe

I want to do it now I want to do it's a lead magnet. It's a lead magnet. We'll do 10 shows on 10 different substances and there's ah the lead magnet is that you can um you have to figure out which substance we were on. It's a mystery.

01:01:17.14

Max Shank

Okay, we're going to go in Spain.

01:01:31.10

mikebledsoe

During the show and if you can match it up successfully you get a prize. Yeah, you have to like you know label it. There's gonna be 10 shows 10 substances definitely social security number. Um yeah I think that's a great idea. So.

01:01:32.90

Max Shank

Um, and you only get None guess. You got to enter your social security number.

01:01:49.87

mikebledsoe

Started eating mushrooms and I cut out alcohol completely and I was the guy you know I owned the gym I was I had a a house with a big backyard at a pool and you know I I bought the house because it was a great place to entertain guests. So I'm throwing these parties I got a keg in the backyard like we're doing everything.

01:01:52.25

Max Shank

01:02:08.74

mikebledsoe

I'm not drinking and it's not 1 those things where I'm like I'm trying not to drink is just like I really just don't give a fuck about having a drink at all like someone can hand me a beer and it's like 0 desire. Yeah.

01:02:09.43

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:02:20.10

Max Shank

But well you got something better something that that suits you better. That's what it's about right? It's like let's get intuitive about the different medicines that we're applying.

01:02:28.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so I just remember this one afternoon I've got a bunch of people in my house were standing in a circle. Everyone's got a red solo cup in their hand I'm drinking water and I'm happy as a clam. And I probably smoked a little bit of weed. Um, but I kept on trying to have conversations that had way more depth than what I would have when I was on alcohol and I just remember people looking at me weird I Remember people getting uncomfortable and walking away and it was.

01:02:54.51

Max Shank

Or you can.

01:03:06.10

mikebledsoe

It was all of a sudden there was this barrier between me and the people who I had been getting drunk with for years and having a good time with and when I look back and I go oh I just wasn't meeting their expectation of who they believe Mike Bletzo to be. They didn't know what to do with me and in fact.

01:03:20.41

Max Shank

Inhale.

01:03:23.72

mikebledsoe

Probably didn't weren't that interested in talking to me because they were wanting to talk to a guy that was more like who I was behaving like and so.

01:03:31.56

Max Shank

And I mean your cells are all changing except for like neurons basically throughout your whole life. They're they're dividing and dying and dividing and dying. They're going through this process of death and rebirth and so.

01:03:38.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:03:50.75

Max Shank

If most of your cells are different seven years later wouldn't like you also be quite different seven years later and the fact of the matter is your brain and the pathways in your brain can change way way faster.

01:03:57.28

mikebledsoe

Absolutely.

01:04:10.50

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, the first was it in and exercise science I remember we were studying is like the majority of the results that people get in their performance in the first 12 weeks of training are due to new motor patterns new. It's your nervous system that's adapting. That's why you're that's why you got strong so fast.

01:04:10.32

Max Shank

Then like your bones and you.

01:04:29.88

mikebledsoe

After that now it has more to has less to do with the nervous system and more to do with the muscle mass or whatever other things that need to structurally change. But yeah, the nervous system can change really fast. Yeah.

01:04:40.79

Max Shank

Right? You're just using what you have better. You're just using what you have better when you get those neurological adapt changes adaptations. Yeah.

01:04:50.12

mikebledsoe

Thanks for putting in plain english.

01:04:55.94

Max Shank

Ah, fucking got me.

01:05:01.69

Max Shank

Um, and let's see we started with ah symbols and records and record keeping and now we're at the the record of your self which is in your Dna. Also we got your brain.

01:05:11.47

mikebledsoe

Yep.

01:05:19.45

Max Shank

Which is within your single life and then you got your Dna which is a long long very tightly bound record of all of the things that need direction for cell production.

01:05:34.99

mikebledsoe

That's ah, that's a great theory I think that that I think that's a a piece of it I've I've ah I've thought about this a bit the Dna thing yeah the Dna thing I think there's a lot we know about Dna I think that we can do a Dna test and we can find out our ancestry.

01:05:43.29

Max Shank

Um, tell me more tell me tell me more about it older we can match Dna we can match it. That's that's a good start.

01:05:52.85

mikebledsoe

Ah, figure out what part all that. But but here's a thing when they start looking at ah Dna of different ah species like humans have more their Dna has more in common with like some insect I forget which one it is.

01:06:05.58

Max Shank

01:06:12.57

mikebledsoe

Then a fucking chimp and I look at that and I go we don't We don't know um wish I had it? Yeah please um there. Ah.

01:06:18.24

Max Shank

Um I don't know this one I'm going to fact, check this when the show's over.

01:06:31.44

mikebledsoe

Well I remember reading that story and I was like and people were like whoa. You know that's crazy I Go Yeah, that's crazy. It just tells me that we don't know nearly ah the amount that we think we know about what comprises who we are. Ah.

01:06:49.35

Max Shank

It's weird because we know almost nothing and we know a lot at the same time sometimes it's like the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It's like knowledge is knowing which Dna sequence is responsible for.

01:07:06.34

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:07:06.94

Max Shank

Sickle cell anemia. For example, like that's very, that's very consistent and repeatable so that would be something and be like oh yeah, that's that's pretty wild so there. That's how that basically happens right? and then there's also ah. Like way more that we don't understand about Dna I mean the way that it wraps itself up I think ah maybe Drew Barry Drew Barry is the Youtube channel you can watch like a little animation of. Dna moving around.

01:07:46.15

mikebledsoe

We're gonna be able to show that um I see animals that share human Dna sequences apes monkeys and humans um mice dogs chickens.

01:07:49.81

Max Shank

Oh man, Yeah, this is wild.

01:08:02.49

mikebledsoe

Ah, now it's just it's some article from some school. It wasn't very good information.

01:08:04.59

Max Shank

Does it show the different percentages because I'm guessing a chimp is more than a chicken.

01:08:13.61

Max Shank

But that's the record that's been kept basically that that's the record of how to direct resources I mean that's the record that's being played. That's the record that's being played.

01:08:18.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it is a record it is a record what my my my my thing is it's not in ah in the narrative. Well I would say.

01:08:31.24

Max Shank

No, that's the record that's being played in your body is your Dna is unzipping and rezipping itself up to make stuff.

01:08:37.50

mikebledsoe

Well I would just I would just say it's a record not the record I think there's way more. There's some shit we don't know.

01:08:43.40

Max Shank

Um, tell me more. There's like a little chip in my Pineil Gland or something like that like a calcium I don't know either.

01:08:51.19

mikebledsoe

Maybe I don't know I don't know what it is but I think it's I think it's a lot I think it's a lot safer like I think there's plenty of evidence and evidence to show that Dna There were so many things that they thought that would be solved by ah, sequencing the genome.

01:09:10.50

Max Shank

Oh.

01:09:10.85

mikebledsoe

And none of it came true and it's because it's it's I don't think it's telling as big of a story as they once thought it was going to be telling So I I think I think there's something Beyond Dna that is still yet to be discovered. That's going to. We're going to find plays a much bigger role.

01:09:18.79

Max Shank

Um, you know why.

01:09:28.81

Max Shank

Oh my gosh.

01:09:29.26

mikebledsoe

So I just like to hold that perspective because that's the perspective that keeps people looking and being curious versus saying that you know this is the this is the one and only true god.

01:09:35.68

Max Shank

E. Well here's how I would say it here's how I would say it is Dna is the ah program that's being run but there are a lot of factors that determine how your Dna is expressed how it's bound up. It's packaged whether we're going to copy this part of the code or that part of the code it changes based on how much sunlight you get it changes based on the different hormones that are working in your body I mean you have all of these different pieces playing together and so. To take back. Take it back to you know some semblance of objectivism. It's clear that the way you think the way you label things the way you um, retell tell and retail different experiences has an influence. On your physical body including the way your Dna is expressed so that's epigenetics right? So after you're already alive you have this relationship to your environment that's in a state of constant flux and your body. Just always like yeah we'll adapt to that we'll adapt it and it's happening so many times on such a small level that you can't really track it um, but just to keep it very practical. What you think is influencing ah the hormones it's influencing your digestion it's going to influence. How your Dna is expressed same thing with sunlight so there are all these external factors and what I'm getting to is from a practical standpoint you got to just start out with a few things that are really big boosters. You know things that very clearly. Lift you up to a higher state. Ah not necessarily drugs but it could be drugs that lifts you up to a higher state right? That's going to be what to that's going to be what determines your life. Basically.

01:11:41.72

mikebledsoe

Temporarily.

01:11:45.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I like to think about it and um, we have we have states and then we have stages and like states are things that we we visit like we may have like a state of consciousness. It's like oh that's temporary. Your state is changing.

01:11:57.57

Max Shank

Right.

01:12:04.38

mikebledsoe

All the time it changes if you if you breathe really shallow and fast versus breathing really deep and slow that's going to change your state Now that's going to make an impact on how you perceive things. Um up.

01:12:11.85

Max Shank

01:12:17.94

Max Shank

And how should you breathe. How should how should you breathe I mean it's like nutrition. Ah you should never breathe through your mouth or you should breathe through your mouth every day as fast as possible. Yeah.

01:12:22.50

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:12:36.38

Max Shank

You should always breathe as slow as possible or you should never hold your breath and never strain your breath I mean I can I can follow. Ah, the logic of most of those recommendations and they totally contradict each other. So once again, no wonder things are confusing the superstitions are all over the map in terms of how we should eat how we should manage our finances how we should move how we should even fucking breathe so that. Is probably what makes that simplicity so attractive.

01:13:12.35

mikebledsoe

You just made me want to look up the etymology of superstition. So I feel like that's like a very accurate way of talking about we tomorrow superstition. Um.

01:13:28.30

Max Shank

Alternate definition language you're fucked you just hit the center. The first use of superstition was just called language. It's like the snake eating its own tail I don't know what you're going to think you're going to find.

01:13:30.95

mikebledsoe

And I say what.

01:13:40.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah was a ah.

01:13:45.12

Max Shank

I Means you you know Green Monkeys You know Green Monkeys have different calls for whether a hawk is coming or a tiger is coming and they will lie so that the other monkeys will look away so they can steal a banana.

01:13:59.56

mikebledsoe

01:14:03.75

Max Shank

That's superstition hey look out. There's an eagle up there. Maybe that's not quite superstition.

01:14:06.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well. The definition here is an irrational belief that an object action or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences. Its outcome number None a belief practice or right irrationally maintained by ignorance of laws of nature or by faith and magic or chance. And None a fearful abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality man.

01:14:30.84

Max Shank

Kind of back to curses on that last's definition the first one ah is just like a skinner box. Um, they did a lot of and experiments with a skinner box. Bf Skinner was the guy's name and they put a button inside the box. And they put a little feed thing and the feed thing was not connected to the button. It was just on a timer but the pigeon I think builds an association with the button in the food. So. It's just fucking pecking this button nonstop because it has now. Ah. Has this superstition that if it hits the button the right way or enough times that the food will come out but it's just on a timer and then what's funny is this guy who did a show called mind field and he did a show called vsauce before on Youtube pretty huge channel actually he did the same thing with people. In a box and a dollar bill dispenser and it worked the same way. So so people are just like hitting this button that doesn't do anything and dollar bills are coming out on a timer and they're hitting it different ways and it's like man we think we're so different than these other animals and we are but we we are super different and we're.

01:15:42.89

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:15:49.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah the the use of the word superstitions I brought up I read this book a while back called most dangerous superstition or the most dangerous superstition by Larkin Rose

01:15:50.98

Max Shank

Like just the same. Yeah.

01:16:08.21

mikebledsoe

It's interesting because I won't tell people exactly what the superstition is but it's a easy read. It's like less than 100 pages and and it's it's good. It's good. It'll it'll change your thinking around some things. Ah, but.

01:16:14.78

Max Shank

You tease.

01:16:25.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's my my book recommendation of the day speaking of superstition. It'll it it demonstrates. Ah it demonstrates how deep a superstition can get into a culture to where people just think that that's the way it is.

01:16:27.40

Max Shank

On.

01:16:42.99

mikebledsoe

And he he takes this one superstition and he just surrounds it and then something that you believe is actually necessary at the end you may think is not really that necessary.

01:16:54.74

Max Shank

Yo, let's get back to what's truly necessary that's a cluster fucking and of itself I mean how about how about the concept of a weekend that's just made up. We made that shit up. There's there's lunar cycles that shit.

01:17:03.41

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, got yeah.

01:17:13.94

Max Shank

There's lunar cycles. There's solar cycles. There's days. There's years. There's months that shit makes sense a weekend a weekend. What the fuck is a weekend say we could look this up. But yeah.

01:17:17.70

mikebledsoe

Although the week is made up or the an entire week like once you once you get once you get down to like the lunar cycle then is the daily cycle I think it's just ah, some dudes got together and said you know we need to have. We need to split this twenty eight days after Twenty nine days up a little more ah huh yeah for working well and you know the the jews did it none with the the sabbath. You know you got one day off you, you don't do shit for one day

01:17:37.67

Max Shank

5 on 2 off 5 on 2 offs like for working. Basically.

01:17:53.58

Max Shank

Um, I also thought it was weird that the the word weak is the same as the word weak like the opposite of strong and on the weekend you will be weakened. Oh really? yeah I'm sure there is but I don't know if it's.

01:17:54.26

mikebledsoe

And then.

01:18:02.14

mikebledsoe

There's a whole Youtube video on this. You'll be weakened. She also goes into and in the morning. What what are you mourning.

01:18:14.14

Max Shank

Totally I've been saying happy day to people I've been saying happy day to people for a while now because I noticed.

01:18:15.22

mikebledsoe

Did you lose something Did you have a loss. There's a there's a group people that say Grand rising.

01:18:27.42

Max Shank

Heavy I like it. Wow that sounds way cooler. No question. Ah.

01:18:27.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, met with Grand rising instead of good morning. Yeah.

01:18:37.38

mikebledsoe

Ah, get some weird looks walk up the hotel Hotel desk Clerk Grand rising to you. Ah I think we should ah about that time to wrap it up. Ah.

01:18:42.65

Max Shank

Grand rising sounds like a Friday night type of Maneuver Grand rising um, yeah, why don't you why don't you let everybody know what the point of our conversation was today.

01:18:58.62

mikebledsoe

The point man to reduce the burden of your stories to to find the cure for your curses and to get more in touch with.

01:19:02.76

Max Shank

Are.

01:19:14.32

mikebledsoe

Reality even though none of us really have the opportunity to do that.

01:19:17.76

Max Shank

Um, thought we had some good stuff about intuitive accounting intuitive eating and intuitive movement and it kind of it kind of relates back to the superstitions thing that we closed out on so we have this idea. Ah, which is a beautiful concept of intuitive blank intuitive movement intuitive eating intuitive Accounting. Ah, but if you don't have that foundation ahead of time your intuition will just be very um, like easy easily Trickable. You'll be easy to trick and you're probably just writing the momentum of whatever superstition you were exposed to so whatever your environmental stimuli were you'll you'll just you know intuit on that. As opposed to building up that vocabulary and that also is going to make you feel more confident in what you do when you have ah when you can speak the language. You know that's kind of related to that concept of Fear. Really only being about the Unknown. So Um I think that actually works out pretty nicely. We have all these records Some of them are pure superstition. Some of them are observable and repeatable and that's really Cool. Um. But unless you get curious. You will probably just fall into superstition very very easily and yeah I think that's it the other the other part though is good.

01:21:00.21

mikebledsoe

I Like that if you're if you're not if you're not curious. You're susceptible to superstition. Yep.

01:21:08.65

Max Shank

And confirmation bias right? like both both of those are antithetical to curiosity and I I Really do think Man. Ah Curiosity is the way to um. Harmonize with the unknown in the future. It takes the future from something that you are afraid of to something that you are curious or perhaps even excited about and that relationship with the unknown is a big contributor to how someone ah participates. In the world. Be it A ride a game or a show or whatever. So um, you know we're full of superstitions get curious about it. We'll probably still die with a lot of superstitions that we still believe at the end of it all.

01:22:04.35

mikebledsoe

Except for max and I we're gonna be enlightened by the end. All y'all go check max out at http://maxschank.com and you can check out some of stuff I got going on over at http://thestrongcoach.com we got a summit coming up in.

01:22:05.17

Max Shank

But we'll do our best to get curious anyway.

01:22:10.96

Max Shank

Um.

01:22:24.10

mikebledsoe

Middle of September I recommend you come? Yeah, oh yeah, and oh yeah I got talk to you about that? Yeah there. Ya'll.

01:22:25.30

Max Shank

O Still got a few spots. Hu Ah, yeah, yeah, we'll talk later bye.

Is The Truth Holding You Back? With Josh Trent Jul 30, 2022

This week's episode is for courageous people only. The topics we discuss in it will challenge you as they touch on deep Truths that many would rather distract themselves from

If you’re like most people, you’d rather distract and delude yourself from the actual Truth than you would face it and overcome it. As a result, you’re likely living a reality that’s a few degrees removed from True Reality…

…and in doing so, you’re making things harder for yourself than they need to be as you cannot accept what “is” in order to resolve it and move past it

Listen in to this week’s conversation as Josh Trent and I share personal experiences that have taken years to accept and work through, to Universal Laws and Truths that humanity is slowly waking up to

Tolerance Sucks with Mike & Max Jul 25, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

All right? Welcome back to Monday morning with max and Mike we're talking about launch pads. We're talking about ramps. We're talking about Trebuches. We're talking about flinging things a mighty distance this applies to both physics and also business That's what I'm excited about. I don't want to go out there and go fishing. You know one pole at a time I want to be able to deliver a tremendous payload at a great distance. You know what I mean and have it create a very massive effect. But in order to do that. You got to spend a lot more time with the building of it. It's like fishing pole pretty easy to build water wheel significantly harder to build but greater impact lot more work ahead of time and then you take it all the way to something like a rocket which can or a power plant. Can deliver a tremendous amount of power but it requires a huge amount of upfront work and because I've done a lot of biz coaching with people I feel like that that is the number None thing that. Separates people who create an exponential growth in their business is the ones who are willing to do the setup time to make something that is a more sophisticated leverage and force multiplier. You know what? I'm saying.

01:27.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah I Think the None thing you got to consider in that case is does what you want to build actually solve a problem and um I think a lot of people you know think I think a lot of people start businesses based on something they Like. Or something you know around what it is that they want to do which works sometimes because they figured out. They've solved some problem for themselves and they they can help other people through a product or service. Um, but I'm a big fan of of seeing if it's the right Poll. Before I go launch a hundred of them like I don't want to put the wrong bait on my hook I could be I could be catching the wrong fish or I could be catching no fish at All. So I would use one pole make.

02:16.13

Max Shank

I like I like the fishing analogy. The fishing analogy is good because people are about as smart as fish.

02:24.18

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's true. Ah so no, but like it's good to put figure out if if it you know test with one poll or maybe test with 20 polls all with different bait. What um, keeps popping off is now we're pulling the hooks out and we're replacing all them with that one Bait I think that. That's like the I've been thinking about the business as ah, especially like a coaching business as a triangle at the bottom you have you have your offer and then one of the sides is marketing and the other sides is the fulfillment. The coaching aspect. Find that most people and the way this would work is like what are you selling? How do you market it and then how do you fulfill on it whether it's a coaching business or not and.

03:12.98

Max Shank

Ah, right? How do you? How do you educate them about it and how do you get it to them. So like the bottom is what is it and then one side is how do you tell the right people about how do they know about it and then how do you get it to them I like it.

03:19.16

mikebledsoe

Right.

03:25.32

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly so but I find them I know you do triangles are the best sturdy pointed can penetrate well and super hard to tip over.

03:31.46

Max Shank

Also I like triangles.

03:36.87

Max Shank

So I mean they're not hexagons. But they're really cool.

03:44.95

mikebledsoe

Ah, so well depends on what kind of time go with oh let's hear it.

03:46.11

Max Shank

You know my favorite ah Buckminster Fuller joke he's ah he goes ah is well. It's more of a statement I guess he goes. Ah why do architects build square houses. So engineers can put triangles in them.

04:08.49

mikebledsoe

I I like it I like it. Yeah yeah, tons of triangles. Yeah, None of triangles. Yeah yeah, without that your shit's going to get fucked up. So um.

04:10.73

Max Shank

And if you you've done a bunch of house framing and stuff like that too before right? So you have these rectangle boxes that are just full of triangles. You better have those fuckers in there.

04:28.22

mikebledsoe

Well, it just won't even look right.

04:31.44

Max Shank

No oh it's going to go over without some triangles in there. Yeah.

04:32.86

mikebledsoe

Just kind of push it over Ah yeah, so I like thinking about this because I more often than not when I bump into an entrepreneur either a new entrepreneur or an entrepreneur suffering None times out of None It's the the bottom. Part of the pyramid. It's the offer. It's the it's the what they're selling. Um, yeah, yeah sand at the beach. Yeah, and so so somebody you know it's like somebody has these air things people think that it's a marketing problem.

04:55.12

Max Shank

Sand at the beach like why would you want to do that to yourself. Ah yeah.

05:10.66

mikebledsoe

And I'm like it's not a marketing like does anyone want what you're selling in the None place when it's not a marketing problem like your offers should be the thing you're offering should be an obvious solution if it's not obvious solution then there's more work to be done there. Um, some people in business would say that the development of the offer is a function of the marketing department. Which I don't necessarily disagree disagree with but so is the fulfillment. They kind of all bleed into each other. Yeah, So so if you so if you nail down a solid offer and then you just.

05:33.74

Max Shank

I Think marketing marketing is part of the offer for sure. Yeah.

05:49.30

mikebledsoe

Funnel as many people towards that that one offer not now you got a winning formula.

05:53.48

Max Shank

Well, and even even better. Is you you set up your shop within a current flow of consciousness directed at that specific thing and I mean Youtube has been a game changer in this because. There's just such a bigger library of things that are searchable if you have questions that need solving and if you if you meet people where they're at and you match their pace. They don't notice that you're a fisherman. Basically you just kind of enter the conversation that they're already having.

06:16.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

06:31.96

Max Shank

And the the finesse of that offer is really.. It's the same as seduction for the most part. That's why so many of these great copywriters were like pickup artist stuff before then because it's all about getting someone from I don't know. To yes, right? And so however, you craft that that story that is entering that person's mind is going to guide their next decisions.

07:02.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what are we talking about toy forgot about our topic since you made it you may you you made it up. Ah oh yeah, oh.

07:09.95

Max Shank

Triangles we were talking about lot. No no, we were talking talking about launch pads launch pads rocket ships trebute none fishing from fishing poles to ah nuclear power plants. Ah we're we're just trying to eat and fuck right. That's really what it comes down to we want to make sure that we're safe. We want to get enough calories. We want to continue our genes we we insist that the genes get carried forward every animal and plant is like None sure about that part of the equation like definitely more of us and we just that's life baby more of us. Ah so it's all about energy. It's all about conserving calories. It's always it's also about um, expanding the mass.

07:49.71

mikebledsoe

That's life. Yeah I.

08:05.26

Max Shank

Of the tribe which is also like a stored energy kind of calorie thing. It's like ah it's like the size of the tribe is your energy bank and actually in dune they talk about how the tribe shares the water ah like everybody shares all the water and then if 1 guy dies they suck the water out and like it's all about.

08:07.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um. Yeah, about if.

08:23.63

mikebledsoe

Well, it's ah yeah I mean unless you have a tribe where half of the tribe ah is useless Now that's a drain on the energy.

08:24.97

Max Shank

Just ah pooling those re pooling those resources.

08:36.65

Max Shank

True but that has happened for a long time I mean we we ah well and it's and it's ah it's uncertain of what the utility is in some of those cases like ah, there's that grandmother idea where there's the wisdom that.

08:40.64

mikebledsoe

I Know that's why I bring it up.

08:56.24

Max Shank

Passed on like why would I'm not saying this to be crude, but like why would a lady stay alive and go through Menopause like why would they stop being able to bear children and maybe it's ah like physical. Ah. Power but I think ah that is only exhibited and I think like Orcas and elephants. There aren't that many creatures that go through Menopa and maybe chimps. Also I can't quite remember exactly but it's this idea that there's a ah huge value to.

09:25.88

mikebledsoe

Um.

09:33.55

Max Shank

Them teaching the next generation how to do stuff and with orca they have different hunting techniques based on where they live they have different languages between these different pods. So there's a utility that's not strictly. Ah, hunting gathering or procreating. But I know what you're talking about too. It's like the bigger the percentage of freeloaders are the heavier. The wagon gets and it's still and a simple energy equation right? If you have one ah hundred kilograms in the wagon and you have None guy pulling. It's. Totally fine. But if you suddenly have ten Thousand Kilograms unless it's very ah, good piece of machinery that None guy won't be able to move it.

10:15.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it feels like that's where we're at now. So a bunch of people are just jumping in the wagon and not pulling it. But I'm not yeah and um, while'm not blaming them I get it I get it. Well here's the thing. Ah if you lack if you lack.

10:25.46

Max Shank

Um, hard to blame hard to blame. Yeah yeah, who would very few wouldn't do that.

10:35.90

mikebledsoe

If you lack the skills to demand a certain amount of money I mean this is what happens we're in inflation right now and but like.

10:42.82

Max Shank

Oh God here we go again. It's all it's all just about show me a better offer. That's what it's about because if so to be a freeloader to be a freeloader. It's got to be a better offer than the other thing that you are thinking about doing.

10:48.50

mikebledsoe

It. It's It's exactly right.

10:55.85

mikebledsoe

Exactly always goes back to incentives with you as well. But the thing is what we have is ah the cost of living is outpacing salaries. So it's not like people's salaries are inflating at the same rate that that's historically.

11:00.75

Max Shank

Totally.

11:14.28

mikebledsoe

Been untrue. So like what is true is that the salary state. You know you'll get a 1% raise and you get your dopamine hit and you stick with it but inflation is 10% and so your lifestyle keeps decreasing the people at the top get more money and then so I think a lot of people are just like.

11:15.00

Max Shank

Right? ah.

11:29.48

Max Shank

Right? Well if.

11:34.22

mikebledsoe

Why I can't pay my bills at Fifteen Twenty dollars an hour I can't pay my bills so why work you know it's so I get it.

11:38.50

Max Shank

Right? right? Don't totally I there's like ah a Bob Newhart joke from like a really long time ago where he talks about working at the ah unemployment office and. He it didn't take him too long before he realized that he was handing out these $60 checks and he was only getting fifty bucks a week and he had to he had to be there all week I mean this has been going on for a long time and the thing that has increased people's quality of life has been technology and maybe quality of life is actually a stretch because I think that you can perhaps live a much higher quality of life with some lower tech.

12:26.57

mikebledsoe

Well ah, technology technology allows us to leverage its leverage to increase power. So if you put the if you put power in somebody's hand who's going to make choices that don't take them towards a higher quality of life. They're actually going to go to a lower quality life.

12:29.52

Max Shank

Even though you know there are people you know what I mean exactly more leverage.

12:45.88

mikebledsoe

Much faster and because there's dopamine that's associated with the tool the technology the dopamine will create the illusion that their lifestyle is improving because now they got a fancier phone or whatever the fuck or more people like their their photo today.

13:01.21

Max Shank

Um, well they're using that tool but they're just using it at a very like low level way.

13:05.46

mikebledsoe

Ah, and so so like they think they think that having the tool They think that having the tool is the increase in quality of life when it's the thing that can increase the quality of life exactly.

13:20.52

Max Shank

It's not the tool. It's what you do with it. That's what like all like every every girl I've ever met has always said that to me, it's not about the tool itself. It's what you do with it. But.

13:26.56

mikebledsoe

Um, and making you feel better. How the yeah so that's it's not the size of your tool max.

13:33.14

Max Shank

Ah, yeah I don't know I don't know why I Assume it's ah like this with everybody. That's what I've been told I've been told that so much so much I Wonder if it is though if they're just saying that like. I Just meet all of the most considerate ladies ever. Is there a common denominator here that I haven't considered who so so we're talking we're we're we're talking.

13:54.66

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh he's going into reflection folks. Ah, we'll see him back in a week absolutely

14:05.93

Max Shank

We're talking money though. Also right and the size of your wallet is way more important than the size of your genitals fellows for the record fat guys with tiny cocks fat old guys with tiny cocks are out there right now with the most beautiful women in the world If that's your if that's your thing.

14:11.11

mikebledsoe

When it when it comes to getting getting and having ladies.

14:23.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

14:25.19

Max Shank

You know Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the truth is how you do professionally and how you ah carry yourself is going to be way more important and that kind of leads us back to the launch pads. It's this. It's the same kind of thing. Can you defer the gratification.

14:33.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know I um.

14:43.72

Max Shank

To build what is necessary so that it has its its own momentum without you pushing it all the time and I think that's what what everybody wants or at least everybody I think maybe should want is something that.

15:00.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's um, man see if I can find it real quick. Nope Um I was thinking about the ah the myth of it takes money to make money. There's like that that famous phrase.

15:00.60

Max Shank

Can sustain itself.

15:16.61

mikebledsoe

It's a meme that floats around in in our culture and it's It's not true. It's ah you need resources to make money and money is also a byproduct of using those resources well and ah you are your primary resources.

15:16.79

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

15:36.53

mikebledsoe

Um, are basically your ability to observe critically think and problem solve and most people I bring that up because I don't want people to get stuck in the way of thinking that oh I need to have money before I can make money because I think a lot of people. Or or in that mentality by that's exactly right? It's exactly right? So I think that there are certain common phrases out there that are almost intended to keep people from being successful and that's one of them.

15:56.89

Max Shank

I Need to lose some weight before I join the gym.

16:09.15

Max Shank

Oh almost or certainly I mean there's mind control everywhere um depends how deep you want to go down that rabbit hole. But even just ah like let's say regular Tv especially as a dude.

16:12.46

mikebledsoe

Most certainly? yeah yeah.

16:27.99

Max Shank

It's like how many Tv shows have you seen in your life where the father was a powerful figure with a good set of values and a good. It's ah it's never that it's like some whiny bitch. It's like some whiny bitch like.

16:39.83

mikebledsoe

Not since the early sixty s.

16:47.15

Max Shank

Who's always like oh can we have sex wife and the wife never wants to and the guy always does and in reality and in reality in reality. It's like as soon as you get to that age. It's the exact fucking opposite. Are you kidding me like None 50 year old ah in a couple.

16:50.10

mikebledsoe

That is interesting I never thought about that.

17:06.69

Max Shank

It's not going to be the guy who's like scrounging for it all the time he's done. It's just it's just a funny ah example where it's not just the commercials. It's just it's not like those rap videos and all that stuff That's ah mind controlling us. It's even um.

17:09.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

17:26.61

Max Shank

Like a Tv show where that's your model that you see and believe and now you think oh that's normal. Not this other thing and whatever you think is normal. That's what you're going to like reinforce.

17:32.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've thought I've thought about this is I remember the first movie I went and saw in a theater I was five years old I don't remember seeing it but my mom told me that the first movie I saw was bambi and.

17:49.51

Max Shank

Ah.

17:51.43

mikebledsoe

And like I remember growing up and hunting and then people were like oh but you're going to kill bambi you know and I and I was always like well yeah I mean and I think that ah Disney movies are probably primarily responsible for veganism. At this point.

17:58.67

Max Shank

If yeah.

18:09.57

Max Shank

What whoa somebody saved that clip Jesus What a claim is off the wall I Love it go on.

18:09.76

mikebledsoe

Is and.

18:13.35

mikebledsoe

Well but it's well I mean so if we're talking about mind control and programming how many Disney films have talking animals that have the consciousness of human beings right? And so now what you have is a bunch of adults that think that the animals. Are equal to humans and there's nothing different about the 2 of us and they're people too and these are the types of things that you would most people would never be able to come to that conclusion unless they were None None 3 4 5 none watching animals talk and. This and that I'm not saying that animals don't think and don't have feelings and all that stuff but they're not us.

18:57.89

Max Shank

I think the main difference is the talking thing I was thinking about this the other day like for example, it's okay, in some cultures to to eat ah a dog right? and and here it's totally okay to eat a pig. And right now that's fine. But if you were to have sex with a pig people would I think that's illegal I think it's ah or at least frowned upon if it's not illegal if it's not illegal. It's at least frowned upon in today's day and age it's because there are a lot of bigoted people out there who are discriminating against the yeah.

19:22.57

mikebledsoe

I Think it's too legal.

19:36.84

Max Shank

Beastie Alllet Tours I don't know whatever now picture this tomorrow tomorrow. You know what really grinds my gears is that Ah now imagine tomorrow Switch flipped pigs can speak english.

19:38.39

mikebledsoe

Got a bone to pick max. Um.

19:52.54

mikebledsoe

Ah.

19:56.22

Max Shank

My guess is that the rules would exactly flip I think if pigs could speak English It would be perfectly legit to have sex with them and not okay to eat them anymore I think it's all about whether they can communicate.

20:08.35

mikebledsoe

Well that that falls right in line with the Disney thing if you're witness lobsters having conversations with squirrels then you know like I can see what could happen for you anyways.

20:23.13

Max Shank

Which one was the lobsters and the squirrels.

20:27.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was mixing up my movies. So the back to the triangles and fishing poles the the max and I were talking about right before the show is we we would like to put together something. People are listening to this show. They like it I've gotten a few dms of people offering to send us money which we still haven't set up the donation page yet, but it'll get up eventually and um, watch should be None of those things where.

21:00.56

Max Shank

Please please I'm hungry Please I'm hungry I'll eat I'll eat food.

21:02.10

mikebledsoe

Thousands of dollars start rolling in and I'm like ah I should have set this up max is he's he's losing weight a pound a week right now he's gonna be nothing here by by Christmas and.

21:18.89

Max Shank

I'm going on a food strike until those donations start rolling in. There's no way I'm doing that. Ah, okay, so we got the triangle We got the offer.

21:22.57

mikebledsoe

No, ah so ah so I'm curious I'm curious about what it is that people people want I'm always curious about what is it that people want. Yeah oh well, a I look both.

21:36.60

Max Shank

Our listeners or or all people. Okay I'll tell you what they want it goes back to um my my 3 levels theory here lizard mammal wizard people.

21:41.99

mikebledsoe

Both So okay, let's go.

21:56.32

Max Shank

In Lizard mode. They just want to be safe. They just want food. That's it. They're stuck and if you don't get out of that lizard Brain Mode. You're fucking lizard and you might thrash Around. You might have some sharp fangs and claws. But you're not going to fuck around with love or self-actualization which are the. Higher orders of thinking right? you go to the None tier which is the Mammalian brain the mammal wants to be loved So the lizard wants to be safe. The mammal wants to be loved and of course people will try to substitute ah food for love if they can't find it. At that level. So Let's just go back a step and so if people can get love I'm just always shoveling ice cream trying to fill the void in my heart with frozen cream out of a cow. Ah I Love it. Okay, so.

22:36.72

mikebledsoe

This explains your ice cream habit.

22:54.55

Max Shank

You get love as a mammal.. That's what you want and if you can go even beyond that your Self-actualization. You're following your Bliss. You're finding the intersection between doing what you feel totally blissed out doing you're in a flow state and it's good for the tribe. And you're safe. All that stuff is happening. You feel like you are expressing your most authentic or unfiltered self that feels good and of course in order to get to that point you usually need to be safe so secure The lizard Love the mammal. Free The Wizard. That's what people want and the form it takes can be different. Um you know sex and food and whatnot.

23:39.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's what they that's what people want they want they want safety love and after that it's yeah, um, be their best self.

23:48.30

Max Shank

Self self actualization legacy. Maybe yeah.

23:53.72

mikebledsoe

Find a lot of people hit self-actualization and want to help other people get the self- actualualization but don't There's not enough people. It's like we've had ah we've hit a tipping point or like ah we've slid back in society a bit good correct. Yeah enough people. There's not enough people that are.

24:03.22

Max Shank

What do you mean? there aren't enough people who are trying to self-actualize or.

24:13.44

mikebledsoe

At that point I think with the last couple years. Ah people slid back into survival and so a lot of a lot of the ah lot of people stopped spending money on things that were more in alignment with self-actualization and started.

24:15.61

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, oh yeah, yeah.

24:31.61

mikebledsoe

Buying more toilet paper now now we're in a depression.

24:32.70

Max Shank

Word totally and it's interesting. How the word so closely mirrors the way that people feel when they're um, less Expressive. I Really hone in on that juxtaposition or that comparison between um, shoot I Just lost my train of thought depression expression. Yeah, exactly so being able to fully express yourself like I have a little note Card. It's just a.

24:53.33

mikebledsoe

24:58.85

mikebledsoe

Depression expression.

25:09.97

Max Shank

A small list. It's in ah, a copy of the doubtaging. It's like pocketsized and I realized a while ago for business for fitness the the list of of stuff should be pretty short overall like the general list that you follow through on and for me, it's like. Have sing I have dance I have climb I have swing like a sword or a rope or something like that. So I Just have these like little bullet points. Basically for what I want to do on a daily basis and the more I sing and dance the more expressive I feel and the less. Feel like filtered or damped down and the word expression itself is all about standing out. So It's like to stand and to be like expressed and it's um, it's important to harmonize that I think with.

25:50.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

26:07.40

Max Shank

A feeling of oneness So like the exact opposite of expressing this expressing this unique ah sensation of an individual self and sync back in to the all-encompassing soup.

26:20.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it can be done takes practice hold both. Um.

26:27.51

Max Shank

Oh yeah, you were talking about how we're in a depression now and I don't know if it's that far yet. It's not ah I'm like.

26:35.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, there's there's more jobs available than there are people willing to work the jobs and.

26:42.56

Max Shank

Now that that sounds like Greece a few years ago where it was like 50 I don't know if there's exact statistics but it was like just an overwhelming amount of people who were working in the government and an overwhelming amount of people who were just getting paid by the government and there was like nobody left who wanted to work.

26:57.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well there I think it's just this. Ah this is one of those and this is just one of those times where you're.

27:02.23

Max Shank

And I get it.

27:09.65

mikebledsoe

In in business you have to be really good at having that solid offer you actually need to be solving a problem because I think yeah luxury items luxury services be the first to go.

27:18.50

Max Shank

The less necessary. It is the sooner. It goes gone depending on the demographic. Yeah, and then it almost never changes for them.

27:28.50

mikebledsoe

Um, unless unless you're serving the 1% and never changes well people.

27:36.40

Max Shank

It's more individual changes. It's like ah individuals slide in and out of the 1% but as a group the 1% is always there. They're always super wealthy and it always has been since alpha males.

27:44.64

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, in fact, even during it during it during a downturn. They become even more wealthy and that's.

27:52.55

Max Shank

Yeah, because they have the dry powder to be able to build rocket ships while you're just fishing furiously in the stream with your one pole because you're like fuck I I need to catch None fish today to feed my family I ain't got time to be building a fucking water wheel or a rocket ship or any of that. So you're just furiously swinging your pole in the water and what about him.

28:12.36

mikebledsoe

This makes me think about ah Jeff Bezos talk about a guy talk about a guy who like set the plan in place. He may not have known he was gonna do what he's doing now but he was a online bookstore.

28:23.60

Max Shank

Did. Amazing! amazing.

28:29.75

mikebledsoe

That just slowly added more and more categories of shit to sell and now oh no, they they probably dwarf any other retail. There's no retailer that stands a chance against them. So.

28:36.26

Max Shank

Here.

28:45.27

Max Shank

Um, they're so there's they have such incredible economies of scale because they can provide such a crazy value now right? They have that bulk.

28:52.97

mikebledsoe

Well I think I point that out because I think people think about scale before they think about solving the 1 problem he solved the 1 problem which is you can't find a book at your local bookstore right? once he once he crushed that then he had the ability to to scale. Both.

29:00.25

Max Shank

I see. Right.

29:12.87

mikebledsoe

Vertically and horizontally.

29:14.64

Max Shank

Yeah I mean I remember him saying once people never want something to arrive slower. They never want it to be more expensive and he's like we just basically focus on that and it's not quite like Youtube. Um, but he's connected the buyers and the sellers in a marketplace he is the marketplace and he's got such a huge market share and the delivery. So actually one of the sides of the triangle you were talking about which is the delivery.

29:37.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

29:53.11

Max Shank

Of that offer or that good or service to the person is I mean what's better. What's better. You can get it same day. You can get it 2 day for free and usually it's a pretty seamless process to return that shit like you go into a coles you fuck. They.

29:56.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the feature.

30:11.78

Max Shank

You print out a label 1 ne-click ordering I mean there's a lot of utility there and it's all software based for the most part that's what's so great because we know that's outrageous leverage and of course Youtube has created um, created a marketplace. Right? A media marketplace where the creators like you and I and the advertisers also like you and I but usually different things can ah basically work together to use that flow of consciousness. So. It's really, a.

30:43.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah Youtube Google Facebook Instagram yeah.

30:48.56

Max Shank

Oh my god Youtube is such a home run. That's like the most insane I'm so hot on Youtube as a user and as a creator because like the videos I've put up five plus years ago are still getting lots of views and those views a small.

31:01.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

31:07.84

Max Shank

Percentage converts into people who buy something from me and they're just there they're they're there like I don't even have to pay to have those things there like speaking of you don't need ah money to make money. Of course it's better to have more. It's easier to make money when you have a lot.

31:14.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um.

31:25.63

Max Shank

Like that's always been the case you know so.

31:26.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah I want to go back to that the Amazon you're talking about people don't want things never want anything slower um in ah Alex hormose's hundred million dollar offers book which is one of the best books on offers I've ever read. Um, if if you're a coach. It's probably the. Like it. It very fits our industry but he talks about getting the 2 things that make something more valuable is speed and effort so less effort faster. An example that he uses in the book is. Why will so why would somebody spend $20000 on liposuction but have a hard time spending a couple thousand dollars on a trainer even though like it's obvious to everyone listening why you wouldn't want to get liposuction. But why can they charge that amount of money and there's.

32:20.79

Max Shank

The speed and the ease.

32:22.67

mikebledsoe

No, yeah, there's no um, shortage of people getting their fat rearranged by a surgeon. So.

32:31.97

Max Shank

Well, it's like a different value system for that individual right? So they think their time is valuable. They don't think that um the cost of having their body sliced open is too high right.

32:47.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

32:50.25

Max Shank

And they think and they believe the cost of exercising for a long time is is too high So simple cost right? It's simple cost benefit and when we talk about cost um calories in time are almost synonymous right? because without calories you're dead.

32:54.63

mikebledsoe

It's too expensive.

33:07.83

Max Shank

But you could also think of time as the resource and actually it's a little more practical to think of it that way like how many hours per day you can invest you have a fixed amount Yada Yada and then you have dollars and as far as. Investing is concerned mean your your stuff and your time is basically all you got right.

33:31.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so two things I've been thinking about in regard to offers recently I've been asking myself None questions. The none question entered my mind. Um as I was talking to a buddy who's in the cosmetics industry and he found. He found a product that if he walked into a room 80% of the women wanted his product and that got me thinking I go wow what is a product that if I walked in a room more than half the room would want it. So.

34:07.38

Max Shank

Just start hanging out with me. But um.

34:10.20

mikebledsoe

That's right, that's right? Ah, but there's there are certain products. Um you know, 80% of the people are using toilet paper 80% of the people drink water you know at least um at least 80% but yeah so like ah.

34:18.16

Max Shank

Wait only 80% do the ah I mean I guess some people use the wet wipes but like in America at least a lot of people wipe their ass with their hands.

34:29.50

mikebledsoe

Learnings We got bad days and wet wet wipes. Yeah in hand. Yeah yeah.

34:35.80

Max Shank

Also that yeah and hand for talking global. It's better to just focus on North America or America for the sake of these conversations right? That's where our audience is.

34:47.50

mikebledsoe

Most of them I think we had someone listening from Chad someone from Chad was listening yesterday I'll show you the stats. Yeah so Chad um the ah so I was thinking about like what is what is it that.

34:51.27

Max Shank

I apologize to all of our audience in Sudan fucking from from Chad no way that's funny. Ah.

35:06.49

mikebledsoe

That almost everybody wants to have and then and then a couple months ago I started asking myself the question of like how would I add a zero to every time I sell something how would I how do I make it 10 times more valuable. So.

35:22.97

Max Shank

Oh.

35:24.76

mikebledsoe

Some people may hear that and go how do I make it 10 times more expensive. No 10 times more valuable at least so valuable that someone had to have it so those are like 2 thought experiments I've had around offers I think that you know.

35:38.73

Max Shank

You have.

35:42.60

mikebledsoe

1 is what's the total addressable market. So how many people out there want or need yours and also looking at how many people are offering the same exact thing that also impacts the total addressable market. So if you can offer something that's truly unique. Your marketing doesn't even have to be that good that truly solves a problem.

35:51.67

Max Shank

36:01.49

mikebledsoe

And ah, a lot of people want it. It doesn't have to be that great and then um I think it's also much easier to create good marketing when you have that really special unique offer. Um and then also the thought experiment. I really like to do is the the 10 x how do I make this None times more valuable. What would what would that product or service look like for those people or what are those people spending that much money on. So if I go okay, what do people spend none on the majority of the market that spends that kind of money.

36:31.00

Max Shank

Oh.

36:39.37

mikebledsoe

Usually a home wine. Yeah so ah anyways, and then and then the other experiment too is what would your? what would your offer look like if it was a None of the price.

36:40.35

Max Shank

Wine.

36:47.13

Max Shank

Individual bottles.

36:55.47

Max Shank

Yeah I like the decimal. The decimal imagination is pretty good across the board for any of those like can we get it 10 times faster to them. Can we get the results 10 times faster can we make the experience last 10 times as long, you know all that.

36:56.65

mikebledsoe

What could you deliver.

37:11.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, yeah.

37:14.78

Max Shank

Is ah it's a clean visualization for some reason it it expands way more than thinking of doubling it I mean of course mathematically.

37:19.44

mikebledsoe

Well doubling doesn't work doubling doubling doesn't work because people I believe that people's minds will start gravitating towards working twice as hard. It's It's a lot easier to work twice as hard that if I say.

37:32.10

Max Shank

Oh here.

37:38.36

mikebledsoe

the the 10 x thinking is a governor on how much work you can do because you can't work 10 times more than you're already working I mean unless you're only working an hour a da hour then then you could shut up max. But then.

37:46.62

Max Shank

Yeah I mean I could.

37:54.70

Max Shank

Ah, hey this is work is my work for the day.

37:55.57

mikebledsoe

But then um, yeah, there you go? Ah so so the 10 x thinking really does force people into a high leverage way of thinking. It's a higher order of thinking.

38:05.42

Max Shank

I agree. You also said something that I was just talking about yesterday which is huge is you don't want to identify with suffering I mean you can if you want to but I feel like it is a major inhibitor in the results you get. Because instead of your ah result being proportional to the result itself your your metric is how much you suffered and the ratio of how much you suffered to what you produced and I think that um holds a lot of people in a.

38:38.16

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

38:44.92

Max Shank

Really diminished state because the the value that they were taught either implicitly or explicitly is that suffering is the value. Not the value is the value and hey that's fucked and I'm sorry if that's you ah. But you can change your mind if you want to.

39:06.58

mikebledsoe

Ah, you're you're spot on. Yeah there there was a period of time where I didn't yeah.

39:13.72

Max Shank

That's what I learned I mean full disclosure. That's what I learned like if you suffer more you're more good and the reality is ah like that's kind of true historically like when we tell stories if a guy suffers a lot. We're like man that Martyr was a real badass. He got. Drawn and quartered for what he believed in or this guy got crucified for what he believed in I mean crazy right? So you don't want to identify with suffering. It's way it's way more It's kind of a ah weird selfish thing.

39:34.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, wild.

39:49.29

Max Shank

And if you really focus on solving a problem for somebody else. You'll recognize that your suffering is totally irrelevant except for the fact that if you suffer more you'll probably be able to produce less. So so.

40:00.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the um ah in my in my trainings a lot of times I have students they do a journaling about how about the the collapse distinction of sacrifice and service and.

40:16.62

Max Shank

Oh shit. That's a good one I hope you have that written down. It's nice. 1

40:19.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, So there's yeah, there's there's this it happens a lot with people with military Backgrounds Blue Colar Backgrounds I mean such as max and I come come from these types of backgrounds and the idea is that. Sacrifices and service are like intermingled constantly in the language. So as you're getting older because here's the thing we learn definitions of words through context we don't sit Down. We weren't taught each word and sat down and. Go Oh Let's look at the dictionary so we learn everything through context and so unconsciously a lot of us when when people hear about service their mind automatically translate that to be associated with sacrifice as Well. And so.

41:12.82

Max Shank

Get right.

41:14.92

mikebledsoe

What ends up happening I see this a lot with mothers is if they like they they can't enjoy themselves because the moment they start enjoying themselves. They're not being a good mom. Yeah, exactly exactly So this.

41:18.34

Max Shank

Oh yeah, the Sufferin mama.

41:27.80

Max Shank

They're a bad mom. You're a bad mom. What are you fucking enjoying yourself bad mom.

41:34.74

mikebledsoe

This idea So I have everyone journal out you know, ah the definition of each go look it up just go look it out and write it down now. Can you have service without sacrifice. Can you have sacrifice without service. Yes, on both. So.

41:40.86

Max Shank

41:50.24

Max Shank

Depends on how you define sacrifice 1 of the definitions I think for sacrifice is just ah like what are you? What are you paying right? I'm sacrificing this in exchange for this. So it really depends on the.

41:53.71

mikebledsoe

Um.

41:57.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well my friend Jesse just yeah well Jesse Elder defined the sacrifice is that you the difference between sacrificing and investing is.

42:07.32

Max Shank

The definition. So what you said is right? You just have to have it there.

42:16.53

mikebledsoe

A lot of times people use the word sacrifice when they're talking about giving up something now for something greater later and that's yeah and that's technically an investment. Not a sacrifice sacrifice is when you give up something for a lesser value. So that's.

42:21.74

Max Shank

Like in a chess game when you do a sacrifice for a gambit.

42:35.33

mikebledsoe

That's a distinction that he's created that I that I find to be really useful that may not necessarily be true, but it's a really useful way to think possible. What.

42:39.58

Max Shank

Um, you know I don't even know if it's possible to sacrifice something for a lesser value because in that moment you are making a value estimation. On what you're going to get out of this behavior. So I think you are always ah basically gambling. Um, it kind of is similar to yeah I think I mean people always do what they think is going to get them.

43:04.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, sometimes people know that they're gonna I don't know it's hard to say I. Well, let's get out.

43:15.94

Max Shank

The the most for the least if we want it if we want to simplify it down people want the most for the least and sometimes what they give up is not worth as much as what they got is like my friend Rob says is the fucking you're getting worth the fucking. You're getting.

43:32.52

mikebledsoe

Um, or going like this. Yeah.

43:33.84

Max Shank

Ah, ah what you made me think of you. What me? what you made me think of though um was why I think ah tolerance is the worst thing in the world I think being able to I think.

43:48.85

mikebledsoe

Dude you live in California you're supposed to be tolerant of everything everybody all the time you you should have a flat flat set of values. Everything should be the same value all the time.

43:52.76

Max Shank

No okay so go go ahead and lump lump me in lump me in with tens of millions of people in a sweeping generalization because I'm such a normal such ah because I'm such a normal fucking dude in the None place right.

44:02.66

mikebledsoe

I Just did I.

44:11.11

mikebledsoe

Ah.

44:12.38

Max Shank

Jesus fucking Christ so being able to tolerate physical forces. That's good. That's athletic, right? But when people tolerate something. Ah let's say psychologically or relationship. Wise it's ah it's one of the worst things you can do because you're not what you should do is you should reject it or you should accept it and I think people make the mistake of they tolerate. Which is like they're being wounded constantly and they build this resentment from this little barbed wound so you should either accept it fully or reject it but you should never tolerate never tolerate behavior you don't want accept it. Let it go or reject that shit.

45:02.91

mikebledsoe

Ooh.

45:07.80

Max Shank

Don't fucking tolerate. It's the work tolerant. You heard it here first. Tolerance is the worst thing for a relationship. That's what's up.

45:13.70

mikebledsoe

I Love it I Love it. You're right I like the acceptance or reject it. Tolerance tolerance is like I don't want to make a choice I don't want to. It's a lack of responsibility in the context your.

45:25.60

Max Shank

Um, yeah, no, it's even worse. It is a choice. It is a choice I'm gonna I'm gonna watch I'm gonna watch this thing that a person does and I'm not gonna like it and I'm gonna Harbor resentment because of it.

45:32.42

mikebledsoe

Well, every non-choice is a choice.

45:45.00

Max Shank

And it's going to feel like and it's going to feel like a perpetual cost is's going to feel like ah, a perpetual suffering. It's going to feel like a sacrifice. That's what made me think of it is like you're you're you're now in a psychological energetic debt because you are tolerating instead of accepting.

45:51.37

mikebledsoe

Ah.

46:02.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

46:04.66

Max Shank

And it's like that French phrase to know all is to forgive all like you know full acceptance is going to allow that energy to flow full rejection is going to allow you to flow your energy elsewhere but Tolerance is just this like parasitic energy leakage where nobody's winning. Out of that Deal. Tolerance sucks.

46:24.55

mikebledsoe

I Really I Really like that perspective. That's that's brand new for me I'm gonna write some things down. But I think that's just gonna be the title of the show is tolerant sucks.

46:41.64

Max Shank

I knew I stumbled onto something good here. This is a new thing for me too. It's when within the last week some headline shit. Yeah.

46:42.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, some headline shit. Oh yeah, yeah, what did you? What did you? What caused you to stumble across this one. What we got you thinking on this. Do you remember you might be like me, you just wake up and you're like ah.

46:55.54

Max Shank

So my my my special lit I mean I'm kind of like Richard Feynman in that sense where like I just get a kick out of thinking about things I like to dance around with sticks and ropes and clubs and swords and that kind of shit. But.

47:06.10

mikebledsoe

Ah.

47:14.72

Max Shank

I also get a real kick out of just sitting in a big comfy chair and thinking about shit you know, but this time ah I was talking with my special lady friend. None of her friends. Ah, just recently broke up with her boyfriend right? And so. She went to go console this friend. She told me a little bit about what's going on nothing like no grizzly details or anything like that just in um, you know generalities. How do you interact and relate to another person and. You realize that it's ah it's rarely something like all at once that sends it to hell there is a straw that breaks the Camel's back but there's always something in the background that is being tolerated. That's the problem is like something has been tolerated instead of accepted or rejected. Accepted boom floodgates are open rejected boom the gates are closed and so as far as like ascribing fault to None party or the other like the the alleged offender or the one who's just quietly suffering those offenses. It's like. You got to take away that resentful tolerance and accept everything whole heart as it is or you got to reject it a little bit more forcefully and the longer those boundaries get ah, blurred and fuzzy and. You move your boundaries in and you feel resentment because now you're not really comfortable because your boundaries aren't where you'd like them to be um, it. It just seems so clear to me now even looking back at all my past relationships and I've never felt better about that. Personally because you just learn something from everybody and you appreciate the time for what it was and it's it's very easy to become ah resentful and I think that's ah all because of tolerance instead of acceptance or rejection.

49:21.30

mikebledsoe

Love it. Love it. Thank you for that one all right? What's have do with ah fishing poles. Yep.

49:24.63

Max Shank

And yeah, man, Thank you, You want to know so people often ah resent their circumstances and they tolerate their circumstances but they don't fully accept them either. And that's like having a big chip on your shoulder. Ah and and you're stuck in this ideology rather than just accepting where where you are here and now and realizing that what you have is here and now and whatever you have. That's what the fuck you have. And if you're like but that other guy has more. It's like Okay, yeah, yeah, he does so like a thousand years ago. The guy who had.

50:08.62

mikebledsoe

What are you gonna do about it anytime anyone complains about something I ask them? What are you gonna do about it and a lot of time that throws people off.

50:19.83

Max Shank

Um, well look. You should either be ah like asking for help or offering help Really if you're not sure what to do like ask for help or offer help You're not going to get anywhere.

50:29.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:35.87

Max Shank

By complaining unless you go into politics then you can get a tremendous amount you can actually get more power and money than anyone else in the world If you just come That's professional level complaining.

50:43.67

mikebledsoe

Could you imagine if if ah could you imagine? ah like ah a Ceo going out in the world and complaining for his marketing just going out there and complaining about shit.

50:59.28

Max Shank

Ah, Amazing. You can only complain as part of your marketing If. You're complaining about the state of the market I Can't believe how horrible this market is. That's why I came in here to change the game with my new and improved version of what this market is lacking like there's a., There's ah, there's a place for it for sure. But yeah I I think ah, you don't want to tolerate your situation you fucking accept it or you reject it and you come up with a new one. But I think I Really think Tolerance is like ah a really bad value. Ah, in the sense that we're talking about and in the sense of physical forces. It's one of the best ever means you can tolerate a huge amount of force without ah deform ah plastic deformation right? without breaking or deforming. So That's that's a good thing physically and then energetically acceptance not tolerance but acceptance so I think that applies to where people are in their lives. Professionally I think Also I think a lot about. A lot of acceptance is about seeing things for what they truly are and when it comes to putting an offer together. It's like it's great if you like something but it doesn't mean that other people have to like it and the same thing is true for like a solution that worked for you. It. It may not be the solution that everybody else wants and I think that's ah, that's how a lot of people get sucked into some sort of weird fanaticism or zealotry I'm trying to think of a less fancy word but they get they get really hyper about something. Because it really worked well for them and then they start basically using a hammer to bash down every screw that they find because they don't know the difference in what is being presented in that other person versus what happened to them. They're like oh my God I did hamstring curls and it cured my life. Everyone's doing hamstring curls and I've I've attended maybe 50 weekend seminars in my life. No. Well I mean as a student I've taught like 200 but I I would ah I would notice it in myself. I'd go to a seminar I'd come back and I would just be like parroting that shit I couldn't help it you know and as I started teaching more seminars I made more and more of a point to remind people to not just like brain dump.

53:31.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

53:46.65

Max Shank

Everything I told them on their new clients and think that you know it's a 1 ne-size fits all approach to everything.

53:50.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah I had a ah talk with a guy the other day where I told him just that in his marketing is focus on the benefits. Not the features. He had all these features it was revolutionary for him.

54:05.10

Max Shank

Revolutionary Revolutionary Revolutionary The features just need to be a bullet point to justify the price I think unless it's part of the story.

54:08.55

mikebledsoe

But it's well this is this is the problem. Well None problem is people are focused on the people people know the features and they think that if I they tell other people the features they're going to get the value of it but they need to hear the benefit they're going to get from the features. But the other thing is is going back to being in touch with reality I'm not sure. There's you know I think there's some coaches out there that are telling other coaches that you know they can make a million dollars you know following their their bliss type of thing. But.

54:45.90

Max Shank

Some of them some of them. Yeah.

54:47.64

mikebledsoe

Some of them some of them can and I think part of it is like some of them did and then they turn around tell people do the same thing but that doesn't always work. So for instance, yeah.

54:56.64

Max Shank

It's like multi-level marketing. It's like multi-level marketing like 90% of the people. Ah, it didn't have what it takes in the none place and did nothing with it and then a small percentage are like fucking rock stars and they're like. What is this an electric dildo some fancy antioxidant berry juice I'll sell None of them this month I'm on it. You know what? I mean it doesn't it doesn't matter even what it is. There's just that crew that will always do well. But.

55:14.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. But I get for instance I'll get a I'll get a coach as I'm like um I'm like okay, what are your goals. Oh I want to be able to make x amount of dollars. I was like okay your business needs to make this amount if you want to take this amount home and there and then it's kind of like a oh shit and I'm like okay who's your who's your client like what type people are you serving is like well mma fighters in their early twenty s trying to go pro.

55:32.25

Max Shank

Well.

55:50.50

mikebledsoe

And I go Well do those guys have money. Do they have and and do they valueate? Yeah I mean and well I think most guys trying to go pro and mate don't have money I I.

55:54.28

Max Shank

Do they want this I mean a lot of them may have money but do they want it.

56:05.48

Max Shank

My experience is the same I used to want to train those guys like my gym at the very beginning because I was into all that shit I was like a fucking retarded testosterone out 21 year old when I started my gym I was I was fighting in the cage.

56:08.46

mikebledsoe

Okay, yeah.

56:25.37

Max Shank

Was like I am a tough motherfucker and I'm gonna fill this gym full of guys just like me and you know what those guys didn't pay a God damn thing those guys suck Those guys are those guys are always about like.

56:30.30

mikebledsoe

Yep.

56:39.51

Max Shank

Ah, dude I'll tweet you bro and I'm like oh Jesus fucking. It didn't take long for me to head down to the country clubs and swoop up some of the 45 to 65 range there are easier businesses and hard businesses. Let's just say it that way.

56:41.49

mikebledsoe

I'm great people.

56:46.79

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly? Yeah, so like what I.

56:59.15

Max Shank

There are easier businesses. There are things that people already want and there are things that are a tough sell.

57:01.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well here here's the thing I I do 2 things for free. So I get.? Yeah yeah I did 2 things I have 2 offers for free that I give people and both of them tap into my expertise that I normally get paid for or at least used to get paid for and I am he ruined it as.

57:11.61

Max Shank

I'm excited by whatever these 2 things are going to be by the way. Ah.

57:25.76

Max Shank

Is it prostate massage is that one of them. Sorry.

57:31.23

mikebledsoe

Um, so I give these things away and I and I love it because I don't charge a dime for it whereas a bunch of other people are trying to figure out how to charge what I'm doing when I'm offering for free and the only reason I can offer it for free is because I have. Paying customers somewhere else people that actually do have money.

57:50.81

Max Shank

Oh shit, he's flexing on y'all right now I give away better stuff for free may maybe better. You don't always get what you pay for, but it's because you are so confident.

57:57.60

mikebledsoe

Well not yeah, probably but like maybe better you don't always get me pay for it.

58:08.12

Max Shank

In your ecosystem right? that you have created that once they experience something you've given them for free. You got None of value down the road right? no.

58:15.17

mikebledsoe

Well well here's the thing is thinking about like um, well yeah, maybe but actually I don't have a plan for it at all with the 2 things I like I have no plan for either None of these things to ever make money and these are. But types of thing people want to help people who it's charity. That's not really it's not it's not really charity um oh no, what? what? I give away for free is I do a Tuesday night workout for a handful of my buddies at my house.

58:32.25

Max Shank

Um, so it's so it's marketing. No fuck you. It's not char you it's marketing a free book is great marketing.

58:48.71

Max Shank

Oh that's nice. Yeah, that sounds great.

58:51.82

mikebledsoe

Right? And then we grill some meat afterwards and we kick it and they get world-class training. You know most of them never been exposed to like a coach that's been exposed to things I've been exposed to so they're getting their minds blown. They're learning more about their bodies for an hour once a week and.

59:09.18

Max Shank

I dig it.

59:10.76

mikebledsoe

I and I never care to train pay you know accept money for for physical training. So I do that So I give that away for free and then I give away which I give that to people who don't know that they could get training right? like they don't even know to go get it but because.

59:25.58

Max Shank

Right.

59:29.20

mikebledsoe

My friends I'm like come over to my house I'll I'll I'll treat you and then on Thursday mornings I have I meet with these guys who are blue collar and these guys could can't afford me for for the types of of advice and. Coaching that I would give but if they can figure out a way to make time out of their day at None a m on Thursdays I meet with them at the park. We kick it for an hour and I just help them with whatever it is. That's going on in their life. Well I just kept on coming across all these guys so like ah it was like I was getting like all these blue collar guys like.

59:59.36

Max Shank

No kidding How do you set this one up.

01:00:08.40

mikebledsoe

I'd be at a cafe student just couldn't stop talking to me so I was like I Well I guess I'm not supposed to work' going to supposed to talk to this guy. So I talked to this guy I'm like oh you start sharing his problems with me is like I don't know why I all a sudden look like a a target for other people's problems. But then.

01:00:16.86

Max Shank

Ah.

01:00:26.97

mikebledsoe

I Got a guy that came to saw saw me solar and you know the the conversation turned and he needed some help so I was able to give him some help and then another guy I met ah you know at the at the gym same thing like you know he's he's. Somehow what opens up to me and starts talking and then so I got these guys and I'm like look if you have any of your other friends that you know and some of these guys are dealing. You know they're dealing with some heavy like legal stuff and all sorts of crazy shit and so I'm meeting with them and. For most of them the benefit they get is just understanding that whatever they're experiencing internally other guys are experiencing that same thing internally too. I mean that that by itself is just so healing because most of these guys they screwed up something we Well we all screwed up.

01:01:14.37

Max Shank

Ah. Lost Boys their lost boys.

01:01:23.26

mikebledsoe

We we all screw up in our life. Yeah, we all screw up in our life At some point right? and then we then we judge our s ourselves for having screwed up and most guys they just clam up and never share that with anybody because they think that their situation is truly unique.

01:01:33.28

Max Shank

Often. Talk about suppressing right? I mean who suppresses more than dudes with their feelings. Ah.

01:01:41.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, So um, so just just the act of getting out and hanging out and talking about it and then realizing that other dudes have the same problems and then and then I'll obviously also offering strategies for dealing with. These things. Yeah, so these are 2 things that I like to I just do for for free that I know other people are trying to charge for and if you're trying to sell coaching to somebody that doesn't have money like I don't have any interest in trying to sell something.

01:02:02.70

Max Shank

It's like a feeling of a community. It sounds like.

01:02:18.38

mikebledsoe

To the blue collar I'm not gonna go sell coaching to the blue collar community one. They're not really looking for it. Um, and ah because they don't know it exists. They just don't even know it exists. Yeah.

01:02:22.90

Max Shank

But now.

01:02:31.73

Max Shank

You're talking about using the right bait for the right fish basically and the fact that not everything has to be ah, a monetary exchange because my guess is you get a tremendous amount out of these experiences every week otherwise you would not do them.

01:02:38.25

mikebledsoe

Not everything.

01:02:44.47

mikebledsoe

I Absolutely so but the only reason I can do them is because I am using the right bait with the right fish somewhere else that feeds me it pays my bills it.

01:02:53.96

Max Shank

Exactly you got a crew of guys out on a fleet of boats. They're catching fish you're shooting the breeze with the guy at the diner and if you don't free up your time. Ah, you're always stuck with the pole.

01:03:02.32

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

01:03:11.21

Max Shank

In the River You don't have a chance to tell other guys about fishing. You don't have a chance to just relax on the beach yourself. Um, yeah, that's a really interesting way to use our resources right? It's like you're using your resources to get something that.

01:03:29.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, ah, there's ah this this actually happens in like a lot of the the medicine world like I learned about this from Ashley she's psychotherapist and they have this thing called a sliding scale. So you know they may charge.

01:03:31.12

Max Shank

Ah, you can't purchase.

01:03:49.28

mikebledsoe

Two hundred bucks, two hundred and fifty three hundred bucks an hour as as a psychotherapist to their clients. But if someone comes in There's a certain number of spots they have allotted that they're allowed to go down in a sliding scalells like you know I'm only in charge you a hundred bucks because I know you can't afford it in this and that and I look at it I go man. Ah, sliding scale is too narrow I want a sliding scale where I'm charging this person $3000 per hour and then I'm giving this person the thing for twenty bucks an hour or five bucks an hour or free ends.

01:04:20.22

Max Shank

Well, that just means you're good at drawing a boundary of what you feel comfortable with my my thing is people pay full price. Ah for what I'm doing or they pay nothing and I I I like that I like that idea better.

01:04:31.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's that's pretty much I don't I don't do discounts either. You know.

01:04:39.83

Max Shank

Because um, when I was when I was coming up when I was just a young book coming up I was ah you know started out coaching people for burritos. So not a very high rate of pay per hour and then over time it went up. Fifty bucks an hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour undred two hundred three hundred an hou hour um but I had grandfathered a few people in and I didn't and I did it too long I tolerated that shit because I thought I was doing them a solid and so I was training people at three hundred an hour and then I was training.

01:05:08.19

mikebledsoe

So yeah, yeah.

01:05:18.26

Max Shank

Ah, a couple guys. One guy was training it 60 and the other guy was training at 150 and I just remember I just remember being like ah I just had to draw the boundary 1 time and that's that's the ah the aftershock.

01:05:25.98

mikebledsoe

It's 20% and yeah.

01:05:37.92

Max Shank

That the other person experiences because I didn't draw boundaries soon enough. It's the same as in a relationship they were like whoa. Oh my god from 60 to 300 I was like yeah, it's like my bad because I was stupid and thought like to not raise your rates the whole way. So now you're 10 times more upset.

01:05:54.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:05:55.82

Max Shank

Because I tolerated and avoided it for so long and then also I'm not feeling good about those sessions where I'm making sixty bucks where the other ones I'm making 300 now now I feel like a charity case. It's like I almost subliminally want to do a worse job.

01:06:05.88

mikebledsoe

It's hard to walk away feeling good.

01:06:11.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:06:14.40

Max Shank

So it's more appropriate value like I want to like fucking abuse him or something you know what I mean like like if he's only paying sixty bucks but if I like hit him with a stick or something like I'll I don't know whatever it's like I think ah you know people probably beat their wives.

01:06:17.91

mikebledsoe

Ah, maybe I should be paying my trainer more Maybe that's what's happening.

01:06:29.36

mikebledsoe

You get a little resentment you start resenting them a little bit. Yeah husbands. Yeah.

01:06:34.21

Max Shank

People probably beat their wives for the same reason or beat their spouses or say mean things to each other I don't know it. It does seem like it always comes back to that clear setting of boundaries fucking accept it fully or reject it but don't tolerate it. Don't tolerate it.

01:06:42.43

mikebledsoe

Boy how did you? Ah, how do you have? How do you have that conversation.

01:06:51.37

Max Shank

How do you have it. You just got to have it. There's no easy way. Um, there's no easy way to have it. Oh um, I'll tell you exactly what is because I want them to like me.

01:06:54.48

mikebledsoe

Ah, but how do you do it? Not I know there's no easy way. Yeah yeah I mean it you know why? it's not easy by the way people people. Yeah well, there's that but there's there's like well there's.

01:07:10.29

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:07:12.17

mikebledsoe

We we play out the worst case scenarios in our minds before the conversations I find that the conversations are rarely are as bad as what I think they might be so it's all the time leading up to the conversation is that suffering The conversation itself is actually not that bad.

01:07:14.25

Max Shank

Now they hate me.

01:07:24.40

Max Shank

Totally well and if you're more and it's like more geared toward looking out for the negatives most high performing guys usually are Anyway, they're looking out.

01:07:30.41

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:07:36.97

Max Shank

What are my weaknesses. What's the worst case scenario I got to look out for and you just play this probability tree in your head like you've probably and folks listening like played out different ways. A conversation could go before you go have it right.

01:07:47.20

mikebledsoe

Totally it almost never goes the way I think it will like I'll I'll I'll like these are the 5 different scenarios and then the sixth one that I didn't think it pops up.

01:07:50.95

Max Shank

You're like okay maybe there's like a 20% chance this will happen 40% chance this.

01:08:01.80

Max Shank

It almost always goes the way I think it will I'm not just trying to like bullshit either like ah probably because I think about it too much too much. Ah, but yeah.

01:08:07.57

mikebledsoe

Maybe maybe I find that whether I thought through it or not really doesn't matter about the outcome you know? yeah.

01:08:20.57

Max Shank

I think that's typically the case also that I would agree with um, at any rate it's it's the same. It's like I made a mistake I ah I'm charging this much now you're the only one you and None other person are the only people paying this. I don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. So this is the new rate if you want to continue great if you don't also great. Ah, no, not those not those None other others did ah just like the.

01:08:39.64

mikebledsoe

Did they stay.

01:08:47.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, the the gap wasn't so big.

01:08:53.53

Max Shank

Late I mean between 60 and like a couple hundred is ah a gargantuan amount that person ended up that person ended up paying a None and working with another coach so he still stayed with the gym but he like yeah um.

01:08:57.70

mikebledsoe

That's a big jump. Totally Okay, that's even Better. You probably still took home the same amount without having do any of the work.

01:09:10.97

Max Shank

Yeah, is way better. Um, ah, but once again like I'm I'm in a lucky place because I coach people because I I like to not because I I have to and when you have to it feels like you're less able.

01:09:18.70

mikebledsoe

Bright new.

01:09:27.77

Max Shank

To say what's really on your mind and draw those boundaries you're like fuck I I want to draw I Want to set good boundaries but I need the fucking burrito like exactly um, same same thing with having ah resources available time money which is.

01:09:32.46

mikebledsoe

Right? right? hungry None

01:09:46.96

Max Shank

Ah, claim check on other people's time. Basically I don't know if you ever heard that term I Love that concept. Um, you know when things go a little bit haywire like they have in the world. Economically if you have resources available. That's the time to capitalize because ah.

01:09:47.94

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:10:06.71

Max Shank

Basically who whoever needs does not have the power and whoever does not need has the power in any kind of.

01:10:12.95

mikebledsoe

True Dad Well when he I also want point out like when you say resources. It's not just money I think that in what what we're time well time as part of it but like the the ability to to ah perspective and how you're perceiving the situation.

01:10:20.12

Max Shank

Time time money effort energy.

01:10:32.81

mikebledsoe

Is Also really huge because in times like these one of the things that's happening is there's a massive shift right? The way I see it is We did a really good job of fighting to keep things the same for like 20 years. It's like okay, it's the same. It's the same. It's same I can expect this I can expect this I go to work I Do this kind of job. Expect expect expect and then we ran out of like the we we weren't able to hold the floodgates back any longer of change which the universe is just always delivering change and so more change happens.

01:11:03.21

Max Shank

01:11:09.82

mikebledsoe

More quickly than what we're used to which which looks bleak but the reality is is that we have a huge opportunity in those moments and if you can stay out of that lizard brain take some deep breaths realize and look around and say. Okay,, there's still a roof over my head I still got my iphone in my pocket and I got enough money for groceries. Maybe not all the groceries that I want to get but some of them so like okay all right? Well you're safe take a breath. Nobody's taking that away from you and what can you create? Can you.? Can you? Um, what problems are emerging in which you can participate in a solution and so there are there are and everything is at a discount right now too. So if if you're if you're right.

01:12:04.72

Max Shank

I Feel like I'm at the blue collar meeting now.

01:12:09.12

mikebledsoe

Ah, everything's at a discount So like um for somebody who has a resource of a big bank account. They can come in and swoop up and bite real estate crypto stocks everything everything's at a discount right now Commodities every.

01:12:24.74

Max Shank

Penny pennies on the dollar pennies on the dollar. Ah.

01:12:28.41

mikebledsoe

Well not all commodities. But um, a lot of things are a discount right now and they're going to get swooped up now if you don't have the bank account to swoop up and get these things then you have you have to use your mind and you have to use your time and your energy and your.

01:12:42.35

Max Shank

Energy reserves.

01:12:47.41

mikebledsoe

Problem solve the number None thing I want to point out is problem solving skills. What problem can you solve for other people because the more you can do that because what we have is we have an increase in problems right now. But it's not the same problems that we had two years ago so you got to change the type of work that you do if you really want to capitalize. On what's happening right now.

01:13:09.48

Max Shank

It's like who moved my cheese. You know that little management book. Ah, it's great is who moved my cheese is basically like.

01:13:10.26

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:13:20.13

Max Shank

If you lament that the cheese got moved. You're going to fuck yourself up. But if you just keep looking for where the cheese went off to you're going to find it a lot better. Okay, so like you you find the reward somewhere.

01:13:25.43

mikebledsoe

Hang on. Oh yeah, okay, an exits.

01:13:33.80

Max Shank

And then you go back the next day and it's gone. You're like what the fuck who moved my cheese and then you go on this tirade Meanwhile the other mouse is just like continuing to look for the cheese. So it's really about um so there's resource allocation which is how you use what you got and then there is resource.

01:13:39.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:13:53.58

Max Shank

Acquisition which is what can you? How can you trade that what can you trade for that. Um, and I would say that as far as resource allocation is concerned man if you were even like 50% efficient with your resources. You'd be very rich.

01:13:55.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:14:11.24

mikebledsoe

Most people.

01:14:12.27

Max Shank

Like you be fucking crazy rich. You don't have to do that much. You just got to do something that people really want and the more swings you take the more likely you are to figure something out but don't get um, don't get stuck in like None idea and think like oh that. This should work forever. Then you're the last guy selling horse and buggies in a street full of cars and you're fucked. You're like who moved who took away all the horses. What's going on here. My carriage business is fucked and it's like no, you got to adapt adaptability. So chief attribute of survival.

01:14:49.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah and this brings me back to feedback loops people are blind to feedback loops and that's why they wait too long to change and so one of the things I like to do with people is we create a ninety day dashboard where we're tracking.

01:14:50.44

Max Shank

Adaptability Change I mean that's that's it.

01:15:07.24

mikebledsoe

The work that we're doing over the next ninety days to take us specifically towards our goals and I just had a I mean going back and forth with one of my clients this morning where he he's like he's like why I have all this stuff that I've been doing but it's this other thing that's actually creating the result and he's like complaining they're like. Ah, he's like he's like I'm not sure this program is working I'm like this is a demonstration of the program working but you have figured out what doesn't move the needle and you figured out what does move the needle so on your on your ninety day dashboard

01:15:33.45

Max Shank

Hey.

01:15:40.67

Max Shank

Right.

01:15:45.73

mikebledsoe

Just take off all the shit. That's not working that's taking up your time and energy and put this stuff in that is working and do that instead and so the idea of planning out ninety days at a time and then doing the work and then getting the feedback if you've never done that the none time you do it. You're going to realize that 80% of the work you do is useless and then you you revise it in the next ninety days it gets a little better in the next ninety days it gets a little better and that's why I like to work with people for at least a year is because we get through 4 revisions. Or you know one None initial and None revisions of their ninety day ninety days of work at a time and within a year you've made 3 revisions. It looks pretty good. You got a good handle on what moves the needle but a lot of times you know.

01:16:34.82

Max Shank

You got to do your own experiments. You got to do your own experiments and you can't get attached to doing it one way or another what you said before was really good too. It's like you have ah why do people take so long to change it's because ah. It's unknown people prefer the familiar pain to the unknown, a lot of the time and that's why if you're afraid ah which is uncertainty about the future. Um in ah in a negative sense then the solution is curiosity which is. Ah, a happy uncertainty so fear is like a scary uncertainty and curiosity is like a happy uncertainty so you basically um, you know as a coach as a marketer as a fisherman you're basically trying to instill people. With that level of enthusiasm which is like a fire which is like inspiration There's a sense of excitement about the future I mean you can also just full on like scaretactic people into buying ah bulk food barrels and shit like that. But but but but even so you can get them. Curious and excited about how safe you could feel if you had 15 years of food in your cellar or some shit like that I don't know but ah basically you have the fear and the curiosity which is all about the future and then the past you have like resentment and nostalgia.

01:17:53.89

mikebledsoe

FF.

01:18:08.88

Max Shank

And nostalgia is kind of like a weird trap. It's nice. Ah, but actually I think um appreciation is a little bit better Nostalgia is almost like the past is better appreciation.

01:18:21.17

mikebledsoe

So yeah, you're wishing when I think about nostalgia is like I think about a good old day I remember I played that football and.

01:18:27.85

Max Shank

The good old days the good old days I remember I score 3 touchdowns in the single half it at that a has schoolll football game and ah Mvp ah fuck that head cheerleader and now I got a baby bubba junior. Yeah.

01:18:38.92

mikebledsoe

Ah, the.

01:18:46.39

mikebledsoe

I Hope I want to I hope everyone appreciates our range so takes a really special person to have made it this far.

01:18:46.80

Max Shank

That that is like the classic move.

01:18:57.71

Max Shank

Ah, it sure does I feel like there should be a special prize to anyone who who listens to this long.

01:19:03.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, if you're listening just let me know I I think the special prize is just is just me knowing that you made it here. That's really yeah.

01:19:14.60

Max Shank

Yeah, let us know what you want for a prize I mean we're good at drawing boundaries. So we'll tell you no but I mean maybe we'll say yes, no ask no get. That's what I have noticed.

01:19:19.75

mikebledsoe

We might say yes, yeah, here's the thing max and I want to give you something. We just don't know what it is. We don't know what you want and we don't know if we're willing to give it to you but you know yeah shit load.

01:19:32.96

Max Shank

That's fact, we're willing to give quite a lot I mean there are a lot of win-win opportunities out there. So I think one of the things that you and I ah definitely have a talent for is more result with less effort and building. Ah, launch ramp or a water wheel or a rocket ship or something that will really ah deliver a lot of results per the amount of energy put in and um, physically business wise too. I certainly enjoy doing that it feels pretty simple and straightforward. But that's probably just something about having like 15 years of experience with it. Yeah.

01:20:18.60

mikebledsoe

That helps you're 15 years in

01:20:25.41

Max Shank

Ah, into like training itself I'm ah like almost 17 but I didn't start well I started doing like free ebooks like about fifteen years ago like I I I took. Ah.

01:20:27.85

mikebledsoe

What about business.

01:20:36.74

mikebledsoe

Okay, we start about the same time then.

01:20:43.68

Max Shank

Ah I did I tell you about the real stoneliing manual at some point. Yeah, just fucking Sunglasses Jujitsu Rash Guard shaved head looking tough horrible quality photos ridiculous claims about lifting rocks.

01:20:44.25

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:21:02.60

Max Shank

It was just such the perfect stamp in time for how tough I wanted to appear it was. It's like awesome. Yeah yeah, and.

01:21:06.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, go Youtube that folks max shank lifting rocks I don't know what you search for to get there but that might take you.

01:21:19.30

Max Shank

Yeah I mean if you look at my Youtube channel and you go ah, here's a little easter egg if you go from ah like date oldest to newest. It's such a fucking trip I mean I was doing shit at Crossfit Enciitas back in the day. So ah, you know.

01:21:28.25

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, ah.

01:21:37.54

Max Shank

That's the other thing I got I got to say like I've just tried so many things and the internet doesn't know about the fucking Encyclopedia of Colossal failures that I have been a part of but I think like also let me.

01:21:47.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah.

01:21:56.65

Max Shank

Let me clarify even further the colossal failures often took about 10 times the effort of the things that were raging successes so like I've spent so much energy on some things and then they just like lose money lose more money. Take None of my time.

01:22:02.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:22:15.80

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:22:15.46

Max Shank

Lose even more money and then I fucking quit because so I've just hit my limit and then something that was like just a casual publishing of some shit that I wrote is a None times better. We're talking like you know 20 k launch. It took me a week to put this shit together. You know.

01:22:35.13

mikebledsoe

That's that's how the strong coach was it was very low effort big reward and while I was simultaneously I was running the strong crutch for close to a year and then I'm simultaneously launching a different company and the launching the company was like five weeks of

01:22:35.23

Max Shank

Ah, that kind of thing.

01:22:43.53

Max Shank

Um, yeah. Yeah, what.

01:22:52.29

mikebledsoe

Just felt like torture and then at the end had like a a really shitty launch and in the same month where I was I barely gave my primary business much attention. It had a record breaking month and I go I had to sit down with myself and go okay.

01:23:07.00

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:23:11.91

mikebledsoe

You're being silly just focus on the thing that works or we or maybe don't focus on just let it keep on breaking records without you working I don't know.

01:23:15.91

Max Shank

Yeah, it's like it's like thinking I mean we could get super philosophical here and just say let the universe pull you in whatever direction you're supposed to go but I do at the very least agree that the amount of. Effort that you put into something has very little to do with how the people like it I mean sometimes it's related but sometimes they're completely independent and also kind of like we were saying for the sacrificing and the suffering Ah don't don't imagine that you get more points. For working harder or longer or suffering more or not liking the shit that you're doing like you don't get points. It's it's like fake points in a fake game. It makes no sense whatsoever.

01:24:01.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah I said we are. We're almost an hour and a half in let's shut this baby down. Yeah you got any final thoughts here. Holy shit fishing poles and triangles.

01:24:08.29

Max Shank

Wrap it up. So ah, what's what's the topic fishing poles and triangles. Ah okay I'll so I'll sum up what I think um. Anyone can put together an offer an offer is going to involve some marketing which is basically storytelling and helping the person understand the value of taking the action you want and then of course there's fulfillment on top of that I would like to reiterate. That ah tolerance is the worst thing ever because when you tolerate something you're not rejecting it. You're not accepting it what you are accepting is a burden that will help grow resentment in your heart. This is a problem both relationship wise and business wise which is. Another. It's it's just a commercial relationship. It's still a relationship um give give people what they want and if you give people what you want ah don't expect if it's a little more challenging and and that's okay, too. Look for the intersection between what you love doing and what people put a high price on there's an even better venn diagram if you look up the word eki guy into Google images and. Ah, if you're always flinging your pole in the stream because you're always hungry. You're never going to have time to build a fishing boat or a fishing net or a rocket ship or any of that you can't build that stuff unless you know how to build it so you need plans to do it. But you also need to defer a lot of gratification into the future. Which if you're in lizard mode good luck. No chance you pretty much need to be in a more ah wizard-like state which means you need to secure the lizard love the mammal so you can free the wizard and you know performing at a high level like this is related to a lot of. Very simple things I like to use movement and music and singing and dancing to express and get into a flow state and I know I perform better just by getting better blood flow. You know, singing open ins the throat chakra there are all kinds of things you can do. But. Ultimately, you got to think about your resource allocation and that's what's going to lead to that resource acquisition if. That's the goal and yeah, that's that's that's what I got.

01:26:48.92

mikebledsoe

So good I'm not gonna add anything because that was was extremely comprehensive. Yeah yeah, you take your brain drugs today.

01:26:52.96

Max Shank

Um, yeah I fucking nailed it there I nailed it that was good. Great talk I Love I Love these talks by the way I don't care that no one's donated anything yet because there's so much fun.

01:27:02.90

mikebledsoe

People have offered I just haven't sent them our benmos but I ah.

01:27:09.36

Max Shank

Dude I'm starving over here come on dude just take care of it. Jesus fucking Christ man starving over here I'm giving you gold Mike I'm giving you gold. Ah.

01:27:20.19

mikebledsoe

I hope the guy out go to http://macsank.com he's got some products over there.

01:27:26.37

Max Shank

01:27:28.58

mikebledsoe

Ah, and I have ah a live summit happening here in Austin Texas September sixteen through None It's an all inclusive retreat I ran out a summer camp got paleo chefs coming in and we start off our morning swimming in a spring. So um. Should come hang out. We can chat about business talk about how to get out of that if you're stuck in that lizard mode or even the mammal mode we can. We can help get you into that that wizard mode where you can create some shit. So. It's going to be awesome.

01:28:02.99

Max Shank

It's gonna be awesome. It's gonna be awesome and now I want you guys to I Want you guys to contemplate. Ah how your relationship with pigs would differ if they could suddenly speak English Love you.

01:28:05.30

mikebledsoe

Can be better than the last one.

01:28:11.75

mikebledsoe

Oh that's right, keep that one in mind. Love you later.

The Little Known Powers Of Ice Baths With Jason Stauffer Jul 21, 2022

Ice baths have expanded into wider markets in recent years with the emergence of Wim Hof & others preaching their benefits for the masses

Today’s guest is an Army Combat Veteran with a background in game theory & analytics for optimization; making him potentially the last person you’d think to be a leader in the world of ice baths and cold immersion

Listen in as he shares how their company is revolutionizing the industry and making ice baths more accessible for all

The Power of No with Mike & Max Jul 18, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Us folk who call up customer support not knowing what to do sometimes turning it off and on again solves the problem and that's pretty weird.

00:10.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah I worked in I t in my late teens early 20 s and 9 times out of 10 that was the solution. So.

00:22.98

Max Shank

I remember recently maybe like a year ago getting a new router installed and like a wireless thing a router and a modem I suppose and trying to understand how that shit works is. Really there's a lot of shit going on back and forth between a lot of different places with that little box. It's insane. Um, sadly, it's one of those things I really don't feel like I've made much progress on I feel like I made a little bit of progress learning about.

00:44.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

00:50.27

mikebledsoe

It.

01:02.30

Max Shank

Computer coding plumbing that sort of thing. But as soon as you start getting into the the cell signals and the wireless linkups and where everything's going. It gets a little hard to follow.

01:14.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think ah well the basis of troubleshooting to be a good troubleshoter. Is you just have to understand how the system works in the None place it is binary all the way through it's it. But anytime like when I help Ashley with something.

01:25.13

Max Shank

Binary all the way through. Yeah, that's what's so interesting.

01:33.72

mikebledsoe

Some type of troubleshooting thing. Ah, it's ah it's basically because she doesn't understand how the whole system works. You don't know if check this and then this and then this um but we had um, we had a loss of water in our house a couple months ago I call the I call the city all this stuff. Guy comes out tells me I just need to clean my you know the filters and my faucets. Whatever that didn't work and come to find out that my hot water heater has some type of sensor that gets triggered when I have heavy rain that turns off the hot water heater. So.

02:07.95

Max Shank

Aha.

02:10.64

mikebledsoe

And' have I had cold water I didn't have hot water but I didn't didn you figure it out but there was a part of the system in which I didn't even know existed that I ended up discovering because there was an alarm going off in my attic where the hot water heaters at and it was faint.

02:11.92

Max Shank

Ah, hi yeah.

02:27.52

Max Shank

Aha.

02:29.81

mikebledsoe

So yeah, troubleshooting is an interesting thing if you don't if you don't know the system knows detail. It's going to be difficult to figure out what's going on but sometimes when you need the troubleshoot. That's when we figure out how something actually works.

02:43.18

Max Shank

Well, it's like the Layman doesn't even know what to check? let alone how to fix it. He he doesn't even have a checklist. You know if you at least have a checklist then you can maybe start somewhere and I think that's how I approach fitness. It's a little bit mechanical. Still.

02:49.69

mikebledsoe

Um.

03:03.20

Max Shank

Um, I feel like I'm torn. A lot of the time between just telling people to like go hike and dance and if you occasionally carry something heavy while you're hiking and climb on stuff. It'll all work out and then there are other times where I think of ah, a checklist for ah daily. Um. Movements that you might want to focus on like roll bounce balance crawl climb carry rub squeeze shake these different like little things that you can just check off None at a time and I guess it's good. It works for different personality types. But it's funny how they're sometimes very analytical like none you have this topic you have these 3 movements per topic boom boom boom very regimented and then other times I'm like yeah if you bounce around and shake your arms out. You'll you'll move your lymph so you're not in this stagnant toxicity.

03:41.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

03:56.54

Max Shank

And then ah you know throw £20 in a backpack and go hike and climb on some stuff and you'll be relatively good enough. Just go enjoy that.

04:03.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think that um you know this brings out the topic for me is structure and flow and if you don't have enough structure in place then finding flow is gonna be like flow that actually works So There's people who you know. Ah I'll see people preaching online about intuitive eating and and I go that actually doesn't work until someone has done some pretty like I'm an intuitive eater but I've done a bunch of hardcore diets where I've restricted myself heavily and I.

04:36.72

Max Shank

Right.

04:41.57

mikebledsoe

Tuned into when my body needs something or doesn't need something but the only you know if you were living off ice cream bars and and snickerdooodles then he's triggered folks then.

04:49.68

Max Shank

I Feel attacked.

04:58.55

mikebledsoe

Like your your a ability to tap into what your body actually needs is is diminished and so I think the same thing happens with with fitness like you and I both have a really deep understanding of like we've gone through like really structured stuff for so long that we worked on stuff. We would not normally have worked on. But now that we have we can tell like when I go in the gym I go yeah I don't work this this skill or this part of my body feels weak like I need to I need to shore it up and and do some stuff but I'm preparing for a spartan race. And run the beast at the end of September by the way anyone I'm doing a spartan race doing the world championships in Tahoe September Twenty Fourth anyone who or yeah, love ta ha any excuse to go so I'm gonna run the race and.

05:36.85

Max Shank

Is this a real story. You're gonna be doing a Spartan race.

05:45.60

Max Shank

I was just there last week oh my god get out of here.

05:55.19

mikebledsoe

Ceo of Spartan Joe Decenna he gave me an unlimited amount of free registrations for my friends who all want to run it with me. He said I could have 200 people if I want and so ah, by the way if anyone wants to go run that race with me the.

06:02.30

Max Shank

Wow in Lake Tahill oh my god.

06:14.75

mikebledsoe

Will be the strong coach team will be just Dm me I'll send you the links to to get registered and yeah I want to have like 200 people running that race. All of us start together finish together.

06:24.29

Max Shank

Wow Same t-shirts on everybody like a excellent little ah tribe cult something or other I mean look it's a group. There are a lot of words for group Cult is a bit of a trigger word right.

06:33.17

mikebledsoe

You know what? I just ordered a bunch of t-shirts we can do. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, our cult is the best and ah so we're.

06:42.69

Max Shank

But that's what it is None rule in every cult. Our cult is the best thou shalt have no other cults or cult masters above me god the beakram yoga guy same same same rules.

06:50.53

mikebledsoe

Yes.

06:55.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, ah yeah, probably so I'm preparing for that race and I've run it a couple times with very little preparation I did okay but I noticed that every time I run the race. The thing that bothers me the most is my knees hurt the last.

07:04.11

Max Shank

Or.

07:13.16

Max Shank

Of.

07:14.60

mikebledsoe

Quarter of it lot of downhill on rocks but I can make my knees stronger. There's things I can do to improve that My grip strength is definitely a limiter near the end. There's so much climbing so much picking and carrying things and um, like.

07:27.46

Max Shank

Interesting I am.

07:34.39

mikebledsoe

Overall cardio doesn't seem to be that big of ah a limiter I mean it it is but compared to just ah yeah, because near the end of the race you're picking up a None tire too. So you've run a dozen miles up and down hills carrying sandbags and buckets of sands and shit.

07:50.20

Max Shank

The.

07:52.00

mikebledsoe

And then it's like okay now flip this tire. So yeah, the the things I notice I'm like oh what I need to train for is I need to improve my grip strength endurance I need to improve my knee health and strength and I need to be able to pick up just heavy shit. And need to pick up something heavy every once in a while in in I say about three hundred pounds three hundred

08:11.78

Max Shank

How heavy we talking I think it's I think it's a great topic that we just touched on here because it's nice to get practical because kind of like it. It all comes full circle. It's very similar to. Knowing how to make a great recipe so you go from a guy who just chops up the vegetables to the guy who's assembling everything together the line cook and then you got the head Chef who's doing you know flavor profiles and combinations and he's the artist and that kind of ties us back to that intuitive eating.

08:44.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

08:50.26

Max Shank

You were talking about if you have no intuition to intuit like what the fuck are you doing like I've I've been really mindfully eating these twinkies and I'm really intuitively you know I feel like I could walk about None steps and burn these up that seems like a reasonable. Exchange you will never you I'm still surprised how efficient we are at utilizing at saving calories. Anyway.

09:13.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what you can um ho that makes me think you can hone intuition and the only way to hone it is you got to be paying attention to the results. So so the twinkie 10 steps thing. It's a great idea. But say someone eats twinkies does ten steps day after day after day and they just get fatter and fatter. Then if you're paying you go? Oh well so the intuition is something that gets calibrated and it gets calibrated by results. So the people who lack intuition.

09:38.35

Max Shank

Totally.

09:50.96

mikebledsoe

I find just aren't paying attention to the results because if you're paying attention to the inputs and the outputs then you're going to be honing that intuition. But if you're not paying attention to those things then you'll never have it and you'll just suffer and struggle through life.

10:05.50

Max Shank

Is it I think of it like intuition is a certain openness and then the way to hone it like you said is to take that intuition and harmonize it with your wisdom which is.

10:23.31

mikebledsoe

You know.

10:23.90

Max Shank

All the stuff that you've learned with respect to who you authentically are which which is some combination of your genes and your experiences and the weird stories you believe. But I think it's about harmonizing that like openness gut. Instinct Raw like Curiosity spark of inspiration. Whatever and then passing it through okay is this is this congruent on some level with what I have experienced and then from there having the openness to try something new or having the resolve to. Go is something that you have good experience with so ah, intuitive training is where I was going with it so we went intuitive cooking to eating to training now.

11:00.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, agreed but going back going back to Spartan Race and intuition and I I know that yeah yeah so now it's I know that I need to work on a handful of things if I want to enjoy myself on the race more I'll experience less pain and suffering I know I'm Goingnna finish. But how much pain how much pain am I going to finish it. So yeah, so.

11:18.67

Max Shank

Oh.

11:29.90

Max Shank

We all want that for you.

11:37.15

mikebledsoe

Basically just start mapping it out and I have an idea for like what things I'm going to train on one day's but I'm not writing out the specific exercises and if I get to that day and I realize I still haven't recovered from this or that or whatever I'm making adjustments along the way. So I got ten weeks

11:37.78

Max Shank

Um.

11:47.50

Max Shank

Um, so so you'll so you'll have ten weeks until that I mean look I'll take any excuse almost any excuse to go back to Lake Tahoe ah although as a rule I typically only run when I'm chasing something or being chased could I be a chaser I feel like that's more my nature honestly.

12:05.13

mikebledsoe

We can. We could make that work I think we should just find a really fast hot girl to run in front of you and.

12:17.96

Max Shank

I'll catch her so fast. It will be game over I'll I'll run one fortieth of the race. Um, no, but so is your checklist then for.

12:26.31

mikebledsoe

Oh.

12:34.75

Max Shank

You're let's say you're like filling in the gaps right? And that's another thing I would love to talk about at some point is the difference in mentality between just fluffing up your ego and a few certain things versus really looking for like really looking for. Where you have the ability to improve right? Ah, it's It's a checkup.

12:54.71

mikebledsoe

Well, that's why I run the spartan race every year I go to tahoe every fall and I run it. It's and it's an annual checkup I only have to go once a year and I know yeah.

13:04.31

Max Shank

Um, Dr Spartan Doctor Spartan Dr Spartan says he fucking suck it hanging.

13:11.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, So it's like well it's a good check because there's very few skills that you're not going to practice out there. Um, So there's some that are going to be left off for sure. But in ah in a single day you're going to know a lot about yourself. And so I really love it for that.

13:30.39

Max Shank

Well here's ah, here's a little phrase I like it's ah done today able tomorrow done today able tomorrow and it's kind of a shorter version of if you don't use it. You lose it.

13:39.60

mikebledsoe

13:49.53

Max Shank

And ah, a positive version. So I'm guessing for your annual tahoe checkup that you do almost nothing related to the spartan race for about ten months and then you do two months of like. Very dedicated training for it is that would you say that's correct.

14:11.46

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you're spot on. Maybe even let maybe more like eleven months typically this is is it's 10 weeks I'm I'm um, this is the most prepared I've gone in so far I even ran this past weekend.

14:17.24

Max Shank

Ah, you did just say eight weeks so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. But. Are.

14:30.72

mikebledsoe

And um I don't do that ah very often at all.

14:33.79

Max Shank

I I feel like you have this knowing that you can do nothing activity wise and still finish that Spartan race. Yeah I see it.

14:46.24

mikebledsoe

That's the problem. Yeah.

14:50.67

Max Shank

I Wish you guys could see his face right now.

14:53.28

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah.

14:56.80

Max Shank

Ah I was just thinking strategically if I were going to recommend to someone how to prepare for such an experience. Ah it wouldn't be the way that you're talking about. It's far from optimal in terms of a progressive.

15:03.82

mikebledsoe

No, no, no, it's definitely far from optimal. Yeah I Just want to not hurt I Want to see because last time my knees.

15:15.50

Max Shank

Adaptation right? So but not that bad right? like like ten months off a year hey I think that's totally a fair trade quite honestly, it's.

15:23.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, like it's only one day of pain one one day of pain. Yeah.

15:33.36

Max Shank

It would be a lot of hours throughout the year otherwise but let's say you train five days a week for the next ten weeks is that about right.

15:42.37

mikebledsoe

Ah, we'll call it 4 But yeah, None is aggressive for me I'm ah I need a lot of time to recover.

15:45.15

Max Shank

Um, okay, so none a lot I was just thinking though if instead of forty days out of sixty days if you did. Fifty two days out of none what the difference in bet because that would be once a week just thinking mathematically, that's probably what I would recommend somebody do. But then again the thing I really recommend is move around a little bit every day. Why wouldn't you. It's like.

16:04.20

mikebledsoe

16:18.66

mikebledsoe

Do yeah well I already do that. So that's why the that's why I liked. That's what I do I I move nice and easy every day and then when it comes to something like this do some sports specific training ramp it up.

16:21.87

Max Shank

It's like you get to make it's like you get to make deposits and compound daily instead of weekly. E.

16:36.26

mikebledsoe

And then I go back to being lazy. It's great. Definitely not running too far.

16:38.76

Max Shank

And not running too far I can I can run after a tennis ball or like a soccer ball or frisbee or something like that. But when it's like hey just run over there. Part of me is like why.

16:51.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like to I like to eat a little bit of mushrooms at the starting line and hang. You know it's a time to hang out with my friends in nature. That's that's really the way to go don't tell Joe that I do that the start of his race.

17:01.50

Max Shank

Nice and it.

17:08.64

mikebledsoe

Take performance enhancing mushrooms.

17:09.54

Max Shank

Yeah I won't tell him on our public podcast.

17:14.44

mikebledsoe

This is the members only section. What do you want to talk about today up out showing the nipple.

17:17.25

Max Shank

Oh there's the members only section hang on that's the nipples Lefty writing. Okay, if you have a formula that works you stick with it.

17:31.47

mikebledsoe

That's right, still don't have the membership side up you but we'll get there. Um, it's probably good that have a number of these banked since they' probably 15 toy minutes piece ah topics for today 1 um.

17:33.80

Max Shank

Perfect. It's coming.

17:46.73

mikebledsoe

1 that is on top of my mind is ah I don't know that's what fit in maybe this will be just good for the members only to to hear but my brother is currently in Washington d c on trial for January six yeah Yeah

18:03.10

Max Shank

Bumbom bum.

18:05.51

mikebledsoe

He is according to some bumbling idiots a domestic terrorist that is a very scary phrase.

18:11.77

Max Shank

Oh good God That's a scary phrase I've hey ah you're you're breaking up I I can't be seen talking to you anymore I'm out of here.

18:20.31

mikebledsoe

Um, ah anyways, yeah, um, he he got caught up in the crowd that walked into the the ah was it called the capitol building and ah.

18:31.80

Max Shank

Point life.

18:39.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was.

18:40.18

Max Shank

I'm sure that happened exactly the way they say it happened right? Sure it happened. However, folks say it happened come on I Hope he's okay I hope it works out. Okay for him.

18:44.99

mikebledsoe

Whoever they are. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it. So that's he's in good spirits. He's um, yeah, he's my mom's up there with him and it's It's hard of my mom. That's the worst part.

19:02.20

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

19:02.80

mikebledsoe

Because I my brother. He's even my brother hat here's the thing is everything that I know that if justice prevails he walks away scott free but I don't yeah, we're not witnessing justice and you know that the United States department of justice.

19:08.60

Max Shank

Ah, but.

19:22.89

mikebledsoe

Doesn't It's like the opposite of that. So.

19:23.60

Max Shank

That was a big weight off my shoulders when I stopped expecting Justice to happen and then getting frustrated when it didn't now it's more like if it does I'm pleasantly surprised but I kind of have this understanding that it's a doggy dog world and some people use.

19:28.18

mikebledsoe

Um, to bonus.

19:41.99

Max Shank

Dicks and some people use language and really people are just trying to help some help each other out fuck each other over dog eat dog. Whatever it's fine like but don't don't live your life expecting like oh that's not fair. Someone should make this fair. It's like yo don't don't expect that.

19:59.20

mikebledsoe

That's you're gonna be miserable if you think if you want things to be fair.

20:01.74

Max Shank

I lived that I lived that life a man in search of Justice got fucking idiot.

20:06.71

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so that's going on this week so I'm going to be I'm lucky that I'll be spending the majority of my time this week hunting. So I won't be cut up and I'll be off off grid for a few days.

20:19.51

Max Shank

20:24.50

mikebledsoe

I mean I wish I could do something support him I Really don't have any like he's kind of like where he's at. There's not really much I can do at this point. So.

20:33.49

Max Shank

There's a lot of situations like that where people say what's going on. You really have nothing to add. You're like I guess talk to an attorney and no one else and don't say anything and that's it like what else can you do.

20:43.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um, yeah, have no idea. So yeah, that's an interesting thing So I'll be I'll be witnessing that and probably getting messages through the family text message thread. Yeah.

20:47.64

Max Shank

Yeah.

20:56.21

Max Shank

While while you're hunting What are you hunting for.

21:01.54

mikebledsoe

Wild boar. So um.

21:02.71

Max Shank

And your true self.

21:07.64

mikebledsoe

My truest self I ought for sure. So yeah I don't know that really I mean that's not really a topic I think I part I already said everything that there is but it's all my mind. So no.

21:10.13

Max Shank

Ah.

21:18.38

Max Shank

Um, definitely something on your mind though Yo that's a man, especially for your mom too. That's tough.

21:28.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, real tough. Well he he also has 2 daughters. So yeah, yeah, it's ah.

21:32.20

Max Shank

Oh my God they opened the door for him did he knock down a door. No come on you walk through a door. What's the big deal.

21:40.83

mikebledsoe

No, no, they walked through a door that police officers were holding open. There's it's ah it's pretty ridiculous. That's and it's ridiculous.

21:52.12

Max Shank

Yeah, that's what I mean it's like let some lawyer do that I realize it's like ah mathematics is so that you can explain more with less and law is so you can explain less with more. It's like the exact opposite.

22:08.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

22:12.40

Max Shank

Of the language of the universe. It's such a fucking cluster fuck. It's disgusting that that's where my shadow self comes out. It's like oh let's just skin those fuckers alive for abusing the language to rape the people.

22:17.11

mikebledsoe

It's it's disgusting.

22:24.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well if you if you're initiating violence then I think that it's in who are you know whoever is experiencing the violence from somebody else has a right to defend themselves and I think what we have is a bunch of people who've twisted up some words that.

22:37.36

Max Shank

Hundred percent

22:43.76

mikebledsoe

And then convinced these people who are supposed to be peace officers to go conduct violence and it's ah it's really frustrating. It's really frustrating situation. Yeah, it is outrageous. Yeah.

22:50.10

Max Shank

Um, it's outrageous. Yeah I mean it all depends what you compare it to like before the King could just say off with his head and you're like huh This is I get this is better than that for sure like it's way better for a lot of reasons. But.

23:04.58

mikebledsoe

It is better than that. Yeah, the the principles the same. The principle is the same. Yeah.

23:09.48

Max Shank

You know, still you got to hold the line on some level right? and I think that's what you and I that's kind of what you and I talk about right is it's not that like we want to help people free themselves like I often say I don't want to be your mama like I don't want to control anybody I don't want to be responsible for them either. Like I don't think that's a ah good trade. That's what makes these folks who think they know best for everybody their existence So sad is they believe that at some point they will finally feel safe or good enough or whatever when they tell enough other people what to do with their meddling ways. But. You know it's just never enough and they're always feeling totally um at odds or at War within the present Moment. It's pretty fucked up actually.

23:56.63

mikebledsoe

It makes and makes it for those of us folks that just mind our own business. Just yeah, it can be irritating. But if you get really good at mining your own business. They usually leave you alone.

24:10.64

Max Shank

Yeah I would agree with that I think ah like most people that just leave alone I mean minus like the the fractional. Slavery that we all participated but there are positive aspects undeniably. So It's done horribly bad but there are positive aspects so you like got to keep that optimism though. Maybe no no opt fuck man.

24:24.00

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

24:34.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, maybe we'll see yeah walk. Yeah.

24:41.37

Max Shank

If you have no optimism you just don't do anything. That's that's the line is if you don't feel like there's a hope or belief for something positive in the future. Even if it's like I'm going to paint a picture later make ah sausage macaroni and cheese. You know you you got to have some. Ah.

24:58.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what I I think I think the reality of it is is like we we look at the entire system and it's and it's really gross, but the what I look at like the the way we got here is because people didn't stand on principle.

25:00.71

Max Shank

Belief or hope for the future.

25:17.49

mikebledsoe

Ah, long time ago and so this thing is blood so far in and if you try to take it back on principle all the way back to where it should be to where the consent you know I give consent or not if you take it all the way back to the principle which is what happens is people snap out of it and go oh my God I never gave consent.

25:24.37

Max Shank

Um, right.

25:35.44

Max Shank

Right.

25:37.19

mikebledsoe

And ah, you know they realize they're being rape and they then they go Oh I'm going to draw the line back where it should be and that's jarring like Society Society has a really hard time going adjusting to where things should be.

25:47.86

Max Shank

Right. Oh Man So true.

25:54.97

mikebledsoe

And yeah, so we got to like when I look at I go. How do we like stare step this thing back gradually the same way it got in which is going to be way harder to do than how we got here. It's kind of like losing weight so much easier to get fat.

26:10.27

Max Shank

Yo you know what? it's like it's exactly like someone finally drawing boundaries with another person and the person who has been infringing on the boundaries unknowingly.

26:20.20

mikebledsoe

Right.

26:27.67

Max Shank

Because that None person has not been drawing those boundaries. They're totally shocked. They're like whoa this is a completely different person because it's such a big separation from that false ah boundary that you had that false front. Um.

26:40.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah I what do you want? Do the show today. You want to do boundaries I know if we did boundaries or not yet.

26:48.35

Max Shank

Ah, probably I mean I think the the power of no is like None of my favorite none principles concepts and um, ah. Feel like I almost drone on about that all the time but that's almost the only important thing is like can you say no and then can you can you hear No the no callous. Um I don't know if that's a full topic but we could talk about tahoe.

27:15.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right I like that the power of no, we don't have to go. You know we have to go like an hour hou hour hou hour fifteen every time we can just say the power of no and we got the.

27:31.38

Max Shank

Have we done the power of no before.

27:31.97

mikebledsoe

This section which is almost a half hour already I don't think so I don't remember writing that one down. Yeah.

27:37.43

Max Shank

Ah, okay, well let's let's try a power of no slash like tahoe. Yeah, sure.

27:44.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right? you want can get off.

27:52.65

Max Shank

Oh you mean like right now. Okay hey everybody welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Today we're gonna talk to you about the power of no and the power of 1 of the most beautiful places ever. Lake.

27:53.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, like right now.

28:12.56

Max Shank

Tahoe on the border of Nevada and California thanks for tuning in everybody mikey. Thanks for joining me again.

28:19.00

mikebledsoe

of course. of course so um we're going to get that power of no, but yeah, just a quick quick note I will be arriving in tahoe the week of September Twenty four to run a spartan race.

28:26.98

Max Shank

Are.

28:36.90

mikebledsoe

And anybody who wants to join me. They get a free registration Joe Decena the Ceo of Spartan Race basically gifted us as many registrants as we want. So if you want to run the race with me shoot me up in the Dms and ah I'll be prepping for that I don't know if I'll be posting my training. Ah, hate posting training online but people fucking. Love it.

28:57.25

Max Shank

I want to see tupper wares fully your food all lined up in a row for this I want to see you get serious like 1 of those like actual you know, athlete folks. Ah.

29:11.60

mikebledsoe

I I kind of enjoy I enjoy that I don't have to do that and I'll still beat some of those people like I remember I remember.

29:20.57

Max Shank

Um, oh yeah, we know? ah.

29:26.24

mikebledsoe

Remember 4 was it four years ago I was running the race and I had ah None my buddies with me and 1 of the guys he bought and sold cannabis for a living so he may or may not have been classified as a drug dealer now we halfway through the race. My edible. Was wearing off and I was like oh no I'm feeling sober and he looks over and pulls out a little plastic wrapped joint and whips it out on the trail we blaze it halfway through gets me through the end of the race and um.

29:55.36

Max Shank

Wow. Um, how long is this race. Oh a spartan race is eighteen miles holy god

30:03.46

mikebledsoe

Eighteen miles well they have different links but this 1 is eighteen miles with four thousand feet of elevation climb. So.

30:15.96

Max Shank

Sounds horrible.

30:18.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's pretty largerous and you're gonna do a swim at the top. It's it's like ° at this pond at the top of the hill they say 21 k but it could be as long as some years. It's longer than others but the year they.

30:22.68

Max Shank

Jesus None obstacles for this spartan race. Um, good god.

30:35.26

mikebledsoe

The year that they told me it was gonna be thirteen miles and end up being 18 Ah so at least well it's 30 obstacles. So it's we'll say it's thirteen miles so hop marathon plus thirty obstacles.

30:42.96

Max Shank

Dude, that's that's like a None marathon at least is what we're talking. We're talking about a None marathon.

30:52.92

Max Shank

Oh.

30:54.39

mikebledsoe

Where you're carrying heavy things up and down the mountain. Ah, you know, maybe a hundred to two hundred yards at a time. So it's.

30:58.73

Max Shank

Wow I'm interested to look into the obstacles a little bit more it sounds exciting but it doesn't sound like what I would want to actually do it. It does seem more fun.

31:12.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean that's why I.

31:17.99

Max Shank

Then a race I saw that went through Death Valley 120 or something miles finished started in Death Valley hottest place in the world and then finished at the base of Mount Whitney in California and I just happened to we just drove through it. On the way back from tahoe and we saw these ah skeletons covered in ah bright white underarmor clothing from head to toe stumbling. It was just I was just thinking I can't think of a worse. Ah, athletic event than. Ah, hundred plus mile run through Death Valley that's obscene to me amazing that we can do it amazing that people can push to that limit.

31:57.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. It is obscene. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, well anyways, yeah, a few years ago I ran the race. We peeled off smoke the joint and there were half the people running by were jealous and the other half were disgusted.

32:21.87

Max Shank

Yeah I think it'll be a different percentage now. Probably I think less discussed more more jealousy. It's one of those things.

32:23.28

mikebledsoe

That we would do such a thing during a race.. What do you think?? What do you think it's going to be probably probably people people are having to learn how to enjoy themselves and the people that are gonna come out in race right now. Probably. Ah, a little bit looser.

32:46.89

Max Shank

I'm surprised that ah Spartan had that many prudes Anyway I think it's more of a judgment call because I bet there are a bunch of booze bags judging that right.

32:53.20

mikebledsoe

I Don't you know I don't know I don't think so I think a lot of them are pretty clean.

32:58.29

Max Shank

I Mean not personally like you know I'm not into kink shaming like whatever you want to do coffee ah cocoa puffs like that's a cereal right? Coco puffs like chocolate Chocolate Mu Balls essentially.

33:15.61

mikebledsoe

It's a it's a dessert disguised as a breakfast.

33:17.67

Max Shank

But food is drugs. Coffee is drugs alcohol is drugs weed is drugs you might as well take something that's going to make your endurance better I mean that's that's definitely something right? That's what you're talking about that's what weed's for endurance. Wow.

33:30.70

mikebledsoe

That's what the weeds for yeah oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, um, t hc binds the same receptor as ah, the name of it is eskating me but it's up. It's it's what causes the runners high and so Tc binds are the same one so you basically fall into that groove a lot sooner and the more time you spend in that groove the better your endurance is going to be because your nervous system is in a rhythm and it's.

33:48.80

Max Shank

34:03.29

Max Shank

Um.

34:04.90

mikebledsoe

It's calm and you're breathing really well and so ah, yeah, cannabis is ah you know amongst the people who know about it. There's a lot of endurance athletes who use it and it's it's great for that. Not great for picking up something heavy None time or moving incredibly fast. But for for repetitive motion over a long period of time. It's ah it's a wonderful substance.

34:31.63

Max Shank

Um, definitely an endurance performance enhancer.

34:36.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah, one of my favorite things to do when I was living in California was eating edible wait an hour and then just go run on the beach until I got tired I like go run on the beach I'd get tired I'd go swimming I'd run a little more go swimming crawl around.

34:53.80

Max Shank

Um, sounds pretty complex and scientific ah program design there. Ah.

34:53.88

mikebledsoe

Ah, was fucking weird about there.

35:03.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um, you do we want to get in the power of no.

35:09.15

Max Shank

Yeah, because you need to set some boundaries so that you can make your spartan race training a little bit more serious none of this like I'm going to sit on my ass for ten months and then just train for two months we need. We need to set boundaries. For spartan training year-round. It's time for you to take this seriously.

35:30.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, Well I Think what you're getting at is you know when I when I think about boundaries and the power of no like boundaries is your ability to say no and there's internal boundaries and then external Boundaries. So Most people I find that I get ah angry when I. When I cross my internal boundaries I might project that out on somebody else, but the yeah the internal boundaries I got to tell myself no to staying up late when I know I'm gonna train the next day I gotta be able to tell myself no to eating that donut or whatever it is and.

36:00.44

Max Shank

On here.

36:07.55

mikebledsoe

That can be really really difficult. But I think that at the core of that is really good I'm surrounded by good stuff. It's um, it's unfair.

36:08.92

Max Shank

Especially if the stuff is really good like like saying no to broccoli is way easier than saying no to crack probably probably I think ah.

36:18.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah I. Oh Man I Once had a friend who had tried crackout and he was like dude you should definitely try it because it's so good and don't know like make sure you don't know where to get more because you'll go get more. Oh go. Okay.

36:43.00

Max Shank

Um, I mean he clearly doesn't think you're a very good detective but like you have this mind altertering experience. That's like nothing you've ever had and you're.

36:43.61

mikebledsoe

That sounds like I'm not going to try it. Yeah.

37:00.30

Max Shank

Willingness to do some detective work to find someone is like 0 I mean you could find crack.

37:02.96

mikebledsoe

That's what you got like have someone drop you off on a desert island for like a week and then you know hit it on the first day. So I think that's the way that's how you have to go.

37:11.92

Max Shank

Um, how to do crack by Mike Blood so how to ah.

37:17.74

mikebledsoe

Um, but yeah, going back to the boundaries. The no is like telling yourself no is basically parenting yourself most people don't have good internal boundaries and they do a bunch of shit that they know that if they let children do that same thing. They would be doing that child a disservice.

37:41.20

Max Shank

I've heard that when you can parent yourself is when you are considered an adult. That's one definition that I like of it I'm I'm not there yet myself. Um.

37:46.79

mikebledsoe

Yep. Um, that's a definition I like to run around with.

37:56.50

Max Shank

With everything ah or or or am I I mean something I think about is like you're really just making bets cost benefit analysis. So as long as you're getting what you want out of it. That's.

37:56.51

mikebledsoe

No, not with everything I think it's a lifelong thing adulting.

38:15.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and over time though.

38:15.58

Max Shank

It's all good like do I drink too much coffee. That's that's a question I've been thinking about lately because I drink a lot of coffee maybe like four four ah diluted cups a day.

38:22.32

mikebledsoe

Why have you been thinking about it.

38:30.70

mikebledsoe

So what? What? What? What? Why could that? be bad for you.

38:33.12

Max Shank

Pour in oh I have no idea I mean I've I've read into like some of the reasons why but I just wonder if it's if it's worth being such a regular part of the routine and and there's not really ah, a clear and definitive answer on it.

38:49.00

mikebledsoe

I think that coffee was popularized as a healthy thing by bulletproof Dave Asprey did a really good job of making it. Okay, um oh yeah.

39:00.88

Max Shank

Um, you think so I thought I thought it was like reasonably healthy before.

39:06.71

mikebledsoe

Um I don't think it was held on the same pedestal I mean it's considered like a health product. At this point if you buy the right coffee you're drink you're drinking the smart intelligent healthy coffee. But if you drink the other coffee. You're just a.

39:14.91

Max Shank

In.

39:20.99

Max Shank

Um, well, it's like how about smart water. How about that brand Are you kidding me as Genius The bottles are very liked by hikers because they're pretty sturdy and very lightweight but we were thinking about the branding of smart water.

39:25.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah, muggle.

39:31.57

mikebledsoe

Blew it away.

39:40.92

Max Shank

That that takes a lot of balls right? Smart I mean you would think someone must have thought of that before but look at that smartwater the smart coach.

39:48.50

mikebledsoe

Maybe maybe I should have called my business. The smart coach instead of the strong coach.

39:58.97

Max Shank

I Mean technically that's more what you would want.

39:59.00

mikebledsoe

Ah, the smart Coach fuck.

40:03.36

Max Shank

You just have you just have pictures of these like really buff idiots. Ah I ah man. Okay, so look boundaries being able to say no.

40:12.35

mikebledsoe

Ah, er.

40:23.30

Max Shank

To yourself is that's basically wisdom right? because you're not going purely off instinct and we talked a little bit about intuition and instinct in the pre-show today right? Well, there's a pre-show and you'll see my nipples.

40:34.10

mikebledsoe

Ah, we didn't mention the pre-show.

40:42.69

Max Shank

I at least show them on camera. So if you're listening, you'll know when they're there and we talk about some pretty cool stuff I liked the pre-show today.

40:50.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the pre-show was loaded with good content today and and personal sharing information. so yeah yeah yeah so um at some point.

40:59.95

Max Shank

That's true. There was some good personal sharing. It's like a little therapy session for all of us there.

41:07.75

mikebledsoe

The bloodsideher dot Com I'll have a link set up so that you can get access to the ah the membership site which will be donation based. That's all all back to boundaries.

41:13.65

Max Shank

Um, Boom back to boundaries boundaries with yourself say no to drugs such a funny phrase right? I mean that's why I always love coffee as the example, right? they're they're talking about like crack and that stuff. Um. Being able to say no to other people is not a skill that everyone has. They're really concerned that people won't like them anymore if they draw the boundary they actually want and what's funny is sometimes that's true because you're growing up. People are pretty immature. And then you're an adult and people are still pretty immature and if you do something that someone doesn't like they'll treat you different. So It's normal that you would try to be either accommodating or more dominating in order to get.. It's like whatever ah strategy you learned. And so if you're one of the accommodating Types. You're going to feel really nervous to say no to people and I can I can take a lot to get back into the rotation and like I said earlier the people who you draw those boundaries with suddenly are going to feel ah like whiplash.

42:14.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

42:29.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the um yeah, you're you're when you set a new boundary or you know, maybe it's a boundary that you've had internally that you've never communicated and then you say you know what I'm going to communicate this boundary right now and people.

42:29.30

Max Shank

There's gonna be a shock.

42:48.33

mikebledsoe

Are expecting you to behave a certain way and when you verbalize a boundary for the None time you break that expectation and when people expect something to happen and it doesn't happen. They get they get attached to whatever story that. They have you in and when you when you fuck that story up by setting a new boundary. They yeah is really interesting how they might respond I think that's one of those things where ah that I've learned through a lot of the personal development work I've done is. I I might come out of a workshop and go. Oh Yeah I I have not been I discovered this boundary I've had I haven't been communicating it and then now my homework is to go communicate it and the process of and it takes a lot of courage to do that because the process of of. The unknown like by doing that you're stepping into the unknown you have no idea how the other person is going to respond and it's going to cause that person some level of stress consciously or or subconsciously and that's to me the practice of surrender is really. Saying what's true for you and then just again, we go back to paying attention paying attention to what how people respond to that and then adjust from there but there's no way to predict how someone's gonna ah respond to a new boundary I say most of the time when I'm. When I have a worst case scenario in my head about how someone's gonna respond to me. It almost never comes True. It's like that. The anticipation of how this person might respond to this is way worse.

44:31.54

Max Shank

Right. Well I've been holding back a lot. Actually I don't want to hurt your feelings you seem sensitive to me. Ah, all joking aside, um I agree with you completely.

44:43.47

mikebledsoe

Ah I am very sensitive. Yeah.

44:55.10

Max Shank

I think that when you are used to being accommodating and I'm not saying it's bad to be accommodating, but basically you fall into what I call a predictable strategy. It's just a predictable strategy or predictable plan. I learned that if I do this thing then I get this response and like you were saying we prefer that known pain or discomfort of not being true to ourselves to the unknown of holy fuck will will this person say that they hate me will they tell me to go fuck myself if i. Draw the boundary that I actually want to draw and there's even that that Mark Twain quote because I know you're big fan of Twain. He said that his tailor was the only reasonable man he ever met because he took my measurement new each time while everybody else. Measured me against who I was and I always thought that was a really nice None expectations not being met is kind of the root of all disappointment necessarily right? So people get mad when their expectations are not met. They get sad and their expectations are not. Matt but really, it's just an attachment to this future outcome and if you can get curious about the future to me. That's the best forward thinking mentality because it has a little bit of. Joy a little bit of excitement and it also kind of I think harmonizes the relationship with the unknown a little bit. It makes it a little more of a positive thing like when you say oh the storms can be unpredictable. You're like whoa. It's like a scary unknown almost. But. You're like I'm curious to see um, what the what the weather is like tomorrow. It feels very different. Yeah, so basically you're.

46:53.82

mikebledsoe

Very different energy.

47:01.72

Max Shank

By not drawing your boundary. You're admitting that you're attached to the response of the other person and and you think that is actually more valuable in your cost benefit analysis than saying what you really feel which would be drawing a boundary.

47:06.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

47:17.71

mikebledsoe

Saying No yeah I think I think um, ah yeah, big big part of the the pinch we're in in the world right? now is a lack of people I think sought out.

47:21.19

Max Shank

Yeah, it's pretty big. It's big month.

47:37.55

mikebledsoe

To be to to harmonize and to not rock the boat and so there's kind of like a death by a thousand cuts is like oh you know what? because values and boundaries go hand in hand this um that this value has been. You know I'm doing something or going along with something. It's not really in alignment with my values but it seems like the rest of the group want Yeah yeah, yeah.

48:02.98

Max Shank

The greater good the greater good the greater good. It's same old story man the great the greater good. You can convince people of just about anything if it's for some sort of greater. Good.

48:18.58

mikebledsoe

Um, how vague is the greater good like when people say the greater good.

48:24.13

Max Shank

What's more vague. Nothing is more vague. The great or bad I mean like it's It's a ridiculous phrase. It's this. It's this totally. Um, unscientific assumption that if you concentrate the decision making.

48:30.22

mikebledsoe

It's a ridiculous phrase.

48:41.76

Max Shank

To this guy. It'll be overall better off and we still don't know demonetized here. We come de you monetized. We still don't know if our ah emergency break reaction to whatever the fuck has been going on the last couple of years actually is better than doing literally nothing other than saying hey if you ah if you want to stay home. You can we? We don't know which would have been better and I'm not saying that would have been better but historically speaking. Ah. Bureaucrats usually make things about None to None times worse with what they do than if they had just done nothing and let people figure it out through consensual exchange.

49:34.70

mikebledsoe

No yeah, the the but I think the greater good thing is also interesting is I don't think most people see it as ah, giving control to a centralized group of people or individual. It's.. It's like um, it's when they say like they you know they say they're not even talking about an individual.. There's this.. There's this ominous so that's how I know that someone believes in God is when they they say things like the greater good like there's some. Magical being and my definition of God is different. But when I I run I Run I run into atheists all the time that believe in a in a being a magical being that knows what's the best for everybody and so.

50:12.34

Max Shank

So so it's like a unifying idea for you. Ah.

50:27.56

Max Shank

Um, does this magical being have a name.

50:28.79

mikebledsoe

But they're not. They're not even um, well it's it's probably whoever their favorite anchor is on the news or the you know or the newspaper that's in the the blue package the blue.

50:38.59

Max Shank

Here.

50:47.93

mikebledsoe

Rapper the New York Times you know as long as the New York Times said it you know now. Yeah, so it's like late they actually they they actually don't have. There's no end of they're not. They're not in recognition that they're even giving power to an individual because there's this.

50:52.94

Max Shank

I see Yeah so I God is like.

51:06.74

mikebledsoe

There's this mass media machine that is is spitting out this narrative and so anything. That's not that isn't for the greater good like that's that's in service of the greater. Good. So The fact that I think it's it's ah it's an interesting little trap that people find themselves in is because they're. Saying it's for the greater. Good. They believe it's for the greater good but they don't actually they're not I don't think most of those people are in recognition that they're giving power to a centralized control of people who who may not actually be that informed or that Um, what's the word I'm looking for.

51:27.67

Max Shank

Right.

51:45.43

mikebledsoe

Altruistic You know they they they believe that the people are doing the best they can. They're like them. That's that's the most that that's the they're like me. It's a lack of it's ah it's an inability for things like empathy. So the people who feel as though they're the most empathetic.

51:45.60

Max Shank

Um, right like them this they're like me.

52:03.49

mikebledsoe

Are usually the least empathetic because their their empathy is the projection of themselves instead of recognizing that people are different.

52:08.20

Max Shank

Well, it's elevation through depression like you have these victims and that elevates you you put yourself as the hero you have to put them as the victim. That's why I don't want to be anybody's savior. It's It's not a cool role.

52:22.92

mikebledsoe

No.

52:25.11

Max Shank

You know you don't want to be victims I don't want to be a hero just be a guy I think the way you're thinking of God a phrase struck me. It's intrinsic belief or intrinsic believability and that's kind of what God is. Like who who's your God is who you trust without really understanding. There's no reason to a lot of people worship money kind of like God or Worship. Um the state as a God Yeah yeah.

52:54.10

mikebledsoe

It's probably the biggest God I know of yeah, well when I say the biggest I mean the majority of the population is it. Worships money anything.

53:02.46

Max Shank

Way more people believe in money than believe in a Christian Catholic or whatever like any one of those.

53:09.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, anyone well any any Christian like 99% of christians believe more in money than they do they do in the Christian god.

53:17.72

Max Shank

Oh snap smackdown.

53:22.32

mikebledsoe

Do you spend more time thinking about money or do you spend more time thinking about God where whatever you wherever you spend wherever you spent your attention is what you worship and that is your god.

53:27.19

Max Shank

Oh My God roasted I think you're probably right. Let he who is without Sin cast The None stone.

53:41.81

mikebledsoe

He.

53:43.20

Max Shank

Let he who is without sin cast the None stone. Oh you're you're calling out these non-believing christians for their lack of true faith right? they're they're pretending

53:47.12

mikebledsoe

Was was that in reference to.

54:02.15

Max Shank

They're pretending to love their religion but really they love money way more and they're not open and honest about that.

54:04.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, it's a it's a it's a something that makes people feel better about themselves.

54:11.44

Max Shank

Oh yeah, I mean and I think ah in many cases I've seen religion be super constructive for some people. So yeah.

54:18.39

mikebledsoe

I Think it's I think it's constructed for most people I think most people lack order in their lives. They they do want someone else to tell them what to do how to live their life. Most people have zero moral compass. Ah.

54:31.50

Max Shank

Ah, but they don't do it at the barrel of a gun right? I Think that's what I like better about religion is it still giving you structure for the flow kind of what we were talking about before ah you need to have that structure for the flow.

54:37.10

mikebledsoe

They're not.

54:48.14

mikebledsoe

And what you're saying is it's voluntary.

54:50.62

Max Shank

Um, yeah, it's consensual. It's consensual is awesome baby. Nothing's hotter than consent I think it's pretty cool.

54:58.63

mikebledsoe

The the yeah yeah, what I what I think is funny. Is you got a bunch of ah I was in a conversation last night about ah blue states versus red states and getting in the conversation now.

55:12.25

Max Shank

In like a fight. It would be no contest be over so quick. Can you imagine if we just reverted to like an all out battle every 4 years. Amazing.

55:17.51

mikebledsoe

Um.

55:23.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah the yeah.

55:30.83

Max Shank

Who we'd be more civil. The rest of the year too if we could just get it out. Not quite purge. Love not not purge like you know you get in the ring. You take a few punches with boxing gloves on.

55:34.76

mikebledsoe

Like ah like ah one day a year like the purge. Yeah.

55:44.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah ah the reason I bring this up is like that the left and the right are interesting because like on the left. They really believe in consent when it comes to anything that's sexual in nature like there's but but when it comes to anything else.

55:58.12

Max Shank

Ah, yeah.

56:04.56

mikebledsoe

There's complete blindness to it and on the right? yeah and on the right they they want consent for certain things but completely disregard other things like people.

56:06.64

Max Shank

Um, it's like a mental illness both ways like how could you believe it's so weird.

56:19.61

mikebledsoe

I say this regularly like when people I'm talking to someone and they go what's wrong. Why do those people do this but then they do this. It doesn't add up and I go yeah most of what people are doing doesn't add up because they lack principles. They they.

56:32.44

Max Shank

Well um, almost everybody's a hypocrite on some level by the way like let's not put even ourselves up on like that high of a pedestal right? like everybody's working with that.

56:36.20

mikebledsoe

On some level. But percentage wise the amount of our life that we make decisions around are more principle based than the average person. The average person is going with Pop. Whatever's popular right? people go people want to be accepted by the group so they do what's popular. They don't.

56:51.78

Max Shank

God I Hope So yeah, true, true True true.

57:00.59

mikebledsoe

They're not running it through a filter of what are my values. What are my boundaries. What are my principle. What are the principles and by the way you don't get to choose the principles. The principles are are around us. Yeah, as I that's.

57:10.32

Max Shank

My body my choice across the board. My body my choice across the board that is what you're talking about that's why that's that's the only example because the only question the only important question just to cut through all this bullshit is who decides that's it.

57:17.87

mikebledsoe

A perfect example.

57:29.33

Max Shank

Do I decide or does some other guy decide. That's the only question that matters politically ever is who decides anytime it starts to get confusing. Just ask the question who decides and the argument crumbles for people who want to I don't know Gatekeeper A lady's vagina. People want to add some experimental fucking injections into your skin ah with the shortest track record of any kind of thing like that ever I mean these are both signs of mental illness to believe 1 about 1 and another about the other. It's ah. It's really weird. It almost forces people who are hyper left or hyper right to be mentally Ill like you have to shut off your thinking brain to think those are like some but.

58:19.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah there's um, you know we look at like Socrates and talking about what what makes someone human it was ah practicing having the practice of being in touch with reality being in greater contact with reality. And this and this inability inability to see ah the principle at play like just completely unable ah is is being out of touch with reality.

58:38.84

Max Shank

Pretty pretty nebulous.

58:46.20

Max Shank

58:53.84

Max Shank

I Like the dune experiment for figuring out if he's a human where they put his hand in the pain box and say if he takes it out. They'll cut his throat with a poisonous needle so he has to withstand tremendous pain.

58:56.13

mikebledsoe

In which.

59:01.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

59:11.60

Max Shank

Thinking He's like sacrificing his burning hand in order to keep his life and I think that is kind of the secret to wealth and planning and any of that is can you see can you see the big picture. Can you see the forest for the trees and the trick is you can't see the forest. And the trees at the same time so you have to alternate you have to cycle you have to hone in like a laser on something and then you got to open up your awareness like a lantern and take in everything around you to make sure that you're still focusing your energy. In the right direction kind of like we talked about with structure versus flow structure as the pipe flow is water if you don't have ah that that rushing water channeled somehow. Well you're just moving along with the River and that's fine, but you're going to go in the same direction as the rest of the water.

01:00:03.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I the some my practice over time is I've had a easier time in my life being zoomed out than zoomed in and um I don't know if that's.

01:00:15.98

Max Shank

Are.

01:00:21.86

mikebledsoe

I would say that I could spend more time zoomed in I still spend more time zoomed in but I noticed that the amount of time I spent on considering when I think about expanding my awareness around something that lantern there's there's 2 ah dimensions to consider one is space and the other one is time.

01:00:23.57

Max Shank

Indian.

01:00:41.80

mikebledsoe

And so there's there's what's happening right now and there's what I want to happen in None ears There's also what's happening right now in the space that I'm in but what's happening in you know, Dc right now or just right down the street like how much. How much space can you consider and how much time can you consider when you're making your decisions when you're setting the vision. What how much can you consider? most people don't practice that expansion of time and space when setting the vision.

01:01:04.70

Max Shank

How many variables go into your decision making equation right.

01:01:18.30

mikebledsoe

Or making decisions. Um and because of that for anyone who is unable to do that. They're more easily to be controlled by someone who does do that.

01:01:29.19

Max Shank

Absolutely Um I think the average person is constantly pushed and pulled by a variety of forces to do things that are as frictionless as possible and for them as Motionless as possible. And those are forces. Um from a software engineering standpoint from a psychological engineering standpoint and also from an evolutionary standpoint.. There's nothing better for a curious lazy Monkey mind who's trying to maximize efficiency to just sit around and Watch. An Endless stream of crazy shit. So if you don't draw that Boundary. You're never going to pick your head up and ah like I'm not trying to call anyone out or anything but you see some of these kids these days. Fucking kids I hate that phrase. What am I doing that for these kids these days I feel old saying that feel silly I don't feel old until I talk like that. But basically they're like looking straight down into the telephone and it's adults too. Don't get me wrong while they're walking. Maybe they walk.

01:02:26.28

mikebledsoe

You're so old.

01:02:42.30

Max Shank

Into traffic. Maybe they walk off a cliff something like that. But it's the perfect visual of someone who's so ah, locked in psychologically onto something that isn't even really good for them and when we talk about drawing boundaries for ourselves like I'm going to say no to crack today every day I'm like. I'm going to say no to crack and every day I have so far and it feels like a little like a little victory like I didn't do crack again and ah if I do crack though. It'll be bad.

01:03:02.63

mikebledsoe

Yes.

01:03:10.84

mikebledsoe

We also you also have like ah we have a record breaking ah amount of kids on things like Sslris on antidepressants and anti-angolytics things that things that dep.

01:03:21.60

Max Shank

Yeah, those are good drugs Mike those are good drugs. They're just good for you. Everyone should be on those right? They're on the Tv isn't it like 75% of commercials pharmaceutical ones.

01:03:30.80

mikebledsoe

You know what's interesting is think about this? Yeah, it's It's a lot. Ah every news.

01:03:39.84

Max Shank

There's got to be something wrong with you. Are you watching the Tv there's something wrong.

01:03:42.48

mikebledsoe

Um, well,, there's ah, there's a theory that ah one of the reasons that the government is so friendly to pharmaceutical companies is that when under the influence of these these drugs that. People become docile way more easy to control like like please pass the xanax out please pass What I don't know these drugs are called anymore.

01:04:01.33

Max Shank

Holy yeah, totally totally.

01:04:09.90

Max Shank

If I was going to get a bus full of people on a field trip and I had the choice between giving them heroin or crack at the beginning I would clearly choose heroin every time they would be mostly still.

01:04:20.86

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

01:04:25.87

Max Shank

Could be like hey we're going over to this bench over here way easier to control that that doesn't surprise me one bit.

01:04:31.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so yeah I've heard discussions of you know? ah the food supply being fucked up in certain ways intentionally as well to reduce the amount of testosterone that men have because.

01:04:46.70

Max Shank

When people get afraid also like a ah scared stoned guy. He'll do anything. He'll do anything you want that guy is scared and stoned. You're like hey I need your left leg but I'll protect you until tomorrow. Thank God you're here.

01:04:59.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, could you imagine I was I was the last couple years I've just been thinking about people popping and all these pills and then watching Tv so you're you're popping pills and watching Tv you have no autonomy you you are.

01:05:03.20

Max Shank

Ah. Oh My god.

01:05:15.70

mikebledsoe

You are a hundred percent slave at that point and pc what's that.

01:05:17.73

Max Shank

Npc Baby Npcs a non-player character I'm ah showing my nerd card here. But ah when you're when you're playing ah an rpg or a role playing game I don't play a lot of them these days but there were some good ones. A non-player character is character in the game um played by the computer software. It's not another person like you or me it's just like a software thing and they they respond very predictably. You know.

01:05:45.78

mikebledsoe

Um, well isn't this like some somewhat of the premise of the matrix and.

01:05:50.65

Max Shank

Very much so the premise of the matrix even more so the premise of that was it free guy I think I saw it free free free guy. It's like ah ah no, no, no, it's deadpool it isn.

01:06:01.39

mikebledsoe

What's that oh is that the Markie Mark film Ryan ran oh yeah yeah I saw that.

01:06:10.55

Max Shank

Ryan Reynolds and he's ah he's like a video game character that comes to life somehow with some general ai code and it's kind of a fun like a rite of passage I guess his rite of passage is going from like a. Ah, computer character like ah do this I go to the bank. Whatever to like a regular.

01:06:32.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and he wakes up and he's like like something something wakes him up. Yeah.

01:06:37.63

Max Shank

Something clicks different I can't remember exactly what it yeah matrix same way as like wake up Neo and then so you're right.

01:06:43.57

mikebledsoe

Well, that's a think the thing that I that I that I um get curious about because I I think these movies are good. Analogies is in the movie. The matrix he talks about how like anyone who. Has not woken up yet has to be considered an enemy but you're also trying to turn them all the time you're trying to wake them up the whole time. So. It's a very.. It's an interesting.. How do you approach people who are the was an npg Npc how.

01:07:06.40

Max Shank

A.A.

01:07:20.57

Max Shank

Npc.

01:07:22.50

mikebledsoe

How do you approach Npcs with compassion. You know they're while also recognizing and when I now now that I'm speaking out loud I'm thinking they're not necessarily the enemy. They're just dangerous.

01:07:26.31

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:07:35.18

Max Shank

Yes, that you know it's funny. You said that because as soon as I heard the word enemy it felt wrong, but dangerous feels absolutely right? You have to set those boundaries like we talked about before but then that's where compassion and curiosity come in.

01:07:41.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:07:54.72

Max Shank

Like do you blame a dog if it was beaten its whole life and for me I look at folks and I just don't tolerate their behavior but I also don't like judge them as evil for it like I don't tolerate Behavior I don't want.

01:08:08.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:08:12.64

Max Shank

But it's not about that individual I don't judge that individual just the same way I don't judge the dog that had bad owners and you you think about how many generations of Shitty Shitty parents on every level not just biological parents. But also. The prevailing myths of the land and time that we're in the people on the Tv all that shit just generation of generation of people doing anything they can to like feel safe and maybe even loved. Let alone self-actualized fuck that for most people loves love is a stretch for most people and I think the more you ah the more a person is kept in lizard mode in that fight or flight the faster and less. Um.

01:08:52.89

mikebledsoe

That's terrifying. Um.

01:09:09.80

Max Shank

The faster they'll respond and the less ah thoughtfulness rationality and logic and wisdom. They'll use to make that decision. They'll just react fearfully.

01:09:15.98

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, because it's a reaction. Well one it's quick and 2 It's predictable like if you if you know somebody pretty well if you know an individual pretty well I mean we've all did this. Ah you know I've done this when I was a lot more when I was younger and I was a little more cruel.

01:09:22.89

Max Shank

Right.

01:09:35.71

mikebledsoe

Like oh watch this I'm gonna say this something to this guy and he's gonna fucking flip his shit right now and I would say it and they would flip their shit I'm like and I would get kicks it make me make me laugh. You know.

01:09:41.64

Max Shank

Oh really.

01:09:49.33

Max Shank

Ah, so you fucked with idiots for sport How very cool.

01:09:52.49

mikebledsoe

Well yeah I mean this was this was something in the Navy to like in the military. It's you know there's a little bit of like brotherly cruelty going on. Yeah I don't do it anymore. But but it it.

01:09:56.49

Max Shank

Um, ah I'm not saying it's bad. Yeah I think mockery is really good I think mockery is like a lighthearted form of criticism.

01:10:12.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it. It comes it. It comes with a lot of predictability though and I always love um, extrapolating the individual out to culture and so you have these people who've been studying How does society React. Society doesn't thoughtfully pause and respond they society draw cold is it? Ah yeah, yeah.

01:10:35.56

Max Shank

Fish Tail Fish Tail I think is the term for it when you over when you overcorrect if you're a skidding in the car and you overcorrect you start fish tailing a little more back and forth mm.

01:10:49.17

mikebledsoe

Why they always talk about the pendulum swinging in culture. So it goes from you know one side to the other. Yeah we definitely I mean just look at what ah went from Trump to Biden like as about as opposite as you can get right? It was a hard swing. It's it's not like they went from 1 person to the center.

01:11:03.97

Max Shank

Um, yeah, right.

01:11:07.91

mikebledsoe

And went like complete left wing puppet mode and um whereas Trump was the uncontrollable bull in the China shop and so it was like people were like okay I don't we don't like this mess I don't like like this makes me.

01:11:17.76

Max Shank

Any.

01:11:27.18

mikebledsoe

Uncomfortable like what's who's going to be the least threatening person who's just going to go along with everything possible. Oh it's this guy So like the fish tale The the fish tale like it's right. It's like that. There's an overcorrection.

01:11:33.20

Max Shank

Um, well ah man.

01:11:44.43

mikebledsoe

So does it. There's just keep swinging harder and harder like are we going to get like ah I think I think it I think I think the next Ronald Reagan is next in that case.

01:11:49.41

Max Shank

Typically I think that's how it works.

01:11:55.71

Max Shank

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. But ah.

01:11:56.89

mikebledsoe

What was he yet. Ah Jimmy Carter he was a 1 term democrat the end of the seventy s he was probably he was considered the worst president ever by a lot of people and then um and then Reagan came along in just it was a landslide and ah.

01:12:08.20

Max Shank

And.

01:12:16.13

mikebledsoe

I mean I think who who's coming in next like yeah I'm just I'm just throw it out. There's like I think we're gonna see like a a pretty right winger come into Desantis. Yeah.

01:12:19.81

Max Shank

It's a good question. Yeah. Probably that Florida guy will win at some point in the near future. That's my guess he seems like like some kind of war veteran seems like pretty squeaky but I don't I don't really follow it I just have this understanding that. Along with the idea of god being intrinsic believability. We have the same thing with the wings. Unfortunately so as soon as someone puts on the blue t-shirt and says I'm on the blue team. Even even if that guy is fucking a rapacious idiot. Everyone with a blue t-shirt ons like yeah, we like that guy. He only fucking rapes those red guys like okay and then and then the red guys will do like the same thing and they're like yeah fuck those gay guys putting on wedding rings or whatever I don't I don't know exactly what it is but but it's stupid. It's like why.

01:13:08.92

mikebledsoe

01:13:19.26

mikebledsoe

Ah, a.

01:13:22.59

Max Shank

Why we?? Ah, but it's um, it's specialization just like you get the Electrician to do your electrical shit because he has better specialization. We have this idea that someone will choose better, but that's just not the case. That's why you vote with your feet you vote with your dollars. It's never going to be better. The only. Like the smartest thing The founding fathers did was the separation of power separation of church and State Boom Boom right? off the bat that was huge and then they tried to separate the the state itself even more. So So you're trying to divide up the power. But of course the ultimate division of power is called.

01:13:49.73

mikebledsoe

Or they were boop. Yeah.

01:14:01.41

Max Shank

The customer. So the customer just buys. Whatever the fuck they want to and no one can force them to but whatever the pendulum swings I don't want to talk about fucking constitution every week Mike okay I get it.

01:14:12.65

mikebledsoe

Ah I want you did that to you. You did that to yourself.

01:14:19.33

Max Shank

I did to myself and I'm mad now.

01:14:22.38

mikebledsoe

Ah, he's so red in the face right now folks so red in the face. He's he's worked up.

01:14:34.68

Max Shank

Ah, oh God It's awesome.

01:14:37.46

mikebledsoe

Oh I know we're to take the show now.

01:14:41.31

Max Shank

We went off the rail so long ago we didn't even talk much about lake to Lake Tahoe was beautiful I was just there. It was really nice. It was one of the most relaxing times I've ever had I was there. Ah there four days ago.

01:14:49.20

mikebledsoe

What are you doing late tahoe. Ah, then we whip last you back here you got me on the show and just like.

01:15:00.18

Max Shank

I'm experiencing my boundaries being crossed really hard right now. Ah it was amazing I sat in a river at the top of a waterfall overlooking ah Lake Tahoe and Cascade Lake is 1 of the most beautiful views ever.

01:15:17.23

mikebledsoe

I Know what you're talking about where where do you? where do you like to stay when you grew up there.

01:15:18.17

Max Shank

So um, you know lately. We've been going up to ah heavenly. So right on the state line. Um I've stayed in a vehicle a couple times also and there's ah on on the Nevada in Nevada.

01:15:28.50

mikebledsoe

Yep, that's where I stay most of time I I used to say where.

01:15:37.35

Max Shank

So you know how there's that imaginary line between the places called Nevada and California you're you're legally allowed to sleep in a vehicle in Nevada so rent divan rent an Rv Boom Boom Boom Nevada site there are also like really nice campsites everywhere. But if you're just looking to. Ah.

01:15:38.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:15:56.60

Max Shank

To be there. You just go pop over to the Nevada side hang out there and then do whatever you want in the California side but usually a heavenly state line area on the southeast side is beautiful and that cascade falls in Cascade Lake overlook in ah. Overlooking like tahoe. It's one of the most epic views ever. The fact that you can just like climb in also and get that cool river running around you the sound the view. The feeling of the cold water. It's something that is truly indescribable.

01:16:22.70

mikebledsoe

Yep.

01:16:33.78

mikebledsoe

know know I stay heavenly most of the time when I go I go to 3 times a year I used to go to incline village a lot but which on the Nevada side. But yeah made some friends it really just depends on where my friends are located has.

01:16:34.78

Max Shank

With words. Yeah, it's awesome.

01:16:44.73

Max Shank

Um, that was where I first went to. It's totally man. It's not as ah pop in incline is more quiet for sure much much smaller town.

01:16:53.20

mikebledsoe

Because I got a friend and I got a couple friends and incline I got a couple friends and heavenly. Yeah.

01:17:03.42

Max Shank

Like if you want to like it state line. There are those like 4 or 5 casinos right? right? on the line where it's totally illegal to gamble versus where it's completely deeply encouraged to gamble as much as possible I love lake tahoe.

01:17:06.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:17:20.92

mikebledsoe

It's like heaven.

01:17:22.94

Max Shank

It is. It is a beautiful place I found the greatest breakfast burrito ever of all time. Ah at place called Ver Day bear day mexico oh man Teresa Breakfast Burrito I had ah addd 3

01:17:28.14

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, ver day.

01:17:40.93

Max Shank

Of them in about 24 hours and they were not small, but if you find something that's good. You stick with it. So I'm like taking burritos on hikes now I ended up in a caloric surplus after all those breakfast book burritos.

01:17:52.76

mikebledsoe

There's a there's a place that does sells solely beef jerky over there I'm not remembering the name of it right now. Highly recommend it. Some of the best jerky I've ever had which is great for hiking when I go hiking I Usually just take beef jerky and honey with me just.

01:17:55.75

Max Shank

Is. Wow.

01:18:06.72

Max Shank

I Think you might get a lot of people going to this ah this tahoe Spartan I Think that's your I think that's your crew, a free entry come on. It is one of the greatest places I've ever been in the world and I've I've traveled a lot of cool places.

01:18:15.27

mikebledsoe

Free entry, beautiful race look and you can now you can now buy weed in both California and Nevada so you can join me on my I suggest thought you know if you're a newbie. 4 or five Milligrams at the starting line if you're a season veteran of of the cannabis game I'll let you make your own decision on how much you take. But I'll be taking around ten milligrams at the starting line and just enjoying the day.

01:18:45.80

Max Shank

Mike is gonna Mike is gonna be selling cannabis kits for the spartan race at the starting line that will get you guaranteed to get you from the start to the finish high as a kite.

01:18:54.13

mikebledsoe

That's right.

01:18:59.52

mikebledsoe

Ah, we're gonna set up a little station along the way is like just in case just in case your joint got wet. We're gonna you know, light you up ass it bring your cash folks.

01:19:02.46

Max Shank

That sounds fair. Oh my god but the price just gets higher every mile further along the road. Oh my gosh. But seriously if you haven't been to Lake Tahoe and you get the chance you gotta to go to Lake Tahoe is

01:19:14.94

mikebledsoe

We only accept Bitcoin actually.

01:19:21.28

Max Shank

Ah, beautiful, Beautiful place.

01:19:22.10

mikebledsoe

Absolutely thanks for selling it? Yeah yeah.

01:19:25.55

Max Shank

Yeah I love lake Tahoe is I think I've been back there more times. Ah, maybe than any other play like I love yosemite also but I just keep going back to Lake Tahoe even though it's an 8 our drive it just it's like nothing else. You can get a nice airbnb up there too for like none to 53 and then of course there's really nice stuff like 1500 ten K a night but for for two hundred bucks you can have a really nice. Base camp with view of the lake showers I'm I'm sold. It's it's maybe maybe my favorite place to actually go so power of no yeah power of no if you don't set boundaries people are going to tell you what to do all the time.

01:20:09.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah I can cur I can cur well wrap it up.

01:20:21.62

Max Shank

And you probably won't even notice because it'll just be a really enticing offer saying no internally to your own actions that continually fuck you up can be really valuable I think that goes all the way from crack to The. Cellular telephone which is just another way that we pleasure ourselves to take our minds out of the moment so we can go be somewhere else and then externally it can be difficult to say no to people. Because their reaction may be unpredictable, but ah, you don't you don't really have your own life If You're always just saying yes to everything. So if you draw those boundaries. Also you will be shocked at how much extra time you have here's ah, here's living proof that I do draw some boundaries. Well. A piece of fabric that I knitted just learned how to knit over the weekend. Pretty nice. You can see the excellent knit stitch there is where I cast on and then bind it off learning the new Lingo So ah, juggling.

01:21:20.53

mikebledsoe

Ah, okay.

01:21:37.32

Max Shank

Knitting prepping for a Spartan race If you draw boundaries you can do it all if you don't draw boundaries you will do ah exactly the most predictable thing with the least amount of effort all the time the natural way.

01:21:51.95

mikebledsoe

Well said I have nothing to add. Um go to Lake Tahoe and um I want to mention that the weekend before lake tahoe spartan race I have the strong coach summit.

01:21:55.38

Max Shank

Um, also go to Lake Tahoe oh

01:22:09.70

mikebledsoe

It is a allinclusive retreat happening here in Austin Texas I rented out a summer camp round 2 I'm doing 2 a year I'm doing a spring and fall. So again, it's ah it's gonna be 3 nights two days of all inclusive retreat and.

01:22:10.91

Max Shank

Um, oh round 2 yeah baby hell yeah.

01:22:28.24

mikebledsoe

Um'm bringing in killer speakers people who have been in the coaching game are going to help people become better coaches learn how to grow their businesses all that stuff and we're gonna have a great time doing it. So I don't have the. Sales page up for that yet but be on the lookout folks market on your calendars September sixteen through None anything you want to mention there max where can people find you max shink dot com there you go.

01:22:58.78

Max Shank

http://maxshank.com @maxshank. Thanks Mikey! Thanks guys! Love you guys. Bye.

01:23:04.65

mikebledsoe

Love you I.

How & Why Doing “Dad Work” Will Change The World With Curt Storring Jul 14, 2022

A self-confessed “recovering shitty father” who knows the world will begin healing when we begin healing fathers, this week’s guest is an expert at helping men successfully perform much needed “inner work”

From the healthy regulation + expression of anger and authentic relationship creation, to breaking the chain of generational trauma - this episode has it all

The Science to Happiness With Gillian Mandich Jul 07, 2022

There is no “secret” to happiness… but there is a science to itAnd no one knows that better than this week’s guest, Dr. Gillian Mandich has devoted and committed her life to finding it so people can live their happiest life Tune in to this week’s episode. You’ll love it

Freedom with Mike & Max, Monday Morning show Jul 04, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're going to be talking about freedom because you know what it is the fourth of July and we are americans and so of course not only are we totally into the conversation today but we're into it. All the time max and I are both lovers of freedom and in our own ways which is kind of like how freedom works you get to do it your way. So thanks for joining me Dave Max so you are begin this topic with you since I think you and I are both. We've spent a lot of time focusing on this topic.

00:41.30

Max Shank

Well thanks for having me once again, it is certainly my favorite topic. It's also what I would like to impart or share with people. Basically when I think about what I would like to share with folks I would like to help them become more free because I don't.

00:54.71

mikebledsoe

Hang on. Yeah.

01:00.59

Max Shank

I don't I don't I don't want to be your Mama I don't want to be responsible for you and that's the beauty of freedom is there's you are responsible for yourself and this other person is responsible for themself and there's interdependence that comes through agreements.

01:03.23

mikebledsoe

I am.

01:19.29

Max Shank

Volitional choices and I think that's amazing. That's what allowed us to get everything going. That's what allowed us to do so well basically hands writing and cooperation. Otherwise we would still just be you know lion food pretty much.

01:30.17

mikebledsoe

01:37.50

Max Shank

You know I'm saying Ah so I I think I would like everyone listening to this to become more free and I think a good way to understand it would be the different types of freedom and then also what's the opposite of freedom and who are the key players and how this all worked.

01:37.97

mikebledsoe

Definitely.

01:56.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

01:57.16

Max Shank

So if you don't mind I'd I'd love to kick things off.

02:00.43

mikebledsoe

Kick things off when you got more to say right now is that what you're saying oh well None I want to mention if you want access to the pre-show you have to go to go over to the bloodso show dot com we'll have a link over there to.

02:03.16

Max Shank

Yeah I mean ah yeah I Just I don't want to drone on and on too much. But I think about it like free freedom is a new go for it.

02:20.10

mikebledsoe

Sign up. Ah, we're taking it's a donation based thing I hate word donation. It's value for value pay what you want if you find what be what you want look pay what you want to be in there. Whatever you however, much value you find from this show just you know.

02:24.56

Max Shank

Um, pay what you want I like that phrase. That's that's a better 1 pay what you want.

02:37.52

Max Shank

Well, they can't pay that much. This show is invaluable so pay the intersection of what you value the show and what you can afford.

02:39.37

mikebledsoe

Make it make you know pay as much as you possibly can is.

02:50.61

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so that keeps us ah, trucking along. And yeah, if you go up there if if you're listening on the day that we post this that link is not going to quite be up yet. But if you're listening in a few days from now I should have that up in the next week so

02:57.20

Max Shank

It will have.

03:08.77

mikebledsoe

We're Goingnna give some exclusive content there posting some short videos of our pre-show which sometimes I think what's happening in the preshow is more valuable than what's happening here. There's a little more put together. But you miss all the ramblings. That ah happened and in fact, if you go listen to today's pre-show you get to hear max's poem that he wrote this morning. Yeah yeah, so he shared a poem to kick that off. So I just want to mention that first. Ah so I appreciate everyone who's I've had.

03:30.89

Max Shank

Oh that's right.

03:44.95

mikebledsoe

I've had ah people already reach out in the Dms asking me how the hell do I donate someone asked for venmo accounts I was like hold on I was like hold off we're gonna set something up I want to do this proper from the very beginning. So um, they do like us.

03:47.58

Max Shank

Um, oh Wow cool.

03:57.65

Max Shank

They like us. They really like us. Thanks everybody. That's so nice I feel validation that I I used to only feel from the affection of a woman I'm sure no other guys out there ah tried to get all their validation from the affection of women right? That's a mistake.

04:02.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

04:14.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've never done that I've never done that. Yeah yeah.

04:17.39

Max Shank

I mean I think that's only a mistake I've made I don't think anybody else talk about a type of slavery right? you you are your sense of self is ah enslaved by the whims and affection of women that's brutal.

04:31.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, which I mean women are pretty much the whole reason we do anything at the end of the day. So yeah, and you know what if I'm a slave to that then fuck it I'm I'm down.

04:37.70

Max Shank

Yo Absolutely for sex and food.

04:46.22

Max Shank

Um, yeah, they're they, they they look and feel nice. Don't they totally worth. Ah, ah.

04:50.78

mikebledsoe

Totally worth it. Totally worth it. Well um, we we had a little conversation during the pre-show that really lights me up which is ah max brought up the word. No. Which I think is at the center of the freedom conversation and there is the internal experience of saying no and that is ah being willing to disappoint others or not meet the expectations of others when someone asks you to do something or be somewhere.

05:25.62

Max Shank

The.

05:27.57

mikebledsoe

You say? No I don't want to um and then there's um, and then there's the the lack of violence when you tell somebody? No,. There's the the external experience of freedom which is. The ability to say no and people actually honor that. Yeah.

05:48.43

Max Shank

Well, it's drawing a line in the sand right? I'm I'm pretty sure the origin of drawing a line in the sand was basically if you cross this I will fuck you up and that's that's really if we have ah differences. That's how we resolve them. We can do it like you and I are doing right now we can talk it out say no and if that knows not respected The only thing left is physical violence which force is the language of cells and the language of life and ah. Even inorganic stuff like rocks I mean force is really what what moves things along which sounds like a funny phrase. But if you draw solid boundaries. You also won't become resentful. That's a big part of it and the biggest part I think. And it's a really hard concept to understand and I bring it up all the time which is opportunity cost if you neglect to say no when it matters then you will prevent yourself from saying yes to things so the cost of not drawing boundaries. Is that you don't get to use that energy for the things that you really want to say yes to so freedom and focus are both related to the word. No and this is true with your health. It's true with your finances. It's true with friendships. It's. Really really important. Um, so that's a big part of it I would also like to today just thank everybody involved for the freedom experiment that you and I are now enjoying in America I think a lot of us. Ah, it's very easy to forget that this is a pretty new concept in terms of how nations are organized. This is a big big group of people united around the concept of freedom. Probably the biggest None ever actually and. Certainly deteriorated a little bit but before that the only type of freedom there was was probably like nomad nomadic tribes and stuff like that. But you're still going to have some sort of a hierarchy. So this idea that everyone is free to do what they like. The pursuit of happiness is a type of magic really and that code and all those people involved set in motion a series of events that allowed for the greatest possible comparative advantage and specialization.

08:37.41

Max Shank

If You are super ambitious about baking muffins and that is all that you want to do you can do that and no one can tell you to do anything otherwise and the cumulative effect of everybody being free to choose out of love what they most want to do. Led to the highest advancement Possible. You're always going to get a much higher passion and performance if the reason or the mission is derived from a place of of love right? so.

09:09.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, wells gone.

09:13.44

Max Shank

It it wasn't just the people who thank you? It wasn't just the people who wrote the declaration of independence it was a lot of people before that also a lot of it was actually just because of the book common sense by Thomas Paine ah from what I've read and understand. A lot of the guys who signed the declaration of independence just earlier that year were basically thinking. Yeah, we should get back with England we should. We should get back with them and then common sense came out and it's it's worth a read. It's still good. It was the most widely read book ever at the time it it sold more copies than the literacy rate it was outrageous how popular this book was and so it just goes to show the power of an idea.

09:57.40

mikebledsoe

Oh.

10:05.58

Max Shank

Ah, so I I thank Thomas Paine I think the people who who risked a lot I mean there was a lot of bloodshed There was a lot of risks being taken and it's like freedom is basically never given right. It's only taken. And so I I guess I really because I don't have a frame I've ever been to war I've done none of fighting like in a ring with the rare scuffle outside in the world but man I have a really deep appreciation for. All of the people involved and it's still right now there are a lot of people involved with preserving this idea that we are free to do as we please and everyone else is free to do as they please because that's that's not how it went right? right? before this experiment. That's not how it went and I think.

10:56.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

11:02.51

Max Shank

A lot of what happened there was a catalyst for the industry and technology that give us different types of freedom I mean you are free from doing your laundry by hand if you have a.

11:21.48

mikebledsoe

But well tech What ah tech comes um I mean I've seen instances where the tech is what preceded the freedom. So for one we can agree on that.

11:21.48

Max Shank

A washing machine and a dryer. It's incredible. So all that tech was because of the freedom I believe.

11:34.39

Max Shank

Freedom Freedom is a technology. Also I think we can agree.

11:40.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah but ah so there's 2 things that really led to ah the the declaration of independence and following that the constitution and ah, what the 2 things that I see that led to that one was the enlightenment period. And that's where guys like John Locke and some other philosophers really laid the groundwork. Um for there was a lot of things happening in Europe and there was these ideas this idea of equal rights was emerging ah in Europe. And it was causing a lot of friction and that's None reason a lot of people came to America was like you know what? I don't want to deal with all this stuff in Europe let's get out of here. Yeah, it's three or four weeks on a boat we might die but fuck it. Let's go and so ah, very bold but the.

12:32.97

Max Shank

Bold very bold.

12:37.88

mikebledsoe

There were these ideas from the enlightenment period that that took hold and the idea of equal rights is that no one person is more has more rights than somebody else which in the end means that I have no right to tell you how to live your life as long as you're not impeding on my.

12:47.32

Max Shank

Oh.

12:57.50

Max Shank

Right.

12:57.22

mikebledsoe

Right? to do what I want so the idea of negative rights comes into play which never exists before. So if you go to Europe now the it the way the their minds work and a lot of americans it works like this too because the the european mindset is you know. I think you and I as long as we've been alive. It seems like a lot of americans think that europe has it more figured out than we do which is kind of weird. Um, yeah, and so.

13:23.16

Max Shank

The grass is greener on the other side. Um, but they don't consider the fact that you pay like a 20% value added tax on like basically everything you know so we have like fractional servitude with these taxations and it's just different place to place right.

13:31.92

mikebledsoe

Everything every step of the Way. Ah. Yeah, so the um, ah so the idea of negative rights comes into play and that is ah everybody had the the negative right is I don't have the right to do anything to cause you to do you know.

13:42.27

Max Shank

Yeah.

13:57.99

mikebledsoe

To stop doing anything you want to do as long as we're not harming each other is basically at the end of the day. That's how negative rights work and this was not a concept that existed prior to about None it was new up into that point everyone believed that the king.

13:59.72

Max Shank

And a.

14:17.80

mikebledsoe

Or the pope or somebody had been granted this authority from god and this is why Ah, this is why so many almost every country has this official religion that's affiliated with and America was the first one that came along. It was like you know what we're not going to do this whole religious thing. Because we're not going to try to tie up the idea of authority with the government and so um and so this whole thing of negative rights comes along and there was if you read the federalist papers and this is a thing that most americans I think really miss out on is they don't. Get the context of the constitution. They don't have the context for the declaration of independence both are are very important I took constitutional law 1 year and the the none month we spent studying the declaration of independence and I was like what is like they told us at the very beginning.

15:11.48

Max Shank

The.

15:16.62

mikebledsoe

We're stuck in declaration of independence first because this actually laid the groundwork for the constitution. So first a lot. Yeah, a lot of people are only looking at the constitution with 0 context. So then so you have the context of the declaration of independence so you need to have that context first.

15:22.91

Max Shank

It's like the sperm and the egg.

15:35.58

mikebledsoe

Most people don't have that and which you know today is the day that you know the the declaration of independence was was made a thing and then um, which was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson I believe and i.

15:42.17

Max Shank

Right. As I understand it. Yeah. We don't know for sure of of course. Well you said something big too which is content without context I Think that's one of the biggest traps that people can fall into like it's It's fine to.

15:53.88

mikebledsoe

No, there were no cameras. It's not an Instagram it's not on Facebook who knows.

16:10.67

Max Shank

Believe you whatever you want to believe but I'm pretty shocked Still you'd think I'd be desensitized to it by now by the by the strength of opinions held based on Absolutely no context whatsoever. It's it's just ah, it's basically just ah, a bird sound.

16:23.36

mikebledsoe

Right.

16:29.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

16:30.60

Max Shank

That is repeated like they hear this combination of sounds and then that comes back out again and it's impossible to take into account all of the variables. But ah, it really is if you want to understand something.. It's so important to have context for. What that is and when that might actually be correct.

16:49.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so so the context of something like the constitution is really um, a big topic right now because the supreme court whose primary job is to find out if a law is constitutional or not. That's that's about it.

17:05.89

Max Shank

Right.

17:09.18

mikebledsoe

They don't create laws. They just they make rulings on whether this law is something that could be upheld or not so.

17:15.39

Max Shank

And let's get clear real quick. What's the point of having a state and laws in the None place. It's just to protect property rights that's it. It's that part hasn't changed that is that's the core purpose.

17:29.84

mikebledsoe

That was but but the.

17:34.56

Max Shank

Same with pirates and gangs. It's like basically the guys are like hey we'll offer you protection in exchange for a little bit of your stuff. So It's really like no different than that and when you were talking About. Um. The interplay of negative rights. It. It made me think like okay, well yeah, that's that's the rule is that according to the law. You can't infringe on somebody else's property which is their self and their stuff.

18:09.51

mikebledsoe

Include your body. Yeah.

18:12.94

Max Shank

Yeah yourself and your stuff and but here's the thing like natural law is anyone can do anything. They want any time. So this whole idea of law is really just about consequences if they catch you and that sounds like a little funny but but that's really that's really all it is. If if they catch you. There are consequences if they don't There are basically no consequences So natural law is anyone or or everyone always does what they want and they can they can kill you they can punch you they can say mean things to you. They can steal your stuff. Doesn't matter the whole reason we would put faith in a higher power is if we believed that they would improve our property rights and decrease friction and decrease assault on our persons and so you have to look at the cost Benefit. Of What you're giving up versus what you're getting and I think it's really, um, certainly has split the crowd because a lot of people would agree that for what we ah give or for what we have taken. The ah return on that investment is very bad and not transparent either.

19:29.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah, very bad and and that was actually and that was that was definitely not transparent and that was one of the reasons that you know the the revolutionary war was fought was he's not doing shit for us. He just and just taxing us.

19:41.72

Max Shank

Why should we pay the King he's not doing shit for us over here. He's an ocean away fuck that guy. Yeah, right totally imagine. Yeah.

19:49.55

mikebledsoe

No protection, not providing enough for what he's taking and so that was one of the things that that motivated them. Um, but so I like to bring up the idea of negative rights because there's no such thing as rights outside of negative rights. There's. Anything. That's not a negative right? is what I would call a wrong and so self logic man I'm I'm sorry so I'm really twisting you up here. The thing is is when I talk to people about this sometimes they do.

20:12.65

Max Shank

This is tough logic to follow. Honestly, you got to write it down.

20:21.61

Max Shank

Um, the opposite of a negative right is a wrong.

20:30.83

mikebledsoe

That's right.

20:31.36

Max Shank

I'm pretty I'm pretty sure a negative right is a wrong. But anyway that mathematically.

20:35.16

mikebledsoe

No Ah negative. Well the the the reason well negative rights are rights and you have to the reason we have to use the language negative rights when we used to only have to use the word rights is because a lot of politicians have twisted up what rights mean. So people are confused that yeah that they've confused privileges with rights and you have the right to a really easy one to break down is medical Care. You have ah the right to medical care. It's like that's actually not.

20:53.73

Max Shank

Oh privileges.

21:12.40

mikebledsoe

True now because you have to take it from somebody else. So if if some authority figure comes along and says you have the right to medical care and then there's you walk into the doctor and the doctor says look I really.

21:12.73

Max Shank

I see now because you have to take it from somebody. Yeah.

21:31.76

mikebledsoe

I Can't afford to serve you right now for whatever reason the doctor doesn't want to do it and then an authority figure comes and says no doctor. This person has medical rights. You have to perform whatever it is on them that doctor that doctor has now become a slave. He's has to.

21:43.78

Max Shank

Right? Which is coercion word.

21:51.90

mikebledsoe

He has to conduct labor against his will and when I bring this up a lot of times people get really upset with me when I bring up that example because they're like but it would be wrong for the doctor to turn him down like look from an ethical standpoint when a doctor makes his his or her. Ah. Statement of what the hippocratic oath or whatever it is and they make the statement that they're going to. You know, help people who are in need and not turn anyone away. That's that's an ethical thing.

22:18.24

Max Shank

Right? That's worth going to look at by the way the hippocratic oath you can look it up is really cool. It's like a really awesome little bit of Linguistic magic. So.

22:29.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, So so what? I'm what I'm getting at is like this whole this whole that you have rights to somebody else's labor cause at the end of the and and the medical thing is really touchy because people people do feel like everyone should have access to this like emotionally, it's like. Oh yeah, everyone should have access to this but the thing is is not everyone has access to this.

22:52.19

Max Shank

It's just the image. It's just the image of it that sways people with rhetoric right? it like hospital rooms are scary death is scary. We don't want to face it so we have a scary enough image and then people are like you know what we should ah like steal from the neighbor.

23:02.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

23:09.48

mikebledsoe

Right.

23:10.90

Max Shank

For the greater good right? And here's how you cut straight to the core of any issue like this and you know I'm gonna let the I'm gonna let it fly today because fuck it here's the deal every day in the media. There's some new bullshit that is trying to ensnare you.

23:18.57

mikebledsoe

Ah, perfect.

23:28.64

Max Shank

And enslave your attention and that's already a fucking bad bad thing right? here's the deal though if you want to cut straight to the heart of any issue you ask None question who decides that's it doesn't every everything else take it off the table. Who decides and then you'll figure out what the deal is going on. You just ask who decides and then eventually you go oh so that other guy decides for me. Yeah, no thanks and me saying no, that's that's freedom. But if you want to cut to the heart of. The important issues. What's really important. Ah I don't know if ah if it's important like ah there are so many things that are made to believe to be important. It's make-believe we make believe that these things are important. But the None thing that is important is who decides that's all cut through the bullshit. That's what freedom is is who decides if I can say yes if I can say no, that's freedom if I cannot It's some form of slavery fractional or otherwise simple as that.

24:38.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, totally agree I mean I think we're what ah probably around I'm like a 33% slave I think you're probably closer like a 48% slave because you're in California.

24:51.48

Max Shank

Fucking rubbing it in look at him do that to me Jesus Christ wow good god I'll tell you what though I'll tell you I'll tell you.

24:56.30

mikebledsoe

Um, just come to Texas already. Um, um, um, not only am my older but I'm less of a slave than you. Um.

25:07.95

Max Shank

Oh you're way more of a timela than I am folks for those listening and don't know I have way more ah agency and autonomy over my schedule than Mike here does. But you know you're going to talk about California. Let's talk about it. Imagine.

25:12.83

mikebledsoe

If.

25:26.80

Max Shank

Being one of those guys who owns a business in California they shut you down and then they don't protect your shop while it gets looted what the fuck are you doing the whole purpose that you're there is like whoa so they they steal none your shit. They don't come to your aid when you need it and they stop you from doing business. It's like the antithesis of freedom. So oh my god look we could talk about this all day but let's let's get back to something practical.

25:55.21

mikebledsoe

Um, a.

25:56.47

Max Shank

Otherwise I'm just gonna sound like an angry old man I'm only 34 fucking years old for Christ's sakes

26:02.35

mikebledsoe

Ah, all right? So ah, we'll get back to some ah something' a little more philosophical that'll help calm me down. So Ah anyways I bring up the the medical freedom because there's a lot of thing or medical rights Because. You got to watch out I want I want people to be aware so when they do come across these conversations when if they do get exposed to something a politician says and they say you have the right to this think about do they have to take something from somebody else to give it to you and if that is the case then it's not a right.

26:18.49

Max Shank

And.

26:37.69

mikebledsoe

Because you're you were in the end enslaving the other person. So yeah, another one that's popular in California is and I've had this experience because my my ah my fiancee Ashley she.

26:40.44

Max Shank

Yeah, you're just getting the loot from their fucking plunder.

26:56.10

mikebledsoe

Sold She had tenants in a building and she sold the building and she inherited the building from her grandmother and so she inherits like this commercial building. It's It's like mixed use commercial and residential and these she's like you know. Well if the tenants she's having to like she's learning about all this stuff in real time and going. Okay, the tenants don't make rent because sometimes they're late. She's like it's like can I kick them out because she's also trying to sell the building and if you have tenants not paying Rent. You're trying to sell a building then it's a fucking problem right? so.

27:26.81

Max Shank

Totally yeah.

27:31.92

mikebledsoe

She goes and talks to the lawyer to find out if she can kick the tenants out and they have to be so many months behind on rent then not only do you not get ah ah, get your money for what you own because that's her property she has to pay the tenants to leave.

27:49.62

Max Shank

Oh yeah, oh yeah, right right.

27:51.31

mikebledsoe

She has to pay them. It's like the opposite of ah property rights. it's it's crazy so um there's just another I wanted to bring up a None law. We'll we'll call it a statutory law that means it's ah it's an opinion of a group people not actual law that have been put in place.

28:06.72

Max Shank

Well, there are so many things like that right? and it's all for the illusion. It's all for the illusion of the greater good. This is the only way you can understand how these things happen you have to imagine 3 neighbors and they all get to vote.

28:10.64

mikebledsoe

That Ah, there's so many.

28:25.90

Max Shank

And if None neighbors vote to Rob the none then majority rules and that's basically the problem is if enough people you know None people vote to Rob the none that's majority rule. It's also called mob rule. In ah in a different term but it's the same thing so you can yeah but that's what I'm that's exactly what I'm saying a democracy is not a good thing and people don't understand that because if you have the majority vote to Rob the minority I don't think that's like a constructive solution and it builds resentment in the.

28:46.80

mikebledsoe

It's also called Democracy It's a pure democracy. Yeah.

29:03.84

Max Shank

The group it doesn't allow I mean they're look. We could go off on that tangent for too long, but.

29:06.46

mikebledsoe

Well well here's the thing is I think it's worth mentioning I'm glad you brought up democracy because the United States is not a democracy. It's a republic and the reason that it was not a democracy is because the founding fathers fathers were smart enough. The first republic I want to say was Greece.

29:13.54

Max Shank

Republic.

29:26.29

mikebledsoe

Um, and took a lot of the concepts from Greece in order to create what we have a lot of the same stuff but the idea is you got a lot of people who want to get rid of something ah like the electoral college They think the electoral college is robbing people of their votes and this and that.

29:29.22

Max Shank

Um, lot of the same stuff lot of the same stuff big time.

29:43.31

Max Shank

And those people live on the coasts and want to make decisions for everybody else I get it like of of course like you know you don't hate the player don't hate the player don't hate the game either. That's just like the the thing we're in like we could have just as easily been born in a feudal system.

29:45.35

mikebledsoe

But yeah, yeah, if you're part of the majority.

30:00.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

30:01.33

Max Shank

Of some kind where we had to like pay to a lord and he could fuck our wife on wedding night and all kinds of shit like that. So like look you got to you got to compare Apple's apples everything's relative but ah things are overall like awesome, but it's largely due to technology.

30:10.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, thank you.

30:20.20

Max Shank

And our ability to trade easily and in fact, so you could say ah trade and technology are kind of the the work of the private sector and it's kind of like um, the public sector tries to fuck everything up. Maybe with good intentions by the way I don't know like that Handlin's razor idea of don't attribute to malice what you could attribute to ah incompetence sometimes yes sometimes no probably more people are stupid than evil and no one thinks they're the evil one. They always think the ends justify the means. Um, that's why that's why I'm not surprised when stuff like this happens because if you get a very powerful ambitious person. They can spin a story in their own mind and if they believe that they can improve. The life of 90% by murdering 10 probably they would do that and I and I could understand that it doesn't make it right? but I can totally understand and that's why it's never a good long-term choice to consolidate power into one area. Because you'll get more speed faster decision making so if you have ah an authoritarian or a dictatorship or some sort of ah collectivism where it's like None or None people in charge. You have a single point of failure which is a problem. So if you have an insane guy can like kill. Ah, 0 people with a famine just by accident right? Just by being a fucking retard. Ah like that's killed way more people than religion is just people who think they're smart getting in charge and thinking that they can make all the decisions that. We should all be individually making on our own that's the that's the value that's one of the major values of freedom is that it's like ah a shock absorber that can work in real time you know, supply and demand cost and benefit are made on an individual basis which is relative to. The individual values and it can adjust things much more quickly. You know if the if the Ceo of Target came out tomorrow and said I don't want any like jews blacks or anyone shopping at Target everyone be like holy god damn we don't like that and we would all go to Walmart. Out of our own free choice probably and and that's why it comes back to who decides. So if it's None guy at the top you can get things done a lot faster. You can boom declare war one None word kill that fucker and there's no.

32:48.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

33:05.52

Max Shank

There's no ah diversification of that decision making so you can get things done way faster hey ah clone those people over there and they're like yes, ah yes, dictator man I will I will clone those people over there hey kill those people and and you will so you can get things done way faster.

33:06.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

33:24.48

Max Shank

Which can be an advantage in the short term. But ah, you know now you're at the mercy of 1 guy and that's pretty scary stuff. So diversification is a big part of freedom.

33:30.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah I don't get back to yeah I agree and I mean that's one of the I say the byproducts of freedom that that actually is in service of the whole over time. Um, so I me go back to.

33:46.91

Max Shank

It's also profitable transactions. So if every transaction is done Volitiony then there's always ah, an energetic surplus like I trade you voluntary choice. Yeah volition means voluntary choice. But.

33:52.83

mikebledsoe

He say he's volition. He means voluntary so be using such big words. Yeah, ah so ah.

34:04.35

Max Shank

Dude, let me use my word a day calendar. Okay I bought the thing.

34:07.33

mikebledsoe

So They ah it it being a Republic I mentioned the electoral college but congress the senate the Supreme court. All these things are set up to have checks and balances and everything is based off of the.. Basically the declaration of Independence in the constitution are these these base ah basis of all the laws that are written and most of them are not constitutional that are floating around these days but the whole point was to ah they realized that the average person. Needed to feel like they were involved in some way but they they do not. They shouldn't have like ah I guess an equal voice in how things should ah like be controlled by others because not everyone can see. View and there's there's That's why there's representatives and not everything's just yeah, it's a specialization.

35:00.19

Max Shank

Um, it's specialization right? like an Electrician is good with electrical electrical work. A politician is supposed to be good with political work. Of course there are a lot of problems with that. But that's the idea.

35:10.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so that's why in my opinion up until this point a republic is the greatest form of government that's going to give somebody the greatest amount of freedom now. Ah you know. Is there something better probably with the with the way technology is moving with the decentralization of governance so things like the decentralized autonomous organizations daws. There are going to be things that we're going to be able to do with decentralized governance. And with Ai that is going to actually be able to make decisions that and ai is going to be able to croc information that no one human being can consider and so with the advancement technology. What I believe is we're going to be stepping into. A greater amount of freedom. Um, and there's also dangers that come with that of course. Ah and so going back. So I just want to make that statement about it being a republic not a democracy so on the news when they go oh this is a danger to our democracy which happens all the fucking time. Ah. Like sometimes youre like some I've had people tell me that I'm like well it's good thing. We're not a democracy and they they're like ah we're this one guy this german guy he yeah that this german guy he was like ah he was arguing with me on Facebook about something some guy went to burning man with.

36:30.79

Max Shank

Um, yeah, well there's semantic precision for you right? People don't even know what the word means.

36:45.25

Max Shank

Ah, yeah.

36:47.40

mikebledsoe

I mean this is years ago and he's like he's like something about democracy this and democracy. Yeah I was like well None off, you need to know that you're living in a country that's not a democracy. We're a republic and he's like what's that have to do with anything um like like you know, ah.

37:00.21

Max Shank

Ah.

37:05.75

mikebledsoe

The entire basis of your point is is being built around the idea of democracy That's that that doesn't actually exist here. So um.

37:16.43

Max Shank

Basically the Republic that was set up with Independence was to try to put as much shit in the way as possible from the government doing anything and and that's and that's the correct choice by the way it's.

37:26.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if you and the and the constitution was the constitution when you read it was it doesn't grant any rights to anybody it limits the government from impeding upon the rights that every individual has.

37:31.86

Max Shank

It's way more stable.

37:40.40

Max Shank

Exactly and isn't it Yeah isn't it funny too. We even havent I think it's the ninth one that says ah there are also more rights that we didn't write down.

37:46.15

mikebledsoe

And so yeah.

37:58.54

Max Shank

Basically, there's there's one like that. It's like you know, free speech and firearms. And honestly, if you have those 2 eventually it'll rebalance. It'll be a little turbulent but the whole like you know troops in peace time and not ah incriminating yourself and all these things that ah go on up. Ah, to that one where it's like Also we this this list is not Complete. We have even more than we wrote down.

38:23.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, hopefully you get the idea and then people didn't but but the thing is yeah um.

38:31.69

Max Shank

It's because they traded freedom for security and there's a quote about that people who trade freedom None security will lose both and deserve neither I think that might have been Jefferson I think it might have been Jefferson but maybe ah.

38:41.00

mikebledsoe

So Benjamin Franklin I think I put money on franklin yeah, but I mean nonetheless. Um, yeah, that that is what's happened so the other thing I want to hit on which what we were talking about the technology leading to freedom or freedom leading to technology I think.

38:48.40

Max Shank

Maybe it was Franklin I don't okay, yeah yeah.

39:06.12

mikebledsoe

I think the desire to be free is what does drive a lot of technology but an example so what created so I'm going to go back to the 2 things that created the situation in 76 when the founding fathers go you know what fuck you? we're doing our own thing. Is they had 2 things they had the enlightenment period so they had the philosophy which was the the development of consciousness to the degree in which they they recognized equal rights amongst every human being That's why it was written was it executed that way. Absolutely not. But guess what? we fast forward to today. It's been corrected. Tremendously. Um I think that if anyone were to argue that it's not as good now as it was two hundred years ago they'd be an idiot um and then well I would say as far as.

39:55.52

Max Shank

A lot of things are better and some things are worse. But I think Net net is better.

40:01.58

mikebledsoe

Say as far as like equal rights like there's not we don't have discrimination. Ah you know discriminatory laws based yeah well you know? yeah you know people of color and women being able to vote and all these types of things.

40:06.17

Max Shank

Oh that's a funny one. It's like the bros before hose amendments. You know that one.

40:18.22

Max Shank

Well isn't it funny though that we gave recently ah freed slave black men the right to vote long before women like I think that's a funny thing and I I feel that too I mean right now there's a lot of tension. Ah between men and women.

40:19.82

mikebledsoe

Um.

40:27.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

40:37.49

Max Shank

Mostly manufactured. But I think there's a lot more commonality between men of different races than a man and a woman of the same race I don't I don't I don't really think ah I don't think that's it's really more about upbringing but Gosh ah being a man or a woman is like a really.

40:45.51

mikebledsoe

I agree.

40:56.77

Max Shank

Different thing but having a different but having a different skin color in and of itself is not really a different thing and the only reason I believe that is because I'm not a racist and I cannot be a racist and think that generally black people Run faster.

40:57.76

mikebledsoe

It's a very different experience.

41:02.47

mikebledsoe

Not in. Um, what.

41:16.84

Max Shank

Asians are better at musical instruments and math and they become doctors more regularly I mean can't we all agree that this shit happens and not be racist at the same time seems so easy to me.

41:26.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, easy to you but not to people who were had their amygdala hijacked by the media. But ah, so so the 2 things the enlightenment period that gave rise to the philosophy and the way of thinking of equal rights.

41:33.10

Max Shank

Oh.

41:45.59

mikebledsoe

And the None thing that made the revolution possible was the decentralization of violence through the invention of the rifle and so hour to the people and so before the rifle came along.

41:53.85

Max Shank

Power to the people.

42:02.64

mikebledsoe

The amount of training and the cost of Weaponry and armor was too high for the average person to have the rifle comes along you require less training to kill somebody right? You don't need that much training to use a rifle fairly effectively like you can become deadly.

42:09.31

Max Shank

Um, ha ha.

42:22.29

mikebledsoe

You know in an afternoon of practice and exactly and so and.

42:24.70

Max Shank

And totally fuck up some guy who's done martial arts for 40 years with a sword that that changed my whole outlook on martial arts training I remember when I had that realization I was like I got to stop this I got to go start learn how to use a gun I'm not going to let some fucking. Hundred and ten pound asshole shoot me dead after training martial arts for 20 years that's ridiculous so it's it's the great equalizer right.

42:43.83

mikebledsoe

No, no, it is a great equalizer I think Smith and Wesson there's a quote from Smith and Wesson from the gun company has said men and women were created equal and. Smith and Wesson keeps it that way or something like that. Yeah yeah, it's like empowering women to carry a gun. You know like oh you, you don't want to have to rely on men for your safety. Well here's here's ah the great equalizer as you say so yeah, the the rifle would pierce the armor that was.

43:03.47

Max Shank

Oh That's pretty fun. Right.

43:16.54

Max Shank

Down.

43:21.92

mikebledsoe

Previously made to deflect swords and and arrows but a bullet you know, traveling at a thousand feet per second you know it it makes it through and so it really changed how warfare was ah conducted and actually what was that Mel Gibson movie with ah.

43:25.13

Max Shank

Ah.

43:41.73

mikebledsoe

No no the patriot I just saw a clip of it on Instagram and in that movie one of the things that that happened is they ah in a revolutionary war is when guerrilla warfare really started up until that point it was like.

43:41.77

Max Shank

Braveheart no the patriot. Yeah.

44:00.50

mikebledsoe

I've got my army and we're going to just March up to your army because that's what worked when they had like swords and and arrows and all this shit but like warfare actually didn't ah didn't really ah evolve.

44:03.98

Max Shank

Honorable.

44:13.12

Max Shank

In many parts of the world in sophisticated warfare. It was like we're going to March in a line at each other and what's funny is in bravehe heartt another Mel Gibson movie it's also all about freedom like he gets disembowlled and he like yells freedom and.

44:18.95

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

44:26.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

44:29.89

Max Shank

They're like doing sneaky shit and coming around the flank and all that stuff. So it's kind of funny how ah those movies really parallel each other under the same banner of free of freedom.

44:37.58

mikebledsoe

Oh for sure for sure. So ah, yeah, just thinking about that and like the scene I saw on Instagram ah, you know I follow ah an Instagram account called zulu fucks. So ah, you know it's a military you know some veterans put that shit together. Some sick fucks and who I enjoy and the ah you know they they have the scene where you know he's killing them with you know, rifles and hatchets and you know that was that was the weapon of his of choice right? He had the the hatchet he could throw and and all that um.

44:58.62

Max Shank

Yeah.

45:10.68

Max Shank

Right? It's like John wick. It's like murder porn right? for dudes John Wick 3 Keanereves fucks people up for 2 hours

45:14.95

mikebledsoe

But yeah, yeah, it is dude I finally watched I watched I've been wanting to watch John Wick for like 10 years and the last time I flew it was on the screen I was like oh fuck I'll watch it now. Um good movie.

45:32.13

Max Shank

It's funny. Yeah, yeah.

45:33.74

mikebledsoe

Actually I really enjoyed it. Ah so ah, so yeah, the the this decentral ah decentralization of violence through the invention of the rifle really is what allowed. Ah the Americans to get together and be able to. Hold the British back and everyone can fight that did not happen back in the day you were either a trained soldier or you weren't and if you weren't a trained soldier. You weren't fighting. Yeah yeah, mostly farmers.

45:53.17

Max Shank

Everyone can fight now I think that's even happening in Ukraine pass out a gun to everybody like.

46:07.57

Max Shank

You're probably a farmer. You know you said something really cool there which was that philosophical change and I often have thought about the fact that slavery is largely due to the definition. In the Dao. Ah 1 of the none passages is that ah naming is the origin of all particular things. So when you say there's this philosophical enlightenment shift. What that means is without that adjustment. People will go on believing the same thing that they have been believing. It's just like momentum. There's ideological momentum just like there's physical momentum. So. It's interesting to look back and see how many people were controlled with. With the threat of violence mostly I think of like ah a plantation in the south right? or or you know even before that just using a whip. You know you got maybe None people ah fully commanding None people and all they have is like whips and these people don't even think ah a. They think I'm I'm a slave and this is normal and this is what slaves do this is like a superior man and this is a slave even the code of hamurabi allegedly the oldest text for law which is basically like if you steal something we'll chop off your hand if you poke a guy's eye out. We'll poke your eye out if you rape his daughter you got to marry her and pay the dad fifty Silver shekels that kind of thing but it would it would refer to people as a superior man or an inferior man or a slave and so there were different classes of people and the reason there were different.

47:45.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

47:59.12

Max Shank

Classes of people was because that they believed and accepted those Classifications. So if you accept the classification of that. Ah, and you're and you don't have an. Imbalanced force kind of bringing it back to physics and Momentum. There's no reason that you would stop doing that.

48:19.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Um, I just did a quick search for a quote that I saw circulating on on social media which was a quote from Harriet Tubman saying I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.

48:40.91

Max Shank

Oh yeah, that's what I was trying to say but in a worse way I was I was saying it worse.

48:44.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but then you know of course if I go to one of the things that popped up I Want to do a search on it to be you know to confirm I was correct and there's ah, a politifact. Um.

48:53.14

Max Shank

A. Oh yeah, very reliable source.

49:00.73

mikebledsoe

That this this is hilarious actually like I never I I rarely ever do this, but it's like I end up on um, http://politifact.com to fact checker right? which is bullshit. Yeah, um.

49:10.18

Max Shank

I Want that job that seems easy I Just get to say right.

49:17.63

mikebledsoe

So. What's what's funny is like um, there's this explanation of how it was ah it was discredited in the none the none time ah like the the way it starts arguing that it was discredited is because um Facebook said it was debunked. And and fake like and then um, yeah, like their their primary sources and opinion from Facebook um, but ah, you know I don't know there. There is some more references and people.

49:39.34

Max Shank

So that's their source is that Facebook said it wasn't real.

49:56.95

mikebledsoe

Think that the comment's ridiculous. But of course if you don't know that you're a slave then of course that's going to sound ridiculous.

50:02.52

Max Shank

Right? The most effective chains are the ones that you don't notice and you can be a slave to different thing I think addiction is kind of like slavery in a lot of cases. Um you become a slave to that behavior or substance or or person.

50:06.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

50:21.28

Max Shank

Right? Like a code-dependent relationship like you're just totally totally a slave but you can't get out because you don't know. Ah what that would even look like.

50:29.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well that that quote makes me think about I remember reading um I took ah by the way I took african american english literature in college. There were 2 white people in the class at the beginning at the beginning of the semester.

50:42.79

Max Shank

Seems like a woke flex.

50:49.11

mikebledsoe

And then I was the only white person left at the end of the semester. Ah so to the beginning one was left ah I was really curious I was really yeah I was really really curious. Ah I enjoyed the class I thought it was fun.

50:57.52

Max Shank

Talk about being a minority.

51:08.16

mikebledsoe

I like english lit no matter what like any type of literature. Um I just love it. Ah, but None of the things that I realized in that class because we were reading you know well african american english lit and is that a lot of slaves when they were freed really didn't know what the fuck to do. And the same thing would happen now as if the government took off. You know people are like well what would we do? if there wasn't if nobody was taking care of this this this and this what would we do like we need to have that and and basically what I got from what I had read back then the the general theme that I saw was that.

51:36.60

Max Shank

Totally.

51:46.97

mikebledsoe

A lot of slaves didn't really want to be freed because they didn't know what to do with the freedom like there was a certain level of comfort and safety and knowing that I do this thing I go to work and I work work I work. However, many hours in the field. And there's going to be a meal for me and there's gonna be a roof over my head and yeah, like some things really Suck. You know if you step out of Line. You might get whipped or whatever it is but what was more scary was the uncertainty of freedom.

52:11.75

Max Shank

Right.

52:19.65

Max Shank

Um, I think that that's the only thing people fear is unknown. Um, like if you knew for sure that you were going to die on a certain day you wouldn't even fear it you had just accept it as reality. So it's the uncertainty.

52:21.63

mikebledsoe

Ends. Mostly.

52:36.99

Max Shank

That's why people are more afraid of a shark in the water than a bear on the land because you can't see it right? um.

52:39.75

mikebledsoe

I agree I've had the experience of both. Well I had the experience with the shark is like when I surf and I'm on top of the water. There's a I'm a little more like oh my God if something popped up I'd freak out but I've been diving with sharks and I was incredibly calm because I could see them and I was present with them and.

52:46.43

Max Shank

Um, yeah for right. In the epic of Gilgamesh. That's the scariest part is he's in a tunnel where you can't see a foot ahead or a foot behind and I think that's the oldest epic novel written down was ah was the epic of Gilgamesh but that was you know he's fighting all these like gods and monsters and shit.

52:58.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, encounter with bear recently and that wasn't so bad.

53:09.97

mikebledsoe

Um.

53:18.72

Max Shank

Not afraid. It's just when he's in the pitch black tunnel. He can't see what's ahead or what's behind and that's what the fear is really about I Think if you take what you're talking about um as ah as a leader something of a leader myself and often in the past very a very bad leader.

53:24.70

mikebledsoe

In 1

53:38.71

Max Shank

Ah, a lot of people are are craving direction. They're craving direction they want so they want a director just tell me what to do.

53:44.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, Ashley and I had this conversation yesterday we were talking about marketing. We were talking about marketing I was like like really we we were. We were driving down the road and analyzing billboards and I was and and um because it's a fun exercise for me, but ah.

53:55.72

Max Shank

Ah, ah, ah, sounds really fun.

54:04.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and ah I was like oh they could have said it way better and people would have taken the action they want them to if they would have said it like this and it was simply changing the language ah to tell people exactly what to do instead of telling people what I do like.

54:16.47

Max Shank

Right.

54:21.77

mikebledsoe

If I want you to work with me I don't tell you what I do I Tell you what you do with me and so.

54:22.94

Max Shank

Well and even more you're gonna say here's what you're gonna do here's what it's gonna look like here's how it's gonna feel this is exactly because what you're doing I think of it like.

54:32.24

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, um.

54:40.82

Max Shank

You're taking someone from one shore across a river to another one and that other shore across the river is basically like the the pot of gold at the rainbow. It's everything they want and everything you have and what you're doing is you are creating and manifesting. An image that helps them believe and see how they are going to cross that potentially very turbulent river so it's bringing certainty through imagination and having a direct action that is really clear to take. Like call this number now for your free blank is ah is a way better call to action than what I like to do is blah blah blah blah blah it's like whoa. No people do crave that direction I can absolutely understand. Why being ah freed after a life of servitude would be bad. It would be like ah Batman Batman telling Alfred to fuck off basically right and he's like whoa. No I've been I've been serving the batmans. The Bruce Waynes and all that stuff for years I think a similar example is ah.

55:40.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

55:50.40

mikebledsoe

Well I want to I want to leave I go around.

55:52.85

Max Shank

Ah, stay a stay at home mom a stay at home. This is my last example on this thing because like a stay at home mom you're 20 years as part of a functioning family unit and now suddenly you're like I think I'm going to reenter the workforce and that was a lifetime ago so that that uncertainty is.

56:05.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, my mom did that sheet I think she didn't work for 1819 years and then went back in and I think it was a little overwhelming for her at the beginning. But yeah, the yeah yeah.

56:11.51

Max Shank

Very pf.

56:17.63

Max Shank

What do I What do I Do tell someone tell me what to do and we're trained that way. You know we're crate trained in school obedience school I mean to do what other people tell us to do So it's no surprise that most people fall in line.

56:35.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I I bring all this up because um, you know some people are going to hate me for saying it. But like people we weren't joking at the beginning of the show. We were kind of joking we were weren't joking that we're fractional slaves in that if you don't.

56:36.34

Max Shank

With that ideology.

56:52.70

Max Shank

Yeah.

56:54.82

mikebledsoe

If We don't if we don't voluntarily participate with paying taxes and doing some other things and we're going to get beat down with a stick and stuck in a cage. Ah so like so like I think a lot of times. It's hard. For people to hear a statement from a white guy about ah such things. Yeah.

57:17.77

Max Shank

Only for racists only for racists if you discount the opinion of a person based on the lack or presence of melanin their skin. You're fucking racist just because someone's black doesn't mean we should think what they have to say matters and just because a guy is white. Doesn't mean that what he says doesn't matter the whole the whole idea of anti-racism is just racism by a different name that that is like a huge ah that's a type of ideological enslavement is thinking that that. Bullshit matters and those are burdens those are chains that you got to wear and like I was saying at the very beginning the news cycle is making you care about so many things that are outside your control and you're just going to get a greater and greater separation. Between your locus of control which is literally just you and then your radius of awareness of what is going on and they're like hey this important thing is happening a million miles away hey this important thing is happening to this ah gay something black. Whatever guy. And I'm not trying to like demean anybody it's just like those things don't matter. That's a person who should have rights just like another person. The idea that they should be different like adjusted up or adjusted down based on None of their features. That's fucking retarded basically like I don't know ben.

58:47.78

mikebledsoe

Ah I agree I agree because and because at the end of the day is you? You are one of the few that actually believe in equal rights and anyone who who you know that's that's how I've I've started making a lot of my conversations lately when someone makes. A statement about something that's political I go Oh well, do you believe in equal rights and then I go tell me about like you know do do you have like a definition for equal rights and they never do and then I provide them with a definition and then.

59:16.80

Max Shank

And.

59:24.50

mikebledsoe

And then usually we can't get very far after that because the definition of equal rights is is so difficult for them to even have a conversation about that because it because it challenges all the ideas it it challenges their ideology because before. They heard equal rights and they that they don't know what equal rights means and then they build a whole ideology that assumes that it's based on equal rights. But then when you go and visit that that um that that thing at the core that everyone thinks they agree on and then you say well let's define it. And now we're we're taking the foundation of what they believe to be the foundation of their ideology and we just fucking take it out from underneath them. It. It gets a little shaky.

01:00:11.20

Max Shank

Well, it's it's like is the game Fair I mean I used to do that and I thought it was pretty smart. It I thought it was like fun and kind of sporting to like ah slowly ah help people realize that everything they believe is fucking stupid and doesn't have any basis in reality. But it's not even fun anymore because it's so Common. It's not even difficult. But um, basically it does come I mean who who decides who decides? That's all who decides all of the other stuff So That's why I say it's It's not about so people conflate.

01:00:37.63

mikebledsoe

It's so easy to be. You know these days. All you got to believe in equal rights and be weirdo.

01:00:49.91

Max Shank

Or as you say there's a collapse distinction between equal opportunity and equal outcome and that's the big mistake because if you're looking to create an equal outcome then by definition the game can't be fair because you're going to be adjusting the rules based on the players.

01:01:05.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, you can't have equal. You can't you can't have equal opportunity and equal outcome. They can't exist at the same time.

01:01:08.77

Max Shank

And that it takes us right back to who decides who if I'm a fucking referee in a boxing match and anytime one of the guys gets punched I stop the fight to give him a little rest. That's not a fair game. But I can make the outcome equal right? So basically comes back to who decides Well now the referee gets to decide the fight who would fucking watch that game. It's It's ridiculous and I I think what helps a lot is just to imagine a smaller.

01:01:28.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:01:47.25

Max Shank

Group of people you know who is the None doing the stealing who is the None being stolen from who's the None profiting from that stealing you know you can easily sort these things out but trying to change someone's mind I think that's mostly an energetic loss unless you're really going to. Dedicate yourself to it. The best thing you can do is to free yourself from this idea that talking about that shit even matters I mean Mike and myself were hoping to illuminate this topic so you and us can all be unburdened. So that we can go do. What's really valuable and value as individual. Ah you know, bottled water at Coachella extremely valuable bottled water at Lake Tahoe Not very valuable. But if you focus on value. And values within yourself. That's good and you're going to get a much better return on your energy. But if you like spend time having these like arguments. It. It just takes away that that joy I mean if you find it fun like for sport. Ah you know, go nuts. But you're not going to.

01:02:55.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:03:03.18

Max Shank

Make a really significant ah change in people's minds unless you're like okay I'm going to like there are people out there like Russell Brand for example he is like basically making a career out of illuminating what's going on in a pretty humorous way. So like. That's why I'm not going to try to do something like that is like he's already handling that plus is not really a good way for me to generate the most value because after freedom and love the best thing is to be generous really like. If you if you already are kind of wealthy. You already know this if you're not very wealthy yet you might understand this but I guarantee for those of you who are like on your way up to being like really wealthy. You're going to buy yourself a bunch of fucking toys. This is what happened to me at least. You're going to go god damn that is not nearly as fun as taking my friends out to lunch and you'll realize that the the generosity is what fuels you to do more things. So love freedom and then sharing that generosity is where it's at. But. If you get tripped up by all this bullshit about like genitals and colors and sexual orientation like is fucking. Tiresome freedom is about who decides and if it's you it's freedom if it's not then it's some slavery and it can be fractional. And I'm not I don't it's not that I don't appreciate what I have I am super appreciative what I have I am grateful every day and like let's not kid ourselves. There are a lot of things that happen that are just fucking stupid and it's okay to to recognize that.

01:04:51.17

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I think at the core that is just um or what for me is ah, not having any expectation around say changing somebody's mind. It's like I'll engage in the conversation. But I'm not.

01:05:05.95

Max Shank

Ooh Yeah, now you're talking.

01:05:08.97

mikebledsoe

If I have the expectation there there should They should be thinking like me by the end I'm going to suffer. It's gonna I'm gonna be miserable. It's not going to be fun and the only way I can have fun in these types of conversations is to realize that I'm not going to change their mind and that's okay.

01:05:13.83

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:05:27.70

mikebledsoe

In the best case scenario the way I see it is the best case scenario is I plant a seed that they may wake up in a week and they go something happens and they go shit that thing Mike said that actually kind of makes sense. But.

01:05:40.42

Max Shank

But your attitude your attitude in. That example is exactly freedom. You're not saying I need to change this person's mind you're saying I'm gonna say what I think is true. They are free.

01:05:48.61

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:05:55.80

Max Shank

But I mean that's what freedom of religion really is like you're free to think of whatever you want to think I mean there are a lot of different religions to choose from. So you're free to do that I think um, just respecting people's boundaries is so awesome If it feels good too like you won't feel. It's an extra burden.

01:06:04.19

mikebledsoe

I yeah.

01:06:13.34

Max Shank

To be the enslaver. Also that's what I was saying in the very beginning like I don't want to be your fucking Mama I want to have a conversation with my buddy Mike here hopefully bring into reality some of these nuggets that I work on throughout the week and there are times where a sentence. Or even a couple words are a catalyst for a big change and that's what I think is really cool like what you're talking about.

01:06:38.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so yeah, never having the expectation making it fun remaining curious I think I think the ah the second part is the reason I get in the conversations is because I'm genuinely curious how they're how they've come to the conclusion.

01:06:53.78

Max Shank

Oh.

01:06:58.64

mikebledsoe

They've come to and 1 of the things I noticed is when I start getting really curious about how they got there. They usually ruffles some feathers so it's more like yeah I'm like um, like yeah because they don't know how because they actually don't know how they got there most of the time sometimes they do that conversation gets really enlightening.

01:07:06.10

Max Shank

Oh yeah, it's not comfortable.

01:07:17.75

mikebledsoe

But most people most people have no idea how they got to where they are Bait thought they actually haven't thought it through and so to have the expectation they're going to now think it through with you. That's that's a little much but also just like the curiosity I'm like how do I. For me I go How can I be the best communicator possible I have to know where they're coming from I can't have an effective conversation until I actually understand how they think about this or how they and how they feel about this and if I can really get in there and understand it.

01:07:39.42

Max Shank

The.

01:07:48.91

Max Shank

01:07:55.97

mikebledsoe

Now I might have a chance. But if you are going with the expectation to change your mind your ability to be curious is diminished because you have an expectation of an outcome. So it's yeah yeah.

01:08:07.24

Max Shank

You're trying to ah you're trying to fix the game Basically like you're not really curiously looking for a solution you're trying to force your solution and if you think about where people derive these beliefs from it's easy someone else.

01:08:22.27

mikebledsoe

Totally totally lot easier that way.

01:08:22.84

Max Shank

Gave it to him. That's all someone else gave it to you. It's crazy you you hear the same phrases repeated and if you dissect it down. They have no clue why they're even saying what they're saying logical fallacies. False Equivalency is this false premise invalid thought process like It's no surprise. But I do think curiosity is the best way to approach it and detachment because then you can. That's how you really learn learning is mostly about ah curiosity and if you're really curious about something you'll figure it out. You have Youtube you have the internet. You can you can figure things out and having conversations is a good way to test these ideas out. It's like science is all about the scientists trying to prove each other wrong not about like slapping each other on the back and saying how right they are without any inquiry.

01:09:14.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think that's a good point because a lot of these come I think back to one I had when I was in California last month with somebody and we nobody was sober but we were having a conversation and ah. It caused this is ah ah it was a rare occasion of someone who had thought through to a degree to where um I then left the conversation I go how do I better explain this or like like how do I better. Ah. Like these conversations where there's disagreement allows me to I sometimes use the word fortify but I don't think that's as accurate as just create more accuracy in what I'm saying and so it can be received better but also sometimes question like oh is my thinking right. And having someone challenge that is is super beneficial because if you leave me alone in isolation and I just have my thoughts so I like I have a friend who a friend that I have a friend that doesn't go out much and they're extremely judgmental about everything. Not you.

01:10:18.80

Max Shank

Everything makes sense. Everything makes sense then.

01:10:28.40

mikebledsoe

They're extremely but rent like um doesn't Um, they don't go out hardly at all and like they have all these ideas about how people are out in town. Oh this person's like this and this person I'm like I'm like.

01:10:28.64

Max Shank

Don't talk to me about me this way. Dude What do you do this to me for we're on the air homie.

01:10:48.10

mikebledsoe

I'm out in town I'm out there mixing it up like I actually and he says says something like like yeah I don't think that's actually what's motivating them. So like this if you're if you're not in the mix then you're gonna have a hard time note and and if you want if you choose not to be in the mix.

01:10:48.47

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:11:07.18

mikebledsoe

Just choose just be sure not to be judgmental of everyone in there because you don't know what's going on for them.

01:11:10.81

Max Shank

Yo Well I mean that's an easy way to be happy is just don't judge people don't blame don't shame whatever but I think it's not that he is by himself. It's that his. Echo Chamber that he's created with technology because otherwise he's not he's got to get these ideas from somewhere right? So He's just got a really.

01:11:28.66

mikebledsoe

How yeah it is is's definitely so it's It's basically text message shreds and social media and.

01:11:35.35

Max Shank

Right? Which is which is basically like a ah like ah a poisonous feedback loop I would want to say because you are going to be optimized for things that outrage you. So I mean it's True. This is just like ah. The the reality of it. We're wired that way if you see a fucking naked chick on your left and a growling tiger on your right? Unfortunately, even you fucking pervert will look at the growling tiger and try to react to that danger None right.

01:12:09.76

mikebledsoe

Totally and I'm perverted. Yeah and I'm perverted. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:12:12.79

Max Shank

So it's the same thing when you create your own What's that you you are perverted in the nicest way possible I don't mean that as an insult folks. Ah, but so you create your own echo chamber the algorithm feeds you more of what you react to? So sadly. You will see more and more of what you dislike and that's not ah if we're going to talk about statistics which is already ah fucking bullshit mostly what that Mark Twain quote there are lies damn lies and statistics exactly that's right.

01:12:43.49

mikebledsoe

Um, there are lives damn lies and then there are statistics.

01:12:52.10

Max Shank

Ah, if if your sample size is just whatever the software shows you to get the most significant reaction you're gonna be just fucking swimming in a pool of the stuff you Hate. It's. Probably like the worst thing one of the worst thing this bad.

01:13:11.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and 2022 we have record breaking rates of depression anxiety all these things.

01:13:21.70

Max Shank

Dude when they first closed things down I made a bet that more people were gonna kill themselves than be killed and you should have seen the gnashing of teeth and the wailing that people through there and it's like look I don't know for sure. But.

01:13:34.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, a.

01:13:39.40

Max Shank

It's usually better to do nothing.. It's usually better to do nothing like the the idea of unintended consequences. That's what I'm saying like no one is smart enough to figure that shit out So when you go like oh who decides the fucking benevolent. Genius He's still going to fuck it up. Because there are too many data points to Consider. So.

01:13:58.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah I saw saw a meme the other day which was ah what we're experiencing right now you know time travel does exist and someone keeps going back to the year Twenty twenty and tweaking things and just making things worse. It's just like. Been a downward. It's been a fucking downward spiral since 2020 and in in society and I do think that it's leading to a ah, an awakening a revolution I don't I don't think it needs to be bloody I hope it's not ah.

01:14:29.41

Max Shank

Awakening. Yeah.

01:14:37.20

mikebledsoe

I Think it's going to be. It's so technologically driven that I think it's I think there's going to be some violent areas will erupt in the world like certain cities in the Us which is kind of. We're already starting to see that. Ah yeah.

01:14:51.44

Max Shank

That had already happened right? We should talk technology next week by the way, let's talk technology next week I I saw this thing ah they had ah um.

01:14:55.31

mikebledsoe

And technology. Yeah.

01:15:05.85

Max Shank

Think it was like 6000 drones flying together. It was the world record for the most. Ah for the largest drone swarm that was being flown around and that kind of stuff when within the last year I would say it.

01:15:13.45

mikebledsoe

Where was this? yeah okay because Bernie Man 2018 they we saw the largest drone show up until that point with a swarm of drones. It was.

01:15:26.48

Max Shank

Um, yeah, wild right? different colors different shapes in 3 d space and these things can move so fast they can move so fast too. Yeah.

01:15:30.82

mikebledsoe

1 or two a m with different lights. There was an orchestra there was an orchestra playing there's an orchestra playing as they're doing it. It's fucking crazy. So 6000 which is more than what I saw mine was probably like a None

01:15:43.32

Max Shank

None plus it might have even been 8 it was that it was this insane thing and it's like the average person has no idea how their refrigerator works and a refrigerator for how useful it is is a very like it's. Very elegant, simple machine a computer a drone electricity these things get so much more and more complex like silicon chips. These different things that we have available to us now is so far beyond what the average person can understand we have like we can. We can blast heat waves for crowd control but they're concerned that maybe it will like melt their retina and melt their eyeballs. It's It's really wild. So I think that's another ah good reason to diversify and divide the power up amongst a larger group of people rather than to just have None person with his finger on the button and that's um, you know. Chain of command is how organizations work and you need someone who's got the final say and it just gets a little bit tricky but.

01:17:02.30

mikebledsoe

It's just I like I mean there's always going to be a hierarchy but can there be smaller groups of people existing inside of hierarchy. That's.

01:17:09.42

Max Shank

I Like the hierarchy of the customer is always right because everything else is really messy. Everything else is really messy like you let people buy what they want to Buy. It's like that saying ah the love of money is the root of all evil or money is the root of all evil I Mean. No, like there are problems like printing money is a real problem I think but but money itself that allows me to trade a candlestick for a loaf of bread without finding a baker who wants a candlestick that is incredible. That's in. Credible How quickly we can deliver value to each other at a profit so there are all these amazing things and you know you don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is a mistake I made in the past is I would just be like fuck it burn it Down. It's bad. You know and that's not really the case either most of the um luxury and benefits in our life are directly related to technology because um, by and large. We don't need a lot of the bullshit that our tax dollars go to So. There's a problem there. But overall you got to be really grateful for the time that we're living in and certainly the place. But.

01:18:41.90

mikebledsoe

No better time or place. No better timer place. Yeah, anything else seems ridiculous. Well let's ah, let's wrap this show up next week. We'll get in technology which.

01:18:45.81

Max Shank

That's the right attitude. Yeah, yeah.

01:18:57.62

mikebledsoe

We'll see if we actually follow through with what we plan on doing the next week this time we'll see yep.

01:18:59.51

Max Shank

All right I got I gotta I think we did this time I got I got a wrap for you ready not an actual wrap. We'll save that for the the the member account I'll do a little freestyle and you can you beat box. Okay so Mike is gonna look.

01:19:12.10

mikebledsoe

No you, you've seen me I might might.

01:19:17.21

Max Shank

Mike is going to learn how to beat box before next week and I will do a wrap for our subscribers. So check it out here's what we have as far as freedoms. We have freedom of our our time we have freedom of location. A lot of people are doing remote work now. They're not tied to a specific location. We have financial freedom. Which basically just means you have enough to buy back your time and ah solve any money related problems. You have the freedom from and of beliefs I think a lot of people are enslaved by beliefs that are a not true and b destructive and then you also have. Physical freedom and this is something that I have a lot of experience with this is what all of my training programs are about is how to get you more physically free within your own body so you get to make the decisions not your sore knee. Not your sore back. Which is basically like a little tyrant who's like fuck you don't climb that tree. So unfortunately most exercise maybe ninety plus percent and maybe 95 plus they waste your energy and make you less athletic. That's that's real shit. Okay.

01:20:29.66

mikebledsoe

Accurate.

01:20:32.76

Max Shank

So freedom of time freedom of location freedom of money freedom to freedom of and from Beliefs and also physical freedom. That's that's what I got for you guys.

01:20:42.51

mikebledsoe

Well said well son and remember get that context before the content understand you know why the constitution says what it says look here's the thing I don't think it's the end. All be all.

01:20:52.10

Max Shank

Ooh Talk dirty.

01:21:00.72

mikebledsoe

But it's the best we got So with that we'll leave it there go to Masank Dot Com Yeah and what's the go to the Bloodso show dot Com Hopefully I'll get that members area up soon when I say I I mean my team will get the members area up soon.

01:21:05.81

Max Shank

Um, who the http://bloodsoho.com

01:21:16.95

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:21:20.10

mikebledsoe

And ah, we'll get it rocking and rolling. Love you guys. Happy Independence day.

01:21:24.66

Max Shank

Love you brother take care Bye everybody.

The Journey to Our Identities With Luke Kohen Jun 30, 2022

It’s a refreshing rarity in the new-age spiritual world that you meet someone who shines a light on the Truth as it isLuke Kohen is that rare being. And his spoken word will move you, challenge you, and help you expand what you experience in lifeListen in and let this Bard's words move you

Lessons Learn From Hunting & Death About Life With Mansal Denton Jun 23, 2022

imagine boarding a plane to Russia within days after they’ve invaded Ukraine… Most people would call this crazy. Add in the intent for your trip being hunting, and they’ll declare lunacy.If you’ve experienced the connection, Truth, and lessons hunting can teach you - you’d understand why you’d undertake a journey like this.

If you’re curious as to why - you’ll love this week's episode with Mansal Denton

The Patterns Running Your Life with Mike & Max Jun 20, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

I Think yeah I did one of those um inner Tube River Lazy River thing never done it before been Whitewater raft and canoeing always in Rivers never did the I'm not can hardly do shit as I let the water take me.

00:00.00

Max Shank

Sounds good to me.

00:08.26

Max Shank

The Lazy river.

00:37.76

Max Shank

Aha.

00:39.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so it took a friend organizing it with a bunch of people who I actually like to spend time with to get me to do nothing on a river and I got out there I got out there and it was. Ah, there was a crowd it was it was like bumper boats for 4 hours in this river it's in Austin yeah south of off and Marcos and when we got there, we're like holy shit's busy and the people working there go oh hasn't gotten busy yet. So.

01:28.44

Max Shank

This is in Austin. Well yeah.

01:58.72

mikebledsoe

Anyways, yeah, that was ah that was my weekend that and barbecue and laughing with friends.

02:05.46

Max Shank

Lazy River is exciting.

02:17.38

Max Shank

I'll tell you what makes me laugh is your story about you having some very close friends give you permission to just float in a River it sounds ah like this joke about um, meditation and yoga. It's like.

02:45.76

mikebledsoe

Ah.

02:51.56

Max Shank

People in None world countries need someone from a None world country to remind them that it's okay to do nothing for 20 minutes it's like you get permission to do nothing for 20 minutes with meditation class or yoga or something like that. It's like.

03:07.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

03:27.88

Max Shank

You just do nothing.

03:28.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we had a friend of her for dinner on Friday night and we talked about that which was you know talking about you know oh I got a meditation practice and I got a visualization practice and I got qi gong and it's like all these practices and talked about just. The value of not you know, getting trapped in the in the practices and the value of just sitting on the side of a lake and staring at the water and doing absolutely nothing and not worried about your posture or anything like that in just that space.

04:36.56

Max Shank

Well, it's like not concerning yourself with the outcome right? Like you don't you don't care if you have produced more widgets or harvested more grains right.

04:44.40

mikebledsoe

You know.

05:04.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's kind of like play.

05:09.82

Max Shank

And that's what we're doing. That's that's like how we judge if if we're good in a lot of relationships because that's where we gain our judgments from is these relationships that we've had so we say it's good to do this. It's bad to do that and. What's interesting is how few people can balance out both and I'm speaking from my own experience as well. It's like None or the other typically and figuring out how to rive the natural cycles which is a wave.

06:11.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

06:26.68

Max Shank

Um, is super valuable. Skill no wind to float in the Lazy River and you know when it's time to climb up the mountain or dig out the gold mine or ah till the field you you go get that shit done with total focus and it. Kind of goes back to what we talked about with the the Jungle cats and the lions and predators of various kinds. It's like they they basically are in rest mode rest and recovery and form bonds with the family or focused. They're not.. They're not hurrying typically right? There's a difference between being hurried and being focused and that's what I try to do sometimes I even get it Sometimes I do it where I'm I'm just focused or relaxed and if I'm relaxed I'm.

07:42.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

08:20.22

Max Shank

I'm letting my focus diffuse into a soft glow like a lantern that you could look directly at it doesn't hurt your eyes or you can focus down like a laser pointer or a laser cutter and you can actually slice through metal with it so being able to. Lazy River or Whitewater Raft. You know that sort of thing or lantern versus laser.

09:10.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um I think back in my early days of all a not not understanding the value of the space of doing nothing and just playing with no outcome and and how much benefit that gives me on the day. Ah. When I do want to focus the ability to do so is there and I like we were saying about the the lantern and or the laser yesterday is a good example that is I did float on Saturday but yesterday my fiance.

10:02.80

Max Shank

Earth.

10:20.94

mikebledsoe

So I got says I I need a lot I got a lot of work to do and I said you know what I got a lot of work to do too because I've got a summit coming up and you know there's a I've got a long list and I've got a couple podcast episodes to record this week so there's some things I need to prep for but I'm not gonna. You know it's Sunday and I know that I've got I'm working till next Sunday I don't have a day off between now I'm next Sunday and I'm going to take it easy I probably was more productive and enjoyed my work more without worrying about how much I got done that day.

11:33.44

Max Shank

I mean.

11:36.74

mikebledsoe

And yeah, it's I find that especially when I was younger a lot of time spent a lot of times spent chugging coffee and overstimulating myself for the purpose of thinking that was going to help me do something better.

11:56.46

Max Shank

Totally power through baby well and you'll be more good as judged by all of your peers. It's all the program that's been installed and if everything is sacrificed for the outcome.

12:21.24

mikebledsoe

Right here.

12:33.34

Max Shank

The extreme example is someone who's going to blow themselves up because the programming was so effective That's crazy so being able to draw boundaries is really what it comes back to is can you draw a boundary for space for yourself.

12:44.32

mikebledsoe

No no.

13:12.84

Max Shank

And I actually remember a conversation I had with a member at my gym once and I watched this person transform over a period of time I learned about how their work and their life goes and things like that and they were you know real high performer Worker. And her her biggest challenge was to set clear boundaries for herself to do things that were for her I mean she was give give give essentially I'll I'll get all the work done and then just pile some more on and then I'll get that done too and.

14:03.52

mikebledsoe

14:29.96

Max Shank

Always the last priority and I remember she was asking if she could drop the the personal training from her membership and just do the classes and I said look ah personal train do classes. Whatever you want to do but make an appointment for yourself every week. That you never miss Basically like you have to keep that as a priority and that's one of the reasons that personal training works is because the person is heavily invested to show up at the given time and once that billing and scheduling is all dialed in.

15:11.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

15:44.54

Max Shank

It makes it very easy to show up every time but if it's ah, a group membership and no one really is going to follow up if you aren't coming in there. It's a totally different Thing. So I think it comes back to drawing boundaries. Between those times where you are allowed or allowing yourself to do nothing.

16:27.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, my None task on Monday mornings is to schedule out my rejuvenating activities for the rest of the week when am I going to work out when am I going to go song a cold plunge when am I going to hang out with my friends.

16:46.86

Max Shank

He.

17:06.56

mikebledsoe

All that scheduled out None thing Monday morning before I even look at what I need to do for work that week and yeah it for me it. It requires that level of of commitment to self in order to follow through on that stuff.

17:13.81

Max Shank

Oh.

17:35.76

Max Shank

Oh draw boundaries. That's why relationships don't work right? Well, that's why relationships go South is ah, people didn't draw boundaries quick enough. Basically.

17:41.36

mikebledsoe

But most people never do it. Yeah, didn't yeah, they just don't even consider the boundaries in the None place. Yeah, you know? Yeah, they're not even aware usually like the the boundary most people.

18:12.96

Max Shank

Right.

18:20.32

mikebledsoe

Discovered that the boundary even exists when they get mad like ah, a boundary getting crossed it it triggers anger and then a lot of times the the right? the right person to be angry at yourself. But.

18:41.28

Max Shank

Um, it's internalized like right.

18:55.16

mikebledsoe

It's projected out and blamed on someone else when you know my big thing is anytime I get angry with somebody else I check in with myself to say you know what boundary was crossed and did I communicate that boundary and most of the time I didn't and then I got.

19:13.96

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

19:32.70

mikebledsoe

Check out in myself. But then I go have the conversation about where my boundary is with that person and you know it's always things usually clear up after that.

19:38.68

Max Shank

Um, yeah, yeah, um I would I would agree I think people um often don't check their boundaries. Quick enough and hold true to those lines and it makes it very difficult. Ah, and it's kind of an ah accumulating Burden I think even and you don't really know how much you.

20:16.74

mikebledsoe

Now just.

20:40.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

20:51.56

Max Shank

Like resentment and blame you can start hanging onto just just because 100% your responsibility you should have drawn boundaries. That's why anytime like what you're saying oh I'm mad at this person. It's like well that's silly because. Whatever happened happened and that was possible from from back when you started that relationship right? That's that's fine. Whatever just ah, try to learn from it and this back to the thing about being focused versus hurried or.

21:32.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

22:05.72

Max Shank

Whatever there's a big difference between just putting all your focus onto something and being emotionally charged up about it.

22:17.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so we want to talk about today. Yeah I think we've done boundaries before.

22:25.10

Max Shank

What do I want to talk about I want to talk about the well. Okay, last week we talked about stuff basically which was cool. We talked about stuff. Making stuff.

23:01.80

mikebledsoe

I Only remember what what stuff will we talk about.

23:10.30

Max Shank

Um, we were talking about how come on you we were yeah but you're supposed to treasure mine forever. Whatever I say I'm sure you have like a separate diary just for the conversations that you and I have.

23:24.26

mikebledsoe

I've had a lot of thoughts between last week and right now and it gets cluttered. Oh.

23:50.24

Max Shank

I mean I know like everyone can tell that you get really excited throwing a word the round throwing around the word fiance now. So I know you got a lot on your mind. You're you're going to be this new person. You're going to be like oh well, you know now that I'm married.

24:08.94

mikebledsoe

24:24.28

Max Shank

And it's going to be just like last week when you said well now that I'm you know a little older a little wiser I think it's just going to play in to that that guru status that you've developed because now you'll be older wiser married get some kids going and then your avatar. Will be complete so you can you know really have some authority on these messages for the men who listen to us significantly long that we shouldn't even see the neck on that tank top. It should go down at least ten more inches gandalph style.

25:12.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah I need ah I need a longer beard too.

25:30.18

mikebledsoe

Now see what Ashley says about that.

25:39.66

Max Shank

No, we were talking about making stuff though last week like the the value of making stuff physically with your hands and there's and there's a lot of truth that is discovered when you do that because there and it kind of ties so I would tie back.

25:49.84

mikebledsoe

Oh oh yeah.

26:04.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

26:18.26

Max Shank

We talked about last week into the so that was the matter or the stuff and maybe we could go into the pattern of things so we could talk a little bit about vibration and rhythm and frequency if if you wanted to It's kind of a. Challenging topic to really follow, but it's um, the reason it reminded me is father's day. It was father's day and you know the word father comes from the word ah pattern and the word mother comes from the word matter. So there's.

27:10.80

mikebledsoe

Um.

27:28.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, why say we go with that. Let's go with that. Yeah I'm I'm down to tackle the pattern conversation that sounds good.

27:31.68

Max Shank

Matter and pattern so it seems like a nice logical transition.

27:53.38

Max Shank

Yeah, so let's say we try to break it down into ah patterns of human beings which is kind of like programs of human beings. So we have that which is I would say that's the most practical level. Is the patterns of humans. Ah we also have ah Dna is a pattern and another synonym for pattern is code.

28:57.40

mikebledsoe

I think.

28:59.20

Max Shank

So you have Dna you got computer programming you got programming human beings. You got the different ah frequencies and wavelengths of things as it relates to the materials we make.

29:28.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think it's gonna be a fun topic Actually the more the more you're talking I'm thinking and yeah, this will be a full.

29:43.46

Max Shank

Um, you could argue that matter and Pattern are the only topics that we could discuss.

29:56.40

mikebledsoe

I think so yeah, everything falls under those 2 categories. That's right.

30:06.70

Max Shank

Stuff and not stuff like okay here here's ah, an interesting example right? We have all these forces which is the way we describe. Okay, all right? No, we're Okay, we're we're kicked.

30:23.88

mikebledsoe

Hang on hang on. Let's kick the show off and then get into it. Yeah I think I think we're set are we clicked I wrote the date on the top of the page. Um.

30:41.42

Max Shank

Okay, you took some notes.

30:55.12

Max Shank

I have this I have this fantasy in my mind when I see you looking down and writing something that it's like oh these like excellent notes are like a mind map or something like that or maybe a checklist of things to cover. Really you've just written your name in the date in the corner.

31:23.40

mikebledsoe

Um, no half the time It's the date I'm practicing spelling my name. Yeah.

31:38.76

Max Shank

Okay, so we'll talk about Pattern for in honor of father's day.

31:47.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I said I say ah why don't you go ahead and do the intro and then we'll talk about the the membership site and then you can go into your explanation for. Father and pattern How about that and then we'll just go from there.

32:31.50

Max Shank

And the membership site just so I'm clear is in the beginning of the show I put my camera to expose the nipples and then when the public show starts I tilt it back up. So the nipples are ah not visible is that.

33:03.86

mikebledsoe

You got it. You got it? yeah.

33:09.94

Max Shank

Is that right? I'm a simple man I like a simple plan. My nips are only free to me but not to you.

33:27.22

mikebledsoe

All right? You want to kick off the intro today. All right? yep.

33:32.94

Max Shank

Yeah let's do it already. Ah None 2 None welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Today we're gonna. Follow up what we talked about last week last week was a heck of a fun conversation about stuff matter substance working with your hands a little bit about manufacturing. It was a crazy excellent conversation. Go check it out Today. We're gonna talk about the other side. The pattern. I think it's very cool that the words mother and father are actually derived from matter and pattern and so that's what we're gonna talk about today. We're gonna talk about how pattern is present in your Dna your cell phone behaviors of human beings. And much much more and welcome welcome again. Mike thanks for sitting down with me I'm very excited and a little intimidated to tackle this topic today.

35:20.58

mikebledsoe

Well said.

35:41.48

mikebledsoe

Ah sorry I can make a bunch of bullshit up. Ah so for for those of you who who love this show.

35:51.98

Max Shank

I Don't like it for the record folks I don't like when he does that.

36:04.22

mikebledsoe

Ah, but for um, all we we decide to open up the membership site and we're gonna be posting exclusive content. There's a conversation that always happens previous to this show today's show we had 16 minutes and 55 seconds of content. Of us figuring out what we were going to talk about. But of course we can't help ourselves from delivering gold at every moment. So if you yep, None nipples on the preshow. So do that one.

36:53.52

Max Shank

There were also 2 nipples on the pre-show in case that matters I don't know why why should people do that one like what are they going to get out of that. Are they going to get some more interaction with us.

37:17.16

mikebledsoe

1 maybe it's exclusive content for now we're going to see where it goes. Yeah well I had a guy.

37:25.32

Max Shank

Just exclusive content I Think yeah, we should see what people want though also because I could see ah I could see something really cool forming out of this So I just want to serve our our customers The best way I can.

37:54.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah I had a guy ah on Instagram Atx window tent and clean. He sent me message it and said he would donate for more podcasts with me and you so um, what I want to do is we're gonna set it up. It's not set up. As of today. But if you're listening to this what I'm Goingnna do is I'm going to create a link on the http://bloodsoio.com. So if you go to there. There's going to be a place where you can sign up for this and it's gonna be pay what you want so it's donation based anywhere between a dollar and $5000000 ah.

38:58.12

Max Shank

Love it.

39:09.36

mikebledsoe

And we'll set up a we'll make it a monthly subscription and as long as you're.

39:13.16

Max Shank

Are we sponsored by Austin Tint and window by the way atx tint and window.

39:23.34

mikebledsoe

You know we may mention him more depending on the size of his donation or her donation I'm not sure if it's a man or woman. So I the this.

39:49.66

Max Shank

So wait. So wait, you're telling me they can pay what they want and we don't even really know what they're going to get yet. We know they're going to get exclusive content. There's no question. You're going to hear words there that you won't hear anywhere else but there might be even more than that is what you're saying So it's like.

40:14.90

mikebledsoe

Yep.

40:24.34

mikebledsoe

Well well part of this yeah part part part of this. Well the thing is the people that are going to donate to the show. They're going to contribute funds to make sure that this show keeps happening because you know what it takes a couple hours out of max and I week

40:29.48

Max Shank

Ah, bonus price Mystery box That's incredible.

41:02.62

mikebledsoe

And you know we got to keep the lights on and all that. But ah yeah, so the people.

41:09.12

Max Shank

Well you vote with your dollars too I'm I'm a big fan of that. So if you like really want more of something then you know that's that's the only way you can really influence it I say that in your whole life too. You know, buy what you like.

41:36.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, spend money where you want things to improve So Ah so for one if you enjoy the show and you just want to Contribute. It's a great way to do it. You're also going to get exclusive content And. Ah, you are going to have the loudest voice out of everyone who has an opinion about what we should be doing So We're more likely to listen to those who are donating the most amount of money So That's all that's all on that So we'll get that set up I've got a summit coming up this weekend. So.

42:35.80

Max Shank

Very exciting.

42:48.40

mikebledsoe

My team is completely distracted with things that they think is important so that I can do the show. But.

42:59.82

Max Shank

It must have taken a lot of ah instruction to organize all those people together for a summit. He segwayed perfectly because someone has to orchestrate.

43:15.70

mikebledsoe

Instruction. Um, yeah, yeah, there's a ah lot of direction.

43:37.32

Max Shank

Someone has to orchestrate the code for getting that job done and if you think about the Pattern. So the bread. The the dough is the stuff. The recipe is the pattern. The sperm is the pattern. The egg is the stuff. Matter mother Pattern father. So It sounds like you are the father of this event because you have determined the structure of its organization.

44:36.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we create this structure and then I brought in a lot of speakers who are going to contribute so they they bring a lot of stuff and I organize it and I time it I announce it I create a container.

44:55.22

Max Shank

Right.

45:10.16

Max Shank

Oh.

45:13.70

mikebledsoe

So it's a container of time so it starts at a certain time ends at a certain time we we do have a frequency of of time in between so this speaker starts here ends there. There's also a consideration for what type of content is gonna presented it. Be presented in what order to make the most sense so that we can stare step people through a series of understanding. So while I also have no idea what the speakers are going to say like I I know their topic but I and I know they're good because almost all of them been in the industry for twenty plus years

46:09.48

Max Shank

Right? right.

46:27.00

mikebledsoe

So I know it's going to be good I Just don't know what exactly that content's going to be and that's actually a lot of fun for me.

46:40.28

Max Shank

And that's the that's the practical side of patterns. That's the most practical side of patterns because most of our interactions are with people or or with stuff but usually with people I would say unless you're just specifically with materials and.

47:04.92

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah art.

47:18.36

Max Shank

That's what teaching is it's basically ah, it's like the least substantial thing there is is pure instruction because there's no stuff being transferred. There's only code. Being transferred.. There's only the pattern that is being sent to another person.

48:07.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

48:13.64

Max Shank

But that's what drives people and the bible is a program. The constitution is a program these are patterns. These are these have their own ah force and vibration to them right.

48:44.12

mikebledsoe

What I'm glad you bring that up.

48:49.16

Max Shank

When it comes to the way that humans interact and behave and you take that plus it's like that plus Dna those are the None intersecting patterns that sort of weave together and you could I don't know I think the nature versus nurture argument is the wrong. Perspective I think it's nature and nurture and it's all the same kind of.

49:33.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and everything you were just saying right there and we look at the patterns that have had the longest staying power. So like we talk about the bible or christianity. It's a pattern that has had really long staying power a lot of other religions have fallen by the wayside.

50:07.36

Max Shank

Relative to other human religions. It's had incredible staying power.

50:11.88

mikebledsoe

And yeah, yeah, now the the patterns you talk about nature versus nurture. But what I one of the things that I've found to be ah, really powerful is studying the patterns of nature and then either mimicking that.

50:37.32

Max Shank

Then oh.

50:50.84

mikebledsoe

Or if we're going to be working with nature which we always are is how do we harness that if you try to create a structure that is not in alignment with nature. You're going to be. You're going to lose that battle and so there is and I think it creates some.

50:55.86

Max Shank

I will know.

51:30.56

mikebledsoe

Difficulty so one of the ways I like to think about patterns and frequencies and I think about frequencies specifically and I like to start at the macro and work our way down to the micro and then when we do that I think people really start getting an understanding of how the universe works. And this was pointed out to me by a guy named Daniel Schmackenberger he explained it to me and I go huh that act that that's in person in person. He explained it to me.

52:18.34

Max Shank

Um, did he explain it to you in person. What an interesting character that guy is I've listened to a few of his things and he's a very interesting cat. But.

52:39.16

mikebledsoe

He used to live down the street from us and I probably had a sit down with him every three months when I was living in Socal and we jammed and the guy. The guy is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. Um, but ah, we were talking about seasons and cycles and.

52:54.60

Max Shank

Um, about that. Yeah.

53:18.70

mikebledsoe

And lunar and solar and we look at the yeah we look at the pattern and we look at the patterns of nature. We look at patterns of the universe and the the None one the one that's easiest for us to all be aware of is probably the lunar cycle. So.

53:24.66

Max Shank

There's a pattern.

53:53.90

mikebledsoe

Or the 4 seasons. Um, these are both cycles the 4 seasons all happen in an annual basis. It gets hot it cools off. It gets really cold. It gets warm. It gets hot. It does that ah to.

54:16.72

Max Shank

So like the days and the moons. Ah, and the years are easy are like easy to notice. Outwardly.

54:35.80

mikebledsoe

They're easy to notice and so you have the lunar There's you know about thirteen lunar cycles in a year. Um some may ah some do argue that the fact that we have twelve months in the year and we have 13 lunar cycles is actually fighting nature a little bit. And we might be better off if we had a little bit different system. But this thing is pretty ingrained the gregorian calendar. Ah we have the lunar cycles which are which are monthly and then inside of that they're really the the weekly cycle Monday through Sunday is.

55:21.94

Max Shank

Oh man. Yeah, we.

55:46.18

mikebledsoe

I don't really see anything demonstrated in nature that seems like to me a very human construct to divide up those 28 ish days ah between lunar cycles and we want to like look all the way back through history. Yeah into weeks.

56:10.26

Max Shank

into into weeks um I don't know what the origin of the week is actually is kind of an interesting question.

56:21.98

mikebledsoe

And days are obvious the the daily cycle the sun comes up the sun goes down and I have no idea I mean somebody Dm me let me know and the.

56:52.54

Max Shank

We're just we're gonna trust your dude. Okay, this is why you are not in charge of the fucking research department I'll wait for the None direct message on Instagram to give me the answer and then I just get a fucking go with that you you lunatic speaking of moon.

57:09.48

mikebledsoe

Ah, no I need a starting point I need a.

57:23.70

Max Shank

That's where the luna lunatic comes from fucking lunatic. Yeah, so just Dm your effect that's like slightly less reliable than Wikipedia.

57:26.78

mikebledsoe

I. Well no I want to I want to I want the people in the audience to participate in the process of us finding information. They said it to me I'll I'll still verify it I'll look it up but I I'm gonna let someone initiate. So um.

57:59.74

Max Shank

Ah I'm just kidding I Love Wikipedia. Okay, so we have ah we have years we have moons so we have solar year we have moons. Let's forget about weeks. Let's go straight to heartbeats from there so we got year.

58:13.68

mikebledsoe

So about.

58:34.60

mikebledsoe

That's ah, that's where I was. That's where we're going is That's exactly what I've written down. Actually we're on the same page but it gets down to you get up and go to sleep. You have a Circadian rhythm you have a hormonal.

58:38.74

Max Shank

Moon day heartbeat.

58:58.98

mikebledsoe

Ah, rhythm throughout the day based on the sun coming up sun going down moon coming out all these things and then yeah it it comes down to heartbeat brain waves brainwave frequencies and so yeah.

59:22.96

Max Shank

Which is a lot faster because hertz is the way we measure frequency and hurts is calculated in cycles per second. So if something is it and I think we have the ability to hear things between oh gosh. Ah. 1 d-ish hurts to None something around there so we have a pretty big. There's ah, there's a great thing um to visualize the spectrum of frequencies but just remember that hurts is in cycles per second so your heart. Ah.

01:00:11.98

mikebledsoe

I should know that.

01:00:40.80

Max Shank

It beats once every second so cycles per second would be like 1 basically right.

01:00:42.30

mikebledsoe

Once a second. Yeah.

01:00:56.26

mikebledsoe

You know? Yeah, so we have all these different frequencies and None of the one of the ways reasons I like to think about frequencies in this way is because it allows. Me to see more clearly how I'm connected to the entire universe it. It reduces the amount of separation that I'm perceiving and whole with it. Yeah and I'm tuned into it once I learned this I I got a lot better about going down with the sun and coming up with the sun and.

01:01:33.92

Max Shank

You feel more whole with it. You feel more part of it.

01:01:55.64

Max Shank

Oh.

01:02:01.20

mikebledsoe

My health improved and all sorts of things. So I like that the idea of talking about the micro macro to the micro and the pattern is always present. There's nothing that we can observe that doesn't have it and it's not participating.

01:02:33.60

Max Shank

Yeah, there's a great little chart if you type in em spectrum into Google images you can find ah a really nice little visual aid I think it's really important.

01:03:02.92

mikebledsoe

Em spectrum.

01:03:06.66

Max Shank

Yeah, just type in em spectrum into Google and hit images and that'll show you ah you know on the 1 hand when you have ah something like the visible light spectrum and then.

01:03:43.36

mikebledsoe

01:03:43.60

Max Shank

You go beyond above it. You have ultraviolet spectrum and then you have infrared so below what we can see and there's all this stuff happening and the way to tie it all together and simplify it in my mind is to say that vision.

01:04:00.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:04:21.86

Max Shank

Doesn't show you everything. That's there. It just shows you? What's important and there but there's so much stuff vibrating everywhere and everything's got its own um frequency to it and that goes all the way down like. Most watches are set with a quartz crystal actually because it vibrates at a certain frequency and I think ah the way an atomic clock works is with something like caesium.

01:05:19.48

mikebledsoe

Everyone's cell phone has a quartz crystal in it.

01:05:40.34

Max Shank

And so you think here's this this like bunch of stuff like a crystal but it's got this frequency that it's emitting from it all the time.

01:06:01.68

mikebledsoe

Man I spent hours talking about crystals on Saturday night with some friends. The I think we might open up a crystal shop here in Austin the next the next business venture. You think it'll be good I think we could we could pull.

01:06:27.60

Max Shank

I Think if you focus on it. It will be I think if you focus on it. It'll be awesome and if you ah, don't try that hard then it depends on who you partnered with.

01:06:46.98

mikebledsoe

All right? Yeah I'm I'm looking for solid partners for crystal shop here in Austin Texas.

01:06:55.54

Max Shank

I Like talking about crystals too but not with people who only know the esoteric side of Crystals I need someone to like bridge the gap between the physics and the more esoteric kind of philosophical Astro astrology because.

01:07:14.66

mikebledsoe

Boy Yeah I have a friend.

01:07:35.28

Max Shank

I'm I'm hip with it and I I like to know what's really going on in there.

01:07:44.98

mikebledsoe

Well, both sides are really nice I What are my buddies he used to be in the crystal business and and he can talk about how the crystal in your phone works and tie that into more of the esoteric as well and so he can He spans the whole thing I'm gonna have him on the show.

01:07:54.82

Max Shank

You gotta work them together.

01:08:12.20

Max Shank

Right.

01:08:21.88

mikebledsoe

Here in the next month or so and I don't know if we'll talk about Crystals because he's an expert in other things as well. But maybe we'll cover that for everybody.

01:08:28.34

Max Shank

Yeah I have a friend actually who I have a friend who his whole ah career. Basically right now is studying crystals so his his equipment that he has available in the lab is so tight that he can actually fire a neutron beam. To see really really tiny crystals of proteins to make for pharmaceuticals so his whole job is like trial and error. Let's let's throw some fucking heat and some of this over here and he's basically in a laboratory and then firing a little beam. Neutrons to look at the shapes to see if they're going to be able to bind or unite ah with other molecules in the body. It's it's really fascinating and you look at how all of those different interactions are things usually have a charge like positive or negative. And they often will also have a ah conforming shape and you can take that all the way down. It's it's easy to get lost with how many branches that you can take this down in terms of the energy transformation because that's really all we're doing is we're taking. Energy and we're transforming it into some other type of energy. That's really what family is about. You're taking energy from outside and then you're adding it to the family fungus is doing that we're doing that Orca are doing that. Basically you're trying to assimilate more energy and grow. Size of your empire ants fungus us and yeah and ah different creatures do it in different ways like ah in the life of a mycelium fungus that's slowly branching out a myceoleal network.

01:11:46.14

mikebledsoe

Simulate organize create a structure with that energy divert that energy.

01:12:18.34

Max Shank

They don't really budget time for ah like deviance and pleasure and vacations and things like that and we we do. We have all this crazy stuff Beyond grow the family but that's the that's the prevailing pattern because.

01:12:43.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:12:56.64

Max Shank

If you don't have that then that branch of the family tree cuts itself. So you you almost have it's why religions kind of follow the same thing Thou Shalt have no other gods before me because this has to be the foundation of your pattern of your programming.

01:13:02.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:13:33.34

Max Shank

Right? You can't like just pick and choose oh hey like you know you hindus. That's pretty cool but I like steak So I'm not going to go with this crew and you Christians are great but I want to eat pigs or you know whatever they don't like that doesn't it doesn't have the same um unity. It doesn't have the same.

01:13:55.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:14:11.50

Max Shank

Ah, resonance and harmony of the the the vibration there isn't it interesting that they also sing every Sunday that that's a big thing is singing together. We got to get back to that though.

01:14:18.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah I. Yeah, yeah I notice having interacted heavily with the new age spiritual Community and I I've never really considered myself new age. But the. The new age Spiritual Community is interesting because it does feel like a lot of the people in that community are adopting they're picking and choosing. They're cherry picking things from different religions and then creating their own little thing but it really does lack a foundation that I.

01:15:30.88

Max Shank

01:15:46.62

mikebledsoe

I Think that the that community it feels very wishy-washy feels very too flowy to there's there's some people in in this community that are very popular and when they post things and when they talk about things. Sounds very flowery. But I don't know exactly what they mean and I don't think they know what they mean either.

01:16:36.34

Max Shank

Oh you mean like a flower like that thing that is designed to attract I'm not surprised.. The only thing we can possibly get is people being little flowers. There's no way. We you? you can't rise above the noise unless you make yourself into a pretty flower like you know you could tell people the truth is like look um there there are a lot of tools out there that we can use and you don't really know what the.

01:17:13.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:17:46.26

Max Shank

Potential benefit and potential cost of those tools is you? You don't really know how those tools can be used. You don't know the pattern or the code of how to put those tools to the best use and that's also what coaching and instruction is it's how to get the most out of those tools. So. The recipe for bread the recipe for making ah semiconductors and computers and automobiles. Ah what is that without the instructions. It's just stuff without the the instructions to put it all together. It's just stuff. Dna same thing. It actually determines where the protein is going to go where the collagen is going to get laid down. It's insane ah to try to like differentiate those 2 things because.

01:19:38.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:19:43.90

Max Shank

What is the stuff without the the movement of the stuff. What I mean there's there's nothing. That's perfectly still is kind of ah a weird ah trip to think about and I think a lot of that um can be described by like. Atomic structures as we understand it like the density of the packing of the atomic nuclei and the lattice work that they take ah see this. We're like way too far outside of my understanding but basically things are packed much tighter. When they are more denser so you have a ah gal you have ah an air compressor. You can compress the air and actually shove more into that same space and then as you get harder and harder Materials. There's less and less give that you can shove into that same space.

01:21:03.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:21:35.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:21:40.20

Max Shank

And that's also why in order to have a faraday cage which doesn't let ah electromagnetic radiation in it has to be made out of metal. It can't be made out of wood because it can get through because wood is less dent like how crazy is that when you think about it because the wood is still solid.

01:22:17.42

mikebledsoe

Yep.

01:22:18.96

Max Shank

But the reason you need it to be metal is because of the closeness of the lattice of those atoms. So. There's actually less space than usual and then with air with wood with metal. Tungsten Plutonium All that other stuff it's because it's more and more tightly packed and that's that's also um, how nature patterns itself pretty much if you look at a tree and a set of lungs. It starts out with a big pipe. And then it splits and splits and splits into little branches and ah leaves and branches branches little capillaries alviolles and things like that. So you're trying to maximize the ah surface area right? It's like giving yourself more.

01:23:59.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:24:07.72

Max Shank

Ah, relationships with the environment.

01:24:10.60

mikebledsoe

But that Pattern works best with the planet Earth for the exchange of of air of Oxygen carbon dioxide. Whatever it is whatever the exchange of these molecules are and when you're talking about Oxygen Carbon dioxide. It's no. A mystery why the lungs in the tree look very similar. It's just a shit works. Um, yeah.

01:24:57.56

Max Shank

Gas exchange happening all the time and that's a pattern that's a relationship between those 2 inhale exhale without algae and trees. We'd all be dead.

01:25:22.40

mikebledsoe

Very true. The I want to break this down and into and a 4 different quadrants. So I'm I'm a big fan I've I've talked about before of Ken Wilbur's a call map a qal so if you Google a cap a q a l space. Map then you'll get an idea of what I'm you'll get a visual of what I'm talking about here and so it's ah the upper quadrant is the individual the lower half of the quadrant is the collective. The left side of the quadrant is the interior or the inside and the. Right side of the quadrant is the exterior. So if we go to the upper left hand quadrant what we're looking at is the interior self. So if we want to look at I really like talking about this map because it allows us to break down a topic as big as something like patterns into something that. We can look at and step by step and talk about it so to really simplify what's happening in the upper left hand quadrant which is the interior of self I really think about that as like thoughts and feelings your thoughts and your feelings. It's your internal world and there's patterns there. And so we have emotional patterns we have thought patterns and we have psychoemotional patterns where the thoughts and emotions have a pattern between the 2 of them. You have an emotion then there's a pattern of making meaning of what that emotion means and then. That can cycle cycle cycle so we have psycho emotional patterns that we need to be aware of and the certain certain things trigger those different patterns and it could be something like father's day something could get someone thinks about father's day and. The pattern may be celebration feeling really good make it mean call your dad that day. So I like to think about no.

01:29:30.90

Max Shank

I'm sure that's everybody's pattern.

01:29:45.30

Max Shank

Ah.

01:29:45.32

mikebledsoe

But but the ah but I like look what do what? you think about the Psycho emotional patterns. What have you noticed and learned about that.

01:30:06.18

Max Shank

So I think of it in a pretty simple way as people repeat what gives them a predictable result. Not even what gives them? ah an excellent result just a predictable one. So that's basically what a pattern is is.

01:30:31.70

mikebledsoe

01:30:43.56

mikebledsoe

And people people do seek predictability. There's ah, there's a lot of people. They do ah a lot of.

01:30:43.86

Max Shank

There's predictability to it. So it's why people prefer people prefer the ah ah familiar pain to the unknown.

01:31:07.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've worked with a lot of people who they they came to me and there's something in their life. That's not working I mean that's that's really the the job of a coach is we work with people who they want something to be different in their life and. They want to change it and usually it's the the individual is trying to change something externally in order to create a different internal experience and a lot of times what we got to do.

01:32:12.00

Max Shank

Which can work.

01:32:18.00

mikebledsoe

Which can work but which does work which we can get into because we can talk about Environmental patterns. Ah.

01:32:25.22

Max Shank

Because a pattern is a relationship with your environment. There's a relationship within yourself which is kind of what you're talking about. But you're never in a vacuum. You know you take someone out of their existing environment and you put them into a different one and suddenly all their aches and pains go away.

01:32:43.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:33:03.12

Max Shank

Worked with this guy joint pain everywhere everything hurts ah instead of being in Boston at home. He goes down to Florida on vacation none of his shit hurts and it's like well why do you think that is like you have to explore what it is about that environment that you're that you have unresolved.

01:33:39.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:33:41.46

Max Shank

That your body is like essentially crying out because your ah pain is basically your brain saying ah not like this. That's all just not like this.. It's not ah, it's not. Ah, like bad.. It's not Shameful. It's not good. Sometimes it's incorrect where where you feel it isn't necessarily where the resolution is going to be Found. It's just a nonspecific signal that says not like this if you do it a different way. Maybe so.

01:34:36.18

mikebledsoe

Right? just.

01:34:52.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so people at that spot on it pain is just ah, always talk about pain as a teacher. It's it's trying to teach you something and most people just sit in the pain because it is ah familiar.

01:34:54.20

Max Shank

But not like this.

01:35:24.30

Max Shank

Um, familiar I.

01:35:31.88

mikebledsoe

And people feel safe even in when it's painful. They'd rather feel if they feel safe in pain. They'll take that over you know the uncertainty and freedom and the a lot of times people want. You know who have been focused on changing something in their external environment even that they're not even really willing to make too many external environment changes because of what's happening internally of what that might mean for them and so yeah chicken of the egg. Yeah, and so if.

01:36:21.98

Max Shank

Um, that's a chicken or the egg type of situation too. Um.

01:36:37.40

mikebledsoe

If you've been beating your head on 1 way of making change and changing a pattern you may want to look at something else. So if you've been trying to change something environmentally or you've been trying to change your physical body and it's not working. Maybe you need to look at the internal body or you need to look at your relationships with people instead of just the environment.

01:37:11.94

Max Shank

And some people thrive on incremental change and some people thrive on radical change and is different for everybody you know, ah a lot of a lot of times where you make a leap forward in what you might call progress.

01:37:14.92

mikebledsoe

And so.

01:37:32.18

mikebledsoe

That's that's very true.

01:37:48.16

Max Shank

Because you took a giant leap toward a different environment or a different ah day-to-day Pattern It can be incremental or it can be radical.

01:38:02.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so a lot of times these these internal patterns if we can shift those there might be ah emotions that we're making mean something with our thoughts and then that keeps us from maybe moving from Boston to Florida.

01:38:39.32

Max Shank

Right.

01:38:41.28

mikebledsoe

You know I I remember coaching one woman at this point and she she did not want to be working her job. She's like I do not like my job I want to get out of my industry I don't want to do this at all. But I'm not good at anything else. That was the story that she had. She had this internal story of yeah, that's the pattern. Yeah, and so it once we got to a point where she and she made really good money is is.

01:39:20.92

Max Shank

That's the pattern. That's some software. Yeah.

01:39:40.84

Max Shank

01:39:47.70

mikebledsoe

We had to really sit down and and break down is it worth the you know is it worth possibly a lifestyle change downward which by the way is one of the people just don't do it once they hit a certain level of lifestyle coming back down that is incredibly difficult. Um, if you're used to living off $200000 a year and now I'm gonna ask you to live off $100000 a year people I I would I would have a very hard time with it people freak out wouldn't they just don't know how to do it. It's pretty much stuck there. But um.

01:40:54.24

Max Shank

Tell you? what though they would figure it out if they had to and I can I can guarantee that you know what I love speaking of patterns. So a prison that's that's a series of matter and patterns woven together to keep people inside.

01:41:03.80

mikebledsoe

They would fake Always do always do.

01:41:29.12

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:41:33.60

Max Shank

Designed by allegedly pretty smart people and guys still escape. So prison is full of the criminals who got caught so arguably the dumbest of the criminals because a smart criminal is still outside of the Jail That's what prisons do.

01:42:01.84

mikebledsoe

No.

01:42:08.62

Max Shank

They put all the dumb criminals in Jail to leave the really clever ones out of Jail so they can have the easier pick of what's left. But if you take the smart architects who are putting together this box those really smart guys. But the level of desire to be free of that Burden seems to supersede all of that technical Expertise All of the guards all of the stuff I mean it's what doesn't happen a lot but it still happens.

01:43:05.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, there's I mean if if you just study what's happening in the prisons right now not even escape but Gangs drugs. There's basically there's nothing but illegal activity happening in the prisons and the you know.

01:43:25.50

Max Shank

Gangs gangs.

01:43:40.20

Max Shank

Yeah, how could you stop it.

01:43:43.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, the stated the stated intent is for them to not be to not experience that. But yeah, you're basically just concentrating a bunch of people who got caught and ah will continue to do things.

01:44:08.26

Max Shank

Well I mean the prison system is a bad pattern. Um, because it it maximizes for ah, shame and isolation but not actually for compensation to the fucking victim of the crime.. The only thing we should care About. It does nothing for.. Ah.

01:44:50.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I mean if if somebody violates.

01:44:56.80

Max Shank

It's like it's like it's like okay so a crime was Committed. What are we going to do are we going to help out the victim. No What we're going to do is we're going to take a little bit of everybody's money including the victims and then we're going to take the bad man to a bad place so he can. Get really isolated and angry at everybody and probably link up with a murderous gang. Ah, That's what we're going to do I'm waiting for the punchline but there it's there's nothing. There. Yeah.

01:45:55.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's a very poor social pattern. So so I mean that's that's the that's the inside of you know of culture right? culture is the inside How we how we pattern our so our society. So.

01:46:24.60

Max Shank

Right? Well how you discipline how you discipline society right? because Rule rule is the threat and discipline is the act right? So if you if the culture.

01:46:28.86

mikebledsoe

The criminal Justice system.

01:47:02.78

Max Shank

Is in a bit of a dysfunctional abusive schizophrenic relationship with its policing of Behavior. Do you think that naturally a lot of people would do the same thing internally so that internal or pattern of how you ah Govern or police. Or discipline your own behavior whether you do it with blame and shame and isolation of that part of you versus acceptance and learning and reeducation of that party right? It's like you're putting the same experience through a very different.

01:48:03.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:48:17.88

Max Shank

Filter which I mean look the way we make Filters is really really tinier and tinier Meshes just like a net a water filter and a net that you catch fish with the the main difference is the size of the openings.

01:48:49.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's interesting when I think about these patterns I think about how they begun or began begun began and um these these patterns are fractal in nature so they usually started off as. They always start off as something small if we look at the pattern of humanity and um, there were not that many people on this planet five hundred years ago if you if you went to Paris France Five hundred years ago there weren't that many people there. I mean it was big for its time but compared to now it was just so tiny but all the rules all the ideas about how society should be governed stem from that time and.

01:50:07.24

Max Shank

01:50:29.82

Max Shank

From France five hundred years ago or from the greeks like two thousand ish years ago like de ah when was democritus.

01:50:38.58

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, you keep going for their back but I'm just using people can I think people I think people can possibly like if we don't go too far back. But yeah you you keep going further and further back you go to the greeks you go to the hebrews you go to the Egyptians and you you follow the the thread.

01:51:04.88

Max Shank

Right? I for an eye you follow the thread which is interesting because it's like um how they did history for a while was through these tapestries and they would actually tell a story through the the chain.

01:51:16.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:51:30.24

mikebledsoe

01:51:44.20

Max Shank

So it's it's really funny ah connection I made the other day and there are too many word puns to follow, but the funny connection I made is that a link is one connection and a chain is multiple connections in sequence Dna multiple connections in sequence. So that's a big difference. Um. In how those connections work together. Ah um, a chain is many connections. A matrix is also a different orientation of many connections and so different elements have different structures. That are more matrix-like or more chain-like like for example, long chain fatty acids that sort of thing so there are these um, different ways that we connect to things and a lot of it like you said tracing the thread. Back that's what we try to do. We're trying to go back and figure out where those connections started being made and the further back you go. It's none becomes None None becomes 2 None becomes 3 3 becomes all things that was in the dao two thousand years ago that's a pattern that a guy wrote down and we still can't ah absorb it. We can regurgitate it we can bounce it around. We can modify it but all those all those written things left a pattern and that is I think the story of. Human supremacy when you get right down to it. It's the fact that we were able to accumulate written knowledge and access it really quickly so you can take I mean right now on Youtube there's a thing learning about how materials are put together. Ah, Youtube channels called us auto industry and they take you through hydraulics and gears and aerodynamics and drag and they take you through all of these different things. The videos are super crystal clear simple and it's like you took that expert. His whole life and synthesized it into 10 minutes but those 10 minutes were based on generation after generation after generation of patterned ah accumulation of knowledge. So it's like ah, an external brain so we could. Ah, decode for later just very similar to Dna. It's basically a code for making a car or Dna is like a code for making proteins. But it's all it's all based on our ability to keep a record of it and a Dna of course is a living record.

01:57:14.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think about what you were saying with written. Ah we have records written and up until what one hundred years ago most people were were illiterate and a small percentage of the population could even read. So only a small percentage of population had access to understanding and not only that the books that they had access to they usually existed in a university and so there was ah a highly It was a high concentration of knowledge that. People studied that were dictating society and then about one hundred years ago literacy started to really take hold and you know because they talked about the printing press but the printing the printing press it preceded literacy without the printing press. There wouldn't be literacy but the technology. Ah. Of there being an abundance of books caused the human mind to go be curious about that enough to study how to read to learn it and now we fast forward.

01:59:36.12

Max Shank

Printing press I think that was a big thing for the gutenberg bible right.

01:59:39.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I think the I think the benefit of back then was there was a limited amount of things that you could consider and you didn't have to look. You didn't have to sift through as much to go back to the beginning. Or as far back to the beginning as you could now we pull out our phone and there's videos and everything that have trapped us in what's happening right now. The the average American Yeah, the average. Yeah yeah, it's not right now right now it's it's they're sucked into.

02:00:37.10

Max Shank

Somewhere else though.

02:00:55.80

mikebledsoe

What's happening. Well no way that they're they're they're considering what's happening today. What is happening today that matters.

02:01:11.20

Max Shank

Ironically, it's a portal to anywhere else than here and now that's what's funny because you're saying it's like they're looking what's happening now elsewhere but ironic you're right? But it's also kind of ironic because you're looking for anything else.

02:01:37.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but the yeah my point is that time the time consideration is is so short like what happened last week doesn't matter anymore. It only all that matters is today and people are so people are so yeah.

02:01:40.80

Max Shank

But here and now.

02:01:53.80

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay so that's insanity. That's insanity full on insanity.

02:02:15.48

mikebledsoe

People people are so engrossed they have so much data coming in about what matters today in the whole world that they think they should yeah they don't have boundaries but that person is totally ingrossed andgross in what's happening now doesn't have the opportunity to look back in history.

02:02:29.48

Max Shank

Because they can't draw boundaries.

02:02:54.90

mikebledsoe

To go back and say how was consciousness formed. How did we come to these considerations. What actually is science. There is.

02:03:07.94

Max Shank

Well think of the usefulness of code and the usefulness of 24 hour news it is antithetical so a book is code a person is the computer Basically that runs that code. And so if you want something to be organized. It should be organized by outcome or by subject or by material. But if you have it organized by what the fucking pricks are talking about on the Tv today. That's the worst organization possible and it's very difficult to get any kind of good information out of that and you're going to be basically putting out your own schizophrenic psychological fires because you're like oh my god didn't realize what was happening in Serbia and then the next week you're like oh my god I didn't realize what was happening in. South Africa and then you're like oh my god I didn't realize what was happening to the veterans and then pretty soon you're whipped up into this frenzy where you're upset about everything but you can't do anything about it and it makes you feel so disconnected because. What you're aware of your radius of awareness and your radius of control are so far apart and that goes back to why working with stuff with your hands even just moving stuff around like moving weights around with your hands that'll make a big difference. It'll connect you to reality.

02:05:55.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

02:06:07.56

Max Shank

Go climb a tree. Go take a walk Boom you're immediately connected into reality into moving your body locomotion or projectiles moving other stuff and if you are if you're just whipped into this frenzy because you know people are trying to program other people. It's all we do. In fact.

02:06:24.40

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

02:06:46.70

Max Shank

Pretty much as we try to program other people. Ah usually with the best of intentions too like I'm sure there are None of people who think school is like a good idea and and I just don't but that's fine. Yeah yeah, they they probably want people to like.

02:07:08.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, their heart's in the right place You think it's best for the kids. Well people also think that it's um, ah just they they think I think a lot of people they go Well I did it so it must be good. So other people should do it I mean that's.

02:07:21.12

Max Shank

Behave themselves and like get married and like kept.

02:07:41.16

Max Shank

Um, well and that's even a different thing like it. It's like hazing.

02:07:47.92

mikebledsoe

That's big in the military of like I'm looking at the training and I go this doesn't really make sense. We're not really optimizing for getting better at our job. They're like well this we we went through it and no I'm like all whatever.

02:08:14.64

Max Shank

Sometimes things are done a certain way because it really is the best way and sometimes things are done a certain way literally just because that's how they've been doing it and no one can imagine a different no one even tries to imagine a different way.

02:08:25.96

mikebledsoe

Sometimes.

02:08:54.30

Max Shank

You know and that's why you don't want to fight things Anyway, speaking of patterns when you fight something you immediately create a counterforce even if you punch the shit out of that thing upon that connection of your fist and that fucker's face. There's a counter force going right back into your fist and then more. Metaphorically speaking you're going to create a counter response to your active opposing Force. So That's why it's always better to obsolete than to fight if you have the option.

02:09:52.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was reading a book yesterday that was talking about that is the the the people who are censoring are fighting. They're really fighting decentralization but censorship creates the necessity for decentralization and. You know Twitter Facebook Instagram they're trying to fight misinformation but the harder that they tried to fight misinformation with censorship the more prolific decentralization becomes because people start getting they start leaving the platform to go.

02:11:07.18

Max Shank

It's natural. It's like cat and mouse. It's like it's natural cat and mouse evolution. The cat evolves longer claws. The mouse gets smaller and more clever. Ah same kind of idea right? You have hackers and then you got people who work in.

02:11:09.80

mikebledsoe

To go to something That's not a platform. Yeah.

02:11:42.86

Max Shank

Ah, software security which of course are also hackers. But they're basically like 1 upping each other all the time just the way that creatures have seemed to ah grow and evolve and fork out into these different sort of test branches almost.

02:12:13.96

mikebledsoe

Now. Yeah.

02:12:20.66

Max Shank

So it's better to obsolete and speaking of the patterns like we were talking about. Ah, it's hard to recognize which of the programs coming in are important and not important a lot of the time I think that can be a real challenge.

02:12:53.38

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, well that's a pattern too. The things that you're filtering what's important and not important so fast that it's it's built up over the years of life that you go.

02:12:57.58

Max Shank

Most everything is ah like not important that.

02:13:31.62

mikebledsoe

This is this is important. Not important people decide really quick and they miss opportunities really great opportunities all the time just pass right by them. There's there's this thing called the reticular activating system are familiar to ah Ras. Okay.

02:13:41.52

Max Shank

Oh.

02:14:02.20

Max Shank

No, but I'd like to be.

02:14:09.30

mikebledsoe

You probably are you just probably don't know by name and it's it's if I start if I go out and buy a red truck. What am I going to see on the road all the time a red truck. Yeah, we prime we primed the system.

02:14:26.64

Max Shank

Okay I do know what you're talking about.

02:14:42.64

mikebledsoe

For now seeing red trucks because red truck has become very important to me I just spent $50000 on a red truck and I love this thing and I have this emotional connection to it and so now I start seeing them everywhere so the same thing happens with ah.

02:15:04.80

Max Shank

Whoa.

02:15:22.16

mikebledsoe

People and their patterns is they they notice patterns and make things important only because that's always how it's been, but you can you can intentionally change the pattern of your mind through things like mantras or by by having a conversation with someone else who can create. Help create a possibility for you. You have a conversation you and I have a deep conversation about a topic and the next thing I know I'm meeting people who can help me with this opportunity. Maybe you and I have this business idea and all of a sudden people start coming through that can contribute to this business idea. And that's the that's the ah Ras and that's most people's ah Ras is really just running the same program all the time they're noticing the same things that no purple cows. Yeah, but if you can.

02:17:00.86

Max Shank

No purple cows. You're just seeing normal stuff.

02:17:14.55

mikebledsoe

Intentionally go in there and tinker with the pattern of how you think which is fairly easy then you can start seeing new opportunities.

02:17:31.86

Max Shank

You know what's wild is the only reason you can see anything at all is because of Pattern recognition your your eyes just giving you a very um surface level reflection of photons that have bounced back and each.

02:17:44.45

mikebledsoe

Now.

02:18:11.62

Max Shank

Color has a different ah frequency to it and you have different Organs rods and cones in your eye that decipher those and eventually it does create this image but the only reason that image means anything is because of Pattern Recognition. So if you um. Try to like if you kind of simplify it down if you see a wall of triangles and then one square in there, you're going to be like whoa. That's ah, that's a little weird. You're going to be like what's that square doing in this wall of triangles and vice versa and that's why as you get to be ah like to have more simple type of vision like a lizard. Ah, many Lizards at least they can't really see stuff unless it moves and that's why they say that the eye is attracted to movement and when you start getting into the neuroscience of Vision. It's It's a deep deep Rabbit hole. In understanding the patterns around you but it just shows you once again, what it's useful to show you so you can find the banana and not get eaten by a tiger or a hawk or something like that.

02:20:29.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well is where something where psychedelics get really interesting. Take a couple hits of acid and you start noticing what it what acid one of the things it does lsd it. It starts creating new connections in the brain. Usually the neural connections are going between the None shortest points between the None and that's one of the things that creates the pattern of attention. Yeah, and mushrooms do this lsd does this but it starts the.

02:21:16.80

Max Shank

Um, just like fungus and most things most things yeah water.

02:21:36.36

mikebledsoe

It starts connecting parts of the brain that have never been connected before and even there's this thing called I think it's Synestasia where you can see colors or or taste sounds yeah see music and um, but yeah, yeah, bet.

02:21:51.84

Max Shank

He see music. Yeah sounds cool I've never experienced that myself I would love to see music I mean I've seen like us.

02:22:14.40

mikebledsoe

And you've never seen music.

02:22:27.14

Max Shank

Ah I've seen us use pretty cool tools to turn sound waves into vibrating Sand or lasers or sine waves or.

02:22:35.26

mikebledsoe

Um, there was a day I had I was on 2 hits ass and maybe 4 somewhere in there and um, sometimes I heard to tell what you took I was listening to music and I was looking at this picture.

02:23:06.10

Max Shank

It's another reason why you're not the research department hard to know if it was 2 or 4 Okay, so don't go to Mike for the recipe. Okay I'm not sure if it's one tablespoon of baking soda or one cup I don't know.

02:23:22.94

mikebledsoe

Ah. Whatever same thing. Ah so but I'm looking I'm looking at a painting and with each beat of the meat of the music. The colors are changing and the music and the painting are interacting and the painting's actually not that colorful. There was maybe.

02:23:41.60

Max Shank

It's not the same thing.

02:24:09.88

mikebledsoe

3 or 4 colors total but colors were changing and then there were images that were they were appearing that I didn't notice before but you could also go hiking out nature and then it disrupts the patterns of what you already see because people walk they can go walk a trail or they go walk around their neighborhood and they don't.

02:24:21.74

Max Shank

That's cool.

02:24:49.62

mikebledsoe

They kind of notice the same things they don't notice the same things I mean people miss stuff all time if if you you know you've probably been hiking with people and you're noticing. It's like oh or they notice something you don't but if you're on something like Lsd you're gonna notice. So many other things and that's why a lot of times people really don't move much. They don't they're not going to travel a long distance when on that that medicine and they're going to because they're so busy noticing the palm of their hand and looking at oh my gosh look at all these lines and.

02:25:30.82

Max Shank

Let he.

02:26:01.58

mikebledsoe

And your ability to see is just is is so enhanced but that's a really good example of something that disrupts a pattern to where you really can't go about your daily life like if I if I'm on asset and you ask me to go to a cashier and make a purchase. It's It's not going to happen I Just can't do the.

02:26:35.44

Max Shank

Hey.

02:26:39.98

mikebledsoe

Those patterns that are so ingrained that I whip my card out normally don't even think about it. But if I have to buy a sandwich at a festival. Um I'm having a problem.

02:26:46.32

Max Shank

My. Yeah I mean when you overdo it on any kind of substance Beyond like capabilities. Ah I think ah.

02:27:13.20

mikebledsoe

That's true. Well the difference between that like alcohol like you're just you're like you're so depressed that you can't make sense of the world and with Lsd Everything is so loud that you can't filter it all.

02:27:33.56

Max Shank

I Just remember when I was in college I was really ah hammered I Drank like a small bottle of tequila on my own and I got into an argument with a ticketing machine on the trolley and we couldn't resolve our differences So I ultimately had to jump. Over the turnsile. But I mean I I literally couldn't figured out how to pay $2 at ah at a screen but thats because I was inebriated Beyond belief but ah you mentioned something cool which is you notice more and what? what is a pattern.

02:28:15.00

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

02:28:47.52

Max Shank

Or what is a frequency without a sensor to pick it up so people have different levels of sensitivity to different things like when you're when you're learning how to emf is one when you're learning how to do massage right? I mean.

02:29:00.20

mikebledsoe

Um, emf is 1 Yeah.

02:29:27.32

Max Shank

I'm guessing a lot of people have experienced a good massage and a bad one and it's really obvious when the person can't feel the structures of your body with precision. You know it's very obvious and so.

02:29:57.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

02:30:06.46

Max Shank

There are different levels of sensitivity to like let's say your fingertips like think about Braille. For example, if you if you dragged your hand across a bunch of bumps on a page you would have no idea what they mean, but someone who had finally tuned their sensory skills. Would pick that up right away and I think that's what the the substances some substances can do is they can open up your sensor. They basically turn you into this big radar dish that is capable of picking up way more signal than usual and I think why it's so.

02:31:04.68

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

02:31:21.40

Max Shank

Ah, overwhelming to go walk around is because instead of taking in. Let's say five gigabytes of visual information. Every step now you're taking five thousand gigabytes or five terabytes of visual visual ah input every step and.

02:31:51.12

mikebledsoe

It's a lot. It's a big difference.

02:31:59.88

Max Shank

You know if you don't have the right equipment. You can't sense those things. That's why we see ah rgb Basically and that's why the little tiny lights on your screen that you may be watching right now are red green and blue because that's.

02:32:12.78

mikebledsoe

Me.

02:32:37.58

Max Shank

How we see things and other animals have different ah structure in their eyes like sadly for asian deer they can't really see orange so that makes a tiger that is orange with black stripes nearly impossible to see in that environment. But. If you put that tiger in a different environment like I don't know Alaska or some shit where it's or or somewhere where it's white. It's not going to camouflage very well at all. So it's all about that specific relationship between the deer that can't see orange the environment.

02:33:32.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

02:33:54.64

Max Shank

And the color of the cat and the pattern on the Cat. So. It's is very fascinating. Um, how it's always that relationship. It's really important to think of it in terms of what relationship we would love for some things to be totally universal, but apart from the fact that. You know everything is jiggling around all the time there aren't too many ah fundamental truths that are always the Case. It's usually ah contextual.

02:34:48.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah I want I want to bring this to I want to get some ah practical things here. So um, other than taking lsd talking about breaking out of old patterns and into new patterns. Ah, one of the exercises I actually got from Dan Sullivan and it's the None x thinking I think it's what he calls it ten x and it's all right? You're creating an offer. You're you're creating say a coaching package.

02:35:40.34

Max Shank

Hit.

02:35:58.26

Max Shank

The.

02:36:01.82

mikebledsoe

And you know so many coaches have a hard time imagining being able to charge more than 2 or $300 a month or $400 a month and so and so it's good to sit down. Go well what if you were to sell something for 2 or $3000 a month. Let's add a 0 here.

02:36:17.92

Max Shank

Yeah.

02:36:39.58

mikebledsoe

What would that offer look like what would make it that valuable and all of a sudden all these ideas come flooding in was a well shit man if I had that kind of if it was of that much value and I had some money to play around with I would actually be able to vote more of my time energy into this person or I would be able to partner with this other. Other thing and maybe I'm doing blood work now on top of what I'm already offering so the the None x thinking saying? Okay, what would you if we were to take 10 ah 10 times what you're currently charging what would that look like and on the flip side. There's also what would you offer. What could you offer for none of what you're charging. What would be $20 or $30 and now you start having all sorts of different ideas about and that's one way of breaking out of a pattern and it doesn't just apply to money it can apply to.

02:38:00.56

Max Shank

Totally yeah.

02:38:31.20

mikebledsoe

A lot of other things that the 10 x thinking or the None thinking if you had 10 times more time in the day you know what would you do or I really like having saying yeah you have yet 10 say there's 240 hours

02:38:43.28

Max Shank

Um, that's a good question 10 times more time in the day.

02:39:08.40

mikebledsoe

And the day that'd be That's more than a week. What if you what if you had a whole week to accomplish what and other people were just living a day. What would that look like.

02:39:12.58

Max Shank

I think I would. So if I if I knew I was going to live None times longer than them.

02:39:33.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's ah, that's a good way of thinking about it. Let's just let's just imagine you're going to live to a thousand and everyone else is going to live to a None

02:39:40.20

Max Shank

Well so age isn't about the number of days you've been Alive. It's about the knowledge that you've accumulated in the experiences you've had right. Being alive lots of days doesn't mean shit if you spent your whole day just like living inside Watching. Ah.

02:40:15.94

mikebledsoe

Well let's just but we're measuring in days. That's the measure all right? Let's say in a month and um and in a month you lived um, you got as much done in six months and everyone else got.

02:40:26.24

Max Shank

What do you? So what's the question.

02:40:39.78

Max Shank

I mean.

02:40:55.42

mikebledsoe

Done in one month let's just look at it like that I think you do too which but most people don't like most people would what? what? what? What comes up leverage is 1 thing but also when we started thinking about time in this way I think.

02:40:56.90

Max Shank

I mean I already do that.

02:41:10.50

Max Shank

Right? It's about it's about leverage. It's all about leverage.

02:41:32.28

mikebledsoe

It's a really great way to get away from comparison because if I if I stop I can't compare myself to someone else if we're talking about a 10 X difference in time if I'm experiencing a 10 X difference in time than other people which I think you're one of those people that experience time different. Than other people. Most people are cramming their schedule with back to back to back to back and have no time to breathe and you're someone who is ah has a lot more leisure space. Yeah.

02:42:31.78

Max Shank

It's hard to get me on a calendar like this show actually is wild because I've never understood the fact that we've been so consistent I mean folks like it. It really just goes to show how much I enjoy the experience because I and everybody else. We do exactly what we want all the time. Ah, we do whatever we think is going to give us the best result this is a lot of fun. So I do it if it's not fun I don't really do it and the idea of cramming a day full of appointments sounds awful but having the ability. To connect with who I like sounds sounds amazing.

02:43:48.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so we have that that. Ah, if if you could say hey I'm going to live 1000 years how would you behave? How would you? How would you live each day. It would probably you would probably do things differently and if I were to say that you experience.

02:44:16.40

Max Shank

I would.

02:44:26.86

mikebledsoe

You only have let's say 3 hours where everyone else has 24 hours in a day. How do you say you only have three what we call it three waking hours if you only had three waking hours well everyone else had a full you know 16 hour waking day and you only had 3 what would.

02:44:33.30

Max Shank

Um, yeah, right. Um, yeah now.

02:45:06.56

mikebledsoe

What would you do with your time and that's a really great way to find priorities because if you only have most people they look at their day and go I've got a 16 hour waking period of time and I don't have enough time in the day that's a problem.

02:45:32.84

Max Shank

Well I mean totally what you're talking about is the crux of success or power Even um, basically it's pressure or force per area or per. Distance right? Like how much effort or how much what can you? invest energy wise to get the largest return at the end. Basically ah if you could spend yeah and what you're doing basically is.

02:46:29.10

mikebledsoe

No.

02:46:45.48

Max Shank

2 orders of magnitude mathematical thinking up and down so you have a None x swing in your ideas about that topic. So you're creating an upper and lower bound that are certainly further away than most people would naturally think which is why that ah framework or that.

02:46:48.10

mikebledsoe

Empty.

02:47:22.38

Max Shank

Ah, pattern to filter this idea through is so useful because it gets you to think how could I divide the membership by None how could I multiply it by 10 how could I get the cost. How could I increase the cost 10 x you know all that stuff. But it's. It comes back down to leverage ultimately because it's how much can you ah get out energy-wise for how much you put in and if we're using time as the limiting limiting factor because ah for us energy and time are. So closely linked. They might as well be the same thing for most for for the sake of most things but it ah it's still important to see like what gives you the biggest return on one hour of your time and just thinking about um.

02:48:37.24

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

02:49:12.58

Max Shank

What to do in terms of multiply by 10 divide by 10 very cool but it is ultimately about leverage. It is about how much you can get out for each one that you put in per unit of investment.

02:49:36.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah I said we wrap this up. My computer is giving me weird signals and let's bring it home.

02:49:46.88

Max Shank

Bring it bring it home bring it home I mean that's a see this is what I was worried about I feel like there's a lot left to discuss I feel like we didn't get into the different vibrations of very dense and. Porous materials and I we hardly got into computer programming at all but look I'm going to I'm going to keep it simple from my end all right when it comes to human beings today. Everything we have has been built off of the accumulation of these patterns. These patterns are our Dna. These patterns are the books that have sustained or the stories that have sustained the human programming. That has sustained and the programming or the code or the recipes for how to make really insanely awesome tools and I would say those are like the 3 practical things for human beings and then. I think it's fun to talk about crystals and metal and manufacturing and all that stuff but without the code without the instructions without the chain of events without knowing how to put all those links together in the proper sequence. You can't get a car. You can't get a cellphone. You can't even get a fucking good loaf of bread. The recipe's got to be done in order. The only way you'll know is with the pattern the code.

02:53:07.20

mikebledsoe

Excellent, yeah and look at your own Life. You're living out a pattern from day to day and if something's not going the way that you want it to go analyze that Pattern. That's what I call Dysfunction. Something's not going the way you want to go. There's a dysfunction in your pattern somewhere. And it's a fract.. It's fractal Nature. You may need to look really far back and mostly the patterns of behavior and the ways of thinking and your emotional patterns all stem from your childhood. So if you want to be able to to really look at that you might have to get into a really reflective space and maybe. Come to some hard truths and that may give you the opportunity to make new decisions moving forward and create New Patterns. Thanks for joining me max where where people finding you. What are we doing http://maxshaink.com.

02:54:52.64

Max Shank

http://maxshank.com at maxank. Ah, if you guys have any questions for the show or about the show I will I'll I'll answer him I think that would be fun like to connect with the audience a little bit more. So thanks for tuning in. Thank you Mike.

02:55:15.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I got a summit coming up this weekend for coaches out there. It starts on Thursday we're gonna go four to five hours a day and Thursday through Saturday and then if you're an academy member you you obviously get up extra access vi ipd on sunday. Ah, if you want to get it in on that it's a pay what you want go to shop dot http://thestrongcoach.com. Thanks y'all. That's a great deal.

02:56:02.74

Max Shank

That's a good deal.

Experiencing Life Fully With Aaron Hinde Jun 16, 2022

A life fully lived & experienced… what does that even mean?In this week's episode, Aaron Hinde & I paint a picture of what it looks likeFrom bankruptcy to the “top of the mountain”, to losing almost everything in fires, family dynamics, and creating even more beauty from the ashesListen in. You’ll love this one

What Matters Most Jun 13, 2022

00:01.12

Max Shank

Here's the deal. So there's a perfect, no intro this we're just here now you're here we're here I'm here you're here. We're all here the official show but this is for just the like inner club. But anyway I was going to say a case study.

00:02.60

mikebledsoe

It's the first one.

00:16.94

mikebledsoe

We'll do the intro when we start the official show.

00:35.54

Max Shank

On viewer engagement. One of the best I've ever seen was this Youtube channel called Ants Canada okay I think it's like a filipino dude. It's some asian guy who has this Youtube channel called Ants Canada and every fucking film.

00:51.20

mikebledsoe

Ahead.

01:14.58

Max Shank

Is about ants and ant colonies and he sells ant gear but basically he has this membership that he calls the Ac senate right? and so he basically has people pay to have a say in all kinds of weird stuff like. What are we gonna do with this new colony. What are we gonna name this thing and he gives them like preferential voting rights for what happens in the community. It's so crazy. How ah how much this guy connects with the audience. And's so it's a weird stuff ah because ants and ant colonies are pretty weird but talk about a case study for how to engage with an audience. This guy is dialed ants Canada case study ants st ants canada is a case study for.

02:57.28

mikebledsoe

Aunts Canada alright.

03:07.76

Max Shank

How to engage with your audience on multiple levels. He sells physical products. He has basically ah a membership where you get called? yeah like ants like the bug the insect. Yeah exactly it's incredible.

03:28.28

mikebledsoe

It's a and TS like like the like the insect to podcast.

03:46.40

Max Shank

No, it's video series Youtube thing. It's not a podcast but he sells ant colony plastic molded parts to people. He also has this this. It's the weirdest thing I've ever heard of like you would wonder like why is it that people would pay to get to make decisions but he has positioned the joy of naming a new ant colony or deciding what to do. In this like new video series as good as Tom Sawyer ah portraying the benefits of whitewashing offense. He's like wouldn't you guys like to make this decision for him like they are driving his content and paying to drive the content. It's.

05:30.86

mikebledsoe

It's really I mean it's as Facebook Twitter you know create the platform. Yeah create the platform and just let them let the let the people be the product was that the people will create the product. They'll be the product.

05:32.38

Max Shank

It's unbelievable Youtube oh my god what an acquisition.

06:02.50

mikebledsoe

And then you just sell advertising.

06:08.32

Max Shank

It's like ah what they did with was it Hong Kong or Singapore can't I remember 1 of them. It's like the guy's name was Lee coshing you ever hear that guy. Ah.

06:30.90

mikebledsoe

06:41.24

Max Shank

Rikash xing Hong Kong business magnate none richest guy in the world. His whole thing. He just like built up. Ah let's see hold on. I don't know his whole thing was about owning the port that that was the that was the ah whole story. Basically.

07:24.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, it's kind of like the the gold rush. The people who made the most money were the ones selling the shovels I think that's where maybe Levi's came from the blue jeans is yeah I'm not 100% sure on this but I I think that ah that.

07:38.16

Max Shank

Right. Um, leave eyes.

08:03.32

mikebledsoe

That denim company or maybe another denim company Levi's make sense though. Ah made their fortune and their start by selling denim clothing to miners. It's really durable.

08:25.20

Max Shank

Like little kids or like go look for gold in the mines Now they probably send sell more to little kids I don't know I don't wear a lot of jeans. Do you wear a lot of jeans.

08:36.64

mikebledsoe

Look go look for golden mines. Yeah, yeah, off to I'd like to not anymore not with the not with the clothes that come out today I just discovered. Um.

09:02.16

Max Shank

I Hardly wear jeans. It's not that comfortable.

09:15.54

mikebledsoe

Viori made a new pant that is looks really clean, but dude great for travel because I can wear them in a hundred degree weather I might as well be wearing shorts they breathe So well, they look nice and you know I.

09:24.24

Max Shank

Ah. Are yeah.

09:51.22

mikebledsoe

I Don't even like to wear shorts I don't like to wear casual shorts I Either want to wear pants or athletic shorts and it might be something it might be like spillover from the the military because that's pretty much how it works there. But I think like casual shorts look silly on men. Ah.

10:01.80

Max Shank

10:17.60

Max Shank

Right? right. Um, like what? what do you mean?? casual shorts like cargo pants.

10:31.28

mikebledsoe

That's just like you know like yeah like like cargo shorts or just like the shorts that are pants that are cut off. You know it's It's like those are kind of silly. It's like when I just wear athletic shorts I'm like an athletic shorts and fanny pack or I'm going to be wearing.

10:49.96

Max Shank

Ah, you know what.

11:07.94

mikebledsoe

You know some slacks.

11:10.94

Max Shank

You know what? I'm really into is like the like the ah Rei type of hiking pant and I and I want to get some that turn into shorts but I was thinking about it and I don't know if I would rather have them unzip all the way.

11:22.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

11:47.58

Max Shank

Or if I would want to have them roll up and clip on I haven't seen many like that there are some out there because I have I have a couple pairs totally but the utility I mean.

11:51.50

mikebledsoe

I think roll up and clip on makes more sense there. There are some out there I've seen some yeah the zip out I try to avoid moving parts as I try to. Until the zipper breaks plus rolling up just looks way cooler. That's that's the real Rob there they look cooler than having a zipper hanging off your shorts.

12:26.52

Max Shank

Is fantastic. So maybe maybe the roll up till the zipper breaks. Yeah, that's a good point. Those are my my favorite pants I got a couple at Costco they're just.

12:57.00

Max Shank

Yeah, that's a great point I went on a bike ride yesterday actually mountain bike ride for the None time in like years. Ah, all because I was learning about air compressors and how our compressors work.

13:03.40

mikebledsoe

I mean.

13:34.56

Max Shank

And so I was getting out my air compressor and I was like how how does my air compressor work. How powerful is this thing Really what kind of stuff because I bought one when I got my house because I was like every house needs an air compressor because I was ah like I didn't really know? Yeah, like yeah.

13:59.32

mikebledsoe

Oh like a proper air compressor one with a big tank. Yeah, not the kind that you carry around in your car. Yeah something you could use with tools and whatnot. Yeah yeah, I'm into those those.

14:12.76

Max Shank

Like a little pancake. No no I wouldn't It's a little too big and heavy for that. Yeah, like a nail gun staple gun that kind of thing and so those things are savage.

14:36.38

mikebledsoe

I've got some air compressor tools. If if you're gonna work on a car I don't know how I don't know how I worked on a car before I have that which I don't really work on cars much anymore. But I remember that being a major upgrade.

15:04.26

Max Shank

Yeah I think knowing how to put stuff together like that is such an underrated ability because I notice as I am problem solving in the garage with my hands. It makes me it makes it easier for me to visualize how to put other things together. Like Ideas. You know this attaches to this and you have to divide this. You have to sharpen this. You have to round off these edges. There are all these problem solving things that go on with how to put stuff together and it makes me even think of like mathematics how that factors in to.

15:43.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, there's um.

16:20.62

Max Shank

Putting stuff together and how much how much you just learn through the process of doing it. You know it's good to know arithmetic. But I have it.

16:32.70

mikebledsoe

There's a book. There's a book called the metaphors we live by and have you read it did you did you buy it on my recommendation or did you just happen to get it simultaneously. Wow Yeah I I hardly run in anyone who's read it. Ah.

16:52.62

Max Shank

I think I had I think I bought it before? Yeah yeah, ah yes, and like most books I've read I maybe retained like 10%

17:08.18

mikebledsoe

But have you read it.

17:22.74

mikebledsoe

Got it? Yeah so metaphors we live by really highlights how the mind works and that everything in the mind is a metaphor to something an objective reality and so ah so kind of like the.

17:53.96

Max Shank

Right now.

18:00.98

mikebledsoe

Projectile and project metaphor We talked about before yeah eyeballs. Um.

18:06.94

Max Shank

Eyeballs eyeballs are super reliable but they're not showing you objective reality because there are a lot of layers.

18:19.88

mikebledsoe

Well, they are but you're not filtering it. But anyways.

18:32.44

Max Shank

Well your eyes don't show you objective reality your eyes show you? How light is reacting with matter but there's a lot going on that is beyond. The visible spectrum is what I'm saying.

18:44.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

18:55.10

mikebledsoe

Totally. But so one of the things it talks about is ah like ontological metaphors and so one is how we refer to the mind. So the mind is a machine so there's all these examples of.

19:26.90

Max Shank

19:33.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, that in in the English language the mind is a machine and it's also brittle and so when you look at the English language as a whole the majority of the references to the mind is that it's a mechanical thing that's brittle.

19:48.36

Max Shank

20:09.12

Max Shank

Right? It sounds dangerous. Sounds like a dangerous belief to me like that that makes me a little queasy even based on how I see the mind or how I would try to define the mind or even just the brain.

20:13.48

mikebledsoe

And so ah, people believe that it yes and.

20:44.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but but you know and and it's common language is as people are talking are unconsciously talking about it in this way. So they're further embedding this thing is true and so they they they don't know how to treat their own own mind or organize it because they actually have an incorrect.

20:48.30

Max Shank

Like the organ because I think that's different.

21:00.58

Max Shank

Um, right right.

21:23.92

mikebledsoe

Or an inaccurate view of what it actually is ah so one of the things the book talks about is how we use objects to ah create Concepts so anything that's conceptual. We're having we need to.

21:28.26

Max Shank

He no.

21:48.00

Max Shank

21:58.28

mikebledsoe

Associate it with an object out in physical space and so ah, one of the things that I've noticed I'm in total agreement with you I've been I've been meditating on this because I read that book about a year ago and I noticed that as I've been doing more physical tasks and building things that my ability to problem solving in the conceptual realm has gone way up and anytime I'm having a conceptual problem I go work on something that's on an object I go build something or fix something. Ah.

22:45.12

Max Shank

23:07.18

mikebledsoe

All of a sudden the world makes more sense and I think part of that is if we spend too much time in the conceptual Realm without being in the objective Realm Then we end up. Ah, we end up way out in this place that doesn't make any sense. And and we become ungrounded and I know you and ah I are alike in this way because we love the mental Masturbation. We'll go off into some conceptual Realm and start changing. You know, ah physicists do this. They'll change one lot of physics to solve a problem and then they try to. Bring it back and so and then reapply to law and and it's one way of doing experimentation but the problem is a lot of people start doing that and they never come back to Earth and so I think having that balance between doing things and objective reality and conceptual. And conceptualizing things is really really beneficial.

25:12.48

Max Shank

Oh Yeah I was laughing so many times there because it makes me think about how enslaved people are by thinking certain things matter and the word matter is funny right? Because. Stuff matters. Ah you know water is matter air is matter and these ideas that we have. It's like we think too many things matter that aren't matter at all.

25:51.44

mikebledsoe

Right.

26:02.36

mikebledsoe

This bottle is matter.

26:26.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, well does just to make the statement that something is matter that isn't matter pulls you out of reality. You've become ungrounded.

26:28.36

Max Shank

And you are just more and more divorced from reality because hold right? of course look um these words and ideas are. Very useful and it's never the complete truth because they're just symbols right? but they are concrete enough to give us the plans to make a plane or a computer I mean that's all language derived and that's how the matter is directed. So. The ideas are like the pattern like Pattern Pattern father and the stuff the substance the matter the mother ma her modern is ah guided by our ideas. But if you don't have what's that yeah.

28:09.34

mikebledsoe

Oh man I'm loving these metaphors that that makes so much sense because that the father is is the structure of like the pattern structure and the matter is the stuff.

28:23.80

Max Shank

Yeah, if you don't yeah if you don't have the father's the pattern the Pattern the pattern right? mother is the matter. Yeah, the stuff and the ah the energy.

28:47.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

28:55.84

Max Shank

It's like kinetic and potential I mean there are a lot of ways that you can ah yin and young and dichotomize these ideas right? But ah my point is that we are made of matter you eat an orange. You actually are that orange is becoming you. And your body is able to break it down into its basic components and then that stuff becomes you and the stuff that doesn't become you becomes shit or sweat or something like I mean it's crazy, but it literally becomes you so this idea. That when you um, get your hands involved. You get so much of your brain involved and then it's rooted in a reality that is very easy to understand. It's very It's all about, um. God I guess it's all about power really when you get down to it because we're talking about ah force times distance ah or work over time is power ah, power is work over time work is force times distance. And that's that's a reality that's easy to track momentum things like that all this dark matter. Ah like black hole shit is mental masturbation. It's fine. It's mental masturbation though. But once you start getting in there and you can do macrame you can. Ah, make something out of wood. You could carve something out of Clay. Ah but building that connection between your creativity and your curiosity and this physical reality is critical and if you apply that same thing to fitness. Fitness is essentially ah how well you're able to deliver force how well you're able to deliver force into your right leg so you can run and take a step with your right leg and how well you can absorb.

32:56.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

33:21.00

Max Shank

And return Force I Mean That's why my latest training program is called elasticity because it's all about absorbing and returning forests without ah permanent deformation and that's that's like as close as you can get to the best longevity practice. And we all have our pet loves for ah what makes fitness good or what makes you live a long time. But if you ah you know have good friendships and family kind of ties if you have fun and if you. Ah, fast. So You just don't eat too Much. You'll live a really long time even if you're just like medium elastic Fitness you just need ah a basic level of how to interact with your environment with these alternating forces.

34:48.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

35:06.26

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

35:11.64

Max Shank

Ah, so it just it's very centering even climbing a tree go climb a tree and then you are like intimately associated with the forces required to lift you up off the ground and once you're in those situations you have room to explore and then this. Idea of like what matters or like what you should be fucking prideful of like I God I was just thinking the other day you know almost every holiday is about victimization that we have. Like almost every holiday is like it fucking kills me because we have like okay we have like memorial day that's ah, it's for the people who were killed like we are appreciating those poor victims but that's what they were. They were victims and of course we don't talk about like why they were victimized.

36:44.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

37:07.34

Max Shank

Because people don't really like that when you go in? Oh dude I'll be fucking kicked right out of the cemetery if I say these guys died for nothing but the fucking ambitions of old politicians with nothing better to do than tell other people how to live their fucking lives.

37:07.66

mikebledsoe

Of you start getting into that but people will get offended.

37:46.40

Max Shank

And so people don't like people don't like that no way because you know to generalize Bobby Joe went into that Vietnam and he did his country proud and that is a way better belief to take with you than he died for nothing.

37:46.40

mikebledsoe

Um, people don't like that. No no.

38:08.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know what? um.

38:25.90

Max Shank

But some fuck fuckwit politicians who just think they know best right.

38:32.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah I um, my girlfriend and I are out. We do things around town and Texas is a very patriotic place and I which means I get a lot of discounts because I'm a veteran and.

39:04.54

Max Shank

The.

39:09.66

mikebledsoe

I get a 5% discount on my guns at Cabels. Ah, it's i't I can't get a discount on guns anywhere. Ah yeah, but I get in free at play at parks and stuff and in Texas where other people are paying to get in anyways. So I get.

39:20.44

Max Shank

That's pretty cool and.

39:46.30

mikebledsoe

Hit with thank you for your service pretty frequently and and Ashley my fiancee she she knows how I feel about every you know about a lot of things she goes. What's it like what's it like to hear that because you know I always just say oh yeah, you're welcome. You know that's what my.

39:49.18

Max Shank

If.

40:05.30

Max Shank

Um, ah a threat.

40:24.30

mikebledsoe

My my pleasure you know, whatever it is that comes to mind at the time you know whatever I'm just trying to make them feel good about them giving me a compliment or whatever. But and when I did join I did think I was going in to be of service to humanity that was.

40:29.28

Max Shank

Ah, thank you.

40:42.14

Max Shank

Right.

41:01.94

mikebledsoe

Impression I was under but the yeah where I stand now is like yeah I don't feel proud I don't feel ashamed I kind of just I'm very neutral about it. It's I've dealt with the fact that I got duped and like.

41:19.78

Max Shank

He no.

41:36.18

Max Shank

I Guess you could call that neutral. Ah.

41:41.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean I got well I got duped and I've accepted it I'm at peace with it right? like we've all been duped. We've all been duped and you know what I'm I'm lucky because you know I did get some really great experiences out of that that made me a very resilient guy and.

41:52.52

Max Shank

Ah, ah, okay, right.

42:08.80

Max Shank

Yeah, and.

42:17.24

mikebledsoe

You know there's There's a lot of benefits I got from it most mostly the discounts but the.

42:28.64

Max Shank

I Just imagine if someone said take you for your service and he said yeah I was probably a mistake. Or or just like I wouldn't recommend I wouldn't recommend it.

42:46.66

mikebledsoe

Ah, you know I'm I'm trying that out. Well, it's bad enough that people are going to hear this on the show. Ah, but yeah, it's like ah that's all we know. But yeah, it's um.

43:08.84

Max Shank

Um, hey look it's not for everybody. It wasn't for you. That's all we know it wasn't for you. It wasn't for you.

43:24.40

mikebledsoe

But what you're saying is accurate because the the way Well the well we can go back to the holidays. But when I look at when I look at um, the government and military service and all these things is when I started looking at the government is just there's a book called the Sovereign individual and in that book they talk about how.

43:28.98

Max Shank

These holidays.

44:04.14

mikebledsoe

Formation of government and how they were there to protect farmers from people who would come and take their shit and if they didn't hire them. They were gonna take their shit and if they did hire them. They're gonna take a percentage of their shit and so ah. Basically when you.

44:42.80

Max Shank

Basically you got guys with the swords and you got guys with the hose right till in the field then you got a sword guy and you got a hoe guy I'm more of a hoe guy I think.

44:46.40

mikebledsoe

Exactly and some and yeah, some so like in the beginning it was just like who who is ah who's got the most brute force and then over time they accumulated armor horses like a ah Knight in armor. Can take out like 20 people on foot. You know like the this is yeah this is this is it and so true that yeah, but but here's the thing is before the and but.

45:30.20

Max Shank

This is grounded in reality too unless one of those guys on foot happens to have a really nice bow and arrow and then that guy's fucked speaking of projectiles.

46:00.98

mikebledsoe

Before the invention of the rifle to become skilled to be able to afford the time and the money to be a great soldier. It was it was rare and so only a select few had been in the position to do so and so.

46:36.56

Max Shank

Even ants do this. They divide up the labor into soldiers and the workers back to the ants again.

46:39.00

mikebledsoe

You it. Yeah, yeah, and so the so the whole formation of the idea government has been basically the same it's it's identical to the Mob. You know you're.

47:13.84

Max Shank

It's identical to any group. It's about specialization Ideally right.

47:17.42

mikebledsoe

I Know if any group but like but any group that uses the threat of Force violence and coercion. So not every organization does that and so.

47:40.12

Max Shank

Um, is there any group where everybody does the same thing I think it's always about specialization.

47:48.78

mikebledsoe

It is about specialization but what I'm saying is what makes these organizations special is that they ah they rule by violence and a threat of violence coercion. These things that that's how they get people to comply.

48:25.26

Max Shank

Um, without nonviolently with like words instead of Swords basically.

48:27.50

mikebledsoe

With their rules. Well they use words. But if you disobey those words you will then meet you know.

48:46.80

Max Shank

Well, that's leverage right? That's that's really, um, how control works because if you if you ah if you don't follow the words and they just have to sword everybody to death. It's.. It's like not very good for anybody like now all the farmers are now all the farmers are.. It's kind of like a strike.. Basically I mean all these all these parallels within the symbolism of language I I have this idea that words have evolved basically the same as anything else.

49:25.76

mikebledsoe

It's not good for anybody. Yeah, so they got to use the there's ah.

50:01.92

Max Shank

In Nature longer sharper Claws Stronger Armor Camouflage Decoy Venom you know people fucking hurt each other with words all the time and only sometimes do they hurt.

50:25.80

mikebledsoe

And.

50:36.14

Max Shank

Ah, people with actual like sticks or weapons or something like that and sometimes they turn them on themselves right? We we fucking think Shitty things about ourselves we put ourselves through these I mean ah I guess I'm a fitness guy so we put ourselves through these like ball bursting workouts.

50:37.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, they've gotten so good at can most of the time.

51:13.82

Max Shank

That are only harming us because we're just like so desperate. Um for some pie in the sky vision that we have I mean it's crazy how much language causes harm and self-harm. But anyway my point is like it's too inefficient. To go fucking hit everybody with the sword. It's way more efficient to just threaten the sword.

51:54.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the the evolution has been that we use these words and so it was the words were simple and the sword was strong and then over time while the Swords gotten stronger. But the the words have become. People have gotten very clever lawyers are some of the most clever people on the planet ah politicians are basically they're just Lawyers. So These people are creating these words. Yeah, they create these words and you know, um, there are certain people.

52:40.40

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

52:52.18

Max Shank

Um, the word Warriors the word warriors.

53:10.96

mikebledsoe

Who are there's a very small population of people who are pretty much I think you and I fall in this category kind of like yeah you know those are just words and you want me to do this but I'm not going to and then you have the majority of the population that are like you're going to defy those words and.

53:44.18

Max Shank

Right.

53:46.84

mikebledsoe

And they completely freak out and they don't know what to do? They think that you're a bad person because you're ignoring these words. Um that somebody else put together and in order to try to control you so.

54:07.22

Max Shank

Well because otherwise like you are ruining their paradigm. You're destroying their sense of reality because they're like well I can't do that and I'm like actually there there are just consequences to everything you do you know that.

54:18.14

mikebledsoe

Totally destroying it.

54:35.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you can do anything you want. You can do a lot of things.

54:42.84

Max Shank

That's it you could do whatever there are consequences like if you tie a noose around your neck whack off in the closet. There's a much higher chance that you will die from hanging. But there's also a decent chance. You'll have an orgasm that's like None or so of the usual 1

55:20.40

mikebledsoe

There's otherwise to do that You hit me up on my private blog on on how to do that without choking yourself. But anyways.

55:22.40

Max Shank

So.

55:32.68

Max Shank

Fellas you hear that Mike is offering orgasm boosters free orgasm boosters. What kind of percentage can you offer increase 50% increase a 3 hold on.

55:40.64

mikebledsoe

Free orgasm boosters at least 50% now now I would say out. No no like 300 I mean yeah and yeah, with with just common common things you can pick up at the store.

56:07.68

Max Shank

Ah, 300% increase

56:19.18

Max Shank

Like cocaine. Ah.

56:19.76

mikebledsoe

Nothing you don't have to go see a drug dealer. But if you no, no, no like like over the counter things. But then um, yeah, over the counter and then um, you know if you want to get into the other I can guarantee like a None x but you know that's going to require some hard to get ahold of.

56:30.20

Max Shank

Over the counter.

56:55.60

Max Shank

Honestly I think ah I think I think this would be something that you you could probably do a one pager on this for our premium Inner Circle club.

56:57.88

mikebledsoe

Substances.

57:20.56

mikebledsoe

I Feel like this whole episode's going to be an inner Circle Club show. Ah you know this is the commercial This is this is actually it. This is this one. We're giving away for free. This is the one you get for free from now on the pre ship. This.

57:23.38

Max Shank

Like I would be interested in like a little that's all it is This is just for the this is this is it. We're gonna air this and and to be fair, we might be Fucked. We might be fucked because this might get us. Ah. Extradited or what's the excommunicated because of all the stuff we've said.

58:01.30

mikebledsoe

Well this is why I want everyone to go and get a ah podcasting 2.0 app on your phone instead of Spotify because Spotify itunes. They could just take us off anytime they want because some sjw employee gets pissed off.

58:24.12

Max Shank

Oh my God can you imagine? Holy God I Think that's I think the pendulum is swinging back I think people are craving uncensored Oh I Love it.

58:36.96

mikebledsoe

So ah. I think so I think so but not but not the employees of Apple and Spotify. They're gonna be the last ones you know and Twitter but I it will shake out it but we need. But.

59:00.98

Max Shank

Yeah, we'll we'll see how it all shakes out I mean ah Seasons change Seasons change.

59:19.58

mikebledsoe

Decentralization is what will force it and so using a podcasting 2.0 app is part of the decentralization movement. So I like ah podverse myself. So if you just go and download podverses. Our shit will never be taken off of that. But.

59:54.40

Max Shank

Bu ya.

59:59.20

mikebledsoe

But Spotify has taken down None I think over 70000 podcast episodes in the last year yeah based on the content. No now they remove certain content. They even pull down some of Rogan's content

01:00:12.90

Max Shank

Whoa Really I thought they were cool. Not cool. Bummer I Do know that by the way if there was ever something that. Ah.

01:00:35.00

mikebledsoe

But not all of it.

01:00:45.96

Max Shank

Was valuable but let's be able to say words other this is a core value. This is a core value here. Okay folks this is this. It's rooted in reality look. It's fine talkytackytacky ever Blah Blah Blah blah. But as soon as someone comes in with the stick.

01:00:53.40

mikebledsoe

Come on. Well this goes back to what you were just saying.

01:01:24.88

Max Shank

You got to like fucking face that reality and so if we can't resolve our differences with words. There's only None choice left and that's physical violence I think everybody should be versed in physical and verbal violence. Not necessarily so they can be violent toward other people. But so they can recognize it number None and defend it number None

01:02:07.86

mikebledsoe

Well I like that I like to Define violence as the person who initiates force so I would I would say ah be well versed in debate because ah or or diplomacy right? So like to me.

01:02:36.76

Max Shank

Right.

01:02:43.20

mikebledsoe

War is just an extension of Diplomacy You know we were like oh diplomacy failed I'm like no this is just we're still being diplomatic. It's just a very violent diplomacy and so the same thing with the words is you know we start off with disagreement. We're trying to work it out things escalate We can't.

01:03:06.64

Max Shank

Interesting.

01:03:17.88

Max Shank

Great.

01:03:20.60

mikebledsoe

Find agreement in the words because people aren't You're right, People are not trained in the ability to listen to understand and then communicate the wall just goes up and you've talked about rhetorical fallacies before the wall goes up and then now it just becomes a mudsling contest.

01:03:56.66

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:03:58.60

mikebledsoe

That that will result if that doesn't get resolved in some way it will result in physical force. This is why the None amendment's important because if only yeah and and because if only 1 group of people has access to violence.

01:04:13.74

Max Shank

The None and the second those are almost all that's important. But.

01:04:35.10

Max Shank

Um, oof because then you go.

01:04:37.56

mikebledsoe

Then then we're in big trouble which takes me back to the point I was making hang on the point I was making which is like the when I look at when I look at ah government. It's hard to tell the difference between government and the mom because they're basically saying give us. A certain amount of your profits give us a certain amount of your of your hard work and we'll make sure that your shop doesn't get burnt down. You know we'll make sure your kid doesn't get beat up in the alley and they're basically saying the mob is basically saying. Overtly, they're saying we'll protect you from other people. Yeah, covertly, they're saying pretty much if you don't pay us None of our thugs are going to come get you which is which is the same thing that happens with the Us government is they say.

01:05:50.12

Max Shank

It's called a protection ring. It's called a protection ring. It's been around for a long time.

01:06:09.36

Max Shank

Ah, right? yeah.

01:06:23.82

mikebledsoe

We're going to protect you from all these outside guys and we got police officers stationed in there. We're gonna protect you as long as you. But if you if you don't give us a None of your life then we're actually gonna come fuck you up and so that's the price of the club. Yeah tough shit. There's like no way out.

01:06:26.48

Max Shank

Move.

01:06:41.98

Max Shank

Right? That's the price of the club and if you don't like it well tough shit This is the only club in town. It's the only club in town. It's like ah you know there is a thing about power companies. You know when you have a single.

01:07:03.56

mikebledsoe

And so well hang on. So so so so when I started when I recognized this this extremely similar ah view of government and the mom.

01:07:16.98

Max Shank

Go go ahead? yeah.

01:07:38.98

mikebledsoe

And I just started looking at all these governments around the world as just mobs that are controlling different geographical locations by by which um are mainly dissected based on Language. So if the language changes that's where the border begins. When there's a different language because you can't control people anymore because they can't understand you and so ah government control happens and within the borders of language and then you basically just have you just have.

01:08:35.50

Max Shank

K case that's http://dciendocappassosenorexplicka me and espanio poque non anddo.

01:08:50.98

mikebledsoe

Exactly. So. So so when you start looking at the world as or the government as just mobsters that are ruling really large pieces of geography and they're all. You know, jocking for position. Everything makes a lot more sense like the Russia Ukraine thing makes way more sense if you just think about it as a couple of mobsters that are that are jocking for position and the United States has done a good job of like. United States has done an incredible job of being very strategic in the way that it's done things. It hasn't it hasn't necessarily ah won with brute force for instance with the Ukraine thing is if you think about mobsters are running Ukraine right now right. Because anyone who has a government is being There's a mob and so those mobsters. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well the good the good mobsters of Ukraine are um, just you know the the us government is lending them. What None

01:10:50.92

Max Shank

No, but those are the good mobs. We like them. They're the good mobs.

01:11:18.20

mikebledsoe

Billion dollars a month or something like that that they're never going to be able to pay back all right? So if only someone would come tell me what to think? So so then ah.

01:11:22.22

Max Shank

Oh my God I Wish someone would tell me who the good guys are and who the bad guys are if only someone would come and let me know what to believe about this.

01:11:56.32

mikebledsoe

So then you got so the way I see it is the us government has done an incredible job at buying the people of Ukraine as slaves and so because they're under the control of the Ukraine mob the ukraine mob how are they going to pay back that money they can't pay back that money. So basically they're going to be in debt to the us and the Ukraine is the breadbasket of europe so they produce the the lion's share of the wheat and other things necessary for making a lot of food products and in Europe and so now. The way I see it is the us government. Everyone is everyone is going. You know? Yes for Ukraine I'm like I'm like the us government just enslaved the people of Ukraine and you cheered them along the whole way and is like yeah we are like you know and that is um, that's 0 comment on what. Putin's doing you know whatever you call him more criminal. Whatever the guy's not a good guy. The guy's not a good guy but but people miss that.

01:13:56.16

Max Shank

It's it's about relationships. It's about relations. It's about relationships. It's about relationships and it's about trying to understand what the connection is between those relationships and in order to really get it. You got to reduce the number of parties down, you got to put the words like none and None out of your mind and just say what is the relationship between these different entities or individuals and what you're saying about the us specifically is. They recognize the power of both words and swords because words, okay, nothing scales better than words because it requires no material transfer. It requires only a transfer of pressure waves basically on some level and and. Transfer of ah it's just it scales way easier than actual bullets and actual swords and and if you have both then then you're like King of the castle. Basically so we have crazy weapons and we also have.

01:15:38.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, especially with the internet and everything just repeats easily.

01:16:13.92

Max Shank

Ah, lawyers and bankers and politicians that use words the same way that we're using Bullets and missiles and shit like that and we have we have ah stuff that's happening behind closed doors I mean Okay, let's talk about language again just for a second because.

01:16:25.28

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:16:50.54

Max Shank

Want to talk about the word conspiracy conspiracy happening all the time people are meeting in secret to discuss plans all the time we would have to be totally naive if we don't think that's going on basically everywhere like every every group is meeting in secret.

01:17:24.88

mikebledsoe

The Cia is ah is a series of conspiracies.

01:17:29.90

Max Shank

We meet in secret we meet? yeah and of course they can't tell everybody everything I mean how fucking schizophrenic do you have to be your level 1 clearance your level 10 clearance I'm a level 10 cia wizard. So I know like 90% of the secrets but only 10% of this I mean it's.

01:17:42.24

mikebledsoe

So it's a conspiracy. Yeah.

01:18:09.70

Max Shank

It's Insane. So ah, kind of tying it back to how we use language and use ideas bringing it back to reality Once again, just doing something with material objects that exist somewhat. Independently of Language. You know how you interact with a tree or the ground of course you have the word tree and ground in your mind but your movement and your creative expression through physical materials. Even if you don't think you have a knack for it. It's very grounding experience.

01:19:37.32

mikebledsoe

Back to physical materials. Yeah, well they? um well what's interesting is my friend Jesse Elder he he's been studying the law extensively the last couple years and um.

01:19:42.80

Max Shank

Um, that that's what I tried to bring us on back because.

01:20:17.64

mikebledsoe

Basically looking at like the foundation of law you know, not you know what are all these little laws that are floating around that are getting passed all the time and changing. But you know yeah, but like what is the the sole basis and we go back in history. What is law.

01:20:33.00

Max Shank

To contract. It's It's just a contract that's it.

01:20:52.36

mikebledsoe

You know how does it operate so he did that and if you can figure out the fundamental principles of how these things work a lot of things get real simple so he did that and one one of the it's what.

01:21:11.92

Max Shank

It's conditional phrases right? I mean I'm not trying to diminish but isn't it like it's conditional. Phrases. It's consequences like the code of Hamurabi was a system of laws but they are very simple if you steal. A woman then you get your eye plucked out and you have to marry her some shit like that. Basically and if you're talking about arbitration which is a little different than law. Basically you are just dealing with an arbitrur like a judge who is deciding.

01:21:45.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:22:20.32

Max Shank

Who's right when they present like the clay tablets or something like can you imagine being. Ah, you know an arbiter back then but that's what they would do so that guy gets to decide but you have it's just enforcing contracts I think and every every relationship you have.

01:22:22.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:22:43.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, that's what it comes down to.

01:22:59.30

Max Shank

Because a contract is oh gosh. It's ah it's a projected relationship. How about that using the words that we've been thinking about so a contract is a a relationship projection or a relative projection between one or more.

01:23:17.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:23:31.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you're gonna do these things I'm gonna do these things if we don't follow through then it breaks down. There's the consequences.

01:23:39.44

Max Shank

Entities yeah, and it works with yourself too. It works with yourself too. You make a you make a to do list. Maybe you sign at the bottom so I'm going to do this by the end of today you made a contract with yourself. You break the contract but you're also the judge here and you go like what happened. You know should I should I go to jail should I be full of shame or something like that should I punish myself. Do I get 50 lashes? Yeah, um, but I think we do that.

01:24:15.46

mikebledsoe

Should I punish myself emotional jail ah, ah so so jet so Jesse started digging digging into like the principles of law. And None of the results that I've seen in his life is. He's become extremely analog. Ah he is like he he sees the matrix I mean when you look at I mean the law is the matrix and so ah, everything that.

01:24:55.98

Max Shank

Totally. Ah.

01:25:18.14

Max Shank

It's a matrix.

01:25:20.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's a matrix I would I would say it's probably like based one of the base layers of the matrix and then um like the media sits on top of that. But um, he he's gone extremely analog like he's living. He's got twenty acres he's living out on it. He doesn't deal with crypto he. Ah, you know tries that work primarily in gold and silver and like getting he's getting very analog. He's using technology like he's installing a solar farm. He's doing. He's doing some things to harness technology but he's become very analog and.

01:26:28.14

Max Shank

Right.

01:26:37.76

mikebledsoe

What is valuable and so and what he values is analog and so in a world where right now so much of the value is digital and which is which is somewhat of a physical manifestation of something conceptual and so.

01:26:49.52

Max Shank

So true.

01:27:14.22

mikebledsoe

Because we're talking about Energy. Ah Bitcoin is just energy and because it requires energy from the sun whether it come in the form of solar oil. Whatever it is ah it it comes in the form of energy that's being exchanged so there is a physical component to it. But. Which is actually way more tangible than say the Us dollar which has ah which is primarily ruled by what whatever somebody thinks or a group of people think instead of being ruled by actual physical world laws and.

01:28:15.72

Max Shank

Um, that well money is its own like ah shared. It's actually a conspiracy so money is a human conspiracy just like language.

01:28:33.40

mikebledsoe

It's yeah well fiat currency would be yeah, say more.

01:28:53.50

Max Shank

That's that's it money is a conspiracy just like language I mean the fact that.

01:28:55.70

mikebledsoe

Some people some people understand I mean you're right? because there are very. There's a there is a handful of select people who make decisions in secret about the money supply.

01:29:23.52

Max Shank

Oh I mean just like it's not ah like a like okay so steak is not a human conspiracy like a dog still understands. What steak is it might know it by a different name like maybe steak for a dog is like.

01:29:49.14

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:29:58.00

Max Shank

Wolf Af or something like that I don't I don't know exactly what it's like for a dog but like money is and language are purely human conspiracies like we made all this stuff up because it's useful so they're useful lies. Essentially words are useful symbols so that we can.

01:30:09.82

mikebledsoe

I'll go ask my buddies dog.

01:30:35.78

Max Shank

Project these ideas ah into ah interchangeable parts Basically and that's what we're looking for with money is it's the ultimate interchangeable part because it's like ah an I O you that everybody agrees on it's a. Ah, accepted anywhere right? So it's money's like God It's if you believe in it it it is ah infinite Power. It's total potential and it's such a useful tool. There's no I can't.

01:31:31.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:31:49.52

Max Shank

It's so difficult for me to envision a society where we didn't have a way to exchange goods modularly. You know people talk about the fungibility or non-fungibility of token. Sometimes the fact that a dollar is a dollar is a dollar is a dollar is a dollar and I mean it did used to be backed by gold which was cool but let's not be too wistful over the glory days. But in any case. The fact that we have it and that we can change it and move it so quickly means that I can you know ah work under a bridge given hand jobs send it back to my scientist grandpa in Hungary and he can use that money. To build a nuclear fusion reactor or something like that right? That's that's incredible that you don't have to but based on my hungarian physicist ah grandfather I was thinking of him every time I gave a hand job under the bridge.

01:33:40.52

mikebledsoe

That's based on a true story folks.

01:34:04.94

Max Shank

I was just thinking this is going to be unlimited energy for everybody I'm not going to let you down pop pop anyway, ah, but but that's that's what I mean is like you you can turn hand jobs into cold fusion potentially and that is why money is cool. Ah, so we wouldn't have these computers and microphones the ubiquity of the cell phone like all this stuff was done because we were able to transfer this um potential of human action and it just it kind of reminds me of this funky idea I had. When I was none learning about like the coins and the cryptos and things like that and I thought it'd be cool to have something called like a handycoin that was ah just based off of the value that a person placed on like 1 hour of labor.

01:35:50.38

mikebledsoe

I Thought you were gonna say hand jobs but handicoin and a yeah.

01:35:59.34

Max Shank

No, not not not hand that would be even better. None coin equals one hj full stop. That's actually a better idea now that I think about anyway, but the whole idea was like you know you can put a posting on Craigslist or you can. Ah, go out to home depot and you can find like ah, a laborer who will do sometimes skilled sometimes unskilled. No no, no, no, but but but that's what that would be for is just for unskilled labor. Every hour is equal and so.

01:36:43.94

mikebledsoe

Um, are you are you saying that every hour is equal in value. No no okay.

01:37:05.52

mikebledsoe

Ah, so you create a caste system.

01:37:12.36

Max Shank

The value of that coin the value of that coin would be related to what someone is willing to do for an hour like 1 hour of unskilled labor. Ah, but at least it's tied to like.

01:37:37.54

mikebledsoe

Isn't that how just capitalism works.

01:37:50.30

Max Shank

The floor of ah one of of labor per hour right? It's like it's like it sets the floor which it is a value. Yeah, but it's so it's different. It's only correlated to ah.

01:37:51.24

mikebledsoe

So there's a minimum.

01:38:02.88

mikebledsoe

Sounds like a minimum wage.

01:38:23.40

Max Shank

Like someone actually doing real work I don't know like I said it's not a night. It's not an idea that I've taken over the finish line. Ah, but it's ah this idea that it needs to be tied to something and right now it's tied to our belief and that works.

01:38:32.00

mikebledsoe

I'm not sure I'm following.

01:39:02.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah I I think the problem that people have with money right now is that? Ah, there are a handful of people who are controlling how it flows so ah, not necessarily.

01:39:03.26

Max Shank

Weirdly enough it. It's not great, but it's okay like if.

01:39:29.48

Max Shank

Has that always been the case.

01:39:39.64

mikebledsoe

Not not to this degree I would say that. Um, so for instance when when the dollar is tied to gold money. Well I'm I'm talking about primarily money so like um so on 1 hand you have.

01:39:52.24

Max Shank

Are we talking about money or wealth or both and.

01:40:16.00

Max Shank

Um, like not.

01:40:17.52

mikebledsoe

And organization that decides. Ah how much the interest rates are going to be like what's what's the debt going to be worth and then you and then they also control the amount of money that's in the system. So those are like really big picture things. So so of when you're.

01:40:49.44

Max Shank

Oh yeah, big time.

01:40:56.00

mikebledsoe

When you're working with gold which you know all governments have inflated there even when it was gold. They did things like shave off the edges and you know there's ah until people figured it out and they lost faith in it. Yeah, they have so you can't fake it and so then um, so.

01:41:14.14

Max Shank

That's why those coins have ridges right? That's why they put the ridges on the coins. Ah.

01:41:31.34

mikebledsoe

The money supply and then the cost of debt is 2 major things that are that are employed big picture and then you have taxes so that I think the tax code is 176000 pages something like that. Ah, it might be a little bit maybe 76 maybe oh there. There's a.

01:41:56.40

Max Shank

I think maybe only 76 but but but but None like you that should be simple.

01:42:09.52

mikebledsoe

There's a ton of there's all, there's but there's basically all these rule the whole point in the tax code is to incentivize people under a certain type of behavior and it's it's.

01:42:32.34

Max Shank

And hide and hide what's actually happening and create as much of a smokescreen as possible for what's actually going on.

01:42:43.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's they they want to they want to confuse like the majority of people need to be confused about what's going on because if the majority of people knew exactly what was going on there'd be riots in the streets. But the.

01:43:07.80

Max Shank

We would sell a lot more guillotines if that were the case Guillotine sales. That's that's what I'm actually getting into right now you know pendulums and government swing I think we're like perfect time to invest in guillot in Guillotines I think ah.

01:43:28.34

mikebledsoe

Well, how let's look at the tax code I got to do this search on the tax code.

01:43:44.46

Max Shank

You know you can sell your ultimate Orgasm formula and then I'm going to sell guillotines for the coming revolutions.

01:43:53.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, we got figure I got to figure out how this tax code thing. Um all right. There's the myth of the 70000 page federal tax code.

01:44:10.78

Max Shank

It's really long.

01:44:19.60

Max Shank

It has to do with um like references to it because there are amendments to the tax code and there are cases that have modified how it's interpreted.

01:44:38.52

mikebledsoe

So the tax code has nearly tripled is it ah the tax code has nearly tripled and linked over the last thirty years um 70000 is not true. The tax code was only 20 so so it's it's. It's like triple of the None pages. So I think it's anyways thirty years ago is 2600? Oh no, none the tax code was only about 20. It's so funny and this blog says it's only None pages long. Um, yeah, but the point so.

01:45:47.60

Max Shank

Ah, it shouldn't even be 2600 words long fuckers. Let alone pages.

01:45:50.40

mikebledsoe

So um, yeah, so the so the so you've got a small group of people controlling the supply of the money you got a small group of people controlling the ah cost of the debt and then you have a small I think between. Ah, the senate the congress and all the the the the top government I think is around None and something like None something people so None something people are controlling 350000000 people.

01:46:55.92

Max Shank

It's leverage.

01:47:07.30

mikebledsoe

With a 2600 page tax code that incentivizes certain types of purchases disincentivizes other types of purchases. Um it ah it does it does really incentivize investing in real estate which is interesting because you can.

01:47:21.92

Max Shank

Right.

01:47:35.14

Max Shank

Well let's also look at this because it's not ah like those politicians are only like fabricating these ideas in their own mind. They're having people come in and say like hey we're this ah business that does one ah 0 every month.

01:48:07.94

mikebledsoe

These politicians don't write these laws. These laws are being brought to them.

01:48:14.22

Max Shank

And and and right and like hey Joe blow politician um, you know I was thinking. Ah you know you could you could really help us out. Ah, but you know I don't want you to work too hard. So I I went I went ahead and prepared the law for you.

01:48:49.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, which the law the which the law is like 10000 pages long. There's no way who the fuck reads those things. No one reads that shit.

01:48:52.82

Max Shank

I went ahead and had my lawyers prepare this law for you and I I left this spot at the it's about 10000 pages I sent a copy to all your colleagues already I put a place here for you to sign your name at the bottom and I think it's a really really good idea for you to do this.

01:49:27.48

mikebledsoe

And and we'll we'll pay your son like $10000000 a year for advisory.

01:49:32.46

Max Shank

And because like power. Oh dude that guy is that guy is fucking set but you know Hidden hidden in that fucking quagmire of verbal violence in that fucking law that's been written is. How um competition and free market is prevented right? It's not like going to be awesome for everybody. Ah, it's gone too far but it's just because we have set up the rules of the game.

01:50:24.98

mikebledsoe

Yep.

01:50:46.98

Max Shank

To allow for too much of ah human error. Basically.

01:50:49.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so this is where um so we have to believe in the money I'm talking about belief which means you got to trust it right? And so we're at a in my lifetime we're at a record breaking low of trust in.

01:51:10.16

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:51:28.32

mikebledsoe

Government or the record breaking low and trust in media I think that in since the emergence of crypto there has been a trickling of people in droves that don't trust the money that that trust ah 1 of the things that web 3

01:51:59.64

Max Shank

01:52:07.38

mikebledsoe

Really ah has brought about is it requires less trust because you can't fuck with it like it doesn't matter how much somebody wants to change something. It's not humanly possible to change some of these rules and how these crypto.

01:52:46.54

Max Shank

Question for you is web 3 basically trying to use blockchain technology to store web data and provide server. Ah for websites.

01:52:47.00

mikebledsoe

Cryptos work. Yeah.

01:53:13.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's that's that's one that's so it's a ledger well blockchain is just a really advanced ledger system that's automatically updated in decentralized web 3 in blockchain everyone in the same.

01:53:23.66

Max Shank

It's like decentralized web servers.

01:53:35.48

Max Shank

No, but web 3 I'm asking. Okay, I'm okay.

01:53:51.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the way I understand it. It's it's just web 3 is kind of you say blockchain and people get a little confused and go web 3 and they go oh like you know web one was we can send information from computer to computer web two was we have html and everything's visually we have visual graphics and. And we can. There's clickable things and and then social media and then Web 3 is blockchain mother of all demos.

01:54:39.84

Max Shank

You should see the mother look up the mother of all demos sometime it shows what it's fucking great I think it was in the 60 s we were able to do like ah word documents and video chat and all kinds of shit in like the 60 s.

01:55:14.74

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:55:19.48

Max Shank

Called the mother of all demos um wild what was capable way back then and then that wasn't ubiquitous for people that wasn't common for people until forty years later something like that not nuts.

01:55:41.10

mikebledsoe

Right? Yeah, there's that's it's fascinating. Um.

01:55:54.74

Max Shank

So that's the leverage though is how fast we can communicate a message a lot of ah censorship speaking of like the None amendment kind of.

01:56:06.90

mikebledsoe

Well, there's also you not just how fast can you communicate a message but can it actually get through the noise. How loud how loud is your message and how well received is it because there's there's a there's a level of skill that's involved in being heard.

01:56:21.14

Max Shank

Yeah, well and. Absolutely no question I mean I think that's why stand-up comedy is one of those places where the rubber meets the road on free speech a little bit because if you're allowed to say anything as long as it's a joke. Then you can still at least get that message into people's minds without having ah it be controlled and that's ultimately what drives a population if if suddenly it was the law like so that's that's what's kind of interesting. You know I don't think it's good to have. Like a lot of power in the hands of a few people. It's back to leverage same thing as a hammer right? It's physical leverage in different ways. Um, but if they suddenly made it like the law to kill None puppy every week like let's just say that became the law people would not do that.

01:58:27.84

mikebledsoe

Well, it's got to be Ah, it's got to be done in small bits I mean all right? So this may actually happen. Yeah this this may actually happen right? So they So there's the media's put out the yeah, the media has put out some notices that.

01:58:29.80

Max Shank

Because the collective consciousness of whether that's okay or not.

01:58:44.64

Max Shank

You're like talking Boiling Boiling Frog right? Yeah yeah, the puppy killing oh shit, you know what you're right? The puppy flew.

01:59:07.84

mikebledsoe

You know some people are getting getting. Ah yeah, they're getting Well they're getting coronavirus they're It's like oh statistically we find that people who are around dogs more get coronavirus. Whatever.

01:59:17.52

Max Shank

Copy flu.

01:59:27.40

Max Shank

Oh God Oh don't don't even put this out. It's so easily could happen. You could get people to kill puppies as long as you said puppies increased the no fucking way. Wow.

01:59:35.98

mikebledsoe

So so here's the thing there are cities in China where they've gone in and killed all the dogs. Yeah, and so it's already happened and so um, which.

02:00:04.80

Max Shank

Heavy heavy.

02:00:12.90

mikebledsoe

When we think about that happening in China we go. Yeah that's totally believable because they're under some weird you know they're they're under some like heavy mind control. But I think that people I think americans give themselves way too much credit on how ah how little. They they think they they're being exposed and are subject to way less propaganda I would say it's less propagandized in the United States like we're not as susceptible because there's so much competing information where there's not as much competition for information there. But the propaganda is real.

02:01:04.92

Max Shank

Overt. It's just yeah, ah.

02:01:26.32

mikebledsoe

And so all you gotta do? It's been proven in the last two years all you gotta do is make people think that they're gonna die if they don't do this thing and they'll fucking. Do it. They'll strap 3 masks on they'll put an experimental vaccine in their body and they'll they'll ah make statements like.

02:01:56.76

Max Shank

Oh god we just got flagged. That's us we're done. He's in Texas go get him I was never here. Ah.

02:02:01.54

mikebledsoe

We should throw people. We're done off Spotify. Ah I'm in Texas I'm in Texas good luck. So yeah, um.

02:02:34.34

Max Shank

Oh my gosh. So it's all it really is it all comes down to force right? It all comes down to how much of an impact you can make with words or with stuff it all comes and it's leverage.

02:02:52.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, because with the words you can still like if if ah, a small group of people can convince the large group of people that I'm a bad guy. They don't even have to get their hands dirty and so they use mind control to create violence.

02:03:21.18

Max Shank

Totally, you're separated from it.

02:03:32.34

mikebledsoe

And that's another thing we've witnessed big time in the last two years is they don't have to fucking create violence. They'll all they got to do is leverage some media to get people really hot and bothered then put.

02:03:50.38

Max Shank

Nobody wants to get their hands dirty.

02:04:08.20

mikebledsoe

Certain Spokes holes out there to to tell people how they should think what they should think and next thing you know things are burning. Yeah.

02:04:18.56

Max Shank

Hurt people hurt people right? hurt people hurt people. Ah and the more removed you are from the impact the easier it is like imagine if ah. Kind of like in game of thrones. The one who passes the sentence or the one who passes the sentence should carry it out like if you're gonna sentence a guide to death. Yeah, that was a stark thing. Yeah, well, it's cause it's like really warm weather and there's.

02:05:02.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean that that was ah and ah that was a stark thing as the the northerners believed in that but you know you go to the South a bunch of soft pussies.

02:05:32.40

Max Shank

Ah titties and asses everywhere on the beach like I I don't blame them I get it like I I wouldn't be too like I wouldn't be too Stern with duty if the beach was like full of naked chicks and coconuts like what are we fighting for.

02:05:34.12

mikebledsoe

Teddy's everywhere I I.

02:06:07.20

Max Shank

There's food and titties everywhere. Ah but I think that idea of if you're going to be the one who passes the sentence you should carry it out the corollary or the inverse of that is if you can pass judgment.

02:06:06.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah.

02:06:44.66

Max Shank

And be totally removed from the action if you can tell a guy to tell another guy to tell another guy to tell another guy to take a drone to this other guy so that guy can drone this fucking stranger to him like he doesn't know who it is. He doesn't Care. You're not going to even feel that. But if imagine if you had to personally choke every person that you wanted to kill that would be a really different type of connection.

02:07:27.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's it's well it's this disconnection from responsibility on both ends, you've got the guy passing the sentence who's disconnected from the reality of what it takes to do that and then the person who's executing can just say.

02:07:45.32

Max Shank

Totally.

02:08:03.82

mikebledsoe

You know I'm just following orders but at the end of the day who but eat.

02:08:09.54

Max Shank

Ah, oh God there's a phrase I fuss just following all us now that's not fair. That's not fair that is not a cool thing to do what I just did because it's not like the germans.

02:08:29.74

mikebledsoe

02:08:38.36

Max Shank

Are the only people who have done any horrible shit that is so unfair of me. The only reason that we use them as the poster boy. The only reason we use them as the poster boy is they just happen to target the group who is best at marketing and that's why that story is the most popular.

02:08:48.26

mikebledsoe

Oh I'll I'll say this.

02:09:12.80

mikebledsoe

Well now now you're now you're gonna now you're really stepping in it.

02:09:16.64

Max Shank

Of all the evil stories. Oh what Jews are bad at marketing mike.

02:09:33.10

mikebledsoe

Um, you're right? Um, yeah, there there's there's there's.

02:09:37.26

Max Shank

So some of my best friends in the world are Jews they're usually very smart. They're usually financially sound. They're usually pretty good at business I mean I hate to generalize.

02:09:52.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's there's plenty of groups of people. Yeah, there's plenty of groups of people that have been exterminated and and more more mass that we're not nearly as good at marketing you right? Um, and but yeah, that's that's well.

02:10:13.32

Max Shank

Totally.

02:10:25.92

mikebledsoe

We have We have police officers and just ah, you know make it fair. We have police officers that are doing no knock warrants but are serving no knock warrants ah busting people for drugs that are not hurting anybody and and it harmed a fucking soul and.

02:10:55.82

Max Shank

Oh god.

02:11:04.62

mikebledsoe

There are really egregious things happening I mean your domain your your where you live is a sacred place. It is yeah 1 time out your house. But.

02:11:09.68

Max Shank

Totally.

02:11:23.50

Max Shank

I Live in fantasy Land I live in Fanta No No I mean literally like my house and my sense of the world is basically fantasy land because all this horrible Shit. We're talking about I Actually don't have to see most of it but there are slaves. In the world there. There are horrible things. There are that that's wild. How much did it cost I'm just kidding I'm just kidding.

02:12:00.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've seen I've seen I've seen Slavery Firsthand I I was shocked. Yeah oh I I What the slaves. Um.

02:12:35.26

Max Shank

I assume you would have gotten 1 Okay.

02:12:39.18

mikebledsoe

Now we we ended up being a rescue.

02:12:51.20

Max Shank

You mean I just thought of like you know you adopt a dog you like rescue a dog versus you buy 1 at the breeder. That's what I thought you went for some.

02:13:04.00

mikebledsoe

No, no, no, no, we we were. We were coming up I was in the navy we were coming up on what looked like a ship in distress and it was full of slaves being traded from Somalia to Yemen and so ah so that shit's that shit's.

02:13:26.00

Max Shank

Good God See That's what I'm talking about that stuff's happening all the time. Yeah, we're divorced from that reality and in some ways that's good because how much shit can you really pay attention to should I Really? okay.

02:13:41.22

mikebledsoe

Shit's happening all time. It's real. We just we just happen to come across them. Yeah.

02:14:05.86

Max Shank

Like I'm I'm not nice or bad I'm just whatever I am basically but should I really concern myself with with what's going on in like the Ivory coast right now or something like that when I could have like I mean.

02:14:28.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

02:14:40.66

Max Shank

I got None of room to improve my own life. The last thing I need to do is put my attention somewhere where I can't have any impact at all. That's true for so many of us.

02:14:41.76

mikebledsoe

Well.

02:14:56.62

mikebledsoe

But I agree with the the problem is is we people care so much about something that's happened in Ukraine but don't care about what's happening in other countries that well I would say in other countries and so what people aren't realizing is like look if you want to have like.

02:15:17.60

Max Shank

Um, in their own life in their own life. Oh yeah.

02:15:36.94

mikebledsoe

I've taken this on I like look I I do believe I I want to be exposed I want to be exposed to the reality of death I want to be exposed to the reality of the most atrocious things that are happening I want to know that those things are happening and so because I I think it's good I think it's good to. To be aware that these things are happening where people get in trouble is they aren't able to look at everything equally they're not able to look out and go oh there's these atrocities over here and there's atrocities over here. They're looking at the atrocities in Ukraine. They're not looking at the atrocities in and.

02:16:15.54

Max Shank

02:16:50.38

mikebledsoe

In some places in Africa or the Middle East where we're bombing the shit out of people and and so if you're only focused on 1 atrocity and you're not willing to look at another.

02:16:54.80

Max Shank

Um, yes, totally.

02:17:18.15

mikebledsoe

You're not actually having an expanded view of reality you're being controlled by the media.

02:17:22.83

Max Shank

And you can't prioritize and you can't prioritize. It comes back to matter because if you think like whatever they say matters today matters most to you then you're just going to be spinning your wheels forever. You're like. Oh my god I'm just feeling so banged up about this thing. Oh this new thing I'm sad about and trannie's this and can we play sports and are you black like all this kind of stuff. It's like who gives a fuck like this is this this is the mind of a schizophrenic person. But if you're not connected.

02:18:17.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we have global schizophrenia.

02:18:28.58

Max Shank

Yeah, but how could you evaluate with how could you evaluate what matters most to you in any given moment if you're being fed this idea and buying it hook line and sinker that this new thing you just heard of suddenly matters the most and when you realize how many things you could care about you. I think you'll eventually come back to what can I do right now within my own life and then as far as like policy is concerned. There's only 2 things that matter and that's Authority who's in charge and jurisdiction when are they in charge.

02:19:40.72

mikebledsoe

Neither one of those things seem to be matter to me neither one of those things seem to be matter to me.

02:19:42.25

Max Shank

And that's it. What's that. But for policy that that's the only thing that does matter that's correct that is correct. That's correct hey look.

02:19:56.72

mikebledsoe

But it's not matter. It's just words.

02:20:20.38

Max Shank

Words can matter and words matter to you and they do matter to me but you can choose.

02:20:30.86

mikebledsoe

But they don't matter as much as matter I just want to get that point across. Yeah, they're just 1 step from matter I mean words are just metaphor for matter. So.

02:20:39.24

Max Shank

Certainly not how could they so anyway back Okay, fuck it I I go the other way I say words matter a lot I say words will fucking transform words are the pattern.

02:21:03.14

mikebledsoe

02:21:18.94

Max Shank

That is going to change your matter. Okay, so when you when you well look. Let's take black lives matter for a example and I got something to say about this there. It is I said everything I can say.

02:21:19.18

mikebledsoe

I Agree it's great at manipulating matter.

02:21:36.26

mikebledsoe

Oh that's good 1

02:21:57.20

Max Shank

Ah, no, no, but like all kidding aside this is this is like a ah weird racist idea like the only thing we should all want is for everybody to be treated Well man woman gay straight black white. Not purple people fuck those people but any anyone like normal colored we should treat the same so it it kind of like look I don't want to shit on anyone's cupcake either? Okay, but do we have like a national women's women's day or something like that. We we have these weird celebrations We have.

02:22:46.94

mikebledsoe

Um, I think you do.

02:23:04.90

Max Shank

Pride month and that's ah, that's a weird one like I I think being gay is really awesome.

02:23:12.98

mikebledsoe

Elon Elon Musk made a really good ah a controversial tweet. Basically he's pointing out how all these companies just all the sudden are are fucking leveraging and this this idea they don't give him a fuck.

02:23:31.40

Max Shank

Um, Oh yeah, well your I your identity is getting hijacked and ah worst off I mean look I think from my own direct Experience. Nothing has fucked me up as bad as my own pride. So. So so so it's like basically like volunteering to ruin someone's life for a whole month. It's like hey you know that deadly sin that we're all desperately trying to avoid. We think? ah. You would enjoy a whole month straight of it. No homosexuality is awesome. It looks really fun. In fact, I've never seen anyone who looked like they were having a better time than a couple of gay guys at a gay party right? Ah, that's that's.

02:24:51.30

mikebledsoe

He's talking about pride folks not homosexuality.

02:25:13.28

mikebledsoe

I agree I I'm I'm jealous I'm jealous.

02:25:24.40

Max Shank

Fully and that's fully uninhibited and I think ah you know the old school gays and trannies. They would not want to control language about what's going on like I I like the the like old school trannies. From like the 70 s and eighty s who were like really buff black dudes and who were like god damn I look fine and address and but but that's the old school type what I'm saying is these these bitches were wise you know and they were tough and if someone.

02:26:07.82

mikebledsoe

They're still around I've been I've been to the club. Yeah.

02:26:32.12

Max Shank

Was like you're not a real woman. They would be like suck my dick and then they would be like you know, brassy and tough and they would risk their lives to go dance in like ah a tranny Speakeay and I I respect that but this whole like you gotta. You got to call me this or you got to call me that or I'm going to call dad and they're going to hit you with a stick. It's like that sucks we need. We need these old school trannies to talk some sense into them about free speech because there's no reason that that should be but there's no reason that there.

02:27:31.94

mikebledsoe

Now now we're getting kicked off Spotify. Ah.

02:27:47.34

Max Shank

Okay, like those people also look fun like I think that's great, but this whole idea that we should treat any person different because of how they want to like mutilate their body or enhance it like I mean fake fake boobs Totally fine cut your dick off not fine I think they're both fine.

02:28:10.22

mikebledsoe

Well well.

02:28:22.56

mikebledsoe

I I think.

02:28:26.82

Max Shank

Personally, but I think any time you want to control the language of other people you have a mental disorder. Basically.

02:28:39.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and you're it is someone trying to force other people to participate in their identity and that is that's insane like was it a.

02:28:59.20

Max Shank

Right? That's like forcing someone to come to your party hey hey I'm throwing a party Friday I don't want to go. You're coming.

02:29:18.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you're racist if you don't come and I'm gonna call your boss and they're gonna fire you.

02:29:32.68

Max Shank

Ah, ah oh God pride go before a fall pride Pride's pride is not something that you really want to like emphasize in your life I think being open being able to express yourself.

02:29:36.64

mikebledsoe

It's like no I was well from time for myself.

02:29:46.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

02:30:10.18

Max Shank

Very good. It's just you know these words do influence our matter quite a lot. So this idea. Ah this idea that we yeah okay ah I don't know like I'm I'm so skeptical about joining groups. Anyway.

02:30:18.34

mikebledsoe

Bring here, bring it back up mic up. It keeps falling.

02:30:46.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

02:30:48.82

Max Shank

As you know, but like you lose you lose so much of ah that groundedness and reality when you're like I'm on team ah Republican or I'm on Team Trans or I'm on team Black I mean I think if I could be on team black that would be pretty cool though. In in my life. Black people were much cooler better at dancing I feel like I would get a lot of street cred if I was on team black actually as as a white guy but I don't think people should be ah I don't know forced to whatever other people's ah.

02:31:39.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:31:59.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I mean I think we you and I both just believe people should leave each other alone and some people are just nosy and and controlling. Yeah.

02:32:04.18

Max Shank

Lives.

02:32:16.30

Max Shank

Um, what a novel concept what a novel concept. So what are we trying to do here mike has this been our None secret episode is that what ah has gone on here.

02:32:35.00

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so this is ah you just got a taste of what happens during most pre-shows. Ah, although we went a little.

02:32:59.70

Max Shank

Max and Mike Raw

02:33:03.86

mikebledsoe

Um, that's definitely a porno. Um well.

02:33:15.44

Max Shank

Ah, at least we already have 1 filmed hey oh.

02:33:25.62

mikebledsoe

Ah, so um, say yeah, we're playing around with the idea. Maybe we'll do ah we tend to talk about 20 minutes we tend to talk about for about 20 minutes before we do shows and yeah ill I'll gonna talk to my tech team and see what.

02:33:41.88

Max Shank

We'll do a little pre-show.

02:34:03.62

mikebledsoe

And marketing teams see what they think cause I can't do anything would like some feedback from their audience. What I'm thinking right? now is maybe a pay what you want ah membership to get yeah, come get in the club hear The pre-show get some of the raw conversations that ah.

02:34:09.62

Max Shank

Let's get some feedback from the audience though too Huh I Want to. I Like it to join the club.

02:34:38.52

Max Shank

Ah.

02:34:40.46

mikebledsoe

Come about and also witness the how we come up with the idea of what we're gonna do for the show that day So there's there's a lot. There's so many things that we discussed before the show starts that I wish was recorded that doesn't necessarily fall in line with the rest of the show but is still extremely valuable.

02:34:50.20

Max Shank

Um, I mean we could even do like a. Yeah, yeah, it'd be cool to give people a chance to participate too like maybe they could ah it depends like we could. Ah. Plug them into the call we could do like a live tweeting thing for them or like a little. Oh. No I mean we can just like um, get them involved. Ah.

02:35:36.12

mikebledsoe

I Don't think we can live stream out of our current system.

02:35:57.38

mikebledsoe

How would you like to be involved. That's it showing the name. Maybe we could do it. We could do it like a telegram group. We could do I don't fucking know and I say I'm gonna talk to my tech my tech and marketing team are good to talk to because I could tell them what we and then they.

02:36:06.68

Max Shank

Yeah, how would you like to be involved That's ah that's a good question like what would you like us to cover. Yeah I like these ah more human interactions.

02:36:36.32

mikebledsoe

Um, like hey there's what we're thinking about doing and they'll come back and say oh you should you could set it up like this this and this these guys look I'm 40 these guys are in their 30 s early 30 s they.

02:36:40.28

Max Shank

Yeah.

02:36:51.24

Max Shank

Age card look at that folks. He's trying to get clout by look how old I am look how fucking old I am what a thing to brag about you son of a bitch.

02:37:07.26

mikebledsoe

Oh humble brag Humble brack. No, but the the ah the all these guy I now I don't know that's that's not what I'm saying at all is I don't keep up with the shit that's popular right now I don't know what technology is out there.

02:37:24.30

Max Shank

I'm so old that I got smarter than you.

02:37:35.80

Max Shank

Um, that's.

02:37:45.48

mikebledsoe

Um, like I want to do this and then they tell me a dozen ways to do it some of which I are like Wow you can do that now. So that's why it's help talk to them now.

02:37:58.34

Max Shank

Yeah, let's talk about widgets next time, Let's talk about our favorite ah tech stuff.

02:38:11.60

mikebledsoe

We never. We never talk about the thing in the next show that we think we might talk about in the previous show I think so all right? we end it there give us your feedback if you want to reach me directly just hit me up on Instagram Mike Underscore Bloodso and now.

02:38:23.12

Max Shank

I Think we're going to talk about things on the next show it' going to happen.

02:38:50.70

mikebledsoe

And then you want them to do any hoops you want people to jump through max.

02:38:56.42

Max Shank

Ah, well thanks for tuning in my name is max shank. You can find me at http://maxshank.com and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.

The System of Addiction to Authority, Trauma, Dopamine & God with Ronnie Landis Jun 09, 2022

We’re all addicts. For some, it’s drugs, sex, or rock & roll… for others, it’s their trauma, it’s dopamine, it’s the pseudo-comforts of authority or their religionRegardless, there’s a system to it all. And with the help of Ronnie Landis, we begin deconstructing the system so we can become competent adults who see their addictions and choose to end them

Breaking Social Norms With Jacques Martiquet Jun 02, 2022

What does it truly mean to be “social”? In this era of “social media” we’re more disconnected and depressed than ever before…

…and that’s why I love people like The Party Scientist who brings true human connection, fun, and play to every environment - including airplanes

Listen in as we get to the depths of real human connection

Accumulating Tools & Skills May 30, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back everybody to Monday and mornings with max and Mike Today we were chatting before we hit record and Mike wisely suggested we hit record before we talk for an hour. We're talking about tools. We were talking about skills. Had an interesting experience where I was building a box but it wasn't any kind of box. It was actually a strongman pinata for a friend of mine and so I hung up this box in a tree. And had a sledgehammer that he had to go find as part of this scavenger hunt and when a box a wood box is not wedged against the ground if it's just hanging.

00:42.54

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:52.60

Max Shank

You can hit that thing pretty much as hard as you want if it's wellmade with a sledgehammer and it's really hard because the forest dissipates throughout anyway, it was a fun ah thing for my friend's birthday shout out Anders. You're the man did a great scavenger hunt. But it made me realize how little I know about the principles of woodworking construction in general and it also made me start thinking about the tools required to do certain jobs and I was talking Mike I was talking with you just a second ago. About how I breezed right past using the simple tools. Well and I just in None fell swoop I bought a friend's full set of tools when I didn't know anything I had basically just purchased a home. And I had a drill from before but I didn't really have any any tools so I bought this whole ah batch of tools and half of them I didn't even know what they were a quarter of them I knew what they were but I didn't know when to use them and the other quarter. Actually have learned how to use and it makes me wish that I had gone back and just started with a drill and a hammer and a saw or a chisel or something like that and I think um, the same thing is true for all types of education.

04:01.32

mikebledsoe

Oh.

05:06.28

Max Shank

I Think we fly right through so quick to ah, some end result before really understanding the principles involved. Ah I found myself having to use a little math for these projects which was very exciting but what I realized is so. Ah, cool is when you build something the the math is important but all of the geometry and stuff is very incomplete because I remember in math Class. You usually don't account for the thickness of a material so there are all these. Minor adjustments that you have to make so I think ah yeah I would ah I am doing it now I'm going back in time and relearning the the simple principles of using a saw and a drill and fastening. Pieces of wood together and cutting different types of angles and slots and it's It's been.. It's been really fun.

06:36.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, that that journey really resonates with me you were you were talking about the tools and ah everything that was happening over the weekend and and how you all this shit. You don't need and I had a very similar experience. Yeah I grew up I grew up in Construction. My dad had his own construction company and um, you know I witnessed him use a lot of tools that I didn't use that I never use because they were advanced So like I'd seen them and then I got a toolbox when I was a kid. I was like in my mid teens and that's that was my Christmas gift the most disappointing Christmas gift I ever received was a tool empty Toolbox I could put tools in it I would greatly appreciate that now at some it. He's like it's like like man.

08:56.90

Max Shank

Sounds like the best gift ever now.

08:27.40

mikebledsoe

My dad was just a little ahead of himself. Um, you know I think he was He did a good job of instilling the things that are important even if it wasn't the thing that was gonna make me the happiest in the moment. Ah, and yeah, what a good guide that guy was.

09:30.76

Max Shank

Um, right I think that's called parenting.

09:06.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, so um, but yeah I I spent years accumulating and losing tools and I moved around a lot so I didn't stay in one spot so something that did recently and you talked he said something you know about.

10:07.00

Max Shank

Ah.

09:42.50

mikebledsoe

Being able to go back in time or go back and do it over again is I I basically did that because I got I got rid of all my personal belongings in 2018 and got down to 2 bags and traveled nomatically and ah there was like None little box of tools that were. That were like they're they're good for vehicles like they're everything you would need in a vehicle to is something were to go wrong. You know, just ah, a socket set and and a few wrenches. Nothing.

11:10.40

Max Shank

11:21.20

Max Shank

Would you know what to do I I would not know what to do ah with the perfect speaking of skills if you gave me the perfect car tool set and a car that wasn't working forget it I would have no idea how to apply that tool set.

11:09.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I was fortunate because my dad in his all of his foresight. He made sure I had classic cars growing up and so he made me pay for them but he really encouraged me to get classic cars because they are.

12:11.74

Max Shank

Oh.

11:47.54

mikebledsoe

Much easier to work on you know? Yeah, so if you anything before 1973 or 4 Yeah, everything is a hundred percent mechanical so right yeah the the electronics go as far as like the radio.

12:34.48

Max Shank

They're simpler machines.

12:49.78

Max Shank

No No electronics. The dash or something. Yeah.

12:26.62

mikebledsoe

The yeah the dash but like you don't you don't have fuel injection. There's nothing happening in the engine that's run electronically. There's no chips.

13:25.20

Max Shank

There's no power being adjusted to individual wheels during a turn via some computer making 60000 ah calculations per millisecond and you're like oh I'll just fix the computer.

12:47.80

mikebledsoe

Right? right.

13:09.92

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so there's um, ah I think it was 1974 it was due to the oil crisis at the time which there's a lot of similarities between the 1970 s and the 2020 s in regard to if you look at.

14:20.20

Max Shank

Me.

13:44.62

mikebledsoe

What's happening geopolitically and economically, there's exactly yeah yeah, a little bit of pushback is what we're starting to witness with that as well. Um, yeah, there's a lot of similarities. Ah but 1 of the things that happened was in 1973 or 4

14:34.34

Max Shank

Psychedelic Resurgence currently too pretty cool.

14:24.36

mikebledsoe

They basically made they they wanted fuel. They wanted vehicles to become much more fuel efficient because the cost of oil was going up because of some opec shit that was going on so that's where fuel injectors came in now before that was mechanically driven fuel injection through Carburetors. So The the cool thing is is. My dad I don't know if he did this on purpose or not but with ah with a older vehicle. It is Simpler So It's easier to learn how to work on the other thing is is I'm confident now because I I rebuilt everything on cars I'm confident that if you gave me a carburet like a car that had a carburetor I could figure it out.

16:24.78

Max Shank

Qua.

15:43.32

mikebledsoe

And so um I'm not saying I would like figure it out like Macgyver in 10 seconds but I could I would eventually figure it out. It's been a long time but you start throwing all these electronics in and yeah, now you have to plug a computer into it just to know what's going on. So um.

16:34.68

Max Shank

Down.

16:22.70

mikebledsoe

So I know the basics.

17:04.66

Max Shank

It's a bit of an ego. It's a bit of an ego check too to go back and relearn the simple mechanics of things right? How how exact like how fluid passes through. Ah.

16:36.20

mikebledsoe

Things you think you should have learned or I should know by it as a man I should know this shit.

17:37.88

Max Shank

Pipe and what happens when it meets a junction and the pressure involved right? and the action of different things and just a really basic valve a very basic pump learning how these things work because I I realized I I mean I'm still not. Ah, educated in it. But you realize just what a tremendous amount of the world Around. You is only functioning because all of these parts are working exactly as they should and as soon as they would stop. You. At least I would at the time have no clue what's wrong or even how to ah track. Ah what might be wrong is wild.

18:28.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah I I find myself I want to get back to the tools but I like this track we're on because it makes me think about None thing I notice out in the world is um and again I think a lot of this has to do with. Ah. What a good job. My dad did raising me is I understand I didn't know that I understood how things worked better than most people and what I witness in the world now is people I watched them doing something I'm like don't do it like that you're going to fuck that thing up.

20:21.78

Max Shank

And it seems obvious to you it. It seems like I knew this when I was 8 But that's how I would be if I went to a farm the 10 year old kid would watch me doing something be like what are you? an idiot. That's not how you dig a trench like that's not how you drive a post.

19:40.66

mikebledsoe

And then it's gonna be broken or it's not gonna It's so obvious I'm like why would they do that.

19:56.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well.

20:13.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, but but when it comes down to and I look at something not not only was I taught how it's not just that I was taught how to do it. My dad did a good job in teaching me like end to end how it worked and why it worked like he was very big on the principles of like.

20:59.28

Max Shank

Dumb ass.

20:50.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, when you do this at least this this is the end result we're looking for and so I think a lot of times people are so focused on the end result that they don't They don't take the time to understand the process of how it gets there and they don't appreciate it either. So There's like ah, a really great appreciation that I have for. Ah technology because I understand enough about the ins and outs of how this thing works that um that it's I appreciate more and I can fix it quickly if I needed if needed. Um, so something I got into young as well as I got into computers I got into building computers.

22:30.32

Max Shank

Oh my God yeah.

22:04.60

mikebledsoe

And I got into running networks and yeah I can see.

22:49.22

Max Shank

You can follow the flow of energy. Basically you understand the flow of energy which is about relationships like the thing that blows my mind is there's no such thing as a thing which sounds Silly. So I'm gonna say it Again. There's no such thing as a thing because it's. Only describable in relation to other things. So if you have all of these end results and you have no idea how to track the energy flow of what's going On. It's like you're just in an ocean of darkness where you have no Clue. You're just kind of being ah, bounced around.

23:22.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's I've had us. Ah, my most recent experience of this is um, for 14 years of entrepreneurship I never did my books I always had a bookkeeper I I outsourced it heavily and one of the reasons.

24:06.12

Max Shank

By these forces.

24:35.52

Max Shank

Me too still. Do.

23:59.26

mikebledsoe

None of the reasons. Yeah what what? I stopped doing that recently one of the reasons I outsourced it heavily is because my none business partner ever what he had a ah master's in finance so he didn't even. He didn't even share I didn't even bother to look and he didn't share the profit loss the balance sheet like I really had no idea he would just tell me a thing. It was basically a thumbs up or thumbs down system and I was flying in the dark and um.

25:20.12

Max Shank

Right.

25:34.32

Max Shank

Right.

25:47.36

Max Shank

Um, which has its advantages I think has its advantages. Yeah.

25:08.74

mikebledsoe

At the end of the there were oh it. It allowed me to move really fast. So because of that business partner I was able to run barbell shrug with I didn't understand how I didn't understand the all the reporting but we were making millions of dollars a year. So.

26:23.36

Max Shank

The.

25:46.70

mikebledsoe

You know there there was a benefit now. The drawback was was when I no longer had that person and I found another I found another Cfo who also did an amazing job. But what I understood was when when that existing system ceased to be.

26:40.28

Max Shank

Right.

27:07.98

Max Shank

Her.

26:25.62

mikebledsoe

And I didn't have all the same people. It required me to understand learn things and I felt like and and this was accurate I had to go back and learn some really fundamental things about bookkeeping about accounting about ah cash flow cause really it comes down to cash flow and Cash Flow. Management and so I mean if you look at Accounting. It's I mean it's a big scam because the whole point of accounting is so you know how much to pay in taxes at the end of the day. But if you that's what that's what modern day accounting is yeah the majority of.

28:06.26

Max Shank

True True true. Yeah.

27:40.34

mikebledsoe

You know I wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars a year on accounting if cut. Yeah, exactly yeah go. Um.

28:26.16

Max Shank

Is it counting kind of like cutting your switch for the Taxman You know you? you know if you're in trouble you have to like in your parents a real thug. They're like go cut a tree branch so I can beat you with it and that's what accounting is like.

28:11.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, go go pick out. Go pick out your switch. Yeah, ah so ah, so the way I look at it now is look I gotta count I handle the tax ship but my job is cash flow management and the way I see it.

29:14.22

Max Shank

That's the.

29:30.28

Max Shank

Which is energy management right? which comes back to relationships you got to be able to track the energy flow and the relationship from 1 point to the next just the same way you got to be able to track the gasoline from the fuel tank.

28:51.16

mikebledsoe

Is if energy management and if I.

29:11.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

30:09.76

Max Shank

All the way to the exhaust can you track that gasoline all the way through you're probably going to have a decent idea of how this system is working together and actually cash is really good symbol for fuel or vice versa actually like fuel and cash.

29:59.16

mikebledsoe

I Think it's a great. Ah.

30:49.80

Max Shank

And a motor is like ah you you could also think of it like a cell instead of something man-made. But actually you know an organization can be looked at as a motor or as a cell or a creature or as an ecosystem I Think the motor analogy is a little bit more. Ah, tool-based and cold and the cell analogy or like a tree or something like that. But you're still tracking the flow of energy just the same Way. You could track the flow of gasoline through a car you could track the flow of Photon Photosynthesis. Ah, through a tree and you can understand the water and how the carbon dioxide from the air is converted into sugar through this process like you can understand the energy flow and transformation and cash flow is kind of the same thing you're understanding. How energy is transformed through that organism or organization which is your business.

32:10.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and um, you're spot on I mean I like the the classic car mechanical analogy because it is so much simpler and so that's a great place to start if you start with the complexity of a cell. You know, now there's ah it exactly? Yeah, not. That's that's advanced I mean I think that is a great analogy but in the beginning if you don't understand the cash flow which is.

33:38.98

Max Shank

Our sales team is the Mitochondria and it's like wait wait. What? no.

33:29.11

mikebledsoe

Can you look at your profit loss. Can you look at your bash your balance sheet and your cash flow reporting like if you can't look at those and those tell you a story that make that they go Oh I know now how to make it doesn't It won't inform you on how to make all the decisions in your business. It's not gonna.

34:44.80

Max Shank

Right.

34:06.34

mikebledsoe

Gonna tell you who to hire. But it's gonna tell you what position to hire for right? And so um and people at the highest levels are making most of the decisions based on the numbers the higher up you get in your in your thinking and your business is that now here's the thing about I've learned about money. Is that I am um I'm in charge of the cash flow of my own cash flow management and the better I can manage what I currently have the more I'll be able to manage in the future If You think that. Adding more Cash. Ah I think most people walk around and I used to I used to walk around thinking like this if I just had more money then I'd be able to save and invest and I'd be I'd be a better steward of the money I had if there were more pete. That's what people.

36:36.54

Max Shank

If only.

36:00.58

mikebledsoe

That's what people believe but the truth is is if you become what is.

36:49.96

Max Shank

It's a very protective phrase it if only I had something then I could do this other thing If only if only I Yeah, it's it's perfect. Yes, very protective. Yeah no I'm I'm good.

36:19.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's conditional and it's outside of yourself. You're not responsible for it. Yeah yeah.

37:23.48

Max Shank

I'm not I'm barely even related to this this dream here I have nothing to do with it. So it's related to something else. My my dream. My dream is related to the breeze.

36:51.40

mikebledsoe

Ah, yes, so this false belief is what keeps people in this this cycle of defeat in regard to to money is because. They don't understand how it flows because they're afraid to look at it. There's an emotional response to being present with the money. Step None is check your bank account every day now that doesn't tell you the whole story It's just a snapshot in time. But if you start doing that and then you learn about bookkeeping and you learn about. Ah. And you learn about cash flow management. You start getting to a more advanced conversation about cash flow. It is it can be in my experience. It's been incredibly painful in the short term. It's it's it can be frustrating. It takes way more time than I think it should take I sit down.

39:15.80

Max Shank

Like organizing the garage for me. But but once you get the the nuts and bolts in the same place and once you get the drill and the saw and the sandpaper and the grinders and the chisels all in their own like place.

38:39.92

mikebledsoe

Like organizing the garage.

39:52.28

Max Shank

Then you look at this organized grid and like I was telling you before we started this show. It's ah it's never been something ah that I have had as a work environment I have just thrived in chaos as soon as something urgent comes up I go into a. Hurricane of activity and I relentlessly pursue this thing ignoring everything else. But as you know I'm 34 now I'm appreciating more and more the clarity of having a clean. Space and a tightly organized Ah Toolbox ah tool shed garage workshop all that stuff and I think that understanding ah like we say you know as within so without same thing with the organization of. Your tools which are basically ah levers to amplify your energy or refocus your energy conversion same thing with the business. It's do you have everything tightly organized so you can really see what you need to see so you can know. When it's right to use which tool available to you? Um I Like to think of that energy flow also from a ah customer flow Standpoint. There's always this flow of customers who um.

41:45.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

42:59.46

Max Shank

You know you just capture their attention and that's the top layer of that funnel and the reason the funnel analogy works so well is because it has like gravity involved into it and there's this effortlessness where things just flow down into the funnel and it's this ah mathematical.

42:17.84

mikebledsoe

43:37.64

Max Shank

Reduction to a focal point that um, it really describes um a nat a pretty natural probability curve too. But if you ah understand like how many people. You're capturing their attention. How many people you're keeping their attention because that's a form of energy your your attention is like I'm going to be bold here. Your attention is like Quantum energy because there is no math that can describe I mean maybe there is. There's no math that can really describe the potential power and force that can be driven ah through a person's Attention. So I think understanding how the flow of the attention of your customers and also eventually the cash of your customers is really important. For deciding which tools to use next. Do you hire a different marketing department. Do you need someone to work on ads. Do you need someone to ah improve the actual product itself because you get None of people who see it but then everyone hates it I mean it's so much easier to see. What to do next and I think uncertainty is really useful and of course the natural quality of life is uncertainty. We like to kid ourselves like we know what's going to happen next month.

45:53.14

mikebledsoe

The ah anything that's certain is ah is illusory. Yeah, the trick we plan ourselves to make ourselves feel safe so that we can actually get shit done If yeah.

46:44.66

Max Shank

Right? But but the more but but it does feel. Yeah and it does feel safer when we know more stuff like the illusion is useful. You know if we didn't have that illusion. We could not have this weekly appointment that I have found very.

46:34.58

mikebledsoe

Absolutely not? yeah.

47:22.82

Max Shank

That I have found very enriching We have to both believe the lie of next fucking monday.

46:50.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well the live that there's days of the week for one wait. Not yeah, but um, but it's it's a useful to useful belief to use it very confident.

47:43.96

Max Shank

Right? And that there will be a next one I feel pretty confident that we will talk again next week but what's that confidence based on. It's not based on certainty. What's that.

47:30.24

mikebledsoe

Um, I mean I be ah well look I the way another something I find very useful is attention is the most important thing because I love what Tony Robbins says which is where your attention goes energy flows and.

48:21.52

Max Shank

Voodoo.

48:46.94

Max Shank

Right.

48:09.52

mikebledsoe

Incredibly accurate. Here's the thing your energy is flowing all the time. No matter what it is moving and flowing and your attention is dictating where it goes and so a lot of times the the hardest thing for someone to do the the highest amount of effort. To get something going is to make the choice to do it to change the inertia of the moment. Oh I'm lying in bed right now. But I I want to go for a walk I Want to go work out the hardest part of starting to work out is actually putting on. Your gym clothes and walking into the gym and doing the None movement. That's the hardest part after that working out's enjoyable sometimes going to bed is hard to do. But once you get in bed. You're glad you're there. It's because we are.

50:31.96

Max Shank

And then.

49:57.28

mikebledsoe

Constantly choosing where our tension is at the energy is moving. So I think that I didn't get.

50:47.74

Max Shank

Or or we're just scratching an itch like the the itch becomes enough that we get up and scratch it and that's that's really all it is is you're waiting for a painful enough catalyst and and and then you could argue that nothing is difficult.

50:25.94

mikebledsoe

It's painful enough enough pain.

51:25.44

Max Shank

It's just that you have this sensation of things you do want to do this sensation of things You don't want to do and if you don't want to do it. The pain has to be very significant and if you already want to do it. The pain could be almost nothing.

51:13.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and you know we're surrounded by people who try to warn us about the the incoming pain they say you know if you keep doing things this way then the pain. The pain is gonna get really big but you don't you don't believe it. You don't believe it and then.

52:18.22

Max Shank

Oh my oh my god I hate that I hate that um it make okay Jesus oh god.

51:52.80

mikebledsoe

And then one day they're fucking right? They you're like oh the pain is really outrageous now Oh had I only listened and made a different choice a little bit sooner I'd experience less pain right now. It's a good teacher.

52:58.34

Max Shank

Regrets. But how do you? How do you? determine fact from fiction like like rightfully so rightfully so an orthopedic surgeon could say don't do jujitsu. The risk is not worth it.

52:28.76

mikebledsoe

What what you got it. We got it.

52:45.24

mikebledsoe

Totally totally.

53:31.58

Max Shank

You're going to hurt yourself and you could a ah like hurt yourself badly and be like oh I should've listened to that guy or or you might not, you might have you know 40 years of fun and family and camaraderie not hurt yourself. Or see a combination of both. You could have this community and family and quality that you love and totally fuck yourself up and go you know what? I think that was still worth it. I mean look people still do Crossfit Pretty aggressively beyond their capacity and frankly.

53:43.56

mikebledsoe

You still have.

54:43.74

Max Shank

Whatever Kinks you're into exercise-wise powerlifting Olympic lifting I'm a bit of a tennis nut at the moment. It doesn't matter your flavor. Um, but as long as you're willing to pay the price who am I to say that you shouldn't pay that price because if you're getting a lot more out of something.

54:38.64

mikebledsoe

Um, ah.

55:22.52

Max Shank

Community Family activity. Even if you're ah, harming yourself to some extent Maybe as long as you think it's worth the price. You know who am I to say.

54:56.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well deciding who you're going to listen to who gives you the advice right? like like like an like an orthopedic surgeon telling you not to do jijitsu First you have to consider they're coming at you from an orthopedic surgeon perspective.

55:51.84

Max Shank

So tough.

55:34.70

mikebledsoe

Who probably doesn't do jujitsu and they're looking at you and going look I can I can tell you that this can be a ah poor choice in the ah in the realm of ah your bone and joint health you know and you go Okay, but what about all the other benefits.

56:45.58

Max Shank

Oh. Right? And you can't calculate. It. It's unknowable. That's why decision making is so tough.

56:14.52

mikebledsoe

You know that might come along with it and so so so so there's 2 ways that you can learn None is you can just wait for things to be so painful that you figure it out and you learn that way and or you could listen to other people now. We have and ah some people are yeah well you can also but here's the thing is it's not just you don't want to just listen to anybody right? you guys? What would you have is.

57:37.38

Max Shank

So through Belief or experience.

57:54.40

Max Shank

Ah, no, no, no, no, but but you can learn those two ways you can believe someone or you can experience it firsthand.

57:24.56

mikebledsoe

Totally totally and so you got to be careful about who you believe and you you got to go with their track record right? And so this is one of the things that I notice is that this is one of the this where wisdom is missing So wisdom can be passed down.

58:16.56

Max Shank

Yeah, no shit.

58:03.80

mikebledsoe

Or it can be developed by yourself and the problem is is that people are listening to people who have very poor track records and it's very fucking true and so a lot of times. Ah.

58:49.52

Max Shank

The.

59:07.82

Max Shank

Ah, yeah.

58:38.96

mikebledsoe

For instance, someone might listen to you know I won't get into anything that's too controversial. But yeah, the last couple years there was a lot of people giving advice from a place of authority that was that were obvious that they were not in alignment.

59:26.48

Max Shank

It's got to be a fable for that or something.

59:45.36

Max Shank

Bold claims.

59:17.34

mikebledsoe

Personally with the advice they were giving ah it was obvious that these were policies that were being passed down from a political perspective not due to science or or true ah medicine right? so.

01:00:24.38

Max Shank

Um, you mean Hypocrisy hypocrisy.

59:54.90

mikebledsoe

So but then I I look at a guy like Paul check and I go and ah, most people look at what Paul check says if they listen what he says a go that guy's fucking crazy I don't know how you could listen to that guy and I go. Ah.

01:01:06.42

Max Shank

Um, is that what most people say Ah, ah.

01:00:32.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if you introduce him to a mainstream person I'm talking about the mainstream people they they listen to them. They're like they're like man they may not say he's they may not say he's wrong, but they feel like he's extreme right? and and he is to you know he he's hes all in on the lifestyle.

01:01:47.12

Max Shank

He's he's beyond its extreme. It's incredible to see Actually you know the library and the the rocks and the the water charging and electric she and he is like this is what I'm doing I'm going to do this all day every day.

01:01:31.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well he he's the.

01:02:22.60

Max Shank

And this is what I got and very unapologetic I think he's ah, a really, He's a really cool cat. You know he's He's all in on that thing.

01:01:50.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I'm not I'd say I'm on board with him for 98% of it and you know just every once when I'm like and not really for me. Not gonna fault him for. But yeah, like like who am I but um, but that's the guy listened to.

01:02:52.84

Max Shank

Um, yeah, he's a wizard. Right.

01:02:30.48

mikebledsoe

Like if I want health advice I listen to him I listen to Alex Rachinski he's one of ah Paul Chick's top guys.

01:03:17.90

Max Shank

So you got to be careful who you trust because you can make a ton of benefit trusting the right person like I got to trust you or someone like you to fix my car if you trust the wrong person to fix your car car's going to be fucked up. It's going to cost you a lot of money same thing with your body if someone's like hey.

01:02:53.78

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:03:56.30

Max Shank

You know, don't eat bananas because they have too much sugar. Maybe you believe that and you never have a banana and that's maybe not going to hurt you but you may be missing out so there it can be a negative. It can be just removing of a positive.

01:03:24.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we got look Yeah, we look at be one ways is track records but the other thing is also a lot of times people I think people are searching for that perfect mentor like this person has everything that I want and that's probably not going to happen and.

01:04:53.48

Max Shank

Oo yeah, the perfect teacher I'm just waiting I'm gonna I'm gonna really get it together once I find the perfect teacher see the problem Mike is I don't have a good role model I got all these guys that are like 90% role models. But it's just not enough for me to try anything yet. But.

01:04:28.74

mikebledsoe

01:05:27.42

Max Shank

I Know the right guy is out there when I find him.

01:04:46.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so what I but I um I saw a a psychic once and she said stop looking for a mentor. There aren't any for you. You're gonna be your own and and I was like okay, whatever and um.

01:05:54.32

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

01:05:26.12

mikebledsoe

And and but it did get me thinking and I go you know there is no one person who really is living the lifestyle that I want to live like there's like if I really sit and dream about what's my ideal Lifestyle. No One's doing it now. There are people who have figured out the business stuff. Are people who figured out the health stuff they have figured out the things that I'm interested in but they I don't know anyone who's figured out the business side and the health side and the family side and all these things. Yeah except for max. Yeah, That's why you're here, but um, ah the.

01:06:47.80

Max Shank

It's very exciting.

01:07:05.60

Max Shank

Um, except for me except for me obviously. Is that is that a dig at both of us that we're that we're here Talking. He's like it's like you're such a loser. You're here talking to me. Ah.

01:06:44.72

mikebledsoe

Are.

01:07:01.74

mikebledsoe

So My my what I started doing I was like I was like look I'm gonna just learn about business from this guy I don't you know what? if he starts talking about anything that's not business grain assault it doesn't mean I'm gonna stop listening but I understand that he's the expert in this. And I'm gonna take from that he may be great. There's so many people who are really good at business and some of the health advice they give is really good for someone who's just obese and out of shape. But you know like they're not giving me health advice and someone who is some of the the top people in Health I mean you know you know this as well Like. Don't listen them for business advice at all and you want the relationships totally.

01:09:06.38

Max Shank

Or or relationship advice or you know language communication skills I mean you know you gotta separate the trait from the the persona like this mask that people like people just wear this mask and they're like I'm this guy I'm.

01:08:47.58

mikebledsoe

01:09:45.84

Max Shank

This is my character.. What do you think?? Ah, the last thing you want to do because then you get trapped two ways. Ah you'll dislike some people so ah, aggressively. That you'll ignore what they say even if they say something really wise that would be super helpful for you. So I think I'm actually quite good at this because I dislike so many. No I'm just kidding but you have to be able to separate the bit of information that is being.

01:09:35.76

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, have the um.

01:10:49.84

Max Shank

Sent to you that you are receiving the message that you're receiving from the messenger. It's like don't kill the messenger but hey look don't glorify him either and that's maybe the the key to messaging in general is you don't want to glorify but you also don't want to kill the messenger and it should.

01:10:21.26

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, um.

01:11:26.14

Max Shank

You want to try to separate it from how you feel about the ah the persona or the the mask um it it makes me think of ancient Egypt. Of course where they would do trials in the dark so you couldn't be swayed by knowing who was who ah so.

01:11:14.80

mikebledsoe

Move.

01:12:04.20

Max Shank

I Think that's really important but certainly ah.

01:11:30.58

mikebledsoe

It's a skill. It's a skill to develop is to not throw the baby out with the bathwater and I I um I ah yeah I was talking to Ashley the other day I was like I'm she's like.

01:12:22.64

Max Shank

It's like a ego release I don't like that guy So I'm gonna reject him.

01:12:06.16

mikebledsoe

Man you you tend to get a lot of hard cases like I'm I'm very good at dealing with difficult men men who tend to be you know? Ah,, there's something that's that's wounded or there's some like heavy. Ah, ego or whatever it is. They're real heavy and something and they they tend they um they tend to they tend to turn a lot of people off. But for some reason I have the patience to sit through some of the bullshit or.

01:13:34.80

Max Shank

Feels like I'm being attacked right now.

01:13:19.54

mikebledsoe

You know, a lot of the the what's guarded in order to get to the gold and I was like yeah think that like like I I'm not quick to and a lot of it just comes down to Judgment. It's like yeah I'm I'm really just always looking for the good and everybody and. And not that they're a good person but that they have something that is of value I look for the value in every single person because I know that every single person they know something deeply that I I don't know yet and ah everything about who they are is what has created that.

01:15:01.72

Max Shank

Oh.

01:14:34.60

mikebledsoe

That possibility from that for them to have that Knowledge. So for me to judge all parts of them before I get to that nugget would it would keep me from finding it but also like coming from a place of appreciating like the reason a guy you know. But try to stay away from naming names. But the reason some of these people that they're they're kind of crazy in a lot of ways. They're not.. They're not mainstream, but the the gold is with the people who are so outside they're outliers that most people can't understand or get along with them.

01:16:05.20

Max Shank

Crazy compared to what I mean they're all relative terms. But I think that's.

01:16:24.80

Max Shank

The freaks the freaks the teslas you know the person the the ah marcones they're like hey what do you think if we like vibrate something through the air across the atlantic and they're like yeah that sounds that would be really nice if we could send messages.

01:15:48.12

mikebledsoe

But free. Yeah.

01:17:03.82

Max Shank

Across this gigantic Ocean. They're like yeah,, let's let's try it out like the freaks are where you get like the really juicy Gold. It's like we all get a shovel and if you dig one hole your entire Life. You're going to dig a lot deeper into that topic or you can dig a bunch of different holes. Like I'll dig a tennis hole over here I'll dig a fitness hole over here I'll dig a you know philosophy hole over here and like a nietzsche hole and a young and you know you're digging all these holes but the people who only dig one hole and they go all the way down they go as deep as they can. With this fucking topic I speak from personal experience because while I have a lot of diverse interests. It All does come back to energy transformation whether it's tennis where we're like I'm literally transforming the ah energy of my body. Transferring it into the ball when I'm playing music same thing I'm basically turning sausages into sound with my fingers. So I eat sausages I get the energy to move my fingers. It makes noise. It's incredible. But. I have spent such a tremendous amount of time in ah fitness and Health ah pain Mobility Strength athleticism that I feel a little crazy about it and you can't help Um, but. Feel compassion for people who are just barely into the Journey. You know you realize like are they bad? Are they good. It's like they're on a different path even if they're on the same path as you they're either ahead or behind or left or right it's um, it's It's all compassion related that allows you. To let people feel free and open to let that energy out because usually it's an energy blockage and that's what the ego is the ego is like an energy trap and it it captures some of the shit right? you and I have a conversation. And it's basically 1 plus 1 makes 3 because it's you and I and now there's this ah Harmony or resonance between us and it could be more dissonant or it could be more resonant and harmonious. But it's this third, it's this. Third thing that is the relationship between those entities and if you say something I like or you just say nice things about me. Maybe my ego filter will like capture those things I'll be like ah I'm gonna I'm gonna store this energy up now and it's usually not conscious.

01:21:35.28

mikebledsoe

01:22:35.68

Max Shank

Which things we store and which things we don't but it can ah it can direct the flow and it can also plug the flow if you get too much ego in there. So the ego diverts the flow but it can also clog it up a little bit.

01:22:25.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, agreed I want to shift back because I never finished one point that I got what is extremely practical for people and that is started saying that.

01:23:11.92

Max Shank

That's kind of how I think of it.

01:23:02.20

mikebledsoe

When you were talking about being able to go back and rebuild your toolset and I did that because I went nomadic didn't have anything and I've since purchased a house three months ago and I rented a house for twelve months in Austin Texas and. It was I still didn't a it didn't feel like home didn't I didn't feel very permanent I really couldn't do anything to the House. So I I didn't accumulate any new tools there but in the last three months of owning a home I have a i.

01:24:37.30

Max Shank

01:24:12.46

mikebledsoe

I've been very selective about which tools I buy because I walk into home Depot now and I want to buy everything I'm like oh I know what this could be used for I Know what this could be used for. But I yeah but that's that's the um.

01:25:09.52

Max Shank

That's what I did I was like supermarket sweep I was like hustling around there with a shopping cart just throwing stuff in the thing.

01:24:49.40

mikebledsoe

That's that's the warrior energy. Um Paul check had this conversation with me Doug and anders and he talked yeah, the the warrior tries to fucking kill everything and and part of that is he tries to accumulate the the warrior doesn't isn't worried about boundaries.

01:25:45.66

Max Shank

Hoarding.

01:25:25.80

mikebledsoe

He wants to see how big he can build the empire. How much can I accomplish how much can I accumulate The warrior is trying to accumulate and accomplish as much as possible. Yeah, it's the end and then and then when you move into the King Archetype What? you.

01:26:28.60

Max Shank

It's like the inhale.

01:26:01.42

mikebledsoe

What you move into is you and you realize how much energy is needed to maintain. Ah all of those new those boundaries. It's like oh I could go weigh the fuck over there but do I want to build a wall that far out and then have to protect.

01:27:15.96

Max Shank

Manage it.

01:26:38.94

mikebledsoe

And manage everything inside that wall and so a good king when when Matures well goes. You know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna draw a boundary that's inside of my ability to manage it and this goes back to money management too. It's like living within your means is a really good practical application of this. Spend less than you make and so the the War The the warrior will walk into home Depot and fill the basket with a bunch of stuff that he thinks he may need ah for some future project because there's an idea but when you when someone gets in the King Archetype which.

01:28:04.60

Max Shank

Seems simple.

01:27:56.30

mikebledsoe

Like it's funny because I I heard this and as I've you know in the last couple years I've I've felt myself moving into it and I think that especially especially in the the spiritual community right now people are like talking about Kings and queens and all this in in the woooo community.

01:29:07.88

Max Shank

I Prefer to be a thought of as a God King is a little lower I wanted to be like the emperor of exercise for a while but it didn't really satisfy my craving for divine power. So I'm skipping I was warrior for a long time Emperor king.

01:28:34.94

mikebledsoe

01:29:01.50

mikebledsoe

Well I think what's important when we think about archetypes is you're you are able to ah cultivate the energy of that archetype you are not that archetype don't don't let the ego get confused and that you're not a King you're not.

01:29:45.14

Max Shank

Not really my speed. So.

01:30:20.58

Max Shank

It's like putting on a persona.

01:29:40.96

mikebledsoe

You're not a warrior you are you are inhabiting the energy of a warrior you are inhabiting and so I think that's it's you're playing a character. It's It's a really healthy place to approach psychologically because it allows you to be much more agile in your thinking and your ability to to.

01:30:38.60

Max Shank

You're playing a character almost.

01:30:20.24

mikebledsoe

Show up the way is needed for the the moment people who get stuck in 1 identity you know thing it works for a while and then it becomes troublesome but going back to the.

01:31:19.44

Max Shank

Well to be a good Tactician you need to be able to put yourself in the perspective of the other entities involved in your campaign. So let's say No yeah I mean.

01:30:56.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if you're ever gonna get to that point where you're actually working strategy like you're gonna get to the you're gonna be able to happen. Yeah, well this is why if you read a king warrior magician lover in order to get to the to a really well suited King Archetype and be able to.

01:31:54.34

Max Shank

Isn't all life that.

01:31:36.60

mikebledsoe

Energize that well is you have to have really explored the other archetypes because you have to understand how to have command over them. Um, and so um, so for for myself instead of walking in the home depot the last few months and

01:32:35.56

Max Shank

A he.

01:32:12.94

mikebledsoe

I've I wanted to there was the thought oh I could get this. This would be really good for this project I should get this for whatever I said no only and my girlfriend did the same that she was like she's like what don't you get the thing you know I can tell you want to get I'm like like yeah but I'm not gonna use it today and home depot is 5 minutes from my house.

01:33:03.80

Max Shank

Right.

01:33:23.18

Max Shank

Yeah, boom.

01:32:49.96

mikebledsoe

So it's not like you know and I know that there's there's a store near you too. It's not like you have to travel hours away to get your shit and now we got Amazon prime. Yeah, but yeah, and so now I just get I've been getting the tools that I really need.

01:33:47.88

Max Shank

You can order it online. Also you can order almost any tool.

01:33:28.88

mikebledsoe

For what I for that day that week. Whatever it is whatever project and only the ones I need and if I can borrow it and it's easy to get my hands on it I'll do that first because I may only need it once and so I've been slowly accumulating tools. So one of the things I've done is I've stuck with 1 brand for all my power tools.

01:34:33.00

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:34:46.16

Max Shank

I did the same ah, that's what I do I like the color it makes me feel cool. It makes me feel cool to have a drill that is like good enough for a contractor to use all day and I use it for 4 minutes every three weeks

01:34:07.56

mikebledsoe

Um, and I just I go with the wall and I oh sweet they and.

01:34:36.00

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly. Ah.

01:35:23.24

Max Shank

You know I have this like heavy duty I have this heavy duty like Twisty gun with this five amp hour battery twenty is so aggressive for what I usually use it for but I love having like buy once cry once get like one good.

01:35:04.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:35:59.12

Max Shank

Tool especially for the core group. Ps yeah ah.

01:35:18.14

mikebledsoe

Well, that's what that's what I like about that's what I like about duwalt like my dad always taught him is like get craftsman hammers because if you break the if you break the the handle on it. They replace it for free. Lifetime warranties on those things and then de walt I looked at the guarantees I shopped around I had a couple who were like oh you should get Riob I'm like have but the guarantee is not nearly as good as de waltz.

01:36:44.64

Max Shank

And it depends on the person like if you go all riobi. You'll probably be fine. Um, if you want to go like see something really cool. There's actually a Youtube channel called project farm and he does these tests of tools and they're incredible.

01:36:39.14

mikebledsoe

Project Farm okay

01:37:22.36

Max Shank

He is really a project farm new video every Sunday guys the man he basically goes through a whole battery of tests. So. It's like a 10 to 20 minute long video. It looks like they take him ah like twenty forty hours to make per video. It's so. Brutal because he'll you know test different tools in like None different ways and really objective so he shows you what kind of wear and tear they can handle can they be left out in the rain for a week. What kind of rust if it really good so getting the right tool is a big point for this ah some some cheap ass tools are just as good if not better than the expensive ones so you don't always get what you pay for ah, the other thing I would say is even.

01:37:52.48

mikebledsoe

Down.

01:38:03.82

mikebledsoe

Um. Yeah.

01:39:12.46

Max Shank

Gosh Even if you don't think you're very craft mine minded or craft. Ah crafty I was trying to not say crafty I was like ah you know? ah.

01:38:49.96

mikebledsoe

Crafty. I I knew you wanted to say it I had to give you permission.

01:39:49.48

Max Shank

A little bit of that ah feels really nice. Um, and maybe it's just maybe it's just because I don't do it very often. But every time I go into the workshop and start building things. You just get into this flow and you know the creative force is.

01:39:11.78

mikebledsoe

Really good.

01:40:27.38

Max Shank

Is such a ah powerful Energy. So the connection with ah the work that you do and the attention that you put into something and the result is is really neat. It doesn't have to be Woodworking. You could build stuff out of clay you could. Ah, make stuff out of legos I mean they're all different ways you do macrame That's pretty fun.

01:40:27.34

mikebledsoe

Well, there's there's something primal about I think building something that has utility and that anytime I build something that that like woodworking man it just turns my my girlfriend on so much and that like and it's.

01:41:40.20

Max Shank

Then you take her to the woodshed.

01:41:04.64

mikebledsoe

That's right, but it's um, it The fact that ignites something in her. It's like and then that that then feeds back into me I'm like I'm like oh I did something fucking. You know, impressive and because I mean everything that we do is men is really for women you know women are. And are definitely in charge of this whole thing. Yeah.

01:42:29.32

Max Shank

It's all for sex the more I think about it the more I like what? why are we? Why are we trying to get food so we can have sex later. Why are we trying to run away from the tiger. So we can have sex later. That's it why? Why are we building this.

01:42:09.58

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, was it supposed to Pat.

01:43:02.64

Max Shank

This big nest to attract a female so we can have sex. It's it's ah it's all about sex across the board. All the fighting is for sex. It's is crazy. Ah, but that's the how else could it be That's light and dark connecting.

01:42:27.52

mikebledsoe

Um, sex and it's crazy. Yeah.

01:42:52.42

mikebledsoe

What's ah, that's how we got here as ah, that's all a human human race continues on.

01:43:35.24

Max Shank

That's the vibration of everything. Evolution evolution is God's savage boredom playing out. Basically it's it's this this divine creation. Not divine necessarily but the force of creation who knows the Tao Darkness some some sort of thing. There. It's ah it's just it's just dancing on and offs at different levels and it's somehow perfectly Fair. You know what? I mean like the the forces are perfectly fair when you think about how different creatures have organized themselves some are spiky.

01:43:54.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:45:02.26

Max Shank

Some are armored some are venomous. It's all just about ah energy management right? Some are really fast. Some are really so like a tortoise versus ah I don't know like a Hummingbird tortoise lives way longer.

01:44:31.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:44:56.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah now. Yeah.

01:45:40.64

Max Shank

Relatively speaking is a very interesting thing but so it all comes back to energy management and tools are a way to gain leverage and focus that energy we can actually focus it in like ah like a pickaxe. Something like that. So we can focus energy down to a finer point or we can focus it on to ah a much larger area like a mallet or something like that and using the right tool for the job is is pretty big.

01:46:01.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah I would find the same thing in the kitchen I witnessed people trying to cook something. They don't have the right type of pan. They don't have the right knives The knives aren't sharp the you know they don't have the right spatula like like people.

01:47:16.10

Max Shank

It's a hodgepodge.

01:46:37.52

mikebledsoe

People who don't like to cook usually don't have a great kitchen and if you put somebody if yeah if I put somebody who doesn't like to cook in my house for a month and we started cooking together I bet you they start liking to cook because they go.

01:47:31.60

Max Shank

Chicken or the egg right? ah.

01:47:14.00

mikebledsoe

Oh it's actually really easy. Yeah, you just do this and then you do this and then it's very low effort. Yeah, you can get exactly what you want and yeah have some music playing. Yeah.

01:48:00.48

Max Shank

Can always get exactly what you want easy to modify have a bunch of different sauces handy when when I cook. That's how I like to do it I like to give a few options make it really modular like I get the. Couple meats get a couple breads get a couple sauces mix and match Boom Boom Boom We're off track. Let's bring it. Let's bring it home. Okay, so the topic again was tools and skills. We talked about role models which is kind of a cool. Um.

01:48:00.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I think we nail the topics fairly. Well yeah I was bring a home tools and skills.

01:49:15.26

Max Shank

Way to bring it all together. Um not necessarily lumping the the practitioner with the skill that you're trying to learn right? That's that's a big that's a big one.

01:48:57.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, like like ah, choosing who you learn from wisely. You know, understanding what they're an expert at what they're not an expert at. Um, sticking with just the things that an expert at and then also judging how much of an expert they are at that thing based on their track record and if you can find somebody has a track record that's decades old you're doing pretty fucking Good. So But yeah in regard that.

01:50:31.94

Max Shank

Yeah, it's good to be objective. Yeah, ah basically you're talking about who who to choosing who to trust which ah, that's a big one for any relationship right.

01:49:56.40

mikebledsoe

How to choose a ah wise elder.

01:50:07.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah. Yeah, so mentor Mentee so we're gonna pick up a lot. You know you could either fumble through and try to figure things out for yourself which you will do a lot of that. That's that's gonna be ever present in your life. You should always be you know. How much time did I in the last year did I spend in Quickbooks just fumbling around and doing things and then seeing the report and going and then realizing oh I should categorize this like this and because I want my report to look like this and it took a lot of fumbling around. While also having a mentor for the whole thing so it was a mix of the two is a mix of getting some instruction from someone who's got decades of experience that has proof in the pudding and then also fumbling around a lot myself and then realizing that this is one of the things that's like really great about being older.

01:52:32.98

Max Shank

The fumbling is fun.

01:52:45.86

Max Shank

Oh shit, he's older now appeal to authority old man I'm old listen to me I'm old. That's what you sound like Mike Trust trust me I'm old trust me I'm old.

01:52:05.44

mikebledsoe

Is I now I now have a history of I have enough History. Ah. Ah, it's true though you should listen listen up listen up. Well you know there there are some people who are 40 that haven't really paid attention maybe shouldn't listen to them I think I've paid attention to about half of my life. So I'm doing okay, but. I Think that with age comes the perspective and that I now understand how long it takes to learn something to be actually skilled at it for me exactly and so and so like it used to I used to believe that I should be able.

01:54:00.38

Max Shank

For you? Yeah, totally.

01:53:38.40

mikebledsoe

This happens with athletes all the time they get in the gym I want to squat £500 like you do squat £300 right now. It's gonna take you maybe years to get to 500 and they're like no I'll get there faster like £5 a week times so many weeks and and maybe but but um, but what i.

01:54:45.16

Max Shank

Maybe yeah.

01:54:16.34

mikebledsoe

What I look at is I mean I miscalculate my progress constantly and in the wait room.

01:55:06.22

Max Shank

I Always calculate my progress perfectly. What do you think of that this is all working exactly as I planned talking to you.

01:54:32.88

mikebledsoe

Ah, so. So the so but I realize how how long it takes me to learn something and so I give myself so much more grace and which is interesting is because when I give myself grace and I give myself. A lot of time to learn something and even when I went through this financial course they were like you should be able to get through this in this amount of time and I I So came back to them within a couple weeks after looking at the content I go. It's gonna take me about twice as long and part of it is I Really like to get into the content I don't want to just pass over it.

01:56:34.74

Max Shank

People are different too I know exactly what you're talking about I am the same way and the the reaction the ego reaction when I try to learn something new. A lot of the time especially in the workshop is holy fuck I'm retarded I am so so.

01:55:56.28

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:57:11.62

Max Shank

I am so stupid I can't build a box. How am I going to build this fucking box and I'm drawing stuff on a piece of paper and I'm like I can't make 3 dimensions on a None dimensional paper I don't know how to fucking draw this thing and then so I'm here I'm like in my garage sweating suffering thinking. Um, how fucking stupid am I that I can't make a square I can't do it I can draw a square but the idea of manufacture. So what I ended up doing is I took a bunch of tiny planks and I learned about the relationship of pieces of wood. By thickness width and length and I made these boards that have a one ah for thickness to None to width and None to length and I learned how they fit together not thinking of the dimensions as um. Metrics that we normally use like ah imperial or metric I thought of them as ratios and figured out how to put stuff and it wasn't until I held these boards in my hands and actually glued some of them together these tiny little ah ratio.

01:58:33.60

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:58:50.74

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:59:49.24

Max Shank

Ah, tester board like I I want to like give the other retarded kids who might feel like me some of these boards because it wasn't until I made these that I was like oh that's how you can factor in the thickness to join stuff together. But I so resonate with you because I also like to go deep into a topic. And if I just kind of ah glance through it I just feel stupid I feel so far behind it's it's it's Crazy. It's crazy how how like dumb I feel but then this is where it's cool because what you said is awesome. That is what allows you to have.

01:59:59.70

mikebledsoe

Ah, accurate. Well.

02:01:04.90

Max Shank

Compassion for others is when you're fumbling around and you're like God if I'm like this like maybe it's It's differently hard for other people to to do other stuff because you know words are tools also and most people um, not only talk shit but they talk like shit.

02:00:44.34

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

02:01:41.88

Max Shank

Can't express themselves very well at all and should you like blame them and shame them or should you recognize that they've just had this working pattern for a really long time and it really changes the perspective.

02:01:19.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

02:02:19.68

Max Shank

That was a good one.

02:01:38.88

mikebledsoe

That was a good one. Yeah, so so you're gonna fumble around listen to listen to people who have good track records and yeah, really I think one of the key points you brought home was pay attention.

02:02:30.16

Max Shank

Ladies and gentlemen.

02:02:14.22

mikebledsoe

Energy ins and outs and everything in between so people normally see how that you know they know how to put gas in the gas tank and they know to push the pedal and steer the car and that's usually where the knowledge ends and if you want to have a ah. Ah, deeper understanding of it I think that's a good way to approach it when it comes to money when it comes to cars when it comes to the plumbing in your house. Um, yeah, yeah I had somebody. You know, screw some up with the plumbing in my house I'm like how did you get? How did you do that? It's like you know you shoot and put that.

02:04:06.00

Max Shank

There.

02:03:30.34

mikebledsoe

There and they're like why I go oh because they'll get stuck down the pipe to today then they're like oh I didn't think about that I was like oh I realized they didn't think about the entire system of plumbing. They've existed on the planet for 30 years and never thought about it. But now they will um but ah yeah I think I think we. That's a good Let's get a little cap on this.

02:04:52.44

Max Shank

Yeah I I love it man um you want to step one understand the flow of energy and the path and the components involved and step 2 is you want to learn how to manage.

02:04:42.28

mikebledsoe

Um, a is it is.

02:05:28.98

Max Shank

That energy flow cash flow conversation flow um managing the flow of energy using tools in the physical world like on a piece of wood or managing the flow of energy using the tools called words to direct the flow of attention which is perhaps the most. Ah, powerful energy because it is full on quantum as it relates to our human conspiracy called language and um, you know use the right tool for the job you can significantly amplify the output energy versus the input energy using. Leverage and that that's that's it folks that was awesome I had so much fun talking about that today I had so much fun building shit I I built this box. It was indestructible for my buddy oners I called a strong man pinata I made him climb up a tree.

02:06:08.14

mikebledsoe

Beautifully said beautifully said. Yeah yeah.

02:06:30.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:07:26.76

Max Shank

To grab a sledgehammer and then I locked this box that I built and this box was like bombproof. It was like one inch thick plywood on all sides with 2 by 4 s reinforcing the inside. It was so fucking na he hit it like a none times and that. It would not break so I had to ah take it off the chains and put it on the ground then he could finally hit it against something but it was it was so much fun. Another box.

02:07:39.42

mikebledsoe

What was inside.

02:07:52.78

mikebledsoe

Um, very clever.

02:08:37.72

Max Shank

Ah, and then ah and then a little piece of paper with a clue. There was nothing for him except go to the next step in the but it was awesome. Ah, anyway it was. It was so good. Um.

02:08:09.48

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh so it's just a piece of the scavenger hunt. Okay, got it.

02:09:16.70

Max Shank

Anyway, Mike thanks for the the chat that was awesome I loved the way that we managed our energy today. Thanks everybody for listening catch y'all next week Mike where can they find you.

02:08:36.86

mikebledsoe

Absolutely absolutely yeah and find me on Instagram Mike Underscore Bloodso and just keep tuning in to the blood. So show now. Um None thing. Oh. And I also have a summit coming up if you go to http://thestrongcoach.com or shop dot thes strongcoach dot com you can check that out. Got a lot of cool speakers coming in to talk at that. It's a pay what you want. And lastly, if you're interested in how to. Manage your cash flow better just shoot me a dm I've got a little course I can share with you.

02:10:37.20

Max Shank

Cool man later folks.

Rewriting The Law With Jesse Elder May 26, 2022

Strap yourself in… seriously. Jesse Elder is about to take us all on a ride to Truth

From what real education is & all the “loopholes” in the law to how we can create true sovereignty for ourselves in this era of decentralization - you’re in for a perspective-changing treat

Changing Human Behavior With Elias Arjan May 19, 2022

Reality is not what we think it is… it’s “reality” after all

Confused? Good. In this episode, Elias Arjun deconstructs reality, cognitive heuristics, operant conditioning, and more to help you get back in control of your behavior, choices, and actions

Chaos & Order May 16, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're gonna be talking about order and chaos. You know I think that there's a place for both and society as a whole likes to swing really really hard and me as an individual I do the same thing max. Thanks for joining for another Monday as we discuss topics that seem highly abstract and somehow try to get it to become practical for the listeners.

00:28.90

Max Shank

Yeah I think order and chaos could be the name of our show because it's really quite a chaotic ride I think it's an excellent train of thought that gets frequently derailed. But that's part of what makes it fun and interesting and not only do I think order and chaos are ah definitive of each other they define each other i. I think what you said is perfect. We we swing back and forth really hard from more order to more chaos and we try to get tighter control and then more freedom and ah you know more openness or more boundary setting and that back and forth ah can be. Can be really exciting and in societies actually None of the things that's really important about playing and especially wrestling roughhousing that sort of thing is understanding the line between fighting and play fighting and ah. Being able to introduce chaos in a safe environment because the whole purpose of society is to create order reduce chaos as much as possible so you need something to dose you. With chaos. So you don't become um a a sissy and sad.

04:01.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that and it yeah said I mean the like for me creativity happens after things get shaken up I think about um, no structure is the structure forever. Um, we the human spirit desires for change because we also live in an environment. Ah, ah, ever present change and um, you know we got to if we want to have some stability. We do need to set up structures in society. We need to set up structures in our own life. But we also need to recognize when it's time to assess and reassess these things and I think creating those safe spaces like you're saying where we can't introduce chaos in small amounts or over a short period of time in ah and a confined space. Ah. Really allows us to not have to go through really big societal bits of chaos which I think we're experiencing right now. There's when I think about rites of passage for young men that has been. Ah, regularly conducted over Millennia and it hasn't really happened in american society in the last few generations and so nature comes along and says hey um. Noticed that you guys haven't introduced any of this planned chaos. Ah you know a rite of passage for a man usually involves being out of control and and being needing to submit to the universe and. And usually facing death in some way or the acknowledgement of death and it can feel It's a big pattern interrupt and pattern interrupts tend to be a little chaotic in nature and when a society or an individual. Has been comfortable for too long in their order then nature is going to come along and shake it up because everything's always changing and we may be fighting to keep it the same but at some point the environment's going to break the the individual or the culture.

08:24.35

Max Shank

Yes, and you also sacrifice some of the excitement of life if you imagine someone who was born in a castle isolated from most of the world. There's going to be None of order. None exposure to chaos and they may live their whole life in that environment and then have a child of their own that lives in that environment but eventually ah just like the seasons change and ah different. Creatures Rise up and overcome in different parts of the ecosystem. Ah the people in power never stay up there for long and the more you try to create order the more fragile that individual becomes because they're not dosed. With that chaos and that stimulus because our bodies and minds are always adapting via the said principle. So We're always adjusting to what's going on. So if you have no exposure to Chaos. You will be much more fragile. Ah.

10:54.40

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

10:50.13

Max Shank

By by definition.

11:18.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah I'm listening to a book by Ray Dalio right now I think it's called the rise of the rise of nation rise and fall of nations or something like that and he he he's talking about the 5 cycles through a society and.

11:10.69

Max Shank

11:24.51

Max Shank

Ah.

11:58.14

mikebledsoe

You know if you've read the fourth turning they they identify None cycles. He identifies 5 and these cycles last about 100 years or the the cycles last about 2025 years and there's 4 or 5 of them depending on which expert you ask? and basically what happens is it. Ah, you the society falls into ah each generation becomes more and more chaotic until it's unbearable and that everyone who's like and it usually ends in civil war and external war and then everybody says. Fuck it. We need. We need more order. You know the the economics are broken where everyone's fighting with each other It's it's highly disordered and then what you end up with is a whole yeah a whole generation comes comes along and is like starving for it. So they.

13:04.10

Max Shank

The big prick comes in.

13:19.11

Max Shank

Yeah, one and it's ah.

13:52.30

mikebledsoe

They're wanting I mean that that's basically how Hitler got the power right? Germany was experiencing an incredible amount of chaos and this guy says you know what? if you just do what I say then things will be better and and they were for a while. There's there's there's videos of like.

13:33.19

Max Shank

Exactly.

13:52.97

Max Shank

And it's frightening.

14:31.72

mikebledsoe

The the population gathering and arenas and exercising together. They were like very lockstep and everything was really good for a short period of time until the 1 person who was in charge decided to fucking go nuts and one of the thing.

14:34.17

Max Shank

Right? Where there's there's like a line where people are like you know we're really glad that this ah this dick really like got things under control. You know it was a little too chaotic I felt afraid there was pillaging and rioting and then that dictator. Crosses the line and everyone's like whoa, not like that and then and then it goes back to you know, just that did that to that to da today.

15:47.14

mikebledsoe

Um, well the the danger is is when you're when you're in ah and a highly ordered society like that the the amount of thinking by the individual is reduced because they don't have to make as many choices and so. They're less likely.. There's that slippery slope they're less likely to catch poor judgment from the top because it's been so good and just one value judgment at a time and next thing you know you're just killing a bunch of people.

16:15.69

Max Shank

Yo absolutely and you you can understand why that would attract people I remember watching this series. Excellent series. The dictator's playbook. The episode on Mussolini he's you know, given a speech from some balcony and he goes None italy None decision and everyone goes. Yeah, they are.

17:51.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

17:24.61

Max Shank

Onboard They want a so bad like None maybe hundreds. It's so many people and they were so excited that he's like look I will call the shots. You guys don't want to trouble yourselves with these minor details I will take care of everything and. If you've had a good lady or significant other in your life having someone make decisions for you effectively in ah is amazing like there are certain things like some. You have this comparative advantage where someone else now is responsible for stocking the kitchen stocking the bathrooms getting this taken care of like you know you have that division of management basically and it feels amazing. Like if you get the right person to make your decisions you are on Easy Street. It's just ah, absolute power right.

19:55.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think I think the the happy medium with that because I agree is is you know when you have for instance in the United States you have if you had None person if we had a dictatorship you have None person making the. Decision for 350000000 people. It's not possible for the human mind to be able to grasp the actual impact of the decision on on the individuals and this makes me think about Dunbar's number you know was a.

20:42.37

Max Shank

Oh.

21:10.94

mikebledsoe

Around None is about as many people as 1 person can keep up with in relationship after that you know people all kind of start looking the same. You don't make as much eye contact. You're not going to remember their names. You're you're not in community and this is why a lot of churches.

21:07.45

Max Shank

Oh.

21:49.94

mikebledsoe

What they do is they break up after they get to about 150 members and then another church will open up. Ah yeah, and so these like that most churches do that. But in some churches become megachurches and have 10000 members or something like that.

21:37.77

Max Shank

It's like setting up little franchises with limits.

21:56.53

Max Shank

Yeah.

22:28.92

mikebledsoe

And that requires a higher level of leadership and hierarchy hierarchy has to be built into the system in order for that to happen. So when there's and the same thing for Crossfit Gyms all these crossfit gyms sprung up a decade ago and we all watched it happen. It.

22:10.19

Max Shank

Right.

23:05.62

mikebledsoe

It was a very community driven thing and when it got about 150 members 1 member goes I could do this better. They go open another gym and then they pull some of the gym members away and it's it's just like church and.

22:53.27

Max Shank

Ah, crossfits are like church well said I agree there are a lot of similarities there I'm on board.

23:41.28

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, there's a lot of similarities. Yeah, but I think it's a really great demonstration of Dumbbar's number and that the person the person that I'm gonna trust to help.

23:29.31

Max Shank

24:13.36

mikebledsoe

So make decisions for me right? There's somebody on my team and my company my girlfriend my close group of friends. You know, somebody's organizing a ah ah week long vacation I don't even ask me any questions. They just tell me how much money to throw in the pot and then I show up I'm okay with that. But when we start dealing with people I've never met before and have never met me and now they're making decisions on my behalf I think that becomes problematic.

24:31.63

Max Shank

Well, yeah I mean that's that's trust right there I mean who who you choose to trust is a really important choice choosing the right doctor instead of the wrong doctor. Choosing the right trainer instead of the wrong trainer right? Coach instead of the wrong coach and it's not that there it was an absolute good and an absolute bad.. It's just whether or not the resultant partnership or collaboration is gonna be constructive or not because. Some people respond really well to ah stick-based motivation and competitiveness and some people respond way better to carrot-based motivation and creativity and Non-competitiveness. So just finding the right? um. Partnership there like who do you trust with that area of your life is massive.

26:59.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and going into trust I think one of the reasons we're we're in a massive amount of chaos in our society right now is because there is a lack of trust you know nobody like like the trust of the media is an all time low.

26:43.99

Max Shank

Um, well yeah.

27:37.62

mikebledsoe

Politicians is an all time low you you ask the average american and they'll just be like yeah the the news and the the politicians are all full of shit. You know there's probably twenty thirty percent think it's still good. But.

27:25.71

Max Shank

Which I think is which I think is good I think ah like a skeptical society will actually come up with better solutions but trust saves Calories. Ah the whole Concept. Of a group is built on trust the the whole the whole thing is trust based ah fiat currency all these different things you're trusting that the person in charge is going to do. What's best for You. You're trusting that. Um. You know if you help out with the hunt that you're going to get some of the bounty from that hunt and that we're all going to be part of this unit. We're going to look out for each other.. It's like you scratch my back I'll scratch yours and having those relationships. Is the most powerful thing there is like I think of one of the best survival tools as a radical Rolodex So Just having the right array of people that you can call experts in different fields. But more importantly people that you trust to give you. Real solid Answer. So our whole response to bringing order into chaos bringing order out of chaos is based on faith or Trust. Ah, even if you take it from a religious standpoint. You are putting your faith or trust in a supreme being that we cannot see so it's all it's all trust you could say that? yeah.

31:12.48

mikebledsoe

Know or or you could say that that supreme being is everything and everywhere and you see it all the time. But yeah, that's what I say. Ah.

31:13.51

Max Shank

I'm pretty sure God is a butterfly. It's the butterfly God Yeah, the other all the other ones are not true I mean I'm pretty religious but it's definitely the butterfly god.

31:45.94

mikebledsoe

The Butterfly god.

32:04.78

mikebledsoe

There you go. So I I think I think back to like personal experiences with order and chaos and I watch I look at my own life and I watch my own self I'm one of those people that the pendulum swings pretty hard. I Think for some people the pendulum kind of hangs out in the middle for me. It's I go really deep into chaos and then really deep into order and ah, there's not a lot of time spent in the middle. But for me I think that helps with ah.

32:39.39

Max Shank

Go.

33:23.50

mikebledsoe

More progress is it's definitely not the less least painful way of going about it. But I find it's not for everybody but when I'm but everyone does experience that everyone goes to these cycles of order and chaos and the when I go into.

33:06.10

Max Shank

It's not for everybody.

33:59.68

mikebledsoe

Times of order what I see is a destruction of the structures. Ah that I had set up in my life previously. Whatever rituals or routines that I had previously were swept away So a really good example of this is I went I sold all my things.

33:32.25

Max Shank

Length.

34:39.80

mikebledsoe

Got down to two bags and went nomadic for a few years I really didn't have much of anything I left my books with some friends. Yeah yeah, dude I I did some crazy shit Um, during that time it was it.

34:20.60

Max Shank

Speaking of a rite of passage right? feels like a rite of passage.

35:15.32

mikebledsoe

I destroyed everything like I I left the business I had spent years building I ended up getting divorced I was traveling didn't have a home the level of novelty that was always present was so high that getting making progress on any None thing was. Was close to impossible including taking care of my own health and but it was a really necessary time for me to reestablish a new structure so I needed to I desired a.

35:29.75

Max Shank

36:26.78

mikebledsoe

New structure so much that I had to I had to really flatten the building I had to rebuild some people are just renovating their house all the time I needed to it was a teardown say my life is a Teardown. Let's just go back down to the slab. Let's go down to the slab and then rethink the floor plan.

36:11.45

Max Shank

Ah.

37:05.66

mikebledsoe

And everything so the I think I think the reason yeah I think the reason people don't do that is because well when you've been living under 1 structure your whole life going back to the and rebuilding new floor plan. You have no idea what to do so there's there's the lack of.

36:39.21

Max Shank

Takes a lot more time to do that. Also.

37:43.52

mikebledsoe

Knowledge that can be scary for people to do that demolition plan and then the the knowing that man I I spent say None building this one house and now I'm just going to completely demolish it and start over I know that what I build next is going to be so much better. But.

37:35.91

Max Shank

Her.

38:23.36

mikebledsoe

That's a lot of work.

37:56.33

Max Shank

And absolutely and it's even ah, depending on. Ah how you're wired. It's more like choosing which limb to cut off because it's a part of you is like you're.

38:54.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

38:30.73

Max Shank

Your identity is wrapped up into whatever it is you have going on this marriage this business this habit this thing over here to like strip those away and start coming to the I I think. Crazy shocking realization that most of your like baggage and Bullshit was just thoughtlessly inherited just thoughtlessly and you you weren't like trying to inherit it. It was just Monkey See Monkey Do Bing Bam boom.

39:58.54

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

39:48.63

Max Shank

And you're like now I'm this and you get wrapped up into like I'm this and this is good cause I'm good and that's what I'm trying to say all the time. So why would you want to let that go in exchange for something that is unknown right? because that's what really scares people is like I'll take this from.

40:44.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and.

40:26.73

Max Shank

Familiar pain to the unknown that is like I don't know if it's a devil's bargain or a fool's bargain but it doesn't sound like a good deal and yet that's what most of us make is we'll take the familiar pain I'll take familiar pain again. Thank you compared to the unknown.

41:28.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, there's um I think in the landmark education they call it the winning strategy. So it's it's a strategy that you learn at a young age where you go Oh if I behave like this.

41:03.49

Max Shank

Ah, no yeah.

41:17.77

Max Shank

Oh.

41:29.70

Max Shank

Um, ah yeah.

42:04.72

mikebledsoe

Then this happens or I get to avoid this by being like this I get to you know my dad got mad at me 1 time for doing this. You know I'll never do anything that resembles that ever again and now you become now that that becomes part of who you are and forms the personality and it becomes a winning strategy and.

41:39.89

Max Shank

Totally.

42:15.71

Max Shank

Oh man.

42:44.80

mikebledsoe

And you end up and you get the reward at a young age and then you start collecting evidence for that being a winning strategy. Yeah, you're like oh and you're unable to see where it's not working because it's the only thing that's present. So this is what creates the blind spots.

42:27.79

Max Shank

Um, it's like heroin. Oh my god.

42:45.71

Max Shank

Man.

43:23.54

mikebledsoe

And the the winning strategy is something that is very difficult to let go because it is usually very responsible for a lot of success in your life like somebody may their winning strategy may be shit talking themselves and that's and they overcome it like the beside Navy Seal's name.

43:21.95

Max Shank

Yeah.

44:01.38

mikebledsoe

Who are ah David Goggins yeah I mean he's he's highly accomplished but he seems miserable as fuck and so he he seems like it is like like he's a perfect example. David Goggins is a perfect example of somebody who.

43:36.69

Max Shank

Goggins. Yeah.

44:41.32

mikebledsoe

Has a winning strategy. It's getting him some type of reward. But it's costing him so much in his life that he's completely unaware of and doesn't he doesn't value it because he hasn't touched it yet and yet I've met I mean I went through this myself I went from becoming successful.

44:37.30

Max Shank

When.

45:16.80

mikebledsoe

Shit talking myself and what I was trying to avoid versus you know, ah talking to myself like I was a how would I talk to a None ar old. Well, that's probably how I should talk to myself and so anyways going back to the the people are afraid to give up that. Winning strategy because they're afraid that if they let go of that piece that that piece of their identity. They're not going to be good at something anymore and being good at something is what's earned them. Love.

45:46.51

Max Shank

Oh my God It's like a tool. It's It's like you're setting down your sword before you waltz into the Dragons Den It's like when I was a kid I learned about lying now. Okay, lying is a strategy.

46:30.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

46:24.11

Max Shank

That has almost no limits to it in terms of what you can get for Yourself. You can get out of trouble instantly so I was lying all the time growing up as soon as I was able to get away with it I mean what's a better rush than that and there are all kinds of behaviors like that. That they work so you just keep doing them.

47:34.92

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, they work and then until they don't right? and this is this is where you know, um when we did when in psychology when when we look at like stages of development and.

47:19.29

Max Shank

Until they don't.

48:13.72

mikebledsoe

What ends up happening is the the things that that move you into one stage of development will end up being the things that hold you back from the next and in fact, when if you look at say the the model of spiral dynamics for psychology and and human development is you're actually moving from. Um.

47:59.71

Max Shank

48:52.36

mikebledsoe

More of an eye oriented to a we oriented but there's also a bit of chaos and order on either side of that as well. So it's more of a spiral so you got we and I so some stages are more we oriented some stages more eye oriented but then it's it's not ah, it's not a straight line back and forth. It's ah it's a spiral.

48:40.75

Max Shank

Ah.

49:29.10

mikebledsoe

And in between the eye and the we is is chaos and when you're making the transition and then you've got to bring the order back and so for people to want that chaos in their life. They usually have to be really unhappy with the way something's going on in their life. People when I think about this I think about ah people that have dysfunctional patterns of behavior and a lot of people I think think about oh I have anxiety or I have like some type of system a symptom that might show up in the Dsm um, Dsm whatever it is the. Psychology playbook of symptoms and diagnoses and they they think oh I've got this I'm suffering from this thing and that's the dysfunction. But it's not the best way to find dys function in your life is to just to see what's not working. What what do you desire to be different in your life but you can't seem to get there that to me that demonstrates that there's some type of dysfunction and usually people believe that there's nothing they can do about it. But once they get a hint. And they're just fucking sick and tired of this thing being true in their life. You're like you know I'm gonna do something about it fuck it and then they start digging deep and there's a lot of work to be done there but that that itself becomes chaotic because as you start making changes in your life. You basically have to start behaving differently for everyone else in your life. And they do not like that because they expect you to behave a certain way and that that creates relational chaos.

52:14.97

Max Shank

I Think of it in a very basic way which is you have momentum being a certain way and the easiest thing to do is just continue with that Momentum. That's the most effortless thing you can do. So your pain or discomfort needs to be proportional to the adjustment of your trajectory like you need to be dissatisfied or uncomfortable enough to overcome the momentum of living a certain way. And it's not until that happens that a person takes action. Otherwise why would they? it's pure law of least Action. We're going to do the minimum we can unless ah otherwise authorized from a higher order kind of function. And even that is going to be based on a ah big picture discomfort um with just letting things flow as they may. It's like ah I'm uncomfortable not doing this thing. It's it's too painful to not. Go to Mars anymore. It's too painful to not get a divorce anymore. It's too painful to not start a business anymore. Whatever it is. There's like it's different for everybody different pain threshold for different pain catalyst.

55:40.30

mikebledsoe

Everyone's got different rock bottom. Yeah, and that makes me think about our concept I I know I didn't create it. But um, the the feather I don't know where it came from the feather the break the Mac truck and if have I told you about this yet.

55:46.10

Max Shank

The feather the brick and the Mac truck. No no I told you this but why don't you go ahead and share it with everybody.

56:28.20

mikebledsoe

Are you.

56:34.76

mikebledsoe

Pretty out did I hear I didn't hear from you did you or did you are you the originator.

56:15.21

Max Shank

Go ahead. Just let let them know what it is. It's fine. Go ahead.

56:55.98

mikebledsoe

Um, so yeah, the the the feather the Breakke the mack truck. You always get the message very lightly in the beginning and most people ignore it then it comes a little harder and then it's a fucking mack truck and it runs you over.

56:51.95

Max Shank

Here. A e.

57:31.96

mikebledsoe

And think that the skill is learning to listen for feathers and so it's a it's a it's a it's about being more sensitive. Yeah.

57:23.75

Max Shank

Right? But you don't want to get startled every time you feel the wind either right? when there's nothing there. Yeah, you didn't get that for me for me. It's always been the wind the feather the brick and the Mac truck.

58:04.28

mikebledsoe

No, you gotta be you gotta be listening to the right thing.

58:23.54

mikebledsoe

The wind the feather oh shit oh shit, did you get it from somebody. Are you reading the same person or did you are you really an originator. Do you even know.

58:12.97

Max Shank

Now I just I just made the whole thing up I never heard of it until just now. But I thought it would be fun to ah, just throw that Monkey Wrench in there because because see for me. Ah I think.

59:01.42

mikebledsoe

Ah, the wind the fact. Okay, we'll throw in the wind now now we've got 4 levels.

58:52.97

Max Shank

It's it's like ah a hypochondriac. The hypochondriac is thinking. Everything is some health disaster and really they were just constipated or something like that and I think the line between Prudence and paranoia is a truly fascinating one.

59:33.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

59:31.55

Max Shank

Because everybody has a different idea of what is reasonable preparedness and responsibility like the ability to respond or not so it's It's really the same thing like what's the line between prudence and having like a very deep awareness.

01:00:11.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:00:09.93

Max Shank

Of what's going on around you and responding to the slightest stimulus so being a little I don't know hypersensitive versus like hyposensitive. It's ah it's an interesting thing.

01:01:04.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:00:41.87

Max Shank

So so like to kind of bring us back to that concept of the feather the brick and the Mac truck that what you're saying is change is or or like life. Let's say is giving you signals.

01:01:43.28

mikebledsoe

01:01:19.51

Max Shank

And if you pay attention to the signal when it's really light. It's not going to cause you much harm. But if you if you wait the feather becomes a brick becomes a mac truck when it eventually just absolutely wrecks you.

01:01:57.20

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:02:13.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, becomes more painful but also the amount of change that you're gonna have to make is probably more drastic so it's a double whammy you got extra pain and and additional work to do like I think about say somebody who is a.

01:01:56.33

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:02:52.68

mikebledsoe

A meth at it. You know if they're one weekend and they notice like oh I'm not getting good sleep I'm Jittery I you know I'm not paying attention at work or whatever and they and they go you know what? I've you know I'm gonna check myself into a clinic and I'm gonna kick this thing but then you got the person who's.

01:02:25.25

Max Shank

Ah.

01:02:38.41

Max Shank

For her.

01:03:31.22

mikebledsoe

10 years in you know they're missing their teeth like for them to be able to get their life back on track and get a job and all that is going to be monumentally more difficult.

01:03:25.91

Max Shank

Right? So going past the point of no return basically like how how hard it is. yeah yeah I mean David Goggins is a ah great example of ah.

01:04:07.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's a point you cross where you never getting back? Yeah yeah.

01:04:05.55

Max Shank

Someone who has just made such an impression on so many people I think you know he he just flipped total extremes right? Big fat guy boom now I'm a Navy seal running millions of miles. Oh my foot's broken.

01:04:55.40

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:04:45.43

Max Shank

Who Cares stay hard and I think that now that Persona has gotten him speaking of winning strategies. So now even if he did say you know what I think a more gentle form of exercise is really the right choice for most people because. You know, Actually you're going to harm yourself long term by just running through these injuries. Ah, he almost can't do that now because he has got this winning strategy as this character and I think he.

01:05:55.24

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah. Well, you know.

01:05:59.77

Max Shank

Wants to be that character for himself and for everybody else I think he's got to be thinking. Wow This is an amazing thing that I am doing here and I'm this guy for myself and for these other folks.

01:06:50.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think a lot of people are attracted to it because they yeah they're they're attracted to it and they want to do it. They want to be like it. But I think it's a it's.

01:06:37.95

Max Shank

Superhero shit. Of course it's attractive.

01:07:27.40

mikebledsoe

It's immature in a lot of ways you know there's there's somebody who I saw go through a transformation which was a gary banynerchuk and I don't know if he shifted I Never really heard him say hey I had a realization I'm changing the way that I'm speaking now.

01:07:14.71

Max Shank

He.

01:08:05.50

mikebledsoe

But I watched him shift over like a 5 year period of hustling rind. You know, get out of your mouth and maybe that his audience matured and he needed to shift his his message.

01:07:47.10

Max Shank

Ah.

01:08:00.99

Max Shank

He.

01:08:33.64

mikebledsoe

But it became more of like hey let's work smarter not harder like be kind to yourself all these things Gary Vaynerchuk I mean if you go back and watch videos from ten years ago and him trying to motivate a crowd. He's telling him to like you know, buck up, you know quit being a little bitch and now he's.

01:08:31.53

Max Shank

In.

01:09:09.56

mikebledsoe

He's found a little more kindness in in his approach. So I think there's a that's something that was working for him but he also was able to to mature beyond that hopefully David Goggins experiences the same thing I mean for his sake because I mean if you got to keep that persona on.

01:08:47.84

Max Shank

Right.

01:09:47.38

mikebledsoe

For the rest of your life. It's just hard to.

01:09:21.90

Max Shank

But maybe that feels like good for him. Maybe that's that's exactly what he's looking for he he won't be happy unless there's a ah, big physical challenge and you know who can imagine what it's like to live that guy's life.

01:10:22.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, who knows and there's a place for everybody right? like there's a reason that he's so prolific right now is because there are a lot of soft people that need to hear that message. They're probably sick and tired of being soft or like you know what I'm I'm fat too.

01:09:57.85

Max Shank

Is what I say. Ah.

01:10:21.19

Max Shank

Yes.

01:11:00.82

mikebledsoe

And I don't know what to do about this so you know what? like and I mean I am of the opinion that whatever, whatever the fuck gets you started go but my encouragement is it's never the whole thing get gets you started on being healthier.

01:10:33.47

Max Shank

Right.

01:10:55.17

Max Shank

Whatever gets you started on anything. Ah.

01:11:40.46

mikebledsoe

But you know it got fat shamed Now you're losing weight. Okay, but here's the thing is take it further yeah like take it get up take it further. You know I think people a lot of times. It's It's like.

01:11:22.69

Max Shank

You got fat shamed you got fat shamed.

01:12:15.30

mikebledsoe

The reason you're fat is not because it's not necessarily because you're not exercising enough or you didn't You're not I mean these are the the behaviors you're not exercising enough and you're and you're eating like shit but like there's an entire lifestyle that goes behind this that that needs to shift that doesn't need to be. Maniacal about food and exercise.

01:12:35.29

Max Shank

It's literally just using food as pleasure more than your activity will allow and the reason we do things like that is because we feel like there's something missing and we want to change our state salty sweet fatty cheesy bits. Will will pretty much resolve that immediately. It's not super long lasting but you know Obesity is just a drug addiction that has a really easy to see physical manifestation to it.

01:14:15.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:13:47.35

Max Shank

Right. Ah, it's It's like a lot of people are addicted to their phones but it doesn't make you £40 heavier. Oh you're you're addicted to your phone but this other person is addicted to ah like hostess cupcakes. That's we're not getting sponsored by them but just because.

01:14:55.26

mikebledsoe

Not yet max not yet.

01:14:30.53

Max Shank

Just because they're addicted to just God I Hope so sponsored by Twinkie. Ah, but yeah, if someone's addicted to hostess cupcakes instead of the telephone they get fat but it's you're still just. Pulling a pleasure lever to distract from being here and now basically right.

01:15:46.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I Um, definitely use food as a little bit of entertainment and but you know what I've I've figured out how to use my entertainment food. Like I can get really entertained by my food without it being just outlandishly terrible and that I think that's ah, that's a good like like. For instance I eat like ah, a keto ice cream that doesn't have It's like the cleanest one I could find mammoth It's mostly just fat. With a tiny bit of sweetener supposed to just cream and by the way I mean just eating frozen cream by itself is so good. Yeah, and then and then I put put strawberries on it I put strawberries on it and then I put.

01:16:35.10

Max Shank

Don't don't eat that bad sugar. Don't eat that bad sugar fat Only sugar is bad for you. Don't eat sugar Listen there's a killer out there. It's sugar.

01:17:28.34

mikebledsoe

Raw honey on it. Yeah yeah, and then that'll usually beat whatever fucking dessert that's sitting on the shelf somewhere or even at a restaurant like it's actually tastier.

01:17:00.87

Max Shank

Um, very fancy.

01:17:20.81

Max Shank

Well, you know that's great that you have found a strategy that that works for you. Um, for for your mouth pleasure. Although.

01:18:03.82

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah I know it's not your your morning cheesecake that you like to start your day with.

01:17:54.75

Max Shank

I Do like to start with a cheesecake and mocha in the morning if the opportunity arises I'm definitely going to take it. Absolutely.

01:18:46.22

mikebledsoe

Ah, well ordering Chaos I.

01:18:20.35

Max Shank

So with the with the food is it about the mouth pleasure like the the flavor the chewing the swallowing the whole thing I mean that's what helped me like get a handle on the the food addiction I mean it's all good right. Is it that I like the flavor while I'm chewing. Is it like some deeper primal thing where I I just feel good that I'm putting stuff in my belly like there's this primal desire. That's like yeah food goes in this tube this way and then that's a good thing.

01:19:52.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think I think for me it um like I'm a low appetite person. So yeah, yeah.

01:19:39.73

Max Shank

How nice someone the other day said to me he goes. Ah I've been trying he was at he was at our gym he goes I've been trying to eat more and the idea of someone who had to try to eat more.

01:20:31.44

mikebledsoe

You know? okay.

01:20:17.41

Max Shank

Was so foreign to me ah eating more is my absolute default. Ah the concept of eating less food than I need or even just the right amount that I need is insane like every time I'm eating food I Want more. I Want hometown Buffet I want all you can eat sushi I Want a gigantic porter house with mashed potatoes.

01:21:34.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I think what may be different between you and I is I've been obsessing over the nutrient density of my food since I was about 14 So it's um.

01:21:28.17

Max Shank

01:22:06.66

mikebledsoe

Like yeah I'm in this constant search for the highest quality of what I'm what I'm eating now Super dens. It's a superfood and so the yeah.

01:21:46.59

Max Shank

That's why I just eat bullying cubes.

01:22:03.33

Max Shank

I Think we should try to make that a thing super concentrated beef essence.

01:22:45.88

mikebledsoe

Well, it's kind of like kale kale was like being sold as ah like a garnish for these buffets at Wendy's or whatever for for almost nothing and then it was listed as a super food. It was marketed properly and then ah.

01:22:34.83

Max Shank

Ah.

01:23:20.12

mikebledsoe

The fucking price of it skyrocket. We can do the same thing for Bullyon Cubes I think is somehow you know hate. It's.

01:23:01.79

Max Shank

That would be such an exciting thing to get like all these high level athletes just snacking on bullion cubes. Everyone starts carrying around a little beef pouch salty. Yeah.

01:23:43.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think it's a good hydration. It's more like a hydration tool. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but ah yeah I think for me like I've always all I'm like this this quality freak about food and be and like I don't want it.

01:23:46.70

Max Shank

Here.

01:24:21.96

mikebledsoe

I could eat like a footlong Subway Club sandwich like I could do that like don't get me wrong I could do it but but it just it just doesn't like um, there's something about it I Just don't I don't feel satisfied in the same way and so.

01:23:59.59

Max Shank

That sounds good I like a good submarine sandwich.

01:25:01.60

mikebledsoe

When I'm eating higher quality foods like it does seem like it's harder to eat. It's like I get satisfied more quickly So I don't eat as many calories and then I'm also burning through a lot of calories in the day and then if I'm training which I am right now. Are you just the.

01:25:00.83

Max Shank

Then.

01:25:40.30

mikebledsoe

The appetite just skyrocket. But I don't I won't put down just anything So then I end up eating Keto ice cream with honey and strawberries at night.

01:25:17.83

Max Shank

01:25:28.93

Max Shank

Yeah I'll I'll eat healthy food I'll just eat 3 times the volume of what I should eat. It's weird I'll be at a restaurant or something and they'll be like. Do you want any dessert and I'll look at the dessert menu.

01:26:12.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I just have a small stomach some you know.

01:26:06.89

Max Shank

And I'll be like no but I will get another entree instead when it's like roughly this I Really like savory foods so we'll be out. It'll be like sushi or something they'll be like oh you want dessert and I'm looking the desserts I'm go think I'll just have more rice and fish and avocado and that kind of thing.

01:26:59.64

mikebledsoe

A ah.

01:26:42.61

Max Shank

Um, food Huh How about that.

01:27:13.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so going back to ordering chaos where we started. Ah I I think that what we're gonna be witnessing moving forward is a lot of people seeking order. There was I was listening ah to.

01:26:55.61

Max Shank

Order up.

01:27:16.30

Max Shank

01:27:52.76

mikebledsoe

Gad sad god sad how do you say his name on Rogan the other day and it was talking about how some of the professors are starting to report that the that the new students in the college in the universities are. Really wanting a more conservative approach to things like they seem to be tired with you know all the the crazy shit around you know like they're being 72 different genders and and all that kind of stuff and so the ah.

01:28:26.15

Max Shank

All that shit is just all that shit doesn't matter. It's just about whether or not the discourse is violent or not I think.

01:29:13.46

mikebledsoe

Well I think that's part of the problem is it's it. You know it's obviously been violent people certain people aren't allowed to talk at universities because they get shouted out and basically forced out So that's chaos. That's that's people's emotional state.

01:28:57.53

Max Shank

Right? wild.

01:29:51.40

mikebledsoe

Overtaking their behavior becoming illogical and then are unable to you know have intepit discourse. So I yeah I think I mean if we look at if we look at what Ray Dalio says if we look at the fourth turning. We look at these things that these people who talk about. These cycles that are going on in the world and I think we're pretty getting pretty close to maxing out on chaos I mean I think the only thing that's more chaotic for for for the american public for for the.

01:30:19.51

Max Shank

Um, what whoa woa I don't know I'm still listening though but I don't know.

01:31:05.40

mikebledsoe

For the American Public's taste for things you think they can take more chaos. We'll see. Um, yeah I could see it going a little bit further I mean but the the only thing that's left is is now and.

01:30:58.23

Max Shank

Um I think of anarchy as chaos like anarchy is chaos that I mean that would be soak I Oh my God I think things like I don't think things are being run well. But.

01:31:40.16

mikebledsoe

No anarchy is different. So ah.

01:32:01.30

mikebledsoe

Boy here.

01:31:36.77

Max Shank

My gosh I think a lot of stuff is still running so smoothly so predictably in such an ordered fashion I mean I hope it doesn't get more chaotic and unpredictable.

01:32:22.40

mikebledsoe

Well well anarchy anarchy just means without a ruler and so it no without a ruler and so it has to do with.

01:32:06.67

Max Shank

Right? Well without without rule isn't it or just without a guy who enforces the rules then.

01:32:59.34

mikebledsoe

God.

01:32:36.89

Max Shank

No.

01:33:08.42

mikebledsoe

Ah, well if you define God by natural law like like gravity like like to me that is the the forces that have put been put in place to create physical order in the world which we don't need. Anyone to be in charge to do that right? like real laws are things that no person has to enforce and so you have natural law and then you have common law which is basically don't fuck with me and I'm not going to fuck with you right.

01:33:47.53

Max Shank

Right? But who's enforcing that is the question. That's what I'm saying So it's ah you know I think there would be a lot more people stealing each other shit if they didn't think there was some like repercussion.

01:34:22.64

mikebledsoe

Well people ultimately have to enforce it for themselves. Yeah.

01:34:43.68

mikebledsoe

Her maybe maybe well here here's wait. There is a reapercussion so here's an example San Francisco has riots how long do they last Minneapolis long fucking time. You know how long they lasted in Miami.

01:34:25.51

Max Shank

That the hired guns could lay in a long time. Yeah, not as long.

01:35:20.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, about 36 hours and then it everyone went back to order and it's not because they put more police force out. It's because the the ah the police came out and said hey if you own a store on this street. You might want to come out with your gun. They basically encourage people to protect their own property because that's a state in which they honor property rights right? and then right and then but.

01:35:43.30

Max Shank

Which are the only reason we have all these rules in the None place.

01:36:24.58

mikebledsoe

But property rights aren't necessarily I don't think they necessarily have to be enforced by an outside entity whereas in California you have government officials that are impeding property rights so in 1 state you've got the encouragement of protecting your own property like we're not even going to do it. You do it.

01:36:19.49

Max Shank

Right.

01:36:32.53

Max Shank

Right.

01:37:03.90

mikebledsoe

And then in San Francisco they're saying whatever you do don't protect your own property or else we're gonna come after you, you know you can't have a gun if you shoot somebody on your property. We're gonna you're gonna be in trouble. So some people would say that San Francisco has got way more order or.

01:36:46.10

Max Shank

Right.

01:37:42.64

mikebledsoe

Whereas Florida seems a little more anarchist right? where they're encouraging when I think about anarchy it brings it down to there is a ruler and each person has to be their own ruler in which case. So we look at Miami and people would say oh we're just gonna let people kill each other but the the amount of damage that was done and the amount of deaths were really small because what happened was people came out with their guns. A couple writers got shot and killed and then everyone goes. Oh you can't do that or else you might get shot and killed and so they just don't do it anymore. So I think this is a good example of of the order being placed by. You know, an authoritative government is shown to be ineffective. So I think.

01:38:32.51

Max Shank

Um, well yeah.

01:39:31.30

mikebledsoe

Majority of order that's produced people generally want to be kind to each other people generally want to get along in all the research people avoid conflict. They don't They don't do these things they enter into conflict when they think they can be faceless and nameless and they're wearing a mask and and running through the streets.

01:39:24.49

Max Shank

Most people.

01:39:38.77

Max Shank

01:40:09.94

mikebledsoe

With a thousand other people and they can blend in now they become that's chaos. That's that's that's the mob but that's not anarchy. That's ah anarchy would be everyone. There would be consequences. You're held liable for your personal stuff.

01:39:48.30

Max Shank

Um, a mob.

01:40:44.12

mikebledsoe

Just because everybody was doing It doesn't mean that you are um that it's okay to do it So There's a level of individual responsibility that I see that happens with anarchy and I think that this I think that anything that's not anarchy is actually a. It's an illusion because if we if we go up so we.

01:40:58.49

Max Shank

Well hold up every society is an illusion based on a unify unifying set of beliefs whether it's the tree spirit or an eye for an eye code of hamurabi or hey that guy with the big stick is in charge because he can beat up everyone else.

01:41:50.46

mikebledsoe

It's just it's a story.

01:42:02.26

mikebledsoe

Well well the big, the big stick guy is usually what people think about anything about anarchy is like it's like oh yeah, it's a power game right? It's like if everyone's just running around and.

01:41:38.50

Max Shank

Right? And we just do what he says. That's all.

01:41:56.53

Max Shank

Well it it is extra Well if there's no recourse if someone takes your stuff except for your own then everyone is going to have to arm themselves significantly more now I do think that would make a community.

01:43:01.74

mikebledsoe

I Think it would be a much more peaceful community as well.

01:42:33.81

Max Shank

Much much stronger been to Oklahoma I agree completely. Um, people would respect boundaries a little more I believe and if you think that you may get shot. You're less likely to go try to Rob someone unless it's really really desperate.

01:43:32.78

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:43:12.31

Max Shank

And even then you're more likely to go ask? What can you do you can beg borrow or steal if someone has something you want. You know you can work you can beg or you can take um so I think it has a lot to do with.

01:43:52.82

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:44:05.90

mikebledsoe

Or.

01:43:51.67

Max Shank

Fact that we can get our needs met relatively smoothly and I think if you had let's say a dis because I'm not a fan of how taxpayer dollars are managed at all because that's all government is it's all all of our pooled resources put to work by a few. Ah. Clever folks. But I think if you were to dissolve that whole system. Ah it would be a really shaky turbulent. Ah very chaotic adjustment period because the whole concept of. dollars and cents and retirements and everything would just completely collapse and all of these agreements based on that old system would also collapse so all of your existing contracts would basically be like I'm gonna just not.

01:46:08.66

mikebledsoe

Well, a lot of a lot of these structures are are corporate in nature and so these agreements and so any agreements you have with government I mean it's a corporate. It's an agreement between a corporation and an individual which is technically like unlawful.

01:45:43.21

Max Shank

Do that anymore.

01:46:13.47

Max Shank

Right? But those ah but those agreements are basically just for if you have to go to a court.

01:46:46.74

mikebledsoe

In a way. But.

01:46:56.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah there I got a I got a show coming out with Jesse Elder where he covers the whole going to court thing but the which I think will be interesting but I want I want to take this back to the the idea that that do we live. My argument is we already live in anarchy right? And so the I was thinking about this the other day is so there's a war between well I'm about to explain it. So everyone everyone thinks that there's a rule of law right? like the United States is like it's it's not ruled by men. It's ruled by law.

01:47:21.70

Max Shank

Why do we live in anarchy. Okay.

01:47:46.37

Max Shank

Sometimes.

01:48:14.78

mikebledsoe

And so that's that was that's kind of the concept of the United States it's not necessarily how it's resulted, but that's the concept was to to keep us out of trouble. But if we get outside of the United States and we go global. We have global anarchy right? the.

01:47:57.31

Max Shank

Right.

01:48:53.24

mikebledsoe

There is no. There is no authority that makes the countries behave So some of these.

01:48:32.10

Max Shank

Maybe oligarchy maybe more like an oligarchy than total anarchy like I think there's a lot of power centers and unions and allegiances that guide the flow of the world.

01:49:22.52

mikebledsoe

There are there are the um that that are a lot less oligarchies. Well depends on the oligarch like what system you're using can be less violent. You mean you could say that like Elon Musk is probably None of the most powerful people on the planet. Not probably He's more powerful than most countries. Ah and ah, but all the interaction with him and his stuff is is voluntary. So it's it's a less. He may be he may be in charge of people's minds in a way because he's deciding you know what? they.

01:49:54.17

Max Shank

Which is amazing. Ah, right.

01:50:38.78

mikebledsoe

They may be seeing because he controls that way, but it's not.. It's not overtly coercive or or violent. Um, but if we if we extrapolate out and we go what keeps these nations like what supersedes the nation you know and some people might say Nato UN. Ah, have all these different organizations where these countries send representatives and they jerk each other off for a few days and then go back. Ah these that the truth is is the only thing that keeps anyone from fucking with anybody else is the possibility of total destruction. There's an entire global strategy going on by each country On. You have a few powers that are trying to dominate. But there's all these allies that are created and rules and and and they're generating all this stuff but generally like if you I think people. People are under this false premise of there is law and order that's produced by human beings. But it's completely inaccurate because if we keep going to a larger Magnitude. We start seeing that there's nothing other than brute force and power that is. That is in charge and so in which case I say that that's truly just Anarchy. We already exist under it. But the problem is is we suffer under a ah like ah this illusion because people don't ah. Because they put their trust in the illusion. They never take personal responsibility. They never become their own ruler. They never make their own decisions. They never learn to protect themselves feed themselves provide for themselves and so they're putting the trust in something illusory that can change at a moment's notice. And put them out in the cold.

01:54:07.63

Max Shank

Um, yeah I I tend to think that all ah Authority matters are resolved that way with the threat of total destruction on a micro level and on a macro level. You know the.

01:55:06.22

mikebledsoe

01:54:45.33

Max Shank

Way that individuals are ruled the way that countries are ruled the way that countries rule over each other.. It's always the threat of total destruction and you know self-preservation is a very powerful instinct and I think that's probably what drives ah countries more than anything. Is the self-preservation Instinct of the rulers.

01:55:59.64

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, gotta be I mean I think that's just everybody.

01:55:39.27

Max Shank

Keep the power get a little bit more keep the power get a little bit more because it never ends it very rarely ends well like the dictator doesn't like ride off into the sunset and be like hey guys I had fun oppressing the shit out of you. Thank you for letting me just go on.

01:56:36.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well when was the last time there was a dictator that like died of natural causes and everybody all the your country. The country was like oh yeah, ah.

01:56:14.47

Max Shank

Down the dusty road dude North Korea North Korea one of my favorite front. None of my favorite stories ever I another plug for dictators playbook. Very good series. The story of ah Kim il-sung. And then ah Kim Jong -il and now kim jong un none generation dictatorship pretty good for the modern era he is repressing the shit out of those people's ability to see information and see what other life is like he's smeared the hell out of the fat americans it's incredible.

01:57:29.64

mikebledsoe

Now. Yeah.

01:58:00.28

mikebledsoe

I need to I need to watch this. It sounds.

01:57:33.19

Max Shank

Ah, anyway, Kim il-sung dot died of natural causes. Kim Jong -il also died of natural causes. Kim Jong un maybe eating himself to death. But that's still a natural cause basically like it's incredible.

01:58:25.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well what I'm saying yeah but people aren't happy what I'm saying is like has anyone ah as a dictator ever like died and then everyone's like oh genuinely sad.

01:58:17.75

Max Shank

There is way less obesity in North Korea than the United States that's a fact that's a fact.

01:58:57.48

mikebledsoe

Did you did you listen to that? Ah interview Rogan did with um that North Korean woman who escaped at fucking crazy. Totally worth listening to.

01:58:44.51

Max Shank

Um, yeah I did it was wild. Loved it. Dude That's the history of the world is like awful awful stuff like that look at all the like torture shame the the um juxtaposition of. Art and war as ah, vessels for this oscillation between order and chaos is Incredible. We're making these beautiful pieces of art. We're you know, putting together quilts and nice things for people and medicines and then we have like these. Ah. Mechanical suppositories that expand up your anus as torture and you just have these like weird is such ah, an insane level of destruction and violent and then creation and cooperation and you know optimism. I Mean human beings are insane and then a few of them get really insane and are like I will lead these people and then and then I here's what I think happens I don't think this is going to be a very popular take but I think ah. Most of the most of the guys who went and did these insane things. It was really like the whispers of a lady that was driving him. You know what? I mean I think we we cannot. We cannot Blame. Ah.

02:02:04.24

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

02:01:53.57

Max Shank

White We We can't make white men the whipping boy of all the evil shit. That's ever been Done. You know ladies men of all colors of all creeds have oppressed people I'm sure that there were Queens who would tease their king about the size of his kingdom. And just nag nag nag him until he conquered the neighbors be like you call this a kingdom This is the tiniest Kingdom. That's what I think yeah.

02:03:07.16

mikebledsoe

I think that was like Alexander the great alexander the great. Yeah and what's her name or is it Ashley and I got this conversation the other day which was we we take we take like things that are really hot. Like unstable topics in society and then we debate them in the car and because she grew up in the bay where there's a very she grew up in a very left leaning view. So there's a lot of opportunity for me to ask her questions just had a curiosity is like okay how is.

02:03:38.67

Max Shank

Ah.

02:04:22.20

mikebledsoe

Okay, this is how I understand this situation. What's the okay, what's going on over there and she tells me I'm like okay have are those people have they considered this so no, okay, cool and so it's like it ends up in a interesting conversation. So one was um, we were listening to a show. They're talking about. Um you know, ah, ah, equity like equity amongst men and women for pay right? who you know men men generally get paid more money than women and so the feminist movement has been. Incredibly focused on money in in regard to things not being fair and so and so that was my that was my so we got in this conversation. so so yeah yeah so Ashley's like you know it's unfair and.

02:05:19.71

Max Shank

They already spend all the money. There are so many reasons for there are so many reasons for this I mean. Okay.

02:06:16.72

mikebledsoe

And I was like I was like well have we talked about all the contributing factors to why it might be that way and then the number one? Well the None thing that I came up with not came up with but like the None stat that we looked at was ah okay. So men make how much more money on average and women for the same type of work. Okay, well, who spends the money who who spends more money. It's like well the women spend 70% of all the money on.

02:06:44.45

Max Shank

But there there are like 10 different reasons that things usually are this way if it was so clear cut as like the Twitter sized argument would have you believe then every smart businessman would just hire women I would save.

02:07:45.74

mikebledsoe

Totally.

02:07:24.37

Max Shank

I would save 25% on my ah payroll and I would be because if it's the same job for ah 25% less money. You would be a fool not to do it. You would have just factories. You would only have women employees. It would only be women working ah like why wouldn't you why wouldn't you no no, it's it's stupid. It's just another distraction. We have so much more in common.

02:08:32.48

mikebledsoe

That's that's a really good point or because of discrimination people are are misogynist What it's It's ah it's a. Well the thing the thing is is people people will they look at the result and then they they that that's the explanation. Oh. There's not this so it must be.. It must be that that person that men are generally bad at you know that are generally misogynistic.

02:08:37.10

Max Shank

Ah, then we have different.

02:09:41.72

mikebledsoe

So There's this like the proof for a lot of people. The proof is in the the lack of equity versus getting into all the little things that might contribute to that and you make a really good point because you know what? if if I could get away with that I do the same thing and. And then you could like claim to be nobles like oh I I Only hire women and and in the background you know you, you're making more money That's not necessarily I don't see in the conversations I yeah.

02:09:53.91

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

02:10:09.43

Max Shank

It's just like a different type of sexism I mean I don't think I think more than people being like pro-man or pro lady or anti-man or anti-lady people are just selfish understandably. So. You're the only None living your experience. You're the only one responsible for it if you can get a few extra points of street cred for talking shit. Why wouldn't you I mean we talked about how effective lying is talking shit is so effective I mean do you think Tom Sawyer painted the fence. No. Sweet talked the other kid and said hey wouldn't you like to paint this fence I will trade you the opportunity of painting this fence for that shiny red Apple you got and so he's there eating the Apple while this guy is so happy that he now has the opportunity to build a fence so people are just. Selfish and they realize that they can talk to get attention and energy and that kind of thing instead of work and there are so many I mean my god we could talk all day about this like alleged discrimination between men and women. But um. This is a contest that nobody wins there's no way to win this discussion because it's like hey did you know that men kill themselves 4 times more than women they're like no I didn't know that is like well can you just like fucking eat the quarter and like. Not worry I mean we're dying 4 times as much at our own hand like is it really? So amazing. Yeah.

02:13:43.26

mikebledsoe

Well 98% of workplace deaths are men as well like I it's like is what.

02:13:27.69

Max Shank

But but that's that's the whole point is like people just do what they want to do that's all and quite frankly, you know if you're a lady you can just get really hot and nice. But if you're a fella I mean I guess you could do that too like you could be a cabana boy. Type of ah life strategy I've considered it I've done the entrepreneurship thing for a while but I've also considered what if I put the same amount of dedication to being like a really like goodlooking Kabana boy right? and just like teach yoga classes by the pool of some like rich lady. And my whole responsibility is just like oh a little more suntann for you I'll whip up a little ah sandwich for you there like that's totally a strategy and maybe I would earn more doing that than what I'm currently doing so. It's fine, but it's just that usually the way that a guy shows.

02:15:33.80

mikebledsoe

Maybe maybe.

02:15:21.39

Max Shank

Ah, dominance in the hierarchy is by making lots of money That's usually how it is and then if you like get the gender roles confused sometimes you have people chasing things that don't even feel good to them. They just do it because they think they're supposed to and that's.

02:15:54.00

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

02:16:21.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

02:15:59.83

Max Shank

I think that is ah actually really scary spent a lot of energy getting something that you didn't even want in the None place.

02:16:31.36

mikebledsoe

You know. Yeah Jordan Peterson was talking about a ah ah a concept that women are just generally more intelligent than men they they are generally have more opportunities at. Through childhood and adolescence and because guys tend to only be really good at None thing and then they throw themselves completely into it and engineering might be a really good example of this is men are were sport men men.

02:17:15.75

Max Shank

Or sport.

02:17:54.79

mikebledsoe

We'll use engineers for as an example, why do engineers get paid more than women. Well most engineers didn't do.

02:17:32.81

Max Shank

Well not, they don't necessarily. It's just engineering people get paid more than nursing people typically.

02:18:13.58

mikebledsoe

Well well why are there more male engineers than female engineers This was this was this was the question being talked about and now I'm gonna give it to you but but the the the thing that he was proposing is that.

02:18:00.59

Max Shank

Are you looking for an answer. Are you going to give it to me. Okay I have ideas.

02:18:51.76

mikebledsoe

Women have more opportunities through their youth because they're generally more intelligent and don't dedicate themselves wholly to None subject whereas men tend to be a little less intelligent and in a broad and a broad amount of subjects whereas. And it has less to do with like level of intelligence versus being able to be intelligent at a lot of things versus just None thing so men at for a lot of engineers. They they sucked at english history. All the stuff that wasn't mathematics. But then there's a lot of women who were pretty good at mathematics. But they were also really good at english and. History and all these other subjects so there wasn't this this force of focus in order to be become valuable. So I think that between between you know, if you look at just math mathematicians out in the world like the highest levels are men but.

02:19:57.17

Max Shank

Yeah.

02:20:47.10

mikebledsoe

Women are generally if you were to look at the averages. The average woman is better at it than the average man but men tend to to live more at the extremes when it comes to these things and so that person's more likely to get to become a high paid engineer than the average woman and so.

02:20:34.29

Max Shank

I see ah.

02:20:48.79

Max Shank

Um.

02:21:26.68

mikebledsoe

Um, because women have the argument he was making is because women have more opportunities than men they actually may not get completely focused into a ah vocation. That's gonna pay really really well and the other thing is to the point you were making earlier is. Men are generally generally ah judged on their their finances and their financial success and women are generally ah their status comes from being beautiful and so if you're a woman and and.

02:22:05.31

Max Shank

Or the or the niceness of the Shark cuttery board that they can lay out.

02:22:45.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah for that that would be the case for me my girlfriend won me over with sharuery boards.

02:22:24.29

Max Shank

Like for a like party planning like that's ah that's a skill that among the other ladies I don't think I'm being crazy here. That's a skill where everyone else would be like man look at that meat and cheese plate. There are dried apricots on there that looks that looks amazing right.

02:23:20.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but but if you're a woman and you have many different interests and you don't dedicate yourself into a single field and then in the background. There's also this the majority of your focuses on status that involves beauty as well. So you have this social.

02:23:26.97

Max Shank

Oh right.

02:23:58.20

mikebledsoe

Social pressure being beautiful and then you also have a lot of opportunities academically and then you got guys are like you know I just got to get good at 1 thing and they just throw themselves at it and so that that's 1 explanation of like why there might be some discrepancy.

02:23:51.85

Max Shank

I Think it's I think it's even simpler I think that men and women generally get pushed a certain direction and guys who might naturally be more creative. Get funneled into something that is more utilitarian and women who might be more math and science and technology oriented might get diverted off toward like barbies and art and that kind of thing. Because I think that's just the the natural momentum of our culture is that girls do girly things and guys do manly things and so it's just when there's an intersection of your preference. However, that was derived and your ability.

02:26:18.54

mikebledsoe

I Mean that's generally true.

02:25:55.17

Max Shank

Yeah, and that's also why ah you know nurses are typically women and they're a little bit more nurturing and interestingly enough I think it's a really interesting. It's an interesting example because I think that is. Ah, much more difficult skill to replicate with technology this idea that you'll be Able. You'll be able to diagnose with a supercomputer with I would imagine tremendous accuracy but the.

02:27:10.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, not possible.

02:27:05.50

Max Shank

The bedside care and the nursing and that sort of thing seems really hard to replicate with ah with tech I think Ais are gonna doctor it up and the nurses there's just gonna be a bunch of ladies doing a great job. Um, you know.

02:27:46.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the ai is going to do that anytime soon.

02:28:10.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well there, there's um, well that.

02:27:43.61

Max Shank

Talking and listening chatting doing skills. It's a high so that's that's and some things just don't get rewarded very well like nursing holy fuck. Okay, that's the perfect example I think it seems like None of the hardest jobs around you're in a pretty scary place all the time. Working pretty tough hours with difficult people quite frankly, right? and and you're like getting okay money. It's like okay but talk about difficult.

02:28:57.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

02:29:08.40

mikebledsoe

Now Now incredibly yeah I wouldn't want to do it. It sounds terrible.

02:28:59.53

Max Shank

I Don't even like being in hospitals. It's like my one of my least favorite places.

02:29:38.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, let's wrap this bad boy up where we.

02:29:17.65

Max Shank

Okay, so today's show was called chaos we tried to bring order to it but we just couldn't figure out a way to put it in there. Ah ah well they define each other.

02:30:09.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we didn't really talk about order much.

02:29:57.50

Max Shank

Right? We talked a lot about the hierarchies in society I think that order can bring a lot of peace to your life. Um, so maybe the the takeaway I would wrap up with is. Dose yourself with some chaos do some? Ah do some tough conversations with someone have like a heated debate and do some roughhousing and playing that is introducing chaos in ah in a safe environment and then you know bring. Bring order into your life by trying to automate as many things as you can to make your life easier. So maybe there's those None things what I would say keep it practical.

02:31:54.12

mikebledsoe

Know well sudden. Yeah, but both are necessary. Nothing to be Judged. You know having order and not good or bad chaos. Not good or bad. Both are necessary for the development of culture. It's necessary for the development of human beings we go through these phases. And I find that it's it brings a lot more peace when you're in when you can acknowledge what phase you're in and go oh it's a little chaotic if I want things to be different and you know what's the order I want to create and just being being aware of these things can help you move through things a lot more. Smoothly max where can they find you.

02:32:55.55

Max Shank

http://maxshank.com or at max shank.

02:33:27.90

mikebledsoe

Check me out Instagram at Mike Underscore Bletso and you can check out things at the http://bletsoshow.com I also got a summit for the coaches coming up in June if you want to check that out. Go to shop dot destrongcoach dot com. But y'all loving next.

02:33:42.73

Max Shank

Bye later.

Creating A Purpose Driven Life & Loving Family With Ben Greenfield May 12, 2022

Ben Greenfield is a leader in the health industry. He’s spent most of his life building his business… and lately, he’s been committed to being the best father, husband, and man he can be

He’s learned a lot about both along the way, and in this episode, he shares his best insights into how you can do both for yourself

Maximize Your Environment May 09, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Today we're going to talk about the easiest way to improve your life and that is your environment your environment includes people. Your environment includes the physical space physical objects. The actual climate or weather and not only can you perfectly adapt to the environment you're in but actually 1 of the easiest ways to change is just to change your environment and that's one of the reasons that joining a community of. Healthy fit people is by far the easiest way to get healthy and fit yourself because I believe in the 5 monkey rule which is that you become most like the 5 people that you spend the most time with so let's talk about. Environment how to adapt to it. How others have adapted to it in the past and how you can also change it completely which is a very amazing talent. Mike thanks for joining me again.

01:07.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, this is this is a fun topic topic because um I was at a talk couple weeks ago at an event and this guy was talking about the 3 things that that drive change and ah, you're. Changing your environment and the people you're around your community is by far the least stressful and the easiest to comebine and can have the you know, easiest long-term effects. The other two is people make change when the first one is when people make change when something. Horrible Happens. There's something traumatic that happens or like they they had a blind spot and then all something you know someone goes into the doctor and they got holy shit you got diabetes or you got cancer. It's like oh fuck and then you realize that your your you know your life is finite and oh I had better make a change. Ah, that one that finding change and creating change from that place. Not a lot of fun. Um, that one's yeah pain pain and suffering. Um and then the other one being the other one you could do is strategic.

02:09.57

Max Shank

Um, so that's like pain motivation the motivation of pain hunger pain desire Very synonymous.

02:22.51

mikebledsoe

You know someone might go hire a coach and then we create a strategy for maybe do some mindset training or whatever it is on how to get you to change your behavior or your lifestyle just by creating a strategy That's also very difficult. It takes some willpower which we'll say for later time.

02:40.85

Max Shank

Well, it takes proportional desire to the activity that they're willing to undertake I think having a more tactical approach that may include hiring a coach and coming up with a more concrete plan is a great way to go about it. Use your rational mind.

02:41.78

mikebledsoe

But.

03:00.41

Max Shank

I would say that the desire comes from kind of the same place. You feel a lack of health or a lack of community or a lack of confidence or a lack of something and there's some feeling there that makes you go You know what? Not only do I want more but I think it's possible that I could.

03:19.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so and changing your environment and your community. It's by far the easiest that's that's 1 reason that I run my coaching business the way I do and I suggest other coaches do the same which is make them community oriented have people going through the process together.

03:20.23

Max Shank

Get more.

03:38.23

mikebledsoe

Because it does normalize things. You know if you're hanging out with a bunch of people who are running triathlons. That's gonna become a normal thing for you to do if you're playing with hanging out with a bunch of tennis players you be playing tennis if you hang out with a bunch of musicians. You're probably gonna pick up an instrument and. It's going to be almost automatic in a lot of ways. So It's going to be easy. Super super easy.

04:01.14

Max Shank

It will be easy I Think that's an important point that I would like to I'd like to stop at the definition station real quick about the word easy because in.

04:14.12

mikebledsoe

But here we go again.

04:21.14

Max Shank

In practice. Ah easy is something that you that you want to do easy is something that doesn't require a lot of time perhaps but I think difficult and easy are more defined by whether you want to do it or not. I think people find it very easy to do something. They love pretty much all day long so they would be willing to spend a hundred times more effort because it doesn't feel like they have to force themselves to do it because the activity itself is intrinsically enjoyable. And if you join a community that is playful with their goal achieving like there's a lot of playfulness in some entrepreneurs and that is ah maybe a defining characteristic of the ones who do much much better is it's a fun exciting game. That they want to play not not just because they want to purchase a boat in the future but because that game is exciting to them so there's that intrinsic joy in the activity itself that makes something easy. I think I think that's what makes it easy is if you want to do it.

05:34.90

mikebledsoe

Absolutely absolutely yeah I think they as humans we tend to adopt the the desires of others when we're in a group or we choose the group based on our desires or at least we can I don't think that's what happens when we're young and growing up and we're. Pretty much forced to hang out with whoever's in our you know whoever our parents decide to put in our geographical you know sphere. But um, you know some of the some of the easiest changes I've ever made was when I moved locations. Um I.

05:59.94

Max Shank

Um.

06:12.61

mikebledsoe

You know there's so many benefits. Yeah I tell people all the time is if you're gonna if you if you're gonna be moving make a list if you're gonna move. Especially if you're moving to whole new New city. But even if you're moving to a new house or apartment or whatever it is. That's when.

06:13.39

Max Shank

It's a big shakeup. It's a big shakeup.

06:29.60

mikebledsoe

You can introduce new habits most easily because everything in your life is changing so I'll use up. The big thing is if you're moving to a new city. You're likely gonna be hanging out with a whole new social circle and ah, which means that you could either if you if you're not. Intentional about it. You probably end up hanging out with a lot of the same type of people you were hanging out with and you're gonna end up recreating. You know a similar lifestyle of wherever you were so that saying of no matter where you go or wherever you go, you will be there and so what i. What I've done intentionally is when I've landed it in a new town I know that those people they're not going to be judging me on my history because they don't even know it anyone? um anyone we ever interact with is seeing us for for the entirety of. The time we've known each other like when I when I see you max you know I think what we met probably six seven years ago maybe six years ago I'm thinking um I'm basically thinking of max over that entire period of time and probably the things that I was introduced to you initially are gonna stand out.

07:32.97

Max Shank

And.

07:44.50

mikebledsoe

The most and so as you can imagine. Yeah, if you if you live if you live with your you know with your family or near your family. Your family are they're gonna treat you like your a little kid because they knew you as a little kid and so that's.

07:44.96

Max Shank

Like a first impression.

07:57.80

Max Shank

And you'll probably act out that role just the same as you have always been acting out that role.

08:01.92

mikebledsoe

Totally totally. So every time I've moved I've had the opportunity to upgrade my identity I can I can then decide I'm gonna be someone who you know the person the next iteration of myself that I want to be and I can.

08:10.77

Max Shank

The.

08:20.80

mikebledsoe

Consciously choose to present myself to new people in that way and I can be careful about the people I surround myself with who are the people I surround myself with now and it's not same people same type of person that I surround myself with before now. It's not. Dramatically drastic changes. But there are some small changes I've noticed as I've gotten older I've I've shrunk The friend circle quite a bit and gotten more selective because I see you know how influenced how influenced I am by the people.

08:39.53

Max Shank

Further.

08:57.19

mikebledsoe

I surround myself with so if you want to make a change and you want to you know, moving to a new city that I don't think there's ah, a quicker faster easier way to do it Although that may sound like a big fucking deal to somebody because it is but I think that.

09:07.57

Max Shank

Oh.

09:15.44

mikebledsoe

Moving to a new city is you know, logistically maybe difficult but from a making change perspective so much easier.

09:22.61

Max Shank

Yeah, it definitely will shake things up in a big way. Ah, one of the reasons I like talking to new people is exactly what you were talking about I Love talking to new people because I don't know what I'm going to say. And I try not to be too attached to the way I think about things So I I try to really take a conversation as it comes and what I find really interesting is sometimes I will surprise myself with what I say. To a person that I've never interacted with before and it's it's because it's just a different um Interaction. You know this person has no clue who I am I don't have any clue who they are and I'm only bringing what I think right now I'm not necessarily bringing what I thought. Last year. So I'm excited to see like oh this is a really different way that I'm answering this question than the way I used to answer this Question. So I think every time you meet somebody new at least in my case, it feels. It feels different because I'm in such a state of.

10:26.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, no.

10:38.30

Max Shank

Ah, flux.

10:39.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah I agree with that. Yeah different people bring different parts of us out and I you know we're talking about the community. The people you surround yourself with but there's a lot of other environmental factors aside from the people we're surrounded by that impact. How we live our lives. Um.

10:57.61

Max Shank

Well hold hold on before we go on though. Let's let's hone in on the the people thing because I think you want to understand the difference between thinking there are like good and bad people versus there are complementary people. And there are ah mutually destructive pairings so there are like complementary pairings and there are mutually destructive pairings but I try not to think of it like oh this person is better or I'm better and they're worse I mean you could make that argument certainly that some people are better and worse.

11:35.78

mikebledsoe

I Think most will do.

11:35.82

Max Shank

And many people do. But I think of it more like yeah and ah, of course we don't really know what their experience was like so it's such a slippery slope because then you got to like what think their parents were bad or their parents' parents were bad. It's like where does the blame. Really end with the goodness and badness of our Fellows. So I Just think about the fact that there is a different interaction happening. You know, like musical notes you get this note and then this other note you play them together and you get. Ah. A certain frequency and then you meet someone slightly different and the whole interaction is completely Different. So I think the way people interact with each other ah really sets the tone for relationships in a.

12:14.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

12:28.21

Max Shank

In a monumental way so you can be ah playful in Conversation. You can be playful in movement and sport or you know I'm not sure what the opposite of playful is maybe like stiff or like. Hateful Almost I'm not sure I'm not sure what would the opposite of playful would be ah but you know what I'm saying like the interactions with other people are so big in how you evaluate and interpret your life that if they're if they're not playful if they're not loving then.

12:50.57

mikebledsoe

I'm trying to think of it. Now.

13:07.75

Max Shank

Ah, you you it. It can be a real problem and sometimes carving it out is really uncomfortable thought for people but it's not like the other person's bad and I'm good. It's just like this this pairing doesn't work together.

13:15.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

13:22.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and those pairings may not work. They may work together for a period of time and then they don't and it doesn't mean Yeah, ah I've definitely experienced that. Um, that with my my ex-wife even that was there was a period of time where that worked great and then there was a period of time. It stopped working.

13:28.20

Max Shank

Oh yeah, a lot of stuff works for a while. Um I mean if we're talking about. Love Yeah, if we're talking about love. Ah, if we're talking about love and romance I mean my lord.

13:42.16

mikebledsoe

And it served both of us to to walk away. Yeah, what are the antonyms for be sad.

13:47.63

Max Shank

Could be sad.

13:54.00

Max Shank

Be sad and work Those are good opposites so that's.

13:55.89

mikebledsoe

Be sad and work that makes sense.

14:03.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

14:06.40

Max Shank

That's big I think drawing clear boundaries about what kind of interactions you are going to participate in sometimes it is better to just like take your ball and go home play with yourself.

14:14.52

mikebledsoe

I like to I like to extrapolate on these types of things and that you know as above so below you know things that are happening at the smallest level are also happening at the largest level and when I look at say a relationship between 2 people. We can ah extrapolate that out to interactions between different cultures. We could say you know 2 different countries. You know you got a culture over here and that has certain values and you have a country over here. It has certain values and these countries may get along really well these two groups of people.

14:37.49

Max Shank

Um, so it.

14:51.70

mikebledsoe

Me say countries because I think the whole idea is going away but the yeah these two groups of people are either getting along or they have a lot of conflict and I really I think about this a lot and then also what.

14:53.78

Max Shank

At groups.

15:08.32

mikebledsoe

But I like about looking at culture more and large groups of people was I think it's ah easier to see what has created the way that they are as ah as a culture. So I really like to look at the Eu. The european union is a really good example of this and so. What you have ah is you have a lot of the countries in the north and you have a lot of countries in the south that have all they all said you know what we're gonna try to get along. You know we we haven't tried to kill each other in like you know a few decades. So maybe we should you know. All fall under the same currency and you know give each other a pass on the passport thing and all the things that happens with the european union but what happened in the last decade yeah I think was that the the euro was probably what a decade maybe 2 decades old I forget how long it's been around.

15:49.80

Max Shank

Ah.

16:07.86

mikebledsoe

I Think it's been around like 20 maybe a little more than 20 years at this point nonetheless. Um, they basically took all these countries and they put them on the same currency and so some countries whose value of their currency was low automatically got propped up really quick. And in some countries whose value is really high got brought down really quick and what you ended up with was it tan be yeah oh yeah, yeah I thought you're talking about the discrepancy but the yeah.

16:28.61

Max Shank

Right? It's like a marriage it I mean it's like a union you know, know that that's what I'm saying that too I mean in a. Ah marriage or in a business partnership or a union of countries or big groups. Um, you know there's there's give and take and yeah.

16:54.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so so I mean what? what ended ones up ends up happening this this really is a interesting study for me and what ends up happening is you have places like Portugal greece who especially Greece I think from what I understand. They went from being like ah you know, not that wealthy of a country to hopping on the euro and then all of a sudden people didn't have to work much anymore because they were instantly more wealthy and so there was a little less work that had to be done which in Greece there.

17:22.13

Max Shank

Um.

17:30.80

mikebledsoe

They're they're not. They don't work as hard as say the Germans So I think we can look at that's exact. That's what that's what yeah, that's what I'm getting at yeah is when you look at the northern countries in the European Union These countries are very good at planning.

17:34.17

Max Shank

Um, pretty different climate also interesting to think about? yeah.

17:48.93

mikebledsoe

They're very good at saving. Um and they're there's they're way more strategic in a lot of ways whereas when you look at the southern countries you look at italy you've got portugal. You've got greece all these countries life is good. 24 7 3 65 the necessity to think ahead is just so much lower like why would you? you have you have generations of people that didn't really have to think ahead more than a day or 2 and then yeah.

18:16.68

Max Shank

It's in.

18:20.62

Max Shank

Yeah, let's go fit. It's fine. Let's go fishing. We'll be all right? It's fine. Let's go fishing.

18:24.91

mikebledsoe

And exactly and then you have the swedes who if they don't you know it's It's winter is coming. Yeah, it's it's June and they're doing everything they can do to you know, prepare for something that's months and months away.

18:31.48

Max Shank

Winter is coming.

18:41.56

Max Shank

Well and you get the opposite side of the spectrum too when you go to the middle of the freaking desert where it circles back to now it's a different type of harshness of climate and you need a different set of wisdom that is still ah forward thinking.

18:51.26

mikebledsoe

In here.

18:58.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, collecting water.

19:01.50

Max Shank

And I think it's so yeah, it's so fascinating to look at like the Island Lifestyle because that's what we think of when we think of chill vibes. We think of a beach with palm trees and people.

19:17.51

mikebledsoe

This shit happens near the equator.

19:18.47

Max Shank

Taking it easy that that but not in the middle of the desert very severe there. It's just where there's like a union of sunny weather and water and food and it doesn't require a lot of.

19:25.55

mikebledsoe

You're right.

19:36.62

Max Shank

Harsh planning. It doesn't require ah an insane amount of ah like shelter ah manufacturing elegance either. You know.

19:44.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and so like but and this really gets my interest a lot because it really highlights how different groups of people can be and how different individuals can be and. You know when people talk about you know, global currencies or they talk about trying to bring everybody under a standard set of rules and I immediately go you I don't if you if you want to do that I don't think you really understand how this shit works because we. If we try to bring everyone on the same standard. We don't need everyone having the same architectural standards in Hawaii as we do in Maine these are different architectural standards. These are different currency standards. There's these are all very very different and the result in the year Eu was Germany had to come in and bail out Greece basically and there was there was a lot of people that had a lot of feelings about who really should belong in the eu and should they should they build these countries out because they really just had a lack of planning so in my opinion.

20:53.60

Max Shank

Little little more accurate agreement ahead of time a little more clear operating agreement to go on what if this happens what if this have you know some contingency plans right? And and I think yeah.

20:59.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, but yeah, so this was a number of years ago, but it you know things have yeah I don't think things have gotten that much better.

21:15.29

Max Shank

Whenever whenever you're trying to solve something where you think it's really really urgent. You typically don't think forward as many consequences of that band-aid like the quicker you are to slap a solution on you're like okay, everybody drop everything.

21:25.25

mikebledsoe

Right.

21:33.14

Max Shank

Got a solution and they're like but what about what happens next month we can't we don't have time for that. We just have to do this thing right now and next month comes around. You're like hey that solution ah of eating all of our food and burning all the oil. Ah. Is really fucking us over now we we all agree it seemed like a good idea at the time.

21:58.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, but but getting back to is you know? ah your environment where you where you grew up what culturally you know if you had parents to grew up in Russia that you might have an attitude of being a little more um, is it called.

22:07.99

Max Shank

Any.

22:17.27

Max Shank

Severe austere. Yeah.

22:18.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, austere. Yeah, you might have a little more austerity and built into your culture I I have a friend whose family's from the Ukraine and and he moved here when he was about 7 and you know he still has that that you could tell he's still got a little bit like you know we got it. We got to save up for winter type of thing even though we're in Austin Texas.

22:39.80

Max Shank

Tote Yeah and some people have that to a much greater degree and some people have that to a lesser degree. Some people. Ah you know don't have any food at home and feel totally fine and some people don't feel safe unless they have a multiple year. Supply of food at home at all times and that's that's a huge spectrum.

22:58.70

mikebledsoe

My my girlfriend thinks I have my girlfriend says I have food scarcity issues the ah but the more not and I never thought about it I never thought about it in the context of this conversation because now I'm going. Oh um, I'm extremely.

23:04.40

Max Shank

Yeah, um I don't know if she is.

23:17.82

mikebledsoe

Fair skin probably from the north where people had to plan for this. She's she's a quarter Nicaraguan half Mexican and has some European Eastern European in her but like she came from where the the water was flowing and the the sun was abundant.

23:19.16

Max Shank

Ah.

23:36.43

Max Shank

Dude just tell her she has ah equatorial privilege or something like that and see how that goes over you'd be like. Okay, yeah, you guys you guys have a dance festival. We have a farm to tend to.

23:41.00

mikebledsoe

Um, I'll bring that up in the next conversation we get in about such topics.

23:51.36

Max Shank

And some silos that need stocking you guys enjoy the dance festival. So.

23:54.37

mikebledsoe

But ah, but I think a good example of this also is you ever watch game of thrones. So what was what was the attitude of the people from the north and lots of discipline you you do what you say and you say what you're gonna do and.

23:59.66

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

24:05.44

Max Shank

Um, is about as austere as you get is harsh.

24:14.15

mikebledsoe

There is a level of honesty that's necessary because life life was on the line all the time.

24:18.42

Max Shank

And then in the south. It's like orgies and you know just free wheeling and dealing kind of lifestyle down there right? and you know there's a lot of I mean it's a story right? But there's.

24:28.62

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

24:37.98

Max Shank

Ah, guile and lying and backstabbing in all climates. But the austerity of the frozen north versus the temperate tropics is is plain as day in the real world and also in Tv shows.

24:41.40

mikebledsoe

Right.

24:51.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, you're hang out in Jamaica they're they're so relaxed. Well, that's a thing is like I I from hanging hanging out with people who are from the tropical regions and being living in San Diego for a while taught me how to relax I was like oh I just need to chill the fuck out or um.

24:55.86

Max Shank

Oh my god Bahamas is.

25:12.23

mikebledsoe

Stressing myself out. There's something to learn from both.

25:15.10

Max Shank

I Think it's ah wise to do it animal style which is you're either um, like resting or you're focused. You're just focused on what it is. You're doing So I think it's.

25:27.50

mikebledsoe

Um.

25:32.82

Max Shank

Really valuable to um work on a project and really devote yourself to something but all of the the feelings of. Your worthiness attached to your suffering ah that like puritanical shit is probably not very wise. So if you can really party ah like Carnival but then plan like a frozen ah farmer in the tundra then ah. I Think you'll probably find pretty good success and also um, a really enjoyable social life and lifestyle.

26:15.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you get the best of both worlds I mean and it's 2022 so really good to choose that. Even if you live somewhere that does get cold in the winter when you have a heater and you have cars with with heated seats and all this yeah.

26:28.97

Max Shank

Oh yeah, my God but you gotta shovel the walk. Maybe you got to scrape ice off your windshield like I went I went to the mountains.

26:34.92

mikebledsoe

Ah, there's still more austerity there. But what I'm saying is like overall things have become a choice kind of like being fit. Ah you you have the ability to be in the best best shape any human being could ever be in because of all the access to anything you ever wanted. But you can also be in the worst shape and you could.

26:50.00

Max Shank

And.

26:54.43

mikebledsoe

You could just completely waste your life away doing nothing and playing video games because life is so easy and there is abundance or you could or you could choose to use the tools that technology has has given us in order to really leverage.

26:58.30

Max Shank

The.

27:13.25

mikebledsoe

Strategy in a way that makes a really big impact and so the the amount of choice that we have in these things is way higher. So I think it requires a higher level of discipline If you're gonna I think that a lot I think a lot of people tend to.. They don't even really know what austerity is.

27:29.50

Max Shank

There's way more pleasure levers. Well there's so many pleasure levers like you can pull the coffee lever you can pull the Tiktok lever. You can get tits on the telephone you can get drugs delivered to your like I can get booze delivered to my door if I want to. Get drugs I can get all kinds of shit just delivered to me so there are pleasure levers everywhere. So ah, um, I'll bring it back to fasting because that's the most. Ah.

27:51.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

28:02.77

Max Shank

But apart from safety. That's the most significant consistent and primal desire that we work with hunger desire pain all synonyms. So if you can control that 1 thing with conscious ah thought then you have at least the foundation.

28:21.26

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

28:21.44

Max Shank

To control those other things and so um I don't know if there's it's different for everybody though. It obviously seems easier for some people to not eat tons of chocolates than it is for others. Some people. It seems really hard to not eat chocolates and popcorn all day. I find that a little bit challenging myself I would just snack all day long I'll I will just.

28:47.40

mikebledsoe

On' the other way I I'm like I for I'll forget to eat type of thing I've I've had to like stay on top of myself my whole life.

28:52.20

Max Shank

If you're really interested in something ah eating is irrelevant if you're really interested I'll I'll do that too but like I will I'll go a whole day without eating. Yeah.

29:01.93

mikebledsoe

I Think that's accurate. Yeah I'm a very curious person That's probably why I don't eat much.

29:11.18

Max Shank

And I'll do that too unless you put a sandwich in front of me like if I see the food if I see the food. It's It's very likely going to be eaten I mean I'll smell it first to make sure it's good just like any other animal but I'm going to eat that food if I see it.

29:26.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

29:28.92

Max Shank

And I can eat such a tremendous quantity of food. It is. It is outrageous like sometimes I will lift the bowl which is like a giant plate. It's like a twelve inch platter that's two feet deep two inches deep not two feet deep like a barrel two inches deep giant ah bowl and I'll fill it and sometimes I'll be carrying it from the kitchen to the table and I'll go holy fuck this this is heavy lifting lifting. This food is heavy to me. And it'll be like 3 to 5 eggs a couple of brotw worstst some rice and cheese and pesto and ricotta and it just becomes this mass of eggs and cheese and meat and and it's shocking. It's shocking. What's that dude are you kit.

30:16.57

mikebledsoe

On the wonder you got fat. Ah no wonder you got fat.

30:25.52

Max Shank

I will continue eating like a buffet is like a dream.. The only thing is like how much fried chicken versus fried fish am I going to eat at this thing a buffet is like such a perverted Extravagance. Of Human dominance over the food chain like we just have this cornucopia of different animals and plants that you can eat. It is so extravagant I Fucking Love it.

30:52.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean look I'm not that much different if it's in the house I'm gonna fucking eat it like if there's chocolate in here if there's if there's a cake if there's anything that I'm oh.

30:59.63

Max Shank

The. I had cheesecake this morning with with coffee I had a slice of coffee ah cheesecake with a cup of mocha. Oh my Oh my God and.

31:11.62

mikebledsoe

Ah, my mouth is watering now.

31:18.52

Max Shank

It was so delicious and I was just thinking This is what balance really looks like.

31:24.14

mikebledsoe

The well for me I practice I don't have that kind of shit in my house I and and because I cause I practice because I'll eat it out I practice I practice my discipline when I'm shopping So I do my shopping online I try to shop when.

31:30.46

Max Shank

Well yeah.

31:41.13

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

31:44.14

mikebledsoe

I love shopping online for my food because it's not going to get here for 3 or 4 or 5 days like I'm on like a subscription thing and I I I have to have my order in by Tuesday so I write so it arrives on Saturday so I yeah.

31:48.59

Max Shank

You know this.

31:56.95

Max Shank

Ah, that's quite a lot of planning required. You must be from a cold climate.

32:02.30

mikebledsoe

I. Ah, well, ah, well, the company sets it up like that. So if I want to get this massive discount I get it's like 40% off the food because it's you know they're they're reduced the reducing Yeah food weight. Well it's those things they're they're pushing my buttons. Okay, our goal.

32:09.11

Max Shank

Moon.

32:18.10

Max Shank

Guaranteed.

32:24.90

mikebledsoe

This company's goal is to reduce food waste. Okay I like that they're going to take things that are in you know too much supply. Not enough demand and then they're going to package it and send it my door step before it goes bad, perfect and all really high quality organic food.

32:25.85

Max Shank

Love it.

32:33.50

Max Shank

Um, super um.

32:39.34

mikebledsoe

So it's pushing that button for me, it's like oh I want to you know help reduce food waste I'm a good person and then the and then it's it's all very high well I'm saving 40% off of stuff if I were to go to whole foods I'd spend twice as much as what I'm spending here.

32:53.68

Max Shank

So not only do you feel kind good but you feel smart good. Yeah oh yeah, superior Wow you're so you're you're saintly.

32:58.67

mikebledsoe

I feel superior and and good. Yeah yeah, superior and and smart. Yeah, so yeah, yeah, practically and then so so then.

33:11.40

Max Shank

You're practically feeding people.

33:18.24

mikebledsoe

I I really enjoy I didn't always I wasn't always like this but I I enjoy the routine of it as like oh I need to have my order in by I think it's Wednesday at noon I yeah, it's a ritual I got to you know Wednesday at noon and it pops up on my calendar. Oh time to put my misfit market order in and so.

33:28.50

Max Shank

It's like a ritual.

33:37.77

mikebledsoe

Ah, by the way everyone wants the code for that to shoot me a Dm and you'll save ten bucks after your next quarter. Ah I mean I've been trying to squeeze that ad in for like 3 shows. Yeah, so.

33:42.43

Max Shank

I Knew this was an infomercial for for groceries I knew it shoot better. Get paid.

33:55.21

mikebledsoe

The um, so yeah, the and 1 thing I noticed was I didn't order a bunch of bullshit every everyone someone because they do have some bullshit in there I could order some some snack food. Yeah and my impulsivity was greatly reduced knowing.

34:02.94

Max Shank

Um, it's less impulsive. Maybe.

34:13.96

mikebledsoe

I don't get this food until Saturday and I'm normally ordering the time of day that I'm ordering is usually after breakfast. So like I'm um I have energy my willpower is high I'm um my I'm fed so I'm not.

34:14.54

Max Shank

Right? I might not even want chocolates by then? no so you're fed. Wow.

34:30.31

mikebledsoe

Like the worst time you could go shoppings if you're hungry and stoned I mean what are you gonna buy at the grocery store when you're hungry and Stone. So I go in I'm I'm wide awake. Um I'm dialed in I'm fed I'm gonna make good choices. So Anyways, I have I don't remember how I got down that track. But I. I Hope it's helpful for somebody.

34:49.71

Max Shank

It's you know it's an environmental hack. That's what it is. We're we're talking about environment. We're talking about what kind of food makes it into the house because that's where the battle is That's the important battle is what gets past the front door.

34:52.59

mikebledsoe

Really is.

35:06.56

Max Shank

What gets in the house. So if you just have some good security at the gate you are going to have a much easier time and that reminds me of the most significant gate that requires security in your life which is your mouth.

35:06.87

mikebledsoe

That's true. That's true.

35:25.77

Max Shank

Both the things that you say and the things that you consume that that is that is where the ruin of many men really comes from is just weak security at the mouth.

35:28.27

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

35:38.41

mikebledsoe

True Dad True dad. Yeah, ah this makes me but so the concept of making poor decision making difficult or good decision making easy One of the things that I've done is.

35:52.28

Max Shank

Un.

35:57.30

mikebledsoe

I've invested in some crypto and for me to move crypto around or cash it out. It's ah it's a task I cannot without my iphone hit the app on my phone because most 99% of people holding crypto can just pull put in and pull out all willy- nily.

36:14.96

Max Shank

Does it make you more deliberate but less agile.

36:16.74

mikebledsoe

Whenever they feel like it. Absolutely yeah and for for long term investing why you don't need agility. You actually yeah, you want to sacrifice that for the purpose of yeah being deliberate. So.

36:30.33

Max Shank

Especially if you're a very inflammatory decision maker like oh my god it went down 5% I got to sell everything right.

36:36.10

mikebledsoe

Right? right? and um, like I don't even have I don't I can't even look at um, why don't have any apps on my phone to even track what's happening in the crypto markets I haven't looked at my crypto holdings in over a month

36:48.10

Max Shank

Ah.

36:54.50

mikebledsoe

And people are like oh it's going down I'm like okay because I can't see it. It doesn't bother me and the thing is is I'm not gonna I wouldn't cash out anyway. But if I was watching it day to day I'd be experiencing the emotional distress. It's an environmental thing like.

37:00.94

Max Shank

Well, you yeah you.

37:12.14

mikebledsoe

The the apps on your phone is part of your environment the feed the trough I'm always wanted to get like ah I wanted to create a comic of of and maybe there's one out there where the feed is going into a trough and.

37:13.80

Max Shank

Um, maybe like the news perhaps or the feed I mean the feed this the fire hose pointed at your face huh.

37:32.70

mikebledsoe

People are just feeding on it.

37:32.99

Max Shank

Oh I'm sure you could find that comic right now. Ah, but that's a big part of your environment that's chosen I think it's probably rare that a person looks at a screen for less than 2 hours a day. So.

37:36.48

mikebledsoe

Now And um.

37:52.77

Max Shank

that's that's 2 hours of mostly receiving messages from ah a carefully curated environment to make you feel a certain way and you know we're always, we're always talking about mind control essentially because even the actions that you take. You got to use your mind and then outsource it to your legs to get up and run or kick or jump or whatever so looking at the direct influences on your mind that make you think or feel a certain way is huge. You know looking at your. Investments every single day can be fun if you're one of those people or it can be a stressor looking at the news every day can be fun if you're one of those people or it can be a tremendous stressor to you and it's all how you ah.

38:44.77

mikebledsoe

Um I don't know where fun. The news could be but.

38:49.44

Max Shank

I Think some people absolutely get off on it. Um, otherwise they wouldn't keep watching right? Um, there's it's like fear pornography. You know I'm I'm like okay okay horror a horror flick.

38:54.78

mikebledsoe

I Think they're addicted to the I mean it's all dopamine. Yeah yeah, it's the same people who like horror flicks I could care less about horror flick.

39:08.96

Max Shank

By the way have you ever seen a horror movie that was rated pg 13 and really fucking scary have you ever seen something like that. Okay, so have I and it makes me wonder what's so goddamn offensive about a pair of titties I mean if I see.

39:15.47

mikebledsoe

I have.

39:27.71

Max Shank

Okay, so titties are rated R but I can watch a fucking demon rip some like young child in half and then like eat their ah like guts on screen on screen and and I can't see ah an Aryola I mean are this is like.

39:33.24

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, well totally.

39:46.75

mikebledsoe

Dude dude dude. So ah I'm I'm I'm at my this is like five or six years ago I'm at my ex wife's parents house and the ah.

39:47.54

Max Shank

Whose idea is this? What's more damaging.

40:03.21

mikebledsoe

You know it's a holiday and they're watching movies you know Tv's on all day and then he's a baptist preacher and so anything that involves sex at all is just a big. No. No, we're watching this horror flick and people are just getting murdered left and right it's like the most violent thing ever. And then there's this sex scene that comes on just for a minute he changes the channel and he's like why do they gotta put that in there and I'm sitting there yeah ah I'm sitting there I'm going I like my my brain was just melting in that.

40:29.62

Max Shank

No way.

40:42.69

mikebledsoe

Spot I I couldn't even say anything I just remember looking at my ex mean like what? what's happening like this was okay. So so the the demonstration the demonstration of destruction.

40:42.97

Max Shank

Wow.

40:51.17

Max Shank

That is that is like a caricature. That's so funny to me. That's what we're talking about.

41:01.25

mikebledsoe

And death and murder and violence totally fine, but the act of love is is the thing we want to avoid that's ah it's very interesting.

41:14.31

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, that's that's really weird. But I mean that is pretty much on brand for for religion to be okay with ah killing a lot of folks but not necessarily having orgies on the altar.

41:30.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

41:33.52

Max Shank

In fact, the the folks who did orgies on the altar the ah the bigger religions were the first ones to to to stop them doing that right woa. Okay, so you're you're so you're I'm.

41:40.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, get a so it is back on track.

41:53.40

Max Shank

Um, bringing this train back on the tracks because we were talking about how the screens are a part of your environment and it's really important to be honest with yourself about how big of an impact they are on your environment from a percentage standpoint because whatever you.

41:58.69

mikebledsoe

Um.

42:11.65

Max Shank

Ah, pay attention to that's essentially what your universe is like it's your perspective of what's going On. So Whether you're watching horror films or pornography or the news which is basically like fear pornography. It's like the stakes are high and we're going to terrify you. But somehow if you had never heard about this thing. It wouldn't have made a difference.. That's what's so shocking to me.

42:35.00

mikebledsoe

You know what are some of the things that ah ah, some of the conscious choices you've made about your environment that help you live the the life that you really want to be living enhance the lifestyle.

42:53.00

Max Shank

Oh my god I do have a television in my house and it's huge. Just like my genitals. That's how that's how you measure right? I got a giant truck I have a giant Tv I'm here at a party.

42:54.71

mikebledsoe

You have a television in your house. Where's it position.

43:06.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's pretty much all you need.

43:12.30

Max Shank

Um, no my my environment is amazing I have an environment that makes it so easy to play and to exercise my brother came over with his niece or my niece his daughter and son and there's a park. Across the street from my house and and I have every toy I have balls and frisbees and sticks and ropes and games and things like that and it's It's really just the most fun place to be ever and you don't you don't um. You don't play because it's like going to burn calories or because you're going to get some Ah I don't know some ulterior Motive. You just do it because it's fun. Like for its for its own Sake. So My my house is very much.

44:05.51

mikebledsoe

There's There's no, there's no necessity necessity for progress to be made.

44:09.18

Max Shank

Yeah I mean it's fun to play better at something but playing is by far the best I mean winning is great but playing is the best and once you get to that point then you'll see life a lot differently because you also won't tolerate. Encounters that are not playful and fun like the more you hold a high standard for the types of interactions you want to be in conversations can be kept playful ah activities and sport can be kept playful. It's like. Do you really want to talk with someone who's getting angry and yelling at the time. No Do you really want to play tennis with someone who is getting angry and yelling at the time on the tennis core. It's like no, you don't want to tolerate those sorts of um energies really. So My environment physically is amazing. It's practically cheating I have a pool hot tub I got the whole like spa here at home I Got an outdoor area for exercising I got all the fun Toys Tennis courts across the street. Ah, friends who live close by which is maybe even more important and then the gym is a giant playground really total unfair advantage. Great community, Great friends Once again, um. You You do stuff just because it is fun to do not because you you will get other benefits. No question but ah, just doing stuff that is intrinsically fun with people that you care about is is a huge. Unfair Advantage. So Both the physical spaces that I most occupy and the people that I engage with are very playful, lighthearted funny and I don't have to like filter myself like I can say ah like titties. If I want to and they won't get offended or change the station. So ah, the environment is very open for ah experimentation, exploration and falling or failing which is a big part of learning to I mean I could talk about this literally all day Because. Ah, that's the easiest way to provide a good ah gym environment is to create a community and a space where falling and failing is safe to do both ego wise. Ah so more like metaphorically and then also physically.

46:57.42

Max Shank

Like do you have crash pads. Can you teach people How to fall can you? um you know explore your limits without having to be afraid both verbally and physically so I think um I think it's invaluable.

47:11.97

mikebledsoe

Beautiful, beautiful. Um, yeah, yeah, well I'll speak about my situation and but I I moved to Austin Texas because I was looking for a new environment to live in I left intonnita is before.

47:18.98

Max Shank

That's the easy way.

47:31.41

mikebledsoe

Covid hit I think sometimes when I talk to people in Austin I'm like oh you're one of those people that flood California when covid hit. It's like well I left before I was looking for something new before all that mess. Um, and I I wasn't getting I wasn't getting what I needed there for some reason even though.

47:39.50

Max Shank

Ah.

47:50.68

mikebledsoe

Where you live is basically heaven. Um.

47:53.46

Max Shank

Well, you had a lot of things that you were doing that you stopped doing there right? I mean correct me if I'm wrong but was that the time when you like switched businesses and relationships and locations pretty much all at the same time like you're like.

48:07.16

mikebledsoe

All the same time.

48:11.10

Max Shank

I Don't know what needs to change. So let's change all of it I get it.

48:13.18

mikebledsoe

Ah, pretty much pretty much I think I think um, nothing fit anymore and I ended up traveling around I chose Austin Texas because you know I didn't think I wanted to live near a city. But then I realized how much I love all the different amenities.

48:32.16

Max Shank

I am.

48:32.28

mikebledsoe

And what I realized also is community is the most important thing to me if I yeah my my girlfriend and I we we were I remember we were down in Columbia ah, not this past January about a year and a half ago and you know the world was being.

48:37.73

Max Shank

What.

48:51.93

mikebledsoe

Was fairly chaotic. We were in lockdowns half the time when we were there. We had the January sixth thing going on up here and I'm like man this is a very disappointing time I don't know what's going to happen next. It seems like this whole situation isn't getting better. It's only getting worse. Okay, if we were gonna get stuck in one because. We're basically stuck in 1 spot for four or five days at a time multiple times while we were there so I'm like all right if we get stuck somewhere for 5 years So let's just do the the thought experiment. Yeah, the thought experiment is you can't leave five mile radius for 5 years

49:21.47

Max Shank

5 years

49:29.75

mikebledsoe

Where do you live and and that really got us thinking in a whole new set of terms and the result ended up being Austin Texas because we also realized that if we're gonna be 5 years say we can't leave a five mile mile race in 5 years thing that matters the most is who we're surrounded by so we looked to south for and we looked at Austin because we we had a lot of friends moved to both and and so we ended up here in Austin and made my my ah end up buying a house and the location I bought my house is.

49:54.43

Max Shank

Oh yeah, oh.

50:07.31

mikebledsoe

Ah, 15 minutes from this place called Kuyja where I saw it in cold plunge two 3 4 days a week and I used to have a son and cold plunge in my house and I and I was planning on getting my own but I realized that when I go do it in community cause I train at my my house I don't. I don't really do a lot of training outside of my house I don't have like that I'm not getting my community somewhere else. Um I'm doing a little more now I'm getting back into it now that? Ah yeah, I'm getting some shit aligned.

50:29.18

Max Shank

You don't really do a lot of training period right? You don't really do a lot of training at all.

50:45.30

mikebledsoe

But um, the.

50:46.14

Max Shank

Ah I'm I'm a fine one to talk. It's sometimes really hard to get me to do like strength exercise.

50:52.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah I I probably lived heavy once a week and then I'd fuck around the rest of the time so it is it is now.

50:59.67

Max Shank

That's good. It's hard when you're already really strong like I hardly am going to get that much more benefit and I know that's not a popular take for a fitness guy but but.

51:12.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well the thing is when you got 20 years of fitness under your belt like my girlfriend's like you barely work out and how do you you got muscles and you're strong and I go I've been doing this for twenty years Twenty five years I've been lifting weights for 25 years I don't have to do a lot more.

51:23.48

Max Shank

Um, yeah, yeah, maintenance on a maintenance on a skyscraper is very different than building 1

51:31.95

mikebledsoe

Yes, so but I chose to to live somewhere that's driving distance. That's easy to go to this place because that's where I get my community fix. So I go hang out if I have a sun and cold plunge in my house I found that I was doing about once a week when I spend. Couple hundred bucks a month to be a member at this place I'm invested partly because I'm paying for it. But that's part of it. But also it's actually overall cheaper than having a sana and cold plunge I mean that sana I had was like $18000 and.

51:54.42

Max Shank

You're invested.

51:59.40

Max Shank

The people.

52:06.78

mikebledsoe

Cold plunges run like 3 to $5000 yeah and I have but.

52:08.10

Max Shank

Well, you can get those both a lot cheaper, but okay, yeah, that is our 18 k for a sauna that is extravagant I know what saunnas cost that's like Johnny Rockefeller sauna over here.

52:17.82

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah yeah, ah and you had some bells and whistles. Um, but I go and I for the community. So like environment wise.

52:28.88

Max Shank

Yeah.

52:35.44

mikebledsoe

Like there's certain things I put in place that cause me to interact with people because I know myself in that I'm a very social person but unless there's a reason to see somebody I'll stay at home. Yeah I'll stay at home I'll make my own food I'll.

52:47.66

Max Shank

Feels frivolous if there's no reason for it. Yeah.

52:53.33

mikebledsoe

Train in my gym I'll work at the house I'll read. It'll be getting dark outside and I realize that I haven't seen anybody in three days and that that's just not good for my mental health and or my girlfriend either because she'll get caught up in the same thing.

52:55.64

Max Shank

Totally.

53:01.37

Max Shank

Totally and it's hard to it's hard to recognize from the first person perspective that you're that you're lacking that because you get in your head right? You're in your head you're in your head you're in your head.

53:10.54

mikebledsoe

Totally totally.

53:19.17

Max Shank

That's why it's so valuable to have people and activities where you get out of your head and you just are ah enjoying being with the community or in communion in communication with ah other people. It's It's really big so we have the places and the peoples basically.

53:29.59

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

53:37.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

53:38.61

Max Shank

Of environment and also the the stuff there are some. There are some things that make it way way easier.

53:45.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, or what? ah ah I put little like things in place I make little rules for myself or I'll make something like I said earlier difficult or easy and one of the things is I desire to work on my garden in the backyard. So I got a new house. And I want to have a garden. You know there's a bit of a garden already going from the previous owner. So I hired someone to mow my lawn but there they only mow the front I have to do the back and if I don't go back there and do something in the garden area at least once a week

54:05.50

Max Shank

The.

54:21.67

Max Shank

It'll get gnarly.

54:22.67

mikebledsoe

It'll start getting gnarly. So and I'm gonna look at it every fucking day every day I walk through my living room and I'm gonna look in my backyard and go man that shit's getting gnarly so it causes me and and when I do get out there i' finished work. You know 4 5 six p m I get out there and I start gardening I love it.

54:25.24

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

54:41.95

mikebledsoe

Got my shirt off out in the sun feels good like it's the best way to end the day and you know if I had no if I if I ah had if I hired if I if I told the people.

54:42.84

Max Shank

F. Not really optimizing your exercise though with that.

54:57.44

mikebledsoe

Cutting my grass cost me twenty more dollars for them to do my backyard too. You know from a mathematical perspective. You're like wow the amount of time you'd save but it wouldn't it wouldn't cause me to go take action in the garden. So little things like that. Ah.

54:59.83

Max Shank

Well worth it.

55:15.80

mikebledsoe

You can you can set up for yourself make make it a little inconvenient to do to not do something.

55:21.45

Max Shank

And I think the idea of making everyday things into rituals can be really healing for some people and if you're not if you're not rushing through the gardening if you're just doing it at a comfortable pace. And you're really with the task I think that can be really beneficial for you.

55:43.65

mikebledsoe

That I just I um I noticed I've become way more process oriented less results oriented when I look at the what I what I love about the garden is it would never be done. You can't finish that project.

55:52.28

Max Shank

Ah.

55:59.68

Max Shank

Yeah I mean can you ever ah that okay, so the idea of truly ever finishing a project because as soon as you finish 1 you think of things that you would do differently or want to change.

56:12.47

mikebledsoe

Totally. But if you were to build a cabinet right? or you build a dresser and then you put it in your room and it's complete project's done and a lot of people in a race to get it done or.

56:20.98

Max Shank

Yeah, the project's done but you might still feel some lingering thoughts. Yeah, that's it I think the the racing.

56:31.67

mikebledsoe

Brett I would love about the garden is because you know it you can't finish it. It's more about yeah I'll just be out here for an hour and I'll just do what I can do in an hour

56:35.17

Max Shank

Yeah, well, it's the difference I mean maintenance like that is very different than creation of something. Especially you know a living breathing thing like your yard versus. Let's say a cabinet. Which would require some maintenance depending on how it's built certain maintenance depending on how it's built but the garden is very different because there's no,, There's no finality to it because it's always growing right.

56:56.21

mikebledsoe

57:07.38

mikebledsoe

No.

57:12.97

Max Shank

I think being ah in touch with dirt and grass and trees and water is really valuable and I don't have a specific study that I would like to cite to to prove that that is the case but I don't think it's too bold to say that ah Animals. Should touch the ground and the trees sometimes.

57:34.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah I when I go to bed night if I if I've spent time in my yard barefoot on the ground moving some shit around whatever it is if I do that between being in the dirt and then.

57:48.17

Max Shank

And.

57:53.42

mikebledsoe

Being present while the sun is going down my ability to go to to bed that night the mind is relaxed. The body is relaxed. You know that you can look at the studies on what happens with sunsets and hormones. Maybe you're staring at a computer screen.

57:55.11

Max Shank

And.

58:12.14

mikebledsoe

Or television screen when the sun goes on outside you pretty much missed this your body's missing the signal that it was time to go to bed and that's why it? yeah you got to stop working.

58:21.79

Max Shank

That requires good planning. Well I think that's maybe the fourth dimension of environment I'm just riffing here. But if you I always come really prepared.

58:33.40

mikebledsoe

I Thought this show was nothing but a big riff.

58:41.21

Max Shank

I Don't know what I don't know what you do I don't maybe the audience can tell that difference too. But no I don't know. Ah I think time is is environmental also because time is like a container and it goes back to what we were talking about with when you turn it on.

58:50.36

mikebledsoe

Move. Um, well, it's definitely a structure. So yeah, it is container.

58:59.38

Max Shank

And focus. Yeah, and I know for myself. Ah, and people I've coached and known if there's ah a timer counting down things seem to happen a lot faster. And if there's not a timer counting down with an endpoint things happen. However, slow or fast they go. There's just no telling what's gonna happen. But if you set out if you set the stage right? and you say this half hour in this space so this environment of space this environment of time I'm going to do x and then you promise yourself that you're going to stop when the timer is done that is a really good way to. Balance that on off switch so you can really be on instead of just being like half on all the time I have a tendency to always be thinking about this kind of stuff that you and I are discussing on Mondays. How to do a better job coaching people. Ah, mentally physically how to do a better job creating books and videos for people how to make the gym run more smoothly. all all that stuff so it's good to just have a notebook close by if you think of something naturally, but. There's also a big advantage to having these time containers I'm going to sit down here. I'm not going to do anything except this one task and when the timer's up I'm done and of course you got to be flexible with that. But I think.

01:00:46.93

mikebledsoe

That's um, that's pretty much what I use for work is I use a software called Mardut method and it's got a program my entire business into it and some tasks.

01:00:47.38

Max Shank

That That's a really valuable way to hack the environment.

01:00:58.26

Max Shank

Here.

01:01:02.28

mikebledsoe

Related to projects. Some are one off tasks and there are other things called chores chores are the ones that repeat on a certain frequency and the frequency is completely customizable but I end up like I knew that when I logged into my to work today that I had 12 tasks to complete. Some of those tasks take a minute or 2 some them some of them will take 2 to 3 hours um well a couple of them will take 2 to 3 hours um and Mondays ah along like Mondays and Tuesdays are long and then the the rest of the week kind of dwindles down and you know fucking off. But.

01:01:24.10

Max Shank

It's pretty cool.

01:01:39.91

mikebledsoe

The ah but I I hit the play button on the task and all the other tasks disappear and a timer starts on that task and so it it over time. It starts predicting how much.

01:01:40.54

Max Shank

Sounds optimized for productivity folks.

01:01:50.29

Max Shank

On that task. Cool.

01:01:58.99

mikebledsoe

How much work you have ahead of you that day. So I logged in this morning goes you have 7.1 hours of work ahead of you today. It's like oh interesting by Friday it'll say like you know an hour and a half or half an hour but the ah just want to give people.

01:02:13.70

Max Shank

If my to do list good god if my if my to do list said you're going to work for 7 hours today I think I would just shoot myself.

01:02:16.42

mikebledsoe

Um, ah give people a realistic view of how much I work I don't want to think I work myself to death.

01:02:28.56

mikebledsoe

It's a long day what you know it's funny is I was I was working I was working like four or five hours a day five days a week and I and I ended up stacking my schedule I actually enjoy just spending two days plowing

01:02:30.89

Max Shank

Ah, not actually that's a little too morbid. Yeah.

01:02:44.77

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

01:02:46.30

mikebledsoe

And then the third day kind of a midday thing and then Thursday Fridays chill but but hitting that play button and knowing that I'm being timed on the task keeps me on task because I I want an accurate recording of what's happening because.

01:02:54.14

Max Shank

Um, Ah, yeah. Ice and ah.

01:03:03.87

mikebledsoe

But the more accurate it becomes the ah the quicker you know things happen in my business. It is more honest, yeah in a while.

01:03:09.36

Max Shank

It's more honest, It's more honest too I started doing timestamps even in my notebook just writing I just put the the time in brackets of when I when I stopped writing and when I started writing and.

01:03:23.64

mikebledsoe

Wow I Only do the date I Only have the date I write my notes in order of when they came to the ideas came to me too.

01:03:26.78

Max Shank

Ah, because I'll what's that yeah I like to look at how long I was. That's a smart organizational tool. And then what I'll do after is I'll be like okay, stop at Eleven Thirty nine but then I'll maybe jot like a few bullets of what I want to continue writing about for next time. So I can come back? um.

01:03:53.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, nice.

01:04:00.46

Max Shank

I Think that's I think that's pretty good I think we covered a lot of important stuff. We didn't really riff too much on the specific differences between cultures and climates. But I think ah is pretty straightforward how that was fun.

01:04:09.58

mikebledsoe

Now we didn't get into I think people get it I think we used a couple examples and yeah, yeah, and I think we can appreciate. That's a big benefit of traveling are you and I have both traveled all over the world and.

01:04:18.88

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:04:23.38

Max Shank

Big time.

01:04:27.49

mikebledsoe

You get to see the value in all these different cultures and and get to see that everybody is at the core the same but also seeing all the differences and the beauty and that and.

01:04:36.56

Max Shank

01:04:43.37

mikebledsoe

You know one place couldn't exist with the existence of the other like like the re yeah the reason the Canadians can have cheap health care is because the Americans are paying for all of it. You know and no, it's just.

01:04:47.16

Max Shank

Man Absolutely and.

01:04:56.66

Max Shank

Ah, there is a lot of stuff like that I think I think ultimately compassion is about perspective and compassion is sort of a superpower because the further you extend it the less resentful you become. Less ah prideful and superior and fearful you become and compassion ah is all about perspective. Can you can you understand just how different that other person may be you don't know what their environment's like you don't know what their parents were like you don't Know. What kind of stories they used to believe or currently believe and I think environment is a big part of that you know because then you can also have compassion for yourself and you can set up your environment as if you were a retarded chimp. That's what I do basically. I Just imagine that I am a full or half retarded chimp at my core and I'm looking for pleasure and I'm looking to go away from Pain. So if I set my telephone in the drawer out of sight out of mind if I put the cheesecake out of sight out of mind.

01:06:02.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

01:06:13.48

Max Shank

It's going to be a lot easier to avoid those things and if I'm doing it from a place of compassion then I'm a little more understanding of the decisions I've made in the past and I recognize that you know you're not going to do everything perfectly and neither is everybody else I think that's.

01:06:30.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I think the the traveling and seeing where everyone else where a lot of other people came from is is key in having compassion but also just going through a process of being compassionate for yourself because I think that anyone who has really dug deep and found.

01:06:30.97

Max Shank

Ah, big part of this too.

01:06:35.45

Max Shank

More more more big.

01:06:49.83

mikebledsoe

Where they they've judged themselves in you know we tend to judge our our previous self based on what we know now which if we can get out of that and really have compassion for what created the the being that we are right now I've found that.

01:06:51.38

Max Shank

Um, oh yeah.

01:07:07.57

mikebledsoe

That that's created the most amount of compassion for others because I go man I've been through some shit and you know what it's okay, I'm doing a great job and I'm gonna continue to do better and this and that and then the the more compassion I had for myself I look at other people and go who the fuck knows. What? what? they've been through like if if if I had to Deal. You know my life is pretty good and if I had to go through a lot of crazy stuff that that I needed to forgive myself for these other people they need to as Well. So I don't I don't need to come down on anybody.

01:07:41.50

Max Shank

Well, they're animals exactly you me them were animals within an environment and we're just trying to survive and some of us get past just trying to survive and we go ooh how about thriving.

01:07:45.40

mikebledsoe

They're they're doing it to themselves.

01:07:57.59

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:07:59.85

Max Shank

And we try to be like a little more of you know mating possibilities a little more legacy type of opportunities right? But ah, most most people are just trying to survive in the environment using what they know and.

01:08:14.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:08:19.39

Max Shank

Really easy to be compassionate for people if you recognize that.

01:08:21.70

mikebledsoe

You know you know what's ah, let's wrap this bad boy up what's where can people find you.

01:08:31.99

Max Shank

Http://maxshank.com you can find me and couple spots left for the the partner agility and strength system course June Eleventh ah maxshank dot Com slash pass first one ever. Ah I don't want to I don't want to exaggerate how good it is but it is by far better than any other personal training system in the history of time. So if you're interested.

01:08:59.89

mikebledsoe

I I would ah I haven't seen it but I believe you I believe you he's probably right? He's right about a lot of things folks. Ah for the.

01:09:06.76

Max Shank

Um, yeah. Save that clip.

01:09:14.87

mikebledsoe

For the for the coaches out there. I've got a virtual summit coming up at the end of June June Twenty third through twenty fifth if you go to shop I think if you go to shop http://dotthestrongcoach.com you'll you'll find it there. Um. We'll we'll definitely be taking signups in a week or so be on the lookout for it. It's a name your own price. You can pay anything between a dollar and two hundred and ninety seven dollars I just asked that you pay something that has you committed to the process three day event where I'm bringing in some great speakers that are gonna share how they built their coaching businesses. So.

01:09:43.81

Max Shank

Wow.

01:09:51.70

mikebledsoe

Have some heavy hitters there. You'll definitely want to make it and we're recording it. So even if you can't make it live super easy. My brother love you.

01:09:57.59

Max Shank

Sweet Love you brother take care. Thanks everybody.

A Feeling, Thought & Emotional Masterclass With Michael Cazayoux May 05, 2022

From drug-addict to successful entrepreneur, turned husband, father, and a deeply vulnerable man leading other men to lives of freedom…

Listen in for a Masterclass on Emotional Awareness from Michael Cazayoux and become a better human today

It’s Time You Took NFTs and Crypto Seriously With Aleks Rybchinskiy Apr 28, 2022

Are you still questioning the validity of crypto, NFTs, DeFi, and more?

If so, it’s not too late. In fact, you’re still early…

Listen in to this week's episode with Aleks Rybchinskiy to discover why it’s finally time you took decentralized currencies seriously

Monday Morning - Fluid Identity & Tribalism Apr 25, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're gonna be talking about how to make better decisions using using vision values and boundaries and I'll tell you what we've already gotten into some interesting conversation before we fired up the mics and that's why we decided we need to just get this show started right now because we were getting. Often to some interesting weeds because we'll probably talk about genetics as well. How you doing max.

00:25.52

Max Shank

I'm doing good man I'm excited to talk about this I think that the more wealth you get the more time you can spend and the less overall decisions. You must make. Ah, investing is a good example of that where you have a really high amount of Leverage. So Every decision is very significant and the precision. Ah and accuracy of those decisions is amplified because a small error one way or the other can really. Increase the cost and reduce the benefit. So all the way from deciding what to pull out of the fridge to eat and deciding which company to invest to and which partner to Choose. It's the most important thing ever and a lot of things influence your decision making.

01:15.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, one of the things that brought this up for me is I I have this whole. Ah I have a lot of momentum in my life to travel and there's a lot of events and ah. I I started to notice that I desire to attend less and less things and spend more time at home and really honing in on what's really important and what's not important in getting into these conversations with my girlfriend and really noticing you know. You know if you have no vision and you're trying to make decisions then you're really doomed to the momentum of the past you're not gonna create anything new Consciously. So well, there's 2 factors here. You're you're gonna repeat the past and. And the patterns of the past. But also you're way more susceptible to other people's visions. So if somebody else is intentionally creating a vision and you're being impacted by that and you've created no vision whatsoever for yourself then you you probably won't even notice. That you they you may wonder how did I get to this place in my life. Well you it was a mixture of repeating your your historical patterns and the historical patterns of others and the intentional vision of others as well.

02:45.94

Max Shank

It doesn't sound good. That's for sure. ah ah I totally relate on the traveling thing as you know I traveled like an absolute maniac for many years

02:51.43

mikebledsoe

Ah, don't be a sucker.

03:04.96

Max Shank

I think I was like ah like a street cred Conquistador I would go to different cities around the world and I would teach the Holy Gospel of whatever I knew at the time and pretend like it was this. Massive Authority and people responded favorably to that which was so weird I can't I can't explain what that shift was like because I rose up so fast from being a personal trainer. Going to attend certifications to being only a couple years older and teaching those certifications and I was just trying to grab as much alphaness and street cred and want people to love Me. Maybe even Adoration I think.

03:58.82

mikebledsoe

I got there I think.

04:00.43

Max Shank

And right and that was what I saw as the best model the people who were the best in health and fitness industry were the ones who wrote the books and flew around the world teaching seminars and. I've always been one to ah hit the eject button really fast as soon as the appropriate catalyst is there so I went from 20 to 30 trips a year flying and teaching all over to 0 within one weekend. Just chose I was like wow I don't think I actually like this I just want people to like me more than other people. How greedy does that sound I want people to like me way more than other people. So I'm going to keep sacrificing whatever i. Actually want to do and might have fun with and might be ah sustainable or I can you know keep doing this thing where I I just hope people will love me if I do it good enough.

05:11.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah, oh what's your relationship to compliments.

05:16.64

Max Shank

Ah I would have to get one first but ah I would imagine if someone did give me a compliment I would deflect it I would deflect it humorously.

05:27.62

mikebledsoe

Max you're you're so you not. So would you say maybe you you started getting compliments and you you didn't like it.

05:38.27

Max Shank

Um I started feeling exposed ah like people would just it was so weird, almost everywhere I go people would recognize me like on the street or in a store and that was a.

05:42.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, by right? You're getting more attention and you felt exposed.

05:53.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

05:58.50

Max Shank

Was a total mind fuck and I'm I'm like in the big scheme of things compared to Bill Murray or something like that I'm nobody but just being recognized when you think you're a stranger in a crowd it. It was a total mind fuck I mean I didn't.

06:16.23

mikebledsoe

You're not yes.

06:17.10

Max Shank

It wasn't like harmful that part but I had to fortunately I had the luxury to reevaluate how I wanted to live my life and I realized I I didn't want to be hustling around on planes and in and out of hotels and so.

06:33.57

mikebledsoe

So yeah, what? what? ah was can you think of what what created that because usually there's sometime of real a birthday.

06:36.18

Max Shank

The boundary came up really fast and I've.

06:43.49

Max Shank

Is Birth Birth is birthday I do some good introspection around birthdays and I I went to the Bahamas with a good friend of mine and it was no I didn't work at all. And it was that was rare and I just hung out on the beach and I ran around and played games and went on water slides I was like wow this is this is really fun and it's not because ah you know later I'll get more if I do a good job.

07:19.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:22.32

Max Shank

It was just fun. Yeah, so.

07:28.69

Max Shank

You know what catalyst means something that causes or accelerates a reaction without changing and I thought that was really I just looked this up the other day.

07:32.83

mikebledsoe

No no.

07:42.88

mikebledsoe

Would that be like ah an enzyme that that would would cause the change but maintains its own attributes. Interesting.

07:46.54

Max Shank

Exactly. Yeah, and I had never known that before and it was such a cool thing because I realized that's what I would Ah, that's how I would like to do things ah from ah. I would say from a teaching perspective but that's not really the full story because actually one of the best things about teaching is that you do ah become changed quite a lot from the different variety of students that you interact with yeah.

08:20.16

mikebledsoe

But I've learned more teaching never did from sitting in a room. Yeah.

08:25.63

Max Shank

So it so it doesn't really make sense that way but I definitely think the concept of a catalyst is really cool. It's like you don't have to give some of yourself and diminish yourself so that you can create that reaction again.

08:27.99

mikebledsoe

I think I think being a.

08:35.23

mikebledsoe

Totally, there's ah, there's a conversation we have in my strong coach curriculum early on which is creating distinctions so you have you have definitions of words but you also have distinctions and that means that. And the reason we have those is because in in our society people tend to collapse the definitions of 2 words because they don't actually know the definitions and they don't create a distinction between the two and we talk about service and sacrifice and how that's a very common collapse distinction in the.

08:59.46

Max Shank

Right.

09:09.83

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

09:13.33

mikebledsoe

Entrepreneurial world. Um, it's it's ah if you look at the different cat The you know the the Us caste system. You know we got our different classes of people and so the the blue collar class which is what.

09:29.31

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

09:31.88

mikebledsoe

But I came from is the service and sacrifice are almost sine synonymous right? and they ah they get those words are interchanged. You know part of that's part of that's a.

09:37.77

Max Shank

And.

09:51.30

mikebledsoe

Probably due to christianity and you know Jesus Christ as as the servant that made the greatest sacrifice I imagine that's put together. Also, if also if.

09:53.61

Max Shank

Yeah.

10:02.52

Max Shank

It's a more compelling story. It's a more compelling So story if you sacrifice yourself. Um I don't think it's a healthy attitude. But I think a lot of people are under the impression that if you are wounded in some way in the service of others. Then you get a little bit more street cred and it it does make a more compelling story.

10:23.56

mikebledsoe

There's there's it's it's noble and you should be proud and that's yeah, so it this what I notice after working you know digging around at a bunch of people's minds.

10:27.93

Max Shank

A martyr.

10:39.52

mikebledsoe

And I've worked with people who ah, most of the people I've worked with come from a blue collar background or their parents were in some way and a handful of people who grew up in homes where you know, ah the relationship to money was very different. The the way they lived. Their lives were very different things were.

10:57.89

Max Shank

10:57.93

mikebledsoe

Little easier and they don't have that collapse distinction. They they go Oh this is service and the sacrifice these are different things I've I've taught people this before and in a room and some people are like yeah duh. It's like oh tell me about how you grew up. Okay, oh someone who's.

11:08.19

Max Shank

Man.

11:14.54

Max Shank

No.

11:17.36

mikebledsoe

Who goes Oh my God that was a huge exercise for me. It's like oh how did you grow up interesting here and so also if you're if you're somebody who's in power. So say you're you're running a country or something like that if you can convince the lower class people that. Must sacrifice in order to be of service and if you're not being of service then you're a leech on society and you don't feel good about yourself If You're not sacrificing So It's a really good story to tell in order to get people to enlist in the military.. It's a really good story to tell.

11:42.93

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

11:55.87

mikebledsoe

People to sign up for all sorts of jobs where you may lose your life or a limb or is incredibly demanding of your time and energy. And yeah, it's the more I've dug into this the more. Disgusting. It seems in some ways. Um, if it's being used intentionally now if it's if this is just like the unintentional use of language over time and so on and so Forth. Then you know there's you know there's there's intentional use of it.

12:15.73

Max Shank

It is.

12:24.80

Max Shank

Um.

12:32.90

mikebledsoe

Which would be considered Evil There's the the ignorance. Maybe they're just being ignorant is ignorant use of it. Which means that you know ignorance and laziness go hand in hand because Ignorance is ah the activity of ignoring. So The the. Information is present but you choose to ignore it because it's uncomfortable and lazy people tend to avoid discomfort and then and then you yeah I mean well well, there's.

12:52.93

Max Shank

Ah.

13:03.87

Max Shank

Doesn't everybody devoid Avoid discomfort though I mean I don't want people to have a complex if they feel lazy Lazy is the natural state lazy and ignorant are the instinctual states which I think we can talk about more later.

13:10.96

mikebledsoe

Well, there's well, there's well, there's I agree. Totally totally totally. So then you have so you have intentional. You have ignorant and then and then you have just nation.

13:20.95

Max Shank

Yeah.

13:28.65

mikebledsoe

Which means that you just have not been exposed to the information at all and so I like that create distinctions between nations and or nasance and and ignorance because ignorance is you've been presented with the information and you've ignored it. So.

13:31.73

Max Shank

Right.

13:44.37

Max Shank

Um, that's so interesting I bet a lot of people think of ignorant as they don't know which is different than ignore and like you're ignoring as an active choice I I think that's ah, really interesting. You bring that up.

13:46.62

mikebledsoe

Of. Yeah, yeah, or it. Yeah. Exactly.

14:04.37

Max Shank

I bet because I used to use ignorant that way too like oh I was ignorant like I didn't know but it's more that I knew and ignored it that is a huge shift in that word. Huge.

14:08.77

mikebledsoe

Well here's the other thing is ah huge huge difference and a lot of people are ignoring things that they'll claim their nation to like oh I just didn't know it's like no that that was sitting there. You know there was.

14:21.25

Max Shank

Got it I didn't know. Yeah.

14:28.20

mikebledsoe

So like it's like walking into a room and there's ah, there's an elephant in the corner and you're for some reason you just don't notice it. It's like no it. It's been sitting there. Yeah talking about the elephant in the room right? that some people are surprised. Yeah, people are surprised by it.

14:37.37

Max Shank

Right? And how do you choose? What information is significant because you have to yeah so you might be ignorant with the best of intentions right? thinking? Oh that's not important right? that's.

14:48.50

mikebledsoe

For instance, the last the last two years with the best of intentions.

14:56.37

Max Shank

Where you and I ah like we come across that word evil and so my guess is there are lots of people in the world. Ah, who are real busybodies and they think that if they can just kill 1000000000 they'll save the other 6000000000 or some some kind of fraction.

14:59.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

15:15.12

Max Shank

Like that I don't know look that seems and here's the thing here's that no, we'll just kill. Ah, one of them like an unceremonious random one because if you truly believe if you have the power and you truly believe.

15:15.48

mikebledsoe

Will we'll kill the 6 bad ones or the one bat about 1000000000 bad people.

15:34.82

Max Shank

That the world is totally fucked unless you do something you're going to feel a lot of pain all day every day until you resolve that problem and if you have in your mind only a couple choices you'll say do I Let all.

15:52.67

mikebledsoe

And I got I got multiple phone I got multiple phone calls. Let me let me pause this I got a potential emergency.

15:53.29

Max Shank

The whole planet die or do I kill 1000000000 people

16:00.50

Max Shank

Okay, all right? So basically we have this kind of a situation. We have people who are thinking that they must save the world because they really believe the world or all of humanity itself will be destroyed. They have the power to enact the changes that they think will make that difference and they are faced with a choice of let's say kill 1000000000 to save the other six I can understand why they would a do it and b. Not think themselves. Evil.

16:39.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, this ah have you ever watched cloud atlas with Tom Hanks oh man 1 of my favorite movies of all time. Yeah, it's a long one. It's like three and half hours it it didn't get a lot of attention when it came out because.

16:45.75

Max Shank

No oh really, that's cool. Ah.

16:59.90

mikebledsoe

It's deeply philosophical and you have to pay attention to what's going on for a long period of time so you have to have an attention span which means that you know almost nobody saw it and ah yeah. Yeah there's just a part in the movie where it's it's all about like people controlling other groups of people and oppressing other people and it was highlighting and it's and it's many different timelines. It's like something that was happening five hundred years ago and something else that was happening.

17:24.78

Max Shank

That's human culture in a nutshell.

17:33.65

Max Shank

The.

17:36.50

mikebledsoe

You know something was happening in the 70 s something was happening currently. There's some and then it's the it's 300 years in the future and there's these different timelines that are all over like the the energy and the patterns were overlapping and basically there was a ah.

17:41.55

Max Shank

Ah.

17:55.28

mikebledsoe

Period of time where they were looking at when there were slaves there was you know white people were enslaving black people and all that and you know there's a a part in the movie where you know it's like hey we should probably stop this and then but leading up to that The guys that believed him is like oh it's our it's our divine purpose. You know.

18:13.30

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

18:14.81

mikebledsoe

God has told us to go and conquer these people and the same thing happened when you know people come to America and you know it's like we're gonna take this land. It's like yeah, there's there's some brown people here. But you know we we could probably just take this land. You know there's they're paid for the greater. Good.

18:21.57

Max Shank

Yeah.

18:30.10

Max Shank

For the greater good by the grace of God for the greater good by the grace of God here we are give us your stuff God God Thanks you for your donation. It's like would you pit.

18:34.57

mikebledsoe

For the greater. Good. Yeah yeah, now now it's the greater good by the grace of science. You know it's the same thing. Yeah, yeah, and so.

18:49.73

Max Shank

Ah, Mercenaries against Missionaries That's the one I think of the the missionaries will be biting the heads off biting the faces off of the mercenaries to sacrifice to the blood god.

18:53.91

mikebledsoe

Ah.

19:04.83

Max Shank

All the mercenaries are high-tailing it out of there because the pay is just not good enough.

19:10.47

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so you you're talking about. Yeah these people are bought in and I think that a lot of people like if you look at the media. For instance I Think most of these quote unquote journalists are are completely bought in that.

19:11.52

Max Shank

So you get these true believers. Any price.

19:28.41

mikebledsoe

What they're doing is for the greater good I saw a clip was I saw a clip of ah you know everyone's art pissed off about not everyone just just people on the left are pissed off about Elon Musk offering to buy Twitter did you hear about this. Are you following it all.

19:28.74

Max Shank

Absolutely.

19:37.50

Max Shank

Ah.

19:43.67

Max Shank

Um, I'm actually still really upset about the George Floyd thing I haven't moved on since that 1 news point I haven't really made up my mind about it yet. So I can't move on to the any new any news points.

19:54.13

mikebledsoe

Oh you're stuck here have you watched any Tv since then. Okay, so so Elon Musk ah he purchases 9% of Twitter you know it's a public.

20:00.62

Max Shank

No no I'm just still trying to work out this mystery.

20:09.15

Max Shank

I did hear about it by the way I was just making a joke then he offers to buy the whole thing.

20:12.93

mikebledsoe

Okay, well fill people in he he purchases 9% of Twitter and well then and then ah you know if he owns 15 % 15% he can you know actually make some demands like he his voice must be hurt. So they offer him a board position like oh why don't you join the board and if you're on the board you can make suggestions but you can't make demands and but you can't own more than fifteen fourteen point nine five of the stocks and you go and he goes.

20:44.13

Max Shank

Right? As a board member.

20:49.13

mikebledsoe

I don't want to be a board member then and then he turns around offers $43000000000 for the entire company which is more than the value of the company that no one else is gonna purchase it for that amount and.

20:52.74

Max Shank

Incredible.

20:58.77

Max Shank

It it. It has to be Ah, it's really interesting situation because he um rightly understands that that is the the lead horse. On the winner take all of small instant public messages.

21:15.62

mikebledsoe

Yes, yeah, it's it's the it's you know I on I'm on. Yeah um.

21:20.42

Max Shank

They banned the president they they took they took free speech away from the president. That's supposed to be everybody gets free speech but because they became the platform. A new platform above the old platform of pen and paper and people talking to each other. They put a blanket of this new platform over everything and they're like this is where we talk now this is where the point gets across really quickly. Ah, it's not that different than.

21:47.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

21:55.80

Max Shank

These guys trying to buy newspapers. It's just a similar play to control the flow of information. It's basic. It's basic war out there and that's nature. Yeah conflict baby.

22:03.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, oh it's definitely war. Yeah so ah, people a lot of people I was reading something this morning. It's pretty interesting is like it's like you know, yeah, a lot of people. There's primarily the left for. The political left people were saying they were they were defending Twitter as a private privately owned company that can do whatever it wants so censorship is okay, Elon Musk wants to buy it then they start freaking out that he's going to let everyone say whatever they want and.

22:29.73

Max Shank

Big.

22:39.41

mikebledsoe

That something that the government needs to step in and do something about Elon Musk buying Twitter it's like they want their cake and eat it too. They can't there's there's ah there's a foundational lack of fund of of a principle because it's it's whatever, whatever serves their.

22:41.18

Max Shank

The.

22:52.21

Max Shank

Um, it's pure Lizard man. Yeah.

22:59.28

mikebledsoe

Whatever they want in the moment they'll leverage. Whatever it takes to get there. The means justify the ends and.

23:03.21

Max Shank

Their identity is the tribe So whatever helps the tribe justifies the means basically it doesn't matter what it is as long as it's for the good of our tribe and we're good and those other guys way over there. They're bad. So if you censor the bad guys.

23:09.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

23:22.48

Max Shank

It's good. But if you censor nobody. It's bad by that very twisted logic.

23:24.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, because yeah, very interesting. Yeah, so for the greater good. Um, you know I I do find it interesting that ah people really I mean I believe in Elon must having. Good intentions over somebody in government because he is actually contributing to society by his his behavior instead of just trying to take and redistribute. Um, so yeah, same.

23:44.10

Max Shank

Yeah.

23:53.00

Max Shank

On principle I like pie Makers more than pie slicers. Yeah, what do you? What do you bring into the table I think it's ah the difference between offers and orders. That's where the line is.

24:01.52

mikebledsoe

So How how did I. A a.

24:11.13

Max Shank

Line between an offer and an order where an order means do this or you are going to be punished with the stick or a fine or whatever and an offer is do this come on. You know you want to do this, do it. It'll be really good for you and.

24:25.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

24:28.80

Max Shank

You can get as persuasive as you want to get but there's no, there's no threat of direct violence or attack on your person with an offer. That's why I like that.

24:38.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah I saw this mean this morning I reposted on my Instagram it's got ah it's got 4 different things and it says what makes sex not rape consent choice consent.

24:49.12

Max Shank

Choice. Yeah yeah.

24:55.77

mikebledsoe

What makes a job not slavery consent. What makes a transaction not robbery consent. What makes taxation not theft magical fairy dust.

24:58.57

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

25:04.20

Max Shank

Um, yep.

25:11.94

Max Shank

Ah, and I knew we were going there.

25:15.31

mikebledsoe

Well today's tax day. So ah I always kept I have to post so taxing every every what's the eighteenth. But ah, ah, they made today the tax day since Friday was the fifteenth.

25:17.71

Max Shank

Yeah, well people just think that they're so clever.

25:28.57

Max Shank

It takes a special kind of person to think that they know best not only for themselves. But for everybody else and it takes an even more special kind of person to be unwilling to try to sell people on the idea that they have and instead force it upon them violently.

25:45.52

mikebledsoe

For your own good. You're greater. Well I think I think it it's It's a slippery. It's slippery because people I think that's a much easier argument to make is if I say Max I Know what's good for you.

25:46.50

Max Shank

But it's like it's like you don't believe in the product man.

26:04.55

mikebledsoe

That's very arguable. It's like I don't know if you know my entire situation. You don't you know you don't know about this.

26:07.40

Max Shank

Yeah, there are definitely situations where you might know better for me than me, no question. It's just we won't know when that is we just won't know when that is.

26:14.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, some situations? Yeah, but but then what's good for the greater good is an extrapolation of that that I know what's good for you and then it becomes homogenized too. It's like. I know it's good for most of the people. So we're gonna do this and it's like yeah, it's 1 per 1 person has you know people give 1 person that power and it's it's really insane.

26:47.67

Max Shank

It's exactly about that control because the whole purpose of groups in the first place is chaos reduction or at least reducing the negative impact of chaos on the collective. So whether it's ah, a group of ah chimps or a nation state of some kind the the concept or the idea of it in the first place is to reduce the chaos. So homogenization is the logical. Ah. Endpoint of that where everybody's exactly the same. Ah totally fungible, interchangeable. We have. We have one billion we have 1000000000 persons they do this and this and this and they do this at this time and this at this time and this at this time.

27:32.36

mikebledsoe

You're just a number folks.

27:41.15

Max Shank

And we always know where exactly everybody is just like ah a dairy farm with a bunch of chipped animals. So.

27:45.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I think up until this point the Homogenation um Homogenation homogenization. Thank you? Ah, it has been the most efficient way of creating order out of chaos or disorder.

27:54.21

Max Shank

Homogenization.

28:01.56

Max Shank

By definition. It is by definition. Yeah.

28:04.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, but then if if we look at the Homogen is it is a nation you have to tell me this work ah of chickens right? They've got ah I learned about this this past week and I was talking to some farmers and that's what I do.

28:11.25

Max Shank

Um, homogenization. Yeah. Course you are on ah on the weekend to just me and some farmers hanging out.

28:21.89

mikebledsoe

That's what I do at festivals I Hang out with farmers chicken out chicken it eating some of the meat Egg Grew Um, and you know they were talking about the the common chicken you find at the Gar Grot grocery store is the.

28:35.23

Max Shank

28:38.64

mikebledsoe

The meat has gotten to the point where you're not actually digesting and getting the protein out of like a typical chicken breast and yeah, so there's they've they basically bread for this one particular chicken that can barely even walk right? because the chickens are bred for.

28:44.00

Max Shank

What.

28:54.31

Max Shank

But yeah, um.

28:57.91

mikebledsoe

Weight and I don't I'd learned this to they now are getting these chickens up to full weight for slaughter and 6 to eight weeks after they hatch so now. Basically these chickens you know.

29:08.50

Max Shank

Wow.

29:14.99

mikebledsoe

They stand up real well against feeding them soy and corn. They they get fat. Really they put on weight really fast but the meat is of really low quality and ah and.

29:18.89

Max Shank

Ah.

29:26.51

Max Shank

Like the Amino acid profile or something you mean.

29:30.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah I know if it's they it was something about how the meat grows it almost turns into fiber versus protein like it should be protein but it's like a protein.

29:37.30

Max Shank

Okay, that's that's weird. They're changing protein to a carb somehow.

29:42.48

mikebledsoe

No, it's not a car but they're saying like it's it's it's not digestible. It's too fibrous like that. Yeah, the meat is too fibrous. So and the other thing is there are 2 I'm sure someone can let me know they they may know more details about this.

29:49.28

Max Shank

Indigestible protein weird.

30:03.12

mikebledsoe

They're down to like 2 types of chicken that are being grown so you get 1 type of aviary flu comes in and just wipes them all out now we're out of chicken. So like you know them being single pain of.

30:15.78

Max Shank

It goes back to the single point of failure thing we were talking about last week

30:21.16

mikebledsoe

So if you homogenize too much. It only takes one disaster and then and then you and then it's ultimate chaos which is you know devastation? Yeah that that could but unless I mean and.

30:25.50

Max Shank

Yeah, unless there's redundancy built into that central system right? but but it's like diversification right? The more you diversify the more um cushion you have.

30:40.28

mikebledsoe

But it's not good.

30:44.77

Max Shank

But the less of ah the less you diversify the further you can go in a single direction back to the comparative advantage example.

30:48.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely yeah, so just it seems like to Mobgenize is is a good thing but there's also potential downfalls and so I mean we we already talked about decentralization versus centralization and and how things are moving and how.

31:02.22

Max Shank

Yeah.

31:08.39

mikebledsoe

Things in the future may not need to be so homogenized in order for to create order. We're talking about order and yeah through more complex technology I think I think we need less of that.

31:22.90

Max Shank

Well, when it comes to decision making having ah rules of the game is really important if you want to make a decision in a sport or a game of some kind the rules need to be consistent and they need to be understood by everybody. For the game to work So That's part of what makes conversation so challenging for people who have been raised any time in the current Era. There's a lot of contention and there's not a lot of collaboration. There's not a lot of ability to have an expansive and collaborative argument rather than a combative argument. You know you and I argue the validity of different points looking for a truth. Or a better representative of the truth rather than having a combative argument where I'm trying to prove that a is right? and you're trying to prove prove that B is right and we already talked about how people will go to any means necessary to support their point. Even wishing the censorship or possibly murder of other people if they don't believe the the truth the same truth that they believe so being able to have the rules of the game. The rules of discourse the rules of. The locale clear and simple enough to be understood and effectively used by all is a prerequisite for us to be able to play the game. Ah consistently and joyfully.

33:06.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think there's there's 1 thing we agree on that allows for differing opinions to come in and we're able to work through it that is we we don't we're not confused about what's right? And what's wrong like we we have an agreement on that.

33:22.90

Max Shank

Well oh no I think they're I.

33:26.35

mikebledsoe

And so because you were saying your time Out. You know I think there's the right way to do or the wrong way. But I I think that we both agree that something that is right is something that doesn't impede on somebody else's life or Liberty and if any anything that isn't. Trampling on somebody else's ability to live their life and the way they wish is totally right? That's right and anything that is trampling on someone else's life and Liberty is wrong and so everything else? Well, That's that's trampling over someone's life and Liberty but that's wrong.

33:49.25

Max Shank

Right.

33:54.89

Max Shank

Um, unless they murder 10 people right? right? right.

34:04.11

mikebledsoe

So so I think that we you and I both have a pretty clear understanding about what is right and wrong and anything that's not wrong is right? and so the ah and not only is it right? but it is a right right? I Think that's where rights come from.

34:19.86

Max Shank

Right? right.

34:23.85

mikebledsoe

So if I'm not doing something wrong. That means I'm not stealing from you I'm not taking your property I'm not enslaving you and I'm not killing you then anything I do outside of that is a right and we both understand that that's where we have agreement and I think because of that.

34:30.73

Max Shank

Yeah. True.

34:42.44

mikebledsoe

We understand that everything outside of that is an opinion and I think a lot of people they confuse the morality of right and wrong with their opinions and I think you and I have both been able to be.

34:53.48

Max Shank

Oh.

35:00.66

mikebledsoe

Clearly have that in our mind that yeah this is what I'm holding right now isn't about right and wrong. It's just about it's an opinion or if it is right or wrong then it's ah, there's a very solid foundation in which that conversation is existing on so it's very easy to work through.

35:08.80

Max Shank

Ah.

35:16.90

Max Shank

The question is really do the ends justify the means is it is the juice worth the squeeze is the benefit greater than the cost and that's where it gets way harder to tell because you you could make a wrong choice. Ah, for yourself and not know that you're making it and I think that happens all the time so we need to find a way to harmonize the instinct and the intellect because I know I'd come back to this a lot. But. Usually when people are angry or sad or over emotional. It's It's some version of afraid and they're in that lizard Brain Mode. So they might react instinctively they might. Yell or fight or run or cry or something like that when they feel afraid but only because they're in Lizard Mode. So I think a lot of folks don't even give themselves a chance myself included at times in the past I I Remember. Aftermath of making choices that way but in the moment you're like somewhat unaware of the fact that you're making these choices that in normal Circumstances. You would intellectually know this is probably not going to give me a better result.

36:48.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

36:51.10

Max Shank

So finding a way to harmonize the intellect and the instinct and use the intellect to channel the instinctive drives rather than sporadic explosions of instinct.

37:05.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the I like the idea of channeling instinct because that when I think about Instinct I Think about um Instinct is something that you can't actually put words to. Because it's It's something that wells up inside of your body. It's preverbal these are and we look at animals they're operating we say they're operating on Instinct because there is no language for you know and that's not necessarily always True. We can listen to these wells and dolphins and.

37:25.60

Max Shank

Oh.

37:39.50

Max Shank

It's like programmed desire basically because Hunger is a form of desire sex is a form of desire safety is a form of desire. So there's you know pain is a synonym for all those things but there's a genetic pre-programmed in all of us.

37:40.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

37:56.92

Max Shank

Common ground where there's no question about the origin of these things This is something that is shared by pretty much all living creatures and so how do you take that Raw instinct and.

38:05.70

mikebledsoe

Um.

38:14.65

Max Shank

Channel it with greater precision into a place that you want being able to project further into the future can be really a frightening experience for people I think.

38:24.88

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, so so the instinct instinct coming from the body from you know the the brain stem essentially not coming from the prefrontal cortex where the intellectual mind lives and where language is formed.

38:41.51

Max Shank

My instinct is in my root Chakra Mine's way lower.

38:43.19

mikebledsoe

Is the moment. It's way lower. Yeah and we'll say from your your throat shock or down is it will is that instinct. Yeah yeah.

38:54.24

Max Shank

His instinct Huh That's a good way to put it.

39:01.11

mikebledsoe

Once you you get the intellect in your third eye. So that's that's that's actually I haven't used those words to describe it when I think about all the energy that exists below My third eye is there you if you try to put language to it. You're gonna fail. So the.

39:01.92

Max Shank

Yeah.

39:20.55

mikebledsoe

The the mind the intellect must translate the instinct. So the instinct is to do this or that but the mind is what tells the body that there is time there was a yesterday and there's a tomorrow. And there's a separation between Mike and max. It's the mind that yeah, it's the mind that creates this so now what you have the instinct is is so primal and without words you know we're just animals and so when we when these.

39:39.92

Max Shank

The scorekeeper.

39:53.22

Max Shank

Yeah.

39:57.42

mikebledsoe

Words come online and we have these incredibly strong instincts. This energy is flowing and if we don't know how to use our words if our if our vocabulary is limited.

40:03.71

Max Shank

Oh.

40:12.50

mikebledsoe

If We have no practice in changing how we think by changing the language in which we think in and not mean English versus Spanish I'm saying using expanding the vocabulary using different words understanding. Actually what you're saying and do you understand. And all the words that you you use yourself most people I think are running around using words that they're confused about and because they're confused about it. They're confusing people around them. So There's a whole culture of people who don't really know what they're talking about. And I think that's the majority of Americans in the least. Um I Do it too. So.

40:51.44

Max Shank

I Do it all the time I would say unless I'm very specific and deliberate and I want to make a very distinct point I let the conversation flow. Normally and I use all kinds of words and metaphors where I don't have a crystal clear definition of what I'm saying like with the word ignorant I had never thought about ignorant as being an active ignore ignoring I always thought about it as just a ah passive not knowing. And that's monumentally different.

41:31.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and the the take this further is the the mind is having to translate to the body to the to the instinct and even train the instinct to a bit because. The Instinct wants Instant gratification. It wants what it wants right now and the mind has to step in and go whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa If We get what we want right now we won't have We won't be able to have it tomorrow and we won't be able to have it.

41:51.87

Max Shank

Ah, right.

42:05.84

Max Shank

Right? So it's like putting a leash. It's like putting a leash on the instinct and the shorter and shorter the leash the less it's running wild but sometimes it can be pretty fun to let your instincts run wild. Especially if you can.

42:10.44

mikebledsoe

You got it? True Yeah, totally to.

42:22.56

Max Shank

Really turn it off because I think that is equal and opposite damaging to have your entire life tightly controlled by your intellect and you'll feel like the weight of the future is unrelenting.

42:32.30

mikebledsoe

Absolutely.

42:39.50

mikebledsoe

Absolutely yeah and I think there are ah really healthy ways of letting that Instinct run wild. There's you can create containers for that. Um I've had the experience of just going full animal. Ah.

42:51.10

Max Shank

42:58.17

mikebledsoe

Down in Columbia on this really big piece of property where I drink a little bit of yaha which is this incredibly powerful Psychedelic medicine and then I basically stripped down Buckna and run around the Sat sun roaring in the and the jungle like that's about. But.

43:15.88

Max Shank

Everybody else got a clear picture of that I Sure do.

43:16.61

mikebledsoe

I Also know that I'm supposed to say yeah.

43:21.59

mikebledsoe

Um, so that so the ah so there was a clear boundary I knew that I was not supposed to leave the property but within that you know I was.

43:34.28

Max Shank

43:39.42

mikebledsoe

Able to completely let loose and you know turn into a Jaguar and do all that shit. So ah I've had to that's like my peak instinct tapping into instinct experience that I've had and then reintegrating that's interesting. But it's the integration back into the mind and the mind now has to translate what the instinct is asking for into language which is an incredibly difficult task and so my opinion is.

44:12.42

Max Shank

44:15.90

mikebledsoe

You would. You'll never be able to perfectly articulate to yourself or to somebody else the experience of Instinct and by yeah, but you can get more accurate over time.

44:26.92

Max Shank

It's like trying to walk a mile in someone else's shoes you you can't do it.

44:34.45

mikebledsoe

You can expand your vocabulary. You can have a longer conversation with someone you can get somebody closer to it and you can get yourself closer to it but to get to the absolute truth of what it is. It's not possible. But I think it's a worthy task to to do as good as as possible at doing that. And so because you're in my instincts are probably very much the same I mean instincts amongst species of animals are very Similar. We know that dogs do these dog things and it's out of Instinct Dear do these deer things out of Instinct fish so on and so forth. But what makes us different. I Think why why humans are live such diverse lifestyles and there's such diverse. Um expressions of the instinct is because it's each person is interpreting their instinct through this this mind and. The mind is you know trying to control the the instinct and direct it and all this stuff. Um, so.

45:37.62

Max Shank

The prediction protection machine comes in a lot of different ah models right? Still your parents teachers peers media culture. Whatever are like okay here's your intellectual filter and then you go from being this.

45:42.38

mikebledsoe

Exactly yeah.

45:55.94

Max Shank

Little creature that doesn't have any language at all that just grabs stuff and puts things in its mouth and you know rolls around and now suddenly you're talking and you're saying this is good and this is bad and so now your third eye is the scorekeeper and the rule maker. Based on whatever you've been taught.

46:16.37

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah yeah I don't know if that's a I know I said third eye don't know if it's the exact or your third eye is ah to me is is when all the energy comes into a single point and then you can direct you can direct your attention. So I don't see a third eye as a thinker.

46:28.87

Max Shank

Um, um, ah that's that's a little different. Ok so you're so your intellect your intellect then.

46:36.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's a little different. Yeah, but you got us around a shak room. So I was trying to make sense of it but I wanted to correct that for myself. Yeah, which is I think that's different so but I think that's that's 1 thing that that I think that separates.

46:46.80

Max Shank

Yeah, it's interesting to think about projection.

46:54.91

mikebledsoe

People from one another is. It's that intellectual mind because I can never explain you my experience then then I know that max will never understand me completely and I can tell you a story.

46:58.30

Max Shank

47:06.81

Max Shank

Yeah, you can tell me a story though and the better the better you are at communicating that story and the better I am at clarifying. Ah my interpretation with questions. The.

47:24.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

47:24.22

Max Shank

Clearer The communication will be and it's the same thing for the stories that we tell ourselves not just other people right? Um, it's so easy to have different milestones.

47:32.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

47:42.12

Max Shank

In your story that are told in a way that makes you into a victor or a victim for example and I know it's not always binary. But I think everybody listening including you and I has. Recognized people who at every point in their life was a tragedy the way they retell the story at least and you've heard other people in life where everything was a victory. It was ah it was always coming up jackpot for this person and then you're with them and you're like this doesn't.

48:06.39

mikebledsoe

Hey.

48:19.75

Max Shank

Actually seem like the same story I was being told and so it's very interesting and I wonder how genetic predisposition is like that um like being gay is genetic right? no.

48:21.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

48:37.95

mikebledsoe

I I think it's I think genetic? What? ah.

48:39.42

Max Shank

Yeah, you oh god here we go Mike Mike Bled so thinks being gay as a choice send your hate mail to Mike Underscore Blesco Aty at Instagram.

48:54.37

mikebledsoe

Um, ah.

48:55.71

Max Shank

I Hope you're ready for your inbox to be destroyed you hateful Homophobic bastard.

49:03.25

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh man.

49:05.53

Max Shank

Ah, you are practically a nazi you're practically hitler I can't believe you said that I'm so sorry for Mike everybody ah dear god.

49:18.93

mikebledsoe

Oh man, you know I I don't know Well we talk about this before the show is like the semantics matter because because we've talked about this before the the.

49:21.11

Max Shank

Ah, so let's so.

49:29.56

Max Shank

Um, what is and what isn't what is and what isn't.

49:37.58

mikebledsoe

I was listening to a story from somebody the other day that said you know that our the Dna sequence of a human and the sea creature is more alike than you know a human in ah in a chimpanzee and that immediately clued me into everyone's mind went to like oh my god. We're more like sea creatures than we thought and my mind immediately goes to. We're studying the wrong shit like these scientists are they they've missed the boat on something because they're really focused on this Dna thing when obviously that's not what's causing the expression of of ah of our reality.

50:14.65

Max Shank

Like child soldier spelling Gee champion. Yeah.

50:15.40

mikebledsoe

And so you know that's why I pause with the genetics and there's there's way more variables contributing to how a person is being than genetics or training or you know the the nature versus nurture is like ah a very It's a very cool topic to. Talk about, but it's nature and nurture are the same thing and the end of the day.

50:38.19

Max Shank

Good God I've never heard anything so hateful before.

50:49.28

Max Shank

Um, it's interesting to think and let's just take because it's ah like gayness is a funny topic to me. Ah, and for the record. Ah most people I don't like. And whether they're gay or straight has nothing to do with it. But let's suppose that gayness has some element of genetics and some element of Nurture. So some nature and some nurture does that mean that there is a chance that like you and I were like. 3 uncomfortable locker room situations away from turning gay that's pretty interesting right? Or for the food thing like you have a predisposition to um, fearful mindset.

51:30.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I've um.

51:44.98

Max Shank

And you have a predisposition to rapid weight gain. But then you layer on some trauma on top of it and boom you have food is the medicine.

51:52.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um, yeah I'd be curious to see stats on you know, ah when it comes to homosexuality like people who identify really heavily based on sexual preference. I Think anyone who identifies heavily on sexual preference alone or identifies heavily based on a preference of any kind. Not even sexual is very.. It's a very dangerous place to put yourself because now you get into.

52:12.99

Max Shank

Right.

52:18.27

Max Shank

Right.

52:27.59

mikebledsoe

You become very easy to control through political means. So yeah.

52:30.87

Max Shank

It goes back to our talk about the tribe right? If it's for the greater good of the tribe we'll fuck over anybody.

52:37.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so you end up with really? ah you know you end up, you know if if you if you identify as being a part of this group or as being this thing. Then you got to vote this Way. You got to behave this Way. You can't hang out with this people. You got to hate this person or that you have to hate this other group and so I get I think that just anything that that starts creating identity becomes very dangerous which people who do identify heavily with a group get very angry.

53:07.97

Max Shank

I got.

53:14.60

mikebledsoe

When I say these types of things I gotta watch myself but I know that I'm safe here on on the Monday morning show and probably not. Ah.

53:20.20

Max Shank

I Don't know after all that bigotry earlier I don't think there's a chance I got a little jingle to help us remember this um and a Noun is easily taken down but you cannot disturb a verb.

53:27.80

mikebledsoe

Okay.

53:37.00

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah.

53:38.48

Max Shank

So That's that's what I think about um, you know you become the task your your ego is irrelevant the whole the whole magic is in knowing that the here and now is all there is and when you're. Planning You got to think of that like a hunt where you're like really focusing your attention and you're you're actively doing something but you're not also consumed with some identity that is fraught with all kinds of. Inconsistencies and crying egos desire to be loved in a very specific Way. So It's much better to become the action and you'll be better off doing actions that make you feel in Tune or in Harmony with the Universe. Which is your perspective and relationship with your surroundings. Um then trying to be trying to like be happy like you're not going to get Happiness. You can be in a flow State. You can be in peace and presence in the present moment. But if you're. If you're stuck in Noun based identities rather than becoming the task and doing it's going to be really hard.

54:59.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like the Noun versus the verb conversation overall because if you think about I've had this conversation when I was working with and lifted which is you are a verb if you consider yourself to be a Noun then you're. A Noun is static. It doesn't Move. It's It's not very fluid. It just is and it makes it very hard to progress when you identify as a Noun, but if you if your identity is a verb then a verb is doing. It is Moving. It is progressing. There is. It's always changing which is way more in line with reality because the universe is moving in a very fluid nature. There's very few solid things and.

55:45.46

Max Shank

55:55.79

mikebledsoe

There's some solid principles in which everything is is revolving around for sure but going back to the the gay conversation is in my life I've experienced sexually a very.. There's been times where I was very narrow in my preferences and there's been times where my my preferences expanded tremendously and then I've made adjustments now the band of my preferences is probably not as big as a lot of other people's um. And but I don't necessarily like I I found what I like and but I don't like and I don't necessarily think that that yeah had I identified as just a straight man 100% I'll never Touched another guy in any way I wouldn't have gotten to where I am now and which is very um, um, I'm much more happier and I know that I've experienced all these things and I know what I like and what I don't like and and that's okay, but I think most people. Even people who well maybe even especially people who identify as straight and they'll never try anything and they identify with that Noun you know they may be they may be missing out on some some interactions even with. Say you're a guy you may be missing out on some interactions with women in some interesting situations If you're terrified to see another man naked in a sexual environment.

57:33.38

Max Shank

Wow! So you're saying that gayness is a choice and you would not be the man you are today without doing some slightly gay things.

57:42.46

mikebledsoe

Um, Ah what I'm saying is ah I have I have watched my own mind change enough and without intention and with intention ah to to realize that. I I could tiptoe right into just about anything if I I public up. Um my mind to it. So Someone's intentional. So It's not intentional, but you know I think it's I think people just do whatever the fuck they want at the end of the day. Yeah.

58:16.54

Max Shank

That's great. So ah, that's really what it comes down to it comes down to consent I think the verb Noun thing is great way to ah clarify.

58:19.57

mikebledsoe

As long as you've got consent I don't give a fuck.

58:34.49

Max Shank

The the breaking the back of the ego that is required to make the best decisions possible and take the verb running or to run versus I'm a runner so I am running versus I am a runner.

58:39.59

mikebledsoe

And.

58:50.96

mikebledsoe

Here.

58:53.67

Max Shank

And granted, if you identify strongly with an activity. You will probably be better at it and if you strongly identify with that action and then that action goes Away. You will feel a great loss. Also.

59:12.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, or if you're not the best at it. It may that that also creates a situation of comparative analysis. It's like oh I'm I'm a runner so is max. Oh he's better at it than me like he can run faster further.

59:20.94

Max Shank

Competitiveness Yeah, right, It's true faster further easier. It means you're worse means you're worse than me at at running.

59:29.34

mikebledsoe

You know what's that mean about me. Yeah, what's that mean about me I'm I'm not as I'm not ah I'm not worthy. Yeah, so the.

59:37.89

Max Shank

Ah, oh man sounds so sad. Even even joking about it. But that's the inner monologue that most of us have for such a variety of reasons.

59:43.39

mikebledsoe

Totally that does and this one I'm a big fan of this conversation because ah there are so many things people are dealing with say being unhealthily competitive. And they're just trying to be less competitive when when we could be looking at something that's a much deeper conversation which is are you are you stuck in a noun-based identity or are you or are you moving with a verb based identity and if your identity is more fluid because ah being. Ah, associating more with being a verb creates identity fluidity which is which is which means that I can show up the best version of myself in every situation. No matter what because I'm not not over identifying with any 1 thing. You know when I'm in my office and I'm talking to you I'm a podcaster or I'm podcasting but when I leave here and I go hang on my girlfriend. You know I'm ah a romantic partner and all these things I think that there was a period of time where I started saying. Oh I'm like these 20 different identities. All these things that I do make up who I am and then one day I go this is just ridiculous. Why don't I just be like like just be completely fluid with the identity and I'll do what's.

01:01:02.73

Max Shank

Then.

01:01:15.31

mikebledsoe

Necessary for me the way the situation is demanding and me thinking about what label I want to put on myself so that I can try to seek some type of external validation. So I can feel good enough. That's just ridiculous.

01:01:27.46

Max Shank

And yet and yet that's what we mostly do I think entrepreneur is a very fluid identity in general because people are by definition willing to try a lot of different pursuits so you will attract that sort of personality.

01:01:39.25

mikebledsoe

It's broad.

01:01:46.27

Max Shank

Into entrepreneurship that is much more fluid.

01:01:48.21

mikebledsoe

No yeah, yeah, being on being an entrepreneur means so many things and such a broad term and I do I do like that when it it makes it easy to explain what I do I Tell you you know like I'm an entrepreneur a podcast coach. Whatever That's just me.

01:01:55.84

Max Shank

Yeah. Right? But then but then nobody knows if you're good right away? Yeah, right.

01:02:08.20

mikebledsoe

Just me relaying you know to other people so they they know how to talk to me. That's the other thing is I tell people when they ask me what I do or who I am I Um I don't tell the same and I don't tell different people the same thing if um, if I'm hanging out with a bunch of coaches I tell them you know I'm a coach.

01:02:16.94

Max Shank

Yeah. Ah.

01:02:27.35

mikebledsoe

Coming out somewhere most of the time I pull out the more recently and I've decided to start pulling out the podcaster card more because no matter who they are. They may want to come listen if I tell them that I coach coaches if they're not a coach. They don't give a fuck.

01:02:35.32

Max Shank

Ah.

01:02:43.36

Max Shank

Um, maybe I'll start doing that I mean I don't know if that's I guess technically true I've done enough to be considered a podcaster. But if you're.

01:02:46.92

mikebledsoe

So yeah.

01:02:52.38

mikebledsoe

Well also if you tell people you're a coach then they start bringing their problems to you and the same thing happens with Ashley he's like oh you're a therapist you know I've been I've been dealing. It's like I get the fuck away from me. Ah.

01:03:02.37

Max Shank

Right? Very compassionate of you. Ah, no totally. It's about setting those boundaries but I think what's cool about saying I'm a podcaster is you are in a very subtle way saying my words are important my words are.

01:03:17.96

mikebledsoe

Oh really? Ah yeah, but anyone's got a podcast these days I feel to me being a podcaster's not a big deal deal at all because there's it's almost no barrier to entry.

01:03:21.37

Max Shank

My words are important. Yeah, of course it says that yeah I have a I have a radio show My my words are important. It's It's really interesting. It's not. It's not cool. No.

01:03:37.26

mikebledsoe

All you need is a phone and and a 10 Joe Regan yeah yeah well of course. Well it's there's going back to podcasting is decentralized media. You know.

01:03:40.32

Max Shank

But who has the biggest audience in the world people listening to podcaster. Yeah, that's wild.

01:03:54.81

Max Shank

Ah.

01:03:55.91

mikebledsoe

He's got the biggest audience in the world for sure. But then there's 4000000 shows that are you know, almost no one listens to to those but but you can do it and anyone can do it in the period entry is super low.

01:04:02.66

Max Shank

Nobody listens to yeah yeah. Which is pretty cool.

01:04:14.40

mikebledsoe

And that's going to keep happening in every industry every industry that the barrier to entry is going to just keep getting lower and lower and lower unless the government layers on regulation then the barrier to entry gets high which is what they're trying. That's why Facebook and Twitter ah tried to. They've been very.

01:04:24.70

Max Shank

Um.

01:04:33.50

mikebledsoe

Um, encouraging of government regulations and people go oh there like it's a noble thing that Facebook wants there to be regulation where they're the only motherfuckers that can afford the lawyers to wait through the bureaucracy they're there. They're squeezing out their competition every time there's a new regulation like Facebook wants it.

01:04:49.19

Max Shank

Well, that's how lobbying works. Yeah paide. No it shows it shows the power of communication though I mean.

01:04:52.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I don't think we actually got to what we were originally talking to. But I think it's okay I'm I'm enjoying the content.

01:05:06.46

Max Shank

Refer to lawyers as word Warriors and they can they can manipulate they can manipulate look if you're a good lawyer. You can manipulate almost any situation to sound totally different than what physically happened.

01:05:07.86

mikebledsoe

I Love it. It's true.

01:05:22.63

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:05:25.26

Max Shank

And it's storytelling. It comes it all comes full circle in the beginning. There was the word and whatever I say that's what's true and the more confident you are about that like what I say is good and what they say is bad. A lot of people just are wanting to believe that because also there are going to be more people who want to follow than people who want to lead So you're going to naturally have these groups right? It's like ah. Some people want to be whipped and some people want to do the whipping and I don't know what the percentage is on that and my guess that it varies significantly by Gender. Ah so it's very I Just mean in general.

01:06:03.84

mikebledsoe

And.

01:06:15.37

mikebledsoe

To I like bdsm situations.

01:06:21.73

Max Shank

Like yes also in that sort of a situation. Oh I was going to say ladies but are you going to have a different answer. They're more receiving and attractive.

01:06:22.75

mikebledsoe

Which gender. Do you think likes be whipmore.

01:06:31.89

mikebledsoe

I Find that the more dominant and day to day day to day.

01:06:40.68

Max Shank

That's what I mean so you oh I see what you're saying so they're ah they want to assume a different role to decompress from being an a tractor of force rather than a transmitter of force.

01:06:49.84

mikebledsoe

Yes, yeah, it can feel very powerful in a different way. So like a lot of times you create a container where there's ah where you can play a new role and.

01:06:57.64

Max Shank

Interesting.

01:07:05.30

Max Shank

Ah.

01:07:07.75

mikebledsoe

And maybe someone who's normally on the more of a receiver gets to be someone who's delivering and it's ah it's a really fun experience and the same with Richard Branson is one of these. He's got a couple dominrix with them most of the time.

01:07:12.98

Max Shank

Right.

01:07:22.66

Max Shank

Loves to get whipped. Seriously, he's got a few dominatrixes with him all the time you heard it here first.

01:07:24.56

mikebledsoe

And he's a very powerful guy. He's the one giving orders all day. Yeah, still about all the time that that that's ah, maybe an over generalization. But ah my my my friends who have spent time with him have said that they're present. Um, so.

01:07:39.70

Max Shank

Wow.

01:07:44.11

mikebledsoe

The and I don't know if that's public information but I'll give a fuck because Richard Richard Branson is you know he's old. So.

01:07:46.68

Max Shank

It is now. A Monday morning original you heard it here for breaking news folks.

01:07:57.51

mikebledsoe

I think I think the guy's really great in some respects but anyone who came out and wanted mandates or pushing are the people to get vaccinated Richard Branson comes out and gives me some fucking medical advice. He can shove up his ass. So totally.

01:08:11.38

Max Shank

He thought he was doing the right thing Mike he was doing it for your own good. He thought he was doing good and yeah, yeah.

01:08:17.13

mikebledsoe

totally totally there there's a handful of people I looked up to before this whole debacle Schwarzenegger is another one you ever hear that screw your freedom clip. Yeah, the guy that came here from Austria and became.

01:08:30.24

Max Shank

Yeah I get I get sent ah a few things like that. Yeah, it's it. Well, it's like ah don't don't worship false idols you know or or that phrase never meet your heroes because then they'll just disappoint The fuck out of you.

01:08:35.20

mikebledsoe

And experience wilder success.

01:08:40.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:08:49.67

Max Shank

I think ah Richard Branson is actually the perfect ah way to bring this back full circle because reading that guy's book ah almost gave me stomach ulcers.

01:08:56.77

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:09:05.31

mikebledsoe

01:09:07.89

Max Shank

In terms of the way that he makes decisions because every chapter was a different variation of and then I bet it all on black and then I mortgaged the house and I bet it all on red and then I sold my music company to buy.

01:09:19.52

mikebledsoe

Right? right.

01:09:27.18

Max Shank

Ah, fucking jet engine and then I rolled the dice I mean this guy was just a fucking lucky animal just a lucky animal and all of the steps of the story were like. Bankrupt not bankrupt but up and down all around and look what is the result now. He's exactly where he is which some people would say is really good. We have no idea what that guy's life is like except for your hot tip on the. Ah, live in dominatrixes but that can work that that that could work that could work right? his his way of just being ah a bowl in a China Shop it seemed like.

01:10:03.12

mikebledsoe

I live in. Anyways, they're they're present. But yeah.

01:10:15.77

mikebledsoe

Why you know you only got to hit once or twice you only got it investing is not gambling because in gambling you're gonna you're gonna come in and start over the next day and investing.

01:10:16.45

Max Shank

On to the next thing on to the next thing onto the next thing on to the next thing It's true.

01:10:26.78

Max Shank

Um, kind of is m.

01:10:35.43

mikebledsoe

You hit once and you never have to work again. You may may win big at the casino. But you're you're gonna be back in the casino.

01:10:41.48

Max Shank

Um, interesting. Yeah I almost think of them as ah, just 2 versions of a similar thing because once you hit a jackpot on one business you're going to feel the itch to do another one probably.

01:10:49.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:10:55.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but you can if you're smart about it. You'll take a portion of it and diversify and things that are more stable. Yeah.

01:11:06.42

Max Shank

That's not the Branson way. That's what I like to do I like to take some of my money off the table because you know I don't want to give all the money back that I won I want to take some off. He just let it ride the whole time. How much money do I have.

01:11:14.27

mikebledsoe

Now now now. Are are how how would how would you like to wrap up this show. What's the how I don't know I just hear comment thread.

01:11:23.80

Max Shank

Bet it all bet it. It is impossible to wrap up this show I'm still thinking about all of the people who are going to send you angry messages that you said being gay. Is a choice that's incredible. Can we make that the title of the show being gay as a choice by Mike Blitz how um

01:11:42.89

mikebledsoe

Ah, you know what? I know how I I I Know how people's minds were go but I never said that go back and listen to the actual conversation. Ah, Max knows if he says it enough people will believe it repetition. Yeah, absolutely.

01:12:05.37

Max Shank

It's that's true with almost everything right now is it also true that you think it can be cured.

01:12:15.39

Max Shank

I Don't know if you provide a service or anything like that. Ah.

01:12:16.63

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh man I've ah I'm aware of some services like that I think it's a very interesting thing that exists in the world. So that's all of another show.

01:12:35.42

Max Shank

So how do we make good decisions Mike Vision values no that was how you start that was the very first sentence you said in the that was it the first sentence you said then.

01:12:35.49

mikebledsoe

That's all another show.

01:12:42.30

mikebledsoe

We we talk about vision values boundaries. That's how we started. Um, that's where I thought that's where I wanted to take it and then we got into a flow.

01:12:55.23

Max Shank

There was a little. There's a little sign marker at the very beginning sentence one and then we just took a hard u-turn in a completely different direction. We didn't I don't even remember what the third thing is now I knew was vision values in something else. Boundaries there you go maybe we'll do that next week.

01:13:08.61

mikebledsoe

Boundaries. Yeah, maybe next week we'll see we have to name the show though. So we have to come up with what the hell we talked about. Ah yeah, any any summaries since. I remember what we said.

01:13:22.35

Max Shank

I Think the concept of not getting hyper attached to an identity and a Noun ah like a fixed state versus a dynamic action and being a verb instead just trying to become the task. Really Good. We talked a little bit about communication I think that myself included we all talk too damn much and if you focus on doing things that are intrinsically enjoyable that you want to do just for the sake of doing. Then you are in the present moment and the ego is irrelevant. There. So then you aren't going to worry so much about you know how all these other ah stimuli affect you all these news stories and all this fear mongering because I think it's good to Remember. It's basically always been. Like this where a small group are trying to completely terrify a big group into falling in line.

01:14:29.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, pretty much very accurate I like what you said I'm not going to I'm not going to add anything I think we had a good conversation. Ah, you can follow me on Instagram at Mike Underscore bloodso and keep paying attention to this channel I've got a lot more. Episodes posting of interviews that I am doing some other folks and max and I are going to continue to put Monday morning up every monday.

01:14:57.98

Max Shank

Sweet. You can find me at http://mashank.com or at mashank and I think there are a few spots available for the partner agility and strength system certification I believe that is June eleventh and there's a big discount if you sign up before the end of April so ah, that's it. Thanks Mike Love you man.

01:15:26.23

mikebledsoe

Excellent! Thanks Max! Love you.

Experience The Full Power of Your Breath With Adam Hoffman Apr 21, 2022

Your breathing sucks, and it’s the reason for a lot of the stress, tension, and dis-ease in your life

Listen to this episode with Adam Hoffman to learn how to breathe better, including the only 2 breathwork practices you need for optimal health

How To Create An Optimal Lifestyle With Josh Hash Apr 17, 2022

Josh Hash knows what it takes to create an optimal lifestyle

What’s involved? It’s not complex. There are no tech, barbells, or supplements in sight…

…only 3 things that are free for all

Find out what they are in this week’s episode

Is Investing Back Into Your Business The Smartest Choice? With Krisstina Wise Apr 17, 2022

Is what you know about money & business true and accurate? How can you be sure? You can’t…Krisstina Wise is a leader in the world about both topics, and in this episode, she breaks down what you’ve learned so you can unlearn it and learn the truth instead.

Take Back Control With Kyle Kingsbury Apr 17, 2022

Do you let people make & set the rules of your life… or do you make & set your own? Listen in as Kyle Kingsbury teaches you exactly how to question authority so you can create & own your sovereignty in life and create actual freedom

Decentralization and What To Do About It , Monday Morning Apr 12, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're going to be talking about decentralization now this is a word that's being thrown around quite a bit I don't think that people necessarily know what it means and when it's used. It's normally used specifically for. Currencies they're talking about decentralized currencies alternative currencies like bitcoin ethereum and a bunch of other shitcoins that are out there but the idea of decentralization is much bigger than that and when we look at technologies that allow us to decentralize. We can see how it disrupts.

00:37.94

mikebledsoe

Economics It Disrupts social constructs and it yeah entire societies. So we're gonna talk about as decentralization occurs what you can do to position yourself to be in the best place possible. Um, and not get completely screwed over like some people are gonna experience.

00:58.54

Max Shank

Well I think this is gonna be perfect for us to talk about because you and I have really different perspectives on this I'm not very schooled in cryptocurrency because I don't quite understand the stability of it. Um. But I am deeply interested in increasing the amount of freedom I have in my life as well as that of our listeners. So I'm excited to discuss it with you today.

01:27.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so let's start here the the decentralization um as a concept is that there's a smaller group of people that have absolute control over what's going on in their world.

01:46.14

Max Shank

Um, that's centralization. You mean.

01:46.84

mikebledsoe

So right now decentralization. Well there's ah what I mean is like you're grouped into a smaller group So there's greater responsibility for the individual in a decentralized society.

01:58.88

Max Shank

So the individual has more agency over their money their time their food that sort of thing. Okay, yeah, that makes sense.

02:03.31

mikebledsoe

Yes, yeah, yeah, more agency more autonomy more choice. Um in some cases so in ah and a centralized setup.

02:15.43

Max Shank

02:21.72

mikebledsoe

Which is primarily what we're existing in right now if we have we have centralized money we have centralized food supplies. We have centralized energy systems. So when I talk about decentralization or centralization. This is a global conversation. Not necessarily. Talking only about cryptocurrencies or only about farming so with that being said is if you're we are being driven into a decentralized society because of ah you know this twofold one is people desire. It. Enough people desire it and that desire has helped people to generate technology which makes it possible and due to a lot of centralized power and a lot of money coming into a very small group people a lot of technology has been advanced. That used to only be available to a few that's now available to many an example of this is I remember when and you've probably noticed this max is Amazon um, and this is just a function of capitalism Amazon has. Always has better technology than the average ecommerce store. They have better tracking. They've got more data on their users. They've got ah their ability to sell at scale is just incredible and there's so many pieces of technology that. Only existed for http://amazon.com five years ago and now you and I have access to Facebook ads that targeting targeted ads that most people don't know much about ah because of Facebook and ah. A lot of this stuff that only really advanced marketers with a lot of money had access to special software. That's now been made available to all of us. So um I mention that because because of the way that things have been built up at this point is what actually creates the opportunity for a. Decentralized technology do exist now. So one's not better than another one just gives birth to another and the technology that's available will basically demand that you things be more decentralized and that each person takes more personal responsibility. And for those who don't take personal responsibility. It's gonna be a hard transition.

04:56.23

Max Shank

I think you brought up 1 of the big advantages of centralization which is called economies of scale. So one of the reasons that people we can feed more people and one of the reasons that we can get more people a cell phone.

05:05.25

mikebledsoe

Go.

05:15.98

Max Shank

Is because these companies are able to do it at a much lower cost because as the number of units goes up the cost per unit thanks to efficiency goes down so not just. Thinking centralization bad decentralization good is important and I would also agree that as long as the consumers are free to choose their product then that will yield the. Best efficiency as long as you can choose whether you want to go to Walmart or the farmer's market or something like that I think that's kind of inherently good and the more we are allowed to choose the better. The outcome is and the more people are forced to obey. the the worse the outcome is historically and presently.

06:15.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, this conversation makes me think about Atlas shrugged. You've read the book. Yeah, okay, ah so in out.

06:23.99

Max Shank

People either really like that book or they really hate that book's guts don't they no no, one's like it's all right I guess.

06:32.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well you know anytime I run it when I run into people that hate it it I've learned to to focus in on 1 thing in the conversation that will totally break them and that is did you finish it.

06:50.33

Max Shank

First.

06:51.91

mikebledsoe

Did you read the whole thing because I've yet to meet somebody who's actually read the whole thing that still hates it so you know usually people hate it because they read something that someone else wrote about it or they're part of a ah social group that. Thinks that ein Rand is the Devil. So ah, it makes me think about that because you know you're saying choice. But right now they're essential like so let's just forget forget that but the where things are going when decentralized decentralization becomes possible technologically possible I think is what's going to happen is what happened in atlas shrug which is the most productive people in society are going to choose decentralization now. Decentralization wasn't. Necessarily a concept in that book. But the concept in the book was that the people who were the most productive and the people who took the most responsibility for themselves and their companies and things like that once that once they were being taxed. And the government was demanding and and social groups were demanding that they be more like slaves than independent and people they basically burned down their factories and walked away from their jobs and shut down the railroads and all went hiding in a valley in Colorado. And a lot of and then people in society are going. You can't do that and goes I can do whatever I want I'm not a slave and so I think what's gonna happen is the the atlas shrug is happening but we're not gonna have to go hide in a valley in Colorado. And where we're we were you know able to hide from planes and radar and shit what's going to happen is we're me able to hide technologically or we're going to be able to opt out of the current system. Ah and technologically and then everyone who's productive goes there and the people who are mediocre at. Best will still subscribe to the to the centralized model and so when we start talking about choice. It's like yeah you do have a choice but the being a part of a centralized model in 2020 or 2019 or whatever was. Really probably the most convenient choice. It was you you ended up having a lot of luxury a lot of really cool things were available to you. But as time goes on if the best producers on the planet decentralize. They've now removed themselves from your economy. So you're not getting the best anymore.

09:43.84

mikebledsoe

And the the beauty of a centralized economy and a centralized society is you don't have to think so much because people can become much more specialized and they don't have to consider. You know where does my food come from. You know what's really going on with the currency people right now. For instance, you could take a computer programmer and they've gotten really good at computer programming. They don't know Jack shit about anything but computer programming and so that's because. They can pick up their phone and have their groceries delivered to their house. They can just automatically have their money. Ah go into an Ira that you know someone from their job told them it was a good idea and that could they're they're outsourcing their wealth. Their health. Just outsource all these things something goes wrong physically, they don't have to be aware of it. They just go to the doctor and they write him a prescription a pill to fix it and so.

10:42.41

Max Shank

Well, that's comparative advantage. You hunt the food I'll cook the food and this guy here will protect us in the night and this lady over here will take care of all the children.

10:51.76

mikebledsoe

Totally but in a world of centralization where we're dealing with hundreds of millions of people. We'll we'll talk about the United States specifically it's become. It's we've gone past the point of diminishing returns. There is a massive benefit to it. But now we're seeing the repercussions of it for instance, the average person unless you're a health expert your health is really poor.

11:19.31

Max Shank

That's true and we could think about the causality of that and to piggyback on this centralization theme I think it's really important to differentiate between which sectors. Of Centralization. We're talking about So I like to simply think of it as you have no choice of where to go you have to come to us basically right? and so there's education which I'm no fan of I think it's child abuse.

11:42.50

mikebledsoe

In a centralized model.

11:54.28

Max Shank

I Think it's a really bad investment I think it's yeah public school I think it's one of the worst things you could do to a child. It's a horrible investment I could it's obedience school. Let's keep a simple language obedience school listen to this guy at the front.

11:54.41

mikebledsoe

Government education.

12:01.14

mikebledsoe

We should just call them indoctrination system governmental indoctrination systems or something.

12:13.23

mikebledsoe

Did you you send your kid their obedience school today. He's been acting up.

12:13.56

Max Shank

Sit down shut up, ask permission to go to the bathroom god forbid it I ever have a kid I would never send it to school not in 1000000 years um under no circumstance. Yeah well, it's ah you know I don't want to assume it's gender.

12:22.85

mikebledsoe

If I won't have a kid as long as you start referring to as long as you refer to it as it. Um, you might get yourself in hot water there in California.

12:33.55

Max Shank

Ah, so I don't want to be 1 of those hateful people who used to think that genitals identified your gender. Ah I'm woke now. Ah so anyway, so.

12:49.23

mikebledsoe

Congratulations max.

12:50.61

Max Shank

Centralized education gets away worse result. Ah the bigger. The centralized government is the worse. The result is because it's the difference between the pie makers and the pie slicers and you have to Zoom way out and. And way in to really understand what's happening so zooming way out to what it's like to be a creature who's capable of doing things and surviving in the world is really difficult on your own. In fact, it's impossible on your own. So the whole purpose of our culture. Is to reduce chaos and that's why actually why games and play are so critical for building relationships and also building skills because if you have the chaos reduced through culture but you don't have any dosage of that excitement or chaos. You're going to be a really sad little monkey and then you also need to really zoom in on what I call rules of engagement so you have to consider the interactions between entities. And reduce it down to the fewest parts possible to really understand what's happening. You know if 3 people live on a cul-de-sac and 2 people vote that they should Rob. The third one is that okay and interestingly enough in democracy. Yes, that's. That's perfectly. Okay, in fact, that's exactly how it works as long as most people want to Rob the not most people then is totally fine. So all of this back and forth.

14:33.33

mikebledsoe

It. It's interesting. How people people lose the concept of morality at scale it. What you? what you say makes no sense when it's a hundred people but the moment it's a 0 people it's

14:43.50

Max Shank

The.

14:52.23

mikebledsoe

Somehow has eluded people What what do you think that is.

14:55.22

Max Shank

The the greater good The fallacy of the greater good. Um, and it has to do with arrogance. Some people want to be saviors so they have a messianic complex of some kind and they want to be the guy who saves everyone some people are just sadists. And they want to dominate and control people and typically those are the only type of people who want ah positions of Authority like I I don't want a position of Authority over anyone but myself because I think I'm I'm a reasonable person. Ah, it's totally unreasonable. To want to be in charge of hundreds of millions of people. It's totally unreasonable. Um, but that's why.

15:40.86

mikebledsoe

There's a book about this There's a political pourology I I began it I've read about 20% and then I had to start it was one of those books where it started getting I was gonna have to invest more energy into it. When I want to put my energy somewhere else. I'm definitely going to come back to it but the concept I had gotten to that point was psychopaths make up 4% of the population. This is a so this is a known psychological statistic.

15:59.26

Max Shank

16:14.72

mikebledsoe

And just like the rest of Society. The psychopaths tend to you know they the thing that makes a psychopath so powerful is not only are they not experiencing emotions the same way we are so we experience emotions and. Creates turbulence and it impacts our decision making and yeah, we just we just do really strange things to fit in and somebody who's a psychopath the the really good ones understand that other people. Are having a different emotional experience than they are. They know it and they know how to exploit it and so yeah, so not only not only do they, they're not experiencing the same emotional stuff so they actually become very apathet on a become I think they just are that sounds like they're born this way.

16:55.20

Max Shank

They leverage that perceived weakness.

17:10.91

mikebledsoe

They're very apathetic which is kind of a problem but then on top of that they understand how you can be manipulated with your emotions and so ah, just like any group of people they're the ones that are really smart and then they're the ones that are really dumb. The dumb ones end up in prison and the smart ones end up in Dc and the so there they are attracted to pout. So you tell about being unreasonable this book makes the um makes the case that ah. They're drawn to power over other people and so.

17:48.40

Max Shank

Exactly and like what you just said, it's rhetoric driven. It's tugging on people's emotions rather than focusing on fundamental rules of engagement. You know there really shouldn't be that many laws and every law should be in simple language. But of course.

17:52.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

18:07.74

Max Shank

That is not incentivized by the people who are writing up these laws. You know so.

18:11.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like what you're talking. Ah I want to go back a little bit because we're a little off track but the it was worth touching on the the as you were talking before I was thinking about incentives because when we think about people who are in in a centralized power structure. And you always mention this first we got to look at incentives so someone in a centralized power structure where is the incentive for them to make the decisions that they're making so what is the incentives of the news media. The centralized news media outlets Cnn ah Fox all these things a highly centralized stream of information because they're all reporting the same shit. They've got the same narrative. There's a centralized There's a centralization of information there and then.

19:06.00

Max Shank

I would say they're opposing narratives but they're about the same thing and that thing doesn't matter very much compared to the real situation which is jurisdiction and Authority who's in charge and when do they exercise that authority.

19:08.30

mikebledsoe

There.

19:13.18

mikebledsoe

Well.

19:21.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and well that episode that you recommend to me last week Joe Rogan with Gavin De Becker he talked about how man that was one of the best Rogan shows I've ever heard. Ah, he talked about.

19:29.55

Max Shank

Is champ.

19:38.50

mikebledsoe

How all the news media outlets basically agreed to call Iver mechton horse paste and there wasn't a major news outlet that wasn't doing that and so what they got.

19:42.80

Max Shank

Right.

19:49.96

Max Shank

It's a coordinated assault on people's minds to maximize their attention and to maximize their fear because fear is deeper in the brain than anything else. So you have to recognize that that. You have to recognize that the news is a hostile entity and you must take precautions to protect yourself from this because of the incentives you know, um, the whole idea of good and evil. Is um I think it's a trap all on its own. You know, don't believe the red guys are evil the blue guys are evil whatever just recognize that they're um, traumatized animals just just like almost every person right? and they're just doing. What is in their best interest with no regard for you but rather than ah say this is evil this is good. This is what whatever you just have to recognize for yourself that that is a hostile attack. On your mind and it's not going to help you exist in the world better to pay attention and it might even feel ironically a little more scary at first to not like know what's going on in the world but when it distracts you from.

21:16.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

21:22.60

Max Shank

The fundamental. That's why I come back to rules of engagement if I have value that I can provide to you that you believe is truly valuable as long as I can communicate with you. You will take it. And it'll be a win-win situation. That's why I say the customer is always right? The coercer is always wrong and the more you focus on serving your customers something that they really value the more abundant your life will be and the more you focus on. Plugging in to a machine that is literally trying to destroy your mind and break you into thinking that you are alone and isolated and powerless and convince you that some asshole in a big chair. Knows what's best for everybody else because he suddenly like figured out his version of utopia How could utopia be the same thing for Everybody. We're so different. You know some people like having their nipples hooked up to car Batteries. Do I Want that guy deciding what utopia is no way.

22:30.21

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, ah, circle back. But the going back I wanted to finish on the incentives thing is is ah going back to the fear. The the media creating fear the incentive there is. The more fear they can create the more you're gonna consume their content and the more you consume their content the more you're gonna buy from their advertisers and their advertisers are going to send more money to the news agency and so you know.

23:03.11

Max Shank

And the more you'll trust what they say if you if you just expose yourself to it more you will start to trust what they say more and more and more and more and more and that's why you have right now, People who blindly Trust one outlet and blindly distrust another is the classic.

23:07.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

23:11.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

23:22.71

Max Shank

God and the devil situation. Blindly Trust whatever God says which is your favorite news outlet and blindly distrust whatever the devil says which is the fucking other guy. It's just it's us and them type of shit and you would think we would be past this but we're still just. Ah, half-retarded chimps looking for food and love.

23:47.78

mikebledsoe

There's um I want to point out you said something really important is the it's the repetition creates beliefs. So if you if you were consuming that news outlet every day. It's the repetition of something that makes it believable. We talk about the there's there's ah, a handful of ways that you learn something and if you want to ingrain something as ah as a skill and I think about skills and beliefs the same exact way is. Every skill you want to get better at hitting baseballs. You're gonna fucking swing that baseball bat a lot of times if you want to believe that something is true. You'll go to church every Sunday that way you get that repetition and so that you ingrain it. Whether it be good or bad I'm not saying either 1 is good or bad. But this idea of good and evil ah playing out and saying yeah red team bad blue team good whatever it is. It is is really. Great to look at through the lens of centralization versus decentralization because in a in a centralized model of society you can create groups of people and just say that entire group over there is bad or that entire group over there is good because not only is the information. There's um, there's so little deviation from one narrative about who's good or bad There's no opportunity. It. Yeah, it just creates very few options. It's like you're either like good bad or independent and you're kind of a dick for not you know. Deciding you're good or bad or not and so the decentralization of good and evil requires and here's the thing is decentralization requires people to think and that's why a lot of people are are resistant to it because you have to think. And if you have to apply moral law in your own mind to each individual that you come in contact with then instead of just being able to label them and not have to be curious about them and think about them and listen to them. It's it's a form of laziness. And people are ah again going back to repetition. People are repetitively ignoring information they're being ignorant by choice and they've done it so much that they they don't even think there's a way to consider and.

26:31.91

mikebledsoe

And make a moral judgment themselves on an individual instead of an entire group people because someone else did the thinking for them.

26:37.79

Max Shank

Well, there's a reason that um, we do that is because trust saves calories. It's really valuable to be able to trust other people that way you're not assessing every person you interact with and go oh is this guy going to attack me and steal my.

26:44.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

26:57.78

Max Shank

Will the beast meet or whatever it is I'm guessing be different now but trust saves calories so it can be a very powerful tool and if you trust nobody man life is extremely hard and it feels very isolated So it's.

26:58.57

mikebledsoe

Um, am.

27:11.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

27:16.36

Max Shank

No surprise that we want to trust somebody that we want to. It's all it's trust is pure efficiency it. It is like language faith Trust all this stuff if I can outsource my health to someone who knows better.

27:28.32

mikebledsoe

5 blame.

27:36.23

Max Shank

And I can outsource my finances to someone who knows better and I'm saying legitimately. Also they legitimately know better that that's going to give me a much better outcome if I can trust a farmer who's much better at farming to make my food I'm going to end up. So. Crazy wealthy. It is like a superpower to have all of these different experts and that's the core of comparative advantage but you got to be careful who you put your faith into right? That's why I think um, The. The most flexible culture is one that is based on free choice because if trust is broken in one sector, there's another sector to soften that trauma basically.

28:29.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

28:30.62

Max Shank

You know what? I mean as long as there are multiple options for where you can go to school buy your food. Um that sort of thing. It's ah yeah, multiple places multiple doctors you can go to and of course everyone because of.

28:41.60

mikebledsoe

Well that this is where.

28:49.60

Max Shank

Power structures we want to go from survival up to supremacy. It's like survival sex and supremacy and sex and supremacy are so closely interrelated because that's how ladies choose the more ah exalted or elevated you are in the hierarchy the more. Ah, you are going to alert the sounds so weird alert The females to your viability genetically right? So you have to look at these.

29:19.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

29:25.00

Max Shank

Raw instincts underneath all of this stuff so because there are people who are looking to dominate and protect their authority. They're also going to stomp out other alternatives and maybe even with good intentions. Do some? Ah arguably evil stuff the greater good just anytime you like hear or even feel that sense of the greater good. Oh My God that person.

29:49.30

mikebledsoe

That's where book burning comes in hand comes in handy.

30:02.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's ah, that's a slippery one. Um, why the ah book burning I mean the modern day book burning is getting banned from Twitter or Youtube or whatever it is um.

30:02.86

Max Shank

Come on get out of here. Good lord.

30:14.78

Max Shank

Yeah, that's pretty wild.

30:19.42

mikebledsoe

It's pretty fucking people people think are advocating for if they were actually burning books on the street they might freak out but they don't think they're not able to think and connect the dots that these the the way it's happening is the same thing or.

30:34.68

Max Shank

Censorship is an admission of guilt we should. We should be able to have we should be able to have ah a Martin Luther King guy and a hitler guy have a nice debate with each other that would be interesting to watch and like.

30:36.97

mikebledsoe

Um.

30:45.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

30:49.94

Max Shank

What you have so little faith in humanity that everyone's going to go like you know what after that crazy guy yelled for a while I think I am going to go for ethnic cleansing now. It's like what come on.

30:58.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, oh man. Ah yeah, there's so much to talk about there. The I think that I want I Want to point out that decentral late decentralization is not isolation. It's quite the opposite and I think what's going to happen in the future is that.

31:20.88

Max Shank

It's of specific aspects to it's not absolute decentralization because that that wouldn't be very efficient at all I think you're mostly talking about currency I think you're mostly talking about currency.

31:27.39

mikebledsoe

Right? You can decentralized to right right? You're not, We're not decentralizing down to the individual all I'm talking about but no I'm talking about food I'm talking about energy all these things. Ah the the it's not. It's not well.

31:37.30

Max Shank

In most cases right.

31:44.95

Max Shank

Talk to me talk to me about him separately though. So I can understand better.

31:46.49

mikebledsoe

I say this because what? ah my isis. Okay well I suspect that the media in the future. The mainstream media is gonna start trying to talk about deset people who are doing decentralized things forming decentralized communities. They're gonna be considered isolationist and. You know they're gonna try to you know, burn them. But ah, they're racist. Yeah,, they're already doing it. You're racist if you don't want to participate in this this narrative that we have going On. You must be a racist trumper and you can't be Trusted. We're gonna have to.

32:08.38

Max Shank

They're racists.

32:22.50

mikebledsoe

You know, hold some trials at some point down the road because of you.

32:26.69

Max Shank

It's just ah, a new agey fancy way of saying you're the devil. We don't listen to that guy at all. It's it's an ad hommonym censorship I mean it's so obvious once you filter it down to the real meaning of what's going on and if you're not even willing to have a discussion.

32:32.29

mikebledsoe

32:43.53

Max Shank

And sell somebody on an idea and you have to force an idea upon someone is it really that good of an idea I mean if you need to spend billions and billions of dollars marketing your drugs are they really like all that good. You know it has no marketing for it whatsoever. Cocaine. Ecstasy marijuana psilocybin guess what people do shitloads of with no marketing whatsoever. All those things so if something is really good. People will find out about it as long as they are free to communicate.

33:20.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what? what were you wanting I agree what were you wanting me to explain separately. You only said right out.

33:20.92

Max Shank

Freely with one another.

33:25.83

Max Shank

Ah, okay, so decentralization of currency and banking. Let's say versus or alongside decentralization of other aspects. So let's say food. Education maybe even governance because that's ah, that's a tricky thing right? How do you? really How do you live in America without participating in America.

33:54.95

mikebledsoe

But well governance is at the core of all decentralization. So That's the that is how are we going? What are we? What are we agreeing or how are we agreeing on the decisions we're going to make as a group. You know what are the rules that we're gonna abide by what are what are our values? um.

34:16.31

Max Shank

We already have a perfect method for that. We have lobbyists who pay the politicians to decide what kind of laws they want to exercise over the people and then. Over time. The people have less and less authority over their lives. It's perfect system.

34:34.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it works. Yeah, just shut up and go home. Don't don't go outside. Ah so the but let's talk about this so you want me to talk about currency and then talk about food as examples of this I think I think currency.

34:47.94

Max Shank

Sure just just ah, make them separate.

34:54.25

mikebledsoe

Which one should I start with the food might be make the most sense I think it's people can put their eyes on it and so decentralizing your food I'm involved in a project that is decentralizing food at this point and so um, there both.

35:07.69

Max Shank

For yourself or for lots of people.

35:13.59

mikebledsoe

So so this is what decentralization is it's about me my my objective is to create as much. Um, value for myself as possible and that is true value being ah my lifestyle. You know my my ability to critically think is valuable having a roof over my head is valuable the community I hang out with is valuable. The things that are of true value is I want to create as much value in my life. Ah as possible and. If I do that? Well enough I can then distribute some of that value outside of myself and so ah in a decentralized food network. For instance I'm gonna just give some hypotheticals because this is this is happening around. Awesome Texas right now. So some of it's hypothetical because it's in the. Plan and it hasn't completely been executed yet. But these things these are things that are in the process. So say that there's a twenty acre farm over here a sixty acre farm over here 200 over here five over here. Everybody has the ability to ah grow all sorts of stuff and. What you do is is you grow enough to where if you couldn't leave your own farm. You're good. You may not have all the shit you want. You're not going to get you know I don't I I have lamb but I don't have any beef and so and a decentralized model with food is we would then exchange. Locally with other farms now then it extends beyond that even fewer items might get exchanged between regions and we're also sharing information so we're farming in Texas someone else might be farming in Louisiana or California and we're exchanging. Not just goods and services but information as well instantly on what's working. What's not working and so in this yeah I mean we're not going to talk about economics as you know as a part of it but ah it.

37:12.33

Max Shank

Um, so it's kind of like bartering.

37:24.27

mikebledsoe

There's an so this is where I was thinking about timing money into it which is now I'm I'm like interlacing the 2 already which I didn't want to do but I was trying to stay away from that so the but I think that the the way that currency is going the decentralization decentralization of currency is making this possible. The other thing that's making this possible is daws decentralized autonomous organizations so you mentioned earlier that people need to exercise trust in order to save calories and so that's actually that's one of the big reasons that there's centralized power right now and dows actually help. Decentralized governance so daws are are basically governance models that are executed with smart contracts if this then that so right now if you and I go into a contract with each other and I say I'm gonna give you. Money for this service or whatever and then you don't do it and or or maybe you do it and I don't pay you. What's your recourse you then need to go to a court and then you need to so on and so forth. So as technology is advancing. We don't need a court to verify that something was completed or not there is there is a smart machine that is watching I mean depends on the service but but to make it easy to understand because this will extrapolate out to like farming. Um, if. You complete a project that we can track on your computer and you do it and you hit the complete button now. Automatically, the money is sent if I want to dispute it. There's really nothing I can do and that's possible because we're not using banks anymore and I'm not going to go dispute it and create a legal issue out of this. It just is and so. In the early days of dows which we're in There's going to be some stuff where people set up some rules and then they regret setting up those rules and then they're like oh we need to think this further out we didn't consider this and they're going to have to update things as they go along. It's going to become very sophisticated. And these rules aren't being drafted by lawyers lawyers are pretty much the people that are running and governing the world right now and like you were saying earlier. They use all sorts of tricky language. It doesn't make any sense to the layperson. It's very confusing and you can pretty much if you're a good lawyer. You could. And trap anybody in anything kind of like the Irs can basically you know if you follow all the rules as you see fit. You're probably going to be wrong or they could make you wrong if they really wanted to so in.

40:11.22

mikebledsoe

With dow's decentralized autonomous organizations which are run on the blockchain trust becomes unnecessary. You don't have to trust what someone says it just is um so last you there a second. How long were you gone? Okay, not not long at all. Ah, so yeah, the doubt dows are beginning to They're not going to completely eradicate the necessity for trust, but the future we won't have operating agreements in the future.

00:04.83

Max Shank

I'm back um, 3 seconds yeah

40:49.56

mikebledsoe

It'll be your business will be a dow and.

00:26.10

Max Shank

Well, it will still be an operating agreement. It'll just be executed by computer software. So it's software as a service basically which is responsible for a ton of efficiency.

40:59.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:07.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and with the blockchain software with Blockchain is basically recorded everywhere instantly and so you can't go fuck around with it and that's what makes it where it's it's like oh people are fallible. The legal system is prone to fuckery. But.

00:44.58

Max Shank

Right.

41:27.20

mikebledsoe

Over time. The dows are going to become more and more solid more and more useful and their use cases are going to expand and so um, what I see a future where the dows we talked about this. We have the farms. We talked about this like a year ago yeah and the.

01:15.78

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

41:45.78

mikebledsoe

The currency is decentralizing the same way if I buy if I buy bitcoin but I want ethereum or you have ethereum and we want to make an exchange I can quickly and easily convert my bitcoin to ethereum and then exchange with you and then I can take. You give me ethereum and I could exchange it over to bitcoin it was it used to be.. Yeah yeah, um, and so what I see is that people will join. They'll be using so particular currencies based on their values.

01:40.38

Max Shank

Provided someone else wants what we're selling right.

42:23.50

mikebledsoe

And if I want to exchange with somebody inside my value group. We all agree that we like to farm regeneratively and so on and so forth. Yeah let's just get on the same currency. We'll make it easy. Ah, each organization has their own dow each farm has its own dow that also can. Plug into another dao and so there there can become there can become hierarchy I think there will be really cool hierarchies that are designed with das and what's gonna happen is ah I'm gonna be making this food over here and you're making your food over there and or maybe. And then another guy has a solar farm down the road and he's delivering batteries to people who don't have space for solar so you know that's the decentralization of energy and so and all this is running on 1 cryptocurrency. That are multiple daalas plugged into a greater dao and if this happens then this happens someone is signaled. Oh this guy is low on energy that this guy delivers it and then there's ah the currency you can see the current start to work there and ah a current is always moving. And so the the system we're existing in right now it can take days for money to transfer. It's it's all these weird bureaucratic administrative steps that we got to go through in order for this or that to happen accountants. And bookkeepers those jobs those are jobs of the past. Those are not gonna be They're gonna they're gonna look very different or become unnecessary. They'll be It'll be more of like a reporting thing. Um, and so.

03:43.91

Max Shank

The.

44:16.47

mikebledsoe

Because what's going to happen is.

03:50.36

Max Shank

It seems like you have more ah control over what's going on but it it seems a little bit less efficient because you don't have the same economies of scale.

44:27.75

mikebledsoe

You're not going to have the same economies of scale. Ah and well and that's not that's not necessarily. Yeah, you're not going to accumulate. It's going to reduce the amount of of Deca billionaires.

04:05.67

Max Shank

Um, it's kind of like um self-reliance. Well so I like to think in extremes.

04:17.76

Max Shank

Well, it's just going to reduce your individual efficiency. So I like to reduce things to exaggerated Exc Extreme extremes. Ah for fun and for clarity and so I think of the ultimate decentralization like we've talked about is you run your own farm.

44:50.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

04:37.51

Max Shank

You run your own solar farm. You have ah a plot of land on a River all your own so you can make everything you need to make but the more you are relying on yourself. You have to have less.

45:23.13

mikebledsoe

04:56.34

Max Shank

Um, sophistication and complexity right? if your computer breaks down and you don't know how to fix a computer you're screwed. So What's the solution is it to learn how to fix a computer in addition to being a farmer or is it to live without a computer which ah. Is probably good in some ways and in other ways it's it's far more difficult so you just have less efficiency and less overall power. Um, if you're reliant on a smaller group so you don't have the efficiency through economies of scale.

45:49.83

mikebledsoe

Well, a lot of those things are.

45:56.68

mikebledsoe

Well, and ah if you Google decentralized network. So the the idea of decentralization that that word was made you popular in the IT community so ah now I can install a network inside of my house. It's highly decentralized.

05:37.18

Max Shank

The here.

46:15.82

mikebledsoe

And everything just flows and I can be on one side of my house and I I get perfect connectivity and I don't have to hop from router to router and all that stuff so decentralized networks. Um, the way it works is 1 thing could go down and it doesn't impact everything else.

05:58.68

Max Shank

The.

46:32.84

mikebledsoe

But everything else can pick up the slack for that 1 thing that went down so in your in your case where you're talking about the farmer whose computer breaks or whatever. He's not isolated. There are still people who are going to specialize. There are people in his community that are specialists and computers down the road and then all he has to do is flash up the bat symbol.

06:06.92

Max Shank

And.

46:52.27

mikebledsoe

And says you know I have this issue and so that's something where like we're talking about different specializations there and so you.

06:27.30

Max Shank

Right.

06:34.57

Max Shank

But that's where we get our efficiency from is through that comparative advantage.. That's why the whole concept of money in the beginning was so damn Useful. Ah, some people say money is the root of all Evil I think it's probably more greed is ah the root of some. Evil stuff that happens but the advantage of money is if you are a baker and I'm a candlestick maker and I still want bread but you don't want any candlesticks I can still get bread.

47:30.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and so decentralization doesn't make that that makes that even more possible look. We've got billions of people on the planet. We don't need 1 manufacturer of 1 thing in order for it to be really good. There's there could be many many and.

07:20.15

Max Shank

To and and I'm not advocating for that at all that there should be like 1 1 person who makes all the food.

47:49.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so I'm not saying we should or shouldn't but a decentralization doesn't mean that what the the main thing the benefit of the decentralization that I see is in a centralized model. We have single points of failure so you know there's 3 just as ah, ah this isn't totally accurate, but there's there's in ah in a centralized model and a centralized model like let's just assume that there's very few Usda.

07:46.44

Max Shank

Do you mean multiple points of failure in a decentralized model in a sense. Okay, got it.

48:28.52

mikebledsoe

Butchering facilities. 1 guy gets covid in one facility and now it completely stops up all operations and it breaks down the entire supply chain to where the farmer has to start euthanizing pigs because and this is this actually happened yet. These farmers have to start euhanizing pigs because the cost of keeping them. Alive isn't worth it because they got to keep feeding them. Plus they got more pigs coming. They're being grown and when a pig gets a certain age. You don't want to eat that meat anyway. So like there's like this very specific.

08:18.48

Max Shank

Right.

08:26.22

Max Shank

Wild.

49:01.57

mikebledsoe

Way of doing things and there's single points of failure in a centralized model and a decentralized model that one farmer could get I've gotten Covid and kind of fucked up. You know say he gets some some type of weird plague thing going on and and then and then the rest of it doesn't ah impact the entire.

08:47.12

Max Shank

I Totally yeah I Totally understand that I think for like.

49:20.42

mikebledsoe

Global community it impacts a very small person 1 person or very small group of people and the ability for these other ah because you're never disconnected in ah in a decentralized model. There's always interaction with the outside. It's just.

08:55.98

Max Shank

Right.

49:39.60

mikebledsoe

Just not centralized I might have instead of I always I only have a you know one way to get in that of my neighborhood I now have 20 and it take it may take me longer to get from point a to point b but I'll never get stuck in traffic.

09:32.44

Max Shank

It's kind of like insurance. It costs you more money than not having insurance unless something happens yet.

50:02.92

mikebledsoe

Setting it up is expensive. You know it's it's a time it takes time energy. Um I'm doing things with decentralized currencies decentralized food. Ah, ah, I'm talking my buddy Jesse about doing decentralized energy. He's working on that. Um, I think that's also important and so really focusing on on on getting all these things done is a huge investment of time energy money right now. But when something goes wrong. When there is when steaks are at $100 I want to go get a stak. It's me a hundred dollars because russia's not exporting the ingredients we need for fertilizer right now. Ah then I'm not going to have to pay a hundred bucks for my steak I I just go over to the farm and I pick up my food. Because I already contributed already made my thing I'm already I yeah we yeah we could we could eat steak exactly and so um, yeah, it's not cheap, but it is.

10:34.62

Max Shank

Or maybe you start selling steak and you start eating something else.

10:47.40

Max Shank

That's why I like thinking of it like insurance. Well it makes sense to me. Yeah well and you have to assign some probability of risk in your mind.

51:15.31

mikebledsoe

It is valuable. It's ah it's a you have to think further out and ahead in the future than most people are willing to do.

11:00.65

Max Shank

Like what is the probability that x will happen. What is the probability that y will happen and we talked about this in our in an earlier episode too. You have to ask yourself like what is the probability that I won't have access to food for three months six months one year and um. Everybody has a different perspective on that That's why thinking of this like insurance is helpful for me because in when times are good. It's going to be less efficient. But if there's some ah risky occurrence that happens.

52:04.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if something terrible happens if something if supply chains get fucked up and all that then we're living like Kings right by comparison. But here's the thing but it is already happening.

11:39.10

Max Shank

Then it's going to be well worth it.

11:44.90

Max Shank

Right.

11:50.80

Max Shank

But when it's not happening. You're not working as efficiently as you could and you're outlaying more capital to set it up. Well I mean.

52:24.30

mikebledsoe

So Here's the thing is there's canaries in the coal mine and there's very few of there's very few of us that are picking up on it I've been picking up on it for a long time Decade I Read Omnivore's dilemma and you look at that and I and I look at what's happening with the farming and I go. Yeah, I'm willing to invest a lot of energy in a farming even if nothing ever happens to the supply chain stays exactly the same I Still want to do this because ah the food that we have access to right now is not very nutrient dense and it's not it. It's already Poor. So The thing if I'm going to invest in my health then I'm going to invest in the farm If things stay the same but we all know the experts all agree and this is widely agreed upon whether you're on the left right? Whatever is. Soil is being degraded. You know there's only what 50 or 60 crops left that can be farmed on the soil the way it's being done so that every day that goes by the average nutrient nutrient density of our food. Is going down. It's going down. It's going down so I look at that and I go look even if we don't have a huge fertilizer shortage which is going to lead to skyrocketing food prices and rights in the streets and all that even if that doesn't happen I Want to do this anyway. Ah, the idea that something like that might happen definitely has spurred a little more urgency around the matter because I've been thinking about this since 2011 and it's 2022 and I'm just now getting to it because before it there was no.

13:29.32

Max Shank

Um.

54:14.50

mikebledsoe

There was no potential danger like oh this is coming now. It's just a slow trip. You know we're frogs in the boiling water. You know, just.

13:56.70

Max Shank

I think we should talk about food next week because what you're telling me now is a very different reason for decentralizing your food or ah taking more control over the lifecycle of your food and I think it's extremely valid.

54:39.40

mikebledsoe

Well, that's the case with everything that's the case with energy. That's the same with currency. It's It's not like it's not like I'm buying bitcoin or other cryptos because the dollar might fail that might cause someone to like oh fuck I need to get some now.

14:15.94

Max Shank

Because you.

54:57.45

mikebledsoe

But the reality is is we've got we've had ah you know we came off the gold standard in the 70 s and the value of the dollar is slowly degraded. It's the same thing as the food. It's just slowly happening. We're just watching it. But it's so slow that you don't notice and you don't feel the sense of urgency to make change. And so I think that I don't think we need to cover food necessarily again, but your your view of it being insurance is is that's only part of the conversation of like the benefits of decentralization. Ah, because.

15:06.53

Max Shank

The.

55:35.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's just I think it creates a healthier system. Overall.

15:14.32

Max Shank

And maybe not as efficient but healthier.

55:44.20

mikebledsoe

Um, I Well when you say efficient I I think I think it'll be more energy efficient Overall like right now we've got food being shipped from chile and.

15:24.99

Max Shank

Energy in versus energy out.

56:03.38

mikebledsoe

Steaks from Australia New Zealand and we're having it to make an impossible burger. You're having to get some ingredients from 20 different countries. That's highly centralized and inefficient. It's only efficient financially. It's not efficient. It's not efficient use of.

15:52.74

Max Shank

Right.

56:22.19

mikebledsoe

Oil. It's not the efficient use of people's time and huh.

15:59.82

Max Shank

But it has to be Efficient. It has to be efficient use of all those things The idea is that the amount of energy to produce it locally including everything has to be more. Than it would be to import it from somewhere else unless there's like dirty dealings or something like that. But you know if you're a company you're going to try to maximize efficiency.

56:42.90

mikebledsoe

And well well well part of it's cultural right? and part of it's cultural like it. It would be more energy efficient to get your food all locally. Um but the thing is is. You're not going to get people to farm because they expect to get more money almost everyone use 95% and now and now we got like yeah computer programmers in the city and and whatever fucking jobs are happening in the city going. Keep going back to computer programmers.

16:38.41

Max Shank

Um, well almost everybody used to be farmers and but and and and poor.

57:20.94

mikebledsoe

Only because you before the show. Ah, that's ah, that's pretty much it they like the most like the most useful people to me I Do you make shit.

16:55.57

Max Shank

Um, in our in our in our community. There's only farmers and computer programmers. You can be a farmer or a computer programmer or get the fuck out.

57:40.17

mikebledsoe

You make awesome software and can you feed me then I'll be your friend.

17:19.46

Max Shank

That does cover a tremendous amount of bases. Actually you know plumber Electrician there are other things that are similar to but you need like a tech guy and a food guy. Basically.

57:48.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

57:55.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, tech guy and a food guy is it right? because that's all technology. The plumbers are you know they're working with technology. You know.

17:38.60

Max Shank

But I wouldn't trust a computer software guy to do my plumbing or the or the electrical well and that's what I mean you could figure out anything. It's ah it's so.

58:07.24

mikebledsoe

No no could I figure it out.

17:57.48

Max Shank

Amazing to be able to exercise the benefit of comparative advantage in a community whether that community is large or small. The reason for currency is so you don't have to rely on the barter system which necessitates that you have something the other guy wants.

58:41.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

18:17.80

Max Shank

And you want something of his so I definitely agree with you. The quality of food is questionable in a lot of places and inflation is a very sinister tax that is hidden and really. Fucks The bottom percentage of the population the worst. Ah by far. So ah, you know I try not to think in good and evil but that shit's pretty fucking evil.

59:03.23

mikebledsoe

Totally, it's like the ah. Ah I saw was I saw a meme a few weeks ago that was like Biden saying we're not gonna tax the poor rolling in tax the rich and then they print off a shitload of money. It's like yeah a fucking snake. Um, but here's something we haven't talked about but.

19:01.42

Max Shank

Um, yeah, it's yeah, inflation's not good.

59:30.78

mikebledsoe

that I that I've begun to experience and I think we both kind of do this is neither one of us optimize for finances. We really value happiness and connection and. Like was it ah a year ago or more you took a lot of time off of Instagram you said? Yeah I'll make a little less money. Yeah I'll make a little less money but you know it's not worth my happiness.

19:31.66

Max Shank

Yeah, like 2 years but if I hadn't prioritized but if I hadn't prioritized wealth before that I wouldn't have been in that position to do it either.

01:00:07.23

mikebledsoe

Totally yeah you you thought I had Yeah, that's maybe to have I mean to have the same exact lifestyle you have then sure. But when I think about.

19:51.20

Max Shank

If money is the goal then I think you're missing the point I think if freedom is the goal then money is a good tool for that. Just like exercise and language are good tools that can facilitate freedom.

01:00:30.71

mikebledsoe

Well I think people people do get caught up on the money equals freedom piece and the truth is is that if I took away all your money could you still be free for sure. Yeah, but you it doesn't.

20:18.16

Max Shank

Yeah, free to sleep in the gutter until I figured things out. No, you'd figure it out. Yeah you I would figure it out I will say this though. Ah because I don't want to sound like ah super asinine I mean the reality is.

01:00:49.30

mikebledsoe

But not the same thing. Yeah freedom is freedom and money is money.

20:38.80

Max Shank

Money won't solve all your problems but it will solve many of them instantly that a poor person might agonize over. Ah you won't necessarily be happier. What's that.

01:01:07.65

mikebledsoe

totally totally I'm not saying I solve problems. Well they that they've they've done studies where more money this is I mean the studies over a decade old. So the numbers may seem a little small, especially with inflation. But they said that? Ah what they looked at was getting a pay raise making more money actually increased people's happiness up to $75000 after $75000 no change in happiness happiness didn't go up. But it it did actually tend to go down a little bit and so yeah, there's in seventy five Thousand ten fifteen years ago it's pretty much talking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs is you have all those things you're experiencing some safe you probably can afford a home in a place where you feel. Ah, somewhat safe. You have a shelter you're able to eat food and whatever so 75 hours after that no more but I bring up the happiness thing because do we really need to. Keep on going down the path of ah, having more and more specialization advancing technology and innovation and all this stuff that is happening at at a very fast rate with the centralization of power and by the way it actually might advance more quickly in a decentralized model. If we look at open source software. That's ah, that's a good example of of ah of a decentralized system where there are a lot of people contributing separately and doing their own experiments but like I use an operating system on my phone that is. Much more secure and a lot more advanced than ah than Android you know it it utilizes android but this company that created the operating system I use. It's open source people are contributing to it from all over the world for free and then Android then later adopts it. And then everyone else gets it because it was the the advancements are being made in ah in a decentralized model but going back to the happiness piece is you know I could have a shitload of money I could be flying in private jets to my 5 different homes around the world and all that but also which.

22:57.26

Max Shank

Ah.

01:03:41.20

mikebledsoe

I Could still do in a decentralized model that type Lifestyle doesn't completely go away there. But if I say hey I'm gonna take a pay cut and I'm going to live more simply and I'm gonna spend more time on the farm and I'm gonna and I'm gonna do more varied Activities. So this past weekend I did a little bit of gardening I did some work on the house I did some home improvement stuff hung out with a friend of mine to do all of it and I felt incredibly happy and incredibly wealthy. Um in that space. But if I.

23:48.29

Max Shank

Sounds like that's going to really interfere with your hustling and grinding though and you're giving 110 I I think it's good. You bring that up too because not only are people poisoned by the news but they're poisoned by.

01:04:22.21

mikebledsoe

That's right.

24:08.26

Max Shank

The false idols of culture in general. So people chase things that they are made to believe will bring them satisfaction and and then I'll be happy if I if I get blank then I'll be happy if I do blank then I'll be happy. And the reality is people are are different I know that's an outlandish thing to say people are different but we are and people have different wants and desires for a lot of different reasons. We have different upbringings and who's to say. That you're better off working at something you hate for 20 years so you can retire before you're 40 or doing something that you just purely enjoyed doing because you would do it anyway and making enough money but working until you're 80 years old ah, and there's not a right answer to that we want to especially the guru types and the leader types they want to say this is this is the way but it's like is it really the way like I don't know for you. Man.

01:05:44.31

mikebledsoe

By the way max and I are coming out with a product. It's called the way.

25:25.74

Max Shank

This is called this is the way do it or else.

01:05:53.49

mikebledsoe

Ah I think you brought up an interesting thing is because a lot of what people desire is based on what they seen on media right? No one knew that they wanted that car or this or that and so I mean if we go far enough back and.

25:45.74

Max Shank

It's all about sex people look. It's food and survival and then it's sex and sex is directly proportional to your position in the hierarchy and Ferrari's and glittery tits are the new currency.

01:06:26.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah, totally now if we look at the influencer culture and so we go on Instagram and we look at ah, what's his name ty lopez and.

26:00.63

Max Shank

For your position in the hierarchy. It's all this stuff is deeper than language.

26:09.98

Max Shank

The.

01:06:41.83

mikebledsoe

You know he's got the lamborghinis and the books and he's got this lifestyle thing going on all the glitzing lamb a lot of that was a lot of that was based off of hollywood so like people saw hollywood stars and people wanted to be like the the actctors and actresses back when you know television. And movie stars were the only influencers you know the I think you heard about that on that that podcast that we both listened to you talked about? Ah, there was only like 5 influencers in the world that that back in the 50 s or whatever it was or 60 s. And then yeah, yeah, like there's only a handful people that are known by millions or billions of people and now there's a shitload of people that are known by so many people and the influencers have become decentralized one.

26:54.66

Max Shank

When we were talking about like Elvis I think right? Yeah right.

01:07:38.70

mikebledsoe

We added channels to the television. You know we went from print media to video media audio video then it was internet Instagram Youtube and now there's there's more influencers than we can count and so that's decentralized so I think that. In the centralization of influencer culture. There was only a few ways to live your life. You saw their lifestyle on you know the lifestyles of the rich and famous and you go oh I want to have that mansion in that pool and all this but now like I talk to a lot of people that are my age and younger. And they look at that kind of stuff and they just kind of go hey and there's definitely ah, a lot of young people that are doing the glitz and glam and all that. But it's it's becoming less popular and it's actually made fun of a whole lot. It's the. They become comical means it's like yeah that is true, but everything's decentralizing. So now I you know I may follow some influencers that I like that that share my own values and so I think we're gonna see um where I think we're gonna see a lot healthier. Social environment with the decentralization of the influencers as well because I think where I think we've had to go through a point where everyone realizes oh I can be an influencer and they become extremely egotistical and it becomes it's not.

28:39.42

Max Shank

Ah.

01:09:08.99

mikebledsoe

It's such a weird thing and I I think that a lot of people got fucked up by that in the last decade but I think on the other side of that. It's growing pains on the other side of that everyone kind of goes. Oh yeah, everyone's connected to everybody and everybody's unique and I don't need to be like anybody else or. You know I want to I want to be a part of this crew over here I don't need to to try to kill myself to live up to some fake standard that I'm noticing over here. So I think that with with well with tech. Well but what one of the things that technology is really doing and ah.

29:11.38

Max Shank

I Hope people are thinking that way that sounds awesome.

01:09:46.92

mikebledsoe

Bitcoin's a good example of this is transparency is you can see all the transactions between all the wallets anytime you want and so the well I mean my only my email is tied to my my wallet.

29:24.13

Max Shank

Yeah.

29:32.34

Max Shank

Doesn't leave much for privacy though. But that's okay I guess.

01:10:05.97

mikebledsoe

So you wouldn't really be able to figure out who I was if I didn't want to be found Um, ah and you guessed it. Ah so but um.

29:45.34

Max Shank

Mike Underscore blood so at Gmail I wonder who this is.

29:53.82

Max Shank

Who could this possibly be.

01:10:21.26

mikebledsoe

The thing is is we've had an incredible level of transparency in our culture but it's been one-sided Only only intelligence agencies were allowed to have ultimate ah transparency you know there's anyone can go look at any my shit.

30:10.19

Max Shank

01:10:39.32

mikebledsoe

I mean if they want to be in my computer and my phone right now they can do it and there's nothing I can do about it and they want to freeze my bank account they can freeze my bank account. They want to look at my books they can look at my but they can do whatever they want we already have it's ah I think it's a Peter Diamandas ah is like.

30:17.90

Max Shank

Um, amazing wild gnarly. The power of the stick.

01:10:58.16

mikebledsoe

Like the future is already here. It's just not widely distributed yet or maybe that's a occurs while and and the same thing happens with transparency transparent 100% pure transparency already exists. You're already being watched if they want to watch you.

30:36.70

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:11:17.13

mikebledsoe

They're already collecting the data the shit is there now it just needs to be widely distributed because the benefit of this massive transparency. That's coming is the transparency will start going both ways. So the. I think Snowden was one of these guys that that started this is people like oh I think we need more to have more transparency with the intelligence agencies. Let's see about that. Where's the money flowing. Well if they don't control the currency anymore we can start seeing where the money flows at a governmental level. Okay. Things all of a sudden become very unpopular when we can start seeing how money is flowing all over the world and it's not hidden or being mislabeled or whatever it is so it's it's one it's one of those things. It's kind of like. I really enjoy my privacy I'm gonna do my best to maintain it and I would rather live in a world where everything was 100% transparent than 100% ah than ah well I'd rather be in 100% private but we can't. We can't put pandawar back in the box right? and the yeah so it's like the the next best thing is for it to be a 2 wo-way street is that there's ultimate transparency.

32:09.89

Max Shank

In a lot of ways That's true.

32:18.86

Max Shank

I think that's an important thing to remember with everything that we're talking about is there is no ultimate final best solution except for except for live and let live and I don't mean final solution like final solution. Ah, that that phrase is not cool anymore after that 1 german guy. But just you you don't know ah hit Hitler. You remember that guy.

01:13:07.87

mikebledsoe

I Don't know what you're talking about no fill me in how yeah I heard about him.

32:55.78

Max Shank

Yeah, his final solution was to kill all the non Aryans now I never thought that was a good idea and fortunately a lot of other folks also did not think that was a good idea. But ah anyway, my point is.

01:13:23.71

mikebledsoe

01:13:35.80

mikebledsoe

How does have to do with live and let live.

33:13.42

Max Shank

There is not well what I'm saying is live and let live is a really good way to live but everything we're talking about. It's just searching for a marginally better way if you spend your whole life looking for the ultimate Best way to live.

01:13:50.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

33:32.47

Max Shank

You probably won't spend your life living and doing things that bring you joy I mean I'm a very contemplative guy. Personally I find it really fun to just sit and think about things and sketch stuff down.

01:13:59.91

mikebledsoe

Dude, it's gonna suck.

33:51.68

Max Shank

That no other human will ever see because it's way too outrageous and I find I find that I find that super interesting. It's It's a fun game. Ah I also like to play tennis and dojujitsu and things like that where I'm not living in my head and I'm just in that flow state.

01:14:25.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

34:11.38

Max Shank

Um, but if you spend all time analyzing like am I living the best way possible am I living the most secure way possible. That's it's kind of like buying fire insurance. But then agonizing over whether or not your house is going to burn every single day.

01:14:53.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

34:30.79

Max Shank

It's like checking the value of your home every day. It's like checking the value I mean it's just like ah it's ah, electing to give yourself some sort of schizophrenia. Basically it's It's not a really healthy way to live The reason we're talking about this stuff is. I Think to give you some sort of understanding of how things are and maybe how things are becoming and how to make yourself as free as possible as these things change. You know I. Have enjoyed this conversation so far a lot because I'm ah kind of an Assholeish Devil's advocate if I don't understand something I will just ask the most poignant autistic question Possible. So It's a lot of fun because I know that.

01:15:46.12

mikebledsoe

Perfect.

35:26.63

Max Shank

You won't take it personally and it's also a topic that I I really haven't been able to grasp very well. Um I understand how you can I don't know actually because um.

01:15:59.99

mikebledsoe

You do you understand it better today.

35:46.31

Max Shank

The the main thing I don't understand is what the staying power of different cryptocurrencies is I understand the value of ah autonomous contracts. Basically.

01:16:19.28

mikebledsoe

I Got you.

01:16:27.29

mikebledsoe

Oh.

36:05.10

Max Shank

So like basically you have software and an escrow account like you know I lend you ah x amount of dollars you put y amount of dollars in an escrow account if you don't pay your payment I automatically draw on your thing that part makes sense. It's. Kind of like software as a service. what ah what I don't understand is how to value a cryptocurrency relative to another cryptocurrency or relative to the dollar. Um, but I also ah don't like the idea that. More can be printed any old time. So that's why so far I've focused on investing in companies that create a profit because it it doesn't really matter what currency they're dealing in. As long as there's more energy coming out than there is coming in and that's easier for me to understand whereas if you ask me how much f will be worth in two years I don't know if the answer is 20000 or or 0.

01:17:41.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

37:18.80

Max Shank

Quite frankly and and I can't understand how someone would be able to know that.

01:17:46.24

mikebledsoe

Man, there's um, there's a lot there I'm glad I'm glad that I'm glad you explained all that. So. Um, so the idea that that our entire lives from the earliest memory that we can before we understood value. We had made. We made something mean about money and for us american and probably people around the world I mean even if you're born in Mexico it's the dollar you know like the peso versus the dollar but our entire reality has formed around the dollar. So the dollar has behaved a very specific way. It's had its It's been consistent in our consciousness you know in different ways for different people. But I think that what we're gonna end up experiencing is it's a paradigm shift and so there's ah in in like all good paradigm shifts explaining. It is practically impossible. It's something that. I I think that for me. Ah what I've had to do is I've dug so much into all the different information I I look at how it works I've seen how it's behaved I look at the patterns and my I've loosened up my mind around the dollar being. The thing that everything else is compared against and it is um I mean I think we talked about this in the last year or 2 is like I've had a hard time going. Okay, we're not comparing things if we don't have a standard currency then man it's just going to be chaos. Really won't work. People are looking for stability. Um, so I think there's an opportunity for a paradigm shift around there being a single currency. Um, there's also people who were trying to There's a there's a gold backed cryptocurrency like ah you know a coin. Is an ounce isn't you know that's what it is it just is and when you when when you trade it there are your reserves of gold are somewhere and if you want it in your hand you can you know you could figure that out so there are things like that happening um a lot of people think and i. I tend to agree that bitcoin may end up being the like the reserve currency. Um, it's definitely a currency that now there's times that I believe that it won't be able to exchange in high volumes and that.

40:00.40

Max Shank

Definitely maybe.

01:20:28.51

mikebledsoe

It's expensive to trade and so only the wealthy will hold it so like like the classes of people will actually divide up based on part of it. It would would be like you know it's it's expensive to buy an Nft with ethereum compared to Mineero. For instance because the gas fees are higher so they basically train like ah like a transaction fee and so um, people will kind of like put themselves. They'll use currency that makes sense to them and they'll.

40:28.70

Max Shank

01:21:05.57

mikebledsoe

Be a little bit of a hierarchy that starts there. Um, but I mean in the end the the law of economic like when the primary laws of economics with supply and demand is really how it's going to go is what's the supply of it and what's the demand of it and enough people agree to be using a particular currency. It's going to cause it to do that and. I think it's going to take some Ai technology for us to that's the paradigm shift is it more likely is it's there's going to be a machine that can compute at high enough speeds that just kind of says that this much bitcoin is worth this much. Ethereum is. This much monro and whatever you're holding and you want to make an exchange it. We're gonna we're gonna make it work and I know that there's companies that are already working on that. Um, and you know there's this really cool sign here in Austin because I'm in like. Crypto land here right? So it's well they just had the bitcoin conference last weekend I had a few friends there and other yeah.

41:38.32

Max Shank

Here. It's even crazier in Miami and Florida yeah, don't get me wrong I love I love the idea of a decentralized currency that's based on demand and not based on. Ah.

01:22:22.79

mikebledsoe

Right? Yeah I mean as long as the authorities control that as long as people put their faith in the authorities more than they do and people then we have problems but there's a sign in Austin.

41:58.29

Max Shank

Blind faith in an Authority's ability to control their money printing and their grubby hands.

42:14.29

Max Shank

Ideologically I'm like a hundred but percent bought in already with that idea.

01:22:43.79

mikebledsoe

there's there's well There's this there's this one company that keeps on putting up signs in Austin they're black signs with white letters. It's always I I forget the name of the website but 1 is bitcoin bitcoin is a revolution. Ah.

42:28.22

Max Shank

Bad marketing.

01:22:59.74

mikebledsoe

Hiding in plain sight. There's another one that's ah ah bitcoin isn't and is not an investment. It's a vote and then um.

42:45.30

Max Shank

Now that that part I understand because one of my strongest beliefs is that you vote with your dollars and you vote with your attention. Basically.

01:23:18.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and then another sign is ah cryptocurrencies are ah is a rev cryptocurrencies something like that is a revolution disguised as a casino and so yeah.

43:09.64

Max Shank

Ah, that's one.

01:23:37.48

mikebledsoe

And so and and I think that all of those are clever and accurate. You know people are in there trading and getting in there and and they're excited about it's new technology. There's an opportunity to make shit tons of money if you want and not necessary. Well.

43:26.44

Max Shank

As long as you're in there early.

01:23:56.13

mikebledsoe

But earlier the better 100% about that. You know the best time to grow you know plant a tree was twenty years ago might as well hop in now and ah and and currencies is just one piece of this we have dows we have Nftts I've been learning a little more about Nftts recently.

43:31.63

Max Shank

There. Okay.

01:24:15.91

mikebledsoe

And well the Nft world is really you know what's getting a lot of the attention is the art but I can Nft my property and so now the the government so the the government ah holds the deed to the house right? They they.

43:50.97

Max Shank

Oh god.

01:24:35.85

mikebledsoe

Keep the the ledger and all that shit somewhere and they give me a copy of my deed and then ah but the Catholic Church used to do that and then the government took over that function because someone had to do it and they they have more power and now it's gonna become. Ah. It's because the deed and the recording of of assets is usually handled by the government if you buy a car they want your title if you own you know they give you your registration. They're going to handle the deed to your house I can nft my property.

44:41.96

Max Shank

Right.

01:25:14.35

mikebledsoe

And I can sell it to you and the smart contract says well when max sends this money here then this triggers that he gets this nft there and then it's recorded on the blockchain and it's inarguable and so the we just killed a ton of. Administrative load I mean it took me thirty days to close on my fucking house. It should take 1 and or maybe 5 you know you want to get your inspections and all that shit. But the majority of those. Yeah no shit.

45:15.22

Max Shank

Um, well look otherwise what are what are those realtors going to do otherwise though come on what about the poor realtors Mike that's not cool. Dude if they could.

01:25:51.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah, the realtors is oh the realtors are still be employed. No you think so I know I know I know a handful of realtors. They love their shit. They love putting people on homes.

45:32.10

Max Shank

Do something else. They would be doing that I don't know I just like to make fun of realtors. No being a realtor is an amazing gig in terms of the ridiculous commission that you can get on a house it. It makes no sense whatsoever. Um.

01:26:10.46

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

45:52.10

Max Shank

But just to clarify I think the idea of voting with your dollars resonates with me the most and that's why I like to let markets decide instead of people that's that's why I don't like the way democracy works because. It's basically glorified mob rule right? If 51 % of us vote to rape the other forty nine then it's perfectly legal but voting with your dollars requires that both parties of every transaction gain a profit from it. And there's no coercion involved so in that regard I think vote with your dollars and then investing in a certain currency because you ah believe in it like you vote with your dollars by investing into this currency because you believe in it I think that's totally valid. Still don't know how to value it relative to other things. But I think just fundamentally and philosophically voting with your dollars and voting with your attention is maybe the best advice to give anyone because then you also won't get caught.

01:27:20.81

mikebledsoe

Um, I think if you were to.

47:08.46

Max Shank

And this idea where you think like oh this is a good Politician and this is a bad politician. It's like no forget about it vote with your dollars invest in yourself and invest your attention in things that you ah want to absorb because you will be absorbing them kind of like you said you follow.

01:27:40.24

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

47:28.12

Max Shank

Certain Gurus Um, the internet is a tool cell phone is a tool social media can be a tool or it can be a poison and whatever you're paying attention to you're gonna. Absorb that you're basically downloading information into your brain So be really mindful of how you're investing your dollars and attention.

01:28:15.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and go check out. Um, if you one of the things that things started stopped being so mysterious when I went and read some white papers. You know, pick out a few different. Cryptocurrencies If if you want to look at something that is somewhat difficult to buy you have to jump through some hoops. Um, you know I would say Theta is something that's extremely useful that is that not only will your.

48:08.80

Max Shank

And.

01:28:50.26

mikebledsoe

You have an opportunity for the coins you hold to increase in value but will actually give you cash flow as well. The more that the service is used so the current all these currencies are tied to real business services. Most of them are actually um and so. Ah, theta being one of these is it's a video streaming service and they're getting companies like Youtube netflix a lot all these streaming services are getting on board.

48:57.10

Max Shank

Is it like buying shares in that company basically but using the coins as an avenue to do that.

01:29:27.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so you could do that or you could do ah you could also run a node which would then earn you fuel. Yeah kind of like a miner so you'd be contributing to the network with your own resources and there's there's.

49:11.32

Max Shank

Like being a minor. Yeah.

01:29:46.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's ways to be involved and yeah, part of it is like owning stock like it's the future stock market you know Apple should have a coin. You know you want to. It's just just new rules. New rules are that same same game and which does change the game cause.

49:22.35

Max Shank

49:33.60

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:30:04.78

mikebledsoe

Game is pretty much defined by the rules. But.

49:40.44

Max Shank

Well, you got me convinced I just invested my retirement into Nfts is that what I was supposed to do.

01:30:11.55

mikebledsoe

I wouldn't take all of it and do that. But um I I did just I cashed out the last of my stocks last week I hold nothing but ah, the only thing I'm interested is crypto real estate and startups. So I.

49:50.71

Max Shank

I can't help poking fun because I just don't understand well enough. Oh.

01:30:31.30

mikebledsoe

I own stock I own stock in a few companies that are startups I don't not stock market. So I basically pulled my money out of the stock market 100% so I don't have a retirement fund anymore. Um, and because I mean the only benefit retirement funds is I mean there's a couple of benefits depending on which way have but like.

50:09.90

Max Shank

E O E E.

50:22.73

Max Shank

Taxes Primarily who.

01:30:50.59

mikebledsoe

Taxes is the main thing and and there is a reduction if you're doing like a life insurance policy on you know how much loss you might endear. But the.

50:35.86

Max Shank

Just a reminder to our listeners. This is not financial advice in any way.

01:31:04.33

mikebledsoe

No, not none whatsoever. We're not financial experts we ah you know I just I have fun with my money. But yeah I've I've made I've invested. That's why I buy fun.

50:55.75

Max Shank

That's why you buy funny money.

01:31:23.99

mikebledsoe

But yeah I like startups in crypto the most and then you know real estate's the least sexy but I think the most important asset anyone could ever own.

51:10.72

Max Shank

Yeah, you gotta live somewhere and there's built in scarcity just follow the 3 rules of real estate location, location location and someone's always gonna want to live there.

01:31:45.30

mikebledsoe

True that true dot let's wrap this bad boy up and we we went hard today. The final thoughts max were you aggressive or was high aggressive or were we aggressive.

51:30.54

Max Shank

Ah, it was aggressive. Um. No, the topic is um, very uncertain and because I don't understand it I feel like I just kept asking a lot of questions which is is cool. Ah, but I still.

01:32:08.19

mikebledsoe

Um.

51:55.59

Max Shank

You know there's a difference between understanding and explanation versus having conviction in the idea enough to bet and I think that's something um that you learn I mean life is a bunch of bets Poker is bets investing is making bets.

01:32:24.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

52:15.49

Max Shank

And if you don't have the conviction to bet you really don't have any conviction at All. So The proof is in the pudding for you because clearly you are putting your money where your mouth is and that's why all these phrases have lasted the test of time right? So I think you got to vote with your dollars. You got to put your money where your mouth is and ideally you want to invest in things that you understand. So if you understand them. Ah just because I don't that that doesn't matter.

01:33:08.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and I think the the one of the thing when I think about you're talking about conviction and the word that I was thinking of was like oh maybe you know I think this is how I see it is groking it that is I ah. When I grok a topic is I surround it I look at it from as many angles as possible. There's a shitload of data collection going on tons of research and it's just question question question question and then when I grok something one day it occurs to me I go.

53:08.13

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:33:46.63

mikebledsoe

And this happened to me in 2017 it's like oh we want you to talk on a panel about decentralization I was like well I guess I'd better. Go learn about crypto so early Twenty seventeen before that when I caught a really big upswing I started researching it in a few months into researching and I go it hit me I got the.

53:26.54

Max Shank

So.

01:34:04.78

mikebledsoe

Hit that grot point where I go I get this as like oh this is the future I should buy some now but and I did and I ended up making like $30000 in less than a year from like ah.

53:40.54

Max Shank

The.

01:34:23.53

mikebledsoe

Mean I think I may put like four or $5000 in total and the.

54:02.91

Max Shank

6 x in a year is historically an incredible investment.

01:34:31.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I couldn't get that anywhere else I'm like I'm looking around I'm like I didn't do that in my own business.

54:12.78

Max Shank

Well, you could you could get it somewhere else, but it's just hard to know ahead of time. That's the thing there are lots of places you could get it Well I mean there are companies you can invest in that will do that. But it's just hard to know ahead of time.

01:34:43.40

mikebledsoe

Um, you can get it at the casino. Yeah, but totally totally totally. So um, so yeah I I like to when when something piques my interest.

54:30.72

Max Shank

Ah.

01:35:02.12

mikebledsoe

I Like to just say I want to Grot this and that means that I can I can stabilize a perspective around this I don't actually need to know everything about it because I understand the the philosophy I Understand. The the big picture how it works and then as I learn more information and I just get more and more confirmation like oh I learned this small detail about this cryptocurrency. You know that validates how I understand crypto and I keep getting upgrades to that that understanding something comes in I go. Oh you know what I didn't even know that that was possible but in the thing is the I've collected a lot of evidence. Of course you know we're all subject to the particular activating system and so.

55:30.32

Max Shank

Is that confirmation bias that you're talking about okay reticular activating system I learned so many new words when I talk with you new many new words and phrases.

01:35:58.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, kind of yeah so you buy a red car and now you see red cars everywhere. Um, yeah, a s.. Ah yeah, there's been yeah.

55:48.24

Max Shank

I Think you hit something really good there though which was you're interested and if you're interested in some I mean look I've done pretty well for myself. But the reality is I was just more interested in the topic than almost anybody else. It's kind of like cheating it's like ah the idea of what's what's difficult.

01:36:25.75

mikebledsoe

That's true.

01:36:33.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

56:08.10

Max Shank

Well difficult is anything I don't want to do. But if I'm if I'm willing to happily spend hours and hour hours and hour hours a day learning ah about movement and exercise and psychology and copywriting then I'm going to.

01:36:53.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that makes me think about ah is it not being fair people look at other people and go. They're so good at thing it's not fair. It's like you're just not as interested. What are you interested in. You need to go be unfair somewhere else.

56:27.25

Max Shank

Completely dominate someone who is just trying to do that to earn a buck. It's not fair. So if you're interested follow that.

56:41.85

Max Shank

Um, yeah, right? Yeah I when I'm playing games I like to I like to play games where the odds are stacked against me. But when I'm in real life.

01:37:11.83

mikebledsoe

Or maybe they've just been out the thing you're interested in longer that could also be.

01:37:25.88

mikebledsoe

Totally yeah I was talking to a regenerative farmer. He says ah just always trying to increase hammock time. But if I can make my garden grove I can make the farm work for me.

56:59.93

Max Shank

I try to only play games where I have an unfair advantage because you you can You can do that.

01:37:45.70

mikebledsoe

Where you know I think a lot of people think look at something like that and they think about all the hard work That's gonna have to go into It's like now you set it up and you hamicck time permaculture. You know certain farming methods are built that way. Alright, ah the only thing I've gotta say to wrap this bad boy up.

57:28.18

Max Shank

01:38:04.76

mikebledsoe

Is invest your attention into things that are decentralizing and learn about it because I think this is my belief and so you can just if you want to adopt my beliefs which you know when people do good things happen. Ah. The I.

58:00.21

Max Shank

You seem so down man I feel like I broke you what happened here. He's like I guess just ah, invest in things you like? ah.

01:38:30.10

mikebledsoe

Ah I'm um'm um well I'm is well this is my way of like not trying to be overly influential is my way of like it's kind of it's my energetic way of going you know, take it or leave it but it is a good idea looking at what.

58:20.41

Max Shank

Um, ah.

01:38:49.60

mikebledsoe

What's happening in decentralization when it comes to food energy money and governance and when you look at all these things and you can understand them if you get in on you if you catch the wave that's coming then life's gonna be pretty good for you. You have opportunity to. For it to be pretty awesome if you resist it and you don't want to be a part of it and you just want to keep watching the news and you want to just and put as much money into the Ira as possible so that your company matches it doing the job you hate then.

58:43.83

Max Shank

All right.

01:39:26.86

mikebledsoe

You know I think I think life's gonna suck. But you know I'm just trying to convince you to do things from a perspective I'm holding.

59:12.40

Max Shank

All right? Well I'm gonna go the exact opposite way I'm not goingnna be not going to be wishywashy about it at all I'm gonna say that if you go to http://macank.com/pass I have a new course coming out.

01:39:42.76

mikebledsoe

Are a.

59:29.72

Max Shank

Specifically for coaches. But Also if you want to be the best training partner possible been working on this for a couple years I think it's a real revolution in personal training and just movement coaching and communication in General. Ah. Limited space available http://macshank.com/pass.. It'll be more than worth money more than worth your time and if you are a fitness professional. It's a way better investment than anything Else. You could make.

01:40:27.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah I heard that I heard that your program is like the it's basically the the decentralized training system. You know so definitely go check it out. Folks. Ah, one thing I do want to mention is I will be at paleo effects at the end of the month they have not run their event in 2 years and every year that I've been before it feels like a family reunion. It's just so sweet. So I'll be there I'll be speaking on stage I'll be on a couple of panels I got a booth there. We're gonna be hanging out. There's parties every night I highly recommend. Go to I got a link somewhere if you want it if you want me to make money off this thing shoot me a Dm and then I'll send you a link if you don't give a fuck about this and and you just want to buy your ticket then just go to http://paleofx.com and get a ticket and then I'll give you a high 5 either way. Later Max love you

01:01:00.49

Max Shank

Love you bye.

Ancient Wisdom & Modern Technology Apr 04, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're gonna be talking about ancient wisdom with modern technology because if you don't hold both of these at the same time really well in the year Twenty Twenty Two you're probably gonna have a hard. Time thanks for joining us max.

00:22.25

Max Shank

Well, thanks for having me in the year Twenty Twenty two since we started counting because if you look at how long homo sapiens have been in this current form. We've been around a really long time and depend to you ask. Roughly two hundred thousand years does that sound correct to you I believe as homo sapiens. Okay, so it's ah it's really hard to actually imagine timelines that long it's.

00:46.53

mikebledsoe

Ah sure why not? That's what they said on Discovery channel.

00:59.40

Max Shank

Almost impossible to truly hold in your mind. The fact that ancient egypt was 3 to eight thousand years ago 3 to seven thousand years ago and what's interesting is a lot of the questions that people ask today and a lot of the. Ideas that people feel are unique Today have been asked and answered thousands and thousands of times both spoken and written over the years and I think considering a the fact that we are animals. Who basically look for survival sex and supremacy more or less in that order even without the spoken and written word is an important foundational point for this so human nature which is really animal nature has not.

01:50.34

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:55.91

Max Shank

Changed really at all in thousands and thousands tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of years but the technology has changed dramatically in that amount of time.

02:09.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's um I as we start talking about this I think about there's a ah 30 hour presentation on Youtube by John Vervaki Dr. john vervaki and it's called awakening from the meaning crisis Highly recommend it if you're a philosophical nerd. You're going to love it. Um, and so what he does is he walks you through the stages of human consciousness and really ah you know. Our written history is very short compared to that 200000 year span that max is just talking about and he basically is able to start ah a in-depth conversation about the development of consciousness with the jewish people. Hebrew people and then how it then makes it over to the greeks and the the way the greeks start making sense of things and I but I believe there was either socrates or aristotle who started talking about what makes us. Human is our ability to use logic and to be able to plan ahead of time to be human is to be rational and that is to have that self-awareness and then ask questions and to develop. Wisdom your job as a human being if you want to become more human he talks about developing wisdom which we're going to get into and also getting in greater touch greater contact with reality and in order to develop wisdom. You have to get into greater contact. With reality and so ah in in order to get in greater contact. We have to become more accurate with what is and this is why max and I get really likely notice that we get really deep into semantics because. Words matter because ah, each word creates a distinction of reality you know and if you have a limited vocabulary your ability to interact with other humans in a way and and with your own mind in a way that puts you in touch with reality can become very very difficult. So um.

04:38.86

Max Shank

Well not only that not only that but the content of your thoughts determines your reality big time.

04:40.41

mikebledsoe

I Think about.

04:46.19

mikebledsoe

Absolutely yeah, you're you're projecting most of what's going on in what you would consider your reality as a projection of of the mind. Um, that's why 2 people can be sitting at the same event and. Have a completely different reporting of those events happens all the time in courtrooms and and then if we're if we're talking about anything beyond the current moment if we're talking about the past there has been a lot of research to show that people. Remember things. Not only do they remember things differently from person to person but they remember them differently over time and one of the studies that really stand out to me in regard to this is they did ah they researched people's ability to what did they report to the police. Ah, right? after a crime versus what did they say once they got on the stand and and then also what kind of impact did the questions that the police officers were asking the people how does that impact their memory of it and so.

05:53.99

Max Shank

The.

06:02.50

mikebledsoe

Um, I'm very wary of relying on my own memory or other people's memories to ah in order to be in contact with reality because I know that that simply may not be the case. Um, and so. Man Why am I talking about memories. Yeah, your your perception does does create a reality and how you remember things in the past paint how you're gonna behave now and so ah.

06:32.81

Max Shank

Well I meant from a very practical standpoint. It started with it. It started with semantics right? And the reason we go through these semantics so much is if you hold the word depressed.

06:39.30

mikebledsoe

Yes, yes.

06:50.10

Max Shank

In your mind as meaning a certain thing or even worse as something with a very nebulous meaning you might attach a certain word to your identity and there will be a domino effect to your entire psyche which is going to have a domino effect to your entire life and so just. Being able to ah clean, the slate and have ah an emptiness that you can put stuff back into rather than being saddled down with all of these destructive half ideas. That aren't really fully formed so you don't have a grasp of what's going on in your own mind and it's this very circular destructive cycle if you're not very conscious about the words that you use with yourself and with other people.

07:40.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well let's dig into because we're talking about ancient wisdom and and modern technology and in speaking of semantics. Let's Define wisdom max. What's your definition.

07:55.55

Max Shank

Knowing yourself and acting accordingly.

08:00.30

mikebledsoe

I Like that the um, the way I think about wisdom is that you um, you, you're aware of cause and effect you're watching when I do this. This happens when when other people do this this happens. You don't wisdom doesn't necessarily have to be all based on your own mistakes of her Failures. You can watch other people's mistakes and Failures. So I think that wisdom is largely. Um.

08:29.10

Max Shank

Then.

08:37.80

mikebledsoe

Built upon taking personal responsibility for the things that are going on in your world and because if you are if you ever look out at the world and or you look at your own life and you blame somebody else for the way something is turned out in your life. You're robbing yourself of wisdom and you're robbing your ability to see how the impact of your actions thoughts all these behaviors how they have created the current situation and so somebody who is wise typically people who are wise you look at them and go wow they made a lot of mistakes earlier in their lut in there. And their life and now they they now know what? like yeah you got the old guy in the corner going hey little Johnny you may not want to do that and I was like why not and then does it anyway and then gets fucked up. You go? Oh ah so the the wisdom is. A lot of times people will associate age with wisdom but it really has to do with you know where are you paying attention and were you were you looking for? What was my role in creating any situation that's happening so when I think about wisdom I look at it like that. There's. Individual wisdom that's developed and then obviously the the collective wisdom and looking at ah yeah, and this is where like these buddhist monks that get together and they all meditate together and and they're very scientific in a way they're studying you know.

09:56.62

Max Shank

The.

10:10.97

mikebledsoe

But when we do this? What's the result we get happens in yoga as well and there the collective wisdom is when you get a lot of agreement. It's like oh we all did this 1 thing together and we all got this result and there's ah, there's ah, a collaboration and then we write it down in a book. And that gets passed down and so this is this is where I I really do enjoy reading what would be considered ancient wisdom ancient text because there's so much. Um, there is a lot of wisdom in there and it can help you avoid a lot of painful mistakes.

10:48.49

Max Shank

Yeah I think when you say wisdom to me that's knowledge because I think knowledge is knowing what to do and wisdom is doing what you know pretty much so the way I see it. There's a slight difference. But.

10:49.48

mikebledsoe

As you move forward.

11:05.60

mikebledsoe

Um.

11:07.81

Max Shank

I Can also perfectly understand the logic to your definition too.

11:10.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so so we've got wisdom. We got a couple to you know knowledge Wisdom Ah, let's define.

11:20.60

Max Shank

They all, they're answering ancient questions. Let's just put it that way a lot of questions have been asked since the beginning of human history where did we come from that's creation. What do we do while we're here. How do we balance out life and live life and then what happens after life death or destruction and basically every culture in the world has different myths or different stories. Ah, it's Funny. A myth is just ah. The the news a long time ago, right? So we asked the question hey where did we come From. How did we get here? How did everything get here. There are all these creation myths and there are a lot of similarities and differences we have How does how is balance.

11:59.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

12:16.60

Max Shank

Ah maintained. How should we live our lives and then what happens after we die and usually the way balance is maintained in our lives is there's a carrot or a stick upon our death that says if you lived a good life. You go to heaven if you lived a bad life. You go to? hell. And that is a very common thread in many different cultural fabrics so to speak you have the traditional heaven and hell you have ancient Egypt you have your heart weighed against a feather to see if you get to go. Ah, to the good place or suffer a second death. So a lot of these questions have been asked for many thousands of years of what to do with your life and what do you think? Mike? What should we do with our lives.

13:11.10

mikebledsoe

I think it's I think we should I think one of the pieces of wisdom that I've adopted over the years is looking at what's useful versus true and i.

13:13.51

Max Shank

According to wisdom.

13:27.81

mikebledsoe

When we talked about oh where did we come from what was the origin of the the world where what happens after you die and of course every tradition has their stories and I think what you're getting at you got the the heaven and health Piece. What is the Utility. Of believing that you're there's ah, a heaven or a hell at the end of the lifetime and that is to get people to behave a certain way and and so the utility for society to adopt a religion is to to help create order.

13:55.20

Max Shank

No doubt.

14:06.71

mikebledsoe

And ah this is where a lot of Western spirituality goes is you know? Well we're preparing for something later. Not right now and so which does create order and then if you go to the east and you look at.

14:17.20

Max Shank

Ah.

14:25.41

mikebledsoe

A lot of those traditions and how they came about which um, ah, a bigger I think both have their their utility and in the east it's more of yeah, you're creating your own heaven or hell and in every moment and. Everything that's happening is a complete There's no progress so in western philosophy spirituality there's a beginning and an end and in eastern philosophy it tends to be circular like now there's no beginning and an end. It's just it's there's seasons and cycles. It's winter spring summer fall. They call that some sorrow and the ah I mean the truth is that that both exist. Yes, there is a progression of humanity over time. Ah, if you look at the universe. It's spiraling in a direction. There's an expansion happening. But it's also moving in a spiral. It's moving. There are seasons and cycles. So there are aspects of it that are predictable and then there are aspects of it that are not predictable so when I think about what's true if you talk to an eastern philosopher. They go. Well, you know it's just a season and cycle. It's not that important what's important is that you just maintain the quality of your own mind in this moment and create heaven on earth in this moment and then yeah, the the west says who gives a fuck about what's happening right? now go blow yourself up. For for allah and you'll get 72 virgins and so these these are extreme. Yeah, well, it's it's ah yeah, ah Hebrew um, yeah, well, it's it's not necessarily.

16:00.82

Max Shank

They're they're they're from the west. Um I believe Middle East not to be a stickler for geography.

16:14.51

mikebledsoe

It's east us. But when we but well when we look at.

16:16.90

Max Shank

It's all relative right? There are different cultures and they have different ideas of how you achieve some sort of Nirvana or happiness or peace or fulfillment right.

16:21.40

mikebledsoe

Or the. Yeah, well the origin of these philosophies that christianity came from which is what our culture is largely based off of based off judaism which is the same thing as based off of Islam. They're all come from. They're all considered western ah philosophy is is where it spring from so it went from. Ah, judaism hebrew to Greece and then came over whereas you had a completely different track going on in the east and that's why I talk about these 2 things. But then yeah, there's utility to both. So um, I really think about let's not get too attached to what's true or not. Because that is what happens as people get way too caught up on what's true instead of recognizing what's useful and so what I find to be useful is to say yeah, both of these things are true like we have no idea what's going to happen when we die and we. Have an opportunity to ah to create heaven on earth in this very moment. So why don't we just do both. Why don't we have a nice life while we're here in this moment and do well and help each other out and find peace in our own mind and let's also make some progress and see if we can. Make a better tomorrow than than what we have today. So I have no idea how I got to that point. What's that.

17:49.21

Max Shank

So so productivity pretty much do so Productivity is the is the way to live. It doesn't matter what is true just do what is productive and make up your own goals.

17:58.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well you look at I think it was up was it socrates you know, true, good and beautiful if you pursue those 3 things life is gonna be pretty good. Do what's true. Do what's good and do what's beautiful and i.

18:10.32

Max Shank

That's a great way to go.

18:17.24

mikebledsoe

When I hear true I think of being in contact with reality not necessarily like a and I when I think about the Capital T truth I Think about that. That's my simple. That's what I in my own but personal wisdom says the Capital T truth is. Simply what is is right here reality right? now anything outside of that is got a ah degree of bullshit in it.

18:43.73

Max Shank

Man we could go down that rabbit hole big time. But I'm gonna for once. Keep this ship steered in the singular direction because you you decide for yourself. What's important in life. Unless you get it from somewhere else and I think that's where intuition can come into play a lot now. Intuition is a little different than instinctual desire for pleasure because. You can go down the path of 7 deadly sins total excess that sort of deal and you may not find the joy or fulfillment that you're looking for and in fact, more likely than going to actual hell. When you die for overindulging in these 7 deadly sins. It's more likely that it's a metaphor for creating a hell or an uncomfortable experience within your own life by overindulging in certain things. So I think. Coming back to intuition is very valuable and that's how the scientific method starts anyway is with observation and intuition you you go with your intuition to determine what kind of experiment you'd like to carry out. In the first place to see how that feels for you and this is how I like to connect it with the idea of identity because people get so trapped in different identities. It's like oh I'm a red t-shirt but guy I'm a blue t-shirt guy I'm a. But. I'm a white or I'm a black or I'm a man or I'm a woman and it's very it's very limiting when you're a creative creator so you have all of this potential to create things as a creature but we limit ourselves with this identity. When in fact, we would be so much better off using our intuition and our powers of observation to see what we find intrinsically enjoyable beyond some external result. It's sort of like putting the cart before the horse. If you do something just because you absolutely love doing it. The result is going to be way better and way more fulfilling than if you do something just because of the result that you may get so I think starting with intuition.

21:37.20

Max Shank

And observation to I guess observation and then intuition to figure out what feels intrinsically good that gives you an unfair advantage about any against anyone who's gonna do the same thing as you because you're gonna love every second of it and it's not gonna feel. Difficult at all because the whole concept of easy and difficult to me is you know there are things that are difficult like doing 10 backflips off of a cliff and landing on your feet but more practically difficult just means anything you don't want to do.

22:13.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah I Think that's a that's a really. Yeah,, there's there's doing something you don't want to do or or doing something that you may want to do that gets you a poor result that's also worth worth Noting. We won't go down that we talked about the marshmallow test before ah but ah, but.

22:34.70

Max Shank

Yeah.

22:38.56

mikebledsoe

But I what I think of when you're talking about that is the the 2 modes that people may operate from when when seeking happiness and 1 is having and the other one is being and if if you're caught up in the having mode. Of being and in creating happiness. There's never enough and you're gonna run out of runway and some days there's gonna be plenty and other days there won't and ah there there will never be enough and then the being which is thing if we look at.

23:02.10

Max Shank

There's never enough.

23:18.90

mikebledsoe

A lot of the new age Community. At this point, a lot of them. You know one of the things they do well is there is this focus on how are you being and then that attracting all these other things. Um the the pitfall with that is if you are trying to change your being so that you can have. Already fucked up. It's like oh I want I'm going to use the secret I'm going to use the law of attraction to get that lamborghini. Yeah, and you'll see how enlightened I am by the size of my house and at the beach.

23:45.49

Max Shank

To win an enlightenment contest.

23:53.20

Max Shank

Right.

23:56.46

mikebledsoe

And so the ah because I'll be able to attract more whatever and so.

24:00.99

Max Shank

That goes back to our earlier thing of survival sex and status right? and status is really about sex. Anyway, we were talking about the very beginning Beyond language or even deeper than language even other animals.

24:08.76

mikebledsoe

Remind me.

24:19.64

mikebledsoe

24:20.13

Max Shank

They're going for survival first and foremost then they're going for sex which is typically a factor of your status and so the way we explore status now is glittery tits and ferrari's more more or less.

24:28.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

24:36.40

mikebledsoe

Through.

24:37.90

Max Shank

I mean I don't want to put too fine a point on it. There are other ways to gain status some people like to gain actual power over other people like having political clout. But you know largely it has to do with a man's ability to provide. Into the future because women have gotten more and more intelligent or calculated with their discernment So now. Ah you know a mongo type of giant man who's dumb can't provide as well as a frail nerd who. Knows how to create value and wealth and security long-term.

25:19.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely so going going back to having versus being modes. Um I think that what what you were alluding to before is if you if you don't. Have the being part nailed down, you're gonna be It's gonna be easy to convince you to do a bunch of shit. You don't actually want to do so you can have all the stuff that you think is gonna create happiness and if you're operating from that place and then we introduce. Technology these technology is yeah, it's tools and it's ways of leveraging our own minds and bodies to be able to accomplish more with less effort and so if you're adding a lot of you know if you're if you're on a ship and. All of a sudden I you know we're going the wrong way. But we're going fifty knots if we're going really fast then you know some people are so excited that you're going fast but have no idea what direction they're going in and ah. That's what happens with technology. It's like oh I've got this iphone in front of me and I've got this laptop and I've got you know a 4 our-wheel drive truck that can go anywhere you you give these things you give these ah you give these things guns.

26:45.57

Max Shank

I Feel attacked.

26:55.39

mikebledsoe

Guns are a great technology. Um Blockchain is ah is a fantastic technology that's emerged ah all of these things in the wrong hands in the in the hands of idiots will cause death destruction and and. It's it's not ah, a good look. But you put this in the hands of people who are you know who've already figured their own shit out and they can create some really cool stuff. You can live a really good life. You can you can do a lot of good for other people. And you you also get to fucking enjoy it which is very very rare I I hang out with a lot of the entrepreneurial community people that have money and are very successful and yada yada yada and I don't think there are any more. Um, a lot of them are any more happy than than someone who's working a tip old 9 to 5 making you know a quarter of the money.

27:58.75

Max Shank

I Think there's a big distinction I would like to make between you mentioned the being and the having and I think there's also the doing which is a little different than being.

28:09.40

mikebledsoe

Um.

28:15.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

28:17.70

Max Shank

And clearing your being so that you're as empty as space as fluid as water not to sound too. Ah fruity language over here is X I.

28:31.93

mikebledsoe

He's a fruit cake folks.

28:36.77

Max Shank

Um, definitely I have some homosexual tendencies when it comes to just I don't know I like nice things I like to use flowery language sometimes I don't know I'm a simple creature. No.

28:49.15

mikebledsoe

You you heard you heard it here first folks? um.

28:55.35

Max Shank

No one's a hundred percent straight I mean back when I was watching pornography I I liked there to be at least 1 penis in there even if there were 2 ladies so I guess I was like 33% homosexual in my preference there.

29:13.21

mikebledsoe

Welllthough this are you is ah I mean the whole it's ah it's a manmade concept. Ah the that there's a really cool mental model that everybody every everybody.

29:21.80

Max Shank

I know you think I'm sexy Mike you can just come right out and say it.

29:29.46

mikebledsoe

Why do you think I was over at your house all the time. Ah,, there's this really cool mental model that everybody uses. It's used early on in textbooks. It's hard to miss and it's the spectrum. It's There's this thing on the left and there's this the opposite of it is on the right. And ah, you can be somewhere in the middle and you go from left to right? and ah, it's It's so and interesting to watch people put things like sexual preference on this scale.

30:06.48

Max Shank

Where it's binary.

30:07.57

mikebledsoe

Of Ah, yeah, it's binary exactly and so it's It's really really interesting to watch people do that I mean I've done it I Still do I I Love the spectrum it.

30:19.89

Max Shank

Spectrums Spectrums make labeling difficult which is what our whole culture is in love with we love putting a very precise label on something and that's why we often miss the nuance.

30:34.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so I mean so you have the linear spectrum but I like to think about a more 3 dimensional spectrum which would be let's let's have a ball. Let's have a sphere and and there's a lot of things in the middle. Um.

30:34.89

Max Shank

And the context.

30:44.70

Max Shank

Right.

30:50.91

mikebledsoe

Why am I bringing that up man I'm bringing up a lot of show on the show that I'm losing track of where I was at I cut back My new tropics Max What's the problem.

30:53.24

Max Shank

Well I think it's important I think it's important to understand that the problem you're having right now in this conversation is the same problem of focusing too much. On the definition of your being. The last thing you want to do is be proud to be a man or proud to be white or proud to be a woman or proud to be a you know fairy godmother. Whatever it really is so silly and you don't want to get stuck too much.

31:11.77

mikebledsoe

You know.

31:29.68

Max Shank

In trying to define your being being should just be enjoying where you're at it shouldn't be thinking about who you are too much. It should be recognizing that you are not a fixed State. You are a dynamic changing growth. It's classic. Growth Mindset versus Fix Mindset and even though the the book flow is really a challenging read for the reader. It's got some good information in there and that is where I come in with the idea of the doing. Rather than just the being like if you spend too much time in the being it can be entertaining to wax philosophical. But if you spend too much time there you become like a prisoner in your own mind instead of enjoying the emptiness. Of your being and focusing on the intrinsic joy of doing and getting into that flow state and that's where you become like an animal traversing the terrain or a big cat hunting their prey you become focused. You become the task. Instead of being focused on yourself I can't think of a worse psychological prison than being focused on the definition of yourself so much and that's one of the biggest emphases of our very sick culture right now is what are you.? Are you a blue t-shirt guy. Are you a red t-shirt guy. Are you a lady? are you you a she are you a they are.. It's what's a worse prison than that. So I say instead of that. Go back to the intuition and the observation to figure out the doing. Where you become the task and that is something that we've known about for a long time. That's chopwood Carry water. That's um, you know the yeah Boom tying it all back.

33:25.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ancient. Wisdom yeah that there's um I brought up this this video I saw on Instagram yesterday I followed a lot of the teachings of a Christian and Murty are you familiar.

33:42.41

Max Shank

So one of Bruce Lee's main influences.

33:46.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think so and he he was talking about when you when you identify with an organization a group a religion or a race or a gender when you identify with any of these things. You are isolating yourself and a lot of time he was saying you know what? if you lived a life where you did not identify with any particular group whatsoever and at the first thought of that a lot of people would respond to him with. You know? Well, you'd be I You would be checking out of Society. You would not be participating and he would say no, it's the Opposite. You're open to the the all of humanity the moment that you identify with a group.

34:31.63

Max Shank

You have a more open connection with everybody.

34:43.23

mikebledsoe

You have just cut yourself off from and and you've isolated yourself to a very ah small small portion of humanity and ah and and the truth and and you're even isolating yourselves from people in that group because you're all in agreement about.

34:52.96

Max Shank

It's horrible.

35:02.46

mikebledsoe

1 aspect of the entire universe and can potentially miss who that person is outside of that 1 thing and so you know I get some conversations with people around. You know, ah race and gender and the victimhood and and all of these things and I get frustrated at times and they're like are you frustrated because that ah that and I got I'm frustrated because the only I'm I'm trying to help you and. You're not even willing to help yourself. You're so caught up in this argument I can't there's nothing that I can do I can't I can't hand you any amount of money I can't include you any more than you're already included in and to participate in whatever it is that we're doing until you let go of the identity. As long as you hold on to that identity. It's it's you're inflicting this on yourself all the way now if you give that up and then you're being inflicted upon then now we have violence. There's a there's a real problem with that. But when we look at society as a whole right now. What I think. What most of us are witnessing is this this heavy identification with an organization group. Whatever it is and it's ah it yeah, it's creating massive isolation and isolation creates suffering.

36:30.44

Max Shank

And it's just ah, perpetuating this us and them mentality that this this whole idea that you should define yourself by 1 variable of your being is insane. You know. White pride black pride. These are just racist ideas. They're stupid like why would you? Why would you be proud of that. It's because you're so desperate to be part of a group because you can get status within that group. It's like a kid joining a gang because they have no family right. And if you don't have anything to offer yourself as an individual. You'll think oh gosh I can get some status even if I provide no value by just saying like I'm I'm part of this crew essentially so it's a part of our deep desire for community.

37:18.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

37:26.88

Max Shank

And when you have someone isolated like that It is much easier to get them jump in to some ah sick fractured part of a community. Oh big time.

37:36.57

mikebledsoe

Very easy to control very easy. Can I mean you I mean it's very easy to I like using politics as ah as just ah, an example because ah, no matter what political party you're looking at there is a. Oh are you? This are you? This are you? This have you checked these boxes. Well you you would be you would you wouldn't really be that if you didn't do this that you're not with how many um how many black leaders have been called white supremacists in the last couple years.

37:56.92

Max Shank

Us and them.

38:13.99

Max Shank

That That's a pretty funny one. That's that's a pretty that is a pretty funny one I mean some of the stuff I see is so outrageous. That's one of the things where I'm like this black guy is the black face of white supremacy and I was like huh.

38:14.94

mikebledsoe

Because they didn't go with. They didn't agree with Blm um, and it the.

38:29.70

mikebledsoe

Well I remember it happened it happened 1 time it happened with the guy that was running for the governor of ah ah of ah California and well well and and I and I was like oh that's interesting. But then I watched it happen over and i.

38:32.22

Max Shank

Okay.

38:36.77

Max Shank

Oh God here we go.

38:49.40

mikebledsoe

I think I've witnessed it over a dozen times at this point it's it's kind of like the boy who cried wolf though. Yeah I.

38:55.20

Max Shank

It's rhetoric and it's effective rhetoric if you know remember if I ever run for office. All my opponents are racist pedophiles. That's all I Got to say they're bad I'm good and they're bad I help nuns cross the street I work at the orphanage I.

39:04.21

mikebledsoe

39:12.91

Max Shank

Have a rainbow flag in my front yard and those guys are racist pedophiles. It's It's such a classic ah appeal to Authority ad Hominem attack which takes us right back to heaven and hell God The Devil These are not new ideas. There's a bad guy and there's a good guy. And if you can make people believe that a guy is bad. They will blindly ignore any rational thing that person might say and if you can make people believe. That one guy is good or God then they will blindly trust anything that guy says this is not new stuff and that's why it's so important to start with your gut and then you were talking about Aristotleian logic. It's really important. To have the tools to determine if something is reasonable, rational and true and it is difficult because most things the answer is not enough information and in fact, that's a ah, really valuable thing to. Notice is that when you have a true false question. There are usually 3 answers True false or not enough information to answer the question and most of the time there's not enough information to answer the question.

40:42.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think you said something really brilliant there and I I want to I want to zero in on just one piece of it which is the I think the the. Primary technology that needs to be mastered in order to use all other technology in a very useful way that's going to benefit yourself and others is the technology of language and you're you're talking about rhetorical fallacies and. Understanding language to a degree in which you can see when people are being manipulative with their language when I when I watch ah politics when I watch ah when I'm at the airport and I look at a Tv and I see. Advertising and commercials and I for for different goods and services and when I stumble across stuff on the internet I I get a good chuckle out of it because I can see the the Nlp the neuralistic programming I can see the manipulation. It's ah and it's interesting and and I think I have ah a very a somewhat unique perspective to be able to spot these things for a while I I thought it was insane that everyone couldn't see these things but there's there's 2 things that I've identified that I've done that that uniquely. Qualifies me and I bet there's hundreds of other people that that have done these 2 things and 1 is I used to have a top secret clearance in the Navy and I saw and I worked in communications and I saw an incredible amount of message traffic coming through ah about some. Secret shit and what I witnessed 12 hours later on the news is that all these different news agencies would be reporting on the thing where I saw the the reports we had were you know it was bullet point this happened then this happened this is how this is how we responded because. You create us. It's called a sit rep you create a situational report so that we can learn from it and make better decisions in the future. It's a life or death situation on creating these sit reps. You would not create one and then put a bunch of flowery language in it or or put anything that. Might not be true to make yourself look better. You don't do that because right? So you don't do that and then so I'm looking at at what I would trust to be very factual information.

43:16.00

Max Shank

Um, you don't hide it within 10 pages of prose.

43:30.17

mikebledsoe

Then turn around 12 hours later and I'm watching the news and I see Msnbc reporting it 1 way Fox reporting it another way Cnn reporting it another way and I just remember one day after being just. Months and months of sifting and looking and and being exposed to these 2 things happening at the same time and I go holy shit they're they're manipulating the the public at large and then I and then I I leave the navy.

43:55.63

Max Shank

Ah, the.

44:01.13

mikebledsoe

And I start studying years later I study marketing and then I get deepened up into marketing I'm studying things like and Nlp I'm studying hypnosis I'm studying how language is used to to 1 influence yourself and influence others because you're you're influencing other. Yourself with every word that comes out of your mouth and through your mind is influencing you and which and the words that come through your mind include the ones that come from outside enter your ears and then go through your mind and so there are. Combinations of words and certain words when used in a certain way are have greater weight for influence with an individual so watching seeing the objective data come through watching how it's manipulated seeing how much bullshit. Actually does exist there and then learning how it actually works ah does put me in this very interesting position and part of me wants to stay on the rooftops and be like hey this is what like can't you know that this what it is but but.

44:59.82

Max Shank

Ah.

45:13.75

Max Shank

And.

45:14.94

mikebledsoe

People are fish in water who don't know that they're in water and if you in my experience I talk to certain people who are very intelligent and they are plugged into Twitter all day and they know who said what? And. What's going on in Ukraine and they understand like war policy and all this stuff and I go I'm looking like it's like all your information is bad. You don't have any good data points. So it's like if if we assume that what you.

45:45.30

Max Shank

The.

45:51.80

mikebledsoe

No is actually true then you're right? But the problem is is the premise for which you're making your argument is actually wrong and so the.

46:02.90

Max Shank

That's a big distinction is to know that you could have a valid thought process very logical and correct. But if the premise is false. The result is still false.

46:14.28

mikebledsoe

And this is this is a conversation that I I have some friends that are you know buried pretty deep and in these in some narratives and anytime I bring this type of stuff up. There's a. You can see the emotional reaction and the and the immediate rejection of of a of a statement I'm like you know what there's and my girlfriend I Go Why don't you like tell them about this or this or this I'm like they're not they they stop hearing me as soon as they. You saw that physical reaction. They didn't hear anything after that. Yeah I immediately got categorized as some crazy asshole. Ah yeah.

46:53.88

Max Shank

You're on, you're on the other team is the thing right? You're the devil. You're the devil. You're on the other. No seriously, you're on the other team and everything you say will be ignored or misrepresented or just. Blindly mistrusted. It's better to not have any opinions that are too strong. Actually there was a really good conversation. Um Gavin Debecker who wrote a gift of fear he was on Joe Rogan's podcast the other day and. Joe Rogan changed his mind about something in real time and it was really nice to see because Gavin Debecker is a good communicator and he's patient. Guy. You could tell in the conversation. It was worth. It was worth a listen I really enjoyed it and they were talking.

47:33.92

mikebledsoe

47:42.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go look that up right now? What? um.

47:49.41

Max Shank

Were talking about ah model mugging I think it was called and Gavin Debecker was saying it's awesome and it's ah you know a 6 hour course 1 hour a week for six weeks and Joe Rogan um at one point was like oh I totally disagree. You got to learn martial arts for a long time. In order to make any of those ah make any progress because otherwise you'll have this false sense of confidence and you know as a martial arts teacher in this and that and he was like that and Gavin De Becker said wow you have ah a really strong opinion about this and Rogan was like yeah I do and he's like well. Let me tell you something that you don't know and he talked about the 23000 people who had gone through the program and had had better results in violent encounters and explained more about the program was and. Hundred percent credit to Rogan because I've seen him do this a few times and it's one of the more admirable traits in a human being is he goes gosh I really didn't understand it was like that and that that makes a lot of sense and he completely changed his mind within minutes and it's so rare to see something like that. And it's really encouraging any time I do and you're much better off not having such strong opinions really about anything because those are those are the hardest holes to dig yourself out of because you dug those holes yourself. By having too strong of an opinion the ability to change your mind is the sign of an agile and flexible mind and we've talked many times how adaptability is the chief survival characteristic. So if you get caught in these fixed mindsets and opinions that. Really aren't based on true premises and valid thought processes. It's like an extra prison that you have attached onto your being and if you think of one of the ways to greater mental and physical peace. As relieving yourself of the psychological burdens of the ego and breaking the back of the ego so that you can dance and you know drum to the rhythm of the universe not to raja style then it makes sense that you would not want to engage. In having such strong opinions because they are really more burdens and they're not very practical most of the time either. It's not like you get anything out of it and we can tie it back to the way that we use technology people are so desperate to.

50:36.50

Max Shank

To wave their own little flag and just say hey everyone I'm smart I know what's going on. Hey hey everyone I'm smart I know what's going on, please please like me give me some sort of positive feedback positive attention and that's what I see um happen a lot is it's. Fishing for compliments from the people who are already your side and alienating the people on the other side even more so it makes no sense to me what you're doing that for except to make yourself feel better. You might as you would be much more honest to just say. Hey hey everyone could you give me a few compliments I'm I'm looking for some validation Today. Can you tell me I'm smart and good but people don't want to do that because it sounds ridiculous, but they're perfectly willing to par it out the narrative of their team. Without having done any kind of searching for whether this is true or valid. So you're safer to just not have too strong of an opinion about things. It's very burdensome.

51:47.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if your if your ego can withstand it. There's are you familiar with ah Byron Katie okay yeah she's um, she came up with something called the work and she.

51:56.20

Max Shank

That name sounds familiar.

52:04.68

mikebledsoe

She also wrote I think one of her books I've got it somewhere around here. It's called ah, 1000 names for joy and ah she her background is very very interesting and that she's not a psychologist. She didn't study spirituality. Anything like that and yet she became one of the most profound ah speakers and you know like you quote unquote therapists that ever lived and if you really want to be impressed with her. She does something called.

52:31.46

Max Shank

And.

52:39.47

mikebledsoe

Ah, the work and the turnaround and she has a 4 step process that she takes people through you can just Youtube Byron Katie the work and you'll be able to witness it and the the idea of the work is the premise of it is that. People are creating suffering in their own life. Oh I want to talk about this first. The way she got to where she is now is she lost her fucking mind she lost her. Ah she went through down this really negative. Rabbit hole ended up like walking through the desert and she was gone.

53:14.14

Max Shank

Well, how did we get here? How did we get here. Didn't We do roughly the same thing I mean you and I lost our minds at least once E trent.

53:15.75

mikebledsoe

Back in the 80 s huh what do you mean. Oh for sure for sure. Um, but I don't think we were suicidal I only I wasn't suicidal when I when I lost it was one of sick.

53:31.65

Max Shank

We weren't so far gone maybe does suicidal mean you're like really going to do it or you just thinking about what it would be like because who doesn't think about who doesn't think about what it would be like.

53:41.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's suicidal ideation. Yeah well of course there's suicidal ideation and then there's suicid all um.

53:53.60

Max Shank

I mean I have it all planned out like you you want to do it. You want to but I'm a perfectionist that that's why I haven't done it.

53:57.87

mikebledsoe

I Just want to I just go skydiving and not not pull the cord man just go skydiving I don't pull the cord. That's that's my mask you know if I'm ever gonna go. It's probably I'll do it.

54:08.62

Max Shank

The problem is I'm a perfectionist I'm still planning out the perfect suicide which is the only thing that's saving me.

54:11.96

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah. So ah, anyways, she she basically had ah a major mental breakdown and ah, you know there's something. Ah, there's a few people out there. Jeed Mckenna is another person who basically went through a mental breakdown took about 2 years to get through it.

54:35.61

Max Shank

Ah.

54:37.12

mikebledsoe

Which is what what they have in common is they stop believing their thoughts and they got down to they were able to stabilize the perspective of truth which is just a constant presence with reality without the.

54:42.32

Max Shank

Ah.

54:54.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, without stories narratives things like that getting a fixed and attached to so she has a 4 step process for any narrative you might have to pry your identity from it and so ah, the the.

54:57.89

Max Shank

55:06.54

Max Shank

Ah.

55:12.99

mikebledsoe

The key issue is that people believe their thoughts and when you believe your thought to be true. You then identify for it with it. It becomes part of who you are and if you try to wrestle the belief out of somebody's ego. The ego is gonna fight back and say no, no, no Motherfucker. If I Let go of this then I'm gonna die going back to being accepted by the tribe because yeah, and so and so I need to be accepted by the tribe if I let this go. It's a very deep. Ah you know.

55:35.61

Max Shank

Right permanence.

55:50.26

mikebledsoe

Deep thing in your psyche. It's not something where you just hear me talk about it and go Okay I'm good with it I've been I've been hip to this conversation for a decade and I'm still you know wrestling with constantly questioning is this a belief or is this what I'm noticing or you know like there's a constant. Ah.

55:54.28

Max Shank

Are.

56:09.99

mikebledsoe

Questioning going on which I think is very very healthy if. You're not doing that if you haven't stabilized reality which I think almost you know, probably a handful of people alive on the planet have actually achieved that the rest of us are walking around with some type of narrative. Some people are so bought into it. They don't. Don't even know their beliefs might not be true and then to to be operating from a place where you're actually questioning your beliefs as and being based in something that's not reality is ah is ah I think a really healthy place to be and and that means that the ego has to you have to have a relationship to the ego. That is ah that is not so attached you know and if anyone is if anyone really wants to get to the core of beliefs and language and all that I think Byron Katie is likely the best. Practical resource There's some other really cool resources out there if you're really into the conceptual shit but she has got one of those practical tools I've seen out there.

57:17.61

Max Shank

So it all comes back to trying to ease suffering basically right because suffering is resistance and the opposite of resistance is acceptance so you accept the death of the ego which.

57:24.56

mikebledsoe

Now.

57:37.10

Max Shank

The reason people fear death of their body is because the story ends I I like to phrase it that way at least makes sense to me I would be willing to hear any argument to the contrary because I like a good argument, especially a civil.

57:41.61

mikebledsoe

That's right.

57:52.11

mikebledsoe

Um, I'm afraid of the horns and the pitchfork fellow. Yeah.

57:55.76

Max Shank

Argument. We're afraid of the devil that makes sense. Ah he seems pretty sinister. Guy seems like he would enjoy torturing you for a really long time. But anyway so jokes on him I dig it.

58:05.78

mikebledsoe

I Might like it though start jokes on him. Um.

58:14.70

Max Shank

Give it to me Diablo Man. Ah so we're talking about how to ease suffering pretty much and allow us to live with more peace more prosperity more productivity and. More productivity That's where technology comes into play and a tool is just a tool. It is in fact, ah more about how you use it So a scalpel in the hands of a child is very dangerous but a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon can. Save your life so understanding what you're trying to do with the tools you have available and is it more mindfulness is it more intentioned is it more deliberate. These are all Synonyms. Of course. But look computers are such crazy leverage machines but most of the time we're just floating stuff out there um to get validation which is an external trap rather than an intrinsic joy of doing and being. So recognizing what tools are most important in your life is a good place to start kind of embracing a minimalist attitude toward the tools that you possess and. Not necessarily does it Spark joy. But what is the real use of this can I get along without it and the same way. A computer can totally trap you on the internet if you don't have wisdom and you have a computer with internet Connection. You are fucked. Your your soul will be gone if you're going on Pure instinct and you have a computer with internet Connection. You're Gone. You need to have some wisdom to control these very powerful tools. It's the same with the refrigerator. Wow. What an amazing Concept. A refrigerator can store all this food. But if I have unregulated gluttony instead of wisdom which you know there are ancient proverbs that say eat until you're 80% full. It's It's the simplest thing. But that's why knowledge is easy but wisdom is really the practice of Knowledge. It's knowledge applied to your specific Situation. So I think having ah an appreciation for technology is maybe a good first step.

01:01:00.26

Max Shank

And recognizing how fortunate we are to have access to the goods that we have access to and to put yourself in a scenario where you don't have access to these tools and what life is like and then reintroduce them back. Into your existence. You'll have a greater appreciation for them and they'll you'll use them a lot more deliberately I think.

01:01:28.48

mikebledsoe

Well sir that that feels like an end of show synnosis. Yeah yeah, yeah, same.

01:01:34.19

Max Shank

Boom I Love it. Yeah so I think the I think the modern technology is way Easier. We don't need to talk about it too much and I think the the ancient wisdom has a lot of facets to it. It. It does primarily center around questions people have been asking for a long time and how do you find peace in your being joy in your doing and gratitude in your having.

01:02:07.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, beautiful, well said? Yeah I think about um, a really good example is you know how do you for those who use Instagram how do you use it are you are you a pure consumer that's just scrolling through that's. Being used by technology or are you are you using technology are you are you creating with it and not only are you creating but are you creating something that that brings you joy and brings other people joy and so I think about technology is simply an amplifier of it's going to amplify what is if. If if your life is full of destruction. You're gonna be able to amplify that destruction if your life is full of creative creative energy. You're gonna be able to create unlike you were be able to you were able to create before so be aware of that and the number 1 technology. That we all have access to is language. So what? what was that noise.

01:03:13.23

Max Shank

Dude I was gonna say the same thing I'm I'm right there with you. There's no, there's no more valuable technology than language. That's why you and I harp on it so much is because it is ah other than getting comfortable sitting quietly and just.

01:03:14.52

mikebledsoe

01:03:30.40

Max Shank

Doing things in silence it. It is the the key to unlocking and relieving yourself of these burdens.

01:03:34.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if you can master that you can be the creator of your world and if you don't master that you will be the slave to other people who have mastered language. So ah, ah.

01:03:48.44

Max Shank

Pooh. We.

01:03:52.78

Max Shank

Ah, it reminds me. It reminds me of this thing I was reading about ancient Egypt where the the priest or the leader had ah a temple that no one else could go into and they would bring him gold and food and women and shit like that.

01:03:57.39

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:04:11.82

Max Shank

And he told them that every night he had to negotiate Mott M a at which is balance with the equal and opposite world on the other side but of course no one could ah confirm this but I was just thinking what a powerful. Language swindle that is to say hey listen every single day I'm going to negotiate with essentially the other world or the underworld to make sure there's balance in all of our lives as long as you bring me all your gold and food and all this Stuff. While I go into that private room and handle this negotiation. It's it's crazy that you can get people to do things just by making noises with your mouth speaking of marketing and sales I mean it's Crazy. It's Crazy. It's Crazy. It's not Fair. It's not Fair. It's basically cheating because your relation with your relationship with yourself basically language related in a lot of cases understanding the definition of things your relationships with other people largely language related and then your relationship with your customers. You are setting the tone.

01:05:10.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, go.

01:05:24.51

Max Shank

With every word you say it's It's not Fair. It's not fair that it's such an unfair advantage that if you can speak and communicate in a way that is both clear and inspiring. You can exponentially. Amplify. Whatever it is. You're slinging if you're slinging carpet cleaning or fitness products like myself. It is fully an unfair advantage and I can speak from experience.

01:05:45.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:05:55.80

mikebledsoe

Absolutely and an overlooked thing around language I think most people when they hear using language especially in the way we've been talking about it is in regard to marketing or Pr Politics Media they're thinking about the outside language. Well there's also the internal dialogue you're having with yourself mastering that will help you master yourself and then the next layer inside of that is the the thoughts that are made up of words that are operating in your subconscious. And I I believe that everybody has witnessed this whether they recognize it or not they witness something that's been living in the subconscious pop up into the conscious realm of their mind and they go where whered that thought come from that was fucking weird that thought's been in there. For a long time more than likely and ah, you're just now you just now have awareness of it and it's likely been causing your your personality. It's been causing behavior for you and you didn't even know it. So I think it's safe to say if you. This is one of those useful beliefs that I have which is 95% and I I say 95% to get people a little more credit but I think it's probably closer to 98 or 99% of what's operating in your mind is subconscious, unconscious and ah. We we give ourselves a lot more credit for thinking that we're we're doing things on purpose when most of what we're doing is is an autopilot function and ah for me it. It's really cool to do conscious programming where I am.

01:07:37.10

Max Shank

The.

01:07:48.44

mikebledsoe

Intentionally bringing thoughts into my mind that are going to move me where I want to go but I find even more power and subconscious programming if you learn how to hypnotize yourself and embed codes that you want to operate without any conscious effort. Throughout the day. There's ways to do that as well and maybe I should put together a course or something I told somebody recently at a mastermind that they go well what thing could you bring to the group that would benefit them well I could teach you how to hypnotize yourself. Everybody's heads turn. Never heard of that before I've heard of hypnotizing other people. Yeah, you can hypnotize yourself but you know what show is wrapping up so I to save that little trick for later later it. It's really simple so hit hit me up on Instagram if you want to know about it oll ah send you a free Pdf or something. Have to make it up.

01:08:44.62

Max Shank

Cool modern technology.

01:08:49.89

mikebledsoe

All right max it out where where are people finding you these days.

01:08:56.77

Max Shank

Well I'm currently at the top of a very tall mountain studying with a monk who is 500 years old to figure out the meaning of life and he says in another couple hundred years. We just might figure it out.

01:09:11.80

mikebledsoe

Nice, nice looking forward to hearing the answer to that I'm gonna be using all the new biotech that's available to live to for another 200 years so I think we're gonna be good to go. Ah, you can find me on Instagram at Mike Underscore blood so and yeah check out the blood so show for more content interviews go to http://matchschk.com. He's not gonna toot his own horn today for whatever reason so go to http://maschank.com and check out. Courses on how to do cool stuff with your body and I'll see you next time Levy Max

01:09:50.67

Max Shank

Love you buddy! Thank you.

Is Investing Back Into Your Business The Smartest Choice? With Krisstina Wise Apr 03, 2022

Securing Your Future Mar 29, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back everybody to Monday morning with max and Mike Today we are going to talk about arguably the most important topic in your life because it is your life. It's about securing your future. Both. From a fitness standpoint a financial standpoint and a friendship standpoint so we are gonna talk about what is going to happen in the near and possibly distant future and what you should do about it. This is gonna be really fun. Mike thanks for joining me today.

00:34.83

mikebledsoe

Thanks! Man. Ah yeah, I'm excited to talk about this because we were just chatting before as we always do we we get a good fifteen twenty minute chat on before we do the show and I was walking max through all the steps that I've been. I've been getting walked through by a friend of mine on how to secure crypto finances and what it really takes to make sure that those things stay safe and why does that interest me well that interests me because. I look at the future and I see a lot of uncertainty which I think everybody does and if you're somebody who thinks that the future is certain then you have really fooled yourself and because we have no idea what will happen so the lot of ah.

01:25.67

Max Shank

I Think a certain future has to be kind of a sad one The the more certainty in your future. The more sad it's going to be and that's the paradox of what we're talking about is the more you secure something the more you trap that something.

01:30.12

mikebledsoe

Set Yeah a certain future is boring.

01:44.85

Max Shank

Because there are really only two ways forward. There's exposure and avoidance and if you only use avoidance as a strategy you will have greater security but you also have a much lower quality of life in your world Your universe your unique perspective.

02:03.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, this also makes me think about the was it Nicholas Taleb nasim his approach in the book anti-fragile anytime I think about securing the future or investing or health and fitness I gravitate towards his philosophy.

02:03.89

Max Shank

Will shrink.

02:23.41

mikebledsoe

And his his first really well-known book that came out was the black swan and black swan was about black swan events those are events that are unpredictable and black swan is is a reference to ah europeans that thought that only swans could be white. And they never considered that there'd be a swan that was any other color and then some of these europeans hopped on boats and traveled to other parts of the world and one day they see a black swan and it was mind-bending because it was never considered that. That could ever be true anyway and so the future and well the the past is is littered with black swan events. We think we know what's going to happen or we think we can prepare for every eventuality but the truth is is you can't actually prepare for every eventuality. And I find that anytime I start trying to set up an avoidance system for every potential problem that might come up I actually end up getting really bogged down and creativity goes down and it becomes very difficult to move forward and so ah. In his book. Black Swan he starts getting into the anti-fragile conversation then he goes into anti-fragile conversation and in that book and he ah basically says that most humans think about systems as either being. Ah, fragile or robust they're on the spectrum of fragility to robustness and so I have a Toyota Tacoma. It's considered a very robust vehicle but over time it will become more fragile. It. It will not make improvements and the same with my computer. These are systems that are truly fragile systems but the human body and he also talks about he makes a lot of comparisons between the human body and the economy is there are certain types of systems that do well with some uncertainty. So if you. If you expose your body to in exercise to novelty in small doses. You will actually see improvements and the system improves. Overall if you if you throw ah too much novelty all at once then then you start breaking the system down of course. But really separating out. How do you What's the difference between a fragile to robust system that spectrum versus something that exists outside of that which is anti-fragile system and so that's how I like to think about.

05:10.34

mikebledsoe

When I think about my finances when I think about my business when I think about my health when I think about a lot of these systems some people if they're trying to prepare for every eventuality actually end up building a fragile system instead of. Thinking about it as how do I build an anti-fragile system and when they do that having a hiccup in the system may be a little uncomfortable in the short term but in the long term It turns out being a really good one so just bringing that to the forefront as I. When I think about securing my future I think about those things.

05:48.90

Max Shank

Yeah I like to think of adaptability as the Chief characteristic of survival and Thrival which is not a word but I like to use it Anyway. Ah from a fitness perspective. Adding chaos to your training is really valuable. In fact, culture the whole purpose of culture is to reduce unpredictability and to reduce chaos and if you do not. Do something to compensate for that. You get really sad human beings. That's why you need to have games where you introduce chaos in a relatively safe environment like I don't know if you're familiar with pushing hands from TaiChi.

06:43.69

mikebledsoe

06:45.99

Max Shank

There's couple different types. But basically you and your friend try to push the other one or pull the other one so that they have to take a step and your feed are firmly planted and this chaos is like a more appropriate version of wrestling. For the average person. So the ability to adapt and react to an external force is really the chief characteristic of survivability. So I think adaptability number one culture is to reduce. Chaos and unpredictability so we need games and we need to dose ourselves with chaos if we want to really thrive and then just in terms of the the systems let's say there's ah, a fine line between prudence. And paranoia right? because the most the most robust system really would be to live with maybe 1 other person or a family on a farm by the river in a bomb shelter. And only leave when it's absolutely necessary so you increase your predictability but you also decrease your openness. That's probably why the further you go down that rabbit hole of securing and protecting the less creative and open and expansive. You are right.

08:17.73

mikebledsoe

Well Also Chaos is still going to find its way in going back to the black swan event is you when you create I think when people create a high level predicted Predictability. There is this inability to deal with the the chaotic and. Environment that that will come no matter what the black swan event's gonna show up no matter what and the more predictable you've been trying to make it the harder it is to adapt to that situation.

08:49.54

Max Shank

I don't think they're mutually exclusive but I understand what you're saying I think the more cards you have in your hand. The better off you are I think the benefit of living in a culture is that there's a lot of redundancy built into the system. Where I live. There are a lot of people who are electricians and plumbers and auto mechanics. So if one of them goes down I can go on to the next one if 2 of them go down I can go on to the next one and if you're relying only on yourself. You have to. Gain a ton of skills or you have to live in a very primitive way where you're not really able to use technology I just had my laptop sent in to get the battery fixed and before I sent it in.

09:39.38

mikebledsoe

Drew um, did you remove all the videos of you with hookers smoking crack.

09:44.65

Max Shank

Oh no no I just have it in a secret folder. Why would I get rid of those hookers love crack some of them do ah but I looked online first before I sent it in to get fixed. And it was 75 steps to replace the battery and you can buy a kit and do all those and it was 75 steps and I was like oh my god if I mess up one of these steps I can totally destroy my whole computer. So I ended up getting it sent in and. Especially with technology you have to recognize that no man is an island and that's why you really want to have kind of a segue here a little bit you want to have a social network ah a radical rolodex. Of. Not only service people but also friends that you can count on so there's that safety net we talked about a little bit before the 3 safety nets financial fitness and friendships basically and it's so valuable. Have those relationships with different providers of service and different providers of products and it really does increase your security and survivability.

11:09.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think about what's happening what I'm witnessing happening that continually which is ah the decentralization of things and the the format of of our our current economy. Being very capitalist I think it's going to just become more capitalist but the capitalism has allowed for a lot of that redundancy a lot of that the natural configuration if somebody goes down somebody will fill that spot and it doesn't have to be ah. Decided to buy a person's like oh we need to change this thing the system pretty much just adapts to whatever's going on in the environment in a capitalist society and as things decentralized more right now. It's like everybody is trading with everybody. But if we have a currency that is no. That not everyone agrees on in the future if if the dollar loses its value to a point where now we're going into decentralized currencies then there's this potential for a more tribalist type of society where you may not be conducting commerce. With certain groups of people and I think there's going to be an opportunity for these groups to segment and now I'm only go do business with people who are using these four currencies which I also use because the people that use these currencies share the same values and so whereas. Previously things were done geographically or by nationality things are now split up by individual values and and can be distributed throughout the entire world instantaneously and so I think that as far as the friendship goes and. Ah, social goes and economics go is having um you know if things deteriorate socially in in society as as it seems they they may go right now. It's good to make those friends have that person on board. You know have. 3 electricians on board have a few farmers that you're in contact with because the way that things have been done right now is there's a lot of single points of failure. For instance, you know through regulation Usda. You know you have to have a Usda butcher butchering the meat for it to be shipped across state lines and now you have these states that have almost no ability to birch butcher animals and distribute food and so ah, there's gonna be I think that there's gonna be a time where we.

13:56.25

mikebledsoe

We actually have to create our own network instead of just relying on I'll just go to the grocery store and pick this shit up and I've already begun doing that I've been on the phone with a woman just last week where we she she's in contact with regenerative farms and and it's helping distribute those goods locally. So. It's I think that yeah being able to just go online and pull up a technician to do this or that may become more difficult in the future and I think that the level of responsibility for having to create those connections yourself may go up.

14:33.99

Max Shank

Yeah I mean unfortunately the closer you get to the barter system the less comparative advantage you have because you have to have an agreed upon currency. That's the whole advantage of money.

14:49.46

mikebledsoe

14:52.87

Max Shank

Is that it makes it so easy to trade Things. We would never have been able to produce computers and yachts and trucks and all these crazy things like if you think about it I'm in shock when I. Drive my truck around because of how impossible it would be for me to make anything like that. Even if I knew exactly how to make it and what that's that's what I'm That's what I'm saying it would be.

15:21.40

mikebledsoe

I would totally not make it I could have every step laid out and be given all the parts still not doing it. Yeah.

15:29.63

Max Shank

It would be impossible just to gather. The materials would be Impossible. So The fact that we figured out how to trade with each other in such a hyper efficient way is the only thing that has allowed us to do all that so you know it. It's frustrating sometimes because the only thing a leader really needs to do is not fuck up the money and not get into any ah Wars or conflicts. That's actually the only thing a leader really needs to do ah and if you do those things though.

15:58.47

mikebledsoe

Ah.

16:07.37

Max Shank

It gets really bad so preparing for those eventualities is valuable I think gosh you know we can start getting into the nuts and bolts of preparedness. Certainly it's good to own at least. 1 property because you got to live somewhere and as the money devalues because we don't know if it'll be hyperinflation or stagflation or we we can't predict those sorts of things.

16:43.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the the variables that are currently present have never been present before we we are in a black swan event. So we have no idea what the result will be.

16:44.26

Max Shank

But rents.

16:53.11

Max Shank

Yeah, we don't know what's going to happen next exactly. But it's good to have an Id in your mind just have your best guess because I think we've talked about it once before it's like buying Insurance. You don't ah buy insurance for. Everything you just buy insurance based on what is legally required or based on what probability you assign to a certain thing happening right? So What is the probability that the value of a dollar or you know let's say that just a. Keep it simple suddenly a gallon of gas is $200 and you're like whoa. This is really bad but then you have to in your mind assign a probability to that. Oh and a certain timeframe and it gets very difficult to do those things. So.

17:43.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

17:50.99

Max Shank

Barring that which is unknowable. What do we know for sure that will not change and that is human nature will not change and so if you are productive yourself and you provide a skill or a service or a product that people will always want. That's always going to be very valuable so that's like your your functional safety net. What function do you perform.

18:15.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah I I think about the 2 things that that I am I do I was talking to Ashley about this Saturday which is I secure my future by continually creating value and investing in emerging economies or emerging. Technologies and if I do those 2 things I'm not really that worried about my financial future now the other the other the 2 other f's we were talking about It's not relevant as relevant to that I mean the creating value is pretty relevant to the the. The friendships the social piece because if you're valuable people will want to be your friend.

18:53.24

Max Shank

Is.

18:59.80

Max Shank

No question I think that having a group of people that you can be open and honest with who have your back and you have their back. You can't really put a price on that. So. It's good to nurture those things on a regular basis. That's really not natural for me to do I tend to be more in my own head working on projects and not really think to just reach out to people but it's something that I've gotten a little bit better with and it makes a difference. You know invite a friend out to lunch or throw a frisbee around and it can go a really long way, especially given what's going on right now where people have probably been socializing less than ever in Maybe any society for a very long Time. You know. I Guess ah neighboring Hunter gatherers probably socialized with ah their neighbors less than we do, but it's It's not a lot so reinforcing Those relationships is huge.

20:04.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and they didn't have ah well what? what's interesting is in the last couple years. The amount of actual social interactions gone way down, but the but the we'll call it the the fast food of.

20:19.55

Max Shank

Basement.

20:24.36

mikebledsoe

Social engagement has gone up. You know the Facebook instagram all the social media platforms. So I remember I was listening to a thing that what's his name. The guy the dilbert guy. What's his name Scott Adams he was talking a guy anyways. Um.

20:34.87

Max Shank

Scott Adams

20:43.28

mikebledsoe

Brilliant in some ways not in others but he he was talking. Yeah come on now I Well he would.

20:46.30

Max Shank

Not like you. You're brilliant in every way wait but real quick though he has an excellent Youtube video on writing just and the reason I'm plugging. It is. It's free. It's maybe a half hour long and writing. Or communication is one of the most high yield skills. There is so give give that a look in terms of securing your future.

21:08.12

mikebledsoe

It is yeah writing copywriting if you can write copy that is just you're able to write things that cause people to buy shit then you'll never go hungry. Ah yeah, so.

21:23.89

Max Shank

No way.

21:28.40

mikebledsoe

So Scott Adams was talking about somebody was challenged saying you know social interaction has gone down. He was like really seems like you know social interaction is higher than ever online and and that's why I say maybe he's not all that smart because he was making an argument for. Being we have more social interaction we ever have which is being dictated by algorithms and and you know of course humans tend to to create their own bubbles for sure like I surround myself with light-minded people where there's not a high level of disagreement. Ah, but the.

21:48.92

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

21:57.50

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

22:04.55

mikebledsoe

When there is disagreement. We can actually have a conversation and work our way through it whereas online that doesn't really happen. It just further divide is what happens and so um, you know a lot some people even people who are considered to be really brilliant like Scott Adams who who is brilliant in a lot of ways. You know he challenges that and I don't know what kind of world he lives in where he think and he may not have experienced that at all. He may have been surrounded by friends this whole time. Um, but.

22:30.70

Max Shank

Well, it also is a personality type difference and you know I've read a bunch of his books and they're very good. He's a hyper Introvert So this situation for him is almost perfect.

22:41.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

22:47.10

mikebledsoe

Probably been calming. He's probably been able to chill out.

22:49.20

Max Shank

He gets to he gets to hang out at home more. There are a lot less social obligations that you have to fulfill. Um, it's never been a better time for introverts and ugly people because you can stay home all day and put a mask over your face.

23:05.86

mikebledsoe

Um, well there was a did you see the study that people people now find other people more generally more attractive when wearing a mask.

23:08.89

Max Shank

Ugly introverts have never lived so good. Ah.

23:18.64

Max Shank

I mean it works in ah Saudi Arabia oh very mysterious. Ah, but you know someone like that.

23:22.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean to that point I've been in the Middle East and I I was on a deployment I hadn't seen hardly any women for months and then I arrived somewhere where they're wearing the. Full facial covering all I can see with their eyes. So sexy. My imagination just fucking went wild. It didn't take very long at all couple months. No women and then full on Bura and that was it's true and I've seen I've seen some people where I've been on the airplane.

23:43.89

Max Shank

Now we're talking totally yeah, totally.

23:59.66

mikebledsoe

Like oh that girl looks pretty good. She pulls her mask down like ah.

24:00.42

Max Shank

Right? Well, it's like why guys grow beards so we can hide the bottom half of our face. It's like you don't know if I have a chin. Maybe I have a really strong chin. Ah.

24:14.53

mikebledsoe

That's right.

24:16.99

Max Shank

There are a lot of examples of what you're talking about with Scott Adams there and I think ah nasim Nicholas Teleleb is another good example where you have people who are really intelligent in 1 regard and then they just are so far off the mark in another regard and. We're so locked into this cause-effect relationship for health and we're trapped by the way that we do experiments and who runs the experiments and who pays for the experiment. So if you're. Taking everything very literally. You're only doing what is proven ah proven quote by science quote again, you're not going to recognize the value of sharing the same physical space with another person. You know you and i. Have explored that realm quite a lot where even just being in the same room as someone if you're not saying anything can be a really rewarding experience and it can bring you a lot of joy. And calmness and peace and resonance. There's a harmonization of 2 living beings and if you are caught up in the explicit and more material. Sort of thing you're going to discount the value of that and so in a sense you're right? It's it's easier to socialize now than ever through a screen ah through the telephone and it's better than nothing but it's not the same.

26:07.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah I'll go back to what you're saying like the the quote unquote proven for people who aren't seeing the video of us is anytime anyone starts talking about something's being proven to me. That's an immediate red flag. Someone goes. Oh. It's proven that that I go immediately I I Dis If if they got a Ph D beside their name or they consider themselves a scientist I in my from my perspective they just discredited themselves because any good scientists look saying the word proven. Is a marketing term. It's not a scientific term.. There are very few Proofs in Science. There's the only time you would talk about Proofs in Science is it's It's a mathematical equation. It's a it's hardcore physics. There are laws involved anything else.

26:46.96

Max Shank

Totally.

27:03.00

mikebledsoe

What I want to hear from somebody who's a scientist I Want to hear is there is evidence to suggest that http://dot.dot the problem is it's not a very good marketing.. It's not a good way to convince people of taking your side So just want to throw that out there. So as you're listening to. Quote unquote scientists out there talking about what's being proven and what's not usually if they're a bureaucrat in some way and they've got a Ph D and they start saying that I I immediately you know start questioning. Whatever it is. They're saying.

27:35.54

Max Shank

Well, it's like ah the phrase caused by cells way more than correlates with correlates with doesn't sell shit and if we don't know.

27:45.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

27:53.81

Max Shank

The best diet for people which we can't know because I don't know if you know this but people are different this whole idea that we should all eat the same stuff is freaking Insane yeah you and I we should all We should all take the same medication. Ah, you know.

27:57.57

mikebledsoe

Ah, no should we should We take the same medications to globally you know.

28:12.16

Max Shank

We should. We should all eat soybeans for the greater good too. Probably yeah, no correlation versus causation is probably my biggest gripe and it has to do with essentially gang mentality people are trying to protect their authority. And make these claims that x causes y when really it's just that x correlates with y and it would be a lot easier to have a conversation about that if there wasn't such a fanaticism around these things. Let's have an open conversation about correlation. Versus causation and god it's it's hard to see if you're not in the industry yourself, but the amount of people throwing $10 words around is like so unnecessary. Maybe that just irks me because. I I know what those words mean but I also know that it just makes it harder for the individual to understand and when you say something like post brandial forward ambulation. Why don't you just say go for a walk after you eat. So so it's like so ridiculous to me? well but that's just yeah, that's just it. It sounds much fancier if you use these fancy terms and that that is what sells and um.

29:29.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, well I won't I won't sound smart to the other scientists I won't be able to impress people.

29:46.73

Max Shank

You have to protect yourself from that speaking of securing your future I think making sure you can't make sure all the way but making sure you don't get swindled by the popularity paradox and the popularity paradox is something I use to describe. The fact that um things that are popular are usually only so because they're striking or different.. It's like a purple cow is going to be more attention grabbing but you probably shouldn't eat. It.

30:23.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, that the more popular something is the more I I question it something that like I just look at Mainstream and I've had people ask me and they go. Why are you? Why are you so extreme and. So alternative in every area of your life. It seems like if I if I uncover an aspect in my Life. You will go Wow. You're so extreme or whatever and I go look if it's mainstream if everybody is agreeing on it I start asking questions. And I start looking the opposite way because I'm just looking at the results of the mainstream if the results of the mainstream were you know, ah beautifully healthy bodies financially secure and everything was going really great I would pay attention to what the mainstream is.

30:58.74

Max Shank

The.

31:05.94

Max Shank

Totally.

31:16.55

mikebledsoe

Doing and and follow suit. But when I look at the mainstream I go the results of what's happening in the mainstream are so poor that to listen to any of those people giving advice on how to live life or to do things their way. And it would just be sad and for people who understand Health and fitness the the food pyramid's a great example of of that or the most the most predominant food in the grocery store is corn and there's all these there's there's.

31:39.27

Max Shank

For.

31:46.90

Max Shank

31:51.54

mikebledsoe

There are these things like the food pyramid and and the predominance of corn that bring into question is like oh should I be eating corn if that's what everyone else is eating and they look like shit and ah and should I be eating like the food pyramid because the average person. They've been exposed. That's the only information they've really been exposed to on how to eat and they look and feel like shit. So let's look at something else. So the same thing with with economics and with investing you know if everyone's doing an ira. Everyone's doing an Ira and doing ah a. This and that and s and p five hundred I I look you might be able to have your investment match inflation. Hopefully probably not this year but in previous years you you probably outperformed it just kind of depends on here and there. But. You know the average person is not making that kind of investment but even out of the people who are investing the mainstream is that and there returns the amount of money you have to to invest in order to retire if you're gonna put it into a typical ira or something like that is ridiculous. You have to start investing in your twenty s and hopefully you'll be able to take some out in your 60 s. And it just it that to me does not make any sense so I look at alternative investing strategies as well and so and to me that's where I was talking about investing in in emerging technology. So web 3.0 to me right now is the emerging technology anything that's web 3 o is interesting to me tesla stock is interesting to me there. There. Ah, there's a new. Ah there's a new. Strategy for mining bitcoin that Exxon Mobileil has put into place but there's also some small companies that have ah partnered with some some oil drilling companies that the flair. So. There's a lot of methane gas that's produced when drilling for oil and that's where you see those fire stacks and they're just letting that air out well burning up that methane and creating a lot of co 2 in fact, and they're being taxed on that co 2 but they figured out how to capture that methane. And use that as a fuel for servers to mine cryptocurrencies and so now they're going to save 50% on their taxes and they're now mining cryptocurrencies. So to me I look at that and go that's a very clever emerging technology that's based on.

34:21.73

Max Shank

There you go.

34:37.71

mikebledsoe

What's happening and and blockchain and web 3.0 and so I'm looking at all this and I go that's where I want to put my attention. Ah the majority of it for me and of course I'm I'm someone who's who's always trying to stay ahead of the curve and not be in the mainstream.

34:54.63

Max Shank

Investment Strategy can look a lot of different ways. You can get very rich selling wood pellets. Ah I I tend to do kind of the opposite of what you're talking about which is more more to look at things that are.

34:56.40

mikebledsoe

So.

35:08.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

35:14.39

Max Shank

Generating cash and creating real profit right now that has a bad public perception If we're talking about individual companies to invest in something that people need something that is delivered at a profit. Something that isn't going to change in the future but there are a lot of things that get publicly beaten down because they're not. They don't sound as cool. Um, so it's tricky. The truth is though if you don't know.

35:41.00

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

35:50.90

Max Shank

Ah, you can spend the time to teach yourself, but you probably would be better off investing in growing your own business I Assume most of the people listening to this own their own business. So um, investing into your own ability to generate income and then investing into a single. Property that you can live in so you're not just spending money on rent every month before you worry about investing into other companies because you can get a way better return betting on yourself.

36:17.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

36:23.36

mikebledsoe

Well that that's a predominant view and which which I held for a long time which is if I'm going to reinvest in my business What's what's a better place to reinvest the problem is I I lacked diversity. And my portfolio basically and so my business didn't do well which is not always in my control then now I'm fucked to so the the frame that I've I've adopted in the last year is I treat my business as an income producing asset.

36:40.56

Max Shank

Right? right? totally.

36:59.67

mikebledsoe

It's not a place to build Wealth Wealth is built by other high leverage income producing Income Producing assets and what I'm looking for is the highest leverage that means it requires the least amount of effort for me to get the highest returns possible.

37:18.58

Max Shank

So investing. Basically.

37:18.97

mikebledsoe

And so if I'm investing my own. Yeah, but if I'm investing in my own business and I'm still working in my business. It's actually not a very high leverage. But if I become a a true. Yeah, well you want to become a I don't think anything is passive. But.

37:26.14

Max Shank

Right? I see so you're talking about passive investing right.

37:37.38

mikebledsoe

Some is more active than others and so like even in the stock market.

37:41.29

Max Shank

Passive meaning you're not doing any work or management. You know you can trade certainly but right, but okay so you could hire you could hire a fund manager you could hire a fund manager I suppose would be the the.

37:45.11

mikebledsoe

Um, that's still managing though you're stopping a you're giving it energy. Yeah, you do it all the politicians do yeah so and they can claim that they they oh I didn't know I was investing in Lockheed Martin 24 hours before the war with Russia was announced.

37:56.92

Max Shank

Least effort. What's that what.

38:11.39

Max Shank

Ah, well.

38:13.51

mikebledsoe

There's ah that you Nancy Pelosi you know one of the the biggest offenders of taking advantage of inside knowledge for the purpose of investing there was a Twitter account that tweeted every one of her trades.

38:19.55

Max Shank

Um, oh yeah, yeah, what a surprise.

38:30.81

mikebledsoe

And then Twitter bandit which is a very interesting thing. Yeah, but going back to I really like to put money I think you're right invest in your own ability to create value so that you can continue to have income that produces income initial income. And then ah you know own a home so that you're not just paying rent because she does hit the fan and look my mortgage is set I'm paying the same amount. The the dollar could lose half its value which it may and. Which basically means I got a cheaper house and what good for me. But if I was paying rent. What what do you think? Rent's going to do rent's gonna go. It's gonna skyrocket. It has to so actually if you're a homeowner you almost want and and most of your stuff's in real estate inflation.

39:10.96

Max Shank

You're locked in.

39:16.74

Max Shank

Um, it has to.

39:27.76

mikebledsoe

Could be seen as ah as a positive thing hyperinflation is not because that's just disrupts the entire economy. But yeah, so and then the third one is so invest in your own ability to create value and get your property and then invest in high leverage assets things that just produce income which I think is what you were saying what you want to. Investment things that are throwing off cash now not something where I'm going to put money in and hopefully it goes up in value and I'll be able to take some out the future is that accurate.

39:55.80

Max Shank

Yeah, yes, and it's tricky too because um, if there was an investment that didn't follow the rules of risk and reward everyone would invest into it so risk and reward are proportional and.

40:07.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

40:13.95

Max Shank

If you buy I don't know let's say Tesla right now you're probably not going to hundred x your money over the next few years I don't see how it could happen I'm already stunned that that company is worth so much. It makes no sense is divorced.

40:21.21

mikebledsoe

No.

40:33.60

Max Shank

It's divorced from reality. Um, so we could have a separate conversation about that. But there are companies that you could purchase that can hundred x over the next couple years but they can also go to 0

40:45.19

mikebledsoe

Um, um.

40:51.39

Max Shank

So The risk is much higher and the reward is much higher. So If you're looking to diversify your wealth then it would make sense to be really clear on that risk reward. You can. Only gain more if you risk more generally speaking if it's going to be a passive investment because you're not in control of what a cryptocurrency is going to do. You're not in control of what a company's going to do and usually the the more secure it is the less volatile it is.

41:26.41

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I I this is where you and I differ because you you tend to go more on the conservative route and so that the 2 things I invest the 2 things I've invested in so far. Ah.

41:28.55

Max Shank

The less It has the potential to grow. So.

41:36.55

Max Shank

Is true.

41:44.20

mikebledsoe

The most heavily has been startups and the second would be crypto and I've 2 of the 3 are winners and the but 1 of them which was my biggest investment ah went to 0 in a month

41:51.11

Max Shank

42:01.10

Max Shank

Right.

42:02.50

mikebledsoe

So I was just I basically just took money put it in the toilet and flushed it that one hurt and I I learned to I yeah I learned I learned to vet a little better. Um and then cryptocurrencies.

42:06.45

Max Shank

Might as well have bought a boat.

42:13.37

Max Shank

Well, you have a different skill set too. You have a different skill set too. So your investment style matches your personality type it matches your skill set. You have a lot of experience with startups I've got almost.

42:21.19

mikebledsoe

E a. Um, I Also spot Trends in the Market. Um I'm very good at seeing patterns in the market and I can tell when people are going to be interested in something.

42:35.33

Max Shank

Can you can you let me know next time you have one of these predictions nostra Daic Theta a crypt the cryptocurrency which could certainly go to 0 right.

42:42.18

mikebledsoe

Theta Theta Yeah, yeah, it's got utility. Um I doubt it because a lot.. It's a video streaming. It's got a video streaming utility and a lot of it. Big video streaming companies have already adopted it it it ah it reduces the amount of Bandwidth necessary to exchange more data I don't know how the fuck it works but it works Um, and.

43:12.73

Max Shank

Sounds like the the the company from that show Silicon Valley pied piper like takes your data and makes it smaller. That's one of the greatest shows ever as hilarious.

43:20.75

mikebledsoe

That's right I Love that show. Ah, it's a good show. Oh man. Yeah, if you if you're in the entrepreneurial world or ever been around startup ah in the startup world. It's It's ah pretty good.

43:35.41

Max Shank

You can win more by not diversifying all the richest people the fastest didn't diversify Zuckerberg no diversity. Ah Elon Musk not they're not diversifying. It's like a a spike. There's no.

43:37.29

mikebledsoe

Ah.

43:42.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

43:53.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah, no.

43:53.68

Max Shank

Well-roundedness to the investment. There's no there's no pyramid of like I have some here and some here and some here and some here and you can go further and you can earn more and you can also lose everything so you just have to find the appetite for risk reward that will. Allow you to sleep at night because if you earn a little bit less but you sleep soundly every night. It's probably a good idea and there's a good phrase to be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy. And if you can avoid being too greedy. You won't be ah you know having heart palpitations when you're thirty years old because you're worried that you know all your investments are gonna go to 0 so you just gotta you gotta to match that.

44:44.76

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, what? but.

44:49.68

Max Shank

Mentality and what kind of Lifestyle you want to live and I feel like the advantage with investing and with insurance and if you want to stockpile food and cash and gold and that kind of thing. It's ah set it and forget it. You don't want to be. Thinking about it all the time that defeats the purpose of buying Insurance. You know.

45:10.64

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, but this whole thing reminds me of my girlfriend and I about we had been dating for about five or six months and you know I I was heavily investing in crypto and and. She had some money to invest in something. Yeah, you might want to look at crypto I can't tell you what to invest in I'm not you know I'm just saying hey I I like my returns have been pretty fucking. Good. This is the an example of what can happen and I've been pretty conservative so in the crypto world I'm conservative. Ah. I'm not looking for I'm not looking for the unicorns right? So there's you know, really solid fundamentals and all this because well part of it is because I I look at the dot com era and I see a lot of.

45:48.41

Max Shank

Blows blows my mind. Um, yeah.

46:05.97

mikebledsoe

Similarities between web 3.0 and and http://the.comboom bust and which means that 99% of the your invest of of these companies these coins all these these nfts they're all going to go to nothing ah but 1% is going to become. You know Google Youtube Twitter Facebook you know these these new things will emerge so pay attention and invest in things and you don't have to get in that early if you want to make if you want to turn you know $10000 into a b. Then yeah, you might have to get in and when something's selling at ¢3 ah per per coin. But I'll get in when it's 10 or fifteen I don't give a shit because it's going to 500 I mean I'm gonna get a ah hundred x out of it. So um, yeah, that. Um, I'm fairly conservative. My girlfriend gets into the market and she is checking it every day and you know it's going up and she's so excited it goes down. She's she's like what the fuck freaking out and I go stop looking at that shit the only the only time you should look at it is if it's not going to.

47:06.57

Max Shank

Is it.

47:15.90

Max Shank

Right.

47:21.46

mikebledsoe

Either You have the the constitution to where it's not going to bother you. You're not getting an emotional swing out of it being good or bad or you like what you were saying is set and forget it buy a bunch of cryptocurrencies and then put it on a decentralized wallet somewhere folks not not an exchange.

47:26.28

Max Shank

Home.

47:41.32

mikebledsoe

Not on coinbase not on Voyager get on a decentralized wallet like trust wallet and or exodus.

47:50.50

Max Shank

I'm I'm waiting for Mike's investing handbook. It sounds like you have a figured out man.

47:53.69

mikebledsoe

I Ah my I'm gonna be working with my buddy he he built a course I'm trying to get him I want to interview him and then promo the course because I the the information I've gotten from him has been incredibly valuable.

48:11.30

Max Shank

Nice there you go.

48:12.54

mikebledsoe

And he knows what the fuck he's talking about he comes from the financial background so he used to be in in bait he used to be in banking and then he's and and so you know he he worked in debt and then he got into crypto so the guy the guy's been thinking about money for twenty plus years in ways that we haven't. And but yeah, set it and forget it.

48:34.22

Max Shank

You know what you were saying what you were saying earlier about your girlfriend there checking it all the time you know you wouldn't check the value of your house every single day if you owned a house. Oh my god.

48:45.68

mikebledsoe

Oh she does that too. We just bought a house. She's like checking the value the homes in the area because because because the market is actually moving really fast where we live. It's like oh we probably already made like $50000 like maybe.

49:01.33

Max Shank

Well yeah, maybe and you know, checking something like that all the time can can be good if if you're a trader if you're looking to move stuff around quickly and when you have a smaller account. It's easier to move more of your.

49:12.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

49:20.62

Max Shank

Percentage of your portfolio more quickly so you have more agility and you could be more nimble but it kind of reminds me, you were talking about the pelosi trading thing earlier and I was just thinking about how. We have technology like never before just based on technology Alone. We should all be working less and earning more and living healthier and living longer. But we don't and there are all these traps out there.

49:46.15

mikebledsoe

49:56.28

Max Shank

And people check every day like oh what's going on in the world and it's probably it's It's probably the biggest trap there is because it takes you out of the here and now the flow which is the only thing that's going to.

50:01.48

mikebledsoe

Um, that's the same thing right? Yeah yeah.

50:14.94

Max Shank

Really bring you fulfillment when you become the task. Whatever it is. You're doing um people who retire early they gotta find something to do ah sometimes the only thing they find to do is drinking themselves to an early grave. So. You get these people. Maybe they owned a chain of dental offices retire at 40 They got to go out on the golf course or learn carpentry or start a band with their other old friends at the country Club. You got to do something and you got to do something that takes you into the here and now and into that flow. And the worst thing you can do is try to stay abreast of things that have no ah that you have no chance of influencing your life in a positive way as a result of knowing these things So when I think about. The Ah Friend safety Net which is really like a psychological safety net because you should be your own. Best friend Hopefully ah, you're you're abusing yourself mentally by trying to stay on top of what's going on and oh this.? Ah. Dude is winning at swimming against the ladies and I'm outraged about it and what the fuck it's like who cares? are you gonna do something about it. No then like just live your life and it's hard because it's very entertaining I think getting trapped.

51:33.67

mikebledsoe

51:49.40

Max Shank

Into a tribal identity is like 1 of the worst things you can do you're like oh I identify as he him or she her or I identify as trans or maybe I I could identify as black or whatever.

52:05.57

mikebledsoe

Or even liberal or conservative.

52:07.50

Max Shank

Ah, well God Yeah, why would you want to like wear their logo on your t-shirt like are you out of your mind. They don't care about you? Um, so I think about that as being one of the biggest traps there is I think.

52:23.43

mikebledsoe

Well you you you don't have to ah those traps work because.

52:25.70

Max Shank

If Your identity is if your identity is based on. Ah if your identity is based on a group it means that your individual character is Worthless. You're like looking for something Oh I'm part of this group. Not. I'm me and I can do this this that or the other thing is just I'm on this team if that's all you have to offer is I'm on this Team. You suck as a person probably.

52:54.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's easy you you can stop thinking for yourself and adopt whatever somebody is telling you you should be mad about or what you should care about because you now fit into this this group identity and it's um.

52:59.38

Max Shank

Right.

53:13.71

mikebledsoe

It's really really sad. Yeah, it's really really sad, but and it's hard for us to tell people this because I've told people this before and they're like well it's easy. You're a white guy and I was like I was like yeah what did you see? did you see ah somebody posted the other day.

53:13.87

Max Shank

It's mental illness. It's mental illness. It's like it's like if you.

53:26.20

Max Shank

I'm a black lady How dare you assume my race or gender.

53:33.20

mikebledsoe

About ah the if you identify as a woman as ah as a woman owned business. So if your business is owned by a woman then you have all this access to these government grants and all this all this stuff and I was like oh this is brilliant I can just.

53:44.70

Max Shank

Amazing.

53:49.94

mikebledsoe

Identify as a woman because it obviously doesn't seem to be a problem right now and some people were posting like oh then you would get you know that would be fraud I'm like okay so do we have men and women or or are we going to reward some people for. Being born a certain way.

54:08.40

Max Shank

You know it's kind of like these otherwise healthy people are electing to participate in Schizophrenia every day by the way they're using their computers. Like plugging into the hive mind to have all these voices yelling at them of they should be this way or they should be this way and then they're yelling back into the void. No, you should be this way fucker and it's like whoa my God and look we have.

54:33.26

mikebledsoe

Ah.

54:40.49

Max Shank

Such crazy technology. We have so much leverage potential at our fingertips and we're using it to yell at a stranger about something We don't have any nuanced opinion of we're just carrying water for someone else who's trying to blind us all to the fact that.

54:52.25

mikebledsoe

No.

54:57.51

mikebledsoe

Um, are you carrying water for Putin Oh my gosh. Um.

55:00.37

Max Shank

Ah I don't carry water for anybody. But I recognize but I recognize but I recognize that carrying water blindly for Ukraine isn't necessarily a good idea either and I have the confidence to admit that I don't know a god damn thing about North Asian Fucking Politics you know what? I'm saying it's it's crazy that everyone has such a strong opinion about these things but all it does is distract all it does is distract from you know I feel like a ah a record that's just on repeats like the only thing that really matters is jurisdiction.

55:20.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's it's funny because if you come out with no opinion.

55:39.44

Max Shank

And Authority who's in charge and when do do they get to police that authority of theirs and if you're a leader. The only thing you shouldn't do is fuck up the money or get into Wars and that's what's happening and we're all just like but what about this guy swimming.

55:43.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

55:58.92

mikebledsoe

Um, ah it's incredible.

56:01.50

Max Shank

It's like yes it Yes, it's stupid. Yes, it's stupid. Okay, but also there's there's not like a healthy priority list. You know I'm saying it's it's insane.

56:09.91

mikebledsoe

Oh I totally get it why why does why was that the most talked about thing for 2 or 3 days last week when.

56:19.20

Max Shank

Because it's hiding other stuff that was way more sinister. No question and look if it bleeds it leads I get it. But you don't have to participate in it. You will definitely live more angrily. If you are constantly plugging into that thing and I get really excited about it because I've coached a lot of people both ah business wise coaching training wise and as soon as you realize that the biggest limiting factor in getting what you want is you.

56:39.15

mikebledsoe

Are.

56:52.74

Max Shank

Then your whole perspective changes about everything because that's also the only thing that you have control over. Yeah I think ah.

56:53.97

mikebledsoe

But but it's much easier to blame other people for my lack come on. How am I supposed to use my scapegoats to feel better about myself for not doing shit.

57:06.62

Max Shank

You know what that makes sense I I would be so much better off if that guy wasn't swimming against the ladies. It's I think that's where the most of my problems are being caused good God man. Okay, so.

57:16.65

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

57:24.88

Max Shank

What do we got here. We have. Um, we have a culture the the culture is sick but the technology is awesome. So if you can avoid participating in the culture at large and create a group a family ah of friends and relationships that engage in. Healthy Behavior. You essentially have the keys to the Kingdom psychologically if if you pretty much avoid the media ah and focus on improving your own life. That's also the best way to lead is. By example, you know you just live your life The way you want to on your terms. And you'll be way better off and you'll find that you have lots more time. Everyone's like oh I'm so busy I'm so busy, but the the truth is it's more of ah, a verbal tick to let people know that you're not Lazy. It's not I don't have time I'm so Busy. You're basically just telling them I'm not lazy I'm not lazy I'm not lazy right? but.

58:23.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah, or I have a I have a terrible method for setting priorities.

58:30.42

Max Shank

I Can't prioritize my life even with space age technology I can't prioritize my life even with space age technology I'm so busy I'm so busy I have no time I have no time I have no time. It's ridiculous. So ah, ah.

58:41.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've had I've had students come through. It's It's hilarious students come through and they're like I don't have time to do the program and they're single and living with their mom I go.

58:50.64

Max Shank

And.

58:59.28

mikebledsoe

You don't have time to do the pro. What what are you doing like you're 23 like what do you? You think you don't have time right now this is gonna be a rough one. There's gonna be a rough life for you.

59:10.40

Max Shank

It feel like we got a little off the rails there I think I I think I I think I took us I think I took us right off the rails. You know I get all fired up sometimes.

59:14.18

mikebledsoe

We did all right? Let's go Back. It's definitely all your fault. Um, so all right? So securing your future fitness we'll we'll ah we'll start wrapping here. Securing your future fitness How tos.

59:31.78

Max Shank

Walk a lot. Um, learn how to prevent falling which is stepping and lunging and learn how to prepare for falling which is rolling and falling. Is a really good example of risk and reward because the probability that you will fall is basically 100%. You're not going to live your life without falling now given a fall There's maybe a less than 1% chance that you will die or maybe a 1 % chance that you will die but a 1 % chance of death should be plenty of motivation to learn how to fall well and learn how to lunge so that you can prevent falling and that's because even though the risk ah probability wise is very low. You will kill yourself in a fall the cost of that error is total death total annihilation so because the cost is so high even if the probability is low. You want to prepare yourself for falling and then the last.

01:00:39.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know what it might have been I want to interject here because it might have been you. It might have been another coach that I've been interacting with over the last decade who knows but they talked about a relationship to the ground and ah was a you that use that terminology. Okay.

01:00:44.55

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:00:52.91

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

01:00:59.31

mikebledsoe

And and I remember talking to you about that and I really when I started holding that frame my training shifted and I became ah I prioritized my relationship to the ground and then I anytime I came across like my. Ah, like older people in my family I would talk to their their. Yeah they well they fall into bed So The bed is about hip height so they can just like roll into bed. They can roll out and then they.

01:01:22.59

Max Shank

They're afraid of the ground they're afraid of the ground a lot of time they're afraid Chest high.

01:01:35.77

mikebledsoe

They they fall back into the recliner they fall into their car. They get out. They sit in their office chair. They fall into their office chair. It's all it's got to be cushy and they have no practice whatsoever. Getting up and down off the ground. So a lot of like older family members and things like that they asked me about how to be in better shape because I walk in they're like wow you're 40 so got a 6 pack. Yeah so how do you do that I go well at first I work on my relationship to the ground and then I teach them how to. Get up and down off the ground which basically means like let's get all the way down and then you'll figure it out but practice that and I I put my you're the same way cause I've seen your bed. The bed is on the floor because I know that if I practice if I sleep on the floor that's guaranteed.

01:02:09.60

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:02:23.47

mikebledsoe

I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna get down at least once that entire day off the ground if I do that for the rest of my life. It's not gonna be a problem for me whereas for most people it is so I just wanna throw that in there because that was so valuable.

01:02:32.33

Max Shank

01:02:39.51

mikebledsoe

Ah, such a valuable frame for me to adopt.

01:02:40.74

Max Shank

I Think our listeners are just wondering why you've seen my bed.

01:02:50.26

mikebledsoe

I've seen his steam room too.

01:02:50.63

Max Shank

Hey now it wasn't steamy before you got in there. Ah I couldn't I can't help myself. Ah and also ah bone density being being able to support ah heavy-ish.

01:02:57.40

mikebledsoe

I Hope what else in.

01:03:10.22

Max Shank

Amount of force with your skeleton being able to carry stuff very um, important skills. Um, that's actually what my primal athleticism program is all about it's a daily practice primarily for longevity. You're not going to be. Deadlifting £600 you're not going to be cranking out 20 handstand pushups but you're going to learn how to skip and bounce and roll and crawl and fall and climb and carry things and those are some of the most important skills I think. Just because we're in the fitness industry people overemphasize certain things because it's the brand of their cult. You know people are like oh muscle wasting you got to be careful muscle wasting and it's because we're in essentially the muscle business if you're a dude right? ah.

01:04:03.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, pretty.

01:04:07.23

Max Shank

But a lot of skinny people live a really long time. So It's really more important that you are strong and you are able to use your muscles in an adaptable way kind of back to what we talked about before the Chief attribute is elasticity which is really. About adaptability to a wide range of forces at a wide range of angles at a wide range of positions and that's what my elasticity program is all about and it doesn't have to be complicated. Um, you could probably just do TaiChi every day go for walks and. Not eat too much and have friends and live a really long time. Yeah.

01:04:49.30

mikebledsoe

Love it. So the things I would add on the fitness side is master your breath so learn learn how to breathe well into every part of your body I Like to think about my.

01:04:57.73

Max Shank

Oh.

01:05:07.19

mikebledsoe

About I'm breathing through a sphere and I'm breathing into the bottom I'm breathing into my back I'm breathing into the top all of that equally I can I can breathe just into the bottom I can breathe just into the top I have control over where the air flows and I do things like tape my mouth shut. At night to make sure that I'm only nose breathing and game changer and I don't have to take my mouth shut for it to stay shut. But I Still do it just to you know, be sure and so ah for.

01:05:29.25

Max Shank

Breathe through that nose Hell yeah, that's game changer for a lot of folks.

01:05:41.41

Max Shank

Ah.

01:05:46.42

mikebledsoe

For that if if your breath isn't handled then you know everything else will fall apart and put in a lot of emphasis. Ah after Breath Spine being able to feel and articulate at each Vertebrae I Found to be extremely useful and I found that once I. Put my attention there. My athleticism overall went up my hand-eye coordination improved all that happened when I started putting attention on the spine and I have no you know Spine pain anymore whereas I used to have a lot of core issues and.

01:06:21.20

Max Shank

Plus your chakers. We all lined up to line the chakris.

01:06:25.39

mikebledsoe

Gotta gotta align no chakra's baby and and yeah it ah it helps so those are my 2 big things in regard to movement and then obviously you just got to learn how to eat you got learn what works for you experiment.

01:06:36.11

Max Shank

The fitness side.

01:06:43.50

Max Shank

We could do a whole thing on the fitness side of longevity because you know all the moving parts are so important you know your feet taking care of your feet I don't want to drag out this conclusion too long, but there's an old Chinese proverb that says we age from the roots up and I don't necessarily.

01:06:44.91

mikebledsoe

I'm a big. Yeah.

01:07:03.50

Max Shank

Live my life by Proverbs I don't know the origin of but I think it is still good to take care of your feet.

01:07:10.28

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so ah, we're just hitting the top ones all right? Yeah, we could go on and on on that so in regard to finance and the money. What's ah overall securing your future.

01:07:28.40

Max Shank

Number 1 thing number. Yeah, we sure did I think you gave us a little mini crypto master class there ah teaser it's coming soon. Ah, get get comfortable with less.

01:07:28.91

mikebledsoe

We we I think we talked primarily about that. But yeah, just quick synopsis.

01:07:47.37

Max Shank

To start out with you know, you're not gonna find a lot of fulfillment from buying yourself a bunch of toys and being fancy. It's way better to start hungry and stay hungry. Ah eat until you're 80% full, go ahead and defer gratification. You can work for money or you can put money to work for you and people put themselves in debt trying to keep up with the joneses and it's all status games. It's totally not worth It should ah start with a very spartan lifestyle if you're already kind of in. And extravagant mode. But you're not really comfortable with your finances like you know it's a mistake you got to be able to defer gratification for later and those are the people who earn the most is the ones who can. Be a little bit more patient so that's probably the first that's probably the first thing deferred gratification. Don't get into debt.

01:08:46.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah debt debt is mainstream. So ah, it's incentivized right now. Um I'm not gonna say all debt is bad I carry some debt which I would consider be good debt.

01:09:04.79

Max Shank

Like a house.

01:09:05.75

mikebledsoe

But um, like a house something that's low interest. It allows me to free up cash to put into things that are higher return, but my debt is optional if I wanted to clear out my debt right now I could do it. It's just not a financially intelligent move. Um, because where the money's at otherwise is is creating way more earnings than than what I would save on my debt payments on the on the interest. So yeah, kill the debt create Value. So always be. And what I mean by create value is be in touch with the things that other people value. So We we talked about writing as being one of the most valuable things I agree with that learn how to communicate Well ah one of my previous mentors. He wrote a book. Called last safe investment and categorized labor in the 4 categories one was physical labor technical labor creative labor and interpersonal labor and with each one of those the value goes up so labor is physical. Labor is the lowest value technical labor is the second lowest value. And then Creative labor is the next one up and the highest value labor is Interpersonal. So ah, you know writing being Creative. There's technical aspects to it of course but leadership sales things like that being interpersonal copywriting is something that bridges the creative and interpersonal. So. When you're thinking about which what type of labor you want to improve on unless you're going to be a professional athlete. Ah, you're going to probably see the biggest return on developing yourself as a leader or in your creative abilities and then last. Money for me is invest in emerging technology pay attention to what technologies are emerging that's going to be a good wave to catch. But as we talked about you know with emerging Technologies A lot of those will go to nothing. So. Choose wisely.

01:11:16.97

Max Shank

I I like it you and I have different investing strategies and and it's good I would add to the labor set well enough at all at all what you compare to um.

01:11:24.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think we both do we both do? well. So it's neither 1 or wrong. Yeah.

01:11:35.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean compare.

01:11:36.89

Max Shank

You know, ah compared to compared to dwayne the rock johnson I'm fat and broke. So it's all it's all the way you compare to but I would add to the labor side of things find at least 1 thing that has an expent.

01:11:43.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

01:11:55.56

Max Shank

An exponential return on your time ah write a book make a video course do something where you can invest a lot upfront and it can continue selling forever. Um, that has been. Like a cheat code for me personally the fact that you can make something 1 time and sell it thousands and thousands and thousands of times it is crazy. No no postage required I can so like I can send electrons through the air. Basically.

01:12:24.35

mikebledsoe

It's pretty cool. That's right that that was the first thing that attracted me to doing anything digital product I go oh I don't have to the inventory is going to cost me the same amount every month. No matter what? which. You know say I I'm paying for a membership site. It's a hundred dollars a month to be able to run the site and and run my email and all that hundred bucks a month. So if I sell 1 or I sell 10000 it cost me the same exact amount of money. Perfect.

01:12:44.77

Max Shank

Right? wild.

01:12:58.15

Max Shank

It's so wild to think about what people went through before you know they would mail letters with a return envelope postage paid that sort of thing and hope that people responded and then they would have to ship them something physical afterward. It's a lot of steps.

01:13:05.66

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, a lot of stuff all right Friendships social relationships.

01:13:15.93

Max Shank

So oh you should be your own best friend and don't engage in mind poisoning groups schizophrenia if you can avoid it I know it's interesting and kind of exciting to get angry. Certainly ah use this podcast as an outlet for that. Sometimes I think they just start yelling and Mike's over there like what is going on with this guy I love it. Ah so you you should. You should be your own best friend and.

01:13:38.20

mikebledsoe

Ah, sorry folks.

01:13:51.54

Max Shank

Not engaged in things that are harmful for you. You should reach out to people who are the way that you would like to be and genuinely show interest in their lives and ask how you can help them. And it's so Cliche but giving what feels way better than getting actually especially once you've already got a bunch so I would say ah be very selective in who you are friends with because you will become like them and. And reach out even if you don't have a specific reason that's been a hard lesson for me because I haven't done that most of my life unless I have a concrete reason for calling somebody I Never just call to see how they're doing but it can be good if you want to nurture a relationship. It's It's like a garden and. Fuck Man what is life without friends.

01:14:49.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, totally agree. Um, yeah on the on the social side on the friends you know I I've had a lot different groups of friends I've lived in different places and you know what if you move cities. You have a huge opportunity to. Make sure that you surround yourself with the right people if you're living in the same place and participating in the same things and going to the same gyms and bars or whatever. It's very hard to change that friend group I've found that every time I moved I I improved my quality of of circle. And I do stay in contact max is one of these I met in San Diego and we still stay in contact even though I moved so you did you did not everyone made it. Ah I did like an irish goodbye for the whole city of San Diego

01:15:36.95

Max Shank

Survived the mass Breakup You just you just you? you just skip town so you can like ghost. Ah yeah, ah.

01:15:49.16

mikebledsoe

Just like people were like did you leave town I was like yeah man I moved out six months ago but ah but I ah yeah I have since really gone with how I feel with people versus trying to basic think. Who do I want to surround myself with people I want to be like all that I still do that. It's very nice. It's good to do when I choose to go to an event I go to events I don't go to a hundred dollar event anymore because it's gonna be full of $100 people I want to spend at least 2 3 grand because if it's a. Business related event because I know who I'm gonna be surrounded by people who are willing to drop that kind of cash. So I do think about it in that way but also my my personal friend group here in austin iss really like these are people I feel comfortable with when I lead the conversations. I'm I'm put in a much more positive mood. Ah you know I the the people I hang out with most since I've been here I either I either walk away from hanging out with them with weight with. Almost like it's automatic, subconscious programming that improves my health my wealth or or my relationships in some way like 1 of my friends my my crypto trading friend I hang out with him and the way he talks about money and investing and the energy he holds with that. I soak it up and I become way more positive about it and I start thinking about things differently and a lot of it has to do with how he feels and how he transmits that feeling in a group and so yeah I encourage people pay attention to how you feel when you're with people and after you've been with them.

01:17:22.52

Max Shank

Ready.

01:17:39.60

mikebledsoe

And that's going to make a huge difference.

01:17:41.89

Max Shank

I Think that's a great way to close it out. You gotta trust your gut and see how you feel before during and after you're around certain people. You could say the same thing about food. You gotta trust your gut because no one else is gonna know what you should be eating only your gut knows.

01:17:51.18

mikebledsoe

01:18:01.84

Max Shank

So sorry I can't tell you exactly how many almonds to eat at nine thirty every morning but you're just gonna have to ah try try it out. Try it out and see how you feel and I think those are the 2 best examples of when to.

01:18:08.94

mikebledsoe

01:18:20.29

Max Shank

Really trust your gut So that's great. Awesome dude. Love you Thanks for listening everybody.

01:18:20.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, easy my brother love you have fun today.

The Most Valuable Skill to Develop in 2022 Mar 21, 2022

Borrowed Dreams & Authenticity Feb 28, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome everybody to Monday mornings with max and Mike Today we're gonna talk about borrowed dreams what you should do about it or what you what you could do about it. We don't want to should all over you. So Mike. Thanks for joining me everyone thanks for tuning in borrowed dreams. What do we do.

00:23.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah well max and I were talking talking about a story before the show that is way too common. It's very very common and I've experienced it myself as well which is ah, an example someone walks into the the gym. And they want to be able to complete a certain feat and then you come to find I know I've come to find out a lot of people go oh I want to squat £500 or I want to like I want to be able to snatch and clean and jerk this much weight or I want to be able to this many pull ups. And ah early in my career I said cool. Let's do it and then as I got older I witnessed myself and a lot of other people achieve the goal and still not be happy afterwards or sacrifice all sorts of stuff that we actually valued pretty highly. Go after this goal just to find out that the achievement of the goal created 0 satisfaction and I used to I used to be in this frame of mind that it was a human flaw that was something that we could overcome that this whole idea that. I always have to achieve more and I I actually think this idea that every time I reach a goal I immediately set another goal and I don't really get you know? Maybe there's 30 seconds of satisfaction or a day at the most talk to my friend a j roberts about setting the world record for the squat and he worked at this for years and then he hits it and then he celebrates for one day and the next day he wakes up depressed and then sets another another goal and I used to think yeah.

02:08.72

Max Shank

Was one of my favorite stories. He told that he told that story at some mastermind event I was at about having nosebleeds walking up the stairs and destroying all his relationships basically and.

02:23.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

02:27.15

Max Shank

You know ruining his body and his relationships and then going like oh wow that was not that cool at all. Actually I think that's probably the perfect example because somewhere he got this idea that that would make him enough or great superior. In some way and you know since you and I have so much experience with fitness. It's natural to examine why people have certain fitness goals and it's usually because someone else told them it was a good idea explicitly or. They just got rewarded with positive feedback on the way there. Oh you squatted a hundred. We. Love you. Oh you squatted 200. We love you twice as much just imagine if you could squat 300 just how much we would love you It's like ah.

03:20.95

mikebledsoe

Ah, what.

03:23.97

Max Shank

Ah, love is proportional to the pounds you can lift.

03:26.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and it's ah and I used to believe it was just ah this I used to think it was like a personality flaw or something like that. Where of this person is just so achievement oriented that they can't even enjoy the the reaching of their goals. And after further analysis and of course the analysis. Ah analysis. That's meaningful always starts with ourselves. It was the analysis analysis of my own life in experiencing these things and reaching goals or failing to reach goals and and then still being able able to achieve happiness even without having. Achieved it and being okay with it and so I started looking at why instead of thinking about ah am I just setting goals all the time I realized that the goals there were certain goals that I did begin to hit as I got older that. Actually created an enormous amount of satisfaction for long periods of time and the ones those goals that I hit that created a really long lasting satisfaction were they were my goals and all the goals that I had set before you know I mean if we.

04:27.14

Max Shank

Oh.

04:42.45

mikebledsoe

Work our way back. My goal was to be at nationals and and weightlifting it was strong man competitions. It was squat a certain amount of weight compete at Crossfit a certain way become a navy seal like ah, whatever it was like ah graduate top my class. All these different things. None of those things whether I experienced success or not were not very satisfying in In fact, I didn't enjoy the journey of it at all or very little and then when I when I let go of that I went through a lot of growth. And I started achieving my own goals I go oh this isn't a personality flaw or a flaw amongst people who are very achievement based this is just simply a you are. It's it's an insecurity issue. It's a way of like what you were saying. Which is how do I experience. Love how am I accepted by others and the the thing that really stands out for me is my how I behaved in the world changed dramatically when my father died.

05:53.24

Max Shank

And.

05:55.27

mikebledsoe

And I realized that a lot of the decisions. It took me a few years to after that and I watched my my behavior change in a really interesting way I it was like I took a hard left turn after he passed and as I look back on it I go oh. All my goals up that point was to impress my dad like if I thought my dad was gonna be impressed by it I would fucking. Do it whether he said so explicitly or not it was It's always our own interpretation of what is gonna get us love and acceptance. So once I realize.

06:20.77

Max Shank

And.

06:33.74

mikebledsoe

I did that with my dad and then years later learning that how we you know our dad being our first love outside of ourselves because we we view our mother as ourselves when we're first born and so this father figure really dictates how you view the world and how you. Earn love from the world and so if you grew up in a situation where you were constantly setting goals to impress your dad. You're probably gonna be prone to for the rest of your life is a set achievement goals based on what you think other people want you to do and then just be miserable.

07:10.64

Max Shank

Totally totally I think ah of kids as like an ego surrogate Most of the time It's like a little surrogate ego for the parents and the ah like ah.

07:10.65

mikebledsoe

Whether you get it or not.

07:23.86

mikebledsoe

I Love it.

07:28.48

Max Shank

It's so easy to see I used to referee kids soccer games I used to also play soccer myself and you should see these parents fucking screaming these kids are 7 years old

07:36.90

mikebledsoe

Oh wow.

07:42.64

Max Shank

There are like 3 of them who are good at soccer and the rest of them are running around and like they'll kick the ball if it happens to come near them and as a referee of these little kids I'm like getting yelled at for like ruining the game sometimes if I if I do something a little wrong.

07:48.60

mikebledsoe

Right.

07:55.28

mikebledsoe

Oh my. My my dad. My dad definitely came after some umpires and some referees like my dad was the guy in in the backtop yelling at ah at the ummp at baseball games.

08:01.99

Max Shank

Oh yeah, so so so there's no ah I I didn't want any of my parents to come to any of my events of any kind I wanted to go there and just do it on my own and you know. But here's the thing ah that attitude makes it so clear implicitly and kind of explicitly what the mission is you know you are in that family unit. You're looking to get love. You're looking to do good instead of do bad and if winning. Is the most important thing then playing is not the most important thing and I think it's backwards because if you are doing something that brings you intrinsic enjoyment. It is sustainable. In fact, you will you will. You'll spend the whole day doing it. You'll forget to eat. You'll forget to do other stuff. You'll just be in the zone of this thing that you're doing and you can win you know and and win is such a nebulous term you can have success and. Serve and connect with people by doing what you are the best at and if you really love doing it. It will be easy for you to gain tremendous skill at it I always start with that question actually. With people when it comes to business coaching. Let's say and I'm like what would you do? if you could earn no money and no credit from doing it like what would you? What would you give? what would you do and when you take the. Ego out of it then you get into the real meat and potatoes of what brings you intrinsic joy and Joseph Campbell so calls it a follow your bliss and I think that's generally a good idea. But if you do things just for the reason.

10:09.80

mikebledsoe

By the way following your Bliss doesn't mean you're experienced bliss the whole time I want to make that clear for some people.

10:17.40

Max Shank

Right? right? right? I mean if you have good drugs. You can come pretty close but no, no joking joking. Don't do drugs kids just do the drugs that Uncle Sam says you should do ah but what I'm saying is if you take.

10:24.96

mikebledsoe

10:36.47

Max Shank

The idea of getting credit or the potential reward monetarily you will hone in on what you really would like to do and what you would really like to share. Ah, it's such a corny phrase but it's true. The gift is in the giving. And it required me having a pretty high degree of success myself before I got that like it's it's kind of funny how that works because for me, everything was about the result everything was about winning and. I Just thought you should tough it out for the result like it doesn't matter who cares if you're enjoying what you're doing you just do what needs to be done to get the desired result and look that can work. But if you do something that you would do anyway and then. Learn the fundamentals of monetizing that Action. You will happily do it every day and you can do it for a lifetime rather than for a shorter amount of time burn yourself out and then feel lost because you chase this goal that has its origins. Completely outside of your sense of self.

11:54.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that makes me think about people people hear this conversation like follow your bliss and and you know do what you love and enjoy the journey and they go look. That's really sounds cute but that's not how the world works I was. I was coaching a friend recently a buddy from you know I've known for 20 years and you know I don't talk to him very often. But I was talking to Him. He goes well,, that's just not how the world works I go for you that because you believe the the Opposite. You're making that true and you're going to collect a lot of evidence to support that so I have been collecting evidence on the other side Now here's the thing. Yeah, you get to choose which evidence you're collecting so choose wisely and So. All throughout human history.. There's been a lot of have to I have to do this to survive and eat and the the more the more primitive culture is the less choice. There really is and what you get to do there's there's you know you gotta go hunt and get your food. You gotta you gotta do some stuff.

12:54.81

Max Shank

I Should do this now.

13:10.27

mikebledsoe

And through the advancement and evolution of culture. What we we came up with this idea of capitalism which has allowed people to become specialists. You know having that currency allows someone to become a specialist and not have to do all these have to things they just have to be really good. 1 thing and then other people reward them from that and we experience trade and so it's when I look at our generation. What I see is ah the highest level of get to and when I have kids one day. They're gonna have an even higher level of get to than I did and this level of get to is just so much more pronounced and shorter periods of time from generation to generation I think that's a lot of what we looked at the boomers talking to the. The gen xes and the millennials and saying you know you gotta like work hard. You gotta grind you gotta you gotta do all this you gotta do stuff that you don't like and that's actually not that true because we live in a world of. Incredible amount of connection somebody somewhere values your passion and you being able to perform that a really high level somewhere. There was a woman There's a woman in New York that fucking makes half million dollars a year I think I told you about this before selling pictures of dicks. That are dressed up in different outfits so actual dicks. So these guys volunteer shell put little address on it or she'll put like a little tuxedo on the dick take it picture? Yeah but this is.

14:44.76

Max Shank

That's funny like actual dicks. Wow I would love to know I'd love to know that customer avatar like who are the people buying these things.

15:01.30

mikebledsoe

I Love that story because it's a demonstration of how niche and ridiculous something can be but she is the best dick pick Taker on the planet. She's the the Dick Master huh.

15:12.60

Max Shank

How many have you purchased how many have you purchased personally.

15:19.56

mikebledsoe

I've got 4 in my collection. Nft's though but ah when here's here's the other thing I mean that's what I was joking I said nft but ah, we are seeing artists being rewarded people of normally associated being an artist with being.

15:24.43

Max Shank

Ah.

15:38.54

mikebledsoe

Um, ah a starving artist. You know it's the common cliche you're a starving artist and there's a lot of reasons why artists are starving but ah in in the new world that we're living in. You can draw some shit up and sells an have m might take off and just because you associate it with that. So. There's there's much more sophisticated ways of funding artists now when people trade the art so say ah and this is a very the layers of tokenomics. Get very deep and very complicated and it's very hard to keep up with just just putting that out there because um, my girlfriend is deep in the comic book world with Nfts right now. So she owns a bunch she owns like this I think I might be she might. Think she owns like the seventeenth most expensive comic on the planet type of thing right now. So yeah, and so ah.

16:39.28

Max Shank

That's exciting.

16:44.90

Max Shank

It's always like you know you know people ah have all these comments about the the top 1% and there's a funny quote which is like there's always going to be a top 1% in fact it will always be 1%

16:58.88

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

17:00.93

Max Shank

And no matter what it is that you're doing whether you're an artist or a coach or an author or something like that like there's always going to be a top 1% but it kind of comes down to the comparison syndrome right.

17:15.32

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

17:18.17

Max Shank

So if you are measuring your success based on something like that like once again, if I compare myself to the rock I'm a fat poor slob but but it.

17:29.56

mikebledsoe

Ah.

17:35.33

Max Shank

Outside of that comparison like I feel pretty good about myself like I might go jump in the pool later and I'm in good enough shape to play tennis and you know it just depends on what you compare to so this idea that you will be happier getting richer or stronger doing something. You don't. Really want to do versus making a little bit less money or being a little bit less strong but doing something that you ah are really excited about every day I think that's a major fallacy and you you're just comparing to what. You see on television what you see around you what you see on social media. This idea that you must have Xy and z to be considered successful. Once again is totally arbitrary. You know you come in and you're like hey I want to I want to lose. Ah. £5 I don't want to be one hundred and sixteen pounds I want to be 111 and I'm like why? Well just 111 sounds better. They're like why don't you just measure yourself in Kilos the number will be smaller like what what are you talking about? It's ridiculous if you want to feel really strong just measure the weight you can lift in Grams. I lifted ten Thousand grams today I feel so strong. Ah, it's total nonsense when you think about ah the intrinsic things like what do you actually like to do because most of it's.

18:48.61

mikebledsoe

I'm so yoed.

19:01.92

Max Shank

Once again, all these cliches sounds so corny but most of the best things in life are free but there is a fundamental necessity to feel safe to feel um to be fed and things like that. But it comes back to what we've talked about a lot which is value value like.

19:14.19

mikebledsoe

We know the the cocoa. Yeah.

19:21.30

Max Shank

Value is totally um, dependent on the situation right? So bottled water at Coachella very valuable bottled water ah by a fresh river coming out of a glacier people aren't that really interested so just because. Someone says what you have isn't valuable doesn't mean someone else won't think it's very valuable so it's ah it's very arbitrary. Go on.

19:43.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well this the the conversation about the rock is really interesting because people go Yeah, the rock. The rock is more successful than max in a lot of areas but I'm just say I'm saying someone from the outside may say that.

19:59.23

Max Shank

Whoa who's saying that I I know I just said it to.

20:03.66

mikebledsoe

But just go with me just go with me and and um, but here's the thing is we you have no idea what the rock's life is like he's taking pictures on Instagram the dude is in pain all the time that. He is knee hurts like I've I've I've been able to glimpse enough to realize that he's in a lot of pain. He may be in less now but he's had to endure a lot of pain to get to where he's at probably you know he may have. Periods of time where he didn't sleep. Well there's periods of time he he was a pro wrestler at 1 point those guys are living a crazy lifestyle. Yeah, and it's just one of those things where it's like oh this guy gets put on this pedestal and then people start comparing themselves to him and I'm like man i.

20:40.61

Max Shank

You never know outside looking in, you never know.

20:55.44

mikebledsoe

I Don't want any like I would love to have the bank account and that's probably it I mean I don't know about the physique because you just started looking at the amount of sacrifice that was made that he sacrificed a lot of things that you and I value too much to sacrifice and.

21:11.95

Max Shank

Totally.

21:14.90

mikebledsoe

Who knows if maybe he did follow his heart and this is the the I bet he did in a lot of ways and this is the result of that and he we just value different things. So like that's his degree of success and this is what success looks like for us. So. Like to point that out in that we we definitely don't know the full story of what's going on for that other person's life and to and and when we when we start comparing we lose sight of our own Genius and our own self-expression and.

21:41.86

Max Shank

That.

21:53.28

mikebledsoe

And I think it happens when we start categorizing ourselves like if I were just to say I'm a podcaster or I'm a coach or I'm a this I start comparing myself to Joe Rogan as a podcaster or I might start comparing myself to Paul check as a coach or something like that and I gotta I got to back it up and even say.

22:01.60

Max Shank

Right.

22:12.82

mikebledsoe

I don't I don't want to really look at those guys as mentors I like to pay attention to what they're doing because they're smart and they're They're the best at what they do but at the same time I'm doing something That's really neither one of those I'm not it. It would be unfair to me to be unfair to the world.

22:15.64

Max Shank

Ah.

22:24.81

Max Shank

Ah, right.

22:30.18

mikebledsoe

To carry a comparison between these people and try to be Joe Rogan and Paul check at the same time I'd be insane but people try to do it all the time.

22:34.68

Max Shank

That would be I'd be very powerful I think you found my new goal actually I want to be Joe check or Paul Rogan yeah Paul Rogan

22:42.40

mikebledsoe

Um I like the Paul Rogan Paul wrote yeah you go? Yeah, that's what we should have called this show and ah man we fucked up be fucked up.

22:52.25

Max Shank

Ah I Love I Love what you said because also that's where envy comes from right and people become envious but they don't envy the whole thing they cherry pick they're like oh I'm envious of the rocks.

23:06.35

mikebledsoe

Right.

23:10.36

Max Shank

Bank account or his eyebrow thing that he does or whatever but you don't know the full story of what's going on and envy really is the worst of all the 7 deadly sins because it's the only one you can't have any fun at so you don't want to be you don't want to be envious.

23:26.76

mikebledsoe

Um, a.

23:28.48

Max Shank

It's very silly Plus why be jealous of someone when you don't know what's going on behind the scenes you you don't know the full story like ah it Maybe it's like really not worth it. Maybe they are just remorseful all the time. Ah so so you don't want that and then.

23:43.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

23:47.91

Max Shank

The other thing that you said that was awesome was you know if you compare yourself to those guys then you are like spoiling your song or your vibration. It's like you know the rolling stones or a great rock band. But not everybody likes the rolling stones it just so happens that they'll play for massive crowds and that most people really do like them but some people prefer like ah I don't know the ramons or sublime or something like that I don't know. And I don't really know enough band names but you get my point is like just because one band is really really popular like a rogan or a Paul check doesn't mean that you can't offer something in a uniquely different way that will resonate with a slightly different audience. It's not honestly, it's not even about what's. Absolutely better because how could you measure that and I and I get into that um line of thinking quite a lot Actually myself is just as much a reminder to me as it is to anyone listening it may feel. Like someone else is better qualified to do what you would like to do but you'll do it differently enough that it might resonate with someone Better. So Even if in your mind It's like oh well,, they're just better at it. You know, just do your best. And put your um self into it and that's going to resonate better with some group of people than that other person that you might be comparing to so comparison Envy not good at all.

25:35.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well and I'm somebody who has a I have a lot of interests lot of different interests and there are definitely some areas like I trained I trained one of my buddies ah on Saturday. Ah.

25:37.32

Max Shank

Not that healthy for you.

25:53.39

mikebledsoe

I trained him physically in my gym and you know we were He's a new friend. He he looks fit and but he's got a lot of back pain and he he says he's like. Like oh what do you do for training. He goes well tomorrow I was like you want to work out tomorrow. He goes well tomorrow's my buys and tries and I was like you know what? how about this and he was I was like tell me about your back I'm like how about this I bet I can make your back feel better while during your workout. You're gonna feel better. And afterwards you're gonna feel better and why don't you just stop by tomorrow four o'clock will smoke a little weed and then we'll we'll work out. He goes all right that sounds like a good time I blew his fucking mind for the guy who does buys and tries and ah. And and his his full time gig is crypto trader so he yeah he get an idea of who he might be right? I'm not gonna blast his name or anything like that. But he um I get him in the gym. He doesn't he's never studied fitness I mean he looks good like he he does know what he's doing.

26:53.44

Max Shank

Okay.

27:08.49

Max Shank

Higher.

27:09.69

mikebledsoe

If he were to go to Lifetime Fitness I Imagine he's and his posture looks pretty good. So it's not like he's not a mess or anything but I took him through some you know integrative functional movement and his he just mind exploded the whole time and so when I am exposed.

27:13.15

Max Shank

Yeah.

27:28.50

mikebledsoe

But if I were to be with train with you max I don't feel like I know much right? We're just kind of like learning I'm learning a lot from you. You might be picking up some stuff from me, but it's it's kind of like little things here and there and then I really realized what an expert I am in the field of fitness cause I've been doing it for like 20 years 25 years and sometimes it's good to expose yourself to somebody who has no very limited exposure to the topic to really see how much you know about it I walked away from that session and I've got I've got pages of if I introduce someone new to training. These are the principles because I started I spent 10 minutes talking to him before we moved so that he understood why we were doing what we were doing and so I come out with all these notes where I'm like oh I should I could put together some type of fitness program I've avoided that because I meet so many I've met so many people who are so fucking good at it. So like oh.

28:11.55

Max Shank

Um, yeah, totally.

28:23.60

Max Shank

Right? what.

28:26.33

mikebledsoe

Why would I put it together a fitness program. They could always just go to max or they could go to Paul check or they could go to you know John Wolfe and it's like and then I go oh my friend. He didn't go to any of those guys he ended up in my garage. So.

28:30.88

Max Shank

Great.

28:37.81

Max Shank

He went to you right.

28:43.59

mikebledsoe

Ah, because none of those guys really appealed to crypto traders but I like to trade crypto. So now I appeal to those people too and crypto Trader trainer. So I Um, the other thing I started this conversation or this this rant with.

28:50.60

Max Shank

You're the crypto Trader trainer.

29:03.17

mikebledsoe

Ah I view myself as someone who's got ah a broad knowledge base but not a lot of depth in 1 thing but then I realized when I was training him. Oh I do have a lot of depth in this area compared to compared to that guy. That's all it needed.

29:09.14

Max Shank

Um, compared to what that's the key compared to what and and really when you're talking about sharing something valuable or delivering value which is really what this whole. Trade-based economy is based on is do you have some value that you can deliver you want to pace the person that is reading your message the person that is seeing your message the person that is listening to your pitch of some kind. Because basically you're selling him on the idea of training in a different way First and foremost whether you're doing that in-person via video via text you are selling them on this new idea so you have to meet them where they're at so the way that you would coach someone.

29:48.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

30:05.16

Max Shank

Who's been a trainer for 10 years and they're looking to you know gain their you know level 5 neurophysiological functional integration pathways is going to be very is doesn't that sound nice. Ah I I created it right now.

30:16.40

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah I do you have that certification yet. You have that certification. Oh oh, you should ah print it out and put it on the wall 10 k for two days with Max Shank Dot Com go right now.

30:25.30

Max Shank

Only only ten k for two days ah that's it. Yeah, ah you know so that's that's a very different clientele like you know and I've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on courses over the years ah in person. Online. Whatever the whole the whole gamut and as you get more toward the end user. It gets simpler and simpler and simpler and it's like Titanic triceps and super shoulders and as you get more toward the trainer side of things. It just gets more and more fancy. You know they're like fancycier names and like we're gonna hack your nerve and look starting with the nervous system is the right idea but sometimes you just have to laugh at some of the crazy names that are being thrown around there so you have this.

31:03.52

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

31:21.76

Max Shank

Like especially cause I got so much into physical therapy which is a broad term. It's like a contest to see who can get the fastest results. So It's like you just need a more fancy secret and it's like a. An escalation of who has like the fanciest secret for how to erase someone's pain and get them moving functionally again which also is good from a practical standpoint because most people um you know exercise is not that hard like go for a walk. Carry some weights around move some weights. It's all good like you don't need to do anything dance around a little bit play a sport.. It's not not that hard. But if someone is hurting then having a methodical way to get them back to. A safe place where they can move without fear and without pain. That's really what requires the most effort and that's why I went that way myself with all of the programs I've created and all of the courses that I've taught it's much more difficult.

32:15.00

mikebledsoe

So.

32:31.44

Max Shank

To get someone feeling safe and strong again and pain free than it is to be like oh you want bigger legs. Well um, you know deadlift reverse lunge and sprint up a hill and you'll be fine like you don't need to do too much more than that like it could get fancier and fancier. But.

32:49.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, one of the things that came to mind as you were talking is the ah the more knowledge we obtain the longer we're in a segment of the population. So you'll see this. You're have been to an nsea conference National sport and conditioning association. Okay.

32:49.49

Max Shank

You get the idea.

33:05.64

Max Shank

Now now.

33:08.96

mikebledsoe

Ah, been to a couple and I went when I was in college because it was the thing to do and we go and I mean you had to pay attention to a lot of these talks because these academics are talking to their peers. They're talking to other academics. Now were there? Yeah, the well that's the thing is.

33:28.72

Max Shank

Don't you mean they're showing they're showing off. Let's be let's be real here I've talked at conferences they're showing off That's all look how smart I am I'm gonna give you an offer at the end that you you can buy my product and I'm gonna show everyone how smart I am and why you should listen to me.

33:42.46

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so the problem is in Academia they're not selling. They're not selling anything for money. They're just selling their ideas but they they fuck up because they are not talking to their audience. They're talking to their peers and so.

33:45.93

Max Shank

Most of the time most of the time.

34:02.90

mikebledsoe

They are ah so they end up using these words that are really loaded and if you're not in the field. You will not know what they're talking about and the whole point of the nsea like their their mission statement. It basically says that we want to bridge the gap Between. Science and practical application for strength coaches and then you go to the conference where the academics like if you don't if if you're the average strength Coach. You have no fucking idea what this academic is talking about because they're talking about mtor receptors and and these really deep bio energetic. Terms that no one knows what they mean unless you're one of these 20 people and so one of the things I recognize and this happens in the classroom and in academic environments too is the instructors are speaking to impress their peers instead of appealing to their audience.

34:52.50

Max Shank

Totally.

34:56.73

mikebledsoe

And the same thing happens when we we'll use fitness as an example, but this happens in every industry is when you become very advanced at what you do when you've been steeped in the information as long as max and I have been then you you you do ah get attracted to the fancier stuff because. At times because there might be a little bit of nugget and knowledge in there. But the yeah I need a harder drug but the chasing the the knowledge the Knowledge Dragon. So The the the trap is for.

35:19.89

Max Shank

It's like a harder drug.

35:26.85

Max Shank

Chasing the knowledge dragon.

35:35.97

mikebledsoe

Max and I would be if we started talking to our peers. There's a part of me that used to when I was making posts talking a podcast putting things on social media writing emails I wanted to make sure that if my friends my peers my colleagues. Read this. They'd be impressed and I that meant I was gonna get crickets from the people that needed to hear it the most and so.

36:01.80

Max Shank

How perfect is that story. You're going to literally shoot yourself in the foot to turn off your customers to impress your peers and colleagues that's hilarious. That's hilarious.

36:11.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah I see this happen coaches are doing this all the time they're so worried.

36:18.44

Max Shank

I Hear the ten dollars words I tune out I tune out so quick when I see people with the $10 words. It's like I know a few fancy words. Okay I like to work my flactoids from time to time but dude as soon as you start with the fancy talk it. It tunes me out because I I can hear when there's. No need for it whatsoever and just on the certification standpoint you know I have people who work for me at the gym I don't require any certification whatsoever I'm like you should get Insurance. Don't don't waste. They're like what certification should I get I was like done none of Them. Don't waste your time.

36:57.00

mikebledsoe

You probably learned some shit wrong by doing that cert.

36:57.10

Max Shank

Learn how to communicate with people learn the basics well yet plus the last thing I want is someone to come in there with their own idea of how things should be done like I want collaboration and a meritocracy of ideas because I'm not always right I Love ah.

37:07.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

37:16.50

Max Shank

You know, challenging the coaches with new ideas. Um, and it's fantastic. But I definitely wouldn't waste, especially if you're just trying to like coach people in exercise. There are a lot of fundamental truths that require no certification Whatsoever. To carry out I mean we could do a whole separate thing on how to be a personal trainer. Maybe we should do that next week. How to be a good. Ah how to be a good fitness coach. But yeah, don't waste your time with the like academia stuff. That's that's like so that's so worthless for the end User. It's just.

37:40.54

mikebledsoe

I like that I like that.

37:55.28

Max Shank

Like the only thing you can do. It's like academia itself. It's like what do you do after you take all these classes. Well then you can become a teacher and teach all these classes. It's like a fucking ponzi scheme.

38:04.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah that that that makes me think about imposster syndrome people they get out there and they feel like they have imposter syndrome I think one of the reasons they experience that is and I bring this up because. This is a common question that gets asked or we're we're talking with a coach who wants to build their coaching business. They're like I'm experiencing imposter syndrome. Okay, yeah, and an imposter syndrome I Ah believe that a lot of that comes from.

38:27.97

Max Shank

Um, it's like toxic comparison right.

38:40.84

mikebledsoe

You know, wanting to impress their peers. It's It's never about I don't feel like I'm good enough to help people because when you get talking to them. They're like why is anyone listening to me but then they're afraid to post because they're afraid of with their parents or their family or friends or people that they were in class with. Are gonna think about what they posted and so it's It's such a. It's It's not it. Yeah, it's not imposter. Syndrome. That's made up. It's you don't feel like an imposter. You're just afraid that you're not gonna look smart in front of your friends and when you you're for.

38:59.29

Max Shank

Fear judgment. Yeah.

39:17.65

mikebledsoe

Every time that you hold back and don't share because of that there are people that could have been helped by you that are not and it also impedes your unique genius from shining through which is exactly what we're getting at in this entire show. We talked about borrowed dreams in the beginning and how we live.

39:23.15

Max Shank

Ah.

39:37.27

mikebledsoe

Out the lives that other people that we imagine that other people want us to live instead of living out our own dreams and that includes speaking our own message in a way that's unique and can land for the audience.

39:49.38

Max Shank

Yeah, and you should as a professional, always try to communicate in a way that will resonate with your audience the best you know if you was talking to this lady on the phone. She's really cool. Ah. I like to make ah sexist jokes to my female friends like it. It makes me laugh a lot and so I was saying you know it's like ah it's like building a motor you know I was talking about how you build like ah an online business and a funnel and there's like a flow of Gasoll. There's fuel and you got to put all the parts together. Was like oh actually you know you're a lady so it's like a recipe and there's a sequence that everything has to be put together and and I just like making jokes like that. But it's true that it is exactly like a recipe It's not going to resonate with everybody. You shouldn't compare your.

40:31.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

40:45.54

Max Shank

Ah, recipe for chili compared to someone else's but you should communicate things in a way that will resonate with that audience and if I'm smart and I'm targeting ladies I'm going to use a how to make a pie rather than how to build a motor. And I'm not saying that there aren't tons of ladies who know way more about motors than I do. But if I'm going to try to resonate with the most ladies possible and have a specific person that I'm speaking to why it's so important to clearly know the audience you're talking to. You should always talk to them. In a way that will make it the easiest for them to understand which means you will also make it the easiest to catalyze the desired action that you want them to take the last thing you want to do is complicate the message like you were saying before.

41:36.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and this also makes me think about this just leads naturally into the conversation of self-expression and this desire for authenticity. You know the the online media has been I think it's showing.

41:43.19

Max Shank

41:56.10

mikebledsoe

How inauthentic things are and 1 of the one of the pieces of one of the statements that I receive a lot online and in person is people appreciate how authentic I am and they talk about how rare that is in today's world which is true. A lot of inauthenticity now a lot of people in their attempt to be authentic and self-expressed fail to meet their audience where their audience is at and so I see I see this a lot, especially it seems to be more prevalent amongst women than men. Um, and that they want to express them and probably because they've there's been a suppression of self-expression amongst women at a higher rate than of men so women really want to be able to express themselves in the way they want to express themselves which is great but with the expectation that they're gonna be. They're gonna ah be rewarded for that unbridled self-expression because yeah, because what's happening is I'm gonna express myself the way I want to because I never had before and now I'm really stepping into my power and I really want to do this and then while then turning off a bunch of people or.

42:57.79

Max Shank

Um, yeah, it won't resonate as well.

43:12.90

mikebledsoe

People are like I don't know what they're talking about I'm confused which which can be good.

43:12.50

Max Shank

Which can be good which can be good to turn off a lot of people your vibe attracts your tribe. So if you do have that like insane personality type of so I mean we're all kind of insane. Um, you know you'll you'll garner. Less resonance broadly but that might be okay, but you just have to manage your expectations If you're going to be like ah you know it just it just depends on the person. You know if you have an extreme personality. You might get people who like you a lot more but less of them.

43:36.20

mikebledsoe

Right? right.

43:46.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and the other thing I I like to warn about here is a lot of people they get into this self-expression and authentic self-expression conversation and what they end up expressing is their their emotional wounds and I.

43:59.40

Max Shank

Their wounds.

44:06.10

mikebledsoe

The way I look at is like you could either express from a place of love or you can be expressing your wounds and if you express your wounds. You have the opportunity to create more wounding or to create ah an effect that is undesired and then and you can tell if it's a wound or if it's.

44:14.60

Max Shank

44:25.40

mikebledsoe

Coming from love because a wound behaves like a child. You know it. It throws things Temper tantrums Exactly it's most adults have not developed. Emotionally they got stunted in their youth and that's why you have people doing what they do I mean we see in politics. It's just.

44:31.14

Max Shank

How most adults behave.

44:44.96

mikebledsoe

Bunch of fucking children running around up there. So ah.

44:47.32

Max Shank

You would never see a discussion like that within a company that was Successful. It's absolutely Insane. The the shouting messages and the at the shouting and the ad hom and him attacks and the appeals to I mean it's. So full of logical fallacies and ranting and raving that it just makes no Sense. You'd have to be kind of stunted to believe that that is useful in some way you know, no no sane person wants to go to war and yet we let these sociopaths go to war all the time. It's.

45:15.59

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

45:25.40

mikebledsoe

Um, and then pay them to do it. Not not only that you pay you are funding this behavior and the world is broken. Yeah yeah.

45:25.77

Max Shank

It's outrageous, um and then.

45:32.85

Max Shank

Totally I yeah in a lot of ways it is but you got to just focus on ah delivering what is important to you and I think you know the word authenticity ah is another one of those. Things that feels like borrowed dreams like my my authentic self now feels totally different than it did ten years ago and when I think about being authentic, really I I just mean like being truthful because I don't have to say something.

45:50.89

mikebledsoe

46:03.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

46:08.96

Max Shank

A certain way like that doesn't necessarily make me more authentic like sometimes I curse and I go oh man did I really have to there and I'm like yeah I fucking did because I was emotional and there was like a reason for it. And I don't care if I turn off a few people but I can also understand someone being a little bit smarter and just never doing that to broaden their audience. So As long as you're telling the truth as you believe it to be I think that is what authenticity is I don't think it necessarily means. Ah you know. Having a weird attitude I think it's having a clear mission that you care about and being truthful I think that's really that's really what authenticity means more than like you know, exposing your wounds.

46:57.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I and back on the self-expression piece I think that ah some people Also they they they haven't felt like they've expressed themselves in so long and then they get the courage to do so and then they start just. Expressing themselves over everybody and what I've found is it's very useful to have a place to really just let it fucking fly. Let it fly and that's not for the general public to be around.

47:31.71

Max Shank

Dancing.

47:37.95

Max Shank

Right.

47:39.52

mikebledsoe

Create a safe space. Maybe you have a therapist or you're going through a coaching program where there's a container that's really tight. There's there are rules. There are things that create safety because if you can experience really deep. Let it fly self-expression and a container of safety you can move all the way through it.

47:49.67

Max Shank

The.

47:59.49

mikebledsoe

Heal wherever that's coming from and then then become an adult in that area of your life if you if if you're out of control in some area of your life. It's because you have yet to heal that wound that was established in your childhood and be able to move on and now behave like an adult in that area of your life. And so I'm I'm a big fan of getting a container where you can just let it go but you cannot ah, it's a really bad idea to take that type of let it go behavior into the general public because it's not a safe space for you for 1 and for 2.

48:23.86

Max Shank

It.

48:38.35

mikebledsoe

Those people aren't trained to handle your shit. They don't know how to hold that kind of space. There's just you're gonna create a lot of bad juju out in the world. So that's my ¢2 worth on self-expression and I bring it up just because it's it's been a big topic and the.

48:46.83

Max Shank

Totally.

48:57.61

mikebledsoe

What I witness is being talked about online and um I just witness a lot of coaches who value self-expression so high when they're actually just shitting on people instead of helping them.

49:08.78

Max Shank

Totally and the same thing. It's kind of like complaining like complaining is an authentic behavior because you are feeling a thing and you are letting it out and I've only had it happen a few times at the gym where someone who worked for me started complaining to 1 of their clients.

49:16.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

49:28.60

Max Shank

And I was like hey what are you doing there like we don't do that. This person is paying you. You do not complain in here you check whatever it is you have going on outside at the door when you bring a person in here I don't I don't care. What your views are um, on certain topics I care that you are making this person uncomfortable and complaining all over them and ruining their day. You're trying to you're trying to be a psychological energy vampire by complaining to someone. Who is the last person in the World. You should be doing this too and this cannot be tolerated. Yeah, complaining is like the most selfish Act. So I think that is very you just change what barbers no shit.

50:08.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, is Selfish. I Just changed barbers because of this I barbers The yeah the my barber was my barber was is so good at cutting hair. But I I got Covid So I went a little bit longer without getting my hair cut and I noticed that.

50:24.90

Max Shank

Amazing.

50:33.72

mikebledsoe

For about three weeks post covid I was at I was easy to agitate and so the what what happened was is I so I started everything that agitated me in my life went on loudspeaker and I go oh.

50:46.80

Max Shank

50:49.88

mikebledsoe

There was a gift in in this because I got to change some things that were bothering me at a low level but not hard enough to change but still taking away my energy right? And so I go you know what changing that and then I didn't my hair is kind of shaggy right now probably can't tell cause a headset. But.

50:54.13

Max Shank

You're more sensitive.

50:58.38

Max Shank

Ah, then.

51:09.48

mikebledsoe

Um, I'm a little bit shaggy because I decided I was like you know I'm just gonna let my hair grow out and I wasn't thinking about not enjoying my barber but then it hit me I go you know I want to get my hair cut and I went to schedule it and I recognized I was like I don't want to go to that Barber. So I I booked ah something at a different place I can't go to the same place cause he's gonna see me there and but he's a he's a chronic complainer and it's and I took it on as a challenge I was like I was like maybe I can help this guy out a little bit. You know how how good can I be like I've got a force field. My force field is um.

51:30.20

Max Shank

Of course. Ah.

51:44.23

Max Shank

Mike Mike Mike the fixer at work during his haircut appointment.

51:46.95

mikebledsoe

Penetrable. And ah well I was just thinking about like how Jesus can I be right now you know like yeah, so I so anyways like I what one the day I went to book my appointment I go.

51:57.96

Max Shank

Well, you need longer hair for that So that works.

52:08.91

mikebledsoe

I'm going somewhere else I hate being complained at all day. So anyways, just own that in their real life example of what max is talking about.

52:15.73

Max Shank

Yeah, it's ah it it might feel authentic and it and it might be coming straight out of your gut but it's not a good idea So that's a good example of like toxic authenticity. But it's not even really authentic. That's just like wounded ah wounded child.

52:33.89

mikebledsoe

It's inauthentic when it's coming from a wound. It's inauthentic but people confuse doing whatever the fuck they feel like in the moment to with being authentic. These are different.

52:35.42

Max Shank

Yeah, right.

52:46.64

Max Shank

It's it's about like ah you don't want to give a damn about too many things you want to selectively care about certain things. More than others and and you have to like you have to put yourself First. Ah and I don't know anyone who doesn't put their family before some stranger and it's good to you know? Love this whole world. And all the living creatures in it I mean I still eat a lot of the living creatures in it and they're delicious. But I don't value the life of a cow that I'm going to eat the same as I value my own life and you can't so you can't um thrive while putting yourself last. So. It's not to care about nothing. It's not to like give no fucks. Ah, it's really about being selective with what you do give your attention and energy into and anytime that you're giving to something that isn't a net positive for both parties. That's a huge. Ah, cost that you're making because there is always an opportunity for an engagement or a transaction or a connection where it's mutually beneficial and that's why profit is so fantastic. You know profit gets such a a bad rap because some people go about it in a destructive way. But there's nothing better than a voluntary transaction where both people are happier afterward and the same thing is true energetically conversationally monetarily whatever.

54:28.44

mikebledsoe

Beautiful, Well said so going back to borrowed dreams I think we've covered.

54:33.90

Max Shank

Just give up your dreams right now just give up your dreams no dreams, no dreams.

54:39.77

mikebledsoe

But it's a good thing. Well I think where we got if I you know begin to summarize this is we talk about start the conversation with people including ourselves set a lot of dreams and goals that really aren't our dreams in the first place and we ended on. Authenticity and wounding and and that's really what it takes to be able to set your own dreams and have your own goals is you really have to go and and look at where you're still a child where your ah. Being inauthentic where you have wounding that's expressing itself itself instead of yourself as love and if you can look at that and you're setting goals not out of insecurity but out of ah out of true desire and. And for me I can feel it in my chest I feel more open I feel expanded when it's something that I truly desire that it's gonna be fulfilling for me and it it I definitely I feel very much in my head when I'm setting goals to end up being for other people. So yeah i.

55:47.74

Max Shank

The.

55:51.70

mikebledsoe

Hope this is helpful. Those conversations help people move to a place where they're living their life in better alignment final thoughts for you that I was about to call you Zach I don't even know what Zach. Yeah.

56:00.93

Max Shank

Ah, lessac I'll get I'll be ah, Zach Morris from saved by the bell now. Ah, here's what I would say first focus on being turn off everything close your eyes. Sit quietly lay down quietly doesn't matter and just get comfortable with that and if you can't be happy and enjoy doing nothing I promise you you're not going to find some achievement that provides a more lasting joy and flow than that. So start with being then look at what you enjoy doing what you enjoy doing so much that it puts you directly into a flow state what you enjoy doing so much that you don't look at the clock you forget to eat think about what activity what? verb. Makes you really come alive. Ideally, you want to find where that intersects with something that people find valuable. So it's being doing and then giving and if you can. Take a little time in each of those stages. It'll be really obvious what type of dream or vision. You can come to and it doesn't suit you to compare too much to what other people are doing because. Really it just matters if you can deliver value to anybody and kind of rethink you know ask why apply the 5 y's to what that goal is after you decide what feels good to just being get comfortable with being. Not just get comfortable but enjoy just being with no distractions find what you enjoy doing and then think about what you would really like to give and on that last point if you're not sure just help out your former self. If. You're not sure who you want to help or how you want to help them just think back to a year ago two years ago five years ago ten years ago to someone just like you who's not quite as far along the path and I think that will at least lead you to something that is um. Comfortable Congruent. It'll be easy to communicate with that person because they are former you and yeah, that's that's how I would like to sum up my thoughts on that.

58:42.80

mikebledsoe

Beautiful I think any especially the coaches out there listening to this that there's That's the best advice I've heard on how to set your goals. So thanks for sharing that wisdom max. Let's wrap this up where are they gonna find you.

58:55.84

Max Shank

Oh I am impossible to find ah you can find me at http://maxshank.com or at ma shank where can they find you.

59:08.91

mikebledsoe

I'm just gonna I'm just gonna post your your home address at some point and then ah.

59:12.17

Max Shank

You don't know where I live.

59:16.72

mikebledsoe

Um, ah you can find me on Instagram at Mike Underscore Bloodso and you can check out the http://bloodsohow.com for some other shows I've been working on and http://thesstrongcoach.com for the coaches out there that want to go go be better coaches I don't know what the fuck you know he people should just go check it out. I enjoyed it later.

59:43.76

Max Shank

Sweet. Yeah, awesome dude. Well everybody follow your dreams make sure they're yours see you next time.

Canadian Truckers, Joe Rogan, & the Media Feb 21, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back everybody to Monday mornings with max and Mike it is our 6 month anniversary this is our twenty sixth episode I'm frankly impressed that we have been so consistent because both Mike and myself. Really like our freedom and so this consistent appointment that we have on Mondays has been kind of an anchor for both of our thinking and we've shared a lot of interesting ideas gotten a lot of good feedback and we're gonna. Use this episode to talk about what's going on with us. What's going on with the world and what you should do about it. So Mike thanks for joining me once again, excited as always.

00:52.99

mikebledsoe

Ah I'm excited about today because we're gonna talk about current events and we don't do that normally up to this point we've been really good at keeping it a non noncurrent event not talking about what's happening in the world because. Ah, it can be ah, a sketchy thing to talk about that's not we don't want to avoid it because it's sketchy if you've been listening to show so far. We definitely cover some stuff that might be controversial for a lot of people. But when you get into? Yeah yeah, but.

01:24.95

Max Shank

It's clear which side our bread is buttered on. Let's just say that.

01:29.56

mikebledsoe

When you get into current events. It's um, it's easy to step in it. You know, but we're gonna We're gonna give it a shot anyway and that the things that are going on in the world right now that um, um.

01:39.43

Max Shank

Way way way wait wait before we go before we get into that. Let me just say the healthiest thing you can do is focus on how you can embody the values you believe in and deliver value. And pretty much ignore what's happening on a macro scale for the most part that is the healthiest thing you can do caveat over. Yeah I mean you shouldn't It's ah it's interesting because if you are.

02:05.79

mikebledsoe

Well now I feel like we shouldn't do the show. Ah.

02:16.84

Max Shank

Investing you want to try to ignore the news as much as possible if you are a professional you want to try to ignore the news as much as possible but there are certain realities that you have to be aware of like let me ask you a question if you lived in Canada would you have. Moved out of Canada I probably would have maybe not I don't know.

02:38.61

mikebledsoe

I have I have several friends that left I have a few more trying to figure out how to get out I mean it's um I'm listening to ah Ray Dalio's new book right now the changing world order and ah, it's.

02:52.85

Max Shank

Earth.

02:58.59

mikebledsoe

Really what I really like about books like that um is they he he takes like a 2000 year view same thing with the sovereign individual. It's really good to look at super macro over time cycles and things like that because. It definitely makes what's happening right? now seem not such a big deal like it's it's like okay this is this is really It feels very important because it's happening right now but in the grand scheme of things. It's not important Ray Dalio is somebody who's made a lot of money built a lot of wealth over.

03:22.44

Max Shank

The.

03:37.90

mikebledsoe

Over his lifetime and the the guys that do that tend to be pretty apolitical I find they they don't really take a side they because they're so zoomed out they can basically they're not getting caught up in all of the the bullshit and so he. He really he's looking at the chinese since the six hundreds he's looking at ah you know the the the dutch the british and the american currencies because they were the dutch had the first reserve currency. The British Pound was the second the american dollar was a third and when you start looking at ah at things from that that more macro perspective and realizing that that as a society we will tend to the pendulum swings from a much more. Leftist political view to a right political view and the pendulum swings pretty hard and every time the pendulum swings there is there are winners and there are losers and it's yeah.

04:48.94

Max Shank

It's like we're fish tailing out of control back and forth overcorrection Overcorrection overcorrection.

04:54.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and there's winners and losers along the way. But if you can see the big cycles and not be so emotionally charged by it and get caught up in it which I've watched a lot of my friends I've actually been surprised by a lot of my friends who get in the last couple years when. Super left or they went super right? and I'm just like I'm like Wow I Really thought that you had a ah larger perspective on what's going on. So um, yeah I'm glad we're We're talking about this first because I do encourage everybody.

05:13.99

Max Shank

Ah.

05:31.30

mikebledsoe

That book by Ray Dahlia is really good. The sovereign individual is really good. The fourth turning that book talks about 100 year cycles and there's 4 generations in every hundred year cycle and what's typical and and that one's specific to America. What's typical um, is like when you read that and you look at what's happening right? now you go oh you can pretty much predict. What's going to happen next and some of these books have done this really well books that were written twenty years ago like the sovereign individual pretty much predicted everything that was going to happen in between two thousand and Twenty Twenty five

06:08.74

Max Shank

Five hundred year delta is another interesting one I don't know if you've read that one. It's ah it's even older and you read it now and you're just like whoa like they were they they knew exactly what was in the pipeline and the reason.

06:09.35

mikebledsoe

And this. I Haven't read that one.

06:20.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

06:28.65

Max Shank

Um, you can't just perfectly predict the future because you would just you know invest in the company that's going to win ah some of those things are unknowable like the general trend is maybe knowable but you can't pick the timing or the specifics. That's what otherwise they would all be.

06:43.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah I heard a good quote.

06:48.32

Max Shank

You know multi- multibillionaire trillionaires.

06:50.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah I'm ah I'm in this access I'm in this crypto trading group and ah, you know when the market when when bitcoin and a lot of other cryptos took a noseive the last couple months you know a lot of people were freaking out and. Someone came in and said remember time in beats timing time in the market beats timing the market every time and that's another reason it's good to take a macro view because if you look at economics at ah at a.

07:13.85

Max Shank

Right.

07:26.63

mikebledsoe

You know and hundred year cycles and things like that then you may not be able to pick the specific company. That's gonna win but you can kind of see you can kind of predict about what's gonna happen with the currency and and this and that and so I'm a big believer in. Ah. You know and and reading Warren Buffett and things like that these guys are it's not about picking that one company. Yeah you diversify and you you may catch a really good one or or several good ones. But you know, just just be investing in the things that are working right now is a good idea.

08:00.39

Max Shank

And before you do any of that you focus on investing in yourself like just to kind of bring us back to the practical like what do you do about it. First thing you should do is completely ignore the news. Or ah like passive investing until you have built value yourself that you can deliver on a consistent basis because there's nowhere that you can get a better return than building skills including the skill of delivering those skills. At a profit you shouldn't even mess around with trying to stay up with current events or politics and rhetoric or trading currencies until you have built that value building skill.

08:50.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah I really like that and it makes me think about you know hunt was a maybe one hundred hundred and fifty years ago the the people that the only people that had a vote at 1 point in America was people who own land and so ah.

09:04.61

Max Shank

Landowners. Which kind of makes sense.

09:09.54

mikebledsoe

They they were established they had they actually had skin in the game they they were like like likely value producing people in society and so if you think about who's gonna make the best decisions. It's probably gonna be them. Now the argument against that is they're gonna make decisions that are are best for their own good and and you know these other people aren't being represented and and what um the difference in that situation versus what we have now is right Now. It's one of those arguments of everyone needs to be represented and.

09:29.83

Max Shank

Wasn't that.

09:46.64

Max Shank

Ah.

09:49.11

mikebledsoe

And that's more important than making good decisions and and and I get you know if we if if it was always the landowners that got to make the decisions then you know the the possibility of people feeling like they have a voice.

09:51.31

Max Shank

Well.

10:07.76

mikebledsoe

And being able to gain land might be difficult but it also might really encourage people to buy land which would overall be a good thing because that increases personal responsibility and all sorts of things.

10:17.99

Max Shank

Yeah I mean look how parenting works my house my rules but I think in a company. It's the same thing my company my rules the the difference with voting and why democracy is like mob. Democracy is basically just mob rule and I think it's crazy that we have a popularity contest to see which sociopath gets to wield a gargantuan stick ah like it. It makes no sense if you can convince like 51% of the voters.

10:45.25

mikebledsoe

10:55.16

Max Shank

To say that you're the best you suddenly have this crazy power and that's when you get imbalanced transactions like these companies would not be able to do outlander stuff without the help of lobbying so without the help of the stick. You know, enforcing things with a monopoly of violence. That's why every time you are a participant in a profitable transaction. You are actually creating wealth for both sides and that's why I come back to this idea of the pie makers and the pie slicers and the pie slicers just want to. They think it's a 0 sum game where there's one pie and if they get sharper and sharper knives they can slice it into tinier and tinier pieces. But they've never actually created any value in your life which is why I have like total disdain for politicians because it's like dude, why don't you lend a hand instead of carving up. And creating this victim mentality. It's ridiculous so making yeah right I mean making sense of things I think is valuable um, trying to make sense of what's going on but don't think for a second.

11:55.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but that works that works in the popularity contest.

12:11.17

Max Shank

Um, that the way our society is structured from a political standpoint or a policing standpoint makes any sense at all like don't expect it to be reasonable because it's not reasonable and there are literally hundreds of examples. The the law is too complex for any 1 person to understand the tax code is too complex for any 1 person to understand they have mountains of paper and bills and laws going through the hands of these politicians who are crooks. And they don't even read the fucking things and you have people in jail for smoking grass and you and I are paying to like house that drug user for no reason at all um public school same thing I mean we could go on and on and on but the first but the first thing you have to do is stop. Vexing it to be rational or reasonable because it's not and that's how you can avoid getting caught up in the tribalism because you'll be like you guys are stupid like the only thing that actually makes sense is to. Wipe your own ass and then help out somebody else and the only way you can do that is by having a set of values and creating and delivering value. Everything else is like pretty much mental masturbation unless you actually do want to become one of those people who. Speaks out to try to like move political action. Um, and you know there's a lot of cost to doing something like that.

13:54.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

14:00.28

mikebledsoe

Um, the good I You know when when I start talking to people about politics or what's going on in the world right now. Um.

14:00.69

Max Shank

Got me all riled up actually I don't need any help getting riled up to I.

14:16.49

mikebledsoe

I find that I hold ah a fairly unique perspective because I tend I try not to look at what should happen and what should not happen I look at what is happening and I think a lot of times people get a little mixed up and like they. They go oh wow, it sounds like you're an anarchist and and I go well it could sound like that because that's what we live in. We're not that's it's just what is it's not ah and it's and it's becoming more anarchist over time. And what I mean by that is when I think about the word anarchy it just means without a ruler. It doesn't mean without rules and so an anarchist is somebody who takes a hundred percent personal responsibility and is is ready to. Create their own rules for their life and live by their own standards and the the way I see things going is everything's decentralizing so I remember ah had a friend make a post while back where it was like you know, maybe censorship is good. Maybe we shouldn't. You know it's probably a good thing that people aren't telling you how to build a nuclear bomb on Youtube you know that gap ban you know that kind of shit censored so like where do we draw the line and I go I posted and didn't get a response like I got a response the first time and then we start going back and forth and then just stop is. Ah, go. It's not about what should be done or what should be censored. The truth is in the future. Nothing will be censored. So what we got to do is we got to figure out how that works how do we make the world work in a place in a time and place. When due to blockchain technology. All information is actually accessible to everybody all the time. How do you manage that? That's a different thing and so ah because once something. So. Some of this blockchain technology if someone wanted to create a Youtube that worked off a blockchain they could set it up to where it could never be taken down. You'd have to shut down the entire internet over in the entire world to take that shit down and that's where we're going and so I look at that and I go the our job. Is to teach personal responsibility teach people. How to do that because the the people that don't take personal responsibility and they're waiting for someone to rescue them and who are dependent on others they're gonna be the ones left out in the cold first they're gonna get hit the hardest the people who.

16:59.18

mikebledsoe

Already take personal responsibility want to create value in the world. They're gonna be fine. So for me, it's not about oh everything should be more libertarian more every this and that it's like no, it's just where it's going and if you want to try to argue against that. It's gonna suck for you because you're spending your time trying to. Manipulate things you're trying to manipulate this entire like billions of people all coming together and and it's a it's a fucking tidal wave that you're not going to just be able to push against and stop might as well just learn how to ride that thing.

17:33.81

Max Shank

Yeah I think there's so much wisdom in seeing the world for how it is instead of how you want it to be I think that when it comes to political action or or even like.

17:42.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

17:52.86

Max Shank

You know, convincing scientists. It might have been buckminster. It's like you don't you don't fight um, against something you obsolete it meaning you make a technology that's better so like fighting against something you're just going to create.

18:00.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

18:09.33

Max Shank

Ah there's going to be an equal and opposite force. So the more you fight the more they fight you back the more you fight the more they fight you back and that's how we have this like huge chasm in the middle because people are seeing a different Tv show basically and I think that's one of the reasons that people are so divided is. Back in the day there was propaganda. There's propaganda today there was propaganda since the dawn of time like all talking is some sort of propaganda. Basically it's just some of it is ah pretty benevolent but back in the day sound like an old guy back in the day we would. Ah. We would at least watch the same propaganda like we'd sit around the Tv and um, watch the same thing now people are choosing their own echo chamber and not only that they're having an algorithm choose their own echo chamber by.

18:48.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

19:06.20

Max Shank

Not what they will like the best but what will get them to ah what will be the most provocative to them what will get them to engage and fear is more ah urgent than Love. Sadly speaking I mean it makes sense from a survival standpoint. It's ah you know safety is the main thing. So yeah, yeah, you're you're done.

19:29.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if you don't have that you can't do other shit if you feel like that's about to be taken away. You've got to take action right now. It's an emergency.

19:38.96

Max Shank

Right? It's an emergency Well emergency Powers is how we got into this whole mess. Um, you know there's still. There's still no way to know if doing nothing would have been better than doing something and that's.

19:46.40

mikebledsoe

19:58.16

Max Shank

That's like almost always the case for like political action. Something needs to be done. It's the same as the fucking busybodies in the h o as right some ladies like oh you got ah your hedges are three centimeters too tall and I'm gonna report you to the it's like fuck you. Like don't you have a life so to me, it's the difference between a villain and and and a hero because a hero will be like I have set you free and the villain will be like. I have freed you by offering this new life where you do what the fuck I say and that's the core difference is confidence. This is what is best for me arrogance I know what's best for you and possibly everybody else and that's where it gets very very dark because. Heroes and villains alike believe that they are heroes The only difference is the villain feels justified in coercion which is forcing people into a certain situation. That's the only difference and if you can focus on that it'll be clear the path forward. But um, you know Thanos is probably 1 of the best villains because he was very indiscriminate. You know a lot of villains. They single out a certain population. He's like no no, no just half of you.

21:26.21

mikebledsoe

Ah, tell me me more about Thanos I don't know what you're talking about who's Thanos.

21:31.25

Max Shank

His way of saving the universe and restoring balance to the universe. He's like some fucking Marvel character I'm not a huge comic book nerd. But he's an avengers. He's the like. Oh definitely I don't know. Ah I'm sure.

21:36.71

mikebledsoe

Ah, okay I was like I was like is there some some like Greek god I don't know about I know some of those Marvel characters are based off of you know Nordic gods and almost hit.

21:50.77

Max Shank

Oh well, you know of course all the news stories are perfectly unique and there was never anything related to you know, Gilgamesh and heroes he his his solution was to just go everywhere and kill half the people which was like very.

21:55.85

mikebledsoe

I I tell us about Anos.

22:07.34

Max Shank

Ah, objective he wasn't playing Favorites. He was just saying too many mouths not enough to go around whatever he was. He was like a hedge trimmer for the ah universal population and it's it's villainous because he's appointed himself the decider. For everyone else, but it was very um, impersonal to just choose half the people. Um, so as that relates to what's going on right now is there are a lot of people who think they know best for everyone else and. In order to stay Objective. You have to be able to argue both of the extremes and you have to have some compassion for people who think the opposite of you and the only way to do that is try to argue for. Their story and it's all it's all rhetoric like everything is kind of paradoxical. You know the more you dig down into rhetoric more more you realize like it's either forced or it's not forced and that's kind of that's the line enforced by the stick.

23:17.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's a the the technique of a steel man argument is that you build the other side up before you present your side is if you can make them feel heard and understood. They can listen to you so people tend to.

23:20.72

Max Shank

Not enforced by the stick.

23:26.60

Max Shank

Ah.

23:34.70

mikebledsoe

They don't feel like they've been heard and understood then they just keep usually just keep talking. But if you can make them feel heard understood then they'll listen and so there's I mean that's so true in marketing and sales right? that's.

23:43.31

Max Shank

Oh. I wasn't even talking about how to have a conversation with them I was just talking about how to have like um you know mental peace for yourself and and not and not assume the people who believe differently than you are evil which I I have definitely been. In that situation before I'm like how can these people justify coercing other people. They must be like maniacs and the truth is like you have to be able to understand it from both sides like the whole like abortion seems crazy to me Like. Think as long as the baby is inside the woman's vagina she should be able to kill it if she wants to um, but I understand exactly why someone would believe the exact opposite of that you know what I mean I Totally understand why.

24:36.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

24:42.76

Max Shank

If someone is in an echo Chamber where they're getting mainlined fear that they would think forcing people to get an injection is the only way that we can all be safe I can totally understand why someone would believe that but when rhetoric is driving policy. Um, man. That's a problem. There should be some absolute truisms about coercion and non-coercion and and that's why I think the whole thing is such a crocoette basically because all of the language that we use to guide the jurisdiction and the authority of the stickholder. Is too complicated to understand it needs to be much more simple, much more clear and you're you're not going to solve it by by fighting against it directly until there's ah, a literal you know revolution of some kind where you just you know wield that power of no. To draw your boundaries and the same thing's true with any relationship you know, drawing boundaries versus being open are two critical skills and if you lack one you're going To. You're going to have a bad Time. Basically.

25:55.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah I find when I get in conversations with people that if if they hold this one view then um, I'm not going to really like like we have to talk about this 1 thing because everything. Everything seems a stem off of this 1 thing when it comes to politics and that is there's 2 there's 2 types of people in the world. You have 1 type of person who believes that people the general public people in general are too stupid to make their own decisions and they have to be taken care of.

26:31.69

Max Shank

Yep.

26:33.86

mikebledsoe

They need to be parented there. They're too stupid to to take care of themselves and they might hurt other people because they're too stupid and so that's that's a large part. That's most people that's anyone who's trying to write and this exactly.

26:40.79

Max Shank

Because no one thinks they're the stupid one. It's always for those other stupid people.

26:52.62

mikebledsoe

And this happens on the left and the right on the left people are too stupid to you know you know they're they're completely unsafe and you know the example of like are too stupid so they need to be told to wear masks outside even though we all know that's dumb as shit. But basically I had somebody on the left that was.

27:08.36

Max Shank

How dare you.

27:12.11

mikebledsoe

Had someone on the left I was talking to and they were and you know she's a doctor she goes will you know that we we have to tell them to wear it outside so they'll wear it inside too and because if they think they can if if we start changing up when they can take it where and not wear. It. They just might not wear it and I'm going. Oh you're one of the people who believe that people are too stupid um to to you can't give them complicated. You know, complex directions like where it inside but not outside and so and and the thing is is I couldn't talk to her about anything else. Until she could see that there's a possibility that people actually can learn. They can obtain wisdom and so but I would say I find myself on a side that that people are very capable of taking care of themselves except. And the reason that there's a lot of evidence to the contrary is because people have been robbed of wisdom for so long that we do have a bunch of stupid people and because they haven't been allowed to make any mistakes we've we've nerfed the world we've made the world so safe people actually I watch people cross the street in downtown Austin with their phone in their face because they just of course someone's gonna stop I'm in the crosswalk I'm like you have this is you have ah you're you're being a fool and. The problem is is that people have been made to feel so safe and they haven't been allowed to make mistakes they've been allowed to make mistakes but they they don't have to pay for them and so ah, I'm on the side of everybody hat is capable and and definitely people are different different intellectual levels. No doubt about it. Some people are. Born smarter than other people. Some people are built stronger than other people. So that's just how it is but generally speaking everybody has the opportunity to obtain wisdom and the only way you can obtain wisdom is through experience and making mistakes and. Feeling the pain of those mistakes and so I I sit on the side of the world would be a lot better place if we just let people get hurt if we just and and it and it could and if we were to transition from this everything has to be super safe to this. It might be a little harsh in the beginning I totally get that and making a fast switch might be really difficult but I do think that we do tend to swing between these 2 extremes one is people are too stupid to decide for themselves and on the other side is is radical, um, ah, personal responsibility.

30:05.82

mikebledsoe

And so those who have learned radical personal responsibility tend to be very wise and make good decisions. But I think that the people who have done that for for whatever reason have have put themselves out there and put themselves have have felt the pain of making mistakes. Ah, a really good example of this is drug use in San Francisco they they give you a safe place to shoot up your heroin or whatever it is that you want to do and it and it's like okay that's a very compassionate thing to do like okay, we're gonna give them. Safe needles and and yada yadda yadda. But then you have just an entire population of people shooting up on the street and are are you you may be saving that person's life. But how many more people are you just gonna be junkies for the rest of their life. You know. The the repercussions are they gonna come quickly or are they gonna be drawn out over a long period of time and the longer it takes for you to feel the pain of your mistake the less likely you are to to obtain the wisdom for it if I make a mistake and then five years later feel the pain of that mistake. I am way less likely to link the 2 and gain that wisdom. But if I can feel that pain of my mistake immediately say I get on the street. No one gives no one's giving me any money I'm out there painhandling I'm shooting up I'm having a hard time finding needles like think I'm gonna hit rock bottom a lot faster.

31:35.13

Max Shank

Oh.

31:40.13

mikebledsoe

And one of the things I like to share with people as I coach them is don't don't the the thing that can harm people the most is trying to save them from their apocalypse and because people do need to hit a rock bottom and people's rock. Bottoms are different.

31:42.27

Max Shank

You were a heroin addict I knew it.

31:58.17

Max Shank

But that's what politicians do That's how they that's how they keep you sucking on their teat is they let they keep you bouncing right? at the bottom so that you always need them. No, it's true I mean you create ah an imbalanced relationship where there's.

31:59.73

mikebledsoe

My rock bottom.

32:08.88

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

32:16.50

Max Shank

You who are the one who has and they who are the one who needs right? and just like you I think if you are free to reap the rewards or suffer the consequences. The result is always going to be better for everybody because then you will incentivize. Pie Makers essentially and you know getting back to one of my core values. It's incentives people respond to Incentives. You know if you if you make ah you know ah a free heroin house I don't know exactly how it's Working. You're going to attract.

32:38.77

mikebledsoe

We're here.

32:54.82

mikebledsoe

Um, well they have to have reb Rehab Centers some are dirty and some are clean.

32:55.65

Max Shank

Anyone anyone who wants to do heroin from all the areas and look frankly frankly I don't I think we should make heroin Legal I mean people are addicted to opiates hardcore. But that's okay so we really cherry pick. What the like bad things are and what the good things are alcohol cigarettes Fine Psilocybin Illegal Marijuana illegal like whoa whoa Whoa Huh and like I can I can become like ah I can I can eat fritos until I'm £400.

33:25.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

33:33.83

Max Shank

Ah, but and that's okay like I mean it's just we we cherry pick. Yeah I mean look ah isn't that a good way to stay. Ah, healthier is to do drugs instead of overeat I would agree I think you're way better off being like a thin guy.

33:33.90

mikebledsoe

But I can't smoke opium come on.

33:43.50

mikebledsoe

I Think so I I'll blame. Ah.

33:52.65

Max Shank

Doing Ah I mean it depends on the drug like I don't think ah I mean I don't think I'm not saying like a crack whore will live longer than an obese guy but it's possible though. Yeah, the drug episode really covers all that.

33:54.79

mikebledsoe

It does depend on the drug I. Go back and listen to our its drugs app our drugs Za go listen to our drugs episode that that that's all get.

34:12.80

Max Shank

Um, but yeah, it's just ah, the arrogance to think that you know best for everybody else and that whole idea of mob rule like majority rules and you know is it is it really a good idea to let 51% of the population rape the other 49 Just because they voted that they should be able to I mean it's just absurd. That's why it's so important to like create the life you want within the framework and create the incentives and consequences that you want like you know do a little jaywalking just look around if anyone's gonna see you and give you a ticket like.

34:32.88

mikebledsoe

Well, it's funny because the.

34:49.15

Max Shank

You know there's just the fundamental realities. But but don't buy in to the idea that it's good.

34:55.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well the the United States was set up to be a republic not a democracy and it's a really interesting like to avoid to the mob rule. It was totally set up to avoid mob rule and because the founding fathers. They.

35:01.17

Max Shank

Right.

35:13.55

mikebledsoe

Knew that that was a bad idea. They saw how that that was not going to work and the greeks were the first ones to put a Republic in place and that worked until it didn't but the the I What what I find interesting is looking at current events is when people go. Ah, Democracy isn't working. You know it's broken and these politicians say it I'm like no man. Well a it's not a democracy.. It's a Republic and and they're upset because say one side won the majority of an election in the last cycle. And then they're complaining that they don't get to have their way the whole time and it's like yeah, the whole system was set up that you can't just do whatever the fuck you want the 40 the 51 can't abuse the 49 although that does Happen. It's just slower. It's you don't it actually helps to minimize the political swings. Although with technology right now I think that's that's some of the way things are set up right now or not working so well because due to tech information is flowing so fast there there're they's probably yeah.

36:17.73

Max Shank

When there are gatekeepers to that information. Also now they have built this I think those are the 2 things that we're basically circling around today is who's controlling the flow of information and who's controlling the flow of. The use of force and maybe also as a third who's controlling the money but that's kind of ah they go hand in hand you know the the the government. What's that oh yeah, yeah, sometimes it gets a much better result.

36:43.80

mikebledsoe

Well do you do you use Google do do you use Google I every chart sometimes I I use I use all of them and I find.

36:55.59

Max Shank

Then like duck duck go and brave. Different result.

37:02.17

mikebledsoe

The top 10 top ten twenty results on Google is so homogenous. It's is and I have a hard time finding good information. It's very watered down. It's very dumb down. It's not. It's hard to find a good essay through a Google search. It's.

37:18.15

Max Shank

Well searching is a skill that you develop you learn like what Keywords to use You don't just search for the main idea you search for some sub ideas so you can find it.

37:28.80

mikebledsoe

Well last night I was last night I was doing a lot of searching through Google and having a very hard time getting depth around a certain topic I had to go to a different search engine and and so I'm just talking about the the control of information whether it's good or bad. Everyone.

37:34.29

Max Shank

Yeah.

37:44.83

Max Shank

That part doesn't matter. It's like who will well who will watch the watchers I think is 1984 and now we're in 2022 and it's who will fact, check the fact checkers and it's.

37:48.17

mikebledsoe

99% of the people are using Google and they're deciding what you get to think about.

38:03.49

Max Shank

It's so funny How the rhetoric just goes back and forth back and forth is like well it's private company. Ah free speech this free speech that and you know the the nuance of what's the difference between a platform and a publisher and you know free speech.. There's a reason that it's the first. The amendments you can say what you want you can meet up how you want ah and the second one is firearms and basically it's not Firearms. Specifically, it's just they have you have the right to be able to defend yourself with deadly force regardless of what the implement is like you can you know.

38:37.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

38:42.42

Max Shank

Should be able to own a fucking Rocket Launcher. You know the reality is everybody has a car and they don't drive through crowds all the time. In fact, it's pretty rare. So I think those are the key points is. Back to our you can go visit our censorship episode to see what we really think about that because ah, you're not going to see people who are pro censorship on the good on the right side of History. It's just not going to happen.

39:02.62

mikebledsoe

Um, well, what do you think. Now. Yeah, that's a common meme going around right now like yeah I don't remember the last time there was a pro censorship movement that ended. Well yeah, what do you think about Youtube I mean Youtube is a.

39:15.10

Max Shank

Yeah I mean it's always for your own good. It's always for your own good. Yeah.

39:24.46

mikebledsoe

Youtube is its own company Instagram Facebook these that they're I mean they're publicly held companies but they are. You know we go back to say like natural law then in my in my opinion they should be able to do whatever they want. And it it gets a little sketchy because are they classified and when when you get into the like legal legal you know, ah outside of natural law There's an argument that they're a utility company at this point and once they're utility. They're a public utility company. Now there now they fall under things like the first amendment and it's and that's the argument for it and you know there's there's other plot I'm a um, a so what do you think about that I'm just curious.

40:21.80

Max Shank

I'm certain that the the guys with the big stick Cia Fbi whatever are in close contact with those gatekeepers because Twitter is a gate Youtube's a gate Instagram Facebook is a gate. Um, when you control the flow of information like that I don't think um I don't think it's originating only within that company. Um, when I when I have watched when I have watched what's going on with. Ah.

40:50.87

mikebledsoe

That's true.

40:57.28

Max Shank

Like they do the the little dog and pony show with the the Ceo of the ah the ceos of these companies with the most retarded congressman they can find and senators who don't understand computers trying to get like a sound bite and rake them over the coals. How dare you.

41:16.19

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

41:16.53

Max Shank

So And so customer information our privacy and I'm look I don't know anything I'm dumb too. But the people that they send out to like slap these guys on the wrist is the most ridiculous dog and pony show with the most uninformed ignorant politicians. You can even imagine like if you were one of those ceos you would just have to be laughing to yourself like are you kidding me, it looks. It's It's ridiculous. It has dude that is not what's happening that is not their communication that is a show so they can get a soundb bite and be like.

41:38.25

mikebledsoe

Um, well sometimes sometimes I wonder if if.

41:55.19

Max Shank

Oh so and so senator slams Zuckerberg in a fucking congressional http://smackdownwwewwe and it's like that's not what's going on. That's they they did this dog and pony show so they could have these sound bites to show you. But like you don't think that they're being hardcore flexed on by you know, ah the government the stickholders to like do what they say like I would be shocked if that was really how the information was going.

42:25.80

mikebledsoe

Well I I also think that you know I look at say Zuckerberg going in front of congress. Whatever I i. I don't believe either way but I definitely play around with different scenarios in which case he's actually in charge of the whole show and he needs to it's a Pr move for for this to happen so people will still like like got oh we need. Facebook wants the censor so they need the government to come in and make them look like they've been fucking up their ability to censor and it's hurting the american public and so to me I go I look at that and I go maybe maybe yeah, it's a check like.

43:12.77

Max Shank

It's like a chess game. You think they're they're going back and forth.

43:16.73

mikebledsoe

The entire public's getting riled up and then Zuckerberg goes home and he goes like oh those's a bunch of idiots they fell for the whole thing and now we really get to do what we want to do so yeah, even better engagement I got a lot of free Pr you know? Yeah yeah, and so it's ah.

43:20.30

Max Shank

Yeah, right, even better engagement more more advertising. Yeah, exactly.

43:35.70

mikebledsoe

I really I've moved to the opinion that that big tech is the 1 wagging the dog these days and so it's.

43:43.40

Max Shank

Interesting. But you don't think that like they could just totally blow up their whole operation and you know say hey you are a monopoly we need to split you up or we're going to nationalize it.

43:56.74

mikebledsoe

I I think these guys have too much money we have too much money. Bezos thing about Bezos this dude is destroying a bridge to have his yacht delivered. They're gonna destroy a bridge deliver his yacht and then rebuild it. Ah if Bezos decided he's got some.

43:58.55

Max Shank

I Mean you would you would imagine like there's so much power there Huh maybe? yeah du. I mean I'm pretty sure like all of these people we're talking about could have someone murdered and not be found out like that. No what like.

44:16.47

mikebledsoe

Let it go swing. Pretty sure they probably have like I'd be I'd be so right? I'd be surprised I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case. But um.

44:30.40

Max Shank

The whole. That's why the word conspiracy like irks me so much because it just means people meeting in secret that happens all the time people are always meeting in secret to try to better their situation. Um, you know Jfk M L K if you have a 3 letter.

44:36.52

mikebledsoe

All the time. Yeah.

44:49.54

Max Shank

Ah, initials with a K at the end you're you're probably going to be murdered, especially especially if you if you are saying we should ah just all love each other and get along they fucking hate that that's like the worst thing.

44:52.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah RFK now

45:05.36

Max Shank

Like the worst thing you can say is like hey guys can't we all just get along and you know not bomb each other and crucified that guy literally.

45:07.90

mikebledsoe

Pretty sure that's what ah what? Jesus did and they they ah murdered him. Yeah, yeah, okay I want to I want to cover I want to rewind a little bit and go back to what is happening and ah. I get a little giddy at times because I think for those of us who are you know have the ability to be self-sustaining and are are really into personal responsibility when ah when you look at what's going on. It's it's a bit of a meltdown. And so a really good example of this is the truckers up in Canada these these truckers up in Canada there's just ah, an example of the way things are going no matter what you think should be happening or should not be happening.

45:49.11

Max Shank

We'll just print more money. It'll be fine.

46:02.37

mikebledsoe

And these truckers in Canada are out there protesting you know the mandates and all this the way the media is presenting. It is very different than.

46:10.52

Max Shank

I heard it was I heard it was just a couple of guys who are racists I heard it was just a couple of racists and I'm pretty sure a few of them fuck kids that's isn't that isn't that the story. All my all.

46:15.54

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, well yeah, that's how it goes Well it.

46:27.43

Max Shank

All my opponents are racist pedophiles I Just want to put that on record anyone who opposes me.

46:29.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I just I wanna I wanna point this out is is it's the way it's being covered like I know people that are up there and you know what's being reported like boots on the ground versus what's being reported on the news. Very very different I think that. I think the same thing was happening with black lives matter. You know there there was there was what was presented and what was not presented I went to Oakland I went downtown Oakland three days after they were burning cars in the middle of the street. Ah because I had I just want I was in the area and I wanted to see it. My girlfriend thought I was crazy.

47:06.46

Max Shank

I get it.

47:07.46

mikebledsoe

Ah, but I I want I was curious man and so um I went up there and actually did an interview with a friend who lives in the building where the outside was just fucking completely boarded up and and had been spray painted and um. You know the way that that was presented versus the way that my friend who lived in the middle of the whole thing talked about it was different and then we look at what's happening up in Canada and ah, what's it called. They're called a something provocateurs it and I just want to bring this.

47:31.29

Max Shank

Ah.

47:43.11

mikebledsoe

As a possibility to people so they don't get too caught up in the bullshit is the majority of people in a protest are probably peaceful. They're generally whatever, pretty peaceful and then you yeah, a lot of dead people and then.

47:54.91

Max Shank

Um, if they weren't You'd have a lot of dead people a lot of destroyed property.

48:02.64

mikebledsoe

And then what you have is you have a few people out there doing crazy shit are they are they on on their own a court are they are they cia are they are they going in there. There's evidence of like the Fbi having somebody encouraging poor behavior. Because now it gives the government an excuse to to lock down more on on this situation I don't know about Yeah yeah, false flag? Yeah well what What's interesting is.

48:25.60

Max Shank

It's like a gulf of tonkin kind of thing the false flag I think it's false flag for Vietnam like just not real basically and I always thought about that too like if you are a blue t-shirt guy. The best thing you can do. Is put on a red t-shirt and act like an asshole and vice versa like it's that's what's more effective than that.

48:43.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, well a lot of times people people don't want to believe that's what's happening right now even though it's been happening all throughout history the ah like American media will talk about. Oh.

48:54.34

Max Shank

Right.

48:59.85

mikebledsoe

Like they're talking about it happening with Russia and the Ukraine right now they're like oh Russia is pulling a false flag so they can do whatever I'm like but that's not gonna happen in America that's not gonna happen in Canada you're saying that's not possible here but you're pointing out that the russians are bad because they're doing it over there and are they doing it over there who the fuck knows and then. So you have this whole thing up in Canada which is interesting because you know it does look like somebody put up a ah a nazi flag or whatever and maybe there was a racist trucker who's a nazi and want to do that. Maybe it was somebody from the canadian government that went up there and did that so they could. You know because the the canadian government looks really bad right now. really really bad um canadians are like the nicest people on the whole fucking planet and ah to think that there's there's hundreds of thousands of nazis up in Canada that just all of a sudden sprung up. He's like.

49:51.25

Max Shank

Everybody's got a limit. Yeah, totally.

49:58.14

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's anyone who's thinking clearly is going to see that That's probably not true, but.

50:03.59

Max Shank

But you're not going to be thinking clearly if you are just getting triggered into lizard mode right? So as soon as soon as you even see a swastika. You're not going to be like oh yeah I remember when that was a Tibetan symbol of peace. You're gonna be like those are.

50:08.27

mikebledsoe

Absolutely.

50:19.98

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

50:21.77

Max Shank

So though it's an ad hominem attack where you will justify anything. You're like oh we should kill all of these people. It's like no, we should laugh at them for having such outdated ideas but you shouldn't be able to kill anybody. That's why I think.

50:34.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:40.19

Max Shank

Ah, the definition of terrorist and hate crime are 2 of the most sinister definitions in our modern times because there should just be crime. It's a crime or it's not a crime the the hatefulness of it should not be taken into consideration and the word terrorist.

50:53.67

mikebledsoe

Agreed I agreed well here.

50:58.14

Max Shank

Is basically carte blanche to be like oh yeah, he's ah he's a terrorist which means um, all the rules are suspended. We can just fuck you up for no reason for no reason like the whole due process is evaporated with 1 word terrorist the whole due process is evaporated with 1 word.

51:05.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

51:17.64

Max Shank

Emergency the whole idea of crime and punishment is now skewed on its fucking head for 1 term hate crime. It's like dude this is insane.

51:25.42

mikebledsoe

Well the hate crime thing is very interesting to me because it assumes somebody else's intention. You are you are saying that you actually know you. It shouldn't matter. But the thing is is it's impossible for someone to know what's.

51:34.64

Max Shank

But that shouldn't even matter.

51:44.54

mikebledsoe

Someone else's internal experience is people you're saying oh is I hate crimes like ah so I it's the same thing as calling someone else racist now if someone says you know I am racist I'm like okay I'll believe you if you if you claim being racist I like buck it I'll believe you. But for someone else to point at somebody else and be like you're racist or that was a hate crime I'm like do you know?? what's in my heart is that is that even possible and so and you're right? and and this is why these things should be judged on the behavior alone is it a crime. Yes or no, okay, well.

52:09.20

Max Shank

Yeah, it's insane. Insane.

52:24.25

mikebledsoe

There's a penalty for that. So I'm in complete agreement. Yeah ever hear that.

52:25.26

Max Shank

The content of your character. Not the color of your skin Martin Luther King again I mean look I didn't know the guy personally he seemed pretty cool but if he like beat up a white fella I wouldn't be like oh that's a hate crime I'd be like wow he must have been really upset at that guy like it.

52:40.88

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, probably not about race. It's probably about something else. Um, well well going back to the truckers and and what is happening is I got a little chuckle out of this is.

52:44.60

Max Shank

Doesn't. Yeah, it's Ridiculous. It's absurd.

53:00.57

mikebledsoe

Go fund me. There's a go fund me operating to support these truckers. It was up to $10000000 what does gofundme. Do they steal it. They steal the money and ah at first some people thought they basically shut it down people thought oh they're just gonna refund everybody their money. No, they redistribute it to other organizations that they wanted to send the money to so so you have you have theft. Yeah, it's it's stealing. They just stole a bunch of people's money they stole the trucker's money they stole money from the people who don't I don't.

53:24.36

Max Shank

Heavy That's stealing That's stealing.

53:38.99

mikebledsoe

Like I didn't donate money but like if I were to donate that money and then they were to send it to some organization that I didn't intend for it to go to I'd be fucking furious, but here's the thing is it is theft and you know what the government may not do anything about it and you know and and.

53:44.59

Max Shank

Ah I bet.

53:52.89

Max Shank

Why would they they might have been the ones behind it. It's okay.

53:58.48

mikebledsoe

That's okay because you know what's happening now people are donating in bitcoin and they'll probably get even more and there's a really good example of the pendulum swinging or what you were saying earlier is when you when you try to push and attack something you're gonna get.

54:09.82

Max Shank

Ah.

54:16.80

Max Shank

Equal and opposite force. Yeah, it's like like it's like a it's like a 2 sided trampoline where it actually amplifies back even more.

54:17.73

mikebledsoe

Ah, greater force. Yeah I mean things be equal. It's gonna be fusly because there's a motion behind it. Yeah, so ah, go fund me really just fuck themselves and. I get a little giddy about this because whenever a company does something like that where they steal and I and I don't give a fuck if the government comes down on um because it won't matter. They just fuck themselves because everyone just realized that that things like gofund me and Patreon and these organizations.

54:50.80

Max Shank

The.

54:53.80

mikebledsoe

Take a bunch of money for not doing a lot of shit and so yeah, well the the reason they work well is because they've branded themselves in a way that makes it easy for people who are afraid to ask for money. It's like it. It's like an okay way to ask for money. But.

54:57.35

Max Shank

It's a smart business. But when you talk about like stealing. That's not cool.

55:12.63

mikebledsoe

Like if I wanted to have a Patreon type thing going on I wouldn't go do patron where they're gonna take 10 twenty thirty percent of the money coming in I just like a pay bal me. Yeah, just send me the money. Yep so they do that now. Yeah, if you're well.

55:17.77

Max Shank

You do paypal you do recur. Yeah, you do recurring thing? Yeah, but it's cooler to have a Patreon it is. There's network effect there for sure.

55:31.97

mikebledsoe

And here's the thing is now everyone's donating bitcoin. So and and well there was ah the alternative to go fund me was this Christian Ministry organization So that some people they started funneling money through this this like.

55:41.51

Max Shank

Ah.

55:46.64

mikebledsoe

Version of go fund me. That's not nearly as popular but probably just made a shitload of money from processing all those payments but and then you got people that are now donating a bitcoin and the not only did Gofundme fuck themselves but they just sped up a process that was already happening which is decentralization of the currency.

55:48.42

Max Shank

Um, ah yeah.

56:04.84

Max Shank

Um.

56:06.59

mikebledsoe

And people now go oh. It's not safe. It's not safe to send money through an organization like go fund me what is safe. Oh the blockchain got it. There. There are things about it that are riskier and there's other. But if you want to send somebody some money. There's no intermediary that can take that money There's not a third party that has a political opinion or an opinion about you or who you're sending it to that can stand in your way. It's it's an amplification of true capitalism where there is I can send somebody something and nobody. It's all voluntary and nobody can get in the way of it. Yeah.

56:46.81

Max Shank

That's the key word. The key word is voluntary I mean I'm a pretty strong guy I could and I'm pretty clever sometimes I could probably like I could probably I could probably like force people to do what I want Um, but that's pretty shitty thing to do I think it's not that fun.

56:52.65

mikebledsoe

Um, what do you?? What do you? bench? me? Yeah yeah. Yeah, so so. I.

57:04.54

Max Shank

Not that cool. Um voluntary is the key word voluntary. That's like maybe the most important word for everything we're talking about is it voluntary is it forced and I think if you don't take personal responsibility. You are more likely. To want to force others to not be in that position of personal responsibility either. You're going to want to put that idea upon others, it's like projecting outward. Um, one 1 question because you're right the whole idea of the decentralized.

57:28.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

57:42.10

Max Shank

Trading stores of value through like a bitcoin that at least now it gets to them directly and the only way is like maybe a government seizure I think that's happened a few times before.

57:52.84

mikebledsoe

They they would they they can't just go to a bank. It's not that simple there there have been so for. For instance, the guy that got arrested by silk road guy. He got arrested and they were able to seize some of his bitcoin but only a fraction.

57:58.69

Max Shank

Yeah I don't know I've just heard that it's been done in the past.

58:12.51

mikebledsoe

Because he locked the rest up in a place like only he knows the codes. You know that? Yeah, so.

58:16.32

Max Shank

I Think it's crazy that guy got arrested I Read the story about that. That's horrible. Um, it's It's another one of those things where ah you know you just realize like how careful we all need to be with. The jurisdiction of the stickholder.

58:33.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah so a lot of that bitcoin. The government was not able to get to so back to the personal responsibility piece is with cryptocurrencies. As they exist right? Now you're largely responsible for the safety and security of those if you're using a bank. You know you got the fdi see. It's federally insured if someone were to somehow steal that money added the bank then the government would insure that up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars there's things like that exist when you're using us dollars and bank accounts when you're using crypto if you're really good at securing your own shit and you understand the technology government's not gonna be able to get it. Ah, but if you're you know using just a ah general digital wallet and you know like. Like coinbase or or something like that then if they want to take it. They can go to those companies because there's ah, there's ah, a saying ah ah, not your keys. Not your crypto. So if you're not holding your actual keys. You don't actually have your crypto so some of these digital wallets. You don't actually have the keys.

59:43.59

Max Shank

Yeah, this is outside my knowledge base but that sounds very similar to a saying I heard which is um if you don't own your customer.

59:45.32

mikebledsoe

You have access to the keys you have access.

01:00:02.58

Max Shank

Information You don't have any customers.

01:00:03.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, similar thing like building email lists. Um.

01:00:08.63

Max Shank

Or or phone numbers or addresses I mean there are a lot of ways to keep in touch with people but you know, especially as we've seen like you know I don't I don't speak out about any of this stuff really publicly because ah. Anyone can benefit from simple shoulder solution. 5 minute flow elasticity any of my excellent products and I just don't ah like I don't see the benefit like I don't think there's enough of a benefit to spouting off about that in that forum. But you and I have seen people where.

01:00:38.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:00:46.64

Max Shank

They may have had a big following on one of these platforms and then it went immediately to 0 it evaporated and they had not built up a customer list of their own that they owned and unless you have that you don't have customers. You just have.

01:00:53.72

mikebledsoe

01:01:06.10

Max Shank

Ah, platform that you are essentially renting for free that can be taken any time and so it's a good reason to build a more personal connection with those customers outside of that platform just like what you're talking about with crypto versus traditional banking.

01:01:10.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:01:20.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so somebody who's done so somebody who's done that really well is Jp sears. Um, he's he's definitely more yeah he's pivoted he's become yeah and he's he's become much more controversial which he does risk.

01:01:24.59

Max Shank

And I think. Yeah, he's pivoted I he he pivoted He's way more.

01:01:39.72

mikebledsoe

He's had Youtube videos taken down. He's had Facebook but they haven't taken down his accounts completely and I think part of it is is he's comedy when you're listed as a comedian you get away with things. So.

01:01:42.87

Max Shank

It shows the power of Humor. It shows the power of humor yet. It's a comedy. Kind of I mean is is it kind of comedy though I mean he's clearly got an agenda for all everything he's saying. That's what makes him such a good like artist with that. That's the big change I Saw that's the big change I saw.

01:01:55.67

mikebledsoe

Oh a hundred percent but he's also building his email list if you if you watch his videos. Yeah, he he was like of follow me on you know I have you know subscribed to my email list this and that because what.

01:02:11.91

Max Shank

Right.

01:02:15.23

mikebledsoe

What we'll probably see is there will be a platform that comes up. It'll probably be blockchain-based video platform that comes up and you know it's It's interesting because what's happening right now is you have these alternative platforms for video streaming like rumble and things like that and it's kind of like a joke. Like I was like oh all the crazy people are over on that platform and and there are a lot of crazy people on that platform I'm not going to disagree with that. But I think that they're at some point there's gonna emerge a platform thats blockchain base where where video goes up. It's not going down and no one can can fuck with it.

01:02:36.54

Max Shank

Earth.

01:02:53.39

mikebledsoe

And the people who are being the censored the most are going to be drawn to those alternative platforms first but it is it is exciting that those things are probably going to happen. There's there's a group here in Austin Texas or putting together a social media an alternative social media platform. A lot of them have popped up. We'll see which ones stick but the the ones that I'm seeing that are um, I'm excited by are blockchain based and aren't owned by anybody. It's it's one of those things where you actually own your own shit out there in the and the metaverse here or you call it not not got. Decentral land and all the shit. But um.

01:03:30.73

Max Shank

I gotta say I'm a fan of the Canadian trucker thing going on. Um, you know I believe it is the largest trucker convoy in the history of the world even though even even though according to the major news sources. It's just a few racists.

01:03:35.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:03:40.88

mikebledsoe

By like 10 x.

01:03:50.32

mikebledsoe

A few violent racist. There's not very many of them. But the ones that are there. They're blowing shit up.

01:03:50.48

Max Shank

Ah, but what's interest a few violent racists they they're the worst it it comes back to those 2 ad hominem attack appeal to authority devil god it's this is a tale as old as time literally? Um, but. Canada is not the only place that things like that are happening France ah Hungary italy there have been a lot of places that and but but you don't hear anything about that and I think a United Kingdom just

01:04:17.95

mikebledsoe

Dude, it's gotten crazy. It's gotten crazy over in Europe. Yeah.

01:04:27.75

Max Shank

Immediately like lifted all restrictions at this at the snap of a finger.

01:04:27.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, was funny as the prime minister comes out and he he announces it like he's like I'm gonna like he he did it like he's making a proclamation. No more masks I'm like you're the you switched fucking masks that was crazy. It was crazy and people were like.

01:04:41.24

Max Shank

Yeah, oh people have very bad memory.

01:04:47.29

mikebledsoe

And then people are like yes we're winning this I'm like are are you witnessing what just happened this dude just fucking turned on a dime on opinion like and then he's he's proclaiming it and like trying to have the win is like oh I'm gonna fucking punish you and I'm gonna lock you inside your house and then I'm gonna let you go two years later and then you're gonna thank me for it like what the fuck man what is happening.

01:05:10.84

Max Shank

It and if you're not more broadly aware. You're going to eat it up 1 crumb at a time you know I I think the people have been played like a fiddle most people. Ah if you if you've learned to ah hate your neighbor for living the way they want to.

01:05:18.21

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:05:30.40

Max Shank

You have failed the test. Ah.

01:05:30.64

mikebledsoe

Um, agreed ah, last last thing I want to talk about is just the whole Joe Rogan ah thing that's been going on and it's interesting because ah.

01:05:41.42

Max Shank

You mean the final frontier of free speech our our champion. The stoner comedian Ufc testosterone ball who didn't want that who didn't want this role who he didn't want this. But.

01:05:46.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:05:53.64

mikebledsoe

Don't don't forget, don't forget fear factor. Don't forget fear factor. Ah.

01:05:59.29

Max Shank

It's so fantastic. We have this champion who likes to get stoned and be really curious curious and ask lots of questions I mean thousands of episodes and then you know the character assassination attempt is so blatant. So flagrant so disgusting and it's like look I have said a lot of horrible things before like if you went back 10 years into my past like I say horrible things because they're funny and if someone laughs then I will go even further and I'm not even a comedian. So this whole idea that someone should be like you know oh he must be like held accountable for his work. It's like it's so pathetic. It's so obvious and all it proves is that he is this powerhouse source of.

01:06:38.10

mikebledsoe

01:06:56.10

Max Shank

Freedom of Speech and freedom of information and you know it goes back to the parent child thing. You are free to make your own choices based on the information or you are not free to make your own choices based on the information and if someone says like hey you should ah you know drink borax.

01:07:08.13

mikebledsoe

Well this is.

01:07:15.93

Max Shank

And paint thinner because it'll help you lose weight like you should be able to have a video that says that like I don't know like you can't police everything. Um.

01:07:25.60

mikebledsoe

Um, well the that the borax thing is actually pretty controversial because ah and you know what maybe I shouldn't say anything about that. But I do know people have you ever taken a Borax bath.

01:07:39.25

Max Shank

No, but I know that the devil is in the dosage and part of the reason we use it to kill ants is because it won't kill other things like us.

01:07:43.35

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, you ah yeah, Boron is something that that is not very prominent in our soil anymore and so taking small amounts some I'm not a proponent of this I have tried it but ah.

01:07:59.71

Max Shank

Ah.

01:08:03.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there there have been some people that have suggested taking small amounts. We were pretty smart people and I go online and search about it and I can't find much good about it cause everyone's so it's a because the devil isn't the dosage there. You can you can od on that pretty quick. Um, but at the same time you you need it at the same time.

01:08:17.21

Max Shank

With everything we don't have a problem though.

01:08:23.17

mikebledsoe

Um, anyways, ah so yeah, the Joe Rogan thing is actually very It's very much like the go fund me situation in that people are you know Neil Young came out and a bunch of other artists are saying you know take my shit off a Spotify unless you take Rogen off. First off Spotify is making way more money because Rogan's on their platform than any of those artists so from a financial perspective. It's not a smart move for them. The other thing is is like I mean and if they do kick Rogan off myself and a lot of other people are gonna just delete their Spotify accounts like. But that fourteen bucks a month or whatever the fuck I'm paying that that's going away. It's really the only reason I have that I have other music platforms that I think is even better. so so there's

01:09:11.60

Max Shank

Well do you think it's about those individual artists though like I I was reading that oh I think it's more. It's a it's a rhetorical thing. No, it's ah it's a rhetoric thing you know Neil Young is like a.

01:09:18.31

mikebledsoe

I'm just talking about from a financial perspective but that you also have the why you have the you have the white house giving pressure too many means to.

01:09:30.14

Max Shank

A known rock Star name I Think the fact that he has a song called keep on rocking in the free world is like the most ironic shit like you you have to laugh. It's like so Gosh dar't ironic. Um, but he recently just had half of his catalog.

01:09:38.52

mikebledsoe

It's crazy. But yeah.

01:09:48.58

Max Shank

Purchased out by you know this company within a company that has been known to do these character assassination. Hip jobs like the 1 happening to rogen right now. So it's a very yeah, it's a very coordinated assault on his character and look.

01:09:57.31

mikebledsoe

He's my blackrock.

01:10:07.35

Max Shank

Why would you do that unless there was a perceived problem by someone who has that kind of power to do that. You know nobody cared and now suddenly up he's he's shaken. He's shaking a few branches.

01:10:14.35

mikebledsoe

Not not.

01:10:23.60

Max Shank

And some of the fruit's falling off like you got to do something you got to take care of it right.

01:10:25.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, or yeah, well and the thing that's similar to the gofund situation is let's just say that they get their way and they kick Joe Rogan off of Spotify. He's got like a hundred million plus dollar deal with Spotify. There's. If they cut him I'm pretty sure they're still gonna have to pay him that money like they're not gonna just there's a penalty right? and and and if there was no penalty I I imagine it would be he may already have already been kicked off. Um, but there's a penalty so that's 1 thing.

01:10:48.00

Max Shank

Yeah, no doubt.

01:11:03.38

mikebledsoe

So Rogan's getting paid no matter what secondarily if he leaves the platform his listenership will probably increase instead of decrease so it he would. It would so easily move with him because.

01:11:12.60

Max Shank

It would move. They would move with him I'm impressed how many people moved from Youtube I didn't think I would like he used to just post on Youtube to Spotify and ah.

01:11:22.60

mikebledsoe

What do you mean move from Youtube oh oh move from Youtube to so Spotify. Yeah dude, he's he's so yeah, he's so powerful that that.

01:11:32.35

Max Shank

I Think he's got more listeners now than he did then.

01:11:39.58

mikebledsoe

If he leaves Spotify. Not only will it harm Spotify but it will he I imagine he would go to a ah because podcasting is decentralized by nature because they were using Rss feeds that there is no central command. That there used to be like a central command because Apple owned the list that basically the library of all the things. But then the guy who invented podcasting Adam Curry he was like he he was saying he he saw what was happening goes. You know I'm gonna create my own now. Everything runs through his shit.

01:12:02.10

Max Shank

Right.

01:12:07.71

Max Shank

So I was just thinking of.

01:12:17.10

mikebledsoe

Which is a decentralize on so many different servers around the world. You podcasting is truly decentralized trying to shut down a podcast that's not exclusive to us to 1 vendor. 1 platform is not going to work and so ah. I I hate I didn't like the Joe Rogan went on Spotify because I don't like listening to podcast there I like listening on podcasting 2.0 apps I use podverse and it's ah it's way superior to Apple to Spotify all these really popular platforms suck compared to some of these these lesser known.

01:12:35.77

Max Shank

It's like that saying.

01:12:50.38

Max Shank

Ah.

01:12:54.71

mikebledsoe

So I I would I personally would love to see that happen and and for some reasons in that I would love to see him go on a more decentralized network I'd like to see you know ah a lot of these people just have to eat their shit because all these people are.

01:13:11.69

Max Shank

We'll see what happens when the contract is up to right? It kind of makes me think of that quote too like it's all it's only like 3 years it's like 3 to 5 is 3 to 5 Um, it makes me think of that.

01:13:14.26

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I don't know I don't know how long the contracts for this is maybe like a 5 year contract res. Okay dude give you a hundred million dollars in 5 years holy shit for for doing a podcast. Wow.

01:13:28.49

Max Shank

I mean people get paid a hundred million a year to play their favorite ball ball game sometime. So I mean it's not surprising. It reminds me of that quote though, ah read read the books they want to ban like.

01:13:32.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah, no.

01:13:42.42

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

01:13:45.74

Max Shank

Things don't get censored for your own benefit fuckers like come on I can't even read it I can't even read it. The the guy is so bad that it's so scary bet I'm not even allowed like if it was really so bad. They would want you to read it.

01:13:49.60

mikebledsoe

Um, I'm not even allowed that I'm not allowed to hear what this person has to say strange. Well they they? um.

01:14:04.97

Max Shank

And be like this is what you want to? avoid? don't do this. This is like like mine kaf everybody should be able to read that I haven't read it have you read it I have no idea what's in there My my struggle.

01:14:12.10

mikebledsoe

Now Now I've read some books I've I've read some books that are you? You really can't find them online you you have to go deep I got some pdfs of some books. Yeah, yeah, you have to go dig around.

01:14:23.52

Max Shank

Like tor or something dark web.

01:14:29.45

mikebledsoe

I Found there's this one book. Yeah I found this one book I got a pdf of it that um ah, ah well you can get a hard copy. There's there's only a thousand ever printed. So.

01:14:34.13

Max Shank

Listen up Cia this is a confession of Mike Bloodso to illegal books.

01:14:46.69

mikebledsoe

There was a thousand of these printed and then never printed again. So it's it was the name of the book. You know what? Um just I'll figure out the name of the book and then dm me people and ah yeah, just shoot me a Dm and on Instagram.

01:14:48.78

Max Shank

Um, what is it.

01:15:01.45

Max Shank

Teaser.

01:15:04.75

mikebledsoe

Ah, but I read the book and I was like oh I could definitely see Hawaii somebody who wants to hold authority would not want people to read this book because when you read the book. It kind of unwinds. It kind of shows you where you've been wrong in your thinking about authority even the people who are like. Super rebellious. Would probably you because the thing is by the end of the book. You realize there's no such thing. There's it's there's no such thing as another human being having authority over somebody else. Ah and unless unless you're granting it to them and which is the only way for that to happen and you can take that. Power weight anytime you want and so the book pretty much. Yeah, the the book pretty much outlines a plan on how americans would take their power back um in a way that would disable the government and so it's a.

01:15:44.57

Max Shank

You might be killed for it. But.

01:15:58.97

Max Shank

Was this pamphlet called common sense by any chance by Thomas Paine

01:16:05.85

mikebledsoe

Um, true people people should go watch common sense.

01:16:11.50

Max Shank

That's ah, that's that that moved that moved this whole nation I mean are you kidding me like okay so common sense with um Milton Friedman is a great ah video series that's free on Youtube. But common sense by Thomas Payne was the document that was the most wide. Oh. That's right that you're your 100% right is free to choose. Thank you I got that totally wrong. Ah, kind of means the same thing similar ideas at least but that pamphlet common sense.

01:16:28.25

mikebledsoe

In it free to choose was Milton Friedman

01:16:38.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:16:46.20

Max Shank

Changed the direction of this whole country because most of the signers of the declaration of Independence were on board with just like yeah we'll we'll ah we'll pay. Ah you know the British thugs a little bit more money but let's let's stay british.

01:17:03.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:17:04.93

Max Shank

And then that was like 1 it was I think the most widely circulated publication of all time at that time it was just like boom like almost everybody had one crazy how just an idea can change the course of history and that's and that's why i.

01:17:15.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:17:24.56

Max Shank

Think that writing and sending messages is incredibly powerful. You know you can change even if you just change like 1 person's life. It can be huge, but if you have a really good idea and that's of course why they want to silence Joe Rogan because he's not.

01:17:32.73

mikebledsoe

Absolutely.

01:17:42.29

Max Shank

Afraid to say whatever so far.

01:17:42.60

mikebledsoe

Well, the other thing is is I think I think the reason he carries so much respect from so many people is because he will come out and just admit when he's wrong like and he'll correct. He'll correct the record he'll admit when he's wrong, he will apologize.

01:17:56.46

Max Shank

Totally.

01:18:01.20

mikebledsoe

And he'll he'll give a real apology like he he gave a real apology this last week on Instagram he's been. He's been making more like monologue posts to to share what's going on and he he gave a real apology and then.

01:18:09.64

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:18:19.22

mikebledsoe

And shared how he could specifically improve ah his character and ah, you never hear that from politicians they're like politicians will apologize for you feeling a certain way like oh I'm sorry you felt that way if you ever listen to like Gavin Newsom give an apology.

01:18:23.37

Max Shank

Her.

01:18:31.26

Max Shank

Right.

01:18:39.30

mikebledsoe

It's like it's like a backhanded fucking like you like like I think you just insulted like it and people are going. Oh he apologized I'm like he just fucking insulted you. It's not a real apology. He's apologizing for you feeling a certain way or for you thinking a certain way. He's not apologizing for his behavior. And so whether people catch on in these things overtly or not when you watch Joe Rogan give an apology you go he is apologizing for something he did specifically and that type of apology lands with people and that earns people's respect and so I think that he is unstoppable because he's got. 3 hour interviews where real conversations are happening and they yeah has someone like Sanjay Gupta comes on who's never had a talk longer than 30 seconds on Cnn and he fucking was freaking out halfway through the show and asking how how long have we been talking because he's never had to share his own thoughts before.

01:19:21.93

Max Shank

That's the key I think.

01:19:33.82

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

01:19:38.26

mikebledsoe

He's only had talking points and he ran out of talking points. He started looking foolish and he also is not used to. You can't you can't fake it now some people can but way less.

01:19:38.87

Max Shank

Right? Well, you can't fake it for three plus hours really although I did watch ah Lex Friedman interview the Ceo Pfizer and it just looked really like. That that guy maneuvered him around ah but but but and and look ah full full props to Lex Friedman I think he does a ah good job. He's like the the monotonin.

01:19:59.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's there's some pros. There's some pros out there. Some people can do 3 hours but if you've been trained for 30 second segments.

01:20:16.90

Max Shank

Nerd version of Joe Rogan which is fantastic. Ah I don't know if he's a robot that has learned to love or a human that is becoming a robot over time. Ah, but I yeah but I think you hit on something huge um.

01:20:16.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:20:26.80

mikebledsoe

Ah, well, he's rushing. So I think it's part of it.

01:20:35.90

Max Shank

It's the long format like you can you can look back through hours and hours and hours of sincere conversations. Jokes Yes, sincere questions. Yes, mistakes yes like he has built up that credibility because he's showing you. Behind the curtain whereas these legacy media sources they are you know Puppet mastering of manufactured thirty second clip to make you feel a specific way and the more communication The more discussion we have. The better. It's going to be.. You're not going to solve a relationship issue because that's what we have right now we have division. It's a relationship issue how we relate to each other. You're not going to solve a relationship issue ah by not talking about something just letting something fester.

01:21:26.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:21:30.43

Max Shank

So more discussion more honest discussion. Um, more compassion for people who think differently than you ah that that's ah, that's the key.

01:21:43.25

mikebledsoe

Absolutely let's wrap it up max final thoughts final thoughts.

01:21:48.75

Max Shank

That's a wrap final final thought it's been a fun six months ah I've gotten pretty fired up several times. It should be ah, there should be no confusion about what I think of things at this point of. Pretty much laid it all out there and said some horrible things that I I do not apologize for and if you don't like it I'm I'm not sorry you feel that way.

01:22:17.98

mikebledsoe

Ah, brilliant. Brilliant. Ah yeah I encourage people you know it it take take a more macro view and looking at cycles over time and and and understand what's what. When you're being manipulated or the way that pictures are being taken and put side by side and really keep in mind that how easy it is to manipulate information or to hide information or to present only the information you want. And be aware of that and that every one of these news organizations and social media platforms. All of them have an agenda and that agenda is not your best interest so you really, it's good to learn how. Ah, media works. It's good to learn how marketing works Propaganda Pr all these things if you know how these things work and you look at what's going on in the world. You have the opportunity to chuckle at it and and better to prepare and take advantage of whatever situations coming instead of getting. Caught up in the emotional storm and fight that happens I see all the time on on the internet. So. That's that's my ¢2 here at the end where.

01:23:40.64

Max Shank

That was brilliantly said that was just great I Totally agree with that and I would just reiterate what I said earlier which is get clear on what your values are and deliver Value. So that you can earn a profit and be part of a voluntary exchange that is mutually profitable and not one that's based on coercion.

01:24:07.49

mikebledsoe

That's how we reach utopia folks max enjoyed enjoyed you today. This is fun and then ah Instagram Mike Underscore Bloodso and I've got the strongcoach summit coming up if you just go over to http://thisstrongcoach.com

01:24:10.73

Max Shank

That's it inside out freedom. This was a lot of fun. Thanks Mike where can they find you.

01:24:24.44

mikebledsoe

You can come hang out with me in Austin we're gonna do a bunch of really cool shit if you have any questions about that again just hit me up on Instagram and we can chat about it where can they find you max I mean you already promoted your your simple shoulder solution twice.

01:24:37.10

Max Shank

Yeah, it's because both red t-shirts and blue t-shirts have shoulders. Ah, you can find me at maxank. No underscore because I have a ah real handle and then you can also find me at http://mashank.com

01:24:41.46

mikebledsoe

Um, yes.

01:24:56.77

Max Shank

Thank you guys for listening. Love you buddy.

01:24:57.26

mikebledsoe

Love you.

High Leverage Habits Feb 14, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max and today we're gonna be talking about high leverage habits and addictive actions and one of the things that inspired this conversation is I got to work with a friend over the weekend to help improve his mental and physical health and I realized. Man lifestyle is really the problem here and we had to do the work to figure out what was gonna be the most high leverage habits that he could instill that was gonna move the needle and that's how I like to work with all of my clients. That's how I like to look at my own life. So I'm excited that that. Talk about this with max because um, he you're also somebody who you've done a good job of instilling habits over time and and I find that we just lifestyle is not something that you just do all at once. It's. You implement 1 thing one month in the next month maybe you add a little something else change something here and there and you've done a really good job of stacking your habits in a really positive way.

01:07.16

Max Shank

Well thank you for that I I really appreciate that I think one of the smartest things I ever did was actually 1 of the easiest projects I've ever done which was 5 minute flow and really what it did is it gave people permission to. Start with less and when you start with something smaller. It feels a lot more manageable and getting people out of the idea that you have to do an hour workout for it to count is really big just the same way that lao -tzu says the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step ah same kind of thing. However I I would as a counterpoint say that one of the most interesting things about human beings is that we can radically change our lives when we adopt.

01:49.91

mikebledsoe

02:02.20

Max Shank

A new self-image or if we adopt a new mission or a new role and just to introduce the key point which is motivation and a lot of synonyms for motivation are hunger and pain. So There's a fire that is fueling that behavior change and if you don't want to Change. You can't Change. You know they talk about that in like those interventions like you have to be ready to change like you have to want to change yourself. So I think that? um yes, tiny. Tiny tiny bets are much more manageable generally speaking. But when you have a really clear mission or purpose or Motivation Hunger pain. Whatever you're capable of radical transformations. Especially as it relates to. Transformation of your self-image and your selfimage is going to guide your subconscious action because it's really hard to be acutely conscious all the time and I think you know it is sort of like.

03:14.94

mikebledsoe

In.

03:19.71

Max Shank

Want to say in Buddhism or maybe hinduism I can't remember it's 1 of the isms. Maybe it's in b here now Ram Das talks about like it's like a fish jumping out of the water and that's your moment of consciousness and then you go back into the. The see of the unconscious so selfimage if you change your selfimage your role your mission. You can have a radical change across the board. Otherwise it is way more manageable to have. Ah. Little changes and everything you do is basically a bet that it will be better than doing nothing.

04:00.17

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like that I like that frame I I like to tell people that I they asked me what I believe and I like to try on beliefs oh I believe if I do this then my life will improve in this way. So I try it out. Check in a couple weeks later and if it's true then I go oh okay I'll keep this belief until you know something better comes along what I you know just have touch on a few points that came up that I want to that you you were making is just the idea being. Focused on the process versus the result and I think for when I look at my history and I look at the times in which I actually made slower progress was when I was not present with the process I didn't actually. I I wanted the results really bad but I was unwilling to be with what it was going to take to get there and so I just did a bunch of stuff that I didn't slow down I only did the stuff that was on the surface to try to get there and you know in athletics it results in injury. Um. And business it. It may result in being able to make a bunch of money but then don't know how to keep it going. Um there's there's all these all these things that I've learned that becoming more present with the process really is a practice and being. And practicing being with the process so spending 5 % of my time on the vision of what I want to be different in the future and 95% of my attention going into into just the execution of the thing and learning to enjoy the process of doing it because. This is where the a lot of people get stuck is they have conditional happiness they say I won't I can't be happy until I achieve this result and so what they do is they basically punish themselves until the result they want is true and that doesn't help you achieve.

05:58.63

Max Shank

06:14.36

mikebledsoe

Result at all. In fact, that it probably diminishes your ability to get there and so one of the things I've really been working towards is practicing being in the process and and one of the things that has really been highlighted as I've taken on that practice is that. So much of the process when I'm doing I'm doing you know the same things I've been doing for 20 years which is taking care of my health building my business that these are not being in a relationship with a woman. These are all things that I have been continually striving to improve. And the more that I've gotten involved in the process of how I'm actually gonna move towards this this result that is really a moving target at times is to to when I'm more present with the process I actually understand what it takes to get there and I think. That most people and for myself I really didn't want to hear what it was going to take to get there and I think sometimes if we knew everything it was going to take to get the result we want. We wouldn't do it but we like I hear from entrepreneurs all the time you know if I knew what it was going to take to be successful. Um, would have never started. But once you get into it. You can't stop. It. So really as I've gotten older getting really ah present to what actually has to happen and being okay when something new pops Up. It's like okay.

07:32.67

Max Shank

Third.

07:49.92

mikebledsoe

I think I think I know what steps 1 through 10 are but after I complete step 2 I realized that there's 5 steps between 2 and 3 oh this is going to take longer than I thought and if you're if you're present with the process you look at that when that appears you go? Oh okay.

07:58.54

Max Shank

Oh.

08:07.85

mikebledsoe

And I think just knowing that that's going to happen. Always. It's always going to Happen. You never know what the step is what the next step is going to be until you take the next step and then the next step reveals reveals itself now if it's something you have a lot of practice with things become more predictable. But when you don't know much about what it is that you're doing then it's not predictable and and so it's ah it's actually been really enjoyable to step into something and go Oh I think I know what I need to do here and it actually works and I go oh that was predictable I. Actually know what I'm doing in regard to this thing right now. But I'm also open at any moment for something new to pop up to say oh this is the next obvious Step. You should be taking don't don't do this yet. Do this.

08:53.93

Max Shank

Um, yo I agree with some of what you said a great majority of it in fact and I have some comments ah number one. So it's gonna be.

09:07.20

mikebledsoe

Perfect.

09:13.18

Max Shank

Ah, greed craftsmanship discount tire and entrepreneurial tenure and I'm going to explain how those all go together. So the first one is greed you want the result but you're not willing to pay the price and that's what hurts you athletically. That's what hurts you entrepreneurially and I think that a lot of a lot of problems people cause for themselves stem from greed and it's usually based on comparison with someone else. So then you end up doing things. You don't really love the process of doing. Just to get this result that won't ultimately satisfy you anyway. So we have greed the second one is craftsmanship so craftsmanship is what where greatness really comes from. You certainly need a desire you need like a. A role where you're like okay my my role is I make clay pots for example and you just focus everything you can do into making the best clay pot there is or like Jiro dreams of sushi. You just focus on making the best sushi boom suddenly you're like the only. You know 5 diamond or whatever the heck rated sushi restaurant on the planet and the the idea of retiring is painful to him. He's like why would I retire this is this is my identity. This is my role. This is my self image. This is just what I do. He's not doing it to try to get somewhere else. He's like I do this. You have grade you have craftsmanship you have discount tire and the reason I say discount tire is as I understand it, you cannot jump into the company like leapfrog your way into a high standing position. You have to work your way up from the bottom. So you have to understand the process from the very bottom all the way up. So everybody they promote has been on the floor they they may have you know changed a few tires. They may have made a few sales. They understand the process of how everything works. And I think the intimate knowledge of the process really makes it a lot better and then the last one is ah entrepreneurial tenure and and tenure is like the worst idea ever because it's just another example of how desperate we are to secure the future. And I understand the desire we do it with relationships like we get married so we can securitize our relationship in the future. We have social security so we can securitize the future. We even call stocks securities because we're trying to secure our wealth for the future.

11:55.30

mikebledsoe

Um.

12:03.60

Max Shank

And the same thing is true for the entrepreneurs you're trying to quickly get some sort of security like I got to make 5000000 I got to make ten million I got to get whatever and then I'll be happy like you are saying. It's very conditional when I achieve this when I achieve this result. Then I will be happy and it's like dude the people who do stuff like that they will come up with a new target. Maybe before they even hit the first one like it's not going to be a lasting like ah I am now swimming in an ocean of nirvana.

12:34.47

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

12:42.91

Max Shank

Now that I have made $5000000 yes, no, you're going to look at bigger houses and bigger boats and you're going to have different goals and it's it's hardly going to be a pit stop on the road trip of your entrepreneurial life. So we're trying to like lock in. That success but like you said it takes us away from the process. So I think those are definitely things that you want to consider and it does relate back to the identity. You know James clear. That's his like main angle with habits my main takeaway. Ah, from his work is that it ends psycho cybernetics same thing. It's all about your identity and self-image and what role you are actively choosing like I am this therefore I do this and once you get clear on that everything is. Pretty much derivative of that it doesn't become about greed for a specific result. It doesn't become about like securing securing the future in some way and I think that's a really good way of looking at it so you need the desire but also the. The desire to embody the identity or the character.

13:59.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and and you've got to know who that character is I mean when we think about identity. There's you know there's there's archetypes you could if you're an entrepreneur you could say have the identity of a Ceo and what that.

14:16.32

Max Shank

I'm the fool.

14:19.28

mikebledsoe

What that what? that means what that means to you is maybe different than what it means to somebody else and so if you're going to take on the identity of something which I've done before but didn't actually know what it meant and then you get around people who were performing so you want to be a Ceo you want to get around other ceos. Performing at the level that you want to perform and that's how you understand oh this is how this type of if I'm embodying this archetype if I'm embodying this identity. This is how these people think this is how they behave these are these are the things they do. And these are the things they don't do so I'm in agreement like that that identity is likely the quickest way to be able to create new habits because it's such a core piece of it's it's who we are and so if. I am running my company and I go you know what? I'm ah I a hundred million dollar company Ceo and someone comes to me with a problem or somebody's slacking at work. Well what does a hundred million dollar Ceo do well he probably fires that person and then brings in somebody else who's who can do it or whatever it is. But. A lot of people they they're not holding that identity they may they may shrink in that that situation and and then may go you know maybe I don't want to have that identity. It. It requires ah myself to do things that I don't like or it's not me and. And that's the absolute truth if you're trying to take on an identity and you go I'm not like that. It's like that's why you're not that person you have to be like that person. So I I think identity spot on. That's that's the quickest way to to creating a lifestyle life. That's good. And then or that you want if it's good. You could take on thedent identity of a criminal but then there's purpose. You know you're that's right, you got the why you know it's it's the reminder There's there's so many hard days for me. There's.

16:15.27

Max Shank

Got to hang out with a bunch of evil people.

16:28.98

mikebledsoe

There's days where I don't feel like you know, taking care of my health or days that I I may not want to work when when my people need me to do it. But I have deep? Yeah, ah.

16:39.40

Max Shank

Um, what fraud he's a fraud you're not on all the time fraud I'm calling it. Ah.

16:46.76

mikebledsoe

Ah, and and yeah, yeah, sorry sorry to break the rain on your parade there max? Yeah, and I think the the.

16:49.87

Max Shank

But I thought you had to be on all the time to be successful was I wrong about that first. My bubble. Ah.

17:05.73

mikebledsoe

The deeper Why the purpose is the thing that that does get you through those moments of doubt you know I had doubt over the weekend I had ah there's a mixture of things that all happened at the same time and and I'm like why am I doubting myself and then I realize oh well I had these 3 different events. Each one of them by themselves probably wouldn't bother me that much but because there's a combination of these things happening at the same time you know I I have ah a day where you know, kind of freak out man and then wake up the next morning then laugh at myself for being so ridiculous. But. What helped me keep it together is knowing my why you know it's it. It. It helped it helped me through that hard time doesn't mean I was performing at my best in that moment. But I definitely I was able to to stand help myself in that way.

18:00.92

Max Shank

I can't remember who said it but it was a man with a strong enough. Why can bear almost anyhow was that vi frankl or yeah I I feel like someone else said it like young or something too might have been like Carl young.

18:08.51

mikebledsoe

Um, think that was victor frankel. Yeah yeah.

18:18.29

mikebledsoe

He might have gotten it from him who knows.

18:20.14

Max Shank

But um, yeah, maybe but it's like you have the why and you have the who so that's that's like my little joke Simon Sene has it starts with why and James clear is like it starts with who and so you said it rightly so you got to be so.

18:27.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

18:39.73

Max Shank

Selective with who you associate with because it's the 5 monkey rule you become most like the 5 people that you spend most time with and there's ah you know concentrations to it if you spend like 99% of your time with 1 person you're going to.

18:40.86

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

18:58.20

Max Shank

Have a lot of feedback and become most like that person so you have to be very selective in who your friends are and who you choose as a mentor also and a person doesn't even have to necessarily mentor you um, personally. It's just if you are trying to mimic them in some way. So if they are the role model man you got to be so careful and you have to know like what it's actually like for them and if it really matches your personality type if that's what you really want like I think a lot of us Chase. Ah. You know, false ideas of better because that's the only reason we do anything is we think it'll be better if we do it than if we do nothing but I think a lot of people get caught. Um I think it's called worshiping false idols right.

19:50.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I Um, you know there's been people who I have become enamored with that. They're older and I go oh I want to be more like that person and then I get to know them better I get close to them and I realize that oh they. Really healthy. But holy shit. They're poor as fuck like they totally terrible with money and business and and all this and then I meet someone who's really good at business I'm like okay and then I realize that you know they spend all their time in analysis in front of their computer and I go Well I don't want that either.

20:16.65

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

20:29.50

Max Shank

Ah, they're on their fifth. The ex-wife or something like that. It's.

20:29.89

mikebledsoe

So You know there's ah yeah, that too. Yeah and so I go you know you got to be careful about who you choose to to emulate and I. You know sometimes I hang out with someone who's really wealthy and you know I just pick some stuff up and for me, it's I don't think there's ever been one person I'm like I I want to take on the identity ah similar identity to that person. It's more of. You know I'm gonna take this piece from this guy and this piece from this other guy and this piece from this other guy and and I'm gonna do my best to be me while while leveraging you know what I can learn from those people. But yeah I mean if you if you really hung out with a wealthy person.

21:03.91

Max Shank

Her.

21:17.66

mikebledsoe

Someone who's great at relationships and someone else who's really healthy and maybe you you split it up in a thirds. You'd probably figure out how to do all of those better than the average person which I think is what most people were going for So I want to move into I want to move into.

21:22.50

Max Shank

So.

21:32.00

Max Shank

Yeah.

21:36.40

mikebledsoe

What do you think I have my idea I'm curious what you think is the highest leverage part of your life to improve first. So what I'd like to do is for us to move through a list max and I going to and discuss what. Habits or what what part of our lifestyles. Ah we should maximize first before moving on to the next one because we really want to get to a place where we're maximizing every aspect of our life.

22:07.44

Max Shank

For me, it would have to be preparing for our podcast topics instead of being ambushed by you with this list that we're gonna make up right now.

22:16.15

mikebledsoe

Um, pretty sure I told you right before we hit record he doesn't remember folks. He's got poor memory I'll send you some new troics That's not true.

22:23.90

Max Shank

Ah don't say that that's not true. It's like a steel trap. Ah so check it out every every type of self-help which is a. Ah, pretty big category of books is based on the same thing its personal responsibility. It doesn't matter if it's ekhart tolly or David Goggins and what's fascinating to me is those guys. Both have a lot of fans. Who are saying like yeah eckhart, you're the man. My man you help me out and other people are like dude David Goggins gave me gave put a little fight in me and I'm just laughing to myself because of how monumentally different the advice is.

23:17.10

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

23:19.16

Max Shank

You know the difference between ah there there are no problems. There are only situations and I let them pass through me and you got to conquer your inner Butch bitch and run like ah ten miles a day or whatever. Um. And I know there's more to both of them than that I'm super generalizing but the fact is they both are dependent on personal responsibility and the worst thing you can do is. Assume the identity of a victim of circumstance versus an author or an authoritarian of your own life and take personal responsibility for the good and the bad and everything in between I mean ah if you don't. Take personal responsibility if you don't put yourself into the role of like the creator of your life. Um, basically you're screwed. So I think that's the number one most important thing and that's a psychological foundation that basically every.

24:25.89

mikebledsoe

Come.

24:31.21

Max Shank

Ah self-help has in common from the tollies to the goggins and the Jockcos It's all taking responsibility for your own life.

24:38.13

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I agree that from a psychological perspective. That's the number 1 thing. Um, you know there's personal responsibility and then I think after that comes self-esteem and self-esteem. House people then create boundaries for themselves and other people. But yeah I think it does all start with personal responsibility and and getting out of that that victim identity. So we have spot on I this is what I love about Ah. Maybe not prepping so much for this because I was thinking more about habits and I love that you said that but I was thinking about all right? So we got personal responsibility on the list and I'm also thinking about daily habits the the most critical thing that I've recognized is. Are you getting good rest are you getting good sleep and to me I think that you know we we put the psychological side apart and we go to lifestyle habits that getting enough sleep is.

25:40.40

Max Shank

Ah.

25:54.90

mikebledsoe

If you're if you're not getting that. There's really not much else. You can do like you could do so many other things right? But if you're not getting good sleep. It's just not going to matter.

26:07.16

Max Shank

I Would agree with that I would also say that it's interesting both personally and anecdotally that if you have more drive toward a specific goal if you're more enthusiastic. If you're more expressive and less depressed people need a little bit less sleep and they do sleep a little bit less but getting inadequate sleep. Whatever that number is for an extended period of time. Ah I mean you're like killing your brain essentially and that's what's going to. Be responsible for a lot of that higher order thinking. So I would agree hydration sleep nutrition Those are those are kind of foundational physiological things that um, they they deserve to be right in there right? After. Ah, personal responsibility and self-image or self-esteem because those are very similar.

27:06.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the ah the deerration of sleep and the quality of sleep being different. You know I think it's widely known between six and a half and 8 hours of sleep is about the the right target and everybody's different by the way. Um, but I think. I know for myself when I'm in a high high motivation state which means that I'm waking up at the same time you know ready to go I'm doing my morning routine which involves exercise and because I'm on purpose I end up expending way more energy that day than somebody who's not.

27:42.61

Max Shank

The.

27:43.39

mikebledsoe

Somebody is spending their day distracting themselves on Instagram or watching Tv or or whatever it is that person's going to end their day with.

27:48.93

Max Shank

27:57.17

mikebledsoe

Without having expended all their their energy and then they're gonna want to you know continue watching Tv and continue being distracted and that person's just not gonna get high quality sleep so they may need to make it up in quantity and of course when you wake up and you don't feel good about what you want to do. There's nothing getting you out of bed because bed is fucking comfortable I like laying around on bed on some days. So um, yeah, it it all does work together because if we're looking at sleep. We go well, you know if you're eating poorly that's going to disrupt your sleep if. You're not exercising that's going to disrupt your sleep. Um, and I think that sleep is you know if you're getting six and a half to seven and a half hours of sleep and you wake up fired up and ready to go and you're tired tired and satisfied at the end of the day with with your work then you're gonna the sleep is indicative of. That you have other habits in order. So there's a few things that are going to impact the sleep which is temperature of the room is it dark did you stop looking at screens for 2 to 3 hours before you attempted to go to sleep. These are all. Unquote sleep hygiene or or making sure you have enough magnesium in in your diet if. You don't have it have magnesium. It's hard to down regulategulate. So these are all things that are directly related to sleep. But again you know if you're not exercising and you're not eating well, that's also going to impact it so I like it as.

29:25.59

Max Shank

Most of that stuff's a feedback loop right.

29:28.87

mikebledsoe

As a marker. Yeah, it's all feedback loop all of it. But um I think I think quality of sleep is a really good. You can check in with that and if something's off then then there then you can start looking at other places.

29:31.52

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

29:45.77

mikebledsoe

There was a Chinese medicine. Do I used to see in in snitas and he would ask me. You know?? Ah basically are you dreaming? Do you wake up with boners and what's your shit like and those are like the 3 things and I go. Ah yeah, you know what. As a man as you know women don't have boners. Ah,, there's ah as a lady bones. Yeah, as ah as a man if one of those things are off if you're not having dreams. You're not remembering your dreams. It probably means that your sleep architecture is messed up in some Way. Um.

30:09.28

Max Shank

They have lady boners.

30:24.51

mikebledsoe

Which is fucking up your hormones which isn't going to allow you to wake up with boners and and and then obviously how you're shitting is is how you're primarily. Well let's say it makes up of how you're eating and what kind of stress you're enduring because if you emotional stress being held in the gut will fuck up your digestion. Even if you eat really? Well So Ah these things all again, a lot of that will manifest in basically sheep you look at your sleep and your defecation habit.

30:55.33

Max Shank

Yeah, it's kind of like we have neurological housekeeping which is identity self-image personal responsibility and then we have physiological housekeeping which is promoting good sleep. Maybe you have an alarm. In the evenings that reminds you to turn the screens off. Maybe you take a magnesium supplement I mean really even if your routine is total bullshit. It might be better to have one because you're intellectually and psychologically putting energy into the quality of your sleep. You're like okay I have this routine where i. You know I'd swish coconut oil in my mouth and um, you know do eye exercises and massage my hands and feet and do a little stretch like even if it's not a very good routine just having that um psychological investment into it. Can be beneficial and that's like the ah the whole idea is that physiological housekeeping like are you getting enough water are you getting enough nutrients from your food. Are you getting enough exercise and it doesn't have to be any fancy exercise. And then what you said are you know, sort of the markers for how that's going. Ah check the poo. Do you have a boner every morning and are you dreaming and that's really interesting so we have the psychological housekeeping we have physiological housekeeping and then I think from there I would start looking at actual skills I don't know if that makes sense for you. But if we're trying to go for high leverage then really the 2 skills are. Language and movement and language is no question the most high leverage skill There is um I mean mathematics is a language in and of itself sales. And marketing are certainly language-based ah flirting wooing ah dating. That's mostly language-based There's a little bit of physical-based stuff too. So then you know you have language on the one side you have physical skills on the other side which would be like fighting. Ah, moving around with ease I think it's smart to get good at giving massages personally I think that's a really high leverage skill like if you can do ah a 5 minute shoulder foot rub and do it really? well.

33:41.50

Max Shank

My god like whatever partner you have is going to feel so loved and so lucky and you know there are love languages and shit like that. But man if you have word skills and physical skills. Ah, that's super high leverage and and really those are the skills. Worth cultivating so from a language standpoint I would say ah probably sales and storytelling is the highest 1 and then also planning and delegating right after that as far as like the high leverage. Language skills are concerned.

34:17.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah there's um, there's a book called um, your like the last safe investment and the idea is the the safest investment you can make is in yourself and that. The premise in the book is that you want to make yourself as valuable to other people as much as possible in order to enhance your ability to make money because that's the people who make the most money have figured out how to position themselves in a very high value position. So the way. That they break it down is the low value skills. There's 4 different quadrants 4 different pillars or 4 different categories of skill one being physical labor number 2 being technical labor 3 creative labor 4 interpersonal labor. So. Each one is more valuable generally speaking than the other so physical labor is you know, gardening building houses plumbing electrical. Ah this is but it's also professional athletes. So the 1% of physical labor talent plays basketball. But you know that's as a very rare ah physical labor. Yeah, you get? we get. That's an interesting take on that because yeah, the artists are really left out of this whole thing. Ah if you think it sports performance.

35:37.36

Max Shank

I Think that's a I think that's a performer.

35:49.70

Max Shank

Ah.

35:53.59

mikebledsoe

Art performance. Ah all right? but outside of that and then you have technical labor these are accountants people who are you know, just man I don't even know what else fits in that category. But there's a lot of technical labor out there that is. Mostly these days being outsourced to India by the way because they're so technically oriented and then.

36:18.67

Max Shank

It's basically any labor where someone else tells you what to do, but you don't have to sweat very much.

36:21.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and you just have to you have to like you're probably working on a computer and it's not creative work. It's I'm moving things from over here to over here bookkeeping accounting. You're just following the rules. Not really thinking too much.

36:34.29

Max Shank

Maybe even in a factory in like a factory if you're not really like digging ditches but you're moving machinery around and you're manning the loom or something like that. That's a little more technical than digging a ditch. But yeah I follow.

36:39.60

mikebledsoe

Right.

36:46.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and then creative labor that may be copywriting that would be ah writing a book writing music. Whatever it is and then the level above that is interpersonal. That's leadership sales. That's things.

36:53.10

Max Shank

Writing a book creating a video series.

37:05.85

mikebledsoe

Involve relationships. That's the highest value skills to acquire and so um, it is the hardest skill because it's ah if you think about it. Ah these skills the skills that are most focused on in school.

37:12.90

Max Shank

It seems like the hardest skill to me too.

37:25.61

mikebledsoe

People are developing is really technical ability and so it's really, you're really being trained to be a worker. Not really someone who's gonna be creative. It's so funny when I hear people you know, be concerned about Homeschool kids not getting the right level of socialization but I look at.

37:27.30

Max Shank

Um, if.

37:45.48

mikebledsoe

The level relating skills that people have going to public schools fucking shit and it's like I'm like what what do you mean? their social skills. They can't lead. They don't know how to you know they don't know how to date.

37:59.31

Max Shank

They can't manage their own emotions. How are they gonna have a chance of managing somebody else's it's absurd. Don't get me started on the school thing. We'll ruin the whole podcast the worst twelve year investment you can make oh god.

38:03.31

mikebledsoe

Can't manage their own. Ah. Ah.

38:13.11

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah so ah, coming from 1 guy who who went to school another guy who didn't but um, we both agree. Ah yeah, so so I think you know with what you were saying you know there's there's skills. Was it you said Ah, it was movement skills and and verbal. Yeah, so if you look at the interpersonal if you look at the interpersonal which is the highest value you have to communicate. Well it comes down to communication whether you're doing sales or you're in a leadership position. It has to do with.

38:34.71

Max Shank

Yeah, it's verbal and physical. Basically yeah.

38:52.10

mikebledsoe

Are you able to tell people and have a conversation a you got to be a good listener and then B can you can you? then? what your your output side of the communication is that landing in a way that that is that matches your intention. Because what I find is most people they talk and then the other person completely interprets it in a way that was unintended and neither party knows what to do about it that usually is what results in most conflict.

39:21.49

Max Shank

Ah, well I call it a catalytic communication did what you did your communication yield The result that you wanted was it a catalyst for the result that you were after and if you have that it's Amazing. I mean look the average person talks like they're just practicing talking. They don't know like why they're saying what they're saying they like heard something and they're like oh it's my turn to talk for a while now and like I heard about this and like but like catalytic communication like does it yield.

39:42.63

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah I think.

39:58.11

Max Shank

Result that you had intended that is super high skill and high leverage and if we think about the word leverage we have to be clear about what we mean by that. Do we mean the highest ah result or the highest benefit per unit of time. Do we mean the highest. Ah. Benefit per per per calories because that's another way way we could measure it. That's why language is so crazy because we're all just saving tons of calories. That's why we can like sleep in a big comfy bed instead of hunting will de beastenship and then you also have ah leverage for.

40:31.40

mikebledsoe

Fucking Well at least.

40:37.11

Max Shank

Money So you have leverage for time leverage for money and leverage for calories and ah language is all of those.. That's why that's what drove the dot Com bubble. That's what has driven um these different softwares because software is language and it is. A series of conditional phrases. Let's call I'm like about to leave my circle of competence here basically but basically um, intellectual leverage is when less explains more or when less can do more.

40:59.49

mikebledsoe

Oh.

41:16.54

Max Shank

And if you have a really slick piece of software you can perform the work. You can save the calories of you know millions of people having to do the job instead and now it's replaced with a computer program which is just ah rules. Ah, using language that's incredible.

41:37.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and that's such a good example of how that's being utilized the there's a guy named John Vervaki I think ah, it's it's Dr. John Vervakki's ah he's like a philosopher. Ah, doctor of philosopher philosophy from up in Canada I forget which school he's got a 30 hour series on on Youtube called awakening from the meaning crisis and what's so cool about that series is he is. He walks you through the evolution of consciousness through history and so there's this handoff between basically where the hebrews and the ah like the hebrews and transfers into the greeks and say why like. Up and to that point hebrew culture was at the pinnacle of of ah of consciousness and then the greeks came along and then made a lot of improvements upon it and part of it was was that fluency increased so the style of the language actually became. Easier to understand to the average person and so there's a lot of research that that shows that if you can increase fluency you increase believability and so 1 example of this is if. If you're reading something the fluency of what's written on the page is gonna impact the believability of it so did a study of people that were reading something that was black on white and then they were reading like orange on white and they're reading. So they were tested afterwards because if there's not as much contrast on visually it decreases the fluency. It slows them down all this stuff and the believability of the statements was even when they were not true at all were rated much higher.

43:38.66

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

43:48.93

mikebledsoe

When there was more contrast and so the and so they've they've done a lot of studies where they're measuring the fluency the ability to Comprehend. What's being said and the faster you can comprehend it the more believable. It is so increasing is just an argument For. Or a suggestion towards increasing your fluency your ability to communicate in a way that others can receive it easily is going to make a huge difference.

44:16.49

Max Shank

Man and that speaks volumes to the whole idea of catalytic communication where the goal is to get the other the person on the other end of that communication to take a specific action. So if I'm talking to you I'm doing it for you I'm gonna try to gear it. As much as possible so that you can understand it as well as possible as clearly as possible and that's where stuff like eye relief comes in. You know if you have just this gigantic intimidating block of text. Ah, that's going to reduce the fluence here. That's going to reduce the understandability. Of it if you use a bunch of ah you know, fancy $10 words that's going to be a limiting factor for the other person's ability to understand so it's a big difference between writing for yourself and writing for your audience so they can take a specific action.

45:11.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think this is a great place to talk about the people who want more authenticity like I want ah authentic Expression. You know I want to be able to go On. You know I talk to coaches. I Want to be able go on social media and speak my truth and then that's what should bring me my clients. That's what this and that and and I watch it this. This is really big amongst I'd say more often women are are wanting this more than the guys is there's this.. There's this belief that. Authentic expression means saying whatever the whatever you want. However, you want and expecting to get a result from other people and as if that's the best way to communicate and ah and I always challenge people hey authentic.

45:53.10

Max Shank

Ah.

46:04.46

mikebledsoe

Expression or being sincere or genuine doesn't mean that you say whatever you is come to your mind in it in in a way that you want to be heard and understood Now you're you're speaking So the air the person can receive it so be Authentic. Don't lie be authentic, but keep it inside of the scope of how the person's going to receive that information. That's the best way to be authentic because if they can't receive it then they're not actually experiencing your authenticity. They're just experiencing confusion. And so I think that these are 2 things that need to be helped speak your truth and while also considering and taking the responsibility for how other people are going to receive it because the people who don't do that are really confused about why they may. Be isolated or they feel alone even though they're expressing themselves.

47:01.16

Max Shank

Well plus I mean should we really be so attached to this idea of authenticity I mean the older I get I swear every year I just look back and go God I was such a fool like I was an idiot I didn't know anything and. So the audacity of thinking Well I should just be able to talk. However I want to talk and like you said, expect that to convert whether it's like sales or believers or whatever let the authenticity come from your core belief.

47:29.73

mikebledsoe

Ah, no.

47:36.83

Max Shank

The authenticity is the core belief that hey you should do 5 minutes of exercise every morning boom that's my core belief but then from there don't just talk the way you would at a bar with a bunch of like old sailors or something like if you're. Clear on who your audience is communicate it in a way that will give them the best possible chance of taking the action. The authenticity is in your mission not in your like learned turn of phrase I mean most people learn how to communicate so badly. Like I said they're just waiting for their turn to talk. They just want to make noise and have people listen to it. So ah sometimes it works though sometimes ah people find it really funny or endearing or like oh yeah, that guy you know says the f- word a lot and ah. It's it's funny in a way you know sometimes that happens but man the best leverage communication is when you really understand your audience and you communicate directly to them and the better you understand the avatar of your audience and the more you speak directly to them.

48:41.86

mikebledsoe

Um.

48:53.50

Max Shank

The more leverage your communication is going to have.

48:54.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I also want to point out that a lot of self-expression that I witness when people are are I'm expressing myself is usually a wound that is expressing itself. Yeah, it's not. It's not them. It's like yeah if it was you that was expressing yourself.

49:06.81

Max Shank

It's pain body. Yeah, totally.

49:14.47

mikebledsoe

We'd You'd be coming it sound a lot more like Love. We'd be experiencing love when you spoke but ah it and and it it could be something. But if you're speaking like absolute truth a lot of people aren't ready to hear that type of thing. But. Most people who are that I hear that are really are valuing self-expression of a high degree. Usually yeah, it's their pain Body. It's a wound.. It's an emotional wound from their childhood that that's wanting to speak up and you can spot it because they actually act like a child.

49:33.35

Max Shank

Ah, yeah.

49:49.95

mikebledsoe

You know they they might stomp around they hoff and puff they may throw something. Ah you know they they they're acting like things aren't Fair. You know all you know kids do behave differently but you can now that people hear this. When you watch people interact and they get emotional just watch how childlike their behavior becomes and that's how you can spot if it's a wound or if they're coming from Love and these are you know a wound is just going to fracture love and it's and it's going to be make it unrecognizable. Um. So you know on um, on one side you have the crowd that's got self-expression as a high value on the other side and when we we cycle between the two as we develop the other one is self-sacrificed.

50:33.64

Max Shank

How about value as a high value how about values and value. You know that's what we talked about this in the school episode. You know what you want to teach someone is values and what you want to teach them how to create is value.

50:48.59

mikebledsoe

Right? um.

50:50.44

Max Shank

And if you're focused on delivering value then the last thing you're going to do is bring your own emotional garbage and baggage into it that you've accumulated over the years I mean look most adults are still children. They're old and they don't move as quick. But they they don't act any different than a child What they know a few more words. Ah and their their lives are like a little worse I mean I I get it like I I totally understand. But if you are focused on like crying out for attention rather than delivering value.

51:09.37

mikebledsoe

I I agree.

51:28.45

Max Shank

The person on the other end of that communication. Don't be surprised that you don't get as good a result as the person who is trying to be a catalyst for that audience. It's like ah yeah, don't be surprised.

51:44.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah there's ah one of my mentors I was ah ah went to one of his ah weekend workshop with him about six months ago and he said on a post it on his on his monitor. The question is what is value. And he said meditate on that and always keep that in mind it's ah it's very deep and what is value changes over time and or changes depending on situationally you know what's what's value bull. What is value.

52:21.52

Max Shank

It's bottled water at the north pole or bottled water at Coachella on the third day I mean that's that's how you figure out what value is.

52:29.85

mikebledsoe

True that I think I spent about fifty bucks one day on water at Coachella it was that yeah those mushrooms those mushrooms made me thirsty man who.

52:35.93

Max Shank

Um, and it was worth every penny wasn't it because you're still here and alive.

52:45.15

Max Shank

So I think that's a ah good question to meditate on is like what value are you delivering and if you're not delivering value in some way because look exposing like real truth that may be uncomfortable is.

53:03.89

mikebledsoe

Oh.

53:04.18

Max Shank

Valuable but to the right audience and what's valuable to 1 audience might be worthless or actually destructive to another audience and understanding that value like you said changes based on the situation and based on the individual.

53:18.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and a lot of things that you may value. No one else values and I see a lot of people out there that are upset that no one values The same thing they value and and can't understand why they're not making money and you. It's usually the starving artist and so you you really really need to think about what's the how do other people perceive value and then not only that I know a lot this. This is so true in the coaching industry I know a lot of coaches that possess.

53:38.36

Max Shank

Ah, the.

53:56.67

mikebledsoe

And incredible amount of value that never gets exposed to the right people and or to the to enough people and the reason is because they don't know how to communicate their value and they don't know how to connect the value that they can create to the pain and suffering. The people who need it most and there's it's really sad to watch somebody refuse to communicate appropriately and I was coaching a woman yesterday through ah we were going through a 10 year vision exercise and. She's so good at what she does and she goes but I hate sales I go how selfish of you the look on her face the look on her face was like what the fuck did you just say to me and I go wow you you just told me that.

54:40.79

Max Shank

Ha ha.

54:52.52

mikebledsoe

So many people would benefit from where and you're not willing to meet them where they're at people who need coaching people who need someone to help them out. They are so they have been sitting with this pain. They've been trying to solve this problem for so long. They can't find the solution. They've tried a hundred different things. And you're refusing to come tell them about it and and show them how it could benefit their very specific situation and so we got to turn that one around and ah yeah I hope that anyone hearing this that that strikes a chord for those who need to hear it.

55:26.73

Max Shank

I Think that's probably because I've heard that example, a lot the selfishness of not selling your solution and the hilarious part is that you are actually selling her on liking selling. So you are communicating to her in a way that will actually resonate and because usually the people who shy away from selling they they don't want to be greedy right? That's like the last thing they want they they they want to is.

55:58.53

mikebledsoe

Well, they don't want to be perceived as greedy. That's different.

56:05.80

Max Shank

Exactly right? That's a very good point. Ah, and maybe they're also afraid of being rejected but when you change that frame psychologically I mean look imagine if she puts out twice as many offers from that you know 10 minute conversation whatever it is. Think of the leverage of that 10 minutes because now she's at least doubled and is probably going to have an exponential increase rather than a linear one. So. That's that's what we're talking about is the power of leveraging language so practicing language. That's a ah, high leverage habit I don't think there is a higher one actually you know and do it low tech because we didn't even get into all the stuff that stops you from doing these good things I mean there are a million traps. There are like cute cats and tits on the screen any time that you want them. So it's hard to say no to those that there's alcohol you can get alcohol delivered to the House. You can get drug like different drugs delivered to you. Um, it's insane. Ah.

57:13.33

mikebledsoe

Um, anything is possible folks.

57:17.51

Max Shank

So I think at least for me. Yeah, if I'm hungry I Just slide my finger across my magic telephone and food arrives Can you imagine describing that to your great-grandparents eating dinner by candlelight.

57:33.50

mikebledsoe

My guys.

57:36.75

Max Shank

And then me and then me also saying how unfair life is.

57:40.36

mikebledsoe

Um I can't believe that you gave me this this place this this world we live in the baby boomers fucked us up. It's like right got pretty fucking good.

57:50.21

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, you forgot my extra ranch you son of a bitch. So Anyway, there are a lot of traps and that's why I think with. Language if you can use a pen and paper to contain your ideas in ah like a one- pageish format where you have a big idea you have some arguments of why you have. An explanation of what will happen if you take this good action because we could do a whole episode on how to craft an offer but all communication is basically that so I would go low tech high effect. Avoid the distractions get out the Notebook and a pen. Get clear on who you're sending the message to what the ideas expand on the idea have a specific call to action at the end and practice organizing your ideas that way because that's going to allow you to think better. Most communication is an argument and it's too bad.

58:48.67

mikebledsoe

59:06.29

Max Shank

Arguments are seen in such a negative light because arguments are actually quite fun. You have a claim and then you have some supporting evidence or supporting ideas and yeah, hopefully or.

59:19.10

mikebledsoe

Hopefully.

59:22.66

Max Shank

Or here's a big trap that I think I've talked about a million times. The only like 99% of the arguments that you see people make are logical fallacies that only attack or prop up the arguer. And they have nothing to do with the argument. Basically you have appeal to authority which is trust god completely don't even question his argument and then you have ad hom in him attack which is this guy is the Devil. Don't even listen to his argument. And if you look at the things that people argue about that's what it's usually about we trust this guy completely or we hate this guy so much. We're not even going to listen to what this fucker says. So if you can avoid those 2 logical fallacies. No the whole thing like everything everything I mean.

01:00:07.69

mikebledsoe

The entire Covid debate.

01:00:16.85

Max Shank

If I ever run for office just rest assured that my opponent is a racist pedophile and that will be the only thing I run the whole time. It will just be character assassinational because that's the world that we're living in people are living in their limbic system. They're just like. Ah I hate you? Ah I love you save me and so it it makes arguments not that fun. Ah whereas a good argument with acclaim and supporting points and a back and forth of. Ah, evaluating the ideas. That's why a cooperative argument or discussion is so exciting because instead of 2 people who are just trying to prove themselves right? I don't give a fuck if I'm right I care if we are ultimately right like if you have a great idea. I want to know that your idea is better and profit from that and that's like the the cooperative discussion conversation argument and that's where the real gold is if you get stuck with like I'm just trying to express myself yourself probably sucks I mean mine does most of the time. So. It's better to focus on what is like ultimately the most valuable rather than like just try to support what you already believe.

01:01:38.68

mikebledsoe

Love it. Feels like a good ending anything else. You want to add before we roll.

01:01:46.24

Max Shank

I Don't know I was I was enjoying yelling there maybe um.

01:01:48.20

mikebledsoe

You you're all red you were on the rip. You know what? I'll do my closing dots I'll let you do yours? You know this show is really just an excuse for max and I to get our rants out. To save our our romantic partners from as much pain and suffering as possible. Ah, you know we we walked into this conversation looking at high leverage habits and addictive actions. I only think we got no addictive actions much but high leverage habits for sure and you know the the number 1 thing.

01:02:07.41

Max Shank

01:02:24.72

mikebledsoe

That ah max and I agreed on which it needs to be done first that is take personal responsibility in anything in which you don't you're not experiencing freedom or power in your life is due to a lack of of taking responsibility for that. So if there's something that's not going the way you like it. Go look at where you can take personal responsibility and from there you can you know work on you know self-esteem and creating boundaries and all that stuff and then on the ah so we kind of. We we did split it up. Max Max did a great job of this is saying there's like psychological and physiological housekeeping so that would be on the psychological side on the physiological we got into you know, sleep being one of the biggest indicators. The quality of the sleep. You're getting what you're how you're waking up. Um. And all that and then oh yeah, the last thing to mention on ah that I want to throw in there to remind everybody that I want that I got out of this conversation is ah when forming new habits really looking at the the who and the why the identity and the purpose those are the things they're gonna. Are high leverage things to ah to use when you're starting new habits.

01:03:42.80

Max Shank

Yeah that's great I think of those as the first dominoes like everything else kind of falls into place when you have your mission and identity lined up. Um I don't think I have too much to add. Actually I think you put it together very nicely. The reality is most people will not take the action and that's okay, like you you don't want to think of it as an all or nothing kind of thing if you get 10 % of the people who hear your message to take a better action toward their.

01:04:13.20

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:04:21.69

Max Shank

Psychological physiological housekeeping and start practicing those high-leverage skills and those are mostly language and then also ah physical like body language and athleticism and things like that. So if anyone tells you it's complicated. Definitely not. Humans are complex creatures but they are ah very tightly organized sometimes their thoughts are a little bit muddled and that makes it very difficult for people. There are unlimited distractions and drugs available to you some of them come through ah a screen full Of. Red Green and blue tiny lights that can show you all kinds of weird stuff. Some people use ah food and different drugs to desensitize ah and as far as that goes. There's ah, there's a quote I heard ah in nor Mcdonald's book. He goes I was at the psychologist psychiatrist and she said that I use gambling to avoid the realities of life and he goes. That's why everyone does everything.

01:05:36.74

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, that sounds about right I Where can people find you? What do you want to tell people you're up to right now because you're always up to something.

01:05:37.19

Max Shank

Ah.

01:05:45.77

Max Shank

Um, sometimes I'm up to nothing which is actually a big lesson for this podcast. It's okay to do nothing I feel like that's actually a high level skill now is if you can just sit quietly for 10 minutes how far we've come.

01:05:50.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, that's true.

01:05:57.60

mikebledsoe

Oh that's and that's ah I think you're right about that that is a high lever skill.

01:06:05.91

Max Shank

I'm releasing a new I'm releasing a new e course called how to sit still for 10 minutes.

01:06:11.71

mikebledsoe

I'm gonna I'm gonna do a I'm gonna hold a retreat. It's a meditation fasting retreat. We're gonna do and say nothing. Yeah, no, no, it's $10000 well but we we'll do yeah lower lowerhead for me. Ah.

01:06:19.57

Max Shank

It's a very low overhead. Oh for you.

01:06:28.63

mikebledsoe

We will. We will be in a mansion and we won't enjoy any of it because our eyes will be closed and we'll be just sitting there doing nothing. Yeah.

01:06:34.60

Max Shank

I like it. Yeah I got ah I got a few projects I'm working On. Um, if you want something habit related check out Primal Athleticism on my website. It's basically the ultimate in physical housekeeping from an exercise standpoint to. Modular daily practice. It's awesome. Um I got a few secret projects I'm working on so http://macshank.com at Mashank Thanks for listening guys.

01:07:00.47

mikebledsoe

Who mystery ah go check out http://thestrongcoach.com/summit I am holding a summit here in Austin Texas March third through seventh and I rented out a summer camp. It's gonna be part burning man part. Summer Adult Summer camp part fitness seminar part business conference I think there's another part in there I'm forgetting about but we're gonna have a really good time and I'm a big fan of creating experiences that are both educational and fun because as if you don't know already. That if you mix play into your education. You can learn up to 20 times faster that came from a peer reviewed research study so you know don't f with me. Love y'all.

01:07:48.87

Max Shank

F that peer review f that peer review. Study play is the original form of education later bro. Love you.

Money Feb 07, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Welcome going to Monday morning with Mike and max Today we're gonna be talking about money. We. We're big fans of it I imagine you're a big fan of it too and sometimes you probably get really mad at it or maybe mad at yourself about it and ah, it's a very. Very touchy subject for a lot of people and if you can master money then your life is going to get a lot easier because money solves a lot of problems. Not all of them but a lot of them. So. 1 thing I really want to discuss by the end of this show that I want people to get a handle on is a a definition that I received from one of my teachers. She defines financial freedom as having enough passive income to handle all of your living expenses and that that passive income means. Maybe you have real estate that's income producing. That's that's rental properties that money is coming in and it's profit getting dividends from your stocks or and there's ways to do this with crypto as well where you can you can pull off profits so having. I'm sure we can talk about some other asset classes that are income producing. But I personally have many friends who have already accomplished this and and I am on my way to doing the same thing for myself. So max. You're what's ah, what do you What's your relationship to money like these days.

01:39.42

Max Shank

First off am am I getting paid for this.

01:44.80

mikebledsoe

I'm sure you'll get paid at some point down the road. Yeah yeah.

01:46.74

Max Shank

Seems like a bad business decision for me to just give it away for free like this. Ah I think that money is energy and it makes trading easier and all of the emotional.

01:51.21

mikebledsoe

Um.

02:06.42

Max Shank

Baggage We attach to it is something that needs to be worked through that the real key is to understand that it makes trading easier you know and to focus on delivering value because we can talk about.

02:17.84

mikebledsoe

Oh.

02:25.47

Max Shank

Ah, money on a micro and a macro and it's best to focus on micro first which is like yourself essentially and there are only 2 ways to improve your financial situation and that's to increase your income and reduce your spending. And in order to do that. You have to be very honest about what the difference is between a luxury and a necessity and I think it's wise to really focus on delivering value on being able to scale. The value that you deliver and also being comfortable with less. You know live a very spartan lifestyle as long as you can because um, it's really not fair. Once you get ahead of the game in in money. It's like once you have a million dollars saved up you can invest it at a you can invest it slowly and 5% is still going to give you 50 grand a year and that's more than enough to live well on you can eat well, you can never have to worry about a roof over your head. You're never going to um, have to drain that nest egg and it's going to provide for you just by having it there. So I yeah very safe. Potentially.

03:49.63

mikebledsoe

And that 5%'s a very safe investment that's that's a very low aggressive. Not lowress. It's ah, whatever the safe? Yeah, not aggressive safe. Yeah.

04:02.47

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, um, and you know we can talk about specific stocks that have different dividends like usually a Verizon or something will have a higher dividend which is what they pay out and you can reinvest the dividends or you can take it out as cash. But anyway.

04:08.36

mikebledsoe

Oh.

04:20.61

Max Shank

The the key point is realizing that money is energy getting rid of the emotional baggage focus on delivering value and scaling that value you deliver living a Spartan lifestyle and accumulating a fat chunk so that you can. Invest into securities or real estate or reinvest into your own business as well because that is that is the best investment is being confident that you can always make more.

04:48.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I want to hit on a point you were making and and you know living a spartan lifestyle and and only living with the necessities. It's it's a really big challenge for a lot of people and I just went through a financial course this past year and one of the things that. Was noticed because everyone in the the course together are are all entrepreneurs and when we did a survey of the room of how many the entrepreneurs that were there to learn grew up with no money or with very little money. It was almost all of us. It was was we were the majority and the teacher she one of the things that she noted was that a lot of times what happens when we grow up poor and then we make money is we buy ourselves all the things that we.

05:28.45

Max Shank

Right.

05:46.95

mikebledsoe

Couldn't have when we were a kid or when we were younger and so there a lot of people end up adopting this attitude of you know I'll just get it and I need to treat myself or whatever to make up for you know what I didn't have and and another pitfall is amongst people who.

05:58.94

Max Shank

And.

06:06.70

mikebledsoe

And this was me for a while is I'm so good at making money like so confident that I could just go make more money that the the feeling the necessity to save and invest wisely just didn't seem that important. Whereas you've got a lot of people who are making 50 to $100000 a year on a fixed salary and they're trying to max out their ira but to an entrepreneur who can make a hundred grand in a month if they really fucking put the screws to it that ah. That seems kind of ridiculous like why would I scrounge and take that money and invest it in something that's going to earn such a slow rate of return when I could just go make it real quick and so ah, for for there. There's pit for.

06:43.79

Max Shank

The.

06:59.89

mikebledsoe

And that's not the majority of the people that were my class by the way I was I was one of the few people that were like oh yeah, if I want more money I just go make it and yeah, yeah, yeah, so yeah, definitely. Ah.

07:01.97

Max Shank

Yeah what's like the Richard Branson style it's good to understand the different personality types because what you say. Is like the opposite of my approach.

07:18.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, this is a good conversation for max and I to have because we are very different in in how we've approached money in the past I bet we were probably closer to each other at this point but we'll see that but the thing I want to touch on that I learned in the class. Um, is the you don't have to be Spartan You don't have to only go to the necessities but you need you need to be real ah with your numbers and looking at and being present with the amount of money you're spending on this and that and then actually making the choice. So.

07:51.60

Max Shank

Oh.

07:56.30

mikebledsoe

I Wouldn't say that I live an extremely Spartan lifestyle but I do a lot more saving these days in in intelligent investing and I like to split my purchases up into first before I just going what do I need and what do I You know? what's an option is I go What's meaningful.

08:14.30

Max Shank

The.

08:15.59

mikebledsoe

What is a meaningful purchase does this? Yeah I don't need it but does it really bring enough meaning to my life because I'm not going to wait until I'm retired to have all the stuff that you know to enjoy my money I'm going to enjoy my money along the way. So one of the things I Really ah appreciated about her course was.

08:28.69

Max Shank

Great.

08:35.46

mikebledsoe

It wasn't this like Dave Ramsey approach where where it's kind of like you know, super hard rules and like if you know you gotta do it like this or it won't work. It's more like you know here's some things that you can apply in your life and you can live life now but just realize that every. Every dollar that you spend now takes away from your future financial freedom and and and if I go is this worth my future financial freedom then? yes I'll purchase it hey if I go is this worth my future financial freedom because every time I spend. Now is money I don't get to invest in crypto stocks real estate. These are every every penny is something I can't invest in the future that that'll give me a future return so holding that frame has been a game changer for me for somebody who. Who tends to be ah you know, ah very risk tolerant and aggressive that is extremely helpful.

09:43.13

Max Shank

Well and that's the personality type I'm talking about too oftentimes like the Richard Branson type there's a survivorship bias because there's a lot of people who try his same strategy of. You know triple mortgaging his house so he can buy an aircraft engine. Ah and it goes horribly wrong and you don't hear about that guy. You only hear about the winners and you know when you're talking about saving now. You know you're listing things that have the potential to.

10:06.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

10:17.69

Max Shank

Lot of things that have the potential to have compound returns and that is something that is really difficult for people to understand in their mind because when you spend a dollar on something now that's not that's not going to be a dollar. In 20 years if you're willing to be patient because the compound effect is really hard to understand in the present moment what it could potentially be 20 years from now and that's why um you know you gotta find something that suits your personality type and. What you're saying sounds like you are more. You're not spartan but you're more conscious and aware of the spending and more conscious and aware of the income. So. It's an appropriate energy balance. Rather than just this like freewheeling reckless abandon like I'll just make more I'll just make more I'll just bla but da da da da da and you know I I see that from my perspective which is like you know the further ahead you can get quicker the more. That what you put away will compound and especially when you're young I assume like most of the people listening to this are going to be somewhere around like 30 year old fellas maybe 20 to 40 right? something like that. Um you know, live as simply as possible when you can because.

11:44.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

11:53.33

Max Shank

Part of the the keeping up with the joneses thing is such a killer on so many levels. It's this extra ego baggage that doesn't serve you and you don't see the balance sheet of those people who are trying to get into those comparison Competitions. You know why? Why are we. Trying to keep up with the joneses. The joneses are Broke. You know you want to be like ah you want to be a secret millionaire as quick as possible and have the ability to move and act and create from a place of. Safety and abundance and when you have that when you have that separate investment that Accrues income and has a compound return I mean frankly, it feels like cheating you know you you get yourself. Ah, property like a home and you invest the rest into your own business into securities and I mean if you want to do something else. There are all kinds of other options. But it's basically it's not fair like money is ah about as fair.

13:07.20

mikebledsoe

Oh.

13:11.56

Max Shank

As nature itself. It's not fair I mean we could get into like fractional reserve banking and stuff later and go like whoa what the hell is that. But um, it's not It's not fair that a lion can tear a Gazelle to Shreds and it's not fair that if you have. 5 or $ 10000000 as long as you're not a complete fool. You'll never have to worry about money again even a million and so getting ahead as quick as possible living as spartan as possible to begin with is really good advice being able to defer that gratification for later. Same thing with creating a business for yourself. You know most of the big income I've had is through exponentially scalable things like online courses and videos and books that I've written and if you can build something one time. It may take you six months or a year in some cases sometimes 2 years projects I've been working on but I can build it once and then sell it 10000 times. Most people just aren't willing to do that and it's it's hard to it's hard to see into the future. Ah.

14:20.31

mikebledsoe

Oh.

14:27.82

mikebledsoe

Well, you're an early adopter of the digital information product and so it's you know this is definitely when those things were being early to the game. It's easier to have a big payout your marketing didn't have to be as.

14:27.88

Max Shank

For most people that way.

14:45.10

mikebledsoe

As good as it does Now there's a lot more. It's a lot more competition in the online marketplace and a lot more noise whether it be direct competition or just like I said that and that noise that's out there. Um, yeah, and.

14:56.57

Max Shank

Ah.

15:01.30

mikebledsoe

1 of the things that you mentioned you you threw outt the number of a million dollars will give you this much. Ah income. You know say at 5% a million dollars that give you $50000 a year of income and so I I think.

15:08.21

Max Shank

At 5% yeah

15:20.77

mikebledsoe

That was one of the things that I didn't sit down early enough in my life and just realize that that's all I need is like oh if I want to have by the way. Ah, ah, most people need to make more money than they need to make and what I mean by that is due to the debt that they're holding. They actually have to make a lot more money in order to pay all all that interest and all that that past purchasing and so for the average person a hundred hundred and fifty thousand dollars is is if your debt free is a lot of money. You know my number is. Two hundred fifty thousand dollars I want to I'm a little bit I'm a little bougie at times so I look at that. Yeah I have to have you know 5% you know $5000000 and in income producing assets. That's that's just knowing that number. Just knowing that that exists and I have a frame on that and like I can. That's my target my motivation after having that realization to make money went way up and before it was again. It was about how much do I need to make it through the next month or 2 or the next year but when I started thinking more long term it became a lot easier to do that and having an actual number that was not arbitrary because one of the one of the things that I one of the mistakes that I made early on in my entrepreneurial career is that. I had bought into this like ah it's like a silicon valley thing I bought into this like okay you build this business and one day you can sell it and and like I put all my eggs in that basket and I never. I only paid myself what I needed to pay myself and I kept kept all my money in the business and then one day the business has a hard year and which means that I personally have a hard year and I didn't have anything saved up. So. My ability to make decisions in the business were was hindered because I was personally in ah in a poor position and so that happened me 1 time and I said never again. Um, and then it it um the the same teacher I learned from recently. She pointed out that the that so many entrepreneurs try to build wealth in their business. She said stop thinking about your business as a wealth creating tool. It's an income producing tool. Your business is about creating as much.

18:09.35

mikebledsoe

Profitable income is possible so that you can then go invest it in things that are asset producing ah or sorry ah income producing assets that are outside of your business and having a true having a true diversification. Yeah, and so like a lot of times.

18:20.62

Max Shank

Well, it's diversification basically is what she's saying. Yeah.

18:28.63

mikebledsoe

The argument in entrepreneurial community A lot of times is ah you know oh I'm gonna invest my money in something. What's the thing I trust the most oh my own product. The thing that I get to control and so that's that's how I used to think that's how I watch other people think.

18:41.68

Max Shank

Right.

18:47.58

mikebledsoe

And that that's a that's a high high risk game that you're gonna have you're gonna hit a pitfall at some point it's not. It's not an if it's a win.

18:57.25

Max Shank

Well I think it's important to understand that concentration versus diversification. So concentration can give you the absolute highest return but you have to guess right.

19:14.77

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh.

19:15.80

Max Shank

And if you guess wrong then it is catastrophically bad diversification. You will not make the most plain and simple the the more you diversify the more stable it is the less chance you're going to have to outperform the market. Because otherwise you should just buy the whole market and like what 4% every year or something like that depending on which timeline so it's very understandable that the people who make the most are the ones who just constantly reinvest into 1 thing.

19:52.10

mikebledsoe

Right.

19:53.53

Max Shank

You know they they pick the right 1 whether they operate it themselves or not Elon Musk is a good example. boom reinvest everything into his own companies and then there are some companies out there where you know they they bet big on alibaba let's say. And that becomes a hundred times bigger than the rest of their portfolio. I mean there's a company that invested in alibaba maybe like 5 % of their portfolio or something and then twenty years later alibaba was like 95% of their portfolio because it grew so much more.

20:28.33

mikebledsoe

Who.

20:32.80

Max Shank

And everything else and that was just one that was just one bet so thinking of life as a series of bets basically and you can put all your money on double zero on the roulette wheel and you will make the most.

20:33.78

mikebledsoe

Well, that.

20:49.19

Max Shank

But you also can lose absolutely everything So it's important to understand what the point of diversification versus concentration is.

20:58.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah there's um, there's ah, there's a really cool concept by the guy who wrote anti-fragile and black swan his name's Nasimm. He's ah a turkish fellow that lives in New York really great economist and. Ah, really successful investor and he has this method which is the barbell method. So which is you know invest a large portion of your money into stuff that is extremely safe. You know, gold you know? ah. Just stuff. That's that's incredibly stable. It's not going anywhere and then on the other side go into startups go into the startup world. Go go buy those shitcoins. Whatever it is that you think might hit because the truth is with a startup.

21:48.80

Max Shank

Ah, so.

21:56.69

mikebledsoe

Or with some of these cryptocurrencies. You could see a hundred X Return This is this is a possibility This is a real possibility and so um and and he says you know just spread it out that way but he's.

22:09.73

Max Shank

Yeah, there are all kinds of ways to get that.

22:15.35

mikebledsoe

He start you know state he says he he likes to stay out of the middle because that's where the that's where the majority is the majority is in the middle and the majority I mean if we if you want to get like mainstream results do that. But it's as.

22:18.18

Max Shank

Yeah.

22:29.76

Max Shank

Threat.

22:33.67

mikebledsoe

Who wants mainstream results mainstream is fat sick almost dead and and broke. You know it's like why would you like it's it's the it's the last place I want to be and so I really like his approach to that because it does. Scratch the safety itch and it also may if if you're like myself it scratches that you know let's throw some dice down here and see if we can make a million dollars

23:02.15

Max Shank

You know that's ah, a good strategy and you also have to know yourself and know what's going to allow you to sleep at night and focus on what you're best at too like if you want to be.

23:15.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

23:19.39

Max Shank

Actively investing your own portfolio and researching companies great if you want to focus on what you're best at and just create more income from your books or videos or courses or you know wood pellets or whatever you're.

23:33.40

mikebledsoe

You know.

23:38.28

Max Shank

Your business is ah you can also just buy the SAndPFive hundred and then there's no, there's like no management fee. Basically so you minimize, um your spend you also do minimize your returns but you also minimize your risk and.

23:42.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

23:57.46

Max Shank

It's a lot easier to sleep at night doing that than you know researching startups and things like that just to give like the other side of that coin because I think the strategy you outlined has a lot of merit to it. But I think knowing your personality type.

24:03.15

mikebledsoe

Right? well.

24:15.88

Max Shank

And recognizing how much you want your involvement to be how active into those investments you want to be same as if you want to buy real estate. Do you want to hire a property manager and eat up most of your return or do you want to manage it yourself I mean these are things that. You got to consider from your personality and Lifestyle standpoint.

24:35.52

mikebledsoe

Yeah, nasim talks about that in his book is basically that investors. Yeah, if they stayed within their logic would majority of time make a lot of money but people are so emotional. You know they can't sleep at night they can't they go to bed that night worrying about their money and if you're having that experience and investing if you're investing and you're worried about it and you can't sleep and it's the you know last thing you think about when you go to sleep and the first thing you think about when you wake up, you're in over your head and you're. You're likely going to just make poor decisions and so ah, which actually brings me to one of my rules which is I only invest in the things that I understand there's so many especially and with cryptocurrency right now. I invest in crypto I actually just sold off 90% of my my ah portfolio for crypto the other day and um and and it's because for good and I'm watching the market continue to go down right now.

25:44.33

Max Shank

For good reason right.

25:50.95

mikebledsoe

Because what I'm doing is I'm I'm just going to hold cash by the way in the voyager app by the way if anyone wants access to be able to ah look at Voyager just hit me up I've got good connections there but in in the Voyager app. If I store my us dollars as Usdc which is a which is a token tethered to the us dollar I get a 9% api on that annual. So it's ah you can't get 9 % guaranteed anywhere but you can there so there are.

26:23.69

Max Shank

Weird.

26:26.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there, there's I won't I don't quite understand entirely how they're able to do that. Ah, but I I do have a feeling there's aspects of it that that I that I do get but I like to invest in things that I understand like I understand bitcoin at its. At its base I understand ethereum I understand ummatic I understand these some of these currencies I understand their purpose I I get what's going on I've I've been tracking them and then there's other ones that people like like shib came out and everyone's like you got to get shit I'm like why. Or doge coin you got to get doge oh because Elon Musk I'm like whoa whoa whoa I don't understand this I'm not going to touch it and of course these things skyrocket and then they plummet and you know some people make a bunch of money. Yeah, and it's like and.

27:14.72

Max Shank

The foma will get you.

27:21.55

mikebledsoe

And I've learned to be completely. Okay with it whereas I have some friends who you know they're trying to make that dollar right now they're deep in the Nfts they're trading fucking dragons and and you know magic bears and dragonflies I don't fucking know what these people are are I get.

27:37.40

Max Shank

Third.

27:40.15

mikebledsoe

I Get what's happening I mean look the wealthy have been storing their the wealthy have been storing their money as art for a long time as a tax haven I get it and it's a very intelligent move and I do think that a lot of things that only the wealthy have done the rest of us get to take advantage of and.

27:50.45

Max Shank

Her.

28:00.13

mikebledsoe

And this decentralized blockchain world. But most of you have no idea what the fuck you're doing and so even if even when I do understand the fundamentals of something if I see too many new people flooding into it I get out and I stay out until I let the dust settle. Could I potentially miss out on making a shitload of money. Absolutely I could get in there but you know what? and this is the point you were getting at too which is I would rather spend my time producing value in the world that makes the most sense to me I know how to teach coaches how to build a coaching doesn't. So I know how to help coaches be better coaches and that's the that is the value I bring to the world that people are going to exchange with me for money. No matter if the dollar goes away if we moved totally to cryptocurrencies if we end up on the yen. Whatever the fuck it is it doesn't matter what the currency is. I'm gonna be fine because I can always create value in which people are gonna then whatever it is. We're trading at the time they're gonna give it to me and so I think I want to say first off your best investment is in yourself so invest in traits in yourself that allow you to make the most money sales being the. The most valuable skill on the planet. So if you can learn how to sell if you know how to market you know how to sell it doesn't matter what the market does. You're going to be fine and so in so a. Invest in yourself be invest in things that you understand or another way of putting. Ah, another example of this um was learning from this guy. He primarily makes money trading stocks and he was talking to a bunch of us entrepreneurs who you know I'm not. Um, not really that much of a stock guy but ah 1 of the things he said that just made a lot of sense. Super simple concept is if you use the service own the company if you do you use Amazon go buy some Amazon stock. do you watch you know do you have a Netflix subscription. Buy some Netflix like you stop using it because you don't like it. Maybe you should sell your stock like you don't have to study the market so deeply and try to run crunched numbers and sounds like look if you like like if everyone who bought an Apple Computer invested and Apple stock when they bought their Apple computer because they love it so much. There'd be a lot more wealthy people out there right now. Ah so that was a because that that's a form of understanding if you if you like a product use a product you understand enough about that company.

30:48.82

mikebledsoe

Doesn't mean that it's a surefire way and it's a completely safe thing. But I think it's a great way to if if someone's like I don't know what to invest and I don't know how to get started I don't know what do you buy.

31:02.47

Max Shank

Oh I mean I really I really like what you said before which is invest in yourself and invest in things that you understand I think um, buying a stock just because you use. The product is too small of a sample size. I think it can be a good starting point though. Like oh like I use that because I think the word price is really important to explore like how do we get at the price like there is a time where you could have owned Coca-cola for 5 20 years actually and had a zero percent return so there you can have a great company at a horrible price and you can also have a horrible company at a great price and actually either of those would probably be a mistake. Um.

31:42.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

32:00.36

Max Shank

And investing is very paradoxical because you're trying to balance risk and reward and whenever there is more risk There is typically more reward but the price of something is just what people are willing to pay. Um.

32:13.74

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

32:20.19

Max Shank

And that is determined by how valuable it is to a person and you know a lot of the a lot of the cryptocurrencies are Tulip Mania all over again for sure I won't say that about all of them. But if and like an Nft just because someone. Values a digital magic dragon at a thousand dollars today doesn't mean anyone will ever pay a dollar for it later in the future and so I think it's a good starting point to say what do I use but it. Doesn't necessarily make it a good investment. In fact, um, you know a good product can be ah, a bad investment from a stock standpoint and that's I mean that's why markets are that's why markets are not ah rational. That's why markets are irrational.

33:08.72

mikebledsoe

It can be.

33:17.56

Max Shank

Because people are irrational and and if you go to college. They'll tell you that markets are are rational markets are like in balance Basically but that's how could that be the case if it's people who buy the stuff. We're not rational.

33:32.45

mikebledsoe

Well in Academia we got to make sure we can measure everything there's ah, there's a there's a really good book by the way I agree the just because you use the product doesn't mean it's a good investment but it's a good place to start looking now.

33:35.60

Max Shank

At all.

33:47.81

Max Shank

Absolutely good place to start looking.

33:52.19

mikebledsoe

There's ah, there's a book that talks about tulip mania amongst many other things the the money the the history of our our current monetary system. 1 is you know the the. You alluded to it a little bit earlier fractional reserve banking that basically the modern way of banking or the modern um version of money has described really well in the book. Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds. So. I think it was in this book I could be wrong because I don't think you were recalling it quite the same way I was and we both read the book but ah from what I from what I gather it the current monetary system is about three hundred and fifty years old and. Came out of Europe which is basically banknotes people coming up with banknotes and coming with bills. You know, getting away from coinage where there's an actual silver or a gold coin getting away from the coinage and getting into the bank bank notes that represent a certain amount of gold held by the bank. And so instead of having to lug around all this gold now I could just have this banknote and this banknote is certified by this bank and we can trust them yada yada yada and so ah, the it started off as a very trustworthy system I think it was France who did this first. Which was the king goes to one of the banks and says I'll make you the only bank that can issue notes in all of the kingdom of France and and I forget what the deal was and of course a banker. Who is in the business of increasing wealth. They they hear this and go oh I'm about to get an immediate monopoly fuck it. Let's go and ah in the book it it outlines the ah the progression over time. The king putting pressure I think maybe the king died and then his son came up or something like that but pressure was applied to the bankers to basically print off some banknotes that aren't backed by gold you know, basically fake money and. So they started diluting the money supply and the banker in in the book basically says hey that's a bad idea like talks about how the banker tried to resist it because he's like you know that.

36:32.97

mikebledsoe

I see what you want I see why you think it's a good idea, but this is why it's a bad idea. It's only gonna lead to a collapse and sure and and the thing is is. It's kind of it's kind of like one of those things that once it gets out. You know, opening up a can of worms you can't get them back in so the or what. There's a better analogy for that I forget what Pandora's box and basically the moment you get off of a representation. Ah an actual representation of value then it get you get into like really dangerous waters and getting back to that is going to be impossible with that banknote.

36:53.79

Max Shank

Pandora's box

37:11.37

mikebledsoe

So it's kind of like people think if they can get the Us dollar to be ah, go back to the Gold Standard Yeah, never gonna fucking happen. It just be how you just have to create a whole new currency. So.

37:15.53

Max Shank

Back to buy gold again. Yeah good luck impossible. Well I mean maybe if the price of gold went up by like a hundred fold or something like that I don't I don't know exactly what the numbers are I mean if.

37:28.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I don't know what it is either.

37:33.96

Max Shank

I Think for the average person this like banking and macro stuff. You should just avoid it until you're rich already like just from ah a functional standpoint like don't don't concern yourself ah with the economics of.

37:41.96

mikebledsoe

We mean avoid it.

37:53.85

Max Shank

Banking and fractional reserve and fiat currencies and things like that just if you don't have a lot of dough right now just focus all your attention on increasing your income and amassing some wealth first because you can go down this rabbit hole where you will become. Um. And I think rightfully so like paranoid about the ah fragility of our our financial interactions our socioeconomic situation here like ah getting off the gold Standard Huge mistake.

38:17.32

mikebledsoe

38:31.38

Max Shank

Um, I Understand why you would want to be able to print unlimited dollars. Nobody really understands what the cost and benefit of doing this will be and I think if you're just trying to deliver value and create wealth for yourself. Um, it's best to just accept these macro truths and not invest too much of your precious and limited attention into them because you're you're not going to be Happy. You're you're going to have a bunker full of gold and only properties and you're gonna be like ah.

39:01.30

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, have you.

39:08.26

Max Shank

You won't use Banks you'll just stuff cash under the mattress. Ah.

39:10.44

mikebledsoe

Ah, well well you know I don't know if that's necessarily completely true like if you have no money saved and you haven't invested anything I agree but for for somebody who's is like okay I have a little extra money I want to invest it in something this Ah this is my argument for crypto and and.

39:18.17

Max Shank

The.

39:29.76

mikebledsoe

Say Bitcoin is because Bitcoin is ah is is powered by electricity and it has an actual cost which means it has an actual value and it and it can fluctuate depending on the.. How much energy costs and how much how many transactions are happening and and all that which makes it a little more fluid than say gold. But ah, way easier to trade.

39:56.34

Max Shank

Way easier to trade than gold I mean trading gold like if you think about trading gold like it's really hard like first off like if you want to buy gold like I don't have a fucking gold tester in my pocket like if someone sells me gold. I'm going to have a hard time knowing if there's lead in there or not and vice versa and vice versa. You know so um, bitcoin is certainly easier to trade. It's just hard to figure out what the price should be because you can't know if something's a good investment or not.

40:18.10

mikebledsoe

Well, even if we well but that does happen. Yeah.

40:35.87

Max Shank

Ah, without understanding the price and a potential future price.

40:36.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the the problem the problem with a lot of the crypto conversation right now is that it's all based on the Us dollar so at the Us dollar like if you log into any trading platform. It's how many bitcoins is worth how many dollars you know? and.

40:53.92

Max Shank

Right.

40:56.50

mikebledsoe

It's ah instead of it just being its own thing. But I I think that they're I think in the next five or ten years in the next I guaranteed I'll put money on it 10 years ah I don't that's a terrible thing to say not guaranteed.

41:01.86

Max Shank

How could it be its own thing.

41:12.75

Max Shank

I Think ah I think I might have a bet on my hands here.

41:14.21

mikebledsoe

Ah, but out prediction. Oh we should you want how big a bet you want to make right? We'll see I'll tell you what it is and then we'll go 10 years ah well if I'm wrong, you might be right? and.

41:22.96

Max Shank

Too big for you to cover it. What. Um, yeah I.

41:31.86

mikebledsoe

So in 10 years ah I think that that that problem is solved so 10 years the the how does how do we value it. There will be there will be some

41:45.65

Max Shank

Is it going to be a flat chart that says 1 bitcoin equals 1 bitcoin.

41:49.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I mean what's it for the dollar now right? So the it I mean it's the dollar is fairly arbitrary and the pricing and all that. But I think with.

41:57.17

Max Shank

Yes.

42:03.60

Max Shank

Well, the dollar the dollar is backed up by a really big stick a a huge stick wielded by Uncle Sam and it's ah and it's attached to oil which currently makes the world go around.

42:07.41

mikebledsoe

But right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's always yeah to energy itself. Yeah, so um, but I think that I think that I think that being able to say this currently is worth this much.

42:22.79

Max Shank

Yeah anyway I.

42:32.87

mikebledsoe

Compared to this currency I think that's gonna be figured out I don't I have no fucking idea how to get figured out I I imagine it's gonna require some a lot of computing power but at the same time. Um, living in Austin Texas is is pretty great if you're in the crypto. Currency conversation because so much of tech is moved here so much of crypto entrepreneurs are here and so and I know so I know some of these people they're fucking smart they're they're they're blowing me away I just.

43:03.78

Max Shank

Yeah.

43:08.71

mikebledsoe

Um, just like yeah um, I'm doing the best I can to keep up and I'm gonna you know make some trades based on what I'm hearing but sorry for that I don't fucking know and I mentioned that because I just see people ah coming up with some really amazing solutions that that. There's all these problems that crop up when there's a lot of transactions happening and then someone creates a new ah coin a new currency that that solves that specific Problem. It's moving in incredibly fast breakneck Speeds I can't keep up and I'm somebody who. Really loves keeping up with these types of things. It's it's It's very interesting to me and so I think I think a lot of that will be solved all right I Think let's let's get out of this out of this crypto we gotta get out.

43:54.42

Max Shank

We got to get out of the macro stuff. This is what I was saying is like it's It's not practical.

44:00.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we gotta get out of it. So um, let's move into this is what I get for So I get for bringing up the the modern day money I So you say you say that you see money as. Energy. Can you say more.

44:18.37

Max Shank

Yes, it's a representation of energy. It's kind of like a claim check on other people's time. Um, you know some people say ah money is the root of all Evil I completely disagree I think greed is a source of some.

44:23.86

mikebledsoe

Okay.

44:37.89

Max Shank

Unsavory behavior but money is not inherently good or evil Um, it's a claim check on other people's time and it's stored up energy The fact that you can use money to bring real physical objects into your. Life is incredible. The fact that you can trade money for food is incredible. The fact that you can trade money for a house is unbelievably cool and if it weren't for a currency like that it would make trade so difficult so it makes. Trading so easy. Otherwise you have you know if you're a baker and you want a cow you have to hope that the farmer wants some bread and a lot of it.

45:24.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I Really like the exchange for time conversation. That's and so I was hearing that recently from somebody else they they go. You know it's just an it's you're gonna buy your time Back. You're just gonna buy back. Ah, by buying food at the grocery Store. You didn't have to go grow that food. You didn't have. There's so much time was was purchased and so yeah, forget who I was here Ac is just a storage of time and the more you have the more time you have like oh it's very very interesting.

45:58.44

Max Shank

Yeah, well, what's interesting is you can trade your time for money you can trade money for other people's time which can save you time but you can never get time back.

46:01.50

mikebledsoe

Um.

46:13.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

46:16.37

Max Shank

Time time is your most precious resource by far and unless you learn how to leverage your time. Ah, you're you're gonna be stuck trading hours for dollars pretty much and that's what I mean when I say you want to find a way to scale your effort.

46:34.59

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

46:35.50

Max Shank

Basically so leverage your effort into something that is scalable exponential.

46:40.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, this makes me think about the predictable stages of entrepreneurship that I've witnessed which is which is people get to people want to get to the point where they they have all this accrued money and and able to to.

46:45.66

Max Shank

The.

46:59.44

mikebledsoe

People say buy their time back. You don't get a bat but like you're able to purchase like you can spend your time the way you want to the more money you have and the predictable stages of entrepreneurship. The first stage being I hate my corporate gig I'll do my own thing and so many people. When they start doing their own thing and they're making enough money to get by. They feel like and I hear a lot of people say this is that's financial freedom but it only lasts for so long because. They're so excited about not doing this corporate gig in which they had built up their mind as something that they hate that they overlook the the burnout you know I think there's some type of saying that says you know as an entrepreneur you know you quit your 40 hour work week that you hate so you can take on it. 80 hour work week that you love or something like that. You know it's like it's really really ridiculous and I've watched a lot of people go into business for themselves who end up wanting to go back because I go wow I just get because I know so many people that they have their corporate gig. At five o'clock when they knock off and go home. Do you know how much they think about work. They don't they go to the gym. They go to the bar. They don't think about that shit at all as an entrepreneur after five o'clock maybe still, you're working even if you're not working. You're thinking about work. You're always problem solving this shit. Shit is real. So um, it people will over. They're so excited and I see that excitement can last about 9 to 18 months of excitement when somebody has given themselves a job. You know they have a. Self-employed. They wake up one day and they realize oh man I just gave myself a job. This is actually not any different. It's more responsibility same thing that I was doing before um and and they can either go back to their job or they can become an owner and I bring this up. Based off what you're saying is because when you turn into an owner. That's when you start actually leveraging your your time your attention money. That's when you it's when you start when you zoom out of the business. You're able to work on it. You're no longer working in it and you're you're hiring delegating systemizing. This is all the things. These are the things and the responsibilities that have to be taken on in order to have that lifestyle that people dream of when they go I want to be my own boss I want to be an entrepreneur I want to I want to run my own business I don't want to have a boss it really requires.

49:45.58

mikebledsoe

Becoming an owner and I know there's not many people I've Met. Um I'm trying to recall one now and I can't bring one to mind of someone who went straight from I Hate my corporateri gig to I'm an owner I think the only people that really do that may have been working in financial services and then. They they moved over into investing right away. But if you become a business owner then the level up from that is investor where you are at at each level you are looking at this thing from ah a higher landscape and. Are doing less of the work and more of the directing of where that energy goes if we think about money as energy I'm going to direct the energy to go this way. It needs to go that way instead of it being something that I'm I'm having to crank in order to generate.

50:40.21

Max Shank

It's like you have investing in ditch digging on opposite ends of the spectrum investing you potentially don't have to make very many choices at all I mean it's the easiest work there is and as long as you ah bet correctly.

50:43.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:57.71

Max Shank

You know you can have like ah basically no no work hours. You just have to make good choices once you become an investor and so it's like I really relate to it's funny. You said 9 to eighteen months it sounds kind of like the 2 year itch

51:04.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

51:16.13

Max Shank

For excitement and relationships too ah is kind of similar right? So you have this fantasy idea of what it will be like to be a business owner. Yeah, right? yeah.

51:16.30

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

51:24.17

mikebledsoe

You're on drugs you're on drugs you got 9 to 18 months to be to be in this drug and do state. You know we talked about drugs last week. So you you get what I'm saying.

51:34.43

Max Shank

Love and other drugs. Ah, and you know people don't consider what will intrinsically make them feel fulfilled right? figuring out what they want to give rather than just what they want to get and if you can figure out what you. Most want to give to people and then optimize that that's probably the best way to go to go about it because I see it as like ah maybe 2 opposite ends of the spectrum on the 1 hand you're like okay well um, I'll be a banker. Because banking has the biggest potential for me to get very rich and I don't necessarily love banking but I want to be rich so I'll be a banker and then on the other end of the spectrum you think about um who you would really like to serve like what would make you feel alive and just be intrinsically enjoyable. You pick your role you think about oh man I really like um massage or I like painting flowers or whatever and then you find a way to scale that passion. See what I'm saying so you can either start with a passion and then figure out a way to scale it or you can just pick something that is the fastest method for getting wealthy because I think a lot of people who want to own their own business. They really just.

52:54.34

mikebledsoe

So.

53:05.12

Max Shank

Ah, want to be rich and not be told what to do.

53:09.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the you know as I've gotten older I'm like man maybe I should have done a little more work that I was less passionate about that get me ah more bucks in the pocket but you know that was never my style. Um well I want to talk about.

53:12.43

Max Shank

Um.

53:28.66

mikebledsoe

The reasons why people won't reach third fighttro goals and in fact to same this is the reason why half the stuff that max and I said on on this show up to this point, you never even heard it like you didn't hear it today. You went right through your head and you weren't able to grasp it and that is due to. Not because of an intelligence not an intelligence issue. It's ah it's a relationship to money issue and so how people relate to money and how they relate to wealth forms their beliefs and the beliefs become constraints on. Their ability to to do something in that realm. So if you have beliefs about money. Those beliefs are actually ah, they're serving as a constraint in some way now this constraint at some point likely served you but it's not going to make you wealthy. And this is why most people are not wealthy because the information to become wealthy to be an investor all these things widely available. You can go on Youtube and get a lot of really great advice. It's out there. You can get some poor advice too. But you spend enough time you get to sift through it and figure it out now. People's relationship to money is poor because usually we just get it from our parents we but we get these these beliefs from our parents who pass them down to us whether they did it intentionally or not. It could have been a phrase that they said it could have been how they behaved around money. You know I've I've worked with clients where you know their mom had to hide their spending from their dad and you know as a child they mate they now they have this belief that formed and and now that's impacting your life now at at a subconscious level. Which actually makes it hard for them to even hear certain advice because it flies in the face of some belief that they had built up for decades and now because it's when when you're operating from belief then ah, you're automatically filtering out some information and.

55:22.25

Max Shank

Can.

55:34.90

mikebledsoe

And accepting other information.

55:36.55

Max Shank

Man is so on point I mean I think that's the the only barrier to becoming wealthy is belief and whether or not you believe that you are not deserving of money or whether you believe. Ah. All rich people are evil which is something a lot of people believe that money is a 0 sum game and in order for 1 person to get wealthy. Someone else has to be basically stolen from or victimized and it comes back to that drama triangle right? You got the villain victim and the hero.

56:08.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Man The politicians love to make it look like the wealthier gonna are there to fleece you like it's their fault while you're poor.

56:14.20

Max Shank

And ah you want to hang around.

56:23.93

Max Shank

Dude no charity has done more for poor people than Walmart by by any stretch. Um and boy talk about an unpopular topic at dinner parties I'm like the worst and best dinner party guest of all time. Because I have I'm a little ass burgery and I also read a lot so it's just very It's just very fun like so yeah, it's money is not a 0 sum game.

56:44.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that is why I s smokerk weed before I grow out in social environments that way I just keep my mouth shut.

56:57.12

Max Shank

Ah, but the the beliefs that become constraints is is so huge like whatever you believe about money is true for you and when you take away the goodness and the evilness of it and just treat it like energy. You can let it flow. You can let it stagnate. You can let it hold power over you? Um, but it really comes down to what you believe about it and. It can be tricky to get out of but it's all the more reason to be selective who you associate with because if you hang around with people who say rich people are evil and they themselves are poor. Most likely you're going to adapt. To that group so it can be very tricky to pull yourself into a better friend group and I think I even mentioned it last week you know if you hang around with people who don't think 10 grand is a lot you start to believe 10 grand is not a lot and you're.

57:48.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

58:03.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

58:06.93

Max Shank

You're like oh I got to step up my game and of course it just goes on and on and on too but seeing it not as ah, a means to an end or seeing it not as an end in and of itself like keeping up with the joneses. But as a means for capturing back some of your time. And using energy to promote the ideas that you really care about like a mission or a meaning or something like that. That's that's powerful I mean the fact that you can get your time back is incredible like you never have to go shopping again. If you're willing to pay like an extra little delivery fee. Someone else can go get your grocery someone else can go pick up your dry I don't have anything that requires dry cleaning. But if you had dry cleaning like ah Mitch Hedberg has it.

58:50.59

mikebledsoe

I got like 1 thing I wear every three years. Yeah I'm with you.

58:59.68

Max Shank

Mitch Hedberg has a great joke about that he goes this shirt is dry clean only which means it's dirty.

59:04.20

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, brilliant. Ah yeah, you said something. It's not a 0 sum game and an analogy I like to you cause some people that's ah that's a belief that is they don't think the belief they don't think the words. 0 sum game but the belief that because somebody's wealthy means that somebody else has to be poor or it's the poor or the reason that there's somebody who's wealthy I mean we could also you know because being poor and wealthy is really just a comparison for 1 so. There's always going to be poor and there's always go be wealthy. Like the poor in the United States have flat-screen Tv's air conditioning and ah are and have an excess of caloric intake. So these people are by world standards. So if we compare them in the United States they make. Say $30000 a year. They're fucking poor right? from re exactly.

01:00:02.59

Max Shank

The comparison has divorced people from reality if the people who are called poor are dying from overeating that's divorced from reality like we're out of our fucking minds.

01:00:15.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and but if you look at the the world population and income if you make $30000 you are in the 1% you are in the 1% of income earners in the world if you make more than $30000 a year.

01:00:33.16

Max Shank

And if I compare myself to the rock I'm a fat brokeke loser I should just go fucking kill myself. It's It's all what you compared to. But there are some realities like what you said about financial freedom before if you don't have to trade your time for food and shelter anymore. Basically.

01:00:34.74

mikebledsoe

And so.

01:00:39.80

mikebledsoe

01:00:53.00

Max Shank

For your expenses that that's super worthwhile.

01:00:54.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but the the 0 sum game there. There's an analogy here which is and I think people will grasp this which is people don't have to be unhealthy for you to be healthy right. I look I look at health and wealth the same way I can if everybody were healthy. We'd all be healthier for every unhealthy person walking around the planet they're dragging us down right? And so the if we.

01:01:19.10

Max Shank

True kill the fatties I'm just kidding I'm just kidding.

01:01:29.50

mikebledsoe

No, they just can't do it to themselves but the ah by the way, not a judgment. But if you're fat. You're you're dying faster than us. But that the the more people the more people who are healthy. Yeah.

01:01:41.59

Max Shank

How dare you sounds I don't know if that's racist or sexist I know it's wrong though.

01:01:50.14

mikebledsoe

Ah, probably both. Ah, it's not a 0 sum game. So everybody has the chance to be healthy and in fact, the more people who are healthy the easier it is to be healthy the same thing with being wealthy. Everyone has the opportunity to be wealthy are.

01:01:51.85

Max Shank

01:02:08.34

mikebledsoe

Now compared to each other maybe not but we all have the chance to have a really solid roof over our head be able to travel the way we want to travel all these things and the more people who are able to accomplish having these things the it drives the price down of certain things it it creates more peace around the world. It's gonna be a lot less conflict. There's all these things but there are some people who do play the 0 sum game. They they believe it and they say I've got to make other people lose so I'm not saying that that does not exist in the world. There are people out there that they're called thieves that they have to actually take from somebody else to have for themselves. And so ah, the people who are operating out of a zerosum game are usually immoral in their practice. So if you hear somebody talking about it being a 0 ero-sum game and they're rich. They're probably immoral. In some way and the way they're getting rich is they're ripping some people off, but there's a lot of people who I'd say the majority of the people who are wealthy have created more value for others and have gotten a fair exchange in return.

01:03:16.74

Max Shank

Let me add a little bit on that because I agree and I think it's even more potent than that because I'm sure our listeners have realized by now that you and I are in favor of a little thing called freedom and when there is.

01:03:21.84

mikebledsoe

Oh.

01:03:34.85

Max Shank

Profit and a voluntary exchange that is always a net positive that that's like if if it's really a voluntary exchange where there's Profit. You're always creating a surplus of value if I sell you a sweatshirt for $20 And you buy it for $20 The only way that happens is if it's worth it for you to buy it and worth it for me to sell it so it has to do with something called Win-win Theory which is very Self-explanatory. So Even if you don't buy into the other stuff. Realize that when you are creating a profit you are in an energetic surplus and you are promoting voluntary action I mean look at the things that work the worst it's when people are stolen from and there's no Incentive. You know there's an incentive. For a company if there's no ah, political or policing interference to create a product that people value at a price that is affordable. You know and so you are. As a company. You are essentially a slave to the customer rather than um, under taxation where you are a slave to ah basically ah, a guy with a huge stick that will punish you if you don't pay up so that's why you get a better result when there's voluntary action. So huh. 0 sum game whenever there's a profitable exchange that's Voluntary. You are actually creating wealth on both sides you are creating value on both sides of that transaction. That's huge.

01:05:24.81

mikebledsoe

Beautifully said beautifully said. Um we don't want to go from here I think we I think we should um there was.

01:05:31.27

Max Shank

We could call it there that would be my final thought anyway because I think it ah clearly I have one more at least if you focus on that.

01:05:40.45

mikebledsoe

It sounds like your final thought. Ah.

01:05:51.23

Max Shank

Like you will feel intrinsically good because it sounds corny but it really does feel the best to give if you find yourself if you start out very broke and then you become rich. Um, you do go through a phase where you buy yourself all the toys. Ah. Went through it myself I bought like every toy I ever wanted and then I realized that the thing that felt the best was like taking my friends out for lunch or getting stuff for them or bringing them on experiences like buying stuff is very hollow. But when you are. In a emotional and energetic balance. It's ah it's a profitable exchange like you are offering up so that people truly value and appreciate enough to put their money where their mouth is. You know and you also are filtering out the people who aren't actually that interested like I could give my programs away for free and people would be less likely to do them. But if I work really hard on something and I believe in it and I charge money for it and someone believes in it enough to pay for it. That is what feels good is those mutually beneficial exchanges where both people are investing ah their energy which can be in the form of time or Money. So I Think that's what actually feels the best is to give.

01:07:07.26

mikebledsoe

Um.

01:07:24.83

Max Shank

And if you are doing it at a profit then you are in a mutual energetic Surplus that's based on voluntary action and dude. What's better than that. That's how you promote this this freedom and love so there you go.

01:07:37.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so what I want to leave with is it comes down if you want to be wealthy. It comes down to mindset and skill you need both of these to be present and so the mindset my favorite way to look at that is to look at your beliefs. And the first thing you can do to look at that is sit down and write down about what your mother or what you learned from your mother about money and wealth and wealthy people and what you learned from your father. Ah these are 2 different. Journal entries these what you learn from your mother is gonna be different than what you learned from your father and it's not important what they wanted to teach you or what they try to teach you. It's about what you learned. That's the important thing to remember here. So if you want it. Any any type of money mindset training that you're wanting to do needs to start there if you're starting somewhere else. You're you're not going far enough back I mean if you want to go further back which I've actually done is I I start looking at my dad's childhood. So like how you know what was that like. And how did that form. Ah, the the lessons that got passed down to me so mindset and skill and the other part is the skill and that is simply the the people have tend to have negative emotions associated with money. They don't check their bank account. They don't budget. They don't do certain things consistently because they don't like how it makes them feel and so they just avoid doing it all together. So that's a mindset deal. But once you get past that and you're actually able to be present with your cash flow. Then the skill of managing that cash flow comes in that is setting aside up money for taxes setting aside enough money for investing for a rainy day and then and then allocating how much of that money. Are you going to set aside for meaningful expenses and and and necessities and things like that. So. Having the mindset having this skill they need to both be online and most people can't even look at the skill part until they've handled the mindset. So go do those journal entries about your parents and that's all I got for yall today you good max.

01:10:00.64

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, you're like a financial freud. Ah.

01:10:05.68

mikebledsoe

Ah, we should name the show that one all right brother. Love you see all next week

01:10:09.72

Max Shank

Ah, love you. Thank you guys see ya.

How to Do Drugs Jan 31, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Hope you're having a great start to your week so far and we're going to get going with drugs. This week we're going to talk about drugs drugs inside your body drugs outside your body when to use them how to use them and let's just start with the fact that you're probably using all kinds of drugs every day and the word drugs is almost a little bit taboo. But we're gonna break it down step by step and go through what the most common drugs are and how to use them to your advantage rather than have them use you mike thanks for joining me here.

00:46.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was yeah, thanks for having? Oh yeah I didn't have I had you or do you have me? we have each other. Okay I always find it interesting I I remember one of my favorite people. Ah, he's like 50 years sober and you know when I first found out he's like ah I've never had a beer I've never had a cigarette I've never had like I limit my coffee all this stuff and I was like he's like yeah I'm sober I don't do anything I'm like oh you so full of shit like year quick. It's just so funny where like people want to draw the line of like you're ah you're using chemicals all the time to change your state and a lot of people use something like sugar as a drug or whatever to say that you've never done that.

01:33.75

Max Shank

Oh.

01:44.36

mikebledsoe

Is is really ridiculous, but your state is always shifting the chemicals in your body are always shifting and ah some of these chemicals are going to have a much more noticeable effect than others and and it's good to just be paying attention. To what's happening in the body and I think some people just are drawn to more intense state changes than others and there's nothing wrong with that. So yeah, I'm excited to talk about this today because I think that even people who've never done. Quote unquote drugs would get a lot of benefit from this conversation.

02:24.35

Max Shank

Well we got to start with a little definition then because what's what's a drug are we saying any substance that changes your state set is that a truck Aspirin's a jut.

02:30.60

mikebledsoe

Um, do.

02:37.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah I would for me like um.

02:42.17

Max Shank

Aspirin's a drug does it really change your state though very much I mean it has an effect. No question that is the most used like if if it meets our definition I believe that's the most commonly used drug unless you start including coffee and then I think that might be.

02:45.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it does.

02:57.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think coffee is probably the most widely used drug. It's got psychoactive properties. Some drugs are not as psychoactive but even Advil is psychoactive just to a degree in which is not noticeable the average person if I take something like an Advil.

02:59.15

Max Shank

Even more popular. Ah.

03:16.40

mikebledsoe

I May note I'll I'll probably notice something whereas somebody most people just would never notice that and some people are gonna hear that and go you're crazy. No not like that. But I noticed well it's like um, it's like all these people that are taking you know they they.

03:21.00

Max Shank

So you take so you take Aspirin and you see purple dragons start flying around the room.

03:35.38

mikebledsoe

They take pain killers or whatever and it's like they don't realize how much of it's inhibiting their mental state their their cognitive ability. You know I'm just killing the pain. It's like now you're killing the pain and your cognitive ability right now. So ah yeah, so like there's there's.

03:41.49

Max Shank

Moon.

03:48.71

Max Shank

Yeah.

03:55.11

mikebledsoe

1 thing I want to point out too is there's no such thing as side effects like this whole like ha but side effect the idea of a side effect is such propaganda. It's such. It's such a great marketing tool to make you believe that.

03:57.69

Max Shank

Oh I was just gonna say that go on go on.

04:13.14

mikebledsoe

We don't want this to happen and it probably won't happen but it could happen. It's some fucking liability deal. It's not true. It's like and if you go into Science Science people. Love talking about science but like in science there really is no side effects. There is they're just effects.

04:19.60

Max Shank

Well, it's marketing.

04:28.23

Max Shank

There are just effects well look at look at Viagra Viagra was heart medicine the side effect was hard cock now that's the main effect.

04:33.30

mikebledsoe

Had a side effect. It's an effect.

04:40.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so.

04:46.10

Max Shank

The marketing department got hold of this and we're like this ain't heart Medicine guys. This is our golden ticket out of here.

04:53.11

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so ah so I think that and then there's people's perception of drugs is very interesting like I was saying in the beginning is there's like this line that gets drawn and of course there's the the personal line that gets drawn but it. It's always influenced by society's standard and so we have like this Fda thing the food and drug administration who ah the people there are responsible for telling doctors and and stores people who retail. But they can and cannot sell and also what kind of claims you can and cannot make and so a lot of times we go. Oh you know when it gets to the point where the Fda has to be involved now that's a drug or if it's a pharmaceutical now that's a drug or if it's illegal if the Dea which said. Different administration. The drug enforcement administration. But by the way was highly underfunded for decades and the only way they could make money was by stealing drug dealers money. But so their incentives for busting is a little going back to what you always talk about.

05:48.78

Max Shank

Oh.

06:08.30

mikebledsoe

The incentive set up so the Dea is in charge of putting certain drugs on a with on the schedule or schedule 1 schedule 2 schedule 3 so they're in charge of and there none of them are voted into office. They're all. Ah.

06:26.43

Max Shank

Oh.

06:26.87

mikebledsoe

Appointed and so you have this random group of people that are saying these are the drugs that are okay and these are the drugs that are not okay and the drugs that are okay aren't really viewed by the public at large as drugs and so people who are like oh I'm sober. Pretty much. It basically said I don't do the drugs that the Dea says not to do. But I'll drink my coffee. All you know this and that.

06:56.50

Max Shank

It's really interesting because the laws of the land or crime and punishment to certainly influence the culture to a certain effect right? and.

07:06.69

mikebledsoe

Well, some would say that that law is culture like it's It's the it's the basis of culture because it's it's using language to tell you what you do and don't do.

07:14.40

Max Shank

I Mean the chapter I mean isn't that kind of what religion is too. That's why that separation of church and State is so damn important right? because it's all what we inherited from the last guy you know it's this. It's this long chain.

07:24.23

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

07:33.76

Max Shank

Of parents and parents can be like ah a preacher ah Pope or a president and they're like this is good. This is bad behave yourself. We won't get mad kind of thing like and that's basically how it works right.

07:49.33

mikebledsoe

Right.

07:51.41

Max Shank

So we have this idea that there are some good drugs and some bad drugs and the best example because you got to know that there's a lot of things that are done in a very short-sighted fashion and it's really hard to. Calculate all the costs of certain things like I live in California and I believe up until like 3 to four years ago marijuana was like totally illegal right? something like that. Let's say within the last five years right

08:26.77

mikebledsoe

What was medical it was medical was it but it's been recreational flight maybe 3 4 5 years but before that was was like medical in the late 2000 yeah Yeah, 50 years

08:28.16

Max Shank

My friend who is a bouncer for. Yeah, okay, but let's say illegal for a long time and and like yeah and like a and like a pretty bad punishment I think too like you would go to Jail Yeah, that's whack yo.

08:49.65

mikebledsoe

There's people still doing time.

08:53.94

Max Shank

Ah, but my friend who was a bouncer at a bar. He said when there was a reggae concert. They would be full capacity and people would just be in a cloud of smoke and there would be no violence. There would be no car accidents and then when there was a country music band This is a guy who is bouncer there for 20 years at this local bar country music goes. Ah the bouncers are. Running around all evening. There's fights breaking out everywhere. People are beating each other up. There's drunk driving and it's like you gotta you gotta check reality a little bit because what is causing more immediate problems alcohol or Marijuana Now. That's what I'm saying. It's so hard to calculate right? because it's not.. It's not about the substance. It's about the behavior and I think that would be like a good thing to just remember regardless of whether it is a drug that daddy says is good or a drug that daddy says is bad right.

10:01.57

mikebledsoe

But but I yeah totally agree and I think that people and there's just a big problem in our society today is people.

10:04.10

Max Shank

It's more about the behavior than the substance itself.

10:16.80

mikebledsoe

Are more likely to judge something as good or bad based on what some authority figure has has to say than witnessing the results for themselves right? when it comes down to how much violence happens in regard to alcohol versus weed. It's it's incredible. The.

10:20.24

Max Shank

Of course.

10:35.59

mikebledsoe

The violent the aggression goes up with alcohol with we to go it tends to go down and ah you know I'll I'll take a high driver over a drunk driver any day of the week so I don't I don't drive I don't drive either way. But I'll tell you what.

10:46.74

Max Shank

Right? And both are fun. Um, right.

10:54.64

mikebledsoe

I'm pretty athletic when I'm high I'm not very athletic when I'm drinking and I'm pretty sure that carries over to you know maneuvering a vehicle.

11:05.70

Max Shank

Here's another here's another quotable phrase though. The devil is in the dosage if you want to do some endurance Work. You get a little high if you want to lift something real heavy. You just get a little bit drunk, not not over the top. But there's going to be a different effect. You're going to go sympathetic nervous System. You're going to go. You know, get ratcheted up into more fight or flight mode with a little booze in you a little liquid courage and if you light up.

11:32.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

11:38.62

Max Shank

The cannabinoid system by ingesting inhaling whatever some thccbd you're going to be able to push through those normal endurance plateaus that you would hit psychologically. So. There's a big difference between a. Using drugs and using drugs and that can be a fine line for some people but you know along with the devil is in the dosage and the substance is less important than the behavior you got to reconsider. Ah. Labeling some is good and some is bad and like does it really make sense to throw like a drug addict in jail or a drug user in jail I mean part of the reason you know I'm kind of switching topics here a little bit but a lot of reason that gangs have power is because. Certain special drugs are illegal and if they were legal there would they wouldn't have any there would be no incentive to go buy drugs from a you know a thug with a machine gun if you can go get it at Cvs like you got to imagine the.

12:39.83

mikebledsoe

No.

12:55.91

Max Shank

Benefit to society would be much better.

12:57.34

mikebledsoe

Yeah, people don't really think about that I I think a lot of people miss that and that making a product black market making it Illegal. You're gonna get arrested for it. It's hard to make that actually creates some some interesting variables. But. 1 of the things that it creates is it creates violence because now now you have to be secretive about It. You have to form gangs to protect Yourself. You've you've got to do all these things and then in addition to that The ah the.

13:26.74

Max Shank

13:36.58

mikebledsoe

Dosage starts getting really concentrated like cocaine becoming illegal. They were trying to figure out how do we? How do we make it more potent so that we can because shipping right? We got to hide it and ship it and so we got to make it more potent. The same thing is happening with weed over the years is an ounce today is not what an ounce was twenty thirty years ago because we can. We can you know, go further with this. So 1 thing I've noticed is when something's on the black market just becomes more concentrated a huge example of this right now. Which is in the news which is fentanyl and fentanyl I think is whether like the number one killer of ah of americans right now the number 1 or number 4 in certain age group. Okay, but it's it's in which is incredibly high but it's.

14:19.98

Max Shank

Ah, in a certain in a certain age group in a certain age group. Yeah, which is insane. No no one is thinking like I want to do some fentanyl today like.

14:31.50

mikebledsoe

It's probably because no one's thinking that but it's cheaper than heroin at this point right? So and heroin exists because Opium was yeah but.

14:37.40

Max Shank

Well and remember heroin is bad but diamorphine the prescription grade heroin totally fine, right? So it just like depends on the context huh.

14:49.70

mikebledsoe

But smoking opium was became illegal and so they had to concentrate it and make heroin and then just keeps getting more further and further concentrated because it's black market or or it's tightly controlled.

14:58.25

Max Shank

And that black market creates a lot of wealth too I mean look what happened I mean I I'm so skeptical of almost any of the history I read now because I just feel like it's ah it's a huge. It's probably a huge web of lies.

15:11.20

mikebledsoe

As you should be.

15:17.54

Max Shank

But I remember all these things that I've read anyway. So I'll just throw that caveat out there but the Kennedys weren't they huge bootleggers of alcohol.

15:24.96

mikebledsoe

Huge yeah, they were well. They were responsible for bringing from Ireland they they were like importing their big importers of ah I forget you know whiskey or whatever, whatever it is. They're they're bringing it from ah I think it was Ireland so yeah there.

15:35.10

Max Shank

That's what I'm saying.

15:41.25

Max Shank

I Mean one one.

15:44.10

mikebledsoe

And they had a they had like a a monopoly on it. So yeah, it built Ah ah, a lot of wealth.

15:49.41

Max Shank

Well and something about human nature people. Love booze that's been in our history for thousands of thousands of years we've been drinking booze and smoking different herbs tobacco ah hashish.

15:57.12

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

16:07.96

Max Shank

All these different things. So it's not like it's inherently good or evil it's it's what you do with it. It's not about the substance not about the behavior and if you have that kind of compassion for people who use drugs that you may be thought before are evil. Then you'll also be able to have more compassion for yourself when you start recognizing how many drugs you might be using that are like the good drugs or the okay drugs because frankly, if you give a 12 year old a 15 year old or a thirty year old ah, tiktok and they do a few hours of that every day that's probably more destructive than getting a little high and doing some yoga or something you know I'm saying so it's all it's more about the the context.

16:56.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think we're talking about there too is the difference between exogenous and endogenous substances right? So a behavior driven as an but it's not a substance. There's an external event.

17:05.94

Max Shank

Um, well it's still an external. Yeah, that right.

17:14.83

mikebledsoe

That's causing your body to create a substance if you sit there on Tiktok for 3 hours your your blood chemistry is likely looking very different 3 hours into it than beforehand.

17:24.29

Max Shank

There's serotonin. There's like a dopamine on and off you're just in this and oh like I call it story time roulette basically because it's 1 screen at a time you shut out the whole rest of the world you develop hardcore tunnel vision.

17:30.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

17:41.19

Max Shank

Your vision gets where vision like is going into the fucking basement because people are looking at stuff that is less than twenty four inches away from them a lot and look I'm I'm not one to say that's right or wrong. But if you don't start. Looking at things farther away and going on walks and taking in long distances your eyes will completely deteriorate anyway to your point. Yes, if you're consuming media and the hormone cascade is the result of that I would still call the. Scrolling media the drug that is initiating the production of endogenous compounds.

18:26.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and the same for the the runners high. It's like when those things where I meet someone's like oh I've been sober I'm like but you run like ten twenty miles every other day or every day to stay sane right? They're like oh I gotta like you know.

18:32.68

Max Shank

Yeah.

18:43.23

Max Shank

Okay.

18:46.49

mikebledsoe

I Don't work out if I don't get that hot and if I can't work out hard if I can't push it I got someone gets an injury and they they're you know they just they get depressed and everything just goes in the shitter because they can't exercise I'm like you are so addicted to those neurotransmitters and those hormones. Um, and one of them being a nadoide na nadoide is this is the substance your body creates when you get into that runner's high that that what most people call endorphins. It's not endorphins. It's a nadomite and. Um, it's part of the Endo Cannabinoids system and that's it's really powerful because it's it. Ah, it's very similar and it and it attaches to the cell the same way T Hc does and so. This is why you'll find people who like to roll jujitsu or go for long endurance events and they smoke weed Beforehand or have an edible beforehand because not you get that you get that runner's high immediately. So I get running and I actually everyone knows when they slip into that Groove. It's.

19:57.33

Max Shank

Like a flow. Yeah.

19:57.98

mikebledsoe

You know you get like five miles in you get into the flow smoke some weed beforehand you'll be in flow in about 60 seconds and then when your body also pumps out the nadomite on top of that t hc that's a it's a double dose of runner's high so you know ah that that. Nothing wrong with that I enjoy doing that myself. Another example of this would be I've gone to the peruvian mountains and I fly in and immediately someone hands me a big bag of coca leaves. So just raw coca leaves which is not cocaine cocaine. Takes coca leaves and they break it down into ah such a concentration that you know it's it's incredibly higher. But I take the coca leaves I I wrap some stuff in there. It's some enzymes that basically help it break down better I chew on it and now like it does elevate my mood. And I can deal better with elevation. It keeps you from getting elevation sickness. So little little things that ah that are just I think about those 2 things kind of together because.

20:58.13

Max Shank

Ah.

21:11.70

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's just a simple thing to add in. That's gonna give you more of what you already were We're gonna get or wanted.

21:18.98

Max Shank

Well and the devil's in the dosage. You know people are really fond of the term biohacker and I got to say it sounds like a really cool thing to be and I guess ah you know my. Natural state with things is one of mockery. So I like can't help but make fun of anything that sounds silly or you know people who say forward ambulation instead of walking it just like makes me laugh I can't take them serious. Ah, but the the nuance the context. Ah, using these substances to your advantage I mean imagine trying to build a business without a cell phone and imagine imagine imagine trying to build a business with a cell phone and a cell phone is another dopamine machine. You can use it or it can use you social media same thing you can use it or it can use you a little bit of Coca leaves boom mood elevator ah less sensitive to the higher altitude. Fantastic! ah. Tiny bit of booze wham maybe a deadlift pr a little bit of marijuana and maybe your best five mile runtime ever or flow state. You know, better music. Whatever um, so the context matters so much the dosage. Matters so much and recognizing that anything that is changing your state that way. It is a drug and the good and evils of it should be determined on an individual basis rather than like broad strokes with law in my opinion. You know that's that's my perspective is that the cost of having like a war on drugs which seems like it's just been a colossal failure to me is way lower than the benefit across the board.

23:21.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean the the intentions of the war on drugs I mean there's a lot of speculation that you know had more to do with just suppressing minorities and and things like that and it's a great excuse to put people in Jail maybe shut up protesters. You know that went after psychedelics in the.

23:32.45

Max Shank

Yeah.

23:41.22

mikebledsoe

Sixty S because of the Hippie movement And yeah, there's a lot of that going on and the other thing. Um.

23:45.80

Max Shank

I mean it seems it just seems crazy that there's a such thing as a nonviolent crime in the first place but to have nonviolent crimes like go to jail instead of like compensate who anyway the whole thing is like.

23:55.68

mikebledsoe

Right.

24:04.71

Max Shank

Crazy to me. Yeah.

24:05.20

mikebledsoe

It's insane. It's insane. Well, the other thing is I wanted to mention this earlier which is prohibition people don't if we look at prohibition of alcohol that happened you know a hundred years ago in the us ah, it created Al Capone and all these gangsters and. All this and they were having shootouts with the cops they lift prohibition on alcohol. What? what happens the gangs just kind of go away like like they they may still be operating but they're not nearly as violent. Maybe they they probably moved to a lot of them that were in the business of trafficking. Alcohol probably moved into opium or something else that was illegal. I mean if you watch narcos which is based on true story. But you know obviously it's hollywooded up. Ah you know they basically go oh the weed's not paying enough. We'll move to cocaine and so. Those types of people who are always looking to play at the edges are always going to go there no matter what the substance is that that is black marketed.

25:09.64

Max Shank

No no question. It's hilarious that phrase crime doesn't pay but when you define something as a crime it pays handsomely like who's who's who's more wealthy than a Colombian Drug lord.

25:17.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, crime pays when you don't get paid Just don't get caught.

25:29.59

Max Shank

I mean unless you own a pharmaceutical company then you have legal drugs even more widespread use and you're even richer like those are some of the richest people on the planet. You know you look at you look at the different. Okay so is Netflix a drug is watching.

25:39.83

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

25:47.96

Max Shank

Media for hours and hours a drug. Yeah I mean there's no surprise that people gravitate toward maximum curiosity and maximum safety simultaneously. It completely satisfies our 2 most primal desires. Ah, that define human beings we want safety so you're inside your house or wherever you're in your own little world looking at your telephone or watching the screen and then you see the most outlandish you know game of thrones narcos like ah people like. Raping and killing each other and you're like I'm safe at home and I'm watching this like crazy dragons flying around everywhere. It's it's makes sense to me and look what are the the top companies in the world right now. It's ah like Facebook Amazon Apple Netflix. What's the g fang can't remember right now I should know that Google thank you I guess I could have googled it and figured that out. But that's so isn't that incredible.

26:49.90

mikebledsoe

Google.

27:00.84

mikebledsoe

That's now a definition in the there's else Google now made the dictionary by the way.

27:03.90

Max Shank

Well I mean what's incredible about that is that they have avoided um, being considered a monopoly that's that's incredible. We're gonna get too far off track I take it back. We'll save it for another time.

27:21.71

mikebledsoe

Alright I'll bring it back but let's get back the drugs so I like the classified drugs in the 2 categories. So when I talk to people and they get they they want to challenge me on like yeah I'm like.

27:21.84

Max Shank

We we can't do this. We have to stay on drugs. Um.

27:40.57

mikebledsoe

On on drugs and by the way I had someone on Instagram the other day just posting trolling me in the comments telling me I was ah was addicted to drugs and shit and it was pretty comical. They got blocked fuck them but they I mean you can talk a lot of shit to me in the comments I'll I'll respond back I enjoy. Back and forth. But when you just start when it starts getting ridiculous and there's not actually a conversation you're getting blocked. This person is probably listening to this I have a few trolls that know way too much about me which is which is a little creepy but um.

28:04.53

Max Shank

So.

28:10.62

Max Shank

Um, ah must make you feel pretty special.

28:17.83

mikebledsoe

not not the kind of special I want to feel but ah when I get talking to people and they go ah, you know they they start lumping in say alcohol and heroin and with lsd in the same category of drug and I go. These are not the same. They're the opposite of each other to to put them in the same category and the category is drugs and I think it's good that we're using that name for this show and using it in this way because it really should be normalized I think the only way is to do it is to say drugs are. Fine and we need to talk about the drugs inside this context when you're growing up. There's like don't do drugs and all these things fall into the same thing so we're programmed to drop everything in the drugs category and there's 2 different types of drugs. There's drugs that make you feel less and there's drugs that make you feel more. And there's a lot of those are just like two sides of a spectrum. It's a concept. There's so much in between I mean when I think about using drugs I think of myself inside of a sphere and I can go not just three hundred and sixty degrees but three hundred and sixty degrees times three hundred and sixty degrees go in any direction I want to push my state into but there's largely. There's feeling less drugs and feeling more drugs and the feeling less drugs would be heroin alcohol these things that sedate you in a way that that it it. Keeps you from having the full human experience right? right.

29:56.79

Max Shank

Reduces your sensitivity and others increase your sensitivity like alcohol and weed are the perfect examples that I think most people can understand.

30:03.78

mikebledsoe

And so most people I think they associate or I'll talk to someone about having mushrooms and they go why I don't want to like you know I blacked out once on alcohol and I'm like this is you're not going to black out on mushrooms for one and but you're. Your awareness on alcohol is being so depressed and your awareness on on mushrooms is being if you've never done it if you've never done any psychedelics. It's It's an expansion that you'll never you'll break through multiple levels of expansion of consciousness that is indescribable. And the to to put these 2 things in the same category I think is a a huge disservice and it's a great way to just not learn about it. You know people just they just would rather not know shit about it and just. Avoid it because someone told them to yeah, it is easier. Okay, um.

30:59.36

Max Shank

Well, it's easier to do that. Also right drugs are bad. Okay, you know, ah I mean the less nuance and context there is the less clear your understanding is going to be the more likely you are to just follow the closest. Authority figure. Um, so this this idea that we go into an a a meeting and then out in the hallway you got chain smoking and donut eating I mean look if you if you're an alcoholic and you.

31:19.82

mikebledsoe

Accurate.

31:37.67

Max Shank

And you like having that term attached to you and maybe you used to like beat your get drunk and beat your wife every night and now instead you chain smoke and eat donuts I think that's an improvement. Okay maybe we can do better but it's still a step in the right direction but this this whole idea. Of like substituting 1 addiction for another and that could be a whole um, different thing I've had some great talks with people about addiction and the hardest part is to define. It. The best definition I've heard is ah. Repeated behavior that gives you an outcome. You don't want that That's my favorite definition for addiction. So regardless of what the substance is go for it.

32:16.51

mikebledsoe

E. Well I would say yeah people are one of the things I've noticed in my coaching with people is they get addicted addicted to emotions you know they they get addicted to to guilt. And because they're addicted to guilt I mean just experiencing guilt a terrible outcome. But yeah I think was it a? Ah, What's his name toll.

32:46.91

Max Shank

It's like the familiar pain versus uncertainty a lot of people go into that.

32:57.87

mikebledsoe

Be here. Not be here now that's Ram Das Ah not Ram das the power of now. Well he talks about the pain body and basically there's certain things that you're basically getting addicted to this is I associate this with being accepted or loved or whatever it is or.

32:58.60

Max Shank

Ram Das Tolly is a power of now.

33:06.41

Max Shank

Threat.

33:16.22

Max Shank

Right.

33:17.83

mikebledsoe

This is how I learned to survive when things became stressful or I'm afraid that I'm not going to be loved so now I need to respond in this way and so we we get addicted to there's this emotional pattern that is wreaking Havoc on our lives and so we're addicted to it So there's it Oh fuck. Yeah.

33:23.85

Max Shank

Right? Well you ever met someone addicted to drama. You know what's you know? what's funny I've never heard.

33:37.74

mikebledsoe

Get away from them. But we're all dick. But.

33:42.42

Max Shank

A group of people who says I don't want any drama more than people who are addicted to drama like ah a person who's not addicted to it a person who actually doesn't want trauma doesn't even use that phrase but a person who's addicted to it.

33:59.97

mikebledsoe

Totally totally.

34:02.10

Max Shank

Always uses that phrase. It's one of the most and and I I'm like addicted to peace I like like drama is uncomfortable like I want to avoid it at all costs I don't mind a little confrontation but I don't want to. So for me I was just like whoa. This is insane that someone could actually want this like this and continue to either consciously or subconsciously manifest these situations of hardcore drama.

34:34.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well we're we're all addicted to drama I mean if you if you buy into any narrative at all. It's because you enjoy the drama of it people watch Tv because they enjoy drama yeah, where what.

34:36.34

Max Shank

Very exciting.

34:48.98

Max Shank

You.

34:52.42

mikebledsoe

What is the character they are playing in that story. They may be a more dramatic character. They may be emotional emotionally unstable. They may pick more fights but we're all living in a drama but you know what character are you playing in that drama and so.

34:55.36

Max Shank

So.

35:02.42

Max Shank

Right.

35:12.25

mikebledsoe

You're kind of like the sit back and probably only step in when it's absolutely necessary kind of character whereas Karen Karen is out there just yeah and then you got Karen out there picking fights in the parking lot.

35:16.69

Max Shank

I try to be like a Buddha guy.

35:25.83

Max Shank

Well and and that can make you feel like you are solidifying your self image or your ego right? So a lot of these back to drugs.

35:34.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right? Let's get back to drugs. Um. Ah, the eye roll I don't think so I.

35:41.98

Max Shank

If we had just done some cocaine before this. We'd be more focused. Yeah I've never I've never tried it but I've heard. It's really fun. Um.

35:52.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah and a handful of times. Ah I don't think the the repercussions aren't worth the fun compared to other drugs. Other drugs are just superior. It's kind of like when you start doing mushrooms. Why people start eating mushrooms like.

36:01.15

Max Shank

Oh. Yeah, ah.

36:11.28

mikebledsoe

Why was I drinking so much you mean on Friday night I could have eaten some mushrooms instead of drinking 12 beers. Wow the next day is that's pretty cool.

36:16.96

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, the the when you when it comes time to pay the Piper mushroom certainly seems a lot kinder than alcohol. Ah, how about? So I mean.

36:30.61

mikebledsoe

Ah, just about anything's kinder than alcohol.

36:36.86

Max Shank

Ah, is sex a drug. What do you think there are sex addicts out there also known as males.

36:40.20

mikebledsoe

I Mean we're talking about it causes ears out, you know. Um, well you know, Ah, there's a certain chemical response happening in the body when you're having sex and you know sex with different people is going to give you different responses as well. So You know you might be addicted to a certain fetish or.

37:06.27

Max Shank

And.

37:08.96

mikebledsoe

Something like that. Yeah I mean I know people personally who identify as sex addicts and you know it was giving them a result they did not want and there's I shit man I I've had some sexual experience a lot of sexual experiences that ah.

37:14.35

Max Shank

Ah.

37:28.19

mikebledsoe

Would put in the psychedelic category of a lot I if you would ah if if you pulled the what's happening to my my dick out of the equation and I would say I don't know if I'm having sex or if I'm having a dmt experience. It's it's It's very.

37:30.83

Max Shank

Oh.

37:46.99

Max Shank

Sublime.

37:48.80

mikebledsoe

Very similar Actually the older I get the more similar they become which is actually really exciting because I can just take get a little hit. Yeah well part of it is learning how to channel that energy. So most dudes are just.

37:51.59

Max Shank

Um, it's an in intersection. That's pretty cool. Well, it's kind of like the meditation and mushrooms. Ah convergence right? like you were saying you can be.

38:06.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

38:09.88

Max Shank

On mushrooms can get this like crazy effect. But um, it's kind of like a shortcut in a lot of ways where you could get there with lots of meditation and releasing the ego and really being here now and being present. It's just that most people need a jumpstart of some kind. To allow themselves to get there to cut through all of the ego and trauma and things like that and that's why um, there are such big changes after just 1 experience right.

38:41.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, huge benefit. There's most psychedelics and I like you you brought up meditation because you know you got this guy this monk sitting on a hill meditating for 30 years to achieve a state. Come back with some wisdom to share or just keep to themselves because I mean most of that's just for you anyway or you know I spent I spent a decent amount of time in South America with

39:03.44

Max Shank

Yeah.

39:15.49

mikebledsoe

Ah, the Ayahuascaros and what chimaro like healers down there is how they they go by by the way. The word shaman is ah is a northern europe like siberian word. It's not even south american so sometimes people give me like a shaman like you're appropriating I'm like no.

39:27.16

Max Shank

Oh.

39:33.98

mikebledsoe

You're appropriating. Are you from Siberia no all right shut the fuck up. But anyways, ah it's funny what it's it's mostly like white. Ah ah, whatever they call. Ah.

39:40.20

Max Shank

Where do you find all these people good god.

39:48.92

Max Shank

Hey I'm not white I'm pink Dude don't look at me. Yeah, um, yeah.

39:52.28

mikebledsoe

You are definitely pink. You're not white I'm pink too. Ah now the ah ah new ages. It's like all this the new age crowd. You know they it's like oh so worried about appropriating I'm like you're appropriating shit left and right more than anybody just chill out.

40:11.70

Max Shank

Um, isn't it isn't appropriation just called a appreciation or or sharing I mean like what if it's if it's good. It's good.

40:11.11

mikebledsoe

Ah, but ah, it's pretty. Yeah I'm like I'm like anytime and when I when I hang out with we'll we'll say quote unquote shamans in South America because that's what people are are gonna I think understand better when I hang out with them and I'm like oh I'm like I'm gonna take back what I learned to. So where I live and they're like perfect bring it back to where I live show people like oh you're appropriating I'm like the only people we should be caring about is the people who I got it from and they're telling me to spread the word like this is how culture works this is how evolution works evolution works by appropriating what someone else has created. And then making it your own so people ah people people get upset because some people are really good at making money off of the thing they learn from another tradition and those people are poor I get that that's a whole other but it's it. That's such a deep conversation. Maybe.

40:56.14

Max Shank

I Mean if you like it I think you'd probably do it.

41:06.84

Max Shank

Ah.

41:13.97

mikebledsoe

Maybe we just do a show on appropriation later. But ah so but I go down. Yeah yeah, but ah, you go down to South America they've been sitting with this medicine as thousands of years it at least if not longer thousands of years

41:16.74

Max Shank

Expect a lot of eye rolling for that one for me.

41:33.21

mikebledsoe

And you know they it's ah I equiate equate them that the knowledge that they get when um when a lot of these South American Healers have been introduced to Concepts of Buddhism and hinduism a lot of that they were completely ah ignorant of. Those philosophies of those religions and practices until the last couple decades because while the internet and people started traveling for these things and brought their own. They're like they like oh what we're doing down here is the same as buddhism like it's the same.

41:58.70

Max Shank

Right.

42:10.39

mikebledsoe

The the same wisdom is being accomplished in a much shorter period of time and ah, it's very interesting that people will will put meditation on this pedestal while using all sorts of drugs unknowingly and but. Using psychedelics as something is like oh you, you want to lean on that like human beings have been leaning on and evolving alongside psychedelic medicines for you know, probably tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years so the idea of like. Not using this tool that we've been using for so long that's going to expand my consciousness seems kind of ridiculous.

42:52.41

Max Shank

Well, it's all ridiculous because everybody is trying to alleviate a pain that they're feeling and the most primal pains are ah hunger sexual desire. The desire for safety and then as human beings. It's even a greater challenge because we have to harmonize this concept of meaning and mission and perhaps legacy and so that's why there's such a huge amount. Written passed down for generations. You know you have the bible. You have the doo de jing you have the book of the buddha you have these ah shamans in different parts of the world. I mean we have been trying to figure out how to live for a very very long time. In a way that is is comforting that pain that we feel and that discomfort is the fire for achieving your goals also and if you squelch that fire with ah. You know, tiktoks or heroin. Well I mean I guess that's where you're going to go I mean there's no worries. That's just it's going to work out differently than someone who uses that fire of discomfort like ah a Martin Luther King right and he does he goes the complete opposite way and he takes that pain and he transmutes it into something that he can share with the rest of the people and and that's why the word appropriation makes me laugh so much because it's all about sharing. Ultimately, the reason we write stuff down is so we can share it and the different pains that people feel may have different specific origins but they'll they're all rooted in some of those primal desires your ah desire for acceptance. You know, childhood et cetera growing up attracting a mate like all these different things like how can you um, use that pain for action rather than just quench that fire in a destructive way right? So it's it's very It's very interesting to see why people use drugs and really how they use them.

45:27.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and this is why it's very important to pay attention and this is why I like psychedelics is because Psychedelics taught me to pay attention and in days after a mushroom experience and. Being concerned that I was going to lose whatever wisdom I had had ah received in that first ceremony and then days later still paying better attention to my state than I ever had before and that's that's part of the point of meditation too.

46:00.96

Max Shank

46:05.43

mikebledsoe

Especially if you look at something like Viposana Meditation it's all about being present with the sensations in your body being and that would be sight smell hearing as well and so most people when they start meditating me do eyes closed. But there's also eyes open meditation but it's ah it's a more advanced thing. Yeah, it's it's pretty advanced. Ah.

46:22.72

Max Shank

You can meditate with your eyes open that sounds pretty advanced. Maybe you can put a training course together for that level one. How to sit still with your eyes closed. Level 2 How to sit still with your eyes open.

46:39.77

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, So the the point is the point isn't the ceremony. The point is not when you're sitting in Meditation. The point is bringing that level of awareness and that ah being present with. Your body the the world around you and yourself and all these things as you move throughout your day and so noticing I'm not that familiar with Karma yoga.

47:04.93

Max Shank

That's karma yoga right? isn't that karma yoga. That's you as I understand it's bringing the awareness of meditation to every task that you do and the first time I really got it the first time I really got it was

47:15.20

mikebledsoe

Um, oh you're right.

47:21.25

Max Shank

When I was ah cleaning the leaves out of my pool with a long skimmer and I'm not proud of it. But you know just days before that revelation I had considered killing my neighbor's tree. So The leaves wouldn't fall in the pool I was like I was like what I was like why is this happening to me and anyway I didn't kill the tree I just started to really I I know it's ridiculous. It's all relative isn't it only absolute is relativity but I was really annoyed.

47:47.20

mikebledsoe

Why is this happening to me. Ah.

47:58.55

Max Shank

That the leaves were falling into my pool and the indignance of it all was in retrospect quite hilarious and so instead of like you know, murdering a tree. Ah I started to really enjoy the process of skimming the leaves out of a pool so it was like my little water Zen Garden and.

48:13.51

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

48:17.59

Max Shank

The more you can bring that awareness to everything you do the more clear you get on who you really are and what your mission is what you stand for you know what your value and values are the easier. It is to bring that level of awareness to all that stuff you do and. It's no surprise that we have figured out a lot of this stuff in the last several thousand years and I think if you can if you're looking for wisdom I would look at stuff that has lasted a really long Time. So if you take ancient, wisdom and modern Tools. You'll probably be at the most peace and very wealthy if you take modern, wisdom and ancient Tools. You will probably mess yourself up. Pretty bad.

49:04.37

mikebledsoe

Agreed agreed. Yeah so paying attention helps to know what drugs you may be taking whether it be caffeine or shallow or deep breathing or whether it's lsd.

49:21.17

Max Shank

49:22.60

mikebledsoe

You're gonna if you're paying attention to your state from moment to moment you're gonna you're gonna know what you should do more of in less up or when you should do things and when you should not do things but I to me takes a lot of practice ah paying attention while intentionally putting yourself.

49:41.25

Max Shank

The modern tools can help my my favorite addiction I mean look food sex. Yeah I'm all on board. But Youtube is 1 of my addictions because you can have a true expert on.

49:41.26

mikebledsoe

And these state changes. So ah, the modern tools mean out.

50:00.46

Max Shank

Nearly any topic take you through their whole thought process on anything I can I can go down the Youtube Rabbi a hole for hours and hours. That's why I use the modern tech to ah, click it off at a certain timeframe.

50:05.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:18.58

mikebledsoe

50:20.31

Max Shank

So you know when I'm on my phone. Ah 5 minutes only if I'm on my computer I get 15 minutes and that's it and at least that pause will allow me to. Ask the question of is this really what I want to be doing right now. So that pattern break alone can be tremendous. That's why I was telling you before we got started here um on the door of the pantry in the kitchen There's a little sign that says pattern break.

50:38.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

50:56.39

Max Shank

So before you open the pantry with all the snacks in it. There's a little sign that essentially reminds you intention before ingestion like is are you going here because you're hungry. Are you going here because you're sleepy. Are you going here because you're bored. Are you going here because you're deeply uncomfortable. And I think food is the most difficult drug because you cannot practice abstinence permanently like you cannot quit cold turkey cold turkey you must continue eating food. So like you could quit heroin forever. But you can't quit food forever. There's there's a give and take there. So the fact that you always have to have a toe in there makes it very challenging and look It's no surprise. What do we have like over half of the people obese ah something like that I get I get it I get it hey we we won the game of life.

51:47.30

mikebledsoe

Something like that insane.

51:55.94

Max Shank

We're dying of being too fat instead of underfed in this country that's look we won nice job. Everybody now let's consider how how we can swing the pendulum back a little bit. Food is tough. Food is a tough one but it all comes down to a few of those basic principles.

52:05.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well said.

52:15.40

Max Shank

Intention before ingestion. It's not about the substance. It's about the behavior. Um, you had a couple good ones too. But it's community matters a lot I think who you associate with the the 5

52:30.76

mikebledsoe

Um I I yeah I've noticed in the last couple years the impact of community because I I'm ah I'm a very social person by nature. But.

52:33.58

Max Shank

The 5 monkey rule.

52:49.29

mikebledsoe

Um, a very social person by nature and I've also just like the downfall of that is being too open at too many different energies and and a lot of times like I almost feel guilty about not almost I do there are times where I feel guilty about. Denying people my my attention knowing that by giving them my attention. It's bleeding me dry and ah yeah, just over the last few years I'd say I'd say like the last four years I've gotten

53:11.00

Max Shank

And.

53:24.89

mikebledsoe

Very intentional about my community and the people I surround myself with and not only does it change my experience from moment to moment as I'm in those communities with those people and and having my cup filled but my behavior that comes from being and and community with certain people is just.

53:43.43

Max Shank

Ah.

53:44.77

mikebledsoe

I Like how I am I like who I'm being I like my behavior much better when I place myself in certain communities and I so you know work with a lot of people and the thing that I've noticed you know people like I want to solve my.

53:54.30

Max Shank

Um, totally.

54:04.90

mikebledsoe

Financial problems by doing all these things I need more systems and business and I need no marketing and I'm like yeah you do need to know all that stuff. But you're not going to really be able to implement it if you're if there's no Community. You're not going to loan wolf your way into the good behaviors. There's There's some people that may be able to accomplish what they want as a lone wolf but it's not gonna be as enjoyable and and it's and it it may not they may accomplish their thing but may not be happy at the end.

54:31.39

Max Shank

Also Also, you don't get extra points for doing anything all by yourself as I once thought there are no extra points or Credit. You're given at the end I always thought if I did something all on my own people would be like wow. Look how amazing he really is he You don't get any of those extra points at the end. It's total waste.

54:52.82

mikebledsoe

No okay community is a huge leverage point I mean we see this in the gym people come in to lose £15 but they stick around why community they want to be around people who are like minded we have similar goals.

55:09.10

Max Shank

The the.

55:10.83

mikebledsoe

Have similar values and you know I like putting myself in community where they value something that I want to value more you know, ah people people say they value things They don't actually value. They. They they tell you they value things they want to value but most people if they haven't reached their goal if if their values were already aligned with their goals. They have had accomplished that or beyond such a trajectory reaching it. They would be obvious that it's just happening. But people want to be different which means they have to change their values. You have to change your values to reach your goals. So Yeah and I yeah you just go in their House. You can see and so community I like to choose to hang out with people who value.

55:50.00

Max Shank

Um I think actions speak louder than words in that case, you're hundred percent right like it's easy to see what someone really values.

56:05.81

mikebledsoe

Something more than I do that I that I want to value more and so I use community to shift my values because you know I hang out with people who make more money than me they they have spent more time valuing dollars than I have.

56:21.19

Max Shank

Ah.

56:22.58

mikebledsoe

They spend more time thinking about it and they think about it in ways that most people don't and so just by putting yourself in that environment. You don't even have to be talking about money. But you're just like it's the way they're being. It's there's an osmosis going on.

56:26.89

Max Shank

Oh my God oh.

56:41.13

Max Shank

Dude, that's so true I remember that was the first you were the person who mentioned that to me and it stuck with me was ah you know don't necessarily just listen to what people are saying notice how they are being. And I thought that was ah, an interesting distinction that I'd never really considered before and the atmosphere or the climate in the company you keep is totally different and money is a perfect example because you got to be so careful. Um. Hanging out with people who have a scarcity mindset around money like you probably want to hang around with people where five ten grand is not a lot of money if you want to be wealthy like if ah if people are telling you all the time about the thing they bought for.

57:22.14

mikebledsoe

Down. Yeah.

57:31.70

Max Shank

$5 off coupon I mean I'm not saying that makes you bad it just means that there's still like ah missing the forest for the trees or pennywise pound foolish kinda thing going on there like you don't want to be in that environment of scarcity versus abundance.

57:40.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah, when this goes back to yeah and this applies to you know drugs as well drug abuse. So if you around a bunch of drug abusers. You're gonna keep abusing.

57:57.00

Max Shank

Totally.

57:58.20

mikebledsoe

And the the money one I think is a good one because people can almost everybody can they understand it. They experience it and.

58:04.52

Max Shank

And.

58:10.32

mikebledsoe

I think I may have lost it. Maybe it'll come back. Oh yeah, that changed that that changes people's state Incredible. Go check your bank account. What's that experience like.

58:12.61

Max Shank

Well money is kind of a funny, a funny, a funny drug too like I see I see money as energy.

58:29.50

mikebledsoe

For the average person. You know the average person. Some people they they don't want to go check their bank account. They're afraid to look at it. Some people are excited to look at it. It's having an impact.

58:37.83

Max Shank

I Like to look at my bank account and whack off. Ah I'm joking that I don't really do that. But I actually try to look at it as little as possible to still know the direction that the ship is going because I I don't.

58:53.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

58:57.39

Max Shank

I never wanted to have to like make sure I had enough in the account to buy something essentially but you know you get to a certain point I don't know I think like by today's values or something like that if you make over a hundred k you basically have as good a life.

59:01.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

59:16.88

Max Shank

As the top 1% in terms of like the basic needs like you don't have to worry about food going out guacamole on your chipotle that sort of thing and then beyond that then it's just this new game like trying to trying to be a billionaire.

59:29.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well that.

59:35.29

Max Shank

Unless you have a solid mission that you want to use that fund those funds for like that's got to be some form of mental illness now. It's a very constructive. It's a very constructive mental illness. It's like how you think that you deserve love.

59:44.14

mikebledsoe

There's something else going on there.

59:52.97

Max Shank

You know I have that thing like people want love power attention in that order and so some people don't think they'll ever really deserve love because they hate themselves on some level or their mom did which is kind of like that you get the whole idea. So They think I'll just get as powerful as possible. And then people have to love me or fear me or whatever. So It's ah it's a very funny thing the different way we could do a whole thing about about money that would be kind of fun. Maybe we'll do that after business next time but that's a.

01:00:22.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we should definitely do that. Yeah I'm put in the notes right now I remembered we'll close this up soon. Ah, the the it came back to me the what I wanted to say about the money in community is.

01:00:28.69

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

01:00:39.46

mikebledsoe

I What I witnessed a lot of people struggle with is they need to find new community so they can take on these new habits and behaviors. But they feel guilty about leaving their old community behind they're like oh you know and and then your old friends are gonna call you a sellout and this and that and like.

01:00:55.24

Max Shank

Totally.

01:00:58.10

mikebledsoe

And so so many people are afraid of of leaving that community and like leaving them behind but the reality is is they're leaving themselves behind now they're they're happy where they're at you want to change, you got to jump ship and people are gonna judge you no matter? what.

01:01:13.89

Max Shank

No doubt.

01:01:16.65

mikebledsoe

And ah yeah, the more successful you become the more prominent you become the more of a target you become and so I have to say the more popular I become the more people I have to turn down to hang out and they may talk shit about me but I've only got so much time.

01:01:24.57

Max Shank

No question.

01:01:36.27

mikebledsoe

And the day and my energy is important to me and I'm gonna I'm gonna keep it that way.

01:01:36.44

Max Shank

Yeah questions. And that's great to hear from you because it sounds like you are just learning how to draw boundaries in the last few years that sound right? Yeah and it's funny.

01:01:49.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, I'd say the last four years say it's been about yeah yeah about 4 years now it's been ah I had to like I did cut a lot of people off a lot of people are mad at me. Yeah.

01:01:58.91

Max Shank

I'm just learning how to be open. Yeah, Ah yeah for me I'm like coming from the opposite end of the spectrum you have like this super social like Chimp energy and I feel like I have this cat like a tiger type of energy where I like just. Have such hard boundaries drawn that if someone doesn't like it I'm like ah tough shit Basically but that also shrinks your circle so much. So finding that balance point or creating that balance that you really like is ah it's fun. That's why I like when we chat.

01:02:21.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:02:28.47

mikebledsoe

Mm.

01:02:34.28

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:02:36.48

Max Shank

Because we come at it from such different angles. But interestingly enough we still seem to agree on like almost everything because we really focus on the nuance and the principles and there are very few absolutes and that's what makes it so interesting. Same with drugs. There's no, there's no absolutes. It's like you either use them.

01:02:48.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:02:56.25

Max Shank

Or you abuse them. But I guarantee you're using them.

01:02:59.98

mikebledsoe

Yep yep, any final thoughts.

01:03:03.41

Max Shank

Maybe just that everybody uses them some people abuse them.

01:03:05.89

mikebledsoe

Sound are good. Ah, ah 1 thing I want to mention is set setting and dosage. So the set being your mindset. What What's your state of mind the setting. What's your environment like. And the dosage those are your 3 variables to pay attention to with everything but in regard to drugs set setting and dosage are the 3 most important things to focus on if one of those things are off. You may have a poor experience.

01:03:30.95

Max Shank

No.

01:03:42.19

mikebledsoe

You make sure that all 3 of those things are dialed in you're in for a good time and I'll leave it with that where do they find you max.

01:03:53.60

Max Shank

http://maxshank.com or at ma shank.

01:03:54.77

mikebledsoe

Excellent and I've got a strong coach summit coming up and marching go to http://thestrongcoach.com/summit and I imagine some people be doing drugs there as we listen to music at some point during the weekend. So if you want to hop in there come on over.

How to Live Long & Prosper Jan 24, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back to Monday mornings with max and Mike Hope you guys had a great weekend today. We're gonna cover a topic that I think I have the most expertise in as you know I've just been flying by the seat of my pants talking out my ass for the rest of these topics because. Ah, have no authority on them whatsoever. But today we are going to talk about the vulcan plan how to live long and prosper and there's going to be no bs here. It's not going to be a low salt diet. It's not going to be limiting the amount of eggs that you eat. We're gonna get right to the. Things that really make you live a long time and also enjoy those years the most I'm once again joined by my trusty co-host Mr. Mike blood so. How's it going mike.

00:53.18

mikebledsoe

It's going great I'm excited about this topic. You know there's a lot of information out there and as you were alluding to you know we won't be saying you to telling you to stop eating the egg yolks or whatever I know that everyone's. Probably so by this point seen the on Instagram or somewhere online the picture of the New York Times one month talking about how eggs are bad for you in another month how they're great for you and it's a prime example of just you could you can find evidence to support. Any health claim that you want to make 1 way one way or the other. So ah, what's exciting about that is that's ah, that's a huge opportunity for coaches and there's a necessity for coaches in the world because a coach our job is to help. Create the context we take the context of your life and then we take information that we've learned about such a ah topic that has an infinite amount of information and then distill it down for the individual. So I hope we can do that for you here on this. Show and it it's it can be It's a it's a heavy topic but the solutions are so simple I think that's what you're going to discover by the end of the show. Yeah.

02:16.63

Max Shank

But they're not going to be sexy. Yeah I got ah I got a lot of ideas about that. This is probably what I write about the most um because everything else trickles down from your physical and mental health. Which those together combine for your health and you can certainly have success in 1 area without being healthy necessarily. But that's not really a goal I would like to help people achieve. So I think about this a lot. You already mentioned one of the big problems which is infinite information and along with that information you have a whole bunch of people who have a certain authority and they want to maintain that authority um. You know? For example, the physical therapists and doctors want to maybe ah keep the personal trainers off their turf like we don't want you guys doing any corrective exercise. That's our territory and. There are stories about like the medical doctor boards trying to block acupuncturists and chiropractors and chinese medicine and things like that. So. There's kind of an authority give and take where everyone's trying to promote their specific solution to this. Health thing. So there's infinite information and you also have these different entities who are trying to prop up their authority whether they have the best solution or not and then another big one. We have talked about before is the difference between causation and correlation. It's it's really tragic because I have actually seen a news piece that said salt excessive salt causes. 10% of all deaths in America now that is outrageous to make that claim and I looked at the studies they were citing to do that and it was just a total embarrassment. It could be. That having a higher salt diet is correlated ah because a lot of junk food has high salt but it is just so ridiculous to say that 10% of all deaths in America are caused by salt I mean it's ridiculous. So getting back to.

04:52.80

mikebledsoe

And go.

04:57.85

Max Shank

What you said before which is that it's simple solutions. That's where I have this idea called the popular paradox and things need to look really fancy for people to buy into them. You know I realized as I've been. Promoting my own products and developing some products behind the scenes that people will do something that looks cool before they do something that is good for them if it doesn't look cool.

05:26.98

mikebledsoe

I think part of that is is that people when they when they think about their own problems. They've had such a difficult time solving their problem and so you know I've had this problem my whole life. The solution can't be simple. It's got to be complex and I really think that that's something that plagues people as they go you know I go well have you do drink is the first thing you drink in the morning water and do you go for walks every day.

05:52.19

Max Shank

Um.

06:04.56

mikebledsoe

Ah, go? Well no, but you know I'm doing the you know I'm monitoring my Hrv and I'm ah you know doing all this really complicated on this crazy training program and okay, well unless we and and and people you know just refuse to do it I think well there's 2 things is. Think that because they they haven't been able solved the problem yet that it must be.. It's going to require some Genius solution. That's just they could never have imagined so they're gonna again look for the authority just to tell them what to do whoever they assign that to be um, the other thing is I think that. In our youth for a lot of us. We associate effort with reward and a lot of people never outgrow that and so they think that it has to be hard if it's going to be effective and I think that if we.

06:55.59

Max Shank

07:00.97

mikebledsoe

We take the approach that most solutions are simple and we put our attention on how to be effective versus the amount of effort we put into it people would would go a lot further.

07:21.94

Max Shank

You just said 2 things there that were really awesome. The first is the desire for a complex solution because if the solution is simple. They're like oh god I'm so dumb like how did I not know that if you say. Ah, yeah, double your water intake and walk for an hour every day they're gonna they're gonna go oh that's like I shouldn't pay you for that solution. That's like too simple, but if you have them.

07:53.42

mikebledsoe

07:59.50

Max Shank

Get if if it's true if you have them get blood work done and you're like oh you're ah you're allergic to cashews or something The problem is you're eating too many cashews. Ah then it feels like.

08:13.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

08:17.85

Max Shank

Oh how could I have known that you know what I mean it feels like okay that they didn't figure it out themselves. So they're not afraid to feel dumb. Ah so complex solution else I'm dumb and then the next thing you said was.

08:22.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think I think that's a.

08:34.47

Max Shank

That effort is proportional to the reward. But.

08:40.71

mikebledsoe

Are you are you? okay. Are we on? Ah are we on a lag. Okay, what if your internet's just crawling I think I think it might have caught up. Sorry go ahead, go ahead cause I said something and then it took you like 10 seconds to.

08:45.66

Max Shank

Was that? yeah.

08:55.39

Max Shank

Maybe.

09:01.59

Max Shank

Oh man, it's possible. Oh.

09:05.26

mikebledsoe

Respond go ahead.

09:11.16

Max Shank

Oh no, yeah I just stopped talking. But yeah, basically then the second idea is that effort is proportional to the reward that you get.

09:20.33

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, it's ah what it works it works for a yeah, it works it works for a while. Yeah I think our our shit's catching up. Um.

09:29.90

Max Shank

Ah, it's hard to tell if we're on pace right now.

09:38.74

mikebledsoe

Everyone listening I think we're having a little bit of a internet lag issue. Um, yeah, yeah, well you know I I know you and I both spent our youth living in a world where effort did equal reward and I think that there's like a.

09:42.21

Max Shank

Technical difficulties.

09:58.59

mikebledsoe

And and I think that in fitness, especially that definitely proves to be true until a certain point and ah you only know your own body for and so if you if you've been in fitness your whole life like max and I have been It's probably until the age of like 30 that. It almost didn't matter how what the quality of our exercise was to our knowledge from our perspective and then after 38 things start showing up for sure. But ah. You know going back I I look at myself and I and I can say oh I could have trained way more intelligently way more simply had fewer injuries and gotten a lot stronger and I'd be a lot stronger and healthier now. But yeah I there's no way I could hear that message when I was younger because every time I put in effort I got a reward and I didn't know that the reward could have been better but you know it was a reward nonetheless. So I think that I witnessed this and and entrepreneurs have a fitness or military background and. Usually they they choose the hard path a lot There's like a lot of hard path choosing in with in over time the harder the path the lower the reward and so there there's ah a point in time where it's you got to switch tracks. But the the thing that you were getting at or the thing you mentioned with the like the food sensitivity and so needing someone outside of yourself to tell you what it is is is interesting because these food sensivity tests aren't going to test for everything and then they'll tell someone like.

11:28.21

Max Shank

Well.

11:45.12

mikebledsoe

Food sensitive tests would tell me that dates are fine for me. But every time I eat dates I fart for two days they're not fine for me but like if I only but people will will take a test and then they won't analyze their own shit in a toilet and be like oh I'm fine I got the test I don't need. You know to watch my my intake of you know dairy you know every time it I eat it. It bloats me but the test said I'm fine. So but that's that's 1 thing I guess ah I'd like for people to take from this is. Tuning into your own body and knowing what you may have a sensitivity to how do you respond to all these different types of stimulus and it requires a little bit of living a little like habitual and systematic because if you don't systemize anything.

12:32.30

Max Shank

12:40.31

mikebledsoe

You know, doing anything Systematically, you can't really improve it. You got to it. There's a way of decreasing the amount of variables in your own life. So that you can make those systematic improvements.

12:53.79

Max Shank

Man There's a lot to unpack here. Um number one effort is not proportional to reward but effort does bring reward so one of the big risks I think is you will.

13:04.77

mikebledsoe

Right.

13:13.45

Max Shank

Put in effort and you will get a reward and you will conflate more effort with more reward but in actuality the way the body works for athletic performance which I think is the most rational way to train. You want to give yourself more athletic ability more springiness more elasticity more resilience to injury. Um, you're not going to improve your athleticism. When you go into excessive effort. In fact, you're actually going to start taking away from your athleticism with excessive effort. You know the best athletes in the world are the ones who can cycle between tension and relaxation at the quickest interval and it's not about. Maximum effort. It's about maximum skill so you're far better off hovering around that you know 50 to 80% effort level most of the time. So the whole idea that effort is proportional toward is like ah basically a form of masochism. Essentially like if I'm not ah in some sort of physical pain then my workout which is another silly name is not giving me the results that I'm after so that's ah the the myth of effort is ah a huge one. For athleticism and for training in general and then touching on the nutrition thing. Ah there's a ah couple pages in Paul check's book where he shows like a.

15:05.46

mikebledsoe

The poopy police.

15:04.54

Max Shank

The the poopy lineup I don't know if you remember that one the poop. Well yeah, the poopy police and the poopy lineup is like what the different ones look like and what likely the problem is and that there's just there's just one.

15:10.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

15:19.93

Max Shank

On the next page which is just this basketball player who's this like gigantic log which is the optimal ah defecation essentially so being willing to like pay attention to that very obvious metric and. Ah, just accordingly is basically the type of thing that we are trying to avoid most people want to avoid paying attention. They just want someone to tell them how many almonds should I eat at nine thirty in the morning. should I have for lunch what should I have for dinner and the reality is people are just trying to get out of the responsibility of having to think for themselves and pay attention to what the fuck is going on and your body. Can survive on like bone marrow and bugs like our bodies are so crazy. Adaptable. We are omnivores. We have these sharp canines we have these grinding molars we have stomach acid. We're able to survive on a huge variety of things I'm not saying you should eat garbage every day. But if you did you would probably still survive as long as you didn't eat actual poison so trying to be perfect with nutrition. Silly, but um, you don't see a lot of obese people make it to ninety years old and we don't need any scientific study to show us that being too heavy is harder on your body like you just won't live as long so you're almost. You are better off eating more rich food that is to let you know a bagette and butter and lasagna. Whatever else gets labeled as bad now as long as you don't eat too much of it and as far as training is concerned. Ah, try to make it as effortless as possible and do something that you enjoy that gives you an expanded range of abilities so you have more options because if you're having fun doing what you're doing. It doesn't require any of that extra willpower. Um, you know that's a little suspect to your mood and the weather and things like that. But if you're really excited about something. You don't have to really think about it. So with the nutrition and with the exercise piece I would say um.

18:09.47

Max Shank

Consistency and effortlessness with your movement so approach it like a skill for movement and then with nutrition is like ah you got to pay attention to how food makes you feel and it's it's easy to want to outsource that to someone else just tell me. How many grams of chicken breast I need to eat. It's like that's not how it works man like you gotta pay attention to your bowel movements and check the color of your piss like if you don't drink enough water and go for walks. You shouldn't expect to get a good result with what you're doing and I actually wrote an article. A while back called are you healthier than a plant and it was one of my better performing ones because I gave people like four levels of health and plant level was the first level and it was are you getting adequate water and sunshine. And if you have made that level then you go to the next level the next level is like I think it was dog like are you getting water sunshine and going for walks and then like the last level was like a ah monkey like are you do you play? Do you do things like that and there are four I can't remember off top the head. But. Should Google it. It's a good little read. Ah, it's not complicated and you shouldn't feel like you have to find a complicated solution to health. You know we we were able to live a long time and happily long before the.

19:44.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah I want to dig into here in a moment by the end of the show at least I want to dig into what it is that you're doing and what I'm doing that is that we because I you and I have both simplified over the years.

19:43.49

Max Shank

Infinite information of the internet.

20:01.74

mikebledsoe

Ah I used to take a much more complex approach to things. Um and and you did too from what I understand but you know I want to really get to the remind people of the point you're making of it. It needs to be simple. It needs to be easy. It needs to be fun. And 1 of the things that I've been able to do in my life is create a lot of structures in my life that support the the habits that I that I want to put in place I tell people a lot you know I'll be at a party and there's brownies out on the fucking island. Counter and I put away more than most people at the party but and I'm also when a few people walk around with a 6 pack but the difference is is I don't have that at home because I don't I actually have a life where I don't have to practice that much willpower. There's a few things I have to practice willpower for but Jesus there. There was a time in my life where that was true when I was in my twenty s it I powered through everything I I did start creating structures that support me.

21:01.35

Max Shank

Imagine if you did.

21:20.45

mikebledsoe

But most of it was was I think being just a bachelor in some ways like at ah at a fucking heavy bag hanging in my living room and you know girls that come over and be like oh you got mats in a heavy bag in your living room. Okay weirdo um, but. When I like like putting those structures in place have been super super helpful and then it really does come down to lifestyle and the more I look at the the health problems in the world man there is. There are some habits that somebody could change like I think about my girlfriend's mom and you know we were talking to her about when she was here for Christmas we were talking to her about you know? are you going for walks. How much water are you drinking. You know, are you supplementing with magnesium before bed. You know there's you know I had to remind my girlfriend. She's like I want to have a ah really good impact on my mom while she's here I'm like okay, let's be happy if she leaves with like 1 or 2 things that she can improve. We don't need to go nuts because you have to restructure.

22:29.84

Max Shank

22:35.17

mikebledsoe

Your entire life to just change one habit you move 1 thing and then that 1 thing moves something else and it's ah it's a big deal to create a new consistent habit and so I'm a big fan of seeing how effortless you can you can. Make a habit you know something like going for a walk in the morning is you know, put your change of like this this was advice. We used to get people that wanted to train in the gym in the morning, put your gym shoes and your change of clothes at the foot of your bed before you go to bed when you wake up, you know you got your.

23:08.60

Max Shank

Right.

23:12.44

mikebledsoe

Bottle of water on the counter you you walk out of your bedroom. You're wearing your workout clothes and you pick up your bottle like the next obvious step is you go to the gym or you you know you go for your walk or your run or whatever it is but I look at the society but then we're talking to her mom. And you know we had all these ideas about what she could do to improve her health and in in conversations I find out that she's in an office with no windows under fluorescent lights nine to eleven hours a day.

23:35.65

Max Shank

23:50.22

mikebledsoe

At work and so she like she says why I do go for walks I get out of my office for like 10 minutes and then go for a walk and I go wow you know what? like that walk is actually not that like it's good that she's doing it. But it's not the highest leverage thing. And her arsenal. You know, just just putting a window in her office would be would be like a huge improvement and so it it does become very situational in a way but when I look at what's wrong with the health of.

24:10.20

Max Shank

Um. M.

24:28.11

mikebledsoe

Average American and then I hear stories like that and you know I try to think about what it's like to work at the grocery store when I go to the grocery store. What's it like to be a barber when I go to the barber a lot of the way these people are living their lives is just it's a lot of screens. It's a lot of artificial light. Um, and so I think that you know if for us to have a ah turnaround in Public Health. It's gonna require a pretty big shift in society at large and I well I was gonna say I don't want to discourage anybody because.

24:58.24

Max Shank

Um, well it's like addiction. It's just ah.

25:07.32

mikebledsoe

You do you do change the lifestyle one habit at a time but it's there. There's if you change one habit a month a year later you've got 12 new habits. Do you have a totally different lifestyle. That's that's very very possible.

25:09.27

Max Shank

The.

25:20.10

Max Shank

Um, yeah, boy you said a lot of really good stuff. There. Um, it's like addiction right? because 1 of the reasons I bring people back to fasting is not because it's the. Cure all um for every illness although it does seem to have like some of the best results in the cheapest way. It's funny that people keep looking for the fastest way to lose fat and it's literally called fasting it costs zero dollars

25:58.37

mikebledsoe

I knew a guy who was charging thousands of dollars for a fasting retreat I was like ah you your main thing that you do is you don't eat.

25:58.80

Max Shank

And people just keep looking for other things. But.

26:05.45

Max Shank

Amazing. Did he also provide free room and board.

26:17.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's like a three day retreat thousands of dollars but you you know you're you're getting the equivalent of like one hundred and fifty dollars room but ah yeah.

26:18.83

Max Shank

Ah, ah.

26:25.59

Max Shank

Amazing. But that's exactly it is you need to the reason I say it's like addiction is um, what could be easier than to you know, stop drinking booze or stop doing heroin. Whatever it requires no effort whatsoever but the whole idea of being addicted to screens and you're substituting or you're using all of this time and all of this energy for things that don't love you back. Essentially. And I think of it like an intervention. The person has to be ready to accept that change first and foremost and there are other things that can help new lifestyle changes stick better. You can do it with somebody. That's huge, having someone that you go on walks with is definitely better. You know I have a standing ah exercise. Um. Session that I do with my friend Anders I have a standing weekly tennis session that I do with my friend Carson so it makes it a lot easier when you have someone else that you are ah doing it alongside your your vibe attracts your tribe right? So if you hang around.

27:49.32

mikebledsoe

27:52.91

Max Shank

With people who tend to do more athletic things you're going to be more athletic yourself and if you hang around with ah food critics or something you're probably going to spend a lot of time eating too much so it's how do you get someone open.

28:06.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

28:12.78

Max Shank

To that change and then how do you make that change. Um take the best. How do you get it to stick.

28:21.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like this social component I I do a weekly workout on Tuesday mornings with some friends where it's been years since I've I've done a decent amount of intense exercise. But I rarely like pick up the heaviest thing possible. Or like or or push my ah my aerobic or anaerobic capacity very hard. But once a week I go train with a group of guys where everyone has got ah a decent fitness background. So no, one's moving poorly. But we're going to go in and push ourselves. And you know half the time. It's a crossfit style workout and I I get in there and I and I go do that workout because if I work out at home I'll just be moderate all the time I'll push it less frequently. But I go there and I push it really hard and that that. Is really a check-in with myself because I'm a decade older than almost all the guys at the session. So it's it's actually nice to go do that. So having that social component to do something you knew I think is is awesome. Um I'm curious. What is what are some of your like how does your week. Do you have like ah a typical week and do you have your week structured in a way sounds like you got you know that workout with anders and you got a tennis lesson. What's happening. What do you schedule in your week that. Set you up for success and and your day as well.

30:22.67

mikebledsoe

Can you hear me.

30:32.55

Max Shank

Hello hello can you hear me we should we should pause. Let me see if I can fix the the inner all right? So basically my weekly routine is what you were saying. Um.

30:33.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

30:52.18

Max Shank

Have my appointments that are set 1 training session with a friend one tennis session with a friend and my goals are longevity and tennis related right now. I was laughing the other day because I was watching a little tennis and I saw this guy there this professional tennis player and I was like oh my god that guy's got an amazing body for tennis and this guy is so skinny is like 6 2 1 70 meanwhile I'm five nine and I used to walk around £200 just like a jacked little like brick shit house essentially and that was how I wanted to be I wanted to be ah buff to the point where I was intimidating that was my that was my fitness goal at the time.

31:37.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

31:47.99

mikebledsoe

Ah, sounds familiar.

31:49.32

Max Shank

So My my training reflected those goals heavier weights more weights. Lots of food move bigger weights faster all that stuff and now my goals are completely the opposite. That I want to be able to move around quickly. I don't want to be carrying around a ton of extra weight and it's kind of the same thing that I tell people as far as my morning routine is Concerned. It's like my morning routine would kill you my exercise routine. Would probably not be what you want because you have different goals than I do So I exercise every day I go totally based on feel I'm still you know stronger than. 99% of people in most ways I find that if you don't push to your absolute Limits. You can handle a tremendous amount of frequency when it comes to training you mentioned that you have a heavy bag.

33:02.40

mikebledsoe

33:01.92

Max Shank

Or had a heavy bag in your living room I mean my house is full of various gym equipment like I have a huge like Monkey Bar Stall Bar gymnastics setup in the backyard with several. Ropes and pulleys and a sled and all kinds of stuff and then in the garage I have different isometric trainers that I've built and balance beams and platforms and all this Stuff. So I mean I. Am an experimenter when it comes to this kind of stuff. So a lot of the stuff I do is just experimenting on myself. Um, that being set.

33:46.50

mikebledsoe

But sounds like you've created an environment where we're practicing movement and improving your skills is just so easy. There's there's no friction between you and jumping on the balance beam with a club.

34:02.30

Max Shank

Totally um I do hill sprints about once a week and it's not the most fun. Um, it's about 1% as fun as playing tennis but I still do it anyway. So I guess I do occasionally. Exercise a little bit of willpower. Um, frankly I think most of the exercise plans that people do really don't take into consideration the actual goals they want. It's kind of just parroting what the last guy said when it comes to exercise. I think people want to be able to move around. Um athletically and quickly that's the most important thing because that gives you the opportunity to try more things I think it's important for be. People to be able to carry something kind of heavy. You know a sandbag bear hug Carrie throw a sandbag on 1 shoulder other shoulder do a couple squats with it I don't get down with the super heavy squatting. Don't think the risk reward is really there I don't think it's appropriate for most people I think like a body weight sandbag squat for 10 to 20 will take you pretty much as far as you need to go in that type of leg strength. Frankly I see the squat as more of a resting position than a position that should be loaded extremely heavily the deadlift and sprinting are far more appropriate for loading up the legs single leg deadlifting as well.

35:50.82

mikebledsoe

I agree with that. Ah I've cut out I've cut out squatting I mean I might do some cattlebell squats. But yeah, the load you know it's single arm catabell Squat load is low Sandbag squats. But yeah, pushing on deadlives pushing on on sprints.

35:53.51

Max Shank

Ah, pushing pulling the sled and.

36:10.35

mikebledsoe

And just different plios I'm with you on that.

36:10.99

Max Shank

It depends on what you're trying to get right? What are you trying to get out of it. Um, you know I think of the said principle primarily specific adaptation to impose Demand. That's how you're going to adapt and you're looking for a couple things. You're looking for the actual tissue to adapt so muscle bone Ligament Tendon. So That's the stuff and then you also have. The neurological efficiency which is recruiting more motor units. That's why gymnast and Olympic weightlifter can do greater feats of strength and create more force and more attention more torque even with the same amount. Muscle So they're able to do more with less because of the neurological efficiency and then you have ah motor control which is also specific to the task. So um. Balancing ah targeting like boxing another good example I know you're into marksmanship so being able to hold steady while you move your body around is a pretty good skill as well. So There's the skill aspect.

37:33.66

mikebledsoe

Um.

37:39.90

Max Shank

And there's the stimulus for the adaptation of the tissue and the neurological drive. Let's call it like how much muscle can you recruit with your thoughts which is kind of a trip so to keep things pretty simple. Try to focus on isometrics explosive movements and then the pump which is not necessarily trying to get as crazy of a pump as possible but it's more about trying to maintain tension on what I'm working. For at least a minute plus so I'm not fully locking out. Let's say or I'm not resting in between repetitions. So. There's not really a rest spot. Yeah, exactly So Those are.

38:27.59

mikebledsoe

You getting that time under tension.

38:34.72

Max Shank

Essentially the 3 big things that I try to focus on as far as the type of stimulus is concerned. Um, it also maximizes risk reward so the safety is very high on all those.

38:40.24

mikebledsoe

On that that also. Yeah, listening to you makes me think about the the concept of minimum effective dose and like anytime I Yeah yeah, well, you're talking about. You know the the sad principle and.

38:51.88

Max Shank

Oh yeah, like I'm ah fully autistic with it now. Yeah.

39:05.24

mikebledsoe

Anytime I hear that I think minimum effective dose I look back on my weightlifting career and how many times did I do 2 or 3 more sets necessary to make an improvement between day one and day two and I actually. Diminish the amount of results I would get because I was again going back to what we were saying earlier in the show effort more effort equaled more reward and what would have been a lot better is a little bit of effort for fewer for less volume would have given me a much bigger bang for my buck. Yeah, and so like now when approaching exercise is did I go a little bit harder or heavier than last time. Okay, cool if I did I don't need to go another £10 I just did better than last time chill out I think I think the wendler.

39:40.54

Max Shank

The.

40:00.30

mikebledsoe

System actually does a good job of teaching that.

40:03.70

Max Shank

Yeah I think it really depends on the goal if you are professional then it might be worthwhile to sacrifice some of your health for performance you know sumo wrestler offensive lineman in the Nfl. You're not going to live as long but you'll be a professional athlete and get all this glory. But if you are an amateur that's a huge advantage you can do it for fun and if you are playing the long game. You won't put. As much pressure on yourself with each training session. You won't say oh I have to leave the gym in a wheelchair after leg day and like look the reality is if you exercise for 10 years you're going to be very strong.

40:46.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:00.67

Max Shank

As long as you are getting the stimulus ah required for a little adaptation and on the other side of that coin a lot of the strongest hands I've ever seen are attached to plumbers.

41:17.99

mikebledsoe

41:20.60

Max Shank

Because they just like use their hands all freaking day they're like twisting pipe on and off and using a wrench and they're like doing hard stuff all the time and then you know there are all these myths that we perpetuate to try to maintain our. Authority somehow they're like oh you're overtraining and I'm like this guy just did 5000 repetitions of the arm exercise that you said the person should only do 3 sets of 10 on like it makes no sense. It's all relative to the individual and you know this nuance.

41:49.50

mikebledsoe

41:58.49

Max Shank

Is what people are trying to avoid right? They're like don't make me think just tell me how many squats I should do on Monday Wednesday and Friday okay, and then we have all of these studies that come out which are fucking embarrassing where it's like oh.

42:04.26

mikebledsoe

42:15.40

Max Shank

We proved that squats were better than leg presses. It's like over a fiveweek period like what are you kidding me like we didn't measure lunges. We didn't measure ah sled pushing. We didn't test sprinting and how are you measuring leg strength are you on the fucking leg extension machine or some shit like that. And what are these people doing when they're not in the and like I understand the desire to do that. But the most difficult cost to understand in anything is opportunity cost. It's very difficult. It doesn't matter whether you're exercising. Or whether you are investing. It's very difficult to say what should I invest in should I invest into ah you know Microsoft or Apple in the you know early two thousand s or something like it's really hard to say like because. You know opportunity cost is about the cost of everything else. You could be doing instead of that thing and that's how I became so hardcore in this philosophy that I've developed which is like what am I sacrificing by doing. Heavy back squats. What am I gaining from doing heavy back. Squats is this applicable to the broader population is it a good risk reward and what could I be doing instead and when you ask what could I be doing instead. It is a mind-blowing experience because you're like man I could like work on my footwork I could lunge I could pull a sled I could do step ups. You know, step ups are another exercise. It's like a friend zone exercise I called it in an article back in the day it was like side planks. And step ups and single arm rows. It's like so ah, that kind of leads me to my upper body training right now is like 80% um, pushing and pulling a cable or a band from a lunge position because it's very athletic position. It gives me the maximum carryover to being able to use that skill from a standing position and wouldn't you know most of the time.

44:28.65

mikebledsoe

44:44.66

Max Shank

You need your strength when you are standing so it's shocking actually like I get some buff dudes coming in sometimes ah and they might bench like a lot of weight or something like that. But I put them in a lunge position. And do band presses at like a 45 degree and they have no rotational stability. They have no integrity through the foot and ankle to connect that entire kinetic chain and I mean we're talking like you know. £50 of force for one arm and they're like stumbling all over the place. They can't hold that position. They can't generate that force through the foot through the kinetic chain and finish it in their hand so being able to. Ah. Hold that athletic stance and shift the weight from a standing position while you push and pull with the upper body and it gives you a good opportunity to explore a diverse set of angles. That's that's like really sweet but it doesn't look that cool and it's. A little harder to measure like if someone says I yeah I benched you know 2 25 or 3 15 or whatever. There's like ah a certainty to it. It's like very cool if I'm like yeah a cable pressed £70 from a lunge position for. 1 minute using a sixty beat per minute metronome people are like I don't really know what to I don't really know what to make of that is that hard is that good and I'm like yes I also did some isometrics from that position earlier and the load didn't move at all. It's like.

46:36.59

mikebledsoe

I I did so good.

46:39.54

Max Shank

It's just not. it's it's it's um it's not quantitative in a way that is very satisfying so people usually avoid that and the same is true. Um in investing also a lot of the time the stuff that's really boring. Just. Quietly outperforms the market by like 20 to 1 you you get that kind of thing sometimes so ah, kind of went off on a good one. There. But basically there are fewer and fewer exercises that I gravitate toward.

46:58.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

47:15.20

Max Shank

In the light of athletic carryover and overall efficiency. But I I train a little bit every day because I recognize you don't have to like smash yourself to elicit that adaptation. And since I'm playing the long game. It's It's very psychological if I just train every day There's no confusion I can do what I want to but I'm not not doing nothing unless I feel really banged up which is.

47:50.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, over the years I've I've gotten more into whole body training each day training for like like you athleticism and you know when you're training the whole body and you're you're approaching it from a minimum effective dose.

47:51.24

Max Shank

Pretty rare.

48:09.86

mikebledsoe

Perspective then you're going to get wrecked way less often and because you're not just blowing out 1 group of muscles which means that you can your your movement patterns are Goingnna maintain integrity if you got a wheelchair yourself out after leg day like you were saying. You're you're probably damaging your motor patterns for athletic ability because how many days are you gonna walk weird when you could have been walking walking normal but to get yoke bro.

48:41.94

Max Shank

Well and why are you doing that in the first place. It's a it's no, it's a but that's a trap like we think that. Ah, if we get all these muscles then the ladies are going to be like oh my god your muscles are so big. Ah you know, whatever, but that's not how it works at all.

49:01.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

49:01.93

Max Shank

Like nobody cared. It's only a small section of the other like we're talking to mostly dudes I would imagine to this but we've probably scared away but was it se twenty second episode we probably scared away like most of the ladies I think.

49:10.75

mikebledsoe

Um, I I so well I got ah I got a Dm the other day from a woman who listened to our our show on relationships and the one that I think we probably several times during the show said well now that all the women have left.

49:22.73

Max Shank

Ah.

49:29.53

mikebledsoe

She loved it and sent it. She's like I'm going to send this to every guy I go on a date with like I ah.

49:35.84

Max Shank

Whoa That's amazing. There must be something wrong with her. No I'm kidding if you're if you're listening. You're probably really great. Yeah, that's awesome.

49:49.50

mikebledsoe

She's listening for sure. We appreciate you.

49:53.39

Max Shank

Ah, no like if we're talking to dudes mostly like girls don't care about that like that is the trying to build big muscles to attract ladies is one of the worst cost benefit. You could do. It's gonna take so much effort to build muscle. And it's gonna have almost no impact on your love life. It's gonna have you should exercise because exercising makes you feel better about yourself. It makes you more physically capable but exercising specifically for larger muscles is. Ah, trap. You're not going to be as athletic and quite frankly, a lot of the way your muscles look is going to come down to your genetics anyway, I've seen some crazy examples where you get a gymnast I think he was the number 1 pommel horse guy. Can you think of like a more insane upper body exercise than the pommel horse like the pommel horse and the rings those guys are like freaks this guy can't remember his name I have it somewhere. Ah dude he couldn't sell protein powder on Instagram.

50:56.94

mikebledsoe

So crazy.

51:09.23

mikebledsoe

He.

51:11.52

Max Shank

His arms were so scrawny he looked like the before picture for a protein powder ad for like some high school kid but he was so crazy strong and I'm just thinking like man all these programs out there that are like trained like a gymnast and it's like. Now, you're doing pushups and pullups on the rings and that's going to that's good to suddenly turn you into like this jacked gymnast body and you know I understand it's the ah progressive promises of advertising. Right? not not 8 minute abs 7 minute abs not 7 minute abs 6 minute abs 4 minute abs and then it's like you're going to build £10 of muscle in a month and I'm like if you're hitting puberty and doing steroids at the same time that might be possible. But. You know it's just these ridiculous expectations and that's another trap too is don't expect like an 8 to twelve week solution for you know, athletics and muscle building like even the idea of that. Is. It's just crazy to me like if you want to have long-term success. You have to like go into it thinking I'm going to make a lifestyle change and I'm going to train until I'm dead. That's that's the smart play there not like I'm gonna try to you know.

52:42.28

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, why that but the the further we look out and the further we set our goals the better. Our decisions will be from day to day you know people are setting a twelve week

52:47.35

Max Shank

Whatever in eight weeks I mean I could just go on a good one here but go on.

53:01.77

mikebledsoe

Goal which is you know? ah in twelve weeks I want a pr or I want to achieve this thing if you're always in a if you're always in a twelve week block and that does work when you're younger for sure. But if you're always thinking in twelve week blocks and you're not thinking about.

53:08.37

Max Shank

Can be good.

53:19.14

mikebledsoe

What about 3 twelve week blocks from now you're going to and you know you pick up well back in the day when I was a kid you know picking up a magazine. It's like you know a 6 weekek program or twelve week program to bigger pecs or whatever it is and if you're always training like that then you're.

53:27.64

Max Shank

53:37.48

mikebledsoe

You're not going to age well. But if you go what is my 10 year goal like I have I have an end of life goal I'm working 100 years into the future and I say I'm training for 100 years from now. And my my goal is to be able to wipe my ass until a day I die being able to get enough thoracic rotation and be able to stand there and wipe my ass. That's a lot of old people can't do it. They cannot wipe their own ass and so. I um, yeah, yeah, well you know I'm 40 now sorry my my goals have become more practical but ah these the setting a goal that's ten years out you know I look I go what am I gonna how do I want to be when I'm 50.

54:13.53

Max Shank

It's a very practical goal.

54:31.80

mikebledsoe

And it it's and I train how I want to be when I'm 50 I train like that today. Yeah I'm moving towards that which really takes the stress from off of trying to be in a hurry to achieve anything. Yeah, if you're if you. If you're trying to make improvements in twelve weeks you're go to be in a hurry. You're probably not going to abide by the minimum effective dose rule. You are going to give yourself a maximal dose you may value intensity over frequency. I find that having a longer term goal when I when I turned in my short term goals for longer term goals. Um I started seeing the value in frequency over intensity I saw it's like oh I would rather squat every day a little bit. Then to squat a lot a bit one day and then be too sort of squat for a week so um I really like that's another thing that really comes with longer term planning is like you were saying you work out every day you yeah you have a movement practice every day I have the same thing I move. Every day. Um I'd say about once a month I take a day where I just I get up and I don't move I just completely just let it all go which is fine. Um, which I think is pretty healthy. But yeah I value frequency over intensity and I think that.

56:02.52

Max Shank

Become the couch.

56:05.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and then that does I think that is impacted by having a longer term goal I'm like look I got 10 years this is more about and it's also a little bit easier for us because we're maintaining a pretty solid base so there's like um if I am as good as I am.

56:21.64

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

56:25.32

mikebledsoe

Now in 10 years I'm fucking excited about it. So there's also something to be set for that. No.

56:30.90

Max Shank

Right? Yeah, lots of good stuff there too I think pretty much hurrying or being greedy is what hurts people the most that might be the only thing that hurts people.

56:44.60

mikebledsoe

56:49.50

Max Shank

They're greedy for more range of motion. They're greedy because they're not willing to wait for the results that will come if they're patient. That's true with so many things very novel concept. Um.

56:55.50

mikebledsoe

Um.

57:05.50

Max Shank

However, I would say that just the same way. You could take a year long goal or a 5 year goal and break it down into steps I think it can be beneficial to have a twelve week goal sometimes if you're approaching it with that patience in mind.

57:20.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean I'm I'm a big fan of breaking down 10 years into 3 year to 1 year to twelve weeks same in in business. Um I just when I was younger I didn't have 10 year goals yeah I didn't have 10 year goals when I was 22 I I wanted to make it to.

57:24.81

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, exactly I figured you meant that too. Yeah.

57:39.87

mikebledsoe

To get to national championships this year and which meant that I needed to qualify you know this year for for that and which means I need to boom boom boom and definitely wasn't planning like i.

57:53.77

Max Shank

Right.

57:56.25

mikebledsoe

In my head I'm like yeah I'll still be doing this in 5 years but I had 0 fucking plan on how to be how I was gonna be doing that 5 years ah yeah

58:04.46

Max Shank

Yeah, it's tribalism usually that leads us toward these very artificial goals like the whole idea that your self worth is somehow going to be influenced by the amount of pounds you can lift. Is one of those absurd things that would be so difficult to explain to an alien. It's like wait. What? like Yeah yeah, if I I if I lift ah a weight in this certain way then the members of my tribe will love me quite a lot more and I will be revered for this. And here's the funny part that 100 % happened with me 100% um, and I felt good and people were like wow max you're so good. Not verbatim. They didn't say that but essentially that was the message. Wow you're so good and I was like wow you know.

58:44.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

59:01.23

Max Shank

Feel really good now and I was like how about if I lift a few more pounds Next time they're like then you would be even more good and so it's just this self-fulfilling Prophecy even better. Ah yeah, ah well, it's like sometimes.

59:08.23

mikebledsoe

You be even better Will love you more.

59:21.14

Max Shank

When I'm doing Hill sprints I go I'm not even chasing anything or anybody like what am I doing out here shouldn't I be chasing something ah when I'm when I'm doing Sandbag carries.

59:28.66

mikebledsoe

Um, I used to I used to a warm up where I would chase my dog around the gym.

59:36.97

Max Shank

I'm doing Sandbag carries I'm like shouldn't I be building a wall. It just feels like very silly sometimes so that's if I'm going to be training if I'm going to be exercising. It should be extremely efficient.

59:39.62

mikebledsoe

Maybe maybe you should be.

59:56.43

Max Shank

You know I should be maximizing the amount of force that I can create and minimizing the risk of injuring myself otherwise I should like go play something that requires no willpower. That's fun I mean playing games. Like tennis or wrestling or something like that is like way more fun than lifting weights. But I just know that there is still a value in that minimum effective dose of training.

01:00:25.68

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, it's actually kind of nice because training doesn't have to be as hard as it used to be getting getting in the gym is a lot easier when when you're thinking through that minimum effective dose mentality.

01:00:33.97

Max Shank

So what is it.

01:00:40.16

Max Shank

Oh my God Well I mean it depends What tribe you're part of dude. Yeah I mean depends which tribe you're part of if your tribe reveres a soul crushing effort.

01:00:45.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's true. Yeah I'm part of a tribe where I don't really ah I'm I'm one of the most fit people. Yeah.

01:01:00.97

Max Shank

Well and our society already doesn't really revere people who are physically strong as much as people who are mentally capable who can deliver value right.

01:01:12.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, why I I Um I've been in conversations with some people and I could tell that they really value I think we're our lag is fucked up again.

01:01:20.16

Max Shank

So.

01:01:42.10

Max Shank

All right? ah closing thoughts here's what I got if you want to live long and prosper. It's important to have friends. It's important to have. Ah, reason to get up out of bed. We didn't talk about that very much but it's very important exercising is important. But if all you did was walk and do taichi that would probably still allow you to live a very long time. It just wouldn't give you tons of options. For high level athletics like tennis surfing etc. As far as nutrition is concerned. Ah there aren't too many fields that have been more abused with misinformation outright lies and those damn statistics. And nutrition so I would focus on eating food that you like examining your bowel movements and just don't eat too much drink enough water get some sunshine not complicated stuff the more you. Engage with a tribe who also exhibits these healthy habits the easier it's going to be so don't make it complicated but try to make it as attractive and automatic as possible. Ah don't rely on your memory. To think of going for a walk if you are sitting in a desk for a long period of time set a timer like we have this divergence of people who have learned how to use the pocket supercomputers and people who are being used by. Pocket supercomputers so set an alarm 5 minutes is more than enough ah to break whatever pattern you're in to move lymph around There are all kinds of problems that are caused by the lack of lymphatic flow. Cause it doesn't have a pump I mean I could go on and on but I'm gonna go ahead and leave it there today. This is of course all the stuff we're talking about is the philosophy that I have had in mind as I've developed my training programs. So if you want. A more complete understanding of the athletics side of things then you can check any of them out at http://mashank.com.

01:04:12.23

mikebledsoe

Right on? Ah yeah, my my closing thoughts on this is have ah have a 10 year plan for your fitness goals and for your health goals and really avoid being in a hurry. So take your time go slowly I'd say 80% of my training is done moderately at a at a slow pace and then 20%. It's probably more like ninety ten but that ten or twenty percent is done. You know high intensity with some speed or something like that.

01:04:31.53

Max Shank

01:04:50.17

mikebledsoe

And I found that to to treat me a lot better over time and one of the things I didn't mention that that I think is super important is one of the things that I do is I book myself first on Monday morning. So every day i. Log into my computer to look at what he and do for work but on Monday morning. The first thing I do is I book out what I'm doing for my training and what I'm doing for recovery and what I'm doing for my fun so I know and I block it on my calendar. No one can schedule anything during those times and so that ah. You know we do tend to live by the supercomputer in our pocket and I I will program in there like I don't take meetings before ten I don't take meetings after 5 and I have all my social activities scheduled in there and I have. You know I go do my sauna and cold plunge in the evenings and I've got that scheduled in I know what day I'm gonna go to the float tank I know when I'm doing what and if for some reason I mean I I can't remember the last time I sacrificed something that I had put on the schedule. So um I I become. Very protective of it over over the years and so I think that that's if I could advise people to do anything that I think is gonna have the biggest impact is put something in the schedule on your calendar that you're gonna do for yourself. Ah. Check in with that every single week and you're gonna make a lot of progress in that area. So thanks for joining us today really enjoyed having this conversation. We're gonna dig more into this in future shows and yeah. Your coach I've got a a live event coming up the strong coach summit and go to http://thestrongcoach.com/summit and check that out. We'll be doing some movement nutrition stuff there as well. I'm trying to get max out there I haven't gotten a definite answer from him yet. Yeah. But thanks for joining us today. Thanks for joining me max. Love you brother and we'll see y'all next time see you' all next monday.

01:07:05.52

Max Shank

Thank you buddy! Love you.

How We Are Building Eduction for the Future Jan 17, 2022

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

All right welcome to Monday morning with Mike and max Today we're gonna be talking about education and you know what this is a bit of a taboo subject because when I get in the conversations with the average. Person and I make certain comments about the education system a lot of people get very protective of it and they they get a little little scared around it and they want to reject things and and 1 of the things that I have to remember in those conversations is that. I am standing from a perspective that's very different than the perspective that they're holding and when that's the case we really need to stare step people into the conversation versus just saying well that's stupid so max and I are going to take a ah.

00:47.90

Max Shank

KA.

00:54.75

mikebledsoe

Stab at the conversation of Education. Hopefully we can help ah expand people's ideas about this and maybe change perspectives and maybe you're listening and you share the same perspective and we're able to help you put it into words more clearly so that you can share with others. As well and this was this conversation was inspired by the show we did last week where max was talking about how he would do things different with Education. So We decided to go deeper with it. Good to have you max.

01:32.76

Max Shank

It's great to be here Mike I think what I'd like to start off by saying is that there is a monumental difference between school and education education is the process of learning. Which is essentially like cheating. That's how humans have been able to become so dominant because we've been able to ah compound our acquired knowledge intergenerationally over long term I think schooling. Especially public schooling and even university has been a colossal failure in almost every way does more harm than good and I think the reason that people get so triggered and defensive when you make a comment like that is because they don't want to feel. Silly for having wasted their time having gone through that system themselves and especially if they have kids that they have put through that system. They don't want to feel like they have abused their children which they probably have so those are the 2 main reasons that people get charged up. When you make a comment like school is probably 5% efficient use of time. There are a few things that are useful about school but most of it is done in such a destructive manner for both the body and mind of a child. So those are the reasons that people get triggered schooling itself is a colossal failure education is the most powerful tool you have to increase your leverage which is going to allow you to have a greater impact in life with lower effort or less work There's a great. Mark Twain quote that says I never let schooling interfere with my education and I think that describes perfectly what we're talking about so there's a big big distinction big difference between school and education. So. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to educate yourself. It is your responsibility to educate your kids and then it is their responsibility to educate themselves beyond that and I think tying into our concept of freedom and personal responsibility. That's. 1 of the biggest errors is when you outsource your education you are priming yourself for propaganda and brainwashing and just essentially you end up in obedience school is what it becomes rather than an actual education that allows you to be more.

04:19.91

Max Shank

Self-reliant and contribute in a constructive way.

04:24.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, when I think about I mean there's a few other distinctions to make here. So the distinction between education schooling you've made well another one that um stands out to me is Dr Andy Galpin he he always says that. Know the difference between education and training and the what he witnesses is the average student walking through the door at cal state is expecting training from a college university whose job is to educate.

05:00.43

Max Shank

05:01.88

mikebledsoe

And and the point of education especially like a liberal Arts education is to is this is this is the way it was set up is that the wealthy would send their kids here so they could broaden their horizons. They could broaden their their scope of knowledge into many different areas. And then after they attended University They then entered the workplace and they were able able to enter the workplace being more cultured having more total information but not necessarily going to school unless you're going to become a doctor or lawyer or or something like that. Ah.

05:37.18

Max Shank

No.

05:39.13

mikebledsoe

A lot of so a lot of people have basically ah in in regard to college. They've confused education with training and it's not training and so some of these expectations around. Oh I'm going to go to college and then I'm going to get a job that's paying me close to 6 figures.

05:46.42

Max Shank

05:58.46

mikebledsoe

You have 0 training All you have is education and so it's ah the the learning is going to happen when you start training or when you start actually doing so I like to have that as a distinction. As well. The just because so many people think they should should have that job and yeah, you're gonna have to get your training after college and which also brings me to ah a. A phrase. That's really stuck with me for a long time which is learning is behavior change and there is ah there are so many the education system the way that people have been educated have been really rewarded for memorizing and regurgitating. And they've mislabeled that as learning. So What I notice is a lot of people. They'll you'll start talking to them. They go I know I know I know we know this because max and I are both Educators. We tell somebody and they go I know I was like why aren't you doing it if you know it. And it's because they read it and they know it and so they almost get they the problem with education system is it rewards you with good grades a pat on the back like you did something good by memorizing it and then you go Oh I should get a reward for memorization.

07:27.81

Max Shank

Right.

07:29.45

mikebledsoe

And so people are very confused about why they're not getting a reward in the real world for just knowing shit and you be if you really live your life which I've really taken this on for myself that learning is behavior change if your behavior didn't Change. You don't get to say that you learned it.

07:47.70

Max Shank

Um, yeah I Really like that a lot I think the collapse distinction between training ah and education was that what you said between education and training.

08:01.19

mikebledsoe

Education and training. Yeah.

08:05.32

Max Shank

That's huge. That's huge um because you can go to welding school and you will learn a craft and you are now trained as a welder but the concept of broadening your horizons or as Charlie Munger calls it. The mental lattice work which I really like so you can borrow. Different ideas from a variety of topics and subjects and sources is really beneficial to your overall knowledge. But I also like the concept there of if the behavior doesn't change. You didn't really learn and it. Kind of makes me think of bf skinner classical conditioning right? If you if the behavior changes then learning has taken place. But if the behavior doesn't change then it has not ah that's.

08:55.64

mikebledsoe

Right? And and going to your point in the beginning is the school has become Ah, it's ah it's obedient school because what's the primary thing that people are learning. And they're learning to follow directions. They're learning to be at a specific. Yeah, be here at this Time. Don't do all these things do all these other things. Ah yeah, there are like you. So. Also said there's 5% of it is useful information.

09:14.86

Max Shank

Repeat What I say when I say it to you.

09:33.78

mikebledsoe

And I think that people tend to focus on the 5% because they want to protect I mean their identity right? because if you come out and say hey you you got screwed over by this education system which you believe so strongly in.

09:41.13

Max Shank

Exactly.

09:52.00

mikebledsoe

Because it's the only thing you know? Ah yeah, it could be. It's It's a blow to the identity Ego does not like to have that conversation and I'm curious max. What was what was your education. What was ah what was your education experience like.

10:02.62

Max Shank

Yeah, and.

10:11.12

mikebledsoe

Growing up.

10:11.25

Max Shank

Oh hellacious of of or pertaining to hell. Ah it. It was awful. Um, you know when you're a child the last thing in the world you want to do is sit in a desk and listen to someone who you don't like. Try to teach you something you don't care about for long long periods of time so it was horrible I almost got held back for bad bad handwriting ah made me think I was stupid and I mean once again I don't remember. 95% of the stuff I learned because that's not how that's not how memory works you know, even if you read a book and enjoy the book. You're not going to remember most of it unless you start using it and applying it in your everyday life and it is a tough pill to swallow. To recognize that you may be wasted 12 years of your life having your creativity and critical thinking skills essentially beaten out of you on some level but conversely. If. You don't accept that then you won't change your behavior so you have to sort of accept that before you can move on in a new and more constructive way. That's like that sunk cost fallacy. Oh well I did this for so long. Let me just do it a little bit more. So. Elementary school. Ah really traumatizing high school all the way up I did go to college before dropping out and it was it was really smart I didn't even have much left. To finish my spanish and economics degree. But I'm really glad I dropped out because it just proved ah how true that sunk cost fallacy is and it was almost better in terms of my actual learning and belief in that reality like. Am I going to spend another semester and a half to finish this degree when I have no intention of using it and I realized no so I went full hog into the career that I did enjoy that I was enthusiastic about and the gym that I had opened up.

12:28.50

mikebledsoe

Beautiful. Oh we boat dropped out of college to run a gym and.

12:30.89

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, yeah, well and I I you know I I bought my house Thanks to book sales but I also failed English in high school.

12:46.90

mikebledsoe

You know? yeah I think that um.

12:48.60

Max Shank

So clearly I don't know how to write.

12:52.71

Max Shank

And the incentives the incentives are backwards right? So we've established that it's obedient school but there's no incentive for the teacher to do anything other than get you to behave yourself while in class and repeat back through rote Memory. Wrote memorization what she taught you. There's no advantage.. There's no incentive there for her to teach you. How to think critically because of the way that we measure is kind of like ah yeah, whatever, whatever way that you measure is. Going to affect the tactics that you employ. So if you're measuring Memorization. You're not really going to be incentivized to build critical thinking skills or expansive questioning. Um same as the incentive for college. You know there's no incentive for them to ensure that you get a good paying job and actually the only incentive there is to continue to increase the price of college because student loans for college are one of the only things you can. Get a person that young with that bad of credit to engage into a contract in I mean they're essentially like raping kids of their future by getting them to take out huge student loans that they can never default on due to bankruptcy So The incentive structures are. Um, completely backwards through the entire schooling process.

14:31.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, by the way if if it sounds like we're just doing a lot of bashing we we do have solutions for each one of these things that we're gonna discuss we want to. We want to get all the problems out there first and one of the things that struck me is you know. The the rope memorization regurgitation is a really strong focus on what to think and as you were saying you know critical thinking skills. That's more about how to think and how to work your way through problems and we have an entire society that. Is easy to control because they're just told what to think if you if you log into Google Apple Facebook watch television listen to radio. They're repeating to you what to think about, but they're. Not telling you how to think about it. It's usually ah telling you what to think and then why you should worry about it and why you should be afraid of it and so this is it's a very fear drivenve experience in our culture right now and recognize this with.

15:34.92

Max Shank

15:47.32

mikebledsoe

My girlfriend especially she. She's got a master's in psychology and she's a certified you know, Psychotherapist and she did all the education racked up the student loan debt and she's very good at what she does like there. There's there's a lot of benefit out of it. But she's also since since her and I met and she's been swimming around the world of coaches who may not necessarily have finished their degrees which I know some coaches that were psychology majors but then just decide not to you know, go all the way or whatever it is and so.

16:14.74

Max Shank

And.

16:25.44

mikebledsoe

Um, now we get into this realm where people don't have you know certifications that fall under a board of ethics run by a bunch of academics and there was so much she I've heard this from her and many other people who have ah. Ah, ah, not certifications. But they have these credentials that could be taken away by a board. You know like a medical board or this or that and so what she shared with me is being in college. There was so much emphasis on.

16:52.30

Max Shank

Right? well.

17:02.73

mikebledsoe

You could lose your license for this. It's license not certification. You could lose your license for this lose your license for that like all the she said there was just so much fear and there was like if you don't follow these very specific rules then you're gonna lose your license and then you won't be able to work ever again and then she starts meeting everybody who.

17:04.23

Max Shank

Small cut.

17:20.96

mikebledsoe

Nobody has a license and they make good money and they get great results for their clients and she experienced ah ah quite a bit of frustration around that and ah, you know and there's so many things that she has because she went through. Like it was the perfect way for her to go she needed to go through that for many reasons part of it is you know, no one in her family had gone to college and her finishing at College made a big impact on the family you know and and there's there's all these. There's all these.

17:42.67

Max Shank

No.

18:00.30

mikebledsoe

Cultural narratives that really drive that but what I'd like for her to get to and I think she's getting there which is being really appreciative for the education she received but also recognizing it that its limitations and and going beyond. Ah.

18:09.42

Max Shank

And.

18:17.97

mikebledsoe

Where those limitations were at which which I've witnessed her due and I I hope that most people can do that? Um, yeah.

18:24.12

Max Shank

That's a tricky thing is changing resentment into gratitude when you know, full well with the benefit of hindsight that there was a much better way. But if you're not feeling that way your whole life. You're probably not paying attention. Like if you can never think back and go like there was a better way I could have done that than I want whatever you're having this can you imagine.

18:46.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, and one of the things that I also see missing in school that that really occurred to me after I got out of college was I remember taking a counting class in my first semester back to school after I was in the Navy and. I got a quarter away of the way through and the and the drop date was approaching and and I dropped the accounting clause because I was gonna get like a d in it or something and I had never gotten such a poor grade on anything and then um I go and i.

19:16.44

Max Shank

Ah.

19:25.56

mikebledsoe

Go on to physics you know a couple semesters later and do just fine which if you talk to most people accounting is way easier than physics for for most people. What I recognize when I look back? Ah what I really enjoyed about physics was the there was so much Context. This is why we're doing this. This is the practical application of this This is why we're learning this and when I sat down in the accounting class I was like all right. These are credits and these were debits. There was no and this this this teacher was so this accounting teacher was so.

19:55.71

Max Shank

Context.

20:02.48

mikebledsoe

Ah, popular for having it being a difficult class or you he was like pride prided himself on weeding people out of business school and I look back I was like it's just a bad teacher like come on you So proud of you Idiot like.

20:11.72

Max Shank

What an asshole.

20:20.93

mikebledsoe

A good teacher would be educating their students really well and giving them the tools to succeed but this is I think this is one of the dangers of you know I met a lot of ah I'm not saying that they're all like this but I met a lot of people who were. In the education department so they went to school specifically to become a teacher so we have to remember that the education system. It's not one of those things where we could just introduce new curriculum into the system and it would solve it because part of the problem is the teachers grew up in a. Memorize and regurgitate environment. They don't have the critical thinking skills in order to pass them down and I think that's at the core is really the problem. Um, you know there's a lot of problems but like. You can't expect the teacher that doesn't have critical thinking to be able to teach critical thinking.

21:20.83

Max Shank

Right? And unfortunately because the system is so entrenched and there's 10 year and there's um teachers who do really well actually become ostracized by the rest of the teachers. And I think the core problem with schooling the absolute core problem is the lack of incentive because if we talk about what the purpose of education is which is what the purpose of schooling should be It should be that you are. Self-reliant able to contribute understand value and values and because there's no connection. There. There's no incentive for the teacher to be able to do that. There's no incentive for the college to. Do a good job. Once they've gotten your tuition money. That's the biggest problem is there's ah, no incentive or sometimes there's actually a backwards incentive so you need to allow competition to happen with education. And there was actually a really good um thing that John Stossel did about education with regard to letting the free market help elevate the best teachers to the chop and I guess there's this. I want to say he's like a south korean guy. Um, who is a multi multi-millionaire I think like tens of millions of dollars because his lectures are so well attended both in person and online and actual learning is happening and. So that's part of it. But also if there was some correlation to how well the students do afterward. Um, just like if you offer coaching I'm sure you've offered coaching with a guarantee before hey I guarantee and yeah I mean that like like ah right.

23:20.33

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, yeah, it's a conditional guarantee so you have to show us the work you did that we prescribed. Otherwise you're not getting your money back.

23:28.54

Max Shank

Yeah, right? But imagine though like that is that's an insanely good deal like if you pay me five k for coaching I guarantee that if you do what we say that you will get 10 k back like whoa. Are you kidding me. You have all the incentive to do a great job. They're bought in so they have all the incentive to do a great job I mean talk about a win-win and so that's my core point is the incentives are backwards and people respond to incentives more than anything else and that's why I like the. The ancient ah Roman ah bridge builder having to stand underneath the bridge when the first guys drive over it and they're like ah carriages I think that's that's essentially.

24:16.42

mikebledsoe

Seeing him.

24:22.94

Max Shank

How everything should be done. Is there needs to be an incentive for the people who are doing the work and the reward needs to also go to those who are incentivized to do so that's the core problem across the board.

24:34.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, on your point 1 more out which is cost and the cost is soared and the quality has diminished over time I think it's at least in the the college university experience. The the government came in and basically subsidized through grants and they ah they stood behind loans. They guaranteed loans so that these banks would start lending money to people that have poor credit scores or have no credit.

25:10.34

Max Shank

Their children their children.

25:10.60

mikebledsoe

Or just too young to even know what they're getting themselves into yeah and so the education loans are predatory in nature for one they predatory loans I everyone I know that's got over $ $100000 in debt when I talk to them about. Experience of going into the financial aid office. It's always the same They're just always trying to max them out and the people in the financial aid office. They don't know any fucking better either. They're just doing what they're told they're not thinking they didn't they weren't taught to critically think they don't understand what's going on. They think they're doing a good thing.

25:41.83

Max Shank

It was just following orders.

25:46.66

mikebledsoe

Um, and and the the ah the cost as skyrocketed because these are guaranteed by the government. You can't be Bankrupt. You can't bankrupt your way out of these. So It has incentivized the schools to raise their rates because more people can get loans so simultaneously. Yeah, so the schools have raised their rates without actually making improvements to the education at all I Imagine it's just made the administrative.

26:12.73

Max Shank

Guaranteed.

26:22.73

mikebledsoe

Portion of the school much fluffier. Um, there's tenured professors that are in ah in a fluffy environment and in some way due to these things. So The football teams are probably getting you know, really great stadiums built who the fuck knows but um. Yeah, the the cost is to me is really disgusting in how much people are spending on education with what they get out of it and that is just long term debt. So it's. Pretty sickening.

27:00.87

Max Shank

Predatory is the correct word I think use the word predatory I think that's exactly what it is I think the guy Mike Roe who hosted dirty jobs and now has a foundation called micro works. Really has done a good job in illuminating the destructive cultural expectation that says oh going to university means you're good and if you're a welder and electrician that makes you bad and I'm falling back to the same examples. But. You know plumber there's nothing wrong with being a tradesman shoot I knew a guy who became a truck driver when he was 18 by the time he was 27 he owned like 3 or 5 semi trucks and he was basically retired you know so this whole idea that you need to be part of the intelligentsia is. Such a fallacy and it's very destructive because of course children they just want to be loved they want they want to get positive attention. So um, kids will do whatever gets them positive attention I mean the more interviews you listen to the the great people. In their fields. It's usually that they got positive attention for whatever it is they were doing.

28:19.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and another part of um, you know the the grants and the guaranting of the loans has basically made it possible for people who would not normally go to college to go to college and. With that has been the lowering of standards for accepting people to schools and so college education hasn't become special and it used to be special and now because everybody's going and the standards are lower. It's just kind of. It lowers the overall experience of what colleges it no longer stands out like the batch but the Bachelorsard's degree is what the high school diploma used to be.. It's It's not. It's not anything that's gonna make you stand apart and so we end up with just people that are in school into their mid 20 s or. Early 30 s just putting off actually getting their life started.

29:19.15

Max Shank

And with the exception of a few careers. It's totally worthless. It's for most careers, you'd be better off working and earning money when you're like 1412 1416 you know you can you can become an apprentice. For something when you're in your teens and by the time you're 18 have lots of money saved up and have a valuable skill and if you have a good mentor a valuable skill that you know how to sell and there's no better security than that. Ah, valuable skill that you know how to sell.

29:59.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah,, let's let's get into that So What are the now. What I want to do is I Want to talk about the important things that are that we should be learning So What should exist and. Education and then after we talk about the different things that are important. We can roll into how we would design an education system that included these things and excluded all the bullshit. So. What do you got Max. What are the important things for us to learn.

30:30.96

Max Shank

First off I just want to reiterate why? what? What were you trying to learn. Why is it important we have self reliance and contribution. We have value and values and we have physical and mental health. I think that pretty much covers what you would hope to learn right? Is there anything else. You can think of I think that's basically it.

30:56.42

mikebledsoe

Um I like that as ah as a context I started thinking about the things that like specifically when I think about what's commonly thought of being created in school is reading writing arithmetic. Ah.

31:10.90

Max Shank

31:14.38

mikebledsoe

If you can if you can read and write you can you're going to be able to and if you can comprehend what you read at a high level you become more literate so that the more you can comprehend the better. You can comprehend the more literate you become which allows you to grasp information at much faster speed. But also be able to produce it and share it. So um, the reading and writing are super important there if you can I Really think I mean this this trumps math if you can read, you can learn anything. You can go anywhere if you can read really? well. Um, that's.

31:46.49

Max Shank

Agreed agreed.

31:52.67

mikebledsoe

To me is the primary thing I'm a little biased I'm sure because like I I have ah a super high reading comprehension but I look at my life and I see how beneficial that has been It's probably because I was homeschooled. And basically around seventh or eighth grade I was learning everything on my own so it was was kind of like forced into reading comprehension. Um.

32:15.72

Max Shank

Whole words usually make or break your life your ability to communicate with other people and cooperate with other people is totally dependent on your ability to express and interpret both. Ah.

32:20.81

mikebledsoe

You know.

32:35.49

Max Shank

Actual language and body language. So it it is the ultimate skill and we are the ultimate social emotional creature. So there's no question that word is important I have it split up into word number and movement basically and.

32:49.63

mikebledsoe

32:54.10

Max Shank

That will give you the mental and physical health that will also allow you to understand the concept of value and if you understand the concept of value. You know that value is relative to the individual like you know, bottled water at Coachella. Is very valuable but bottled water on you know, an iceberg is is next to a ah pure stream is not that valuable at all. In fact, it might even be detrimental. You'd pay nothing for it. So that's really the the crux of it. So. With number I have it split up into economics engineering and music is how I would teach numbers econ so you can learn about risk reward cost and benefit. There's some accounting in there of course and then engineering. Would be where like physics and geometry and structures would come into play. So I think that covers most of the practical uses for numbers and I'm sure that our listeners would have other ideas of how that work I think music is. Ah, really good thing to ah teach people because it's actually pretty easy and the amount of effort required versus the benefit you get both ah psychologically and physically is very high so that would be number and then for words. You would want logic and rhetoric history to know what worked and what should be done differently Ww and Dd and then ah learning about programming. Learning about how humans are programmed learning how to program yourself using language learning about the power of stories and storytelling and maybe most importantly, learning how to craft an offer and sell that offer. And I think that really covers a lot of the word skills that a person might need. And lastly we have under movement I have meditation under movement because it's sort of the um I think stillness is actually a pretty useful. Exercise and then we have wrestling striking gymnastics and Ballgames and I think that would cover like 95%

35:41.39

Max Shank

Of what you need in order to be able to deliver value which allows you to be self-reliant and contribute and it would also enhance your mental and physical health and still leave lots of time left over for. Recreation and leisure and rest and play which I think are also non-negotiables.

36:06.61

mikebledsoe

Yeah, one thing I would add to that be law I think there's yeah, no manmade laws. The um, those.

36:13.36

Max Shank

Law like physical laws or so so crime crime and punishment.

36:25.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, really I mean people people be don't understand how law works They don't understand I mean going back to because that falls under the the word category for you because law is just an opinion.

36:38.94

Max Shank

Yeah.

36:44.32

mikebledsoe

By a certain group of people that they then Hire Policy. You know they create a policy Hire Policy enforcers to make sure that everybody complies. Um. And most people are very confused about the law so it leaves it leaves law in the hands of very few people people people get involved politically in ways that they don't understand.

37:11.36

Max Shank

37:18.77

mikebledsoe

Don't understand the implications of what's going On. Ah and they don't know how to make a change. They don't know how to how to change the law or take advantage of the law or to interpret the law and I think this is something I started learning some of that when I was in high school. I was I was blessed enough to have been exposed to constitutional law and take that high school and I was homeschooled so I got to study a bunch of shit that other people never I talked to anyone who went to public school. No one talked about constitutional law. Even though that's the entire basis of our culture So culture is made up of language in the most concrete version of culture is the laws that are written down and people are going around enforcing those laws I mean it doesn't get more concrete than that outside of.

38:12.54

Max Shank

Or else That's a strong incentive.

38:15.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, or else. So I think that I think that law is is really powerful to to learn and another thing is most of the things that people avoid in this world that keeps them from being wealthy I had this conversation with one of my friends this weekend. Is people are scared to learn anything administrative in nature people due to avoiding administrative load ah remain poor They they don't engage with what's happening financially with and with their taxes. They don't know how to.

38:49.31

Max Shank

So.

38:52.36

mikebledsoe

They're afraid of it and they just you know whatever the accountant says I don't really know how to how to engage in that administratively and a lot of people confuse law with Administrative. There's a lot of administrative stuff going on if you just do these things that you're not going to be subject to certain laws because you went through these. Certain administrative Processes. So this happens with real estate this happens with what what we're seeing in the the crypto markets right now there's a lot of there's a lot of really complex and sophisticated administrative things that are built in a society right now that.

39:11.40

Max Shank

Ah.

39:28.85

mikebledsoe

The only people who really get the benefit of it are the people who are willing to engage in that administrative load and are willing to learn the complexity of it and so I see the administration falls under government and governance and law. Whether it's coming from a government or the governance is coming from a smaller institution. These things are all important to know about if you want to participate in society and make a difference in it.

39:50.27

Max Shank

The.

39:58.98

Max Shank

It's like how you want to? It's like how to manage your life. Basically right? because you know don't hate the player hate the game better yet. Just ah, don't hate anything just ah play the cards you're dealt. But you're right I mean law is so deliberately complex to obscure the truth accounting rules are so deliberately complex to obscure the truth tax rules, etc. But you can complain about how it's unfair. Which it is or you can learn the language of those pursuits and I think the fact that we don't teach kids about accounting and taxes and law in high school is a frigging crime.

40:50.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well be too many people learn it. They might get they they might start thinking for themselves. That's a problem so we won't go.

40:59.71

Max Shank

Well, they might realize how bad everyone's being screwed I mean that's why we also that's why we also don't get ah a transparent pie chart with a list of how tax dollars are being spent because we would all go like are you fricking kidding me. Like you couldn't you couldn't imagine a more egregious misappropriation of funds. But once again that is taboo because people are under the fantasy. That it's being spent well if their tax dollars are going to a good cause and so in order to come to the realization that they're being catastrophically mismanaged wasted or maybe even ah used for ah sinister acts.

41:51.57

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

41:53.53

Max Shank

Right is horrifying.

42:00.63

mikebledsoe

So horrifying. Alright, so we know we know what we want to learn so I don't have children yet. But I'm planning on it. Um I was homeschooled I feel very blessed for that I think. 1 of the things that people are mostly concerned about and it comes homeschooling is you know the social interaction piece and I said this last week is you know the 3 big things we want to learn that the reason we want to learn things is so we can benefit our health our wealth and our relationships. And ah, you know a lot of times people think about you know, homeschoolers being isolated and and I had plenty of opportunity I my parents hired tutors along with some other parents. So I would go to a latin teacher with 3 other guys once a week we would study latin. Um I had an algebra tutor I had a spanish tutor and I was getting little social engagement in these small groups throughout the week so I wasn't without a social structure. It was just different and I think I actually developed very well because of that because I actually spent more time. Amongst adults that I did with kids who are my own age who probably weren't as mature and had I been in that environment I would have behaved less maturely as well. So I had ah I was able to mature pretty quickly due to that. Um. And I know one thing that's really emerged. That's really exciting is this past couple of years. The kids weren't allowed to go to school and they all had to sit at home and and ah, they're basically being homeschooled.

43:46.12

Max Shank

Right.

43:54.49

mikebledsoe

By parents who may not even be interested in it or they're having to work a job and can't give them the attention and it just created this this whiplash in a way and you know they they started letting kids go back to school here in Texas and Florida you know the kids. Everything's pretty much back to normal when it comes to going to school sometimes I have mass sometimes they don't depends on the school here in in Texas and ah, but my friends in California who have children what they've done because California laws are so insane. Ah. Is ah a lot of these teachers have left these these really great teachers have left these amazing schools because they're tired of all the mandates as well and these parents have gotten together and they go oh there's 6 families. Getting together. We're all going to contribute $20000 to this teacher for the year the teacher gets paid more the kids get more attention that the ratio of parent a teacher is just right? The parents are in a constant conversation with the teachers. And there's not just one teacher to 1 group of kids. There's multiple teachers that have specialties and different things and so these kids are are and it's and it's very it's become very communal and what we're gonna what we're gonna be witnessing over the years is there's a ah decentralization of. Everything everything's being decentralized and so a lot of people are not going to like that because it's so different than the way it's been but education is becoming decentralized and it's gonna be very community oriented and when things decentralized things tend to become tribal and what I mean by that is. There are small cultures. There's these subcultures that start forming these bubbles I'm part of a subculture where I live we all have you know we we all share the same beliefs and all that kind of stuff and when you know we have kids and bring them up through that culture that's going to be that way. And we need to be good with other people having their own bubbles and their own beliefs and their own cultures. That's perfectly fine. That's what makes this world such a beautiful place. Um, but what I I see in the future is the reason this teacher can get paid much more. You know it could be making 6 figures and. Not working for the school. So the teacher makes more money it costs the parents less money to send their kids to school because're not paying for all this administrative bullshit and the administrative bullshit basically gets in the way of having a direct relationship with the teacher and it gets in the way of community because it's sets a centralized humane and control.

46:35.28

Max Shank

Right.

46:42.61

Max Shank

And no direct incentive either yet, you need to have um, correlated incentives. Otherwise you're always going to get a worse result. You're always going to get corruption. You're always going to get. Ah.

46:47.34

mikebledsoe

And the incentives are yeah are broken.

47:02.44

Max Shank

Like lobbying. For example, we're we're going to. We're going to convince the rule breakers to give us better rules I mean that's just that's just crazy.

47:05.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

47:13.45

mikebledsoe

so so I started throwing out a solution. that's that's 1 big broad solution. We didn't talk about how kids should be school choice.

47:19.84

Max Shank

School choice. Yeah school choice is the ultimate solution because if you want to send your kid to public school and you have what you consider a good public school and you're well-informed then hey you know more power to you but you have to have that choice. Which allows for competition so that the let's just say like the destructive schools don't have a monopoly on the hearts and minds of kids. It's ridiculous.

47:49.98

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, how would you handle the 8 hours of sitting in 1 spot as a child.

47:57.10

Max Shank

You you don't I mean what could possibly be worse than sitting in a chair that is horizontal with a desk that is horizontal. It's catastrophically bad. You're looking straight down all the time. Or you're looking at the teacher talk. Ah I think for the body. It's awful. You know you could you could do you could do 100% of schooling outside if the weather was good. You could do most schooling outside depending on the weather just with like a. A notebook or a tablet of some kind I mean it doesn't have to be a fancy ipad or anything like that. You know we forget that you pay a premium for a luxury brand like that. But you could go to Walmart today and for like eighty bucks get a tablet that can connect to the internet. And write notes and has a little pen on there. So.

48:55.83

mikebledsoe

For all my friends kids were the school gave them Macbooks once covid hit like all the kids got macbooks I know well you're welcome kid.

49:05.43

Max Shank

Wow you and I paid for those. Ah, yeah, and obviously someone won big on securing that contract too. So that that's that sort of ah backwards incentive is par for the course and a lot of it has to do with transparency.

49:18.51

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, for sure.

49:29.19

Max Shank

I think that's the main attraction of cryptocurrency. For example, especially like blockchain technology is that it's so transparent. Ah there isn't anyway, we don't want to get on that topic too much but when it's transparent and you know where everything's going. It's really difficult for there to be those. Dirty dealings behind the scenes and those backwards incentive structures. So I think that sitting in a desk, especially ah a single desk most of the day is. 1 of the worst things you could do to a kit to their posture to their eyesight to their skin to their body I mean it's horrible. You know if you don't see it as child if you don't see it as child abuse then you like don't understand physiology.

50:12.84

mikebledsoe

Well, the other thing is is.

50:21.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and the other thing that I've done a lot of work in the emotional realm and one of the things that I recognize is the emotional body and the physical body are so intertwined These are not different these are and.

50:21.90

Max Shank

At all.

50:41.36

mikebledsoe

And if you put kids in an environment where they cannot move and they're experiencing anything emotional that they're not allowed to express because you're not allowed to express yourself emotionally in class you gotta be quiet. You can't you know if you're crying. We're gonna.

50:53.91

Max Shank

And right? yeah.

50:59.33

mikebledsoe

You You know, get rid of you somehow or get you to settle down if you're if you want to be happy and Laughing. You can't do that either. So Not only is there this retardation of physical movement but ah of being in touch with the emotional body. So What I see. Problem with the desk is it's yeah, it's the the emotional body also gets stunted in this so you get the the physical body and the emotional body are suffering by being in this and while the physical body and the emotional body are being minimized.

51:17.99

Max Shank

Eq goes down.

51:35.57

mikebledsoe

We are then putting most of our attention on the memorization and regurgitation and so we end up in honoring and really I guess holding on a pedestal. The. The intellectual part of being human as being the most valuable so we've got 20 years of education telling us that what's in our mind is what's truly important and that our body and our emotional body are not as important you won't be valued in Society. If you have that So what we have is a bunch of people who have very poor development physically poor development Emotionally who have an overdeveloped psyche in a lot of ways that is that they identify as who they are and that that. Creates a very controllable population. It's a very,. It's very easy to create sheep in that in that case.

52:41.60

Max Shank

All being taught by an obedience teacher who has no skin in the game for how well they do in life.

52:51.11

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

52:52.80

Max Shank

Even even with the best of intentions I've I've met teachers who are amazing I've also met teachers who couldn't be worse and even if you have really good intentions. It doesn't mean that the action is good I Think that's.

52:57.84

mikebledsoe

53:11.00

Max Shank

Something that I've really come to think about a lot as I study history as I Observe what's going on in our culture Good intentions doesn't doesn't make the action good if your intentions are good. It doesn't mean what you're doing is good. So Even with the best of intentions you can like horribly abuse a lot of people.

53:29.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

53:35.33

mikebledsoe

The the truth is in the results I talk to people about this which is somebody wants to start getting defensive of you know I speak frequently about the the medical system being fucked up and you know what people refer to as the health care system. Being fucked up and they're like well you know and they want to defend it I'm like all we have to do is look at the results I don't want to hear about why you think this is a good idea or not or people want to defend very specific actions when I go look I don't I'm not look. That action. You know was a good theory and it was put in place and all that but it didn't work out the way we wanted to work out. You know the american healthcare system is failing. How do we know? record breaking diabetes cancer mental health the heart disease people. That ah number one killer in the United States right now. Fentanyl overdose. So ah, prescription drugs.

54:37.86

Max Shank

Number 1 even above and beyond like heart disease that would surprise me.

54:44.30

mikebledsoe

I I Saw a new thing I think it became number one definitely beats Covid but um.

54:50.44

Max Shank

Maybe number one? No well, there's ah, there's a lot of iffy numbers around testing and things like that and the amount of deaths and cases there but we don't want to get ourselves censored.

55:01.35

mikebledsoe

Everything? Ah yeah, all arms. Ah yeah, if you're getting censored.

55:09.50

Max Shank

That's always a good sign by the way if ah if someone's trying to censor certain topics. They're probably doing it with good intentions.

55:16.98

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, so so we really got to look at the results and so anyone who still is hesitant to agree with us. Ah just look at the results you know or the results of the education system. What kind of what kind of people are going out into the world. Seems pretty chaotic to me at this point. Um, what I mean I too many too many kids to one teacher these classrooms with 30 kids 1 teacher. What? What's the number you'd like to see.

55:46.28

Max Shank

I well here's the thing I think if the structure were different that would be fine that'd be fine if if kids worked with each other in groups and they were learning things that were useful. Things that were important and interesting to them. Um, then you wouldn't need to have that teacher giving one thirtieth of her attention to everyone all the time it could be done in more of like a ah circuit style.

56:20.70

mikebledsoe

Um.

56:22.54

Max Shank

So I think the number of students to the teacher is relevant but it can work a lot of different ways. Ah no question, no question if you have ah a 1 on 1 relationship you're you're gonna get more.

56:29.36

mikebledsoe

You.

56:41.19

Max Shank

Information transmitted there you're going to get more direct and immediate feedback which can be very beneficial. Um, ah so I think 1 to 30 is not necessarily a problem but it is a problem especially with the structure that we have it in. You know everybody in an individual desk. We got 95% fluff. The rest of it is not really um, taught in a way that is principles based It's more rote memorization based so um, yeah, part of the reason that's no good is. Because of the structure we have in place ah school school choice though is the solution and unfortunately the worse we like dumb down the.

57:20.81

mikebledsoe

Got it? yeah.

57:38.17

Max Shank

School system the more ah like pork belt barreling the more like fluff we throw in there due to lobbying and teachers unions and stuff like that and the less incentive at play you just create are ah wider wider and wider chasm between the haves and the have-nots because if then. You know going to public school is actually worse and worse and worse for a child that makes the gap between that and a private school or a free choice school bigger and bigger.

58:09.43

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I think about how I teach and we break you know Um I'm teaching adults so they learn the information on their own. They they try to apply it. Um, but then they also meet with a pod I put people in groups of a pod of 6 and that pod of 6 is led by 1 of my coaches and you know they're usually got more than no more than 25 or 30 people they're managing at a time but only 6 at a time.

58:32.57

Max Shank

This.

58:48.20

mikebledsoe

Is what they're managing and so I really like that that group of 6 I I grew up learning in in groups of 6 or or less I see a lot of value in that I do like what you were saying you know one teacher could be handling 30 kids if there was a certain rotation going on. But I think most teachers are managing like 150 kids and 30 at a time. So I think that and and the other thing we have to also think about is you know the age if you're if you're 3 4 5 6 7 eight years old you probably need that constant supervision. There needs to be a teacher all the time present or most of the time present you know I think it's really silly for thirteen fourteen Fifteen year olds to be under constant supervision of a teacher for 8 hours a day. It's I'm a big believer in.

59:31.71

Max Shank

59:45.69

Max Shank

But.

59:46.61

mikebledsoe

Like let's sit down for 60 to 90 minutes to focus on a topic as a group and then go go fuck off for an hour. You know, go go ah go to recess. Go move your body go play. Do something you enjoy. If you want to study more if you want to learn more about it and continue to have the conversation. Great. But I'd like to see an environment where like as kids get older that they get more autonomy over their time and how they spend it and. Giving them the space to research and learn about things that they're curious about instead of having this need to cram all this useless information in your head so that you know the teacher can meet their quota the way to pause it real quick.

01:00:31.50

Max Shank

Um, yeah, sure. Yeah, so what we need is interest and incentive. Basically.

01:00:40.12

mikebledsoe

Hear the door knocking go.

01:00:49.19

Max Shank

Like if if you're interested in something and you're incentivized. You'll do it. That's that's what I've noticed with coaching adults as well is if you're interested and incentivized. There's no limit to the energy and enthusiasm that you'll have and if you. Reinforce that sense of ah contribution that good feeling you get when you share with others. It allows you to have this abundance of psychic energy which I think you and I agree you and I would agree is 1 of the main roadblocks. For adults in success in their business. It's not because they don't know how to do arithmetic. It's because there are personal blocks. Ah psychologically and emotionally right.

01:01:42.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely absolutely. Um, how how do you approach teaching children to we. We talked a lot about memorizing and regurgitating as as not learning, but just as it is what it is.

01:01:54.65

Max Shank

Right.

01:02:00.54

Max Shank

Right.

01:02:02.19

mikebledsoe

How do we teach like what would be your idea of how to teach kids. How to think for themselves.

01:02:07.31

Max Shank

So I have ah I have a very controversial method. What I do is I have a pocket full of marshmallows and then I carry a long stick and if they do something I like then they get a marshmallow and if they do something I don't like then I hit them with the stick and I'll. I'll trick them. Ah, into just blindly believing what I say and if they do blindly believe what I say then I hit him with the stick and if they ask for context then they get a marshmallow I'm a little bit old school. Ah no I mean I.

01:02:45.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:49.75

Max Shank

I Think ah, encouraging curiosity and question asking is very valuable. Um I think relating everything back to how you're going to be able to liberate yourself and contribute. Is very important there needs to be context with the content. You can't have just content. You want to reinforce how learning to read will allow you to learn anything Else. You have to reinforce how ah economics and accounting are. Going to help you become wealthy so you don't have to worry about living paycheck to Paycheck. So I think having context with content and encouraging curiosity are probably the most important things when it comes to teaching kids. Um. The other thing is trying to have something physical in the world rather than just ah, verbal or visual something that they can hold in their hands I think is really valuable and making it a little bit more kinesthetic.

01:03:58.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's ah ah well the the interesting there is um I read I read this book last year called Metaphors that we live by and it Yeah, do you.

01:04:11.60

Max Shank

I have that book. Yeah.

01:04:15.61

mikebledsoe

And it does a really good job of mapping out how the the mind works in Metaphor. So ah, the when we when we talk about if we talk about inflation the way that it's structured in a sentence. Makes it out to where we're creating inflation as a person you know inflation is bad and it's gonna come get you and all these types of things just as an example and so we tend to take Concepts and we we say the mind is a. Is an engine or a machine.. It's like that's not actually True. You know we we could think about it as a process but most people don't That's too conceptual So Most Concepts are made that we make sense of those concepts by ah, assigning Them. Ah.

01:04:58.40

Max Shank

Right.

01:05:13.25

mikebledsoe

It's a metaphor to something we can physically see and touch and and feel and all that kind of stuff and so to your point if there is a lack of of 3 D experience if there's a lack of what's going on then. I Think these when you when you're learning Concepts and you don't have the metaphors locked in well enough you you are going to you. You run the risk of just living in the conceptual world which I call the fifth dimension and.

01:05:49.10

Max Shank

Yes.

01:05:51.19

mikebledsoe

World of concepts the fourth dimension being our 3 dimensions that we exist in in this particular moment and then add time and for the fourth dimension fit dimension being concepts and so what we end up with is a bunch of people who are lost in their heads.

01:06:10.34

Max Shank

And.

01:06:10.71

mikebledsoe

And just doing you know mental masturbation that never know how to to practically apply these things and I have suffered from that a bit myself. So I I get it. But that's something that I think you're spot on I think the solution to that is a lot of hands On. Learning like I learned geometry and trigonometry in my high school years but the real application which was way simpler than what I was learning in the books by the way was going on the job site with my dad and renovating houses and having to cut pieces of wood that were going to fit.

01:06:45.50

Max Shank

Okay.

01:06:49.79

mikebledsoe

This angle over here and this angle over there and we were doing the math it Trigg made so much sense to me being on the job site. You get me in a book and all of a sudden. It's stop it. It doesn't it doesn't mean as much but again because I have the I have the carpentry background.

01:07:05.69

Max Shank

It's not rich.

01:07:09.11

mikebledsoe

I do understand trick really well I was able to get into physics really well because I I so I can take the conception when I and I've had practice making it practical.

01:07:19.84

Max Shank

Well and you know you bring up a really good point like pract I'm one of the most practical people I've ever met because I tend to think that if something is superfluous. You can do it for fun but otherwise it should be. Cut out like there's no reason for any of that unless you're specifically like trying to just have fun. So when I have the 3 categories of you know, word move and number there's a lot. You actually still have a lot of time left over so you could have part of schooling be woodworking and plumbing and learning a little bit about electric circuits and having these very practical schools like how about cooking and once again, we don't want to. Rely 100% on the state to teach your kid because they will ah do the worst job possible because there's no incentive for them to do a good job so having practical skills acquired that are not only. Ah. Applied in that moment but also applied for the rest of your life is hugely valuable. So I think um, that idea of no content without context would be. Like 1 of the most important things because you need someone to emotionally and intellectually buy in and apply that knowledge once they've realized that it's valuable.

01:08:59.99

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that also solves the problem of the fluff. The the useless information that is made important when you have context I think about history and how much history is taught and it's like.

01:09:10.34

Max Shank

A. So much fluff.

01:09:17.62

mikebledsoe

This battle happened at this point and whatever and you know on the test you got to make sure that you got the right battle in the right year and all that kind of shit and it just makes no sense and um.

01:09:24.18

Max Shank

Right? It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. It's rote memorization with no idea for like why are we learning this. It's so we don't repeat the mistakes of history and history is all about how human beings clump together and cooperate or.

01:09:35.26

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:09:43.56

Max Shank

Or don't cooperate how they resolve their differences How you know that that kind of thing I agree.

01:09:47.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so we could study the the purpose of studying history. The the grand context there which isn't taught school is yeah, don't repeat the mistakes and what's made us better. How do we do more of that and how does this. Why are we learning what we're learning today. How does that apply to today's environment and where we're going and what what are the pitfalls and and I I would you know when I have kids that conversation is gonna it's gonna be a conversation. You know what do you think about how that applies to what's going on in our world right now.

01:10:10.44

Max Shank

Right.

01:10:23.52

Max Shank

Hello text.

01:10:24.85

mikebledsoe

This and that and and talk it through.

01:10:29.89

mikebledsoe

Um, how would you incentivize creativity. What do you? What are you laughing about.

01:10:42.50

Max Shank

I'm just thinking about ah the the teachers who hear this who are going to hate my fucking guts and yours too probably, but but they'll hate me more after I say this next thing is it doesn't seem hard. It actually doesn't seem difficult at all. Once you add context to every piece of content and once you cut away all the fluff. There's not that much. You need to know to understand value and values and when I say value and values I Basically just mean understanding that value is relative understanding that you have to deliver value. To be able to exist within this societal framework and values to me essentially means like volunteerism like non-coercion Morality like we talked about before like if you if you don't like someone that's fine but don't punch them in the face.

01:11:28.89

mikebledsoe

Oh.

01:11:39.20

Max Shank

Ah, however, if they attack you then ah go ahead and make sure you win that battle in some way, don't steal. Don't lie like it's very simple stuff. But.

01:11:46.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:11:53.29

Max Shank

It's not a lot of stuff. It's more important to reinforce those things with practical application and context. That's what I was laughing about.

01:11:58.12

mikebledsoe

Yeah I on that I want to make sure that we have ah some type of solution for each thing we we named as a problem we we're talking about ah the the school system is stifling creativity. So.

01:12:06.54

Max Shank

Yeah, can you repeat it I I was off in my own little world. There. Those are the.

01:12:17.28

mikebledsoe

What? Ah how would you enhance? what would you do to help enhance creativity in children you were teaching.

01:12:22.66

Max Shank

I Suppose asking leading questions to how you could apply something. You know that seems unrelated to something that we're learning right now would be a good way to do it.

01:12:38.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:12:42.10

Max Shank

Um, asking what other ways could you try to solve this problem. Um I think music and art would be Useful. Creativity is a tricky thing because. If we try to nail down a definition. What does creativity really mean um, like an unexpected solution like if you say in sport someone came up with a really creative play. It would be something that you haven't really seen before it would be. Something that maybe you've seen elsewhere applied in a new way right? So I I think encouraging knowing what that means and then encouraging that behavior and recognizing that's what innovation is would be useful.

01:13:24.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, one one of the ways I like her.

01:13:35.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I like the idea of well you know I train entrepreneurs I train people to be entrepreneurs basically and an entrepreneur is just a problem solver at the end of the day is.

01:13:44.50

Max Shank

Right. Yeah.

01:13:53.49

mikebledsoe

A problem in the world and you're gonna create a solution. So I really like the idea like creating an environment where creativity is enhanced by putting problems in front of them without the without saying solve it inside of this context but obviously.

01:14:10.74

Max Shank

01:14:13.24

mikebledsoe

This problem solving this problem it. The problem itself creates its own boundaries and so if I'm solving a very specific problem then I have to take all this creative energy that might be going in random directions and then focus it down into this one solution and I think that.

01:14:25.85

Max Shank

The.

01:14:32.62

mikebledsoe

Being able to approach different types of problems and then apply all this other knowledge that that exists in other Contexts and then see the the principles overlap and the relationship of those principles into this New. Ah. New context if you can do that then you're you're gonna be really well Off. So It's I think putting a I think putting problems in front of kids and letting them work it out in their own way and just see what happens also allowing them to be.

01:14:57.69

Max Shank

Ah.

01:15:08.12

Max Shank

That's that's a great point.

01:15:10.69

mikebledsoe

Kids just allowing kids to be curious and study what they want I mean ah the way I've thought about approaching is like you know what? I'm gonna make sure that my kids do math for like twenty thirty minutes a day I'm gonna make sure they read and write for twenty thirty minutes a day. It's like reading writing arithmetic.

01:15:12.84

Max Shank

Right? okay.

01:15:20.39

Max Shank

The.

01:15:28.18

mikebledsoe

And we'll cover some other stuff along the way. But you know what do they want to do you know? Let's ah, spend the first couple hours studying and on the stuff that I want them to learn they they may not want to but after that is like oh there's a piano right here. There's there's some guns over there. There's. Ah, you know we could build something over there. But there's a whole library of books like is there a topic that interests you and I think letting the kids explore get a lot of reward while learning for themselves is.

01:15:50.60

Max Shank

Right.

01:16:04.67

mikebledsoe

Is going to help improve creativity as well.

01:16:05.71

Max Shank

Just giving them the space and less coaching with these things I thought of ah you know how would you encourage creativity. You give them a problem. They solve it and you say okay could you solve it in a different way.

01:16:09.54

mikebledsoe

Okay.

01:16:21.65

mikebledsoe

Um, on her name.

01:16:22.89

Max Shank

Like that's one way you could do it? Okay, could you solve it in a different way and then also just giving them a task with no coaching whatsoever like I just had this vision of giving each group of like 2 or 3 kids like a huge rock and like asking them to move it to the other side of a field or something like that.

01:16:39.18

mikebledsoe

Man.

01:16:42.37

Max Shank

And you know just trying to figure out like how they could do that like what tools could you use? what? how could you get that to happen if you were teaching like a physics class and you wanted to learn about ah force and mass and friction and work.

01:17:00.10

mikebledsoe

Beautiful. Sounds like the school we would design be a lot of fun for a kid to attend So what's easier than a job teaching kid. Oh yeah.

01:17:07.54

Max Shank

I would kind of want to go there. It's way easier than a job if you do it right? going to the school that we're inventing.

01:17:19.57

mikebledsoe

You know to my point last week you know I think there's I was hanging out with some ah crypto entrepreneurs this weekend and a handful of guys who ah who understand blockchain way better than I do And yeah, the. I Mentioned the dow last week and I still like it's still hot on my mind. There's there is a way to create a decentralized education system that ah where we get to learn best practices. Best practices are kept and shared. And worst practices are just removed from the system altogether but there's always choice. So for me the bottom line for education is it's It's much more than Schooling. Ah. Kids who tend to be pretty bright. This isn't always the case. Some kids come from from pretty rough backgrounds all the way around. But you know the education's happening in the home. It's not very little education is happening in school aside from the obedience training which kids are also just getting at home. And ah so it's to me. It's about what's happening in the family unit. What's happening communally I know that when I have kids they will have a lot of aunts and Uncles not not blood aunts and Uncles but they will they will go hunting with my buddy manzel who who is a.

01:18:47.42

Max Shank

01:18:54.29

mikebledsoe

Who is the best hunter I know and they will go. You know wherever with who like there's gonna be a It'll be a community thing and I imagine some people will. It'll be an official role for them and for other people it'll just be like oh yeah, he's really good with plumbing over there. So. Make sure to go to spend a few days with him and really putting putting them in the the world of of really amazing men and women to me is the the future and the big win got a last.

01:19:27.37

Max Shank

Ah.

01:19:29.64

mikebledsoe

Last thoughts on this max.

01:19:34.46

Max Shank

Incentives drive behavior. It's it's not that complicated actually and when you have the incentives in the wrong place things go really bad. Ah, you don't need to know that many things to live well you don't need to know that many things to be self-reliant and contribute. So ah, lastly accept the reality that school is. Mostly a waste of time mostly obedient school but don't be resentful of it be appreciative of the experience and recognize that education is an ongoing process recognize that if you're learning about something that you are truly interested in. And incentivized to learn. You will never feel a lack of energy I mean unless you're deeply sick. But even people who are deeply sick if they are enthusiastic about what they're learning and enthusiastic about the prospect of getting better better. Getting better and sharing that information then then you will create a surplus of enthusiasm which is essentially psychic energy. You know when you're interested in a project you work on it all day. And suddenly it's 10 pm and you're like oh I forgot to eat today and if you're doing stuff that you don't want to do you will jump at any opportunity to go mindlessly eat some snacks and I'm I'm the same way by the way this is not like a.

01:21:17.10

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:21:18.59

Max Shank

Pointing the finger I'm pointing the finger at at myself because I know that within my own self I'm a collection of stories and sensations and I have that 3 hree-tiered mind the lizard the mammal and the wizard and I am I'm part. Neocortex wizard able to imagine different probabilities for the future and I'm also a half retarded monkey who just wants boobs and snacks. So I respect. That reality and try to engage with things that I'm both emotionally invested in intellectually interested in and also incentivized by it. So if you care about something then you will do whatever it takes to learn it. I mean just an example I was reading a eo wilson textbook on genetics and it was fascinating I spent like 2 hours yesterday morning reading and watching this interactive textbook and it it was fascinating. Because I was interested in it because I'm incentivized within the context of my career. So ah, develop a love of education enhance and nourish that love of education. But um, bring it back to. Context so content and context go together interest and incentive go together and everything should help you live better and be able to contribute more That's it.

01:23:04.56

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well said well said where can people find you.

01:23:10.48

Max Shank

You can find me at http://mashank.com or at Macank where can they find you.

01:23:16.73

mikebledsoe

They can find me at Mike Underscore bloodso on Instagram and http://thestrongcoach.com I also want to remind everyone that I have the strong coach summit coming up March third through Seventh. So if you want to go check that out. Go to http://thestrongcoach.com/summit and you can get your tickets there. Thanks y'all. Love you max.

01:23:38.97

Max Shank

Thanks! Love you buddy.

What We Would Do with a Billion Dollars Jan 10, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Welcome back folks to Monday mornings with max and mike hope you are kicking your week off the right way I'm excited to have you here I'm excited to have my buddy mike here with me today. We're gonna talk about something which I think is a pretty cool thought experiment which. Will lead to your greater action. It's what would you do with a billion dollars and 1 of the things that's useful about this is that it gets you to think about mission instead of business it lets you think a little bit bigger and then. Ideally, what you'll do is once you have a clear set up for how you're going to use that billion. You redo the thought experiment on a new sheet of paper with what would you do with 1 million. What would you do with 1 hundred thousand. And you work your way down into what the core importance overall is and then what the core important thing for you to work on right now is so thank you for joining me mike what's up.

01:07.55

mikebledsoe

Yo? Yeah, ah this is a fun is a fun thought experiment. It reminds me of a similar thought experiments I've done in the past and usually it's at a conference where there's some speaker on stage that's trying to inspire you to to. Higher action and it works um another couple other questions I've heard is it that are in the same vein but are different so we're gonna run with this but a couple I'll throw out there is what would you do? if you couldn't fail and then what.

01:41.22

Max Shank

The.

01:45.39

mikebledsoe

On the flip side of that. What would you do? if you were going to fail no matter what? So if you were going to fail no matter what? what would? what would you do? and so I think a combination of these questions really can fill in a lot of gaps around.

01:50.66

Max Shank

Well.

02:03.70

mikebledsoe

You know what you stand for and what you're excited about and I especially like the 1 you know what would you do? if you were to a billion dollar question is really fun because I think as kids we we all thought about you know what? if I won the lottery. What would you do with the lottery winnings you know I remember doing that as a kid.

02:18.22

Max Shank

Right.

02:21.99

mikebledsoe

And ah, but the if you're going to fail no matter what is like well now you really have to go after what? what? you just truly enjoy So Not as dark of a. It's not.. It's much darker than the billion-dollar question.

02:40.72

Max Shank

I Mean what would you do? if you couldn't fail I mean I suppose I would appoint myself God King of the earth and then ah everything else would just boil down from that pretty naturally.

02:55.13

mikebledsoe

It's it's kind of like the you know if you had 3 wishes first wishes and limited wishes. Ah problem solved. Ah yeah, so what would you do with a billion dollars max.

03:00.94

Max Shank

Right? That is kind of like a top out.

03:08.40

Max Shank

Well, ah you know of course you have to set aside some of that for filling your yacht with the venezuelan gymnastics team. But then there's still plenty of money left over to. Ah. To invest into Steady. So this is where the practical mind comes in right? Is you you put you got to put some of it away and you figure out what percentage you're comfortable with ah in my case I would say you got to I would probably take 1 hundred million of that. So ten percent and I would invest it into. Um you know power companies food water maybe some sort of technology as well and probably I would have that managed by someone else. So I would have like that investment professionally managed and then beyond that the question really gets me thinking about what I can give to the world and usually what you think you would like to give to the world stems from what you think is wrong. The world and so the things that come to mind are sustainable communities and also schooling because if anyone has listened to any of our shows so far I think it's pretty clear which side my bread is buttered on. When it comes to schooling especially public schooling especially K through 12 or specifically K through 12 because I think it is such a colossal failure and such a waste of 12 years of your life. So I start thinking about how I could. Implement a different system of schooling that would be based on using simple language and learning about values and creating value and I would really have to rebuild it from the ground up so that kind of goes. The reason I don't do that now is it's a tremendous amount of work that requires a huge amount of capital. But I think as a kid you probably need to do more playing you need to do more wrestling you need to do more basic movement and gymnastics I hand coordination. I'll tell you what you would not be sitting in a desk for long periods of time. No chance you would learn history only within the context of why history is important. You know I think that history is done so badly because it's just a bunch of.

05:59.89

Max Shank

Random facts to remember with no reason why we're remembering them because history horrifically bad right? It's not practical. You know, ah a pie Chart fractions percentages. Ah you know eat That's like ah.

06:03.44

mikebledsoe

Well mathematics is taught the same way. Yeah.

06:19.32

Max Shank

Even with how you would invest. You know? what's the yield on what you put in versus what you get out and that should be applied to how you use your time how you use your money all of these different resources. Um, how to interact with other people. The difference between. Voluntary action and coercion. These are things that are like really really important and of course the purpose of turning a child into an adult or the difference is that an adult can take care of themselves and a child is dependent. Essentially so.

06:51.80

mikebledsoe

I Like to say it as it. Ah, you're not an adult until you can parent yourself and that's that's who's parenting you.

06:57.30

Max Shank

Ah, well then I guess I'm not really an adult. Ah anyone ah I'll take anybody. Ah no, 1 ne's been able to do it yet. Um.

07:12.90

mikebledsoe

Well the the education thing is interesting because the there's 3 categories in all of ah, the capitalist world that are the most that people spend the most money on as Health wealth and relationships And. Ah, So if you're for instance. Ah a coach. There are coaches for those categories and and the reason is is because well the fastest way to learn anything in my opinion is to hire a coach to teach you and the a good Coach. Ah. And the reason these categories are so popular if you're if you're a health a wealth or relationships Coach. You can charge premium dollar and the reason is is because no 1 was taught that shit in school and if they had that edge. Yeah.

08:02.30

Max Shank

And those are the only important categories like what else is really important.

08:08.64

mikebledsoe

Everything that you learn in school should be in should ah be ah the context should be set by Health welfare relationships I don't think there's much else in that context is missing.

08:18.81

Max Shank

It should be yet. It should be clear what the value is of what you're learning like we're learning this because blank blank blank in your life is going to improve your life in this specific way. So just to. Wrap up what I was saying about history is history is the story about how humans clump together pretty much how they group together and then they divide apart so with regard to history like most of it is a waste of time. The specific examples should be given. To reinforce principles and I think principle based learning is what's actually important because then you'll have a framework for where to put all of these examples the difference between anarchy and totalitarianism and the pros and cons of both of those things. So it would really I would want to prepare more for this conversation to specifically lay out how I would change schooling but that would be how I think I could make the biggest. Improvement because I think that the only the only like true war or the only true battle is within the hearts and minds of people. You know everything else is a result. Of that lost battle. The fact that a person can't sit quietly for ten minutes means they're going to be easily um, distracted by something else. The fact that a person can't think critically is the reason they're going to get easily swindled and the more you look to an authority. To compensate for the fact that the individuals are let's say stupid or gullible or whatever instead of buy or beware and a fool in his money are soon parted now. You have this gargantuan bureaucracy who. Only will grow in size and that's where that's where like all of the evil stuff actually happens. It's not jeffrey dahmer it's the stalins and the mao's and the things like that like no no serial killer even though it sounds like viscerally bad has. Even come close to the damage that authoritarian governments have done to people.

10:52.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, they're responsible for the murder of the the most amount of people homicide outside of War is minuscule.

10:57.76

Max Shank

Um, and not just murder not just murder like huge amounts of suffering like a lot of people survived, but it was horrific suffering.

11:07.33

mikebledsoe

Right? right? Yeah things that people should learn. You would you would improve the education system come.

11:11.78

Max Shank

So that's what I would do to 1000 million hundred I would create a new 1 I wouldn't try to repair the old 1 I I don't think there's a chance to repair the old 1 There's so much.

11:22.11

mikebledsoe

That's ah, that's a good idea Buckminster fuller would agree with you.

11:29.63

Max Shank

Ah, special interests at play and so many Palms being greased through Nepotism I don't think Prussian you told me this.

11:35.42

mikebledsoe

Well you know school was I think the the the modern school was ah russian. Yeah yeah, and yeah, the the yeah the King at the time was.

11:45.48

Max Shank

Convince the troops to go to war.

11:51.15

mikebledsoe

Was trying to figure out how do we get these peasants to fight for us because every time we try to recruit them to fight for us. They kind of just run away. They don't really care. Um, and yeah, if you can indoctrinate somebody from as early as the age of five I mean I know I know parents that put their kids in school 3 or 4 years old

12:08.74

Max Shank

Her.

12:10.29

mikebledsoe

Just the you know I'm ah I'm a patriotic guy I love I love american values and principles I believe that the you know the the founding documents and philosophy that the United states was founded on are extremely sound I don't think we're really. Anywhere near what was intended. Um, but when I look at schools and I see people you know pledge allegiance to the flag. You know it's very very interesting because you can go all over the world and find them doing that in every school to their flag and. If you do that every day you're programming the mind to be in agreement with whatever the government says so it doesn't I think I think the education system you know, ah people always say that. Ah you know the the. Children are the future and we need to invest in them. Ah, but I don't think really people people don't actually understand what that means they usually just think that they need to throw more money at the situation but the reality is is yeah something completely new needs to be built because yeah, there's a. It's a system of memorization and regurgitation versus the actual understanding of of principles and the beautiful thing about principles. Yeah yeah, well how would you incentivize better learning.

13:29.31

Max Shank

Well the incentives are in the wrong place.

13:38.32

Max Shank

Um, there has to be some correlation with the performance of the students to be able to take care of themselves after the fact. So if you focus on those important skills and then you demonstrate like let's say you know.

13:48.99

mikebledsoe

So but.

13:57.48

Max Shank

Ninety percent of our graduates are self-sufficient by age 18 ah, that's that's really something because there are a lot of ways to make a dollar I don't understand why it's set up so you you just enter the workforce at eighteen rather than. Like you could become an electrician in like six months if that's how you want to go about it and right now there's such a bougie ah disdain for crafts and trades not everybody has to be like a ah. Professor of some kind you know what I mean so I think the the idea should be helping kids become valuable teach them about it's it's really value and values and so that would probably be the best way is if. There was some sort of and incentive structure based on the ability of the students to be able to be self-sufficient and something like that I'm just riffing here. But um, you need you need incentives. In the place of those who are responsible for the actions.

15:13.83

mikebledsoe

Beautiful. That's how you do with a billion dollars.

15:19.30

Max Shank

Um, yeah, ah a yacht with the venezuelan gymnastics team ten percent professionally managed put in safe investments and then the rest of it to develop ah sustainable communities and better schooling and that could all kind of. Work together. But I think it so the reason I think that way is I think most adults are too far gone to like really change. Um, they're like a little bit too stuck in their existing beliefs and it's it's just a harder battle. You know, um. I think Dr. Seuss realized that he started out with political cartoons and then switched over to children's books he has a lot of funny political cartoons about world war 2 that are worth checking up if you haven't seen him. Ah yeah, oh yeah.

16:02.19

mikebledsoe

Um.

16:09.39

mikebledsoe

Interesting. There's there's a there's a company called tuttle twins that you can check them out on Instagram I invested in 1 of their movies at or it's a tv series. Ah yeah, yeah, ah they they teach. Ah.

16:17.39

Max Shank

Very cool. Yeah. How cool.

16:29.21

mikebledsoe

Kids the value of capitalism and how to thrive in this world and and and and ah educates them on the dangers of communism socialism and things like that. Ah, anyways, anyone should go listen. Go follow their Instagram account they put out really good stuff. Yeah, but I saw that and I go this is this is something I believe in I don't know if I'll get my money back them being capitalist I bet I will but the I find it really cool that they're there. Breaking these concepts down into picture books and cartoons and things like that that kids can can digest because I mean I'm fortunate enough that I was I was raised by a father who had he understood principles and so ah.

17:06.73

Max Shank

Ah.

17:18.81

Max Shank

17:22.78

mikebledsoe

Didn't matter the topic that came across my plate I understood what rights were and what rights were not and I was able to smell bullshit from pretty far away because of that.

17:33.75

Max Shank

Yeah,, that's pretty cool I think there are so many lies told all the time and you need to understand that every interaction between 2 people is either going to be a win win a win lose or a lose lose. And when you have voluntary action. It's always a win-win. Otherwise the person doesn't make the choice like if you get to say no, That's essentially what freedom is dependent on the freedom to say no or yes.

17:59.63

mikebledsoe

Right? but.

18:07.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, if everyone has that power then the world's a much better place but most people don't even know they have it.

18:13.42

Max Shank

And and you get a lot more variety too. I mean think of all the wonderful different types of cuisine. There are think of all of the different types of exercise that you can do you can dance you can do Pellotis you can do Crossfit you can do Kettle belt I Mean. You have just a much wider range of choices and and you also have more um agency you know like the locus of control is something that's closely correlated with ah happiness and meaning and things like that and if you are.

18:36.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

18:51.93

Max Shank

In control over your resources which are both um, energetic time financial. Um, you'll feel a lot more empowered and you'll feel a lot less hopeless. So.

19:03.92

mikebledsoe

Um, you know.

19:08.45

Max Shank

Yeah, it's kind of like teaching someone anything you know if someone tries to learn a language as an adult. It's a little harder. It's possible. But if you learned it as a kid. It becomes a bigger part of you. Yeah.

19:18.73

mikebledsoe

Absolutely less less deprogramming needing needed. You got to unlearn a lot of stuff start a religion.

19:24.75

Max Shank

Maybe your religion would be better. Maybe your religion would be better. Maybe I'm like ah yeah, maybe school is not the right word for it.

19:34.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, it's got to be a whole new. You know, just create a new word I Think that's the way to go? Yeah, new word for a new system. Yeah yeah.

19:38.72

Max Shank

Yeah, and a new word. Not a school or religion. Okay I like that off to think about that a little bit anyway. So That's my my billion dollars is about safe investments a splash of hedonism and then the lion's share to. Writing what I believe are the wrongs which seem obviously wrong and pretty easily Solvable. You know, physically mentally spiritually things like that. So anyway, what about you? mike.

20:04.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

20:11.54

mikebledsoe

Oh mean I we're aligned quite a bit but um you and I are aligned on a lot of things. My approach would be a little bit different and ah so I would take ninety percent and put into to save investment so 900 million dollars.

20:15.66

Max Shank

You and I think.

20:30.63

mikebledsoe

And a safe investment something that would guarantee at least a ten percent return

20:31.29

Max Shank

Um, you greedy bastard are.

20:37.47

mikebledsoe

Ah, well I've got a good explanation. Why so.

20:43.10

Max Shank

Ah, explain to the folks at home. Why you're such a greedy bastard.

20:48.94

mikebledsoe

Ah, well because if I invest ninety percent with a guaranteed ten percent or greater return. That means that I'll have a Hundred million dollars deposited to me each year is is what's possible. So ah and I doubt I would need.

21:00.70

Max Shank

To the.

21:05.45

mikebledsoe

All hundred million dollars every year so some of that would compound and so um I would well the thing is is I think I would have a hard time even knowing what to do with 100 million dollars. So billion dollars seems a little outrageous ah but i.

21:22.16

Max Shank

That's the whole point. That's the whole point is it's supposed to be. You can't just be like I would invest nine hundred and ninety million and I would spend 10 million on a ranch where I teach kids how to raise cattle.

21:26.46

mikebledsoe

Me.

21:31.96

mikebledsoe

No, no, no, but this there's there's a strategy here. So the strategy is I may I may dip into that money. But here's the thing is 1 thing I've learned in business is if you can't manage a business that's doing a hundred thousand dollars a year well

21:38.46

Max Shank

Um, like.

21:49.44

mikebledsoe

You're not going to manage a business that's doing a million dollars a year will and it's better to make the mistakes and learn things with a small amount of money and and have all the it's a less expensive expensive lesson if you do it that way. So I would want to do a lot of innovative things. And so tying the money up and something ninety percent of the money and up in something that's going to guarantee me a Hundred million dollars. A year is very very attractive because with 100 million dollars I could do a lot of things 1 of the things that I would would do that 1 hundred million dollars with the if I if I achieve. Massive success and having more money helps us move faster I'll start sweeping that money that's invested and is something that is so I have more direct control over. But yeah billion dollars in my account I would I wouldn't do anything but I would I would start. Interviewing the the best financial consultants and and create some type of accountability with those things because people get shady sometimes um and have it invested safely but take the other 1 hundred million would buy a home I'd get like fancy. Fucking penthouse here in austin texas just overlooking the City. So I'd be 1 um, and then I would get a ranch outside of town about forty five minutes away then I would get a home in the mountains maybe flagstaff arizona get a home in the mountains. And then get a beach house in in Florida and probably some type of property down mexico probably somewhere like wahaca or something like that. So ah I would get I would have my four new homes and then and some some rovers at each 1 and pools and indoor pools and all that stuff we just go into I mean I get I could talk for hours about what I would put in my home but we'll leave that alone and.

23:56.31

Max Shank

Full of all the adult toys. You could possibly want.

24:00.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that So that's my that's my hedonistic desire is is multiple homes different locations being able to fly private to from 1 place to another seems like the way to go. Ah. Yeah, just like basically like Swedish spas set up at every single 1 of them and and then I would I would invest in Community I would buy properties for the purpose of of putting ah people that I that I hold dear and in the same location. Ah, and ah be self-sustaining.

24:35.70

Max Shank

So a concentration camp for friends and family. You group them all together. Ah.

24:40.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, whether they want to or not, they're coming. Yeah so I would I would do that and and for the purpose of um, what I'm really interested in is I as I look at the world is how do we decentralize. Food distribution. So 1 of the things that have become very apparent to me in the last couple years and and I've gotten on the phone and discussed this with you before max which is there's a there's a lack of high quality food distribution and so we have a. Ah system set up where due to subsidies. It makes it more difficult for someone who's doing good farming work to get their food to market and it makes it easier for shittier product to get to market and so it it makes some food. Ah, artificially. Inexpensive and cheap and it makes other food artificially expensive and so what I would really like to see is to empower people who want to get into sustainable farming and sustainable regenerative farming practices. Creating land for that giving them a place to do that I would love to invest in Blockchain technologies for the purpose of removing a lot of the administrative load that that comes with food distribution and yeah would I would. Like to create some type of crypto token that people could use to buy their food and and fund the farms and things like that. So I imagine to kickstart a project like that you really need. Farmers and some land and distribution channels set up first. So that's that's 1 of the things I would like to tackle when I look at when I look at the world I'm 1 hundred percent with you on the education front like when I have kids they're gonna be homeschooled and they're gonna be learning from a very principal. Perspective and always having context and they're gonna be my kids will probably be adults by the time they're 12 so ah, the that's the plan who knows until you have kids I don't think you can really tell. But. Education's important, but like you were noting trying to get adults to change behaviors via education extremely difficult. They're they're very entrenched in what they want and 1 way that I've seen to make both adults and children move but especially adults.

27:27.27

mikebledsoe

Is just economics. There people are driven by this exterior environment of economics where things are incentivized and certain things aren't incentivized so I would really like to go to work on how to create an economic structure. That is that will Improve. People's ability to make good decisions. So Good decisions around food would become easier and more convenient because the the reason a lot of people choose what they choose is because simply convenience so that would be.

28:03.90

Max Shank

Oh really I don't know if I agree with that I know that people choose based on convenience but I would argue that it's maybe even more convenient to buy in bulk and eat healthy.

28:06.33

mikebledsoe

That would be that would be my main. You don't think people choose based on convenience.

28:22.54

Max Shank

Than it is to eat crap at the drive-through. no no no no no I think both like I think um, if you if you put like 6 or 8 cups of rice in an instapot with some.

28:24.80

mikebledsoe

Well I mean short term convenience. Not.

28:41.55

Max Shank

Bulk chicken. It requires no effort but you have you know, maybe 10 meals available for the average person and requires no extra dishes or anything like that I think it's kind of a fallacy that eating healthy is more expensive. It's just that you have to learn the skill of cooking and back to the economics point I think that's where seeing the difference. Like cost per meal and cost per calorie.. There's actually a funny website I can't remember the name of it off the top my head but this ah this really? um, Clever nerd. Put together this whole website that was like cost per calorie cost per gram of protein and he took like all these different foods and put them in like a big old ah spreadsheet and it it was really illuminating to see how you could. Eat the cheapest and then there are different levels in terms of how much you want to spend so I I think food is ah crazy important because we need food and in fact, we are food so it's it's 6 what?? What's a more important lesson.

29:59.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think the drive throughugh is more convenient I mean if you have to cook either the the energy cost of of cooking people don't have the foresight.

29:59.71

Max Shank

Than that.

30:08.95

Max Shank

But it will require you less time it will require you less time and less money like you just have to show the math to someone you buy an instapot at 60 bucks. 1 time you buy 25 pounds of rice you buy twenty pounds of chicken at a time and you throw it in the pot. And you slather it in spices and maybe cheese and it's delicious and it's much cheaper per meal and it's less time investment per meal but it does require? Yeah, but I mean it's still going to be a better result. It's just like a savings account. It's the same idea.

30:35.59

mikebledsoe

Big guy playing ahead.

30:46.68

Max Shank

As a savings account. Are you going to save the money. Are you going to spend the money on bullshit.

30:49.24

mikebledsoe

Are you definitely going to get a better result and and I remember.

30:53.13

Max Shank

But is all I Just want to be clear that it is cheaper timewise and it is cheaper moneywise to eat healthy if you buy in bulk than it is to do the allegedly cheap convenient thing.

31:07.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was at a nutrition seminar once where 2 people left the ah the the venue at the same time 1 went to go get a fast food item another 1 popped in the grocery store the closest grocery store picked up strawberries almonds and. And some meat some deli meat because they were they were going for. You know the convenience and not having to cook and they show back up and ah the woman who was getting healthy food showed up just a couple minutes before you know it was a little bit faster and the price was the price was about the same.

31:40.46

Max Shank

Ah.

31:46.00

mikebledsoe

And because you so I bring that up because I mean you're not wrong, but the idea that I think the the thing that's expensive to people is that they have to think in order to to make their own food. Get their stuff so education has to be a component to that.

32:00.40

Max Shank

Earth.

32:05.42

mikebledsoe

Because if you do just get people healthy food at ah at a better price then you know they still don't know what to do with it I mean they put I remember I was studying in school I was taking like ah 1 of those health classes like Health For. Um, what they called like health administrators people who who try to impact the health of entire populations cities and stuff like that. There was an experiment done where they put a lot of really healthy produce into the poor part of town. They go Wow. All these all these.

32:32.46

Max Shank

Yes.

32:43.86

mikebledsoe

Poor people are in this food desert and you know when you go into the convenience store where they're doing their grocery shopping. There's no produce. There's nothing healthy, no hot healthy options available and they put a bunch of produce in there and it went rotten and. People just chose not to buy it and I think a large part of it has to do with a lot of people just don't know what to do with food. They don't know how to prepare it. They don't know um and the idea of having to learn how to do that or the fear of screwing it up. Is is really huge.

33:20.27

Max Shank

Well and of course that's not 1 of the subjects that's taught in school and you know if you blame there's no end to the blaming. But if somebody has a problem ninety nine percent of the time. It's the parent or whatever authority figure taught them beforehand right? so.

33:36.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

33:40.90

Max Shank

If You don't have the understanding of food like look you can eat garbage food and as long as you don't eat too much. You won't be obese you might not be healthy, but you you can eat the worst possible. You could eat big Macs every day. And not be obese as long as you don't eat too many of them like there's there's a it's like I say all the time you know 99 percent of people's problems come from having bad security at their lips. The words that get out and the food that gets in.

34:00.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what.

34:14.63

mikebledsoe

I yeah, that's very true. It's very true. Yeah, so I think that yeah you say you bring up that good point. Lot of it's education is not necessarily not cheaper or less convenient. Um, and I think that some people are just Goingnna be That's just where they're gonna be they're they're never going to change. Yeah and and.

34:41.42

Max Shank

And I don't think it's wrong to let them choose that be obese eat fritos and big macs all day like you you die in a blaze of glory like chris farley on cocaine with a couple of horse like there's no shame in that game.

34:56.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so I think that. Ah yeah, I'm not here to save the world but I do think that there's there could be ah I look at the landscape of what's happening in the food industry and I see you know. These really big corporations that make really port food and do a lot of gmo and they're they're robbing the soil of minerals and and they're doing a lot of mono cultural crops and it's just not good for the soil. Um and some people suspect. That you know we're just creating deserts here in the United states and a lot of deserts around the world. There's been um, stories of there was a huge agricultural boom that preceded it being a desert. So.

35:53.77

Max Shank

Huh.

35:55.59

mikebledsoe

Places in like egypt and where there was a massive amount of people a lot of monocultural farming going on so I don't know here's the thing is we don't know if that's actually true or not but it's ah it's a compelling story. And I can tell the difference when I eat food in other countries versus the Us. So I really? Ah what I see is we're going into a dangerous zone of having too much monocultural farming happening too many pesticides being used all these things.

36:18.82

Max Shank

36:33.71

mikebledsoe

That are harmful to the the soil and the environment at large which we live in that environment so we're going to poison ourselves. So I think that systematically creating 1 being decentralized is important because you want.

36:38.46

Max Shank

Ah, right.

36:52.42

mikebledsoe

You don't want a single point of failure with your food system and decentralization will allow people to have more to be more empowered to make the food choices that are good for them instead of being given the limited food choices that are delivered to them I think it also put people more in touch with their food. Um. People people who who tend to shop local when it comes to food and other other items too tend to be more they care more about the product that they're getting and so I think that there's a really cool incentive there in and making it decentralized and local. Ah, and I would really like to proliferate the regenerative farming movement as a whole to offset some of the the bullshit that that I see as bullshit going on and I think also a lot of young people want to get into.

37:38.23

Max Shank

The.

37:49.73

mikebledsoe

They they feel the same way they want to get into regenerative farming and want to be closer to nature and things like that. But they don't have the money to buy the real estate and the way that the economic system set up right now is about to get very difficult to come by real estate because the big boys are. Buying it up as the interest rates will be going up next year

38:10.79

Max Shank

Oh we'll see how that goes. Yeah I got a friend in Montana actually who's working on some of that regenerative farming including like a little power plant. That's the centerpiece. It's like a biological power plant centerpiece.

38:22.40

mikebledsoe

I Know a guy is doing it wyoming I don't know no Evan. Ah yeah.

38:28.42

Max Shank

His name Eric Oh well, we should link him up then ah yeah I agree with you I mean look I think ah farm subsidies are bad just like ah most things with good intentions. Ah, end up being destructive I think having lots of options is always better. Um, some of the best meat some of the best produce we get now is from Walmart so just being attached to a big corporation. Doesn't mean the quality has to go down In fact,, um, yeah. You know, certified organic Grass-fed Beef grass-fed bison at Walmart That's organic I mean that's um, pretty cool I think um I think food is such a big part about the health of these society So I'm definitely with you on that and it does. Come back to education I Like the idea of like I I guess crowdsourcing or crowd investing ah with with the sustainable agriculture would be a really cool idea. I Could totally get behind something like that.

39:43.48

mikebledsoe

Yeah, 1 of the things I've been looking at closely are Das daos decentralized autonomous organizations and um, when I first learned about ethereum the cryptocurrency and I started understanding what smart. Smart contracts were I started imagining what may be possible that now that that I didn't there's no way that I with my knowledge base I and going to go in there and be able to create something off the backbone of Ethereum I'm not that level of engineer I'm not sure I'm any level of engineer.

40:18.19

Max Shank

Um, doesn't seem like it.

40:22.38

mikebledsoe

But the ah no I you know I'm an audio engineer I can engineer audio and that's about that's where that that ends I'm a relationships engineer like that.

40:32.11

Max Shank

Um I can make noise is that the same thing audio Audio engineer.

40:40.73

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah so ah like I can play with audio and postproduction that's about it that would be an audio engineer. So.

40:48.81

Max Shank

But you could find an engineer to help you with that if you if you so desired.

40:52.80

mikebledsoe

Totally but 1 of the things that's happened with these daos that have come out is there's a platform called aragon where you can start your own decentralized autonomous organization and then now what they have is like oh do you want it to be a membership. Oh. Do you want it to be. Ah, ah to build your reputation in the market. Are you doing fundraising so they've got about 6 different categories of really popular tas that you can start and then basically um, it works with Nfts so I'm sure. Everybody's heard about and nfts at this point and the a lot a lot of how these das work is you have to buy an nftt in order to say it to membership because that's what I've been looking into the most is how do you create a membership dao. And people would purchase. There would be a limited amount of tickets to be a part of the dawo and say I'm looking at starting 1 with 100 and fifty members. There'll never be another once these 1 hundred and fifty nftts are Meanted. There's no more. And nfts that will be created and if you want to be a part of this club or whatever it is you buy this nft. It might cost 25000 dollars but it's a lifetime membership if you ever want to sell it in the future you can sell it on the market and the idea is that you could purchase a membership to be a part of a club.

42:16.40

Max Shank

42:22.92

mikebledsoe

And you can also and an investment You can also sell that later so you own a part of the ideas you own a part of the organization. You're not just you're not just purchasing membership. You're you're purchasing ownership in a way. So yeah.

42:35.87

Max Shank

So it's kind of like a corporation selling shares a little bit. Yeah.

42:42.42

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so what it what it allows for is things that would if if done by a business by with with typical technology would be a really heavy administrative load there would to account for everything. So.

42:56.75

Max Shank

Right.

43:00.88

mikebledsoe

The the cool thing about the blockchain and smart contracts is you can create a lot of if then rules in the real world and and as these things are met things like accounting like the modern accounting like what we're using in like the conventional accounting and baking when you look at what's possible with blockchain seems very ridiculous.

43:05.74

Max Shank

Ah.

43:19.79

mikebledsoe

Like Wow this is really antiquated by Comparison. So when when I think about accounting and well when most people think about Accounting. It's like Okay, what's the what are the financials and that's usually what's being accounted for but true Accounting. Um, a more global accounting is are you accounting for everything. Are you accounting for things that may not necessarily be monetary in nature even though you know.

43:42.33

Max Shank

Well like a farm for example, right? like the whole idea of let's say having 1 hundred and fifty shares of a farm and having a bunch of if then rules so conditional rules for if this then do this? um.

43:55.88

mikebledsoe

Me.

44:01.70

Max Shank

You know that it it probably does get pretty tricky like you have to be very clever to figure out how to run that organization. Um, autonomously and you probably can't account for everything which is funny like you can't account for all of the um potentials. Well and that's um.

44:09.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I Think. Now we can try.

44:21.37

Max Shank

You know it kind of shows the evolution of computer science in the beginning there was if then and ah, it's very similar to the way that law has developed from the code of Hammurabi which was if you blind a man's eye then.

44:26.84

mikebledsoe

And.

44:41.18

Max Shank

Then your eye shall be blinded as well and I don't know hardly anything about computer programming. But I know that if you relied only on if then it's kind of like a caveman style programming where it's going to be so many conditional statements. Rather than the more elegant and sophisticated rules and algorithms and operations that they have available Now. So um.

45:07.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah, Well yeah, and that's the 1 thing I see about the dao is like I'm I'm watching and I'm not hot to get in right now because I think that a lot of people 1 of the the really big mistakes that I'm seeing being made in the. Consciousness of a lot of people who are excited about this and taking action on it as they go decentralized autonomous Organization. We don't need hierarchy anymore. There's just gonna be. We're gonna be able to vote on everything and I'm going. Oh you guys are go for it and you know watch us watch this go? um. And I had ah I had a woman that was wanting to do ah a dow that was wanting to do community and all this I'm like cool I'm interested and then she was like all right and we don't need any hierarchy and I was like whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa. Ah, you're defying nature.

45:55.25

Max Shank

Impossible.

46:01.22

mikebledsoe

By by saying that we're not gonna have a hierarchy. You trust me, you don't want to define nature she will slap you like a bitch you got to ride what is right? So yeah, there's somebody needs.

46:13.11

Max Shank

Someone needs to have the call someone needs to be able to make the call.

46:20.32

mikebledsoe

There needs to be response and and um.

46:23.31

Max Shank

Roles and responsibilities operating agreement. You know a lot of the things from more traditional. Yeah more a lot of these things from right? but a lot of these things from traditional organizations still ring true. Um.

46:25.73

mikebledsoe

Well they think they can have a lot of that without without the hierarchy.

46:40.69

Max Shank

For something that is as autonomous as possible like I think you might agree that a lot of the role of a leader or manager is to delegate and automate and. The more you automate the less you have to delegate but it still has to be somebody's Responsibility. You know, even when you're putting together a phone call script or something like that. It's going to be if this then this if this then this and the more you can automate that process.

46:57.84

mikebledsoe

Most.

47:12.95

Max Shank

The more you can multiply that process that you've created and that's why computer software ah has such a huge premium because the exponential val the exponential return is so high just the same as um. You know selling ah a program. You know it's it's no coincidence that it's called a fitness training program when I write 1 I think about I am literally um, uploading a program and you are installing it into your brain. And you are executing that file. And for example, if you execute the ultimate athleticism program you're going to get better at handstands deadlifts airborne lunges front levers that sort of thing if you execute the primal athleticism daily practice. You're going to get better at bouncing rolling. Um, carrying things crawling climbing these you know wider array of things. So it's no surprise that it's called a program because that's literally what you're doing is you're implanting a program and that's also why it's so Scalable. You know I can sell. Um, a million copies of simple shoulder solution and there's no extra administrative cost to doing that. It's still just a few percent for the the credit card fee essentially so that's why software so is so powerful and.

48:44.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

48:50.69

Max Shank

It can be code or it can be like a written program. You know even religion you can think of as a program.

48:54.55

mikebledsoe

Now.

49:01.62

mikebledsoe

You're gonna freak some people out. Ah so totally it is.

49:02.18

Max Shank

I mean it. It is a program is it not I mean some of them are some of them are effective like I think mormonism is an effective program. It even has like a built in um generator which is the mission that they go on. I mean look mormonism is what like a hundred ish years old more less, not sure 200 can we get a fact check around this. Okay, so let's call it 2 hundred. Let's call it 1 hundred and 50 years right yeah please

49:27.30

mikebledsoe

I'm not sure I think it's the late Eighteen hundreds. No I'm not yeah, there's a mormon listening please let us know.

49:41.19

Max Shank

Yeah, we can't google right now. Ah that religion has more members than judaism and judaism is like 10 times longer. Okay, and it's because that that program is more geared toward.

49:52.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah, like twenty or 30 times longer. Yeah yeah.

50:00.84

Max Shank

Toward Growth. You know what? I'm saying So Um I think both of those religions are yeah are typically like pretty effective at making people wealthy so that program is effective from that standpoint it. I'm not saying it will necessarily make you the happiest because Mormons seem a lot happier than Jews but I Also don't think they're as funny and this is these are just my ah, ah blind observations right? Jews seem funnier Mormons seem happier. They both seem pretty Wealthy. So I just look At. Whether the program is constructive or destructive right? So Religion Fitness training program. Ah actual code or a dao or something like that. It's all it's all programming humans school. Programming humans and if you're able you said that an adult is able to parent themself. Maybe that's also a good analogy for the master slave if you are the administrator of yourself then you can program yourself as well and that's. Really high level. Um adaptability.

51:16.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and you can't program yourself. You can program your own subconscious mind these are there's countless techniques for doing that I think it's the most effective way of making progress towards what you want is if you're not if you're not doing something.

51:24.12

Max Shank

Tap.

51:32.65

mikebledsoe

To program your subconscious mind. You're really missing out. Ah oh I brought I brought the dow up because I brought the dow because we're talking about what would we do with a billion dollars and the.

51:38.39

Max Shank

Absolutely.

51:47.14

Max Shank

Is that what we were talking about I forgot.

51:51.40

mikebledsoe

Something like ah so so it got me if this takes me back to a conversation you and I were having a year ago or or more and how do we have a a community and and. Decentralized communities that can interact with each other so they're all, there's these sovereign little cities and they can interact with each other and do trade with specific cryptocurrencies and all that and what I what I'm seeing with the dao is the real possibility because before I was thinking. I would need a billion dollars or I would need a hundred million dollars in order to start this project but now with the these fundraising dows and and all what I'm seeing emerge I don't know if it's quite ready for what I want to do with it yet. What I'm seeing emerges. Maybe if you have a solid enough vision and you have a good enough program then you can get your investors and now you can make it you can make it happen so it's very exciting times a little bit different than a business.

52:55.76

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

53:02.92

mikebledsoe

Ah, typical business that gets investors I think that there's a lot of excitement around right? This is just like it's the future. It's how things will be managed in the future will primarily be through blockchain and so I think if you do something in blockchain people are more likely get on board. The other thing is. Ah, you're less likely to have ah, it's a lot easier to have visibility of what's going on and there's a lot less opportunities for Fuckery. So I think it it makes it for an easier thing for people to invest in because ah. Things are so transparent with a lot of the blockchain technologies so you can set things up where everything's just very visible. So I think that raising money for those types of ventures are a lot easier, especially when you look at some of the you know what's happened in the last couple decades with.

53:46.79

Max Shank

Oh.

53:58.83

mikebledsoe

You know enron and that guy who was it that did that ah Bernie madoff and he had that dude that the fire the fire festival guy. Ah, who actually did some time but all all those things had had it existed in. You know a dow instead.

53:59.91

Max Shank

Bernie made off made off with all their money.

54:18.83

mikebledsoe

Would not. It would probably just wouldn't have even happened because people would have been able to spot it and I think that there's gonna be a lot of people and people have done this with cryptocurrencies they they write a white paper and they launch it they get investors and then disappear. So I'm not saying that that there's no fraud.

54:35.71

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

54:38.63

mikebledsoe

There's no fraud in these things but over time what I see happening is the fraud will will become minimized because people will know what to look for and there's also the the ability to create transparency where it's necessary is also going to be there.

54:54.23

Max Shank

Oh.

54:59.73

mikebledsoe

So yep, crowd crowdsourcing that's the way to go.

55:03.87

Max Shank

Yeah, if you have a good enough idea and a clear plan. Um I don't think it's difficult to get investors. Um.

55:12.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right? Well it sounds like it. We don't need a billion dollars for ideas. So we just need to create it now you get? yeah, get you start working on yours I'll start working on mine.

55:18.33

Max Shank

Now you just need other people to have a billion.

55:32.61

Max Shank

It's interesting. How a lot of it comes back to education a lot of it comes back to it doesn't necessarily need to happen in a school but a lot of it comes back to educating people. And a lot of similarities with food I think we both realized just how important food quality is not having a single point of failure having um you know that decentralized decentralize is a way better word than. Not having a single point of Failure. It's much more exciting right? now is decentralized. Ah.

56:10.30

mikebledsoe

Um, but decentralized means a lot of different thing like it. It encapsulates that plus many other things yeah increase in choice.

56:14.95

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, um, so as far as how to execute this strategy for our listeners. Um, what's a good way to go about it.

56:37.28

mikebledsoe

Ah, you know I think I think write write down what you would do with the billion dollars and I would also there you go.

56:44.99

Max Shank

And then maybe write down what you do with a million after afterward I think that's the way to do It is start out with a billion so you're like in the blue sky version and then you snap back to a little bit closer to reality with the million unless there are any ah billionaires. Listening in which case ah get in touch with us. We have plenty of ideas for your money.

57:07.69

mikebledsoe

My mike at the strongcoach dot com is my email. Yeah, yeah, and I think it's also worth you know do the I like doing the pie in the sky first billion dollar million dollar and then what would you do? if you were guaranteed to fail no matter what you did you were gonna fail. What would you do so.

57:31.44

Max Shank

Ah, what I don't understand the question but I do like it I I don't even know how to if I was guaranteed to fail Fail Why would I do it at all I Would if if I knew I was going to fail.

57:38.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

57:45.26

mikebledsoe

Ah, well a lot of things you wouldn't do Well I think that gives insight into what you enjoy not necessarily what your purpose or mission is but what what you like is like all right if I was gonna fail I might as well just set myself up in baha on the beach and surf you know, like if I'm guaranteed to fail.

57:50.40

Max Shank

I Would do nothing.

57:53.97

Max Shank

Oh.

58:04.63

Max Shank

So so what? what would I do if I'm guaranteed to fail is more like what it. What would I do if I could do like nothing ah professional is that is that what it is like how would I fuck off.

58:04.91

mikebledsoe

Least I'll you know live life like that.

58:17.97

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, that's where my mind goes when I hear that question. Well yeah, what would I do if I was guaranteed to fill.

58:26.67

Max Shank

I've never heard that question before um, maybe it what it really is what would you do? if you could never work again. Does that sound like ah the spirit of the question.

58:33.75

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, doesn't sound as exciting. Yeah, same spirit but the other 1 seems a little more jarring.

58:43.33

Max Shank

Well, the first 1 I would do nothing the first 1 I don't understand it makes no sense to me. What would I what would I do if I knew I would fail if I knew I would fail I would not do the thing like the only reason you would do something is if you thought it had a percentage chance of success and that's.

58:59.70

mikebledsoe

That.

59:02.15

Max Shank

That's human nature that's desire. That's hunger. That's that's hope that's the only reason anyone ever does anything is because they think that there is at least a chance that it will be better if they do that thing. So if you know you're going to fail. You would never do it to. Non -question as far as I'm concerned. However I'd be happy to replace it for it. I think everyone will agree with me on this 1 um I think I think what would you do? if you could never work again.

59:22.99

mikebledsoe

Ah, it hit me up. Let me know let's see if everyone else receives it that way.

59:39.56

Max Shank

Is a good way to identify how you like to spend your time though. Um, and and do it detached from the result as much as Possible. You know, maybe you would sing. Maybe you would do some woodworking. Maybe you would do. Ah you know you would just surf all day. Maybe you would play music something like that I think that's a really good. Um I Think that's a good way of looking at it is like what would you do? if you couldn't work and what would you do. If ah, you could only pick 1 career and do that those ah those extremes feel like a good way to sort of surround your your truth. You know what? I mean.

01:00:16.12

mikebledsoe

Um, like that.

01:00:29.80

mikebledsoe

Ah I don't have a truth. No.

01:00:30.94

Max Shank

You don't have a truth I mean I think the truth is that we're the most adaptable creatures so you can change any time. It's just scary. It's just scary. That's that's the truth that I live by.

01:00:41.93

mikebledsoe

Our graph.

01:00:48.71

Max Shank

You know I see people do it when they're under huge amounts of strain they change dramatically and unless provoked that way they often don't people just ride the momentum and that kind of goes back to that programming thing because what we're doing is we're talking about programming ourselves for. Ambition essentially with this question and we're setting that ambitious intention and if you are able to program yourself every single day but you choose not to then you are relegated to.

01:01:09.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:01:27.51

Max Shank

The momentum of whatever the stories and stimuli that you've had and believed up to now. Yeah, anything you'd like to ah yeah, anything you'd like to add.

01:01:34.70

mikebledsoe

Well said wrap this bad boy up.

01:01:47.28

mikebledsoe

Ah I Love this exercise. What would you do with a billion dollars, get this dream. Big can be fun, especially if you're looking at the hedonistic aspects of what you can do with it. But when you get into the purpose and mission of Things. Ah. And like what max said going from a billion dollars to what we do with a million dollars and then looking at Wow is is this something that enough you know it being 20 coming into 2022 ah it being something that. You might be able to fundraise through a dao. Ah you know, maybe it's possible. So Hopefully this inspires you to do something that that ah excites you and and helps other people. All got how about you any final thoughts we good in.

01:02:40.90

Max Shank

Cool. Um, program yourself or pick a good program I think the exercise will help you discover where your ah truest desires really are and yeah, that's about it. You can find me at maxshank dot com at Maxshank. Mike you work and they find you.

01:03:05.11

mikebledsoe

Ah, mike underscore Bletzo on Instagram and the strongcoach dot com. Ah yeah, and you can jump in my program if you want if you want to program your business there. You go all right brother. Love you.

01:03:18.00

Max Shank

There you go Awesome! Thanks brother. Love you Bye everybody.

01:03:24.39

mikebledsoe

Enjoyed the talk.

2021 Book Review Jan 03, 2022

00:00.00

Max Shank

Hey, everybody welcome back to Monday mornings with max and mike hope you guys had a lovely weekend today we are going to talk about the greatest invention in the history of mankind which. Is the written word. It allows us for intergenerational communication that compounds over time that sentence is insane when you think about it that is the reason that we were able to jump out of the food chain. Entirely it is because of the compound effect of our acquired knowledge and the fact that we were clever enough to write it down. Ah orcas for example, have their own language but they have to teach it from scratch every generation and. Are limited by what they can store in their brain and of course they have the second largest brain in the animal kingdom as I understand it and their brains actually are more wrinkly they have more folds ah than ours which is an indicator of ah more. Neurological connection. So imagine if they had thumbs and pen and paper they would probably have overcome us at some point so today we're going to talk about books why you should read how to read a book what you should read and maybe maybe even when to read so. Mikey. Thanks for joining me again. I'm looking forward to this as always.

01:27.65

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, I'm excited about this topic I I was actually I suggested this topic and 1 of the things that inspired me was the my marketing team wanted the the top 10 books I read in the last year and ah that I that I'd be willing to talk about in an email or or something like that and so I go to make the list and I go I don't know if I read 10 books I ended up reading 14 books and I was actually surprised because I didn't feel like I was reading that much. And I think that happens when you and you're enjoying yourself. So ah yeah, I've not always been somebody who is an avid reader I used to go months without reading books I would read a chapter out of a book and then forget that I was reading it and it was. It was something that I stayed away from when I got out of school so coming from a place where you know in school we have to do a lot of reading if you're if you're actually doing the work which I'm 1 of those crazy people who who is a good student. And I was so sick and tired of reading and I my experience of reading was that I did not enjoy it and what I realized is a few months after I got out of college so I had I had done high school went in the Navy for 4 years

02:45.69

Max Shank

03:00.10

mikebledsoe

Then started college so I got into reading a bunch of stuff I didn't want to read and I had this experience both times where I got to read some stuff I enjoyed and then when I started reading things that I had to read I stopped reading so much so I I did realize at 1 point I go oh.

03:10.80

Max Shank

Ah.

03:18.57

mikebledsoe

I I love reading when I'm reading what I want to read I don't like reading when I have to read it because it's signed so having been out of college for shit 13 years now I've i. Learn to really enjoy the process and sometimes I like to listen and sometimes I like to to read with my eyes depending on the topic usually. And yeah, it's it's been 1 of the biggest I mean you you hit the nail right in the head. It's a great way to gather information. And knowing which information to keep and which to throw out and being able to apply it to different contexts that is that is the skill in a time where information is at an all time high. So I imagine as we go through this. This conversation today. Some of what we'll be talking about is ah you know when we talk about how to read a book. It's how do you apply? it? How do you consume it? How do you digest it and how do you make sense of it because it's the it's the sense making.

04:31.61

Max Shank

No doubt I liked what you said about how many books because when I first came onto the scene as a fitness entrepreneur.

04:31.87

mikebledsoe

That is such a big challenge these days.

04:44.82

Max Shank

I Wanted to hang out with that cool crowd of people who are also fitness entrepreneurs and they were like hey I own a gym and I was like hey me too hey I wrote a book hey me too and we would like you you know that whole thing where everyone's like comparing what's going on. Oh I've been doing this many seminars. Ah I've been. I Read this many books I Just remember a conversation I was a part of where it it was like um it was like a dick measuring contest for how many books we had read and I just remember that it it struck me that I was like right right in there with that game. Um.

05:09.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

05:19.51

Max Shank

And it's interesting because that idea of more books is better is totally ridiculous because in order to succeed You don't need to know that many things and in fact, you're probably going to make more forward progress if you. Use what you know rather than getting more information I think almost anybody listening to this would agree that they know enough to be probably twice as successful or maybe even 3 to 10 times as successful as they are now. It's just that they don't. Ply those things So I remember when I was I Just remember when I was speaking at a seminar ah over the course of a weekend and it was a bunch of really smart guys and at the end there was a panel and we're up on stage and they're like what.

05:56.86

mikebledsoe

Got go ahead.

06:14.65

Max Shank

What book would you recommend we read and everybody's got their book recommendation and I'm listening to these recommendations and I was like oh hey us? Yeah I like that book too. That's pretty nice and then it got to me and they're like well max what book would you recommend I was like I would recommend that anyone who attended this seminar not read anything. For between thirty to ninety days because the whole reason you came here was to listen to our summary or our synthesis of everything we know so the last thing you want to do is deviate from applying what you've most recently learned and I like. Reading for entertainment as well. But it's important to realize that when you're reading something you're not living your own life either. So the amount that you read is certainly a good shortcut and I have read ah a ton because I'm naturally a curious person and I like. When things are synthesized and summarized in a very cohesive way. It's 1 of the reasons I don't listen to a lot of podcasts actually because it's very meandering and I would rather have the nice concise block that is the let's say summary. Of you know a 50 year career in psychology or training or something like that and that's where you get the huge leverage from a book.

07:41.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think it's a great point I remember hitting a point myself where I I had a I was in a meditation and there were no substances involved I know everyone's wondering. Ah, and I was in this.

07:47.58

Max Shank

What.

07:58.98

mikebledsoe

Meditation I was doing a bunch of ah Joe dispensive meditations actually and I was weeks into it and I had this meditation where I where I got a peek inside of my own mind and my own mind was a library with really high ceilings and just rows and rows of books. And it was dusty and there were cobwebs and it was hard to get around and it it was ah it was a movie that I was watching inside of my own mind it was I was in this observer state and I kick over 1 of the shelves and it hits another shelf and. It clears out the entire room the entire library just collapses and the dust settles and I have this incredible sense of relief that I I don't need to know anymore I don't need.

08:49.16

Max Shank

And.

08:57.66

mikebledsoe

There's nothing else I need to learn and I realized that the majority of the knowledge I had accumulated at that point I'm a very curious person as well. But there was also something else driving that. Um, which was I wanted to appear smart from when I was a little kid I. Wanted to avoid appearing to be dumb so because I because I felt like I was an idiot and I was homeschooled on top of that So I didn't have anyone actually compare myself to there was no reality check it was ah it gave me an opportunity to.

09:18.26

Max Shank

Same oh.

09:34.32

mikebledsoe

To really go deep into feeling like an idiot because I didn't know if I was smart or not and I I overcompensated and I read a lot and I think that that I already had some curiosity built in because that was my compensation. You know some people feel like an idiot and they.

09:37.29

Max Shank

Hit the.

09:53.20

mikebledsoe

Just go all in on being an idiot and decide not to learn anything. So what I what I realized in that moment was oh Wow A lot of what I've been studying is stuff that I don't actually enjoy learning about because I.

09:54.14

Max Shank

The.

10:11.38

mikebledsoe

I Think it's something that would be really good for me to know just in case. So I can appear to be smart. So I ended up studying a bunch of subjects that actually didn't matter to me at all and after that moment. Um, well I'd gone deeper into a lot of.

10:19.68

Max Shank

What were they? what were they.

10:30.56

mikebledsoe

Ah say exercise physiology I had gone deeper in a certain subjects where like I was I was pounding the same subject even though I already had what I needed to know to be able to operate the you know I needed I knew way more than I needed to know to do the thing like it'd be like ah.

10:31.76

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, right.

10:45.74

Max Shank

Totally yeah.

10:48.68

mikebledsoe

Being an astronaut and learning not an astronaut being ah being ah, a fucking you know single prop pilot and you know going and learning about what it's like to fly in space cause yeah, it's like it's like you don't need that I'm just flying around you know from City to City not to the moon.

10:59.54

Max Shank

Right.

11:06.27

Max Shank

Yeah I totally relate with you because it's almost as if in my experience the male ego maybe female ego also being stupid or not knowing feels vulnerable.

11:07.52

mikebledsoe

Or Mars or whatever. So.

11:20.10

mikebledsoe

11:22.61

Max Shank

So it's like you're you're suddenly in the dark you're like in deep water and you're like oh my God I I don't know what I don't know what they're talking about I'm going to look so stupid and then I won't have any respect and then no woman will ever love me. Whatever it is right.

11:35.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well in the and the result the result after that was I didn't read anything for about a week and then I started I go oh I want to read this book on. It's a spiritual book I want to read this.

11:43.97

Max Shank

May.

11:50.76

Max Shank

Ah.

11:53.60

mikebledsoe

And before I wouldn't let myself do it because I didn't you know I was like ah had a lot of practical applications should I really spend the first hour of my day reading this thing that like's not going to make me more money when you know that's where I was focused at the time.

12:03.20

Max Shank

How dare you how dare you read something. That's not going to make you more money. How dare you but.

12:09.34

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, and at the time I was studying you know it was all about business and strategy and all the shit. So I um the result was I ended up reading after that and books I enjoyed I just went with whatever I enjoyed and what I what I.

12:16.40

Max Shank

Her.

12:28.42

mikebledsoe

What I noticed is I did end up coming back and reading some business books I did come back and end up reading some books that ah were scientific and and around exercise and round things I already knew a lot about but it it my approach to the reading shifted. Ah. Tremendously and so I enjoyed it more and then I look back and I go you know what? I probably read more since that moment than before that moment and and before it was work in order to read and afterwards it became pure enjoyment to read.

12:55.25

Max Shank

And.

13:06.11

Max Shank

Um, it sounds like it was curiosity driven instead of fear driven. Yeah I I relate.

13:07.68

mikebledsoe

And ah, yeah, just yeah, yeah, exactly yeah in this past weekend I was um I was in some training I took a gun fighter training course and which is basically. Ah, training with nine millimeter pistols and carbines for you know worst case scenarios you know inside a house getting out of your house in your car and we actually did some some shooting as a team it was it was a lot of fun and 1 of the things that. Ah, 1 of the guys afterwards 1 of the older guys. He pulls me aside and he goes he goes you really? I'm really impressed by how you learn and I go oh well, how is that like how are you perceiving you know how I learn. And he was like yeah you just you ask lots of questions you don't care about looking dumb and and you're incredibly focused on what you're doing and and I I go yeah and it got me thinking about oh I when I look at the people I was training with. I I do think I was probably learning a little bit faster than than a lot of them. Although everyone advanced from wherever they were at they advanced tremendously the the coaches we had over the weekend were amazing. But I I definitely ah had more energy at the end of the day. Everything seemed a bit easier for me and and it's not because I already knew what I was doing it had everything to do with you know I was only concerned about learning what was right in front of me and I didn't care about how I looked if I made them. You know the only mistake you don't want to make in those situations is shooting somebody. Like as long as I'm not shooting somebody or making making you know making it. You know you don't want to flag somebody. You don't want to point your gun at anybody whether you you don't want to do that either. That's a safety violation. So inside these boundaries of.

15:17.19

Max Shank

There's a more sinister mistake too though. There's a more sinister mistake of being afraid to ask questions. That's it I Think that's a mistake for sure.

15:21.62

mikebledsoe

There There is that 1 that that is a mistake and so yeah I was I was in high communication with the instructors the whole time I didn't care how I was perceived by the group is whether I was smart or not and. I I could actually see that in some of the other people you know they would shoot their guns and then they would look over their shoulder for validation and I actually coached the guy the next morning afterwards because him looking over his shoulder for validation was causing him to flag people with his pistol and I and I go I go look.

15:45.44

Max Shank

Ah.

15:54.23

Max Shank

Oh my god.

15:59.00

mikebledsoe

Like because I mean it's 1 of those things where like he might have been get asked to leave the range and I was like I was like hey man, let's talk through this and I give him some coaching tips and after that he he improved tremendously. Um, but yeah, that was 1 of the things too I noticed is like this. It was very loud in that experience of of this guy's seeking validation as he turns around to look for it His fucking weapon is being drawn across 5 people and everyone's going Whoa I Go Wow that that seeking validation thing.

16:33.33

Max Shank

Yeah, that his insecurity.

16:33.44

mikebledsoe

Could kill somebody in this scenario. So yeah, his insecurity. So um, that's another thing. Yeah I think we've been dancing around that topic basically is yeah, there's Insecurity Driven education is. Is going to be really slow and difficult. It's It's just yeah.

16:51.97

Max Shank

It's fear based and it's fear based rather than curiosity based I think part of the reason you're so jazzed up and energized after the fact is you're legitimately interested. You're engaged. You're interested. You're not going to fatigue in that state. But if someone were trying to teach you something you don't want to learn in the first place it made you sit in a chair all day. Of course you're gonna feel fatigued I mean I'm I'm very similar in learning except I actually think I learned a little bit slower. Um, but I usually get.

17:13.74

mikebledsoe

Move.

17:26.83

Max Shank

Private lessons for stuff and I shy away from group classes because I don't want to hold up the flow of the class too long but I I hear this phrase a lot when I'm taking lessons. Wow I've never heard that question before because I'll just keep digging.

17:28.69

mikebledsoe

Ah, so.

17:43.71

Max Shank

To really figure out like why am I actually doing this and sometimes even a very experienced teacher it it kind of goes back to well that was what the other guy said so learning like if I don't know why I'm doing it just it's hard for me to buy in the same way.

17:55.46

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

18:03.39

Max Shank

So I think that's 1 of the huge advantages of learning in person is you can't ask those questions unlike a book.

18:11.27

mikebledsoe

But yeah, well I think this next point will get to the book as well. Which is ah I had fantastic instructors. 1 of the things they were saying the whole time was ask me why I will never get mad at you for asking me why we're doing something and.

18:23.65

Max Shank

Ah.

18:29.82

mikebledsoe

They were more interested in teaching us how to think about situations and in a tactical sense than to just teach us how to do these maneuvers so 1 of the things that I think is really the thing we need to look at first when you're selecting. What you're going to read is who wrote the book. So for me over the past weekend my instructor I go who is going to train me oh a 20 year command master chief navy seal who's done you know a dozen deployments and had a pretty long kill list like oh. If I ask that guy why we're doing this maneuver or whatever it is. We're doing. He's going to give me a really good answer and he was also open to being challenged. so I think but when when I so when I choose to read a book I like to think about who that person is what their life is like. And what it is that they're actually an expert in and what they're not an expert in because I've watched authors ah be an expert in 1 field and then stray outside of that and I go more into maybe something I know a lot about I go ah, you know what you were right? when you were over here. But when you got over here, you kind of. And it's good to be aware of who this person is.

19:44.54

Max Shank

It's tricky though too because then you also can fall into the appeal to authority or the ad homineym fallacies right? because a lot of the time. In fact, 1 of the books that I'm going to recommend today is an author. But he's also very intelligent in a lot of other areas and so it's kind of like in ancient egypt they would hold trials in the dark because they didn't want the um arbiters to be swayed by what the person looked like which I have this little phrase. Ah. How can you take something at face value if it's attached to a face. So I think really good ideas can stand alone regardless of who wrote the idea.

20:22.62

mikebledsoe

Ah.

20:30.73

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well when we're when I agree that and when we're swimming in in an infinite amount of books to read I'm gonna I'm gonna choose based on you know, well 1 1 of the things is who who are we learning from? yeah.

20:39.81

Max Shank

Um, yeah, totally you want to learn from the best right.

20:49.50

mikebledsoe

And 1 thing I Want to mention before we dig in because I want to dig in but I I wish I remember who there was a story being told recently and I heard this and there was somebody was sitting in this really intelligent guy's office and looking around his library Ph D type thing. And they go Wow. Your library is vast I've never seen a personal library So Big. You must have a lot of knowledge and then the guy responds This is not a sick. This does not signify my knowledge it signifies my desire and.

21:23.53

Max Shank

Peace Boom again.

21:24.44

mikebledsoe

A library is a signifier of desire not of knowledge and when I heard that story I said I said to myself. That's that's spot on. You know youre if you got a I've got quite a few books haven't read half of them. But. Maybe I will at some point.

21:44.23

Max Shank

It kind of makes me want to point out the tool Belt knowledge analogy again versus the toolbox knowledge tool beltt knowledge is something you can whip out anytime anywhere you know it forwards and backwards left and right.

21:52.47

mikebledsoe

And.

22:04.13

Max Shank

If something comes up in conversation. You're like Boom I know this bit of information and then there's toolbox knowledge where if someone jogs your memory about it. You have a familiarity with it and when it comes to reading books you have to accept the fact that even if you're. You know some sort of insane memory What do you What are you gonna retain 1015 percent especially if you only read it once. So as for myself I'm reading a lot of books multiple times I will often read a book and then. Go right back to page 1 and read through it again without going to a different book I'll read book 1 and then I'll finish the book and I'll be like huh that was really good I'm going to read it again right now while it's still fresh and see if I can get this information to concreize. But the truth is. If. You don't apply the knowledge. It goes away and you can't you can't remember a whole bookshelf. It's impossible.

23:04.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well quote I like to use frequently too is learning is behavior change. So if you don't put it to use. You didn't actually learn it. You just you may remember the words.

23:15.81

Max Shank

Hello.

23:24.58

mikebledsoe

Because that's all your that's all you unless you've applied it. That's all you have is you remember the words you remember the order of these words. Other than that, you really don't know shit so ah in order for to be in your tool belt like you're talking about it. It's something that has to be implemented.

23:30.33

Max Shank

First.

23:41.14

Max Shank

Well and you can never step in the same river twice because it's not the same river and you're not the same man. So I'm sure you felt the same way you read a book 5 years later you read the same book and it feels completely different. You're picking up totally different things. You're like whoa. Where was I when I read this last time I don't remember any of this this didn't resonate with me at all and now it's like like blowing my mind.

24:09.57

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, yeah, there's a several books I've I've read a couple times that that I will probably keep reading every 2 to 3 years for for couple more decades who know all right? So let's dig into what? ah. Let's just go book by Book. Let's have you share a book and then we'll ah love to basically like do a mini interview with you about.

24:34.33

Max Shank

Should we do a why why? Why read? you should read to change your behavior or for entertainment and if and if you're reading a book that doesn't change your behavior then it was just entertainment and why are you bothering.

24:43.11

mikebledsoe

Love it.

24:52.33

Max Shank

That's that's why it's difficult for me to recommend books to people because I think the whole point is either to be entertained or to actually yield some behavior change. Ah otherwise like you know why are you reading 1 hundred business books shouldn't like. 2 be sufficient or or 1 good 1.

25:10.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah I like reading for entertainment I'm gonna I'm gonna list some books off I read for entertainment but got massive practical ah practical advice from the book. Basically and I noticed that I thought about things differently when it's an autobiography. So was autobiography for enjoyment. This is Mark twain's yeah autobiography um, you know and he wrote it I guess I'll fucking jump I was gonna I was gonna ask you first year book but I'm gonna start. So um, the the book.

25:30.49

Max Shank

So nonfiction. Oh Mark twain's okay, cool.

25:39.16

Max Shank

Ah, you start you start.

25:48.22

mikebledsoe

Ah, my favorite book that I read this year for pure entertainment was mark twain's autobiography. Ah, it's called roughing it and the story of his life is hilarious. There's just there's just tons up. You know we think back to Mark twain and 1 of the. Greatest literary artist american literary artists right? He was like the first american writer is is how he's commonly referred to and and I think a lot of times people think about huck finn and and all this in the Mississippi river and all this stuff when they think about Mark twain. But I'm reading his autobiography and he he's he goes to the west coast to mine for gold like he goes to Nevada he goes to california and he has the worst of luck just there's a story after story of him getting shit on and it's hilarious because the way that Mark twain writes is he can. Use very few words and you can picture the scene in your head and he says it in a way that you've never heard it before and it and it immediately causes visions to come so super super enjoyable and 1 of the benefits I got out of that book is just.

26:54.42

Max Shank

The.

27:01.31

mikebledsoe

Listening to his hardship and how much failure he had was a good reminder that. Ah, even if we experienced a lot of failure early on there's nothing to say you can't beat end up being like 1 of the greatest writers of all time or the greatest of anything of all time and you know the the thing that stuck out to me is. Even when he was mining and stuff like that he was picking up reporting jobs. He was always writing he was always. He would always go back to that and do some writing and he might he had this dream that he was always going to fucking strike it big and he was going to be. You know he talks about his ego in the book and how like when he had a lot of money. Cause there were times where he had a lot of money and he would blow it. He would just be like yeah I bought these fancy suits I would go to these these operas that I didn't really enjoy but I acted like I enjoyed them and and he's like I don't understand what the fuck is going on he eats all this fancy food and then like a month later he can't even afford a piece of bread. You know and that was it was that was Mark twain's life and this was during a time where like there wasn't homeless shelters. You know if if you fucked up in carson city Nevada ah you you know someone might take some pity on you but like you're out there in the. It was the wild wild west so I really enjoyed his book. In fact, there's about fifteen percent of the book I've I've yet to finish I've just been consuming it chapter here chapter there and whenever I need to relax the mind and get some chuckles in but it's it's. For me. The practical application has been just having a lot more ease in my life because sometimes something comes up and I go I just think about the story I read last night about Mark twain and how he almost died out in the cold because they got lost 10 feet from you know the hotel and it's just. Anyways, so that that 1 I highly recommend is just a lot of fun.

28:58.43

Max Shank

Ah, to check that out. You do it on audio or reading it. Yeah.

29:01.72

mikebledsoe

I got I my I'm I'm reading it? Yeah ah things I want to read slowly I Just ah I read that? Um, but yeah.

29:10.80

Max Shank

I like being told a story on Audiobook but if it's something that I'm going to reference a lot I like to read it with my eyeballs. Um, cool. Yeah, it kind of goes to show how much stories shape our reality i.

29:16.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

29:29.76

Max Shank

Sure I sound like a broken record but stories and stimuli are what shape us simple is that forces on our body. The things that we remember how we frame those experiences. That's what shapes our reality and a lot of writing if it. I Hate say only if it only eases your suffering That's huge actually because when you are in a state of fight or flight. You're not healing yourself So you're You're not going to be able to get into that you know wizard level Cerebral. Or Neocortex ah thinking and planning and conscious action rather than ah instinctive reflex out of Fear. So That's huge so those stories can permeate our being Or. Just be an easing of our suffering for a short time.

30:30.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, how about you? What's what's ah but but you want to start with.

30:36.90

Max Shank

Um, well actually the first 1 is ah by a comedian named norm mcdonald and it's his book. Ah based on a true story a memoir and what's really interesting is. He was a huge fan of Mark twain. He talked about Mark twain a lot and he will he in the book or I should say in an interview he said it's not facts, but it's truth which I thought was really funny so he didn't. Just write a story of his life. He wrote about the truths of life that he had experienced that weren't necessarily factual. Um, because as he said you know most of my life has just been finding and consuming food. And it doesn't make for a riveting read and um, he's my favorite comedian I think he's so Funny. He's so Smart. He always pretended to be really dumb and would you know get interviewed and say yeah I've read like about 6 books in my life. Meanwhile he's like. You know, dostoyevsky and reading like all of these like gargantuan tombs about life and death and religion and philosophy and just total genius but you never knew it because he didn't want it to take away from the comedy anyway, his book. Based on a true story is hilarious I've listened to it a few times. It's 1 of those that's actually read by the author and it's it's so funny. It just makes me laugh and it makes me think about. 1 of the things I like about comedy is it lets you think about the most horrible things in a lighthearted way and it sounds like that's what twain does also like he makes ah being like totally poverty stricken or on the ropes essentially.

32:36.71

mikebledsoe

32:47.16

Max Shank

Ah seem kind of okay and I think that's 1 yeah, it's it's 1 of the things that um gives us the power to carry on. You know that that hope and.

32:50.80

mikebledsoe

Comical.

33:01.67

Max Shank

Taking things with a light heart when you said the first american writer I kind of thought maybe that's what the essence of that is um and I'm I'm not well read enough with other. Ah. International authors to really understand the difference but it seems like there's more of like a sardonic and ah comical and quiplike kind of american irreverence that goes along with that to me. So.

33:31.76

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, well I mean the the west Love it. Love it And yeah, he's ah well he spent a lot of time on the West Coast and the West coast is known for being irreverent.

33:36.45

Max Shank

Anyway, nor Mcdonald based on a true story hilarious I've listened to it several times.

33:49.50

Max Shank

All right? My key book to.

33:51.60

mikebledsoe

That's ah, that's 1 of the benefits of it. Ah, all, let me all right book 2 I'm gonna go with the Sovereign individual. So the first 1 is entertainment I've got my my book list and in. 2021 in the 3 categories is philosophy business or enjoyment and the sovereign individual falls under philosophy which for me is entertainment but again a lot of practical application there because with philosophy what I like about these philosophical books is. They're taking a generally take a macro view of of how the world works and a lot gives us space to know how to position ourselves. Well I'll say this for myself reading the Sovereign individual. It really informed me how to position myself as time goes on in this book. What they do is they wrote it in the they was published in the year 2000 it with the intention of predicting what was going to happen between the year 2000 and 2025 and as I was reading this book I got chills I got hairs were standing up on my neck. It was incredible. How spot on they were and they opened up the book because what's funny is if they knew that people were going to be reading this in 2021 they wouldn't have to give as much explanation as they did at and the beginning of the book first half of the book is really dedicated to the previous 2000 years and it looks at 500 year cycles and looks at big shifts in. Ah, power being centralized and decentralized and they they really look at the when the berlin wall fell. Ah, it was really the falling of the nation state. So this idea that these governments are in charge and so on and so forth they made the comparison to.

35:40.49

Max Shank

And.

35:57.87

mikebledsoe

Well you when you ask somebody ah world history and you go you know when did the roman empire fall that was a lot of people say you know four 1080 but it really it really when we look back on it. We could say it really lost. Steam around 500 a but but people were acting like it was still. You know in full force an 800 a d even though it was just kind of very surface level. It was still going but it didn't hold the same power and so they really painted a picture of. Nation state losing power due to technology decentralizing ah safety the protection of assets especially when assets become digital There's just this whole There's this whole um era coming and is we're we're in the the. Infancy stage of this decentralization and ah they they talk about in the book they call it cyber currencies so you know year two thousand bitcoin didn't arrive in what oh 8 till eight zero nine I think maybe oh 7 is when it. You know the founder started figuring it out. But ah, you know they they call it cyber currencies in the book. But the way they describe how these currencies will behave and how they'll be autonomous in some way ah was very predictive and in fact. what they described and what is reality the reality of cryptocurrencies at this point is is way more sophisticated than they were predicting because of course it didn't exist so how could they be? How could they comment too far on it but they did. They did note the results of there being ah cryptocurrencies. Ah, they predicted um, ah that there would be a bacterial or viral pandemic and that the media would behave the way it did they predicted race riots and wars. Um. And the context in which they talk about these things is what gives you chills. It's like yeah anyone can predict these things like there's gonna be pandemics. There's gonna be riots. That's that's part of human history. You don't have to be a genius to say. Yeah that's probably gonna happen. But the way in which it happened and the way they described why these things will.

38:10.47

Max Shank

And.

38:26.92

mikebledsoe

Happen the way they happen is pretty incredible and 1 of the things that they talk about in the book is ah governments because they're losing power and they lose control over the currency will you know government rules by 1 mean 1 method and that is violence right. Do as I say or else I'll put you in a cage or kill you and so ah, yeah, that's how it enforces there's There's no other like that when when it gets down to it. They have a monopoly on you know that that entity has a monopoly on violence and so be.

38:49.60

Max Shank

Um, well, that's how it enforces.

39:05.17

mikebledsoe

When you have an organization that that's always the last resort well as as it as it gets closer to losing more and more power. It's just going to become more violent so 1 of the things they talked about was you know there'll be a lot of smaller communities and h oas will include security and they they basically. Also noted that since the 80 s the amount of private security being employed is way up. Private security is a huge industry and you know if someone goes oh when are we going to start having to have private security. It's you know the reality is you already have it and um and. Or you may not have it personally. But it's probably you you it you get the it's prevalent and you're you're probably enjoying it I mean when I went to a store last night. There wasn't 2 cops sitting in front of the grocery store with guns. It's 2 security guards you know, ah the the the local government is supposed to hire police in order to.

39:47.12

Max Shank

It's prevalent.

40:03.40

mikebledsoe

Keep crime down but you know they can't do that well enough so they got to hire private security. So no, so um, anyways, they basically outline that they talked about the steps ahead and and that book was actually very.

40:07.75

Max Shank

A can't be everywhere all at once.

40:22.70

mikebledsoe

Relaxing for me to read in a lot of ways because it was I'm watching the world go through this chaotic thing and then it really did a good job of saying look look back 2000 years we're looking forward 25 years and maybe a little beyond that you know this is really just ah ah a frame. In history. It's not It's not the rest of your life. It's not this and that and and also it really instilled. You know we're not going back. We're we're definitely just progressing forward towards something and these are all the things that are going to happen as we we go there and. It may not necessarily be an easy path forward. But the thing you really have to because of the way what technology is an impacting culture the necessity for personal responsibility is at an all time high I mean that's what the the book is called the Sovereign individual is because if you if you don't want to be a slave. And the future you have to be sovereign and in order to be sovereign means that you have to educate yourself on technology. You have to educate yourself on protection and security physical protection and security. You have to educate yourself on these things or else. You're subject to like the government's not going to protect you anymore is basically what they're saying like you're gonna you're gonna have to create your own little tribe and you're gonna have to use technology and all this stuff to take charge of your own protection. So um, 1 of the things that motivated me to do the training I did last weekend this past weekend is I go.

41:56.60

Max Shank

Ah.

41:58.86

mikebledsoe

I'm looking at the book and I go yeah it could ah you know ah America in this time is actually a very safe place. Still um, it's relatively if you look at human history lot less murder a lot less a lot of things. Um I think in the last couple years

42:07.71

Max Shank

Relatively? yeah.

42:16.45

Max Shank

Yeah, super rare still well and what's funny about that? Well what's interesting about that I guess it's not funny about that is the dramatic difference.

42:18.60

mikebledsoe

Um, homicides are way up, especially where awesome tax is up 1 hundred and seventy five percent homicides this year

42:33.67

Max Shank

Between how many people kill themselves versus each other I mean whenever whenever anyone wants to talk to me about how like a place is dangerous I'm like dude like what people kill themselves with fritos people kill themselves with a toaster in the tub like it.

42:35.51

mikebledsoe

Right.

42:51.80

Max Shank

And you know like I said sometimes fast sometimes slow but people kill themselves like way way more. So if anything we should be like more afraid of ourselves than we should be of other people If if we're going to like follow the statistics right.

43:02.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well well well a good example of this. Yeah, you're right is yeah I like to go down to columbia and columbia is not necessarily the safest country in the world. Um I've encountered a couple things down there I mean I've been down there maybe a total of.

43:11.47

Max Shank

Ah.

43:20.56

Max Shank

43:20.56

mikebledsoe

3 or four months at this point I've made 3 different trips and yeah I've run into a riot I've had some people follow me I have you know there's there's been a few times where I thought I was gonna end up in a fight um and it was really just cause I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and you know after you're there for a bit you learn how to you know.

43:33.12

Max Shank

Ah.

43:40.15

Max Shank

Right.

43:40.70

mikebledsoe

Navigate yourself to avoid those things but um, you know there people at home are going. Oh you gotta be careful and's like it's like this is the same person who is overweight eating ice cream before bed watching Jeopardy or something like that. It's just they're not like yeah but you're not living like you're.

43:54.65

Max Shank

Ah.

44:00.30

mikebledsoe

Like to your point probably killing yourself slowly whereas I'm just taking a little bit of a risk over here.

44:02.89

Max Shank

Yeah, right? And who's who's to say that it's It's better to live like a really really long time sadly than a short time Happily you know that's it's hard to quantify.

44:14.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah I think Ellenlan Watts Alan Watts has a tough thing about that and if aen said it then it's it's true.

44:21.55

Max Shank

I mean he was a hardcore alcoholic but I like a lot of his ideas I mean that's why you you got to take everything with a grain of salt and that's why um a certain book. Might be the opposite of what you need to hear like a certain book could be fantastic for you. It could bring you to better action and I could read the same book and it could be devastatingly bad if I believe it because you and I are different people So to your point earlier. So.

44:54.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, context matters.

44:59.47

Max Shank

Sovereign individual read it so you can defend yourself and when I think about um situations like that I think there are really only a couple important things you need to be able to defend yourself physically. Um, you need a community. Of people you know, love and trust and you need to be able to create value and that and that's a big 1 because no matter what the economy does if you are valuable then you'll basically always be okay.

45:28.50

mikebledsoe

Many.

45:34.47

mikebledsoe

Absolutely absolutely. Ah, um, by the way just on the on the notion of value just so this book out there the last safe investment I didn't read this this past year but to max's point the last safe investments all about how to it.

45:38.70

Max Shank

Ah.

45:53.83

mikebledsoe

It talks about 21 I think 21 or 22 different types of labor that you could develop yourself in that would be valuable and they they basically steer you away from the ones that are not that valuable and steer you towards the ones that are super valuable for example, copywriting is in there as 1 of the most valuable. So. Max you write and to that book's point ah the most valuable thing that you can have and when it comes to financial. It doesn't matter what the currency is or what's going on in the world if you can produce value for other people. Yeah, you should never go hungry.

46:27.75

Max Shank

Yeah I mean bitcoin and gold could both go to zero bullets probably won't though I don't think Bullets ever go to zero. Um all right shall I do 1 you did 2 books in a row by the way.

46:30.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

46:36.73

mikebledsoe

Um, Bulletin seeds. Yeah yeah, what's your next book. Yeah, let's go now I just do 1 in that wasn't when I read this year it doesn't count.

46:46.23

Max Shank

It's not fair. Ah I just threw an extra 1 in guess your opinion is more important than mine trouble in Paradise over here folks. We made it nineteen episodes.

46:54.69

mikebledsoe

I I look I'm older than you I'm allowed to do these things I.

47:02.37

Max Shank

Oh nice appeal to age authority very good I think you might be losing it though time is ticking. My friend time is on my side. Um, okay well I'm gonna do 2 books then also and I'm gonna really.

47:10.56

mikebledsoe

Of course I'm losing it.

47:20.66

Max Shank

And I'm going to relate them together because they're similar but ah, monumentally different in the same way. So I read a book this year that is actually out this year called how to live and it is 27 conflicting answers. And 1 weird conclusion I really like the format of this book because each chapter says you know this is how to live and then the whole chapter is about that and it's by a guy named derek sivers who started a cdbaby. He also wrote a book called anything you want. I really like the way he writes and his his chapters for how how to live are do nothing think long term master something pursue pain do whatever you want now. So they're all conflicting ideas. But that's how life is.

48:15.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

48:18.73

Max Shank

It's a bunch of paradoxes but he spent 4 years working on the book and it's it's a short read, but it's beautifully done. It's very concise. It's exactly what I am looking for in a book I get to essentially consume his suffering to make it concise. So I can get these ideas in their most purest form fully refined. Um, no wasted words. So I loved it. I think it speaks to me personally because the question of how to live is very conflicting. And it depends on the individual. some people are so over the top arrogant that they're going to burn themselves and some people are so um insecure and lacking confidence that they're never going to take that step forward. There's going to prepare prepare forever. So. Everybody needs to hear something a little bit different I thought these chapters were fantastic I'm interested in juxtaposing that book with another book that I re reread which is tools of titans which is a gargantuan book. Full of some of the top performers in the world in different areas, physical feats business feeds technology. Um, and there's a lot of differences. In their advice and I think that's what makes it good and that's what made me think of that book in relation to this book how to live because it's stories that you can relate to and be like oh that's how that guy did it and it's just little bites and books. As I mentioned should inspire some sort of action. So whenever I'm writing something it should inspire action I don't really like writing if it's not going to inspire action. Frankly I find writing kind of painful sometimes anyway so if it's not going to. Inspire action in somebody I'm not going to bother I'm going to go take a walk essentially so I think the the stories um the chapters in how to live by Derek sivers are fantastic I think it will make you think differently and.

50:35.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:49.98

Max Shank

It's each chapter is its own little book and it's really beautifully done So how to live by Derek sivers and that's ah with an s s I V E R S That's a great book. Very easy read to.

51:04.74

mikebledsoe

Beautiful.

51:09.92

Max Shank

Now we're even 3 each now we're even I'm keeping score by the way I'm also keeping score of how many minutes each of each of us talks. So we get equal time because we believe in equality here folks.

51:11.47

mikebledsoe

Now We're even all right I'll go Okay, good. Well I'm um, um, I'm curious. Are you taking notes about are you taking the time down when I say something brilliant so we can cut it out for a video. Ah yeah, that was a softball all right? ah.

51:28.15

Max Shank

Um.

51:33.76

Max Shank

I'm still waiting for you to say something brilliant I do have my pen here though.

51:42.33

mikebledsoe

We've got my my um, my favorite business book of the year was incredibly practical and that is 1 hundred million dollars offers by alex hermosi now I want to I want to say this alex hormosey also wrote a book called jim launch secrets. He comes from the fitness industry and you know I learned about how he did his his tactics and I'm not really a big fan of the tactics he used and growing gym memberships and things like that I think that? yeah. That's all I'm gonna say about that I just want to I want to throw that out and to max's point early in the show if I were only going off of what I had already prejudged the author on I wouldn't have picked his book up because I already had a judgment about how he does things and then and and. Ah, 2 people 2 really intelligent friends of mine in one week they suggested to read his book so I pick it up and this is the beauty of having a kindle is I can usually get books at you know, half the price or maybe even a quarter of the price and I don't have to wait for it and I can. Lot of times I can read the preview ahead of time and that's what sold me on this I I got to read the first chapter and I go. Okay, this is going to go somewhere that book 1 hundred million dollar offers I have never seen anyone after reading it I realized that I never consumed a resource on offers by themselves. I'd study a lot of marketing I'd study a lot of business and offers usually fits inside of this marketing chat. So. It's like a chapter in a marketing book or it's a it's a module or a week during a marketing course and alex where Mosey is the guy's ah a fucking genius and he's built. I think over five companies at this point over 100 million dollars and and different industries at that and so um, it's 1 thing for someone. Um, you know, build a business that makes 1 hundred million dollars. But it's another thing to do it to do 5 and I think he's with 32 or 33 years old so really young guy. Um. Super sharp and 1 thing I really liked about his book as well is he had a an online course. Companion. So if you if you get the book. It's got little link at the he does a little lead magnet type thing. Um technically not lead magnet because he doesn't even collect your email address. So um, anyways I read that book and it really helped me and it was just perfectly packaged in the right order it. It's you just follow from chapter to chapter and by the end you're going to have a solid offer and you're going to understand what it is you offer your customers and your customers are going to understand.

54:28.64

mikebledsoe

But you're offering them and they're going to feel as though you're solving their problem which is exactly why they're going to hire you or they buy a product anyway. So hundred million dollar offers by alex or Mosey favorite business book of the year

54:41.27

Max Shank

That is 1 hell of testimonial and it's also a testament to how information is still valuable even though it's ubiquitous or even though it is everywhere information is free. It's everywhere. But you can still make information extremely valuable if you put it together in a format that is really easy to digest. Nice.

55:06.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the beauties and the packaging. All right, You're up. What do we got? He's looking around. Yeah.

55:15.95

Max Shank

I'm up. Ah another book I read this year was I have ah I have like a little list here but I also have a couple of books I'm trying to decide because I don't want to? um I want to do too many because I know we're getting close to the wire. But um.

55:30.54

mikebledsoe

Why you probably just running out of books you read this year

55:35.80

Max Shank

You know what.

55:38.99

Max Shank

I can only I can't read actually I only listen to audiobooks ah now I'll recommend um I have 2 more that I really want to recommend so the travels by Michael crichton.

55:50.28

mikebledsoe

Ah.

55:55.67

Max Shank

And I reread it every year since I had a recommended to me by a good friend of mine and it's amazing travels by Michael creton. He's a um, super prolific author he covers it all. Travels he talks about um, you know going to medical school and seeing like the psychiatric wards and traveling to all these different places and nearly dying several times and um, he's. Just a fascinating individual. He goes into the ah physics and metaphysical plane and he just dives right in it kind of reminded me of richard feynman's book a little bit surely. You must be joking Mr. Feynman but travels by Michael crichton. Is absolutely fantastic. He talks about the travels externally and travels internally and relationships and science and I know I've recommended some of his stuff in the podcast before especially his. A little lecture called the state of fear which talk about prophetic for for what's happening right now. But michael crichton travels excellent book worth reading worth rereading. He's awesome.

57:20.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you recommended a video for me to watch of his a lecture. He gave an hour long presentation that was just not only was it enjoyable but it was it was kind of kind of like the sovereign individual is relieving in some way in some ways and.

57:37.47

Max Shank

Earth.

57:39.89

mikebledsoe

Really pointing out really where a lot of bullshit exists in the world and the media and and how he really explains how things get out of control. Um, and so as far as how narratives get out of control and yeah.

57:43.87

Max Shank

Oh yeah.

57:56.53

Max Shank

Yeah, he goes over it in such a calm way too. There's like humor in it and he's like yeah of course then this happens and you know he's just talking about like horrible things. Ah that are happening but he's doing it in a very lighthearted manner which I like.

57:59.43

mikebledsoe

Super cool. Yeah, he's chuckling the whole time.

58:12.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's It's really nice to have someone who's ah like an M D Ph D That's confirming some of ah your biases. But.

58:15.51

Max Shank

It makes you feel a little bit less alone doesn't it.

58:27.45

Max Shank

Ah.

58:31.62

mikebledsoe

Um, let's see we'll do a couple more books and then I'll ah we'll put the rest on the blog that doesn't exist yet. So but I may if it if it does exist and you're listening to this I'll put it here at the end.

58:44.94

Max Shank

It after.

58:50.58

mikebledsoe

I haven't bought the domain yet I don't think.

58:51.48

Max Shank

You don't want to read too many books either. You want to read a few good ones and then reread them and take good notes about them and write in the margins I mean here's a quick intermission you got to rewrite these ideas in your own words if you want to remember them.

58:58.79

mikebledsoe

That's true.

59:07.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

59:10.61

Max Shank

Go ahead and and make notes inside of the book too. That's what those little margins are for it might not be what they're for, but that use the margins to highlight things and yeah exactly I used to try to keep them really pristine now I just write all over them because it makes you.

59:19.20

mikebledsoe

It's your book. You can do whatever you want.

59:27.52

Max Shank

Ah, helps you remember the information a lot better.

59:28.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, yeah let's do 1 more each and then we'll call it a day ah and outwitting the devil was would be ah another 1 at top of my list and outwitting the devil. Is by Napoleon hill he wrote how to think and grow rich. Ah rich. You know that's what he's most known for because that book was published maybe in what the thirty s or forty s and it's been commonly referenced if I go to a business networking.

59:57.97

Max Shank

Something like that long time ago.

01:00:06.27

Max Shank

It's still a good buck. It's still a good book.

01:00:06.83

mikebledsoe

Event. It's people are referencing it all the time and it's practically a hundred years old. And yeah, so that's thing and grow rich is what he's known for. There's a book called outwitting the devil that he wrote back in the thirty s

01:00:11.94

Max Shank

Hundred years later almost amazing.

01:00:26.60

mikebledsoe

Early forty s and never was published until 2009 and when you read the book. You'll understand why it wasn't published and in fact, it required him passing and I think 1 of his children passing before it could.

01:00:26.70

Max Shank

Um, ah, whoa.

01:00:45.85

mikebledsoe

See the light of day and so the book is called outwitting the devil and it is quite the commentary on human nature and on culture as a whole and how ah groups of people. Um. Behave and how the majority of people are just drifting through life and if you're just drifting the devil has got yeah and talks about how to think for yourself and has warnings about different things to come and. Which there's some. There's a lot of really insightful and interesting things in that book I enjoyed reading it every book I've mentioned so far I smiled I giggled I I I got excited as I read these books so I hope you do too all right? come by. But your last 1 max.

01:01:45.14

Max Shank

Outwitting the devil out outwitting the devil itself sounds kind of like outwitting yourself was the first thing I thought when you even said the title. Um, so I read ah I read a comic book. It was ah I think it was the the the prehistory of the far side by Gary larson. The guy who did the far side comics. Um, it was just funny is hilarious I thought those comics were really good.

01:02:12.15

mikebledsoe

01:02:21.31

Max Shank

I Think that the fact that he frequently switches the roles between humans and animals is really funny like when you have animals doing human-like things. It seems very absurd and quite macabre. Also and I thought that was really funny. Um another but an actual book I liked was guns germs and steel which I doubled down I doubled down ah guns germs and steel because it gives you.

01:02:47.53

mikebledsoe

Oh now you're now you're now you've got 1 up on me.

01:02:58.77

Max Shank

A little I mean I don't know if it's more honest like where I'm at as far as history is concerned is it's just his story like whoever wins the War writes the history books So I don't really believe too much of.

01:03:08.78

mikebledsoe

Are.

01:03:16.22

Max Shank

What is told about what happened but I liked guns germs and steel because it gives a reasonable explanation for why things are the way they are now. And why some places advanced and why some places didn't I didn't agree with everything in the book. Um, but it was a really good. Ah it was a good follow up to another book I liked which was called Power Sex Suicide Mitochondria and the meaning of life so it kind of just goes.

01:03:48.26

mikebledsoe

Me.

01:03:52.10

Max Shank

Along that logical pathway and I think that sort of stuff is is just fun. It Also I don't know about you but it makes me a little more compassionate toward others especially with what we're talking about with. Outwitting the devil and there's so much pressure to fit into the group and I used to be I'm still pretty hard on myself which is fine I Guess Ah, but I used to also just think everybody was a malicious idiot and now I realize that it. It's just very uncomfortable to have this unique existence and try to fit into a group and that there's usually a reason why people are the way they are. You know if you get really good positive feedback for doing well at School. You're probably going to get good at school if you get really good positive feedback. Playing Basketball you're probably going to keep getting really good at basketball and so on and so forth so seeing things from more of a historical thing which is guns germs and steel and then seeing things from a cellular and biological standpoint power sex Suicide I think is ah. I Guess it's comforting for me to know this backstory but at the very least it's entertaining.

01:05:10.22

mikebledsoe

Love it. Yeah, 1 things that you said ah brought up for me is everybody is suffering and it's it's just something to remember your your suffering is actually not unique and people tend to to think it is.

01:05:25.79

Max Shank

Would you write a book if you weren't suffering. Why would you write a book if you weren't suffering. Yeah, that's what I'm saying like that that.

01:05:29.63

mikebledsoe

Once you realize that it's.

01:05:34.35

mikebledsoe

If you're not suffering. Why would you do anything.

01:05:44.95

Max Shank

You hear me I'm like a broken record I'm talking about hunger pain and desire all being synonymous with each other. So um, every book I've written was to ease the suffering of others because the suffering of others. Ah, is quite irksome to me I don't I don't like it when other people suffer it it hurts I'm a very empathetic person I'm like oh man, there's no reason you should be suffering like this like you don't even know why you're doing this exercise you're doing this exercise because he saw it in a magazine you haven't even considered what a human body.

01:06:04.54

mikebledsoe

Here.

01:06:12.75

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:06:23.24

Max Shank

Can and maybe even should be able to do as you as you age, you're just like copying the dance moves that you saw it's ridiculous. So That's ah, that's kind of where I come at I mean everything I've written was to. Ultimately ease suffering and I think that's why people write stuff at All. It's a very compassionate thing that we do and I think that compassion is what um ties us together intergenerationally and that's what allows us to write these things and have. Have a hope that they will ah be useful to our our family right.

01:07:05.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah let's let's wrap it up. Um I'll go first and you know what make sure you're reading things that you enjoy because you probably already know enough of what you need, um, and. Ah, don't worry about how many books you're reading enjoy the process digest it learning as behavior change implement before going and consuming a bunch of new information. Um, understand why you're reading the book. Why are you picking it up understanding that intention is. Is ah very necessary to get the most out of it even if it's enjoyment. So yeah, that's all I go to say about that what reading contest which want.

01:07:51.15

Max Shank

Well there goes our reading contest we were gonna do I joking we were gonna see who could read the most books next year it's not that funny. Okay, minus 1 that just.

01:07:59.89

mikebledsoe

oh oh oh oh yeah I mean ah I would just pick up a bunch of Seth godin books whop your ass eighty pages tiny 10 words per page.

01:08:10.32

Max Shank

Super short super short books I just read every Dr. Seuss books on you um fiction fiction books can help you make better decisions. That's that's a big 1 it doesn't have to be nonfiction. It doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be a business book to understand. Value and scarcity and desire and human nature fiction. Books can tell a lot about that sort of thing as well. Um, read a book more than once if you like it read a chapter of a Book. Doesn't have you don't have to read the whole thing. You can just open up to a random page and you might get a spark of insight. You don't have to read the whole damn thing if you're reading a book and it sucks stop reading it? ah.

01:08:59.46

mikebledsoe

That's a big 1 I probably started more books than I finished this year

01:09:03.41

Max Shank

Yeah, it's good. Why not I mean why? why should you have to? um, rewrite the ideas in your own words. Don't don't just copy verbatim unless you're copywriting then it can be really useful and then you can ingest later from there. But. Rewrite the ideas in your own words and it's like the difference between um, just Mimicry and learning the principles. So yeah, don't get don't get caught up in how many books reread books over and over that really that you really like. Um, consider the source of course but really good ideas should be able to stand alone and.

01:09:57.85

Max Shank

That's it. Yeah, you don't you don't need to read a lot of books probably most of us have enough information. It's better for us to spend time synthesizing um and organizing the information that we have already consumed as it pertains to your own life and. Um, maybe it's time to write your own book. Even if you don't think you should.

01:10:19.18

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right up if you can find me on Instagram mike underscore blood. So and you can go over to I have a summit coming up in March here in austin texas you can find out more information about that at where they go. Destrongcoach dot com slash summit max.

01:10:41.39

Max Shank

I am max you can find me in maxshank dot com or at Maank sometimes I hope you guys have a lovely rest of your week see you later. Love you bro.

01:10:52.70

mikebledsoe

Later. Love you bro.

How to Make Choices That Don't Suck Dec 27, 2021

00:00.00

Max Shank

Hello everybody welcome back to the max and mike Monday morning podcast today I'm pretty excited because we're going to talk about choices. We're going to talk about the difference between a mistake and an error and we're going to talk about the difference between a good choice. And a good outcome and you might think those are the same thing but actually they are not. You can make a good choice and have a bad outcome. You can make a bad choice and have a good outcome and if you want learning to really take place. It's very important to understand the difference between those. So. If you listen up today I'm confident that we're all going to make better choices that give us the result that we're looking for so thanks for tuning in mikey good to see you.

00:48.15

mikebledsoe

Good to see you? Yeah 1 of the reasons we chose this topic and by the way we usually choose the topic about 5 to ten minutes before we hit the record button and um, yeah I did a a mushroom ceremony a few days ago where. I was basically shown all the mistakes that I'm still paying for in my life right now. So as max had ah guessed accurately was I had my own personal hell for about 3 hours and it was.

01:06.73

Max Shank

Um, now.

01:23.48

mikebledsoe

Even though it was my own person at hell for a few hours it was really enlightening and and getting very ah getting to be at peace with what I had was witnessing as mistakes I'd made that I was currently paying for and also ah. Experiencing a lot of sadness around it and then by the next morning feeling a little better about it by the next the morning after that feeling even better and having an action plan on how I can more methodically pay off those. Mistakes or errors more quickly so I can get on with my life because yeah, as much as we would like to for me, it's it's as if I I've learned the lesson that came with oh that was i.

02:03.19

Max Shank

02:20.38

mikebledsoe

Did not get the outcome I was looking for there that was not what I wanted to happen and I learned that years ago, but my bank account is still having to you know is money's being siphoned off for those mistakes. Even years later even though the lessons been learned so it's ah. It's an interesting life process that we're all in where we usually pay for those mistakes a little longer than we'd like to.

02:48.17

Max Shank

Always longer than we like to ah personally I want no negative consequences for any of my actions. But I think you bring up a good point because making choices is actually the only thing that we do. Everything is outsourced from choice making right? So. The only thing that we personally do is make choices even if that choice is to raise your arm up in the air you are making the choice but then your body It's getting outsourced to your body and then your body does that little task and. You know I'm pretty critical of all forms of media including podcasts because I think most media is a colossal waste of time now. That being said I think you can basically split up content. Into 2 categories better choice making which would be learning and entertainment and that's all if what you're consuming informationally content wise is not helping you better make better choices. Then it better be entertaining at least Otherwise what the hell are you doing and since that's entertainment.. That's that's 1 hundred percent ah mental masturbation like I don't like to watch horror movies but tons of people do so.

04:07.71

mikebledsoe

So I just want to be scared. Yeah, that's true.

04:19.24

mikebledsoe

04:22.32

Max Shank

Once again I'm not really into Kink shaming So like whatever you want to do to get your rocks off. But I think it's important to not pretend. It's something different and there's a lot of time invested into mental masturbation and if you think about. Differentiating between. Okay I'm going to consume this information so that I make better choices or I'm just going to flat out entertain myself. So It's important I think to not confuse those 2 things and for me. It's actually quite liberating because that itself is a valuable decision that enables me to be more mindful with what I'm doing.. There's no pretension for me when I'm consuming information I'm either consuming this because I think it's going to help me make better choices in the Future. Going to give me more of the results that I'm after or I'm just entertaining myself and it doesn't matter. Ah what your flavor is, but it's entertainment and then you also don't feel like oh I'm always I'm always trying to.

05:29.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

05:35.82

Max Shank

Learn new things. It's like yeah you know some of the stuff I learn. It's not really practical right now. But of course you never know.

05:43.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean what you're getting at there is ah your you're intentional. You're intentional about oh I'm going to sit down and be entertained. Um, yeah.

05:55.57

Max Shank

And there's no shame there. There's no shame there. Whatever you like.

05:59.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, my my intention a lot of times is to is to play. My intention is to let loose have a good time and play you know sometimes you know in the the plant Medicine Psychedelic World Community There's always this.

06:06.25

Max Shank

Um.

06:18.99

mikebledsoe

There's this heavy emphasis on setting an intention before you you take your get into take your substance and get into your experience and for years my intention was always to learn something and to get something out of it and then over time I go oh my intention.

06:31.44

Max Shank

Ah.

06:38.85

mikebledsoe

1 of the things I learned during during a ceremony is I go oh I can ah my intention could to be to enjoy myself and to play and that is just as valuable as anything else.

06:45.70

Max Shank

Right.

06:51.76

Max Shank

That in itself is a very valuable decision. Um I was mentioning to you before we hit record that I've been really getting into tennis a lot lately. I actually have a lesson on Wednesday with a guy who trains at my gym. Juan. And he's awesome and 1 of the most valuable pieces of information I learned about tennis is that there's a very important decision before you hit every ball and so we played we did this drill. And it was called offense defense and before you start your swing that is the first choice you have to make am I going to hit this ball offensively or am I gonna hit this ball defensively. And now when I'm playing matches I notice if I make a mistake with that choice right away I'll be like ah that should have been a defensive shot where I'll go oh I had time for that to be an offensive shot so that has been a huge improvement.

07:57.29

mikebledsoe

08:06.53

Max Shank

In my overall game because now there's no confusion as to the first choice that needs to be made I need to quickly decide. Okay do I have the opportunity to attack this ball offensively or is it important to. Hit a defensive shot so I can keep the rally going so I have time to maybe get an offensive opportunity later because tennis is 1 of the few. Yes, definitely tennis is 1 of those few sports where if you make an error. Ah your opponent gets a point.

08:29.47

mikebledsoe

Or a better 1

08:41.14

Max Shank

You know in a lot of other sports if you make an error you don't necessarily get punished with a point loss immediately. But if you miss a shot in tennis your opponent actually gets a point so you speaking of paying for mistakes you pay for every error that you make.

08:56.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well 1 of the things you said before we hopped on as well was ah we don't make mistakes we only make choices and a mistake is something that we can only look back on and notice and go oh and then which which. Occurs to me as you're just judging the choice because you didn't get the outcome. You're looking for and then that yeah, it's labeled retroactively and then ah going and then you continue to say something else, but this ties into what we.

09:19.90

Max Shank

Yeah, it's labeled retroactively.

09:32.97

mikebledsoe

1 of the things we were talking about last show and that is making the right choice. None of is the last show or 1 of the previous shows making the right choice may not result in the desired outcome and so so.

09:46.68

Max Shank

Exactly.

09:51.49

mikebledsoe

You know, ah putting all the weight of a single choice for a specific outcome is is probably it experience. You're probably experiencing a little bit of tunnel vision because there's so many things that contribute to the outcome where outcomes. Ah and it's ah yeah, just. Got me thinking more and more about okay I've made choices which didn't give me the outcomes I desired and now I'm paying for them and and my judgment of those is to call it a mistake but it's also good for me to look back and go yeah that was I won't make a choice. Ah, all all. When I'm making choices that are like this I'm going to have to consider all these things that it becomes more obvious the things I didn't consider as I made those choices.

10:38.80

Max Shank

Absolutely and it also speaks to the heart of where I've been able to actually find some compassion because I used to think most people were just Evil Idiots. Ah, which is not like the most positive way to view the world. But I realize that everybody is always doing their best based on how they think and feel at the time. So based on the information they have available to them and based on their current state of mind. They're always making the best choice they can think of now a lot of times people make. Choices with their lizard brain only So they're not maybe using their full faculties but based on the tools that were available to them in that Moment. We're always making the best choice we have available and it's easy to. Judge other people because we don't really know their experience. So I think that I think that's really huge like you will be able to live a more comfortable life If You realize that people are doing the best with the faculties that are available to them.

11:54.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

11:54.53

Max Shank

In that moment and then you'll also be a lot more forgiving of yourself because um I can certainly speak from my own experience. But I think a lot of people who try to be high. Achievers are often very hard on themselves. And really, um, relive every mistake lots and lots of times because you're like oh I Just don't want to make that mistake again. I don't want to make that wrong choice again. So You'll be more forgiving of yourself. You'll be more compassionate of other people. And if you do that then you're going to be more in ah a love vibration instead of a fear and maybe even loathing vibration and of course then you also get to make better choices because as I said people always make the best choice based on how they think and feel. At the time. So if you feel afraid if you feel hateful if you feel judgmental you're not going to make as good a choices you're going to make Lizard brain choices.

13:00.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

13:07.63

Max Shank

Um, as far as the right choice but wrong outcome. Um I'll use tennis as another example so you have 2 things you have deployment and execution deployment is. What you choose to do and when you choose to do it. Execution is how you did it. So if I try to deploy an offensive shot at the right time. But I Miss. That would just be a problem with my execution. So the the way I did it wasn't very good. How I executed that decision was wrong and if you break up these choices into deployment and execution. Then you know where to correct it for next time. Because it's a totally different thing to make an error in deployment which is making the wrong choice versus an error in execution which is the skill that you used was inadequate to capitalize on the on the correct choice.

14:15.50

mikebledsoe

Go when I hear when they hear you say deployment I think strategy that it's the Ah how am I going to accomplish this this goal.

14:28.48

Max Shank

It's what you choose to do and when and the execution is the how you do it. So if you if if you deploy ah a punch at the right time if you choose a? ah.

14:32.55

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

14:44.17

Max Shank

You know the correct punch and you deploy it at the right time but you you do it too weekly or something like that or you do it too slowly or you're just off Target that would be an error. And the execution even though the choice that you made was correct. So I think of it as deployment is what and when and execution is how yeah.

15:01.29

mikebledsoe

Ah e.

15:09.43

mikebledsoe

I like that I like that well going back to that thinking about the high performers I imagine there's quite a few high performers that listen to this and going back in and dwelling on Mistakes. Ah. I I think ah so it can be a gift because that that can create a hyper performer and you just hyper analyze things. The drawback to that is all the emotional experience that comes with that or usually the emotional experience that drives that it's this It's this dwelling or this addiction to feeling that guilt and I know that's something that I dealt with at 1 point where I overindulged in feelings of guilt and ah which is really strange because if you were to ask you know people on. And a quick survey. You know, do you dwell on guilt or happiness more like wow it makes sense to dwell on being happy. But that's not necessarily the case and so there was a time in my life where I I dwelt on guilt and that. That was what was driving a lot of the the dwelling on the mistakes from the past and making sure I didn't make those same mistakes twice. So it's 1 of those things where it really was had a negative impact on the quality of my life in the moment but for but it did. Turn into a productive ah exercise now. The trick is and 1 of the things that I've learned over time is yeah, there's a lot of gifts that were given from these emotional states that cause a lot of stress or maybe aren't really that useful in in them in a. And themselves. But the product is good and so what I've learned to do better now I wouldn't say out I'm really great at it. But what I've learned to do better now is let's go okay, that was a mistake I can feel sad about making that mistake if I haven't felt it all the way through yet. But instead of instead of dwelling on it because I feel like shit but going back and being analytical and and feeling happy and feeling really excited. So 1 of the experiences I've had over the weekend is I'm really excited to put some changes in my life in order to avoid. Ah, you know making those mistakes in the future and it's you know you're doing it well because if you can get out of that lizard brain and go into the wizard wizard brain then you can come out with very ah, let's say.

17:57.28

mikebledsoe

Ah, practical things that you can do. They're going to ensure that you don't have to experience that again and then you can skip that and enjoy the success that you're looking for.

18:07.94

Max Shank

I Think you said a phrase that really speaks volumes which is you are indulging in feelings of guilt which it sounds like a ridiculous phrase. But but if you have ah.

18:16.25

mikebledsoe

Oh.

18:25.46

Max Shank

Ego self-image that thinks of yourself a certain Way. You're going to reinforce those currently held Beliefs. So I think that's extremely common, especially if you think of yourself as someone who does make good choices. And if you think of yourself as someone who is smart and conscientious and aware of things. It's going to hurt twice as bad if you make an incorrect choice.

18:57.70

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, well yeah, because now you know you make yourself pay for it in ways that you don't They're completely unnecessary.

19:05.73

Max Shank

And it kind of comes back to the emotion side of things I think of enthusiasm as social energy enthusiasm is a power in and of itself. You know there are you have force equals mass times acceleration you have work ah force times distance powers ah work over time you have all these different physics equations but enthusiasm which comes from being possessed by Spirit. Is an energy that is completely unique and it's the catalyst for a higher level of action because Hunger is the ultimate motivator right. And pain is a form of hunger so you can be operating from a place of deep hunger or even fear perhaps but when you're enthusiastic It's almost the same sort of desire which is another synonym for pain. But it's got to love. Vibration to it. So when you're operating from an enthusiastic place. You're look I don't know maybe you're gonna triple your output. You're gonna light a fire in other people like you wouldn't otherwise um. You're definitely 1 of those people who gets people excited about things like you're ah you're definitely an idea machine and you know you've called me several times over the years and I'll be like god damn that's a dumb idea and but but but even so. And you've also come to me with like a lot of brilliant ideas too. Don't give me ah, don't get me wrong here. But um, what I notice is the level of enthusiasm is contagious like I feel myself getting excited.

21:14.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

21:15.33

Max Shank

You know what I'm saying so that enthusiasm comes from being in a good place emotionally and as far as you know reliving the hell of your bad choices. Um, it is kind of like how we said. Depression is a luxury too being sad is a luxury like all these things are luxuries that are only available to you if you actually have all your physical needs. Met so ah.

21:33.94

mikebledsoe

21:46.56

Max Shank

You know the same thing if you can get to that place where you're enthusiastic. Which means that you're not punishing yourself for the past and letting your past ruin your present and future and if you find something where you can be enthusiastic about. You know sharing what you have with others you're going to make better choices and even if the choices um maybe aren't as good now I I still think. Ah, Overall you're going to make better choices if you're enthusiastic about it. You know you don't want to act too rashly I guess that would maybe be the only consideration ah with hyper enthusiasm.

22:29.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think there's yeah well I'll speak of my own personal experience. Ah I am I'm a very enthusiastic person I I do get excited about a lot of different. Things and I get excited about my own ideas I get excited about other people's ideas or projects and um because of that I I attract a lot of people coming to me with their ideas and and looking for help and 1 of the things that I've noticed over the years is the majority of my. Some of my ideas are bad. Some of them are good and some of them are bad just because they're not for me to do I think I think a lot of my idea probably most of them are good just not for me. They're good for somebody to do ah and.

23:14.32

Max Shank

Right? um.

23:20.58

mikebledsoe

1 things I've had to learn is that because it's easy for me to influence other people's enthusiasm and their behavior and getting them involved is there's been times where I have people on my team I get enthused about something I start talking about it. And I'm not telling anyone to do anything about it I'm just sharing the idea and then a few days goes by and I have a check in with the team and they've taken action on whatever it is I was I was discussing an idea with them and I and I was like fuck. We just wasted a few days of work because I actually didn't want.

23:51.15

Max Shank

Her.

23:58.54

mikebledsoe

Um, never even intended for you to take action on this was even my intention and now we are here we are going down this track and so I've I've had to learn how to um, be enthusiastic find specific people in my life I can share those ideas with that are not. Working for me or with me ah and to flesh them out and then I've also gotten a lot better about having ideas come in and go yeah, we'll just let that 1 I'll write it down the book write down the journal and then ah maybe I'll come back to it. You know, 2 or 3 days go by and I go.

24:31.66

Max Shank

And.

24:37.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah,, don't really want to do that. But it was cool to to dream about it. So That's just ah, yeah, little little little things that I Found. It's also good to remember for people who may not share the same trade I have but do get enthused by other people. Somebody who has a lot of Charisma comes by and gets people all hyped up and for something for an idea. It's also good to check in with yourself is like is this is this the idea that I'm supposed to be involved with right now or am I just getting caught up in the enthusiasm and in The. Charisma of this person.

25:17.20

Max Shank

Yeah, and I'm almost the opposite like 1 of the services I offer is dream killing because I think that you can spend you can waste a lot of time going for something that isn't really a good fit for you or a really good. Ah, overall idea if you're overenthusiastic. However I come back to enthusiasm being social energy and who better to use and as as an example than Richard simmons sweating to the oldies like. When I was in my early twenty s I would like make fun of that sort of thing but dude richard simmons has helped more people get up off the couch than I have probably by a factor of a thousand or more.

25:53.68

mikebledsoe

Me.

26:08.10

Max Shank

And it's because he's just so Enthused. He's so excited about them dancing around in their living room and sweating to the oldies and so you can have what I would argue is a suboptimal product. But if you have that charismatic enthusiastic. Um, leader It doesn't even matter. In fact I would rather be invested into that business than someone who's got all of their kinesiology doctorates in order. Doing the perfect exercise.

26:45.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've I've witnessed that I ah ah traveled to travel the world finding the best of the best and kind of really figuring out that a lot of the people who have the best product or service.

26:50.31

Max Shank

Oh yeah, yeah, I've seen it tons of times.

27:05.60

mikebledsoe

Get very little attention and people who get the most attention you know will have a mediocre product or service.

27:05.98

Max Shank

Ah.

27:12.37

Max Shank

They're in the basement pouring over the research papers while the ah dumb guys giving out high fives. Ah, after every set of burpees. You know it's like people people are like that people are like that.

27:27.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well this why I like them I like to partner with people who are on the other side of the spectrum because if you is where partnership comes in really really handy is if you have if you have 1 person who's ah.

27:37.56

Max Shank

Huge.

27:44.82

mikebledsoe

The Enthusiast and the other person who is the what what would you? How would we want to categorize this other person.

27:50.00

Max Shank

Well I think I'm the other person so it's like how would I want to categorize myself.

27:54.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that sound like you were calling yourself the dream Killer but.

27:58.48

Max Shank

The other guy the Dream Killer Sometimes Dream killing can be the absolute best thing a person needs like I will happily support a dream where I can see the benefit from it. But I think you you want both you want someone? you know my 1 of my friends used to say I was a sharpshooter That's what he would call me like I would just look at every potential flaw or weakness in the idea and do that with myself too. So It's not like I'm just a sadistic. Dude like trying to do it to I'm not just kill I'm killing most of my own dreams too mind you? Yeah yeah I Guess it's just.

28:39.90

mikebledsoe

He's also a masochist.

28:48.49

Max Shank

Yeah, it's It's the same way that I train myself and my clients like a lot of it is looking for weak points and not just reinforcing strengths.

29:01.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean that goes would use so talk about deployment versus defense. Are you some is that right? not defense. Ah no, no, no I'm thinking about ah offense versus defense otherwise mixing those up. Ah.

29:13.20

Max Shank

Deployment versus execution offense defense.

29:20.95

mikebledsoe

So offense versus defense would you would you consider yourself somebody who is more naturally geared towards thinking of defense before offense sort of sounds like to me.

29:31.31

Max Shank

Yeah, 100 percent um 1 of the axioms I kind of live by is why risk what you need for what you don't need and I am 1 of those people who will be I can be really patient.

29:39.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

29:50.50

Max Shank

Um, so I'll just wait for the right opportunity now when the right opportunity comes up I will attack it so aggressively that it's kind of startling in fact, but I don't feel a need to be. Dynamic all the time or attacking all the time because I've recognized that if you are patient enough just like in jujitsu position before a submission like I'll just wait and wait and wait and when the opportunity comes then I'll go for the submission. But unless I'm just messing around with a friend I'm not going to be trying for any type of fancy aggressive Stuff. It's going to be slow methodical control control control don't risk losing position. Wait wait wait. Okay there's the position. Now boom super super offense all of the sudden.

30:50.13

mikebledsoe

Yeah I'm more naturally geared towards being on the offense I look back on my sporting career and yeah in sport and life way more on the offense ah lot of lot of swing for the fences.

30:57.19

Max Shank

No doubt.

31:09.48

mikebledsoe

A lot of failure but but also some success and I've I've noticed over the years ah is the thing that helps me out the most is to slow down and go on defense and it's it's ah it's a difficult choice for me to make to go in defense.

31:19.75

Max Shank

Ah.

31:27.62

Max Shank

Not the.

31:28.40

mikebledsoe

It's not what I want to do but when I do it I So That's when I usually see really great progress or and I've learned to wait for that that moment to Strike. Ah, but when when it is time for that moment to strike there's you're saying that it's startling. How how aggressive it may come out as because I've got a lot of practice being aggressive.

31:51.96

Max Shank

Right? And there's kind of another thing to consider here too which is um I've heard it described as the strategy paradox where what works for another person would be like the worst thing you could do for yourself.

32:08.76

mikebledsoe

32:11.50

Max Shank

So you could be 1 of those people who wants to value invest and just purchase um shares of companies where the financials are strong. There's steady growth and you don't really go outside of your comfort zone. You're probably not going to lose all your money doing that on the other hand, you're probably not going to become very wealthy very fast because risk and reward are usually proportional to 1 another. However, if you are you know. Buying options on penny stocks with borrowed money you have a chance to maybe 10000 x your money. But you also have a chance to lose all of your money times 10 so so ah and that kind of goes along with another bias which is survivorship bias and the best example I have of that is Richard branson if you've ever read his autobiography to a more defensive minded person like myself and methodical. Just gave me like heart palpitations because every every other chapter he's like mortgaging his life away and borrowing another millions from the bank and shit's going wrong and you know he's got a music company and everything's finally going well for him. Everything's finally going well like he never had like a lot. It was always just reinvest reinvest and then things finally go well and he's on the board at virgin music. They got a ton of artists and he's like yeah so I'm gonna I'm gonna start an airline I got to buy a. An airplane and I need another 1 hundred million dollars. So I'm going to start selling stock and borrowing and his partners in the music company wanted to kill him they they hated him they hated him. He's like they hated me and.

34:16.78

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

34:21.28

Max Shank

The first test flight ah he like hit a goose or a duck so he needed another fifty million dollars to fix this plane like a 7 forty 7 or something like that. So now he's he's. You know he owes 1 hundred million or something to the bank of England or whatever it was I think it was like the Royal bank of england and he's just like begging them to give him more time and it worked out for him. But anyway, that's the survivorship bias just because it worked out for him. There. Ah, 110000 guys who made similar choices who lost everything so you can't necessarily mimic that and think that you're going to get a better result, especially if it doesn't match your personality type either.

35:05.49

mikebledsoe

Well you you got to consider you know Richard branson he he likely thrives in chaos and so having that that stress is something that that causes him to to get shit done that needs to get done whereas. A lot of people would collapse. Um, there's ah, there's there's 2 other personality types. This makes me think about and 1 is ah when when if 1 personality is which is which is me if you're really far ahead.

35:25.42

Max Shank

And.

35:44.16

mikebledsoe

Plenty of money's coming in. Everything's going great all that I have this tendency to want to take my foot off the gas I celebrate the victory. It's like okay life is good. Let's let's do something with this money. Let's let's you know, chill out and. The other personality is somebody who who is ahead and that's motivating like oh we're ahead. Let's get more ahead and more ahead and more ahead. But the flip side of that is it. This is probably where Richard brenson and I have something in common which is if you're behind the 8 ball That's when shit's getting done. That's what I'm making moves highly motivated logging the hours I need to be hyper focused on the things that actually matter not all this other bullshit in the business that that may be just a waste of time.

36:25.60

Max Shank

Further.

36:38.56

mikebledsoe

Um, really gets hyper focusedcused and then that person that really enjoys being ahead and is really motivated when when things are going well a lot of times that personal collapse in that space and they they're just kind of like give up and so I've been in situations where um. Been on teams where ah things are going when things are going well people are unhappy with me like why isn't mike doing more to help us keep getting ahead and and then when she hits the fan. They're like mike what do we do and I'm like okay I'm taking over everything.

37:01.96

Max Shank

That.

37:13.95

mikebledsoe

Um, now it's like command and control. There's a military operation. We're gonna We're gonna make these moves and so in in the funny thing is is part of me hates putting myself in those positions but the other part of me loves it. It's exhilarating.

37:16.49

Max Shank

The.

37:31.90

mikebledsoe

It's like ah this is what life is about like let's fuck shit up. You know so it's it's a very interesting thing to keep in mind and also know who you are in those situations because 1 of once I got hit to that knowledge I started saying oh I don't need to put my.

37:33.49

Max Shank

Oh.

37:48.81

mikebledsoe

Business partners and loved ones through this stress I may find it exhilarating but they don't fucking like it and it's not good for them and it's probably not good for the business either. So really learning to honor both types and use both types when necessary and not needing to get.

37:55.50

Max Shank

Ah.

38:07.96

mikebledsoe

Really far into the extreme of 1 or the other um and that's probably what leads to getting into an extreme or 1 or the others you go too far to the extreme of 1 and then the pendulum will swing so going right back to doo de jing right? like the middle way.

38:18.72

Max Shank

You know you know it makes me think of something I believe is very important which. I think is hard for people to understand and if you are locked into a mission. You're trying to figure out how much you can do. And if you're looking for a retirement business or an income. You're trying to look for for financial Freedom You're trying to find out how little you can do and that is a huge difference and. Tying it back to choices. Maybe it's not that hard to understand. Actually maybe it's simple to understand if you have a clear Mission. You're gonna be trying to do as much as possible with that mission. If you are just looking to free yourself Financially, you're going to be looking to do as little as possible and if you have a clear mission choices will come much more easily because they should all be pointing in the same direction and that's where that. Ah, enthusiasm which is possessed by spirit comes in even more handy is now everything every decision you make is pointed toward that singular point of focus and it goes back to what we were saying about having your focus be dissipated. Into more of a lantern versus a laser beam where you're hyper focused on 1 thing. So I think that's a huge distinction is um, mission versus ah, let's say a financial goal because with that you're going to be trying to do as little as you can. Um.

40:19.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but.

40:25.33

Max Shank

Like that's my goal for investing of course like I'm not trying to do as much as possible I'm trying to do as little work as possible but have as clear and consistent a reward as possible versus our mission here to enable people to free themselves and make better choices. Which has a network effect. That's more about seeing how much we can do right? It's totally different.

40:48.69

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah yeah I um spend the majority of my life on the mission side and it it was interesting. It's been interesting because hearing you say that. How many times I set financial goals because I just felt like we're supposed to set financial goals and the financial goals revolved more around if we do this much then we can make this much impact in the way that we want and in the last few years it's become much more become much more on the.

41:09.49

Max Shank

The.

41:17.40

Max Shank

And.

41:24.10

mikebledsoe

How can I do less and ah make as much money as possible doing as little as possible and so I think the the balance there's a balance on those 2 as well is can can you be conducting and.

41:24.35

Max Shank

Okay, the.

41:30.60

Max Shank

Ah.

41:42.87

mikebledsoe

And activities conducting activities with as little effort as possible that have a meaningful outcome and that way you can check both boxes which is the financial freedom box as well as the mission box and I see that a lot of people have ah. Don't see how they can do both and a lot of people walk away from a lot of money because they want to be more purpose driven and they actually associate the the making of money as something that's taking away from their purpose which you know.

42:03.10

Max Shank

42:19.54

mikebledsoe

Their attraction to it might be the thing that is but but I'm a firm believer and what I've been experiencing is high high mission orientation but also holding at the same time. These things could be. Ah, paradoxical to some people which is ah you know, being on mission and how do I create financial freedom for myself. My family and work as little as possible.

42:48.90

Max Shank

I think the best way to get to the heart of that discrepancy is to focus on even trades like a win-win situation because if you put yourself into a position where you're just sacrificing. There's not going to be It's not a 2 way street. Basically so if you are dedicated to a mission but you're also selling that service for a price that you believe is worth it to you and makes it worth it to them. That's where you can have mission and financial goals kind of coincide I think.

43:32.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, you got it I mean I've been in the place where I invested reinvested all my money into the business and wasn't looking out for myself at all and and turned into a lot of sacrifice which just turned into ah an unsustainable way of living because. Moment The business didn't do well I wasn't doing well and it's hard to make good business decisions when you're experiencing financial scarcity and yeah, yeah, so.

44:02.85

Max Shank

And gambling they say you're on Tilt so you make bad choices I always take half my chips off the table before I move on to the next thing I never but but also I'm I'm limiting how much I could earn so.

44:10.44

mikebledsoe

So I That's a good idea.

44:18.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

44:22.33

Max Shank

It's just you got to figure out your appetite for risk and that's a whole that's a whole other thing.

44:25.44

mikebledsoe

Well 1 thing I noticed is when I started looking out in taking care of my own position better I made so much better decisions for the business or businesses if I'm comfortable I can make good decisions if I'm not then then I may make. You know something that makes more money in the month this month but doesn't set us up for success in 1 2 3 years

44:47.85

Max Shank

I Only ever wanted freedom from the time I was very young kid I didn't realize I also wanted love but I didn't really just I didn't see that path So I want love and freedom and money is really just a means to buy freedom.

45:04.39

mikebledsoe

Is.

45:06.97

Max Shank

And I think you you can have ah the most important thing is is fuck you money where you just have the freedom to say no to anything you have the freedom to say no to opportunities to requests to threats to. To whatever you're just like ah no and you don't even have to be ah like smarter once you get to that point you just it's like playing home run derby at that point. But there's no penalty for not taking a swing like you are just doing everything from that position of fuck you. So you don't have to um, be blinded by the lizard brain. You can really just let the wizard take charge there when you're in that fuck you money type of position now. There's another level which is fuck me money which is where you can like Torpedo. Yourself your street credibility. You can literally just say whatever you want, you can get excommunicated from society and then you'll like still be okay, um, and that's that's a whole other thing where people where people have so much. They're just like yeah I'll I'll totally destroy. Ah. Myself full on character assassination because I just don't care.

46:25.72

mikebledsoe

Who was it Um, the guy who did all the virus software. Ah, ah, the kaffy I think I think he experienced that fuck me. Ah I mean I mean he did end up in he then and end up in jail.

46:34.33

Max Shank

Mccaffy. Yeah yeah, guy was an animal that was a scary thing.

46:45.34

mikebledsoe

But ah as a very interesting and anyone wants to go look up his story I don't know where to look it up because I've I've been following it from many different perspectives. But ah yeah, he's 1 of those guys that made fuck me money was living abroad and was. Pulling all sorts of shenanigans and even after his death. It looks like he's pulled some shenanigans. There's been things are being released in the wake of his death. So It's a.

47:05.00

Max Shank

Ah.

47:12.45

Max Shank

Yeah, apparently he had like a lot of information that was very incriminating about certain things within the United states and the the powers that be.

47:16.99

mikebledsoe

Ah.

47:30.79

Max Shank

As they say yeah.

47:32.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so yeah I like that. Well I think um, you know, maybe that should be that could be a course fuck you money is ah it's a.

47:42.89

Max Shank

Fuck you money I'm surprised. That's not already a thing because if you think about it. There is no other reason to get it like you people want security. Yeah, but freedom is the ability to say no, That's all. That's what freedom to me. That's how you could boil it down Freedom is the ability to say no because if you're addicted to something it means you're enslaved by it means you can't say no to it anymore whether it's a substance a person which is like a different type of codependency. Um, whatever. If You can't say no, you're enslaved and we're enslaved by all sorts of things and it's okay to be enslaved by you know I'm a slave to Oxygen and water and food. But I Really think the. Core of freedom is the ability to say no.

48:41.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think that's that's a spot on I mean there's.

48:46.55

Max Shank

We could call it. No thank you money if we wanted to have it be like a little bit kinder.

48:51.24

mikebledsoe

If we can if we if we want to run ads to it on facebook.

48:55.58

Max Shank

How to how to get? No thank you money.

48:59.74

mikebledsoe

Ah, doesn't have the right ring man I'm not sure that's going to stick. Yeah, that's ah, that's an important thing and ah that freedom is the ability to say no, it's that's that's an extremely powerful comment.

49:03.59

Max Shank

It's not the same as fuck you money.

49:18.91

mikebledsoe

That's because it's not just about money having enough money to say no to anybody. That's that's definitely a lot of Freedom. The the freedom to say no somebody you know is wanting to do something to you or asking you to do anything the ability to say no is freedom if if you're being. If you if that the ability to say no is is removed then yeah, you're a slave makes perfect sense. Yeah.

49:47.16

Max Shank

Substances and peep substances relationships too right? You know you get a you get a craving for the demon rum and you can't say no then you're not really free of it.

49:59.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, this also makes me think about boundaries and and ah and you know the word sovereignty comes up and it used to be that the only sovereign beings that existed on the planet were royalty and so there was.

50:15.11

Max Shank

Center up.

50:18.20

mikebledsoe

There's a couple of you know there's a family that were all sovereign which meant the rules didn't really apply to them and then there was everybody else that that was underneath them like that like the Queen of england still doesn't follow doesn't the rules don't apply to her to even to this day. So. Ah.

50:37.16

Max Shank

Wouldn't it be amazing if she just started like a Jack the ripper like serial killing spree in England or something like that. She just went out and started murdering.

50:45.16

mikebledsoe

I think she's on her last leg I don't know if that's gonna be possible, but ah, the well the idea of like I mean that was the the idea of the founding in the United states was more of bringing sovereignty to the individual and. When I think about. So yeah, it's all about saying no.

51:05.18

Max Shank

It's all about saying no, it's all about resolving. It's all it's all about resolving conflict on an individual basis like the free speech is basically the right to say no firearms is basically the right to force the issue. No.

51:15.58

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah, and well I think about Sovereignty I think about royalty and 1 of the things that that kings and.

51:26.38

Max Shank

Even the third amendment even the third amendment is no. You troops can't stay at my fucking house. The fourth is no. You can't search my shit. The fifth is no I don't have to say a god damn thing like it's all about.

51:32.63

mikebledsoe

Right? right? yeah.

51:43.28

Max Shank

Freedom is all about no.

51:43.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right beautifully said so I think about Sovereignty I think about kings and queens and what do kings and queens have is they have a territory and they have boundaries and and those boundaries is.

51:56.79

Max Shank

52:02.55

mikebledsoe

Are set and if you cross those boundaries you're going to suffer a consequence whether those boundaries be physical boundaries as in a physical wall around a kingdom or the boundaries of of we do this and we don't do though that you know if you break this rule if you pat cross this. Conceptual Boundary then you're going to experience some type of punishment and so ah I incur that I think a lot of people don't experience freedom or the degree of freedom that they could have simply because they don't know how to they don't even recognize their own boundaries. Ah, usually they don't recognize that their boundaries been crossed until after it's been crossed and it was crossed because they didn't know it was a boundary and so they never communicated it So It's it's your duty if you want to be free. It is your duty to. Communicate those boundaries in a way that people can hear them and then if they cross them after you tell them don't cross this boundary and that is impeding on your own on your shit then you know the use of force is is what may be necessary and is.

53:12.13

Max Shank

Where do you think we got the phrase draw a line in the sand That's literally drawing a boundary as an actual line that you are drawing.

53:16.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, is there? Yeah yeah, you've crossed this line I'm gonna punch you in the throat. So.

53:29.14

Max Shank

And what you said there is key to because it's not just for physical. It's for energetic stuff too and I'm I'm sure I've talked about this a few times most of the stuff you hear me say that sounds. Really wise or something I've probably written down like a Hundred times. So. It's not like I'm just coming up with this stuff off the cuff be like oh wow that guys. no no I just write down a lot of stuff. Ah energy vampireism. You know where people are trying to get free psychic energy from you from. Unloading all their problems on you trying to get sympathy or complaining or whatever. Ah, just like the mythology of um, actual vampires. They cannot come inside your house unless you invite them in same thing with energy vampires. Unless you invite it in they can't get any of that free psychic energy from you I'm notoriously bad at listening to complaining because I don't tolerate it I draw a boundary to it because on the 1 hand. Yes. Every complaint is a request. But if you actually have a request then it's not complaining anymore. You're asking for help. You're asking for advice I'm 1 hundred percent down to get with that. But I'm not going to be the I'm not going to be the victim of.

54:59.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

54:59.44

Max Shank

Energy Vampurism and I think a lot of people don't draw those boundaries because they're afraid to they're afraid to just say stop. You know like I don't want you to keep talking at me like this because they're afraid like oh they won't like them anymore or whatever.

55:15.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, a lot of people I've had to learn how to draw boundaries people don't complain to me either. Um I've had family members start to complain to me. Ah, and I remember a few years ago I got very. Strict around the boundaries around that and there' was a couple of my my family members had reached out or I was having dinner with somebody and I was like I'm just not gonna talk about this? Ah, ah, yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and listen to um, gossip and and they go. You know of course and like I'm not gossiping I'm like it's gossip and I'm not gonna I don't participate in it and ah it it was jarring for them. Especially if you start setting boundaries that you did not previously set.

56:08.61

Max Shank

That's gonna be a shock to the system. Whoa Whoa Whoa Man What changed I did I'm not sorry, but.

56:13.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, it's people will people have have cast you as a character in their movie and they expect that character to behave a certain way and when that character does something that's out of character it it ah causes a little. Little rift is it's like the glitch in the matrix. It's like they they start to see oh this is my movie just got fucking ah just jumped the frame I don't know what's going on and I feel threatened. You know a lot of people feel threatened by it because.

56:50.73

Max Shank

They're totally hooked expectation exactly they're hooked on predictability. It's like that quote the only reasonable man I ever met was my tailor because he took my measurements anew every time he saw me.

56:51.38

mikebledsoe

Their expectations aren't being met.

57:03.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

57:06.50

Max Shank

Versus everyone else. They just have their memory like oh Mike acts like this and then you're like hey I don't act like that anymore and I'm like oh my God My illusion is shattered like I don't because your brain is such a prediction machine.

57:08.91

mikebledsoe

And.

57:18.36

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, it makes me think about ah the time I saw I every once in a while I'll spend some time with my ah buddies from high school I'm in ah I'm in a text message thread. But with these guys and the lives that we're living are. Very different I won't I won't say they're as different as they as they could possibly be but they're incredibly different I've I've grown a lot in a different direction and sometimes I hang out with them and I can and they want to hang out and I go hang out with them and it's it's ah it's awkward. For them. Ah a lot of because I'm comfortable with me but they start treating me and talking to me about things that I used to care about or um, they they expected me to relate to them and in an agreement on things and then I don't agree. Ah. And I want to have ah a different com. You know I take the conversation in a surprising direction and I can just watch the discomfort seeping in it's like now that they they want to hang out but now they're looking forward to me leaving.

58:29.47

Max Shank

I mean it sounds an awful lot like Gossip mike um I'm sure that I'm sure that.

58:35.95

mikebledsoe

I bring it I bring it up I bring it up to like these are these are things to expect when you set new boundaries or when you experience growth and.

58:44.63

Max Shank

Um, well when the tribe says yes and you say no, they're gonna go huh and so that's it's just another layer of freedom am I Free to say what I want am I free to do what I want and people are actually.

58:50.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

59:04.56

Max Shank

Shockingly free we are we are part time enslaved because we got to work for the man ah percentage of the year but overall historically speaking we're like crazy free.

59:18.44

mikebledsoe

Yeah, more more free than than ever before. Yeah, and then there's the yeah, the the ability to choose your freedom is extremely high. The amount of people that even understand how to choose that. That's.

59:20.15

Max Shank

As free as you choose to be really.

59:37.56

mikebledsoe

Seems to be pretty low.

59:37.91

Max Shank

Well people enslave themselves with destructive behaviors way more than other people enslave them I mean I'm I don't I guess I'm not a hardcore libertarian I'm really more of an objectivist. I guess but I do believe in free choice being a better result than centralized control. Ah 99 percent of the time just because the risk reward's not good. Um, and where was I going with that saying that we're Better. Ah. Yeah, we are way more enslaved by our own choices within our own lives than we are by some external authority like we're slaves to food. We're slaves to media. We're slaves to a dopamine loop. Within our own mind. We're slaves to a cultural norm that probably sucks. It's like oh I've been conditioned to believe this is good. So now I'm going to sacrifice a lot. To get this result that I've been told is really good. Ah college student loans. Ah the concept of ah traditional marriage has positive and Negative. Um. It there. It just goes on and on and on and on and on and so it's tricky because drugs or addictions are a type of enslavement and it's where your choice gives you a result that you. Intellectually don't want but practically you can't avoid that whether it's um, scrolling Instagram or pornography or actual like heroin or crack or something like that. Never tried crack but I've heard It's really good people sacrifice a lot so they can keep doing crack ah food.

01:01:48.43

mikebledsoe

I've heard. It's really good too I told I had someone once tell me, you should try a crack sometime just don't know where to get it more of it. You want to make sure that you only have 1 dose because if you know where to get more than you're fucked.

01:02:02.63

Max Shank

Yeah, you and I are certainly not clever enough to find crack. Are you kidding me.

01:02:17.85

mikebledsoe

Ah.

01:02:17.93

Max Shank

I would have like a I would have like a boulder full of crack within 2 hours if it was like really the best thing ever a crack boulder but with food food and choice. That's why look I have this video. Ah. Does fasting solve everything and it's all about what we're talking about because food is the most interesting of all the drugs because it's the only thing you cannot completely abstain from like you cannot quit cold Turkey Cold Turkey It is impossible to have.

01:02:48.90

mikebledsoe

Well.

01:02:56.49

Max Shank

No food whatsoever. So you're always having some food imagine if you were like trying to quit heroin but you had to have like 1 hit a day just to survive that would be insane. So.

01:03:09.54

mikebledsoe

I Think that's how it works after you get addicted. You can't go cold turkey with it. You have physical withdraws. Yeah yeah.

01:03:15.98

Max Shank

Ah, heroin you mean I mean you can. It's just painful but like you could quit heroin cold turkey and never do it Again. Same thing with opiates same thing with ah like booze and stuff like that I mean it depends how far I'm not a doctor. So. If You're currently a heroin addict and looking for my medical advice then I would say look elsewhere. But.

01:03:37.30

mikebledsoe

I Think there are other things you can do to win yourself off other than just stopping I think that's there's a safer.

01:03:42.44

Max Shank

Yeah, oh totally. But it's possible to stop doing heroin completely once and for all like once you get to zero but you can't do that with food and that's why I have this video called does fasting solve everything because.

01:03:50.26

mikebledsoe

Yeah, right.

01:04:01.14

Max Shank

It's the core of hunger and it's the core of decision making and as I mentioned Hunger is synonymous with desire.. It's synonymous with pain right? So if you can get that choice under control I think it. Gives you the foundation to get all your other choices under control because it changes your relationship with hunger with pain with desire with motivation.

01:04:32.76

mikebledsoe

Got it makes perfect sense. Go watch that video folks where is that video ton you? What do people search for does.

01:04:43.98

Max Shank

It's on Youtube does fasting solve everything. It's on my youtube channel.

01:04:51.17

mikebledsoe

This fasting solve everything anything else. You want to mention before we go.

01:04:54.64

Max Shank

Um. I Mean we talked about a lot of stuff I I think I think we kept it pretty close to choices. Um, what are some of the big important things that we talked about we talked about.

01:05:01.60

mikebledsoe

We did. There was a broad subject day.

01:05:18.87

Max Shank

Ah, the difference between a good choice and a good outcome. We talked about the difference between deployment which is what you choose and when you choose it versus execution which is how you do it. We talked about offense and defense. We talked about being in.

01:05:33.25

mikebledsoe

Offense and defense.

01:05:38.50

Max Shank

Lizard Brain versus the Wizard Brain. We talked about how compassion is best found when you understand that everyone's doing the best they can based on how they think and feel at the time including yourself so you can forgive and accept yourself including all of your past decisions that. Retroactively you might label as mistakes I Just think ah.

01:05:59.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, we call ah and and the courses I teach I call that honoring self and honoring other honor yourself and and give yourself some grace and give yourself what you need in the moment so that you can show up the best you can possibly be honoring other is ah.

01:06:05.77

Max Shank

Oh that's nice.

01:06:19.90

mikebledsoe

Not assuming that you know what's actually happening in their experience and and and understanding they are doing. You know that they're probably doing their best and so you've got to give them the benefit of a doubt and when that happens it opens up communication to find out. Ah, to get to get more accuracy about what is their experience and usually once that door opens the understanding is a lot easier to come by.

01:06:47.64

Max Shank

Man That's good. It kind of reminds me of something else which is wisdom is knowing yourself and acting accordingly and arrogance is thinking. You know what's best for other people.

01:07:01.74

mikebledsoe

Simple, very simple. Ah and I like that like that a lot anything else I'm feeling I'm feeling complete this is ah.

01:07:04.10

Max Shank

Simple.

01:07:12.52

Max Shank

This was a lot of fun I'm feeling complete you complete me. Ah.

01:07:21.45

mikebledsoe

Ah, ah, feeling complete. Yeah, we didn't have a we didn't have like a target to hit at the end of the show so going going off a feeling here.

01:07:28.19

Max Shank

I I What are you talking about? what are you talking about? we spent an hour. We hit so many valuable points for how to make better choices. Are you kidding me.

01:07:36.19

mikebledsoe

I agree I agree but I usually have in my head this this final target. We're gonna land on. He's like where well it's we.

01:07:44.43

Max Shank

What do you want me to say what do you want me to say.

01:07:49.28

mikebledsoe

We didn't plan it so there's no way to know it's that's I'm saying I have to go off a feeling at this point, there's no predetermined target.

01:07:54.73

Max Shank

Um, I don't even I don't even know how we would come up with a target for the choice making podcast.

01:08:03.26

mikebledsoe

I Know that's that's that's why we're here we we have to just choose in the moment.

01:08:08.82

Max Shank

All right? Well you got so I'm I'm really noticing our mistake in our pre-show planning here so in order for you to feel fulfilled in order for me to satisfy you I need to know what you hope to achieve at the end of each podcast. So next week be sure to let me know exactly what you would like me to do for you by the end.

01:08:29.35

mikebledsoe

Ah, he ah perfect.

01:08:35.10

Max Shank

Um, ah ah you can find me at mashank dot com. How can they find you.

01:08:39.39

mikebledsoe

All right? Where yeah we're besides that Youtube video where can people find you.

01:08:48.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, on Instagram mike underscore bletzo and a reminder that I have the strong coach summit coming up in March the strongcoach dot com slash summit will get you more information.

01:09:01.58

Max Shank

Boom. Thank you guys for listening. Love you. Mikey.

01:09:05.42

mikebledsoe

Let me max.

How to Be Your Own Scientist Dec 20, 2021

00:00.00

Max Shank

Ladies and gentlemen welcome back to Monday morning with max and mike today I'm very excited because we are going to talk about how to be your own scientist. This is a subject very near and dear to my heart because unfortunately there are. No shortcuts. It would be so nice if we could just all be told what exercises to do and what foods to eat at what time but we are unique individuals and there's no way that you're going to put a broad. General piece of advice that works for everybody. You cannot apply the same solution to everyone so that is why you must take responsibility to be your own scientist and today we're going to talk about that mike nice to see you again.

00:53.66

mikebledsoe

Good to see you max. And yeah, I'm excited about this topic because um, I'm somebody who's very comfortable experimenting on myself I know you are as well and so. A lot of times when I look around at the world and people are confused about something. It's it's hard for me to understand why they're confused I go well why don't you just try it out and then find out if it works for you or not in the way you want it to work and yet people are still waiting for there to be. A mountain of evidence or their favorite journalist to make an article about a single study that's going to convince them that this is the way to move forward and 1 thing I want to mention is you know we we're doing this because we. Well I'm doing this because I want to warn people of the dangers of going with the flow of the rest of society and if we're going to take a really broad view of ah science I mean science is really about discovery. Um, people are looking for things that are true. Ah and truth hides in plain sight as results and so ah, most scientific inquiry isolates and really goes deep into a single thing. But if you want to zoom out and you want to use the scientific lens to just say what are the results that exist in the world today then you would get that you may not find out everything that contributed to creating those results but you could at least be present with the results and that's 1 of the things that i. I see is missing in our society is just this this lack of acknowledgement of what is so ah I won't say science is failing because science is just a tool It's what we use but I I think as a society we're failing. Because even though we supposedly have the most advanced advanced science on the planet. At this point we have the most widespread obesity diabetes mental health challenges everything that science claims to have answers for and ah. Science doesn't claim anything because it's not a person but people like to claim that they represent science and then and then make bold claims for everybody. It's a really sad state because what we see is the the general result is mainstream understanding.

03:38.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, and you don't want to go with that if you want to be average look at the average they're they're sick and almost dead. Ah then go for it. But if you don't want to be average. You have to be your own scientist.

03:51.90

Max Shank

Well I generally agree with what you're saying I think it's important to define our terminology a little bit and there are 2 things that really stuck out to me there number 1 is you either mean science as a field. Like there are the sciences. There are physical sciences, social sciences and actually that's the main problem that we're in. So if you remember anything about this first bit. It's that our physical sciences have advanced astronomically literally astronomically. But our social sciences are retarded in in the most literal sense of the word, our social science progress is in the basement that progress has been slowed down or retarded when. You think of science what you probably are referring to is the scientific method which involves number 1 observing what's going on around you to a hypothesis which is basically a guess so all science starts with paying attention. And then guessing and then you run an experiment and you record the results and that's the scientific Method. It's supposed to inform you based on a repeatable experiment when unfortunately right now right. The word science is used more like a political tool or a persuasive tool just the same way if some guy is in a long white lab coat. You are maybe more likely to believe what he's going to say so it's important that we don't conflate or. As mike says the collapse distinction between the science and the scientific method. And yeah.

05:43.87

mikebledsoe

Well I think yeah Science I think using the word scientific field is good because that refers to a group of people who may identify as scientists and then they they collaborate in some way but because it's a organization or or ah, a. There's a large large organization. There's subsets of organizations and some are recognized more widely than others but the scientific field is wrought with ah policy so inside there there is um. Policy is driving so much of what what research is being conducted. What research is published. There's There's all these things ah science that there is not a there is a governor that is being put on science by policy and So. Ah, the the it's fueled by dollars. But but the reason we have an I R B We have a ah ah review board is to make sure that we're not inhumanely experimenting on people or or something like that. But that same review board.

06:40.72

Max Shank

Well, it's fueled by dollars right? I mean just like anything else. There's an incentive.

06:55.26

Max Shank

Right.

07:00.27

mikebledsoe

On The flip side may also limit ah research that a lot of times limits new research because if you want to if you want to jump into something that's too far of a gap between what's already being studied. Then a lot of times that won't get moved forward.

07:18.81

Max Shank

Yeah, and you don't have to only think of what are traditionally scientific fields like physics and chemistry and computer technology. In fact, 1 of the. Best books I've ever read is called scientific advertising and he approaches advertising in a very methodical and scientific way using the scientific method hence the name. So I think 1 of the things that we're talking about today is applying that scientific method. To as many parts of your own life as possible and it doesn't need to be such a heavy word either. It really comes down to paying attention and reviewing what the results actually were for you right.

08:06.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah I I was at a talk this past weekend I went to and a conference and first conference I've been to in a couple years it was it was a lot of fun. Ah, but what we got talking about was the well. What. 1 woman. She gave a presentation about how to how women need to be experimenting on themselves because the majority of research that's been conducted has been on men and then not only that ah the fda up until ninety ninety 3 made it they they. Made it where there was going to be no clinical studies on women who ah were pregnant or had who had gotten pregnant during any of the research trials and so it's basically illegal to conduct clinical research on pregnant women and then. Because women could get pregnant. No 1 wanted to do research on women because they could just lose all their subjects and I've been a part of of studies before research studies and just getting the subjects for your study are is difficult enough. So the majority of that's been done for men and so.

09:21.12

Max Shank

1 with women. The hormone fluctuations can be so dramatic throughout a month due to the natural cycle that they have to throw that data out anyway.

09:23.20

mikebledsoe

Um.

09:32.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's a 28 day cycle whereas men have a 24 hour cycle. Um, and there there is variation over I think a seventy 2 hour day period for men but it's so small by comparison. Um, so man, why was I getting into that.

09:46.59

Max Shank

Um, for me.

09:52.30

mikebledsoe

Um.

09:52.31

Max Shank

How how they make the measurements how they do the scientific studies difference between men and women.

09:58.41

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, there was somewhere I was going with that and I I lost it. It'll come back.

10:06.70

Max Shank

I think we can kind of segue though into the ability to decipher. What's going on in these scientific studies I think the number 1 thing with any new piece of information. Absolutely number 1 thing doesn't matter if it's an article, a new story scientific study. You got to look at the incentive is who is to gain the most from this bit of information and unfortunately. You can prove almost anything with statistics. In fact, 1 of my favorite quotes is a mark twain quote you have lies damn lies and statistics and oftentimes you can set up the study itself. To prove exactly what you want to prove like I could easily prove that leg presses are better than squats or vice versa depending on what I decided to measure so it's very interesting to look at the way that people use. Scientific studies to back up their argument and it makes sense because as far as persuasion is concerned. It is 1 of the best things 1 of the best ways to persuade is to say this is proven to work and that's actually the main reason why most people aren't willing. To take a scientific approach to their life. They want to outsource that science to somebody else because if I say hey mike you know I got this? Ah great exercise plan. there's ah there's a good chance. It's not going to work for you. But by the end of it. We might have an idea what will work for you versus. If I say mike I have this scientifically proven plan if you just follow it. You are guaranteed results because you know sixty percent of other people got results. But.

12:02.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think I think a lot of people don't don't are not friendly. Experimenting on themselves because of their association. Well, there's no guarantee but there's no so there's an association with not getting the desired result.

12:12.43

Max Shank

There's no guarantee.

12:21.90

mikebledsoe

With failure instead of really being able to view it as a test I don't think that yeah that people are people our our culture has been raised and educated in a fashion that makes ah not getting the desired result.

12:25.33

Max Shank

It's the fomo.

12:38.14

mikebledsoe

And it makes you a bad person like there's there's this, there's this association with that and they don't know what we do is We have a whole culture of people who don't know how to test what works for them because they don't It's It's so much safer to go with the mainstream I mean. Ah.

12:39.52

Max Shank

He failed.

12:57.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean who yeah, it's safer just to be the average kid in the classroom. Yeah, you'll fit in.

13:01.39

Max Shank

What you'll fit in right? It's fascinating because most of the study and I'm just going to use like exercise and nutrition as examples most of the time you can easily prove that 1 thing is better than another thing. But it's so so difficult to prove with any kind of randomized control study that something is better than many other things so you end up with these studies that are very um, we'll just call it like tunnel vision. For lack of a better word right? So it's like we have proven that squats are better than leg presses and I'm I'm sure we could pull several of our friends. On this podcast and they would conclusively be like yeah dude squats are way better than Leg presses I mean this has been put to bed and I'm like for who though and over what period of time because it's so difficult to get participants to do something for a long period of time. Usually these studies are like. 12 weeks at the longest. It's really difficult to figure out what's going to be overall best for strength and longevity and plus as you and I both know a lot of the strength gains come after years and years not after just a few weeks so there are so many considerations here that it should inform your experiment but you should not believe that it is going to provide you with the same result because in fact, no matter what the odds are. It's still pretty much going to be a coin flip about whether squats or leg presses are going to be better for you as an individual because there are 2 outcomes that it could be either. Squats will be better for you or leg presses or a combination of each right? but we can't test that because it makes the research too complicated. So you might have a person who would be way better off doing leg presses but the study showed that only like ten percent of people do better with leg presses. You follow what I'm saying here and then.

15:18.89

mikebledsoe

Me.

15:22.95

Max Shank

Of course this doesn't take into consideration at all that sled pushes and lunges might have been better than both squats and leg presses. So you end up getting tunnel vision because now you have put your belief. You've put your faith into this study. So now you may plug away because. I I believe this the scientists are correct. They obviously have no incentive other than informing me of what is true. So now you are going to be because you're going to stop looking now, you're going to stop doing your due diligence and the same thing is true with nutrition. Because peanuts are either a protein packed health food or instant death depending on the severity of your peanut allergy so you have to do your own experiment because the same thing is true with with any substance and we haven't even gotten into the less. Tangible things that are more qualitative like what exercise do you enjoy doing like the reality is if even if Backsquats are better than tennis I'm I'm just not going to do years and years of back squats like I don't care I find it boring i.

16:39.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah, go ahead? yeah.

16:39.86

Max Shank

Don't want to do it and I'm a pretty motivated guy so you gotta look at you gotta look at what will work practically for you rather than trying to be more absolutist about which is better than what because it's gonna be different for you. As an individual so there's no way to get around it unless you're willing to accept a worse result for yourself.

17:05.14

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the something you said that really stuck out to me is talking about Tunnel vision. Um, that happens another other thing that contributes to tunnel vision in regard to research 3 things I want to cover is ah. And meanalysis outliers in isolation and so ah, when research is being conducted when a single study is being conducted. Ah if there's an outlier someone who falls. Ah so far enough outside of the bell curve. They just cut them out of study altogether like it just aren't even there and so ah and it will not make it into the published study. It's not even acknowledged how many people may have been cut due to being an outlier. Um.

17:43.82

Max Shank

Her.

17:59.89

mikebledsoe

And it's really up to the scientist who's conducting the study which as we know humans you know tend to be biased and by by many different things and so 1 is we must be aware of the outliers and you you got to understand that you may be the outlier.

18:17.70

Max Shank

Um, yeah, peanut might kill you.

18:19.51

mikebledsoe

So peanut might kill you might make a hundred other people stronger it'll you'll die. Um, the other 1 is the other thing I want to talk about was well isolation science is really good at isolating something but as you were talking about.

18:23.26

Max Shank

Ah.

18:37.66

mikebledsoe

You're going to be able to find a study that compares back squats to leg press. But you're not going to find a study that compares back squats to leg press which the when the back squat was combined with the lunges and the leg press was combined with the sled push and.

18:53.24

Max Shank

Can't control that many variables possible.

18:54.77

mikebledsoe

Too many variables. So like the whole point of this like the scientific method by its design because it was designed by human beings by its design is really good at isolating incredibly good isolating and this is something I I really want people to understand. Is if you want to isolate. It's it's the best. But if you want to integrate it you you have to start making a lot of guesses and this is where the the N equals 1 comes in the the self experimentation because ah, you. You're the only 1 that's going to log that much care and time and into the research of yourself I mean what max was saying too the majority of studies are only 12 weeks long because it it gets really expensive for 1 to to be able to pay people and. You know that just whatever it just gets expensive energy wise time wise and then yeah who's you know? and so now if you want a longer term Study. You're gonna have to have a lot more money. Um.

19:52.83

Max Shank

And that's where the incentives come into play too where who's funding that study.

20:02.89

Max Shank

How many people how many people out there just have free cash and are like let's honestly just see what happens with it I don't I don't care if it disproves my strong incentive. It's so rare for that to happen. It's almost never going to happen.

20:16.58

mikebledsoe

So yeah, no, No so ah, it's yeah, incredibly good at ah yeah, the the the isolation I mean Also yeah is. Is. It's a small window in time twelve weeks if we talk about just fitness because that's all the research that I was involved with was all fitness based and I it became obvious to me that it was such a short period of time. How are we really getting the results. We're looking for. Um, and.

20:51.48

Max Shank

It should only inform your guess it should only inform your hypothesis for what you do yourself and there's a huge difference between the scientific method in terms of ah, proving that. Electricity and magnetism are the same Force. You know the the stuff that we the science that is done to build a telephone that can wirelessly transmit video in real time is very different than the. I I don't even like to call it science that we do for ah random control trials because these trials end up having to be interpreted in statistics and that's where you can very easily. Fabricate a different reality than what is going on So There's a really big difference between doing the experimental science where it is repeatable to the point where you get the same result every single time you know like buoyancy is so clearly Measurable. Electric Force Magnetic Force electromagnet. That's so measurable and so repeatable and so consistent. But this whole idea of getting a big group and then being able to very easily manipulate statistics to your advantage I mean that's. That's like pseudoscience to me and I'm sure a lot of people would really hate to hear me say that but it's so easy to manipulate statistics under the guise that you have done good science.

22:35.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so I want to differentiate something here. Um, and that is a single study versus a metaanalysis and so ah the when I when I was in school I went through ah a scientific methods class.

22:45.58

Max Shank

This.

22:55.36

mikebledsoe

Um, and between that class and another class I had in grad school I I created 2 lit reviews and which was which is basically ah a metaanalysis and that is I looked at over 1 ah hundred studies on a specific subject and then. I basically told a story about what it means. That's what ah, that's what that is and so something very interesting happened is well once I got into the studies themselves I realized it really became apparent that.

23:16.64

Max Shank

1 and then i.

23:31.90

mikebledsoe

Finding consistency between studies was not as easy as I would have liked to have been um and then ah I conducted I conducted the analysis. I wrote the lit review and in 1 of my classes someone did a lit review on the same exact thing ah on the same exact topic and I'm telling you what I put some time into this some effort I was I was. Honest about it I wanted to impress my classmates I wanted to impress my professor I wanted to do it right? and I bet you the other guy did too the results incredibly different, incredibly different on what we've. Our suggestions on how this research should be applied between the 2 of us there's over 200 and fifty different studies that were cited and we came up with different meaning because that's what we that's it's it's sense making of.

24:29.88

Max Shank

Ah.

24:36.50

Max Shank

Um, did you meta did you me analyze the same studies. Ah, that's the 1 interesting thing about meta-analysis because you can say we we evaluated.

24:40.47

mikebledsoe

Ah, no, no, but it was the same.

24:51.90

Max Shank

3 hundred studies and they all proved the same thing meanwhile there are 7 hundred other studies that they just didn't evaluate that proved the exact opposite thing.

24:56.91

mikebledsoe

Well well that was that was the thing is I I was under time constraints. You know we're doing this in a single semester I found over 1000 studies I could have referenced but I just couldn't I just don't have the time to do that and that also happens in science. It.

25:04.50

Max Shank

Murder.

25:14.38

Max Shank

What are you a slow reader or something you can't read a thousand studies like you don't care about the results man.

25:16.54

mikebledsoe

And what. Ah, well and here's the thing is it's cherry pick and it's always cherry picked and whether it's an intentional cherry picking based on Bias or it's cherry picking based on just saying I think this is the best ones to choose from because we have a.

25:26.67

Max Shank

Of course.

25:37.59

mikebledsoe

Have a specific limitation which life is limitation and so that's not going away maybe with quantum computing that could that could change. Ah so I I really like that that really highlighted to me is when I when I started looking at the studies and then. Not only that the studies that I chose something that I learned during that process were studies and of course I believe my shit was more accurate but the studies that I end up choosing had methods used that I felt were applicable to. Athletes and so I wasn't just randomly selecting studies I was like look if I'm gonna be looking at weight lifters I'm not going to be looking at a leg press I'm gonna be looking at a squat instead. So um, so that's that's another thing that really got highlighted to me was.

26:26.96

Max Shank

Right? um.

26:36.75

mikebledsoe

Ah, the methods matter and most people only read the summary they may read the abstract which is the explanation of the the big picture paragraph about you know how we're conducting this study and all that and then there's the summary. Most people read The. The abstracting summary and they probably don't even read all of that and then they come up with some type of conclusion and so huh it is hard. It's hard I mean it's it's not is it.

26:59.63

Max Shank

To be fair, it is really hard. It's really hard like I've I've gone down I've gone down that rabbit hole man reading those studies is so difficult like I I want to poke my eyeballs out.

27:13.68

mikebledsoe

So yeah I probably read yeah I've read over yeah I read over 1000 I I know I've read at least a thousand and and yeah, it's I have no interest in.

27:18.88

Max Shank

With a fork by the time I've read like 10 of them. It's like ridiculous.

27:30.81

mikebledsoe

I don't I don't enjoy it but I still have to look at research at times because I go I gotta know I gotta know but what I what I realized is ah in inside of that I started I started paying attention to when Journalists would write an article about.

27:35.35

Max Shank

It's horrible. It's horrible. Yeah.

27:50.48

mikebledsoe

Ah study and that it it was it was after that class and I remember reading. Ah you know the eggs were bad for you in the New York times. Yeah, and but I read it and I go I go.

27:50.17

Max Shank

Oh god.

27:59.29

Max Shank

Oh no, not this again.

28:07.60

mikebledsoe

I'm probably the only person on the planet's going to click the citation and look at the actual study and I remember clicking the study and reading it and going. Wow these people really we got I got back down to the isolation thing which is. Ah, you know?? Ah, they weren't even talking about nutrition in the study they were just talking about they were testing something else and it is ah it was a huge extrapolation ah in order There was this huge gap in logic that needed to be crossed.

28:37.80

Max Shank

Oh it's crazy.

28:45.25

mikebledsoe

In order to come up with a summary because the scientists do this. The fucking scientists will they'll have a solid everything and then they get it a summary and I read the summary and I and I go I don't even know I'm not I'm reading it I'm going I can tell this scientist is Biased. So so we got this. So we we look at this is how how's it like to your point how is it funded. What are the other biases that might be with the scientists we've seen this a lot with like plant-based diet advocate science scientists. Ah.

29:04.48

Max Shank

I think.

29:22.28

mikebledsoe

How many what other biases might they have then they which may influence what data they include in the study and what they don't then not only that all they gotta do no matter what the study actually shows what they put in their summary is probably gonna get. The the most amount of attention and then you go from a scientist with biases that then makes it to a journalist who knows squat about they don't know shit about science or the scientific method and then they write an article based on their bias and so there's this.

29:57.74

Max Shank

It's all cuts the C word I think we know no ah it's the now causation and correlation I think that is the big leap.

30:00.14

mikebledsoe

What's the C word.

30:04.76

mikebledsoe

I. You know.

30:13.64

Max Shank

That's the biggest leap I see in these ah these I'll tell you these guys are real jerks ah who confuse correlation with causation because that is such an unreal difference. Between correlation and causation because even something like cigarettes and I I don't smoke cigarettes I smoked 1 menthilated one half of 1 menthilated cigarette in my whole life and it was okay and I wasn't like dying to do more of it. But this whole idea. Like when you really like dig into it. Cigarette smoking is just correlated with death from like cancer heart disease and things like that they haven't actually proven that it causes it and the difference between causation and correlation is so freaking. Huge. Because you look at something like cigarette smoking people who smoke cigarettes are less likely to exercise cardiovascularly they're more likely to make poor food choices. They're more likely to overeat they're more likely to be stressed out. There are all these I don't know if that last 1 is actually true.

31:16.90

mikebledsoe

31:28.43

mikebledsoe

It take any more sugar I imagine I mean just you said poor diet but I mean sugar is a huge inflammatory.

31:29.28

Max Shank

I take that 1 back.

31:35.67

Max Shank

Right? So what I'm saying is it's that leap from correlation to causation is like 1 of the most evil things that is done because you like you said you might have a perfectly legitimate study beforehand and then they're like. Coming out with this article that says Salt kills ten percent of americans I'm like or ten percent are you that was an actual article by the way Salt kills ten percent of americans meanwhile you go to Korea they have like triple the salt consumption and way less death. So how do you harmonize. Those 2 inequalities right? So that I think that's a big ah key point correlation versus causation.

32:21.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah I mean I'm I'm gonna go ahead and put it out there because I know you know we we will dance around it but like the died with Covid versus died from Covid it. It's the the correlation.

32:32.66

Max Shank

I Know it's horrifying.

32:37.61

mikebledsoe

The correlation is spelled out in the like title of the report and is ah people are people are believing that it's causing it and so someone's yes, right.

32:44.54

Max Shank

Whoa.

32:49.79

Max Shank

But that doesn't help with the death counter that doesn't help with the huge death counter in the side corner.

32:56.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the depth that yeah, it's It's not as sensational I know but ah well and here's the thing is lot anytime I I bring this up with certain people and they have just tried to fire hos me with all sorts of shit after that I'm like look look I'm just saying it's it's I'm not lying like I'm not making this up I'm just saying. This is the actual report and this is what they've been saying on even on the news like like but then they go Yeah, but it's caused I'm like no no, no, no, no with not from and it's um, and then the politicians picked it up now if you're a scientist who's studying this shit.

33:19.67

Max Shank

Ah, it's insane.

33:32.63

Max Shank

Oh god.

33:35.83

mikebledsoe

If you're a scientist that's studying this and you're getting paid to study. It would do you think maybe you would have a bias. What do you think? what do you think? what do you? which scientists think do you think are getting paid the best right now.

33:44.41

Max Shank

We all do man.

33:52.40

Max Shank

But probably the ones reminding people to drink enough water and get sunshine. It's highly highly Monetizable Strategy hey you know all that stuff that's free that you don't do start doing it again by the way that'll be zero dollars.

34:00.20

mikebledsoe

34:10.65

mikebledsoe

Ah, here.

34:10.21

Max Shank

Like what it's ah no, it's It's totally insane. Um that that has been allowed to happen and like I I could talk about this I I mean we all are right? um.

34:19.46

mikebledsoe

Well who's allowing it to happen. Yeah, it's this is this is the general population it. It is because because they're not trying to hide it. They're saying died with and and yet the average the average person is just not educated well enough.

34:28.87

Max Shank

The the now. Well if if science if the science that you're doing or the scientific method that you're doing is ah dependent.

34:38.96

mikebledsoe

Think that's part of it.

34:46.13

Max Shank

On Inflammatory rhetoric and like a constant bombardment of propaganda you should probably go back to your fucking research phase and do a different experiment because it's not ah, it's not really working and actually I think that. Ah.

34:50.10

mikebledsoe

Um.

35:04.10

Max Shank

I heard 1 of the most ridiculous phrases I've ever heard in my life in the last little bit of history which is ah trust science or even trust the science now that is ridiculous because that only means ah well 2 things is funny about that. Number 1 that means trust the scientists who are talking right? It doesn't have anything to do with trust the science because you would have to be trusting the result of the experiment and you would have to understand that experiment to be able to do that and the second funny thing is um. The whole reason we do science is because we don't trust the whole purpose of science is to verify like it's the most meaningless ridiculous rhetorical phrase I've ever heard in my life has no bearing in reality whatsoever and you hear um, stupid people parroting it back.

35:46.30

mikebledsoe

You know.

36:01.55

Max Shank

Like they know what the fuck is going on. It's because no 1 wants to just say you know what? Ah gosh I don't really know and it it makes sense because we want to stay part of the tribe and we don't want to seem stupid right? So it's like.

36:16.27

mikebledsoe

You know so.

36:20.42

Max Shank

No, no, no, not yeah I trust that what what are you anti-science anti-vaccine and of course those are broad generalizations that it has to do a little bit with attention inflation like we talked about a little bit before how. If I say there's an imminent hurricane. That's a more exciting weather story then it's going to be sunny today and you'll probably click on the like imminent hurricane. So it's this race for the most outrageous deadly stuff but the same thing is true in America we're talking about right. The same thing is true in America that was true before is the biggest threat to your health is yourself like if you look at all the ways that people die um suicide beats murder like 4 to 1 maybe even 5 or 8 to 1 now. It's ridiculous like we kill ourselves way more than each other directly. With like ah, a bath with the toaster or whatever and not only that all of the ways that people die. It's like so ridiculous to like to fight heart disease like how are you going to fucking fight heart disease like who are you going to punch like it's ridiculous The whole thing is like fighting sickness isn't the same as promoting health and all of these things like we're gonna battle Diabetes. We're gonna battle heart disease and it's like no dude that person has been killing themselves for 20 years by eating shitty food not exercising. Not expressing themselves authentically not having a close group of friends that promotes that sort of healthy active behavior like it's not fucking rocket surgery here. It's no ah, it's no surprise that people are dying a little prematurely but we get so. Honed in on these ways that people die kind of like where you're taught we like to isolate. We're like we got to fight hard to so then you know suddenly the egg with cholesterol is like going to kill you the egg that's be afraid of eggs of all the things to be afraid of you should be. Terrified of the damage that you are doing to yourself not of a fucking egg.

38:38.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well you know fighting a war on something is super super popular and was that okay we got out so far all right? so that what there used to be a war. Well well we used to have a war. We used to.

38:43.79

Max Shank

Even profitable Also Profitable war on drugs I think that's ah we lost.

38:54.90

mikebledsoe

Have Wars with other countries. It was like Kings we're having Wars with other kings and then it was it was countries were having Wars with each other and then ah yeah, and then and then we had to get really creative and start having Wars on ideas like the concept of drugs the concept of. Terrorism The constant is like like you can just ah fucking you can attack anybody at that point if you convince people that that we're fighting a war on terrorism all got do is say that there are terrorists. We're gonna fight the war on Covid we're going to that makes you might be an enemy if you get put into the Anti-vaxer ah category. Ah you.

39:36.59

Max Shank

Um, isn't the war on terror hilarious. What's scarier than that the war on terror is fucking terrifying. There's there's no greater terrorist organization than the media. No 1 has terrorized more people than the media.

39:43.49

mikebledsoe

Um, well the problem a problem with no greater.

39:54.15

Max Shank

They scare people into promoting a war. We should not be in they scare people into being like oh yeah, you better frisk my asshole before I get on the airplane like Jesus there's nothing scarier than like the constant but like the war on terror is such an epic failure. The war on drugs.

40:04.79

mikebledsoe

40:12.45

Max Shank

Such an epic failure I mean there are real actual problems in the world and we're like hey are you are you smoking grass. Well let's put you in prison for that like the war on. Are you kidding me? Meanwhile we're going to sell trillions of dollars in opiates.

40:25.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

40:32.39

Max Shank

Because you know the way that we practice medicine here isn't that we talk to you about a more active lifestyle or um, you know, physical therapy type exercise maybe putting your feet in the dirt. We're just going to drug you like of course like there's no There's no money in it. That's why you got to fall on the incentive like you know all of this gets erased by a simple phrase which is buyer beware and the truth is there are people who are going to swindle you. There are people who call up an old lady at home and they're like ah you're. Daughter needs a thousand dollars to get bailed out of Mexico you better wire it right away and you know what the lady does it. There are people out there to swindle you on the low level and there's a great big swindle at the upper levels too. So it's your responsibility as a consumer. To decide what you believe like it's no, it's no surprise that buy and believe are synonyms like if someone tells you a story that you don't believe you say I don't buy it so that's that's the whole thing is like it's up to you to decide what story you're going to put faith into. And quite frankly, you're better off believing basically nothing you hear and just being a little bit more of a scientist yourself to see what the results actually are and I know that's harder it is harder. You get a better result, but it is harder.

42:04.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, there's ah, there's also I mean this this brings me back I'm I'm going to rewind a little bit here but the we've talked about the victim villain Hero the Drama Triangle and people.

42:06.92

Max Shank

Also watch out for eggs.

42:19.90

Max Shank

Ah.

42:24.27

mikebledsoe

People want there to be something to demonize something to villainize something to vilify so that yeah and so I mean ah you know Covid's the enemy. So now the scientists are the heroes.

42:29.50

Max Shank

So they can be the hero.

42:39.29

Max Shank

Um, I'm the Hero eggs are the enemy also Salt but my breakfast is just out to get me.

42:42.25

mikebledsoe

And ah, eggs are the enemy. Yeah yeah, so whoever figured that out. Um, yeah, eggs and bacon I'm fucked man and ah constant barrage. Ah yeah, but it's it's interesting that these Wars went from ah these countries fighting each other which is really just governments in disagreement.

42:53.76

Max Shank

Um, ah.

43:10.48

mikebledsoe

Convincing the population to go fight for them. Ah, and I was 1 of the suckers. So I'll be the first raised my hand and ah and then we go from like ah yeah, the war on drugs the war on poverty. Ah that that fucking I think this.

43:16.60

Max Shank

Yeah.

43:25.23

Max Shank

Um.

43:29.98

mikebledsoe

People in San francisco been fighting the war on poverty harder than anybody they've got more money doing and yes, they they got the worst homeless population. Ah we haven't won a war in a while. It's been a.

43:33.00

Max Shank

Um, when was the last war we won I don't think we've ever like won ah won 1 of those wars with the like a nebulous enemy like poverty is kind of a nebulous enemy.

43:48.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it's not. It's not really the the last the last thing the last time we had a war with anything was what and they didn't we didn't say it was a war on this person because it would be against geneva convention rules.

43:51.85

Max Shank

Like how would we even know that we won how would we even know that we won.

44:07.10

mikebledsoe

But the United states waged war against osama bin laden and it was the first time in history that a country waged war on 1 person and they called it terrorism because they wanted to make it look a lot bigger than it was because they had a hard time getting him. So. The are.

44:25.52

Max Shank

that's um That's amazing that's like I'm not a I'm not pro-terrorism from anyone but but if you have like a whole country you wage war on you. That's like remember grand theft auto. When you would get like five five stars five cop level at at you you know I'm talking about you know that game having it was it was just like an increasing amount like if you just like.

44:46.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, Matt not actually I didn't play that much I know what the game is though.

44:56.75

Max Shank

I don't know punch a hooker or something and get like a half a star and the police are kind of looking out for you and then if you like Rocket launcher a helicopter or something you get like a lot of so you get like 5 star. So that's when you got like the whole swat team coming after you I played this game like 5 times but this is all I remembered I just wanted to get as much havoc as possible.

44:59.90

mikebledsoe

Ah.

45:16.30

Max Shank

If you're 1 guy and you have a whole country declare war on you. You know you've done something to get their attention.

45:22.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and it's and it's curious I won't go into it. But if you if you look into someone Bin. Laden's history it's ah there it's it's a ah, if you want to go down and wrap a hole go look that shit up. That's all I'll say um, but it's interesting.

45:38.82

Max Shank

Well revisionist history is like a good ah like talking point for this because um, the biggest consistency in history is that it's been very carefully selected lies to get people to Believe. A very carefully selected story I mean the losers don't get to write a history book really and look I only I'm a huge ah fan of.

46:06.57

mikebledsoe

They're dead.

46:16.20

Max Shank

North korea and history not North korea exactly but the history of North korea is very interesting just to clarify I'm not like ah but anyway the guy kim ilsung who started.

46:25.00

mikebledsoe

Um, dude I heard it's popular to be a communist right now I think we get more listeners just just claim it.

46:30.90

Max Shank

Finally I can be popular. It's what I've always been looking for oh god no but what I found out is okay so there are 2 great stories. There are many more but my 2 favorite are the ones where Kim il-sung goes to war with like. Ah, usa and south korea and gets like 85 percent of the buildings are destroyed like some crazy percentage of the population is killed and he has the testicles to come back address his people. And say everybody we won that was what he said he he just he got held a catastrophic loss. He just went back and told everybody that we won and we're gonna we're gonna get revenge on the american terrorists. Basically.

47:24.12

mikebledsoe

47:26.59

Max Shank

Then I found out he had a huge like mass I think it was like a benign tumor on the back of his neck but you never see it because every single picture of him is from a certain angle so you can't see it so it's so easy to hide something if you are the 1 who's.

47:29.82

mikebledsoe

And.

47:37.65

mikebledsoe

47:45.26

Max Shank

Selecting how history gets portrayed and look believe whatever you want I guess but like look at the war on people's minds over the last 2 years I mean it's crazy I've never seen anything like it I think more people. Have been snapped into reality which is probably why people feel very jaded about the media because like how many times does someone need to lie to you before you're just like you know what? I don't I don't trust that guy anymore like if you were in a relationship. And your girlfriend lied to you every day for years and years would you keep believing what she said I don't think so.

48:27.74

mikebledsoe

No I think it's interesting that we we started off talking about being your own scientist Now we're often to politics but it makes very it makes a lot of sense and it it. It's all it's all correlated. Ah because because you can't.

48:41.78

Max Shank

Ah.

48:46.32

mikebledsoe

The the problem with the way that people are interpreting science now is through the lens of policy and politics and so it has to be addressed now I want to bring it back to how do we be our own scientist. How do we? How do we. Do these experiments for ourselves. How do we make choices. Maybe somebody's only done things that have been that they've outsourced to their doctor or they've outsourced ah took you know whoever about their life and what how they should live it and they want to start experimenting. What are some of the ways that you have you experiment for yourself. Max.

49:26.78

Max Shank

Fast fasting is a really good place to start because then you are bringing a little bit of honesty into the equation and then reintroducing foods after a fast can be very illuminating because you can be aware of how they affect you personally. I think that's 1 of the best ways to do it I think having um, an exercise plan that you follow through with is another really good way to do that and there are a couple sayings like what is measured is improved I've heard.

50:02.74

mikebledsoe

What what gets measured gets managed. Where's ah fuck singing. Ah yeah, sometimes what you can measure is not the most important thing so you got to keep keep that in you got to keep that.

50:03.49

Max Shank

Saying before I can't remember who said it there you go maybe that's the 1 I'm thinking of.

50:17.46

Max Shank

Well definitely not well that that reminds me of Goodhart's law which is as soon as a measure becomes a target. It's no longer a good measure.

50:22.64

mikebledsoe

And mind.

50:30.53

mikebledsoe

And that's that's happened a lot in regard to heart health. It's like it's like ah cholesterol is bad all right? What foods can you eat the lower cholesterol and then you know 20 years goes is by and they go.

50:33.65

Max Shank

And then what right right? what.

50:49.70

mikebledsoe

Well, it's not really the cholesterol. It's the inflammation but there's all this momentum running with cholesterol and it's like you pick up the box of cheerios and it says it lowers cholesterol and it's got a ah heart drawn on the box and ah.

51:03.65

Max Shank

That serial money can pay for a lot of scientists I'll tell you what.

51:08.70

mikebledsoe

Well yeah I mean the the ingredients are subsidized with tax Pi payers money. So why? not? That's why it's subsidized. Um.

51:15.51

Max Shank

It's also 1 of the cheapest foods you can possibly make I think the packaging is more expensive. Yeah yeah, it's absurd and here's the thing like you don't have to believe that these scientists are evil because no 1 thinks that they're evil. Everyone thinks they're the good guy in their story but just because their intentions may be good. Doesn't mean that the result can't really fuck you up, you know, like the.

51:40.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, I Well here's the thing is scientists I know a lot of Ph Ds I know a decent amount of scientists and they they are very well versed in a very narrow field and some of them know it and some of them don't but. The the job going back to the job of the scientist is to isolate and to be a human being to live a fully optimized life. You need to Isolate. You need to integrate and then from there you can improvise. And no scientists are Improvising. It's not their.. It's not their strong suit. Their strong suit is to Isolate. It's up to you to integrate ah to to test and isolate variables.

52:17.94

Max Shank

Um, so.

52:25.20

Max Shank

You know.

52:33.20

mikebledsoe

And then see what you spec works in combination with your lifestyle integrate it into your lifestyle. This is why fasting is such a good idea is because it's It's a way to reduce variables. Um, and then you integrate it and you keep paying attention and then after you've integrated something far enough into your life then. You become like you start to improvise I see this with Ido partol talks about this when he's teaching movement. He says isolate integrate improvise and ah the idea is a lot of times people see a master improvising. And they try to copy the improvisation as and this happens with you know this happens in in everything that that's going on in our lives people try to improvise ah copy someone's Improvisation. It's in business or something and then it doesn't work for them and so.

53:14.20

Max Shank

Ah.

53:31.40

mikebledsoe

It's ah it's something to remember is on on 1 side. You have people who are only look at integrate at ah isolation just acknowledge science and scientists for what they're doing. It's isolating practice integrating and then. Recognize the masters who are already improvising and recognize it as improvisation and then and then talk to them about how they did it and I think that's that's a ah key to maximizing your own potential.

53:53.84

Max Shank

The. I Think honest record keeping is probably the most important thing for for being your own scientist is honest record keeping.

54:03.50

mikebledsoe

Okay. Yeah, writing shit down is great because our memories tend to get very selective. There's a lot of research to support that I don't know where it's at right now but you know I think you should believe me.

54:29.30

Max Shank

It's very true I mean it's hard to determine causality or correlation as well and I'll give you a good example that I like which is have you ever heard of oil pulling.

54:42.92

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah I do it? Yeah man I sometimes I'll do it every day for like a month or 2 and then it'll be like once a week on and off.

54:45.99

Max Shank

Gotta have heard of that you do oil pulling every day sometimes.

54:54.23

Max Shank

Okay, so you're a bad scientist that's fine. No big deal just I'm just kidding you. You seem a little triggered there. Ah no so here's the funny thing about oil pulling.

55:00.33

mikebledsoe

I've done it long enough frequent enough. Okay, okay, max come on not I don't get triggered I don't get triggered.

55:13.39

Max Shank

So you do it for like five minutes right throw some coconut oil in your mouth. Wish it around at least that's what I've heard 10 to 20 You're an animal that means you're twice as good as those five minute oil pullers at least twice as good. Oh it's compounding benefit. No kidding.

55:18.10

mikebledsoe

Do 10 to twenty minutes but okay at least at least? well it's compounding. So it's it's an exponential. Yeah.

55:33.15

Max Shank

Yeah wow little statistic right from out of the ass. Ah, here's what's funny about oil pulling because there are 2 things going on with oil pulling that could be potentially very good number 1 you are nose breathing only. And for the average person just breathing through your nose is like is like magic because breathing is the bridge between your conscious and subconscious. You go Boom sympath ah parasympathetic state unless you have a stuffy nose then you'll go sympathetic and you'll feel like you are drowning. But the cool thing about oil pulling is it's really impossible to figure out which of those is benefiting you the most. But here's the deal if your record keeping is good then it doesn't matter which is the benefit for you if it's the fact that you have oil in your mouth. Or the fact that your nose breathing for five minutes if that ritual helps you observe observably so you're in the right ballpark now if you're a hyper Nerd. You can take a step further and you can do ah a more controlled experiment. You could do ah 2 weeks with oil. And you could do 2 weeks just with your mouth closed for that long or you could do water and so that would be a way that you could get a little bit more clarity on which of those things is beneficial to you but the point is if you find a habit. That actually improves your life then it's really good to repeat it and give it a chance to give you those long-term results same thing with exercise like there's no best eight week exercise plan because the results that you get in eight weeks will be dwarfed. By the results that you get in 2 years like it's way better if you do something that is super half asked for 2 years consistently than if you do the most optimized balls to the wall Eight week ultra gains program right.

57:42.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah I ah but made me think about the knowing why something works can be very beneficial. Ah but it can also be very limiting and that a lot of times people. Want to know why the oil pulling is working and and and what you're talking about is oh I'm just getting the these I do this action and then I get these benefits but I don't know why I'm getting those benefits. Ah I want to get people permission and to know that it's okay. You don't understand how it's working or why it's working all you gotta know is that it's working and and you're paying attention now. That's good enough. However, if you understand the mechanisms for by which it's working and you understand the principles now, you're gonna be able to bank. Better guesses at maybe you can be able to extrapolate that to another guest or you're able to um, ah know its limitations and and it's gonna help you conduct other experiments. But again, don't get hung up on why it's working the. I guess what I'm saying is don't stop doing something that's working just because you can't understand why it's working I think a lot of people. They don't even a lot of people won't even try something out because they they want to understand it first and my buddy had this really great saying which is don't let you? Yeah, he said? ah.

59:04.22

Max Shank

Um, I think that's good.

59:12.21

Max Shank

Right? It's like they want permission.

59:18.91

mikebledsoe

Don't let your understanding get in the way of your knowing and so you're gonna throughout your life. You're gonna know a lot more shit than you understand So like that. No.

59:20.55

Max Shank

Oh.

59:29.68

Max Shank

And nobody really knows it all either. That's the thing you know like you ever do ohms I Love doing ohms. Ah um, and there's like ah.

59:37.10

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

59:43.48

Max Shank

Four separate cycles the ah the ooh the umm and then the pause and then you go through that cycle Now What's interesting is it depends who you ask why? those are good. Are you liberating your throat Chakra are you ah activating your vagus nerve.

01:00:00.45

mikebledsoe

Yes, all of it.

01:00:02.34

Max Shank

Are you simply warming up your vocal cords and and what's what's interesting is I have a diverse set of people that I've met in my life and I'm I'm really easy to get along with. And what's funny I think I am maybe maybe I shouldn't be the authority on that I have no idea Actually I think I'm fun to be around. Ah.

01:00:25.88

mikebledsoe

I haven't seen you hang around very many people. So if I'm just going to look at the results. However, I find you easy to hang out with yeah.

01:00:30.93

Max Shank

Ah, ah yeah I mean the data would the the data would suggest that I'm hard to get along with actually um I know people who would hear me say the word chakra and they would just go. Ah. Really really you think there are chakras and I'll be like I guess not I guess I'm stupid. Ah, ah. Meanwhile I could give the vagus nerve explanation to someone and they'd be like ah no, that is just restoring the flow through your kundalini and opening your heart sha or you know whatever. So yeah, just to add to your point of maybe it's beneficial to understand the principles. Behind certain things like it I think it's valuable to understand how different tissues grow and regrow at different rates. You know the lining of your intestines regenerates replaces itself every couple days whereas Bones can be like on a 2 wo-year cycle. It's big difference. Um, but you don't you don't have to know exactly what's going on in order to harvest the benefits from it and I think that maybe is a good way to segue into the placebo and nocebo effect.

01:01:44.66

mikebledsoe

What's.

01:01:54.76

mikebledsoe

Well I want to I want to mention 1 thing before we go there is ah there's a lot of like people people only value value the latest science it seems it's like if the study is more than like a few years old it's people don't even really want to pay attention to it and I see ah a lot of these Yeah yeah.

01:02:16.94

Max Shank

Did you say a few years mean like 24 hours it's got to be brand spanking new.

01:02:24.40

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, there's this, there's something about people valuing things that are newer over what's older and when I say well for instance thing about Kundalini yoga that shit is old as fuck. Ah. I don't care what words they're using to describe what's happening there. There is something happening there that is ah that enhances my experience as a human being in a way that nothing else can and so whether they call it chakras or whether we're we're. You know, tickling the vagus nerve or whatever the fuck it is it is ah it's doing something that I like and that's okay, that's totally okay, but I think a lot of these ancient traditions are using language that people. I mean this happens a lot with chinese medicine. You know they're talking about this or that and then next thing you know there's some type of scientific research study that that says something and people go did you hear about this new study and like well that really sounds like the meridian system from chinese medicine. You're like no no, it's this new scientific like okay, cool. You know what.

01:03:36.67

Max Shank

Number.

01:03:38.92

mikebledsoe

I'm gonna go with an old Chinese dude over here cause I think he knows more about this than someone who just made a discovery and has come up with a clever way of explaining it. So I'm I'm a I'm a big fan of I'm a big fan of honoring tradition and really also looking at the science and.

01:03:46.47

Max Shank

Well I call it go ahead.

01:03:57.68

mikebledsoe

I enjoy when I see science and tradition. You know there's a melding and there's ah, there's ah ah, a modern explanation that that more people are willing to accept when a lot of that like more ah the older traditional explanations for things seem like that's kind of silly. I mean happens to like old russian women too talk to these old russian women and they talk about their mothers and grandmothers and what they did how they treated their food and their medicine all this stuff and 30 years ago I would have thought man that's crazy like what but now I go oh this all makes sense like oh yeah, like this old russian woman I know. Yeah, my my mother would always we drink a ah a shot of vodka every day for health I go what are you talking about? how is alcohol going to be good for your health. Well it doesn't get mentioned that they're they're soaking these ah these really magical herbs like Rodeola or ginseng. In the vodka for years and then they break it out. It's it's high quality tinctures so things like that are happening anyways. So it's it's worth paying attention to your elders.

01:04:59.84

Max Shank

Oh.

01:05:09.94

Max Shank

It's good to honor tradition and then also to challenge it honestly and I think that there's there's a whole I call it n y m It's not yet measurable like there are so many things that are true that are just not yet measurable by us.

01:05:12.65

mikebledsoe

01:05:27.39

Max Shank

Right now with the equipment that we have available and I think the the arrogance of people getting so pigeonholed into what is currently measurable using the equipment we have is such a limiter into that person's well-being or their ability to help somebody. Because there's a lot of stuff in isolation that may be true and then in integration may be false like for example, um, people can do research on how different frequency electromagnetic waves affect. Ah, cell right? and then can say okay this electromagnetic wave did not affect the cell negatively therefore it is safe but that has nothing to do with whether or not. That frequency of an electromagnetic wave would be safe for a whole person to experience. So when you have it so isolated like that you're missing the whole integration and the wholeness of the organism in how. It responds with that interaction.

01:06:44.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah there's there's a quote that my girlfriend posted I think I think I'll quote her put it on Twitter and to be healthy is to be whole health is english. Health in English is based on anglo-saxon word hail which means whole wholeness is necessary to live a fulfilled life. Ask you? What are you missing that prevents you from living a whole and healthy life. Yeah, and just makes me think about that is is looking at the whole person because integration is only gonna take you so far and I want to. Um, want to point out it. It may sound like we we did like there's a science bashing here I imagine some people could listen to this and be like oh they spent more time talking about how science does not apply than or where the limitations of it are than where it is and um I imagine that's.

01:07:39.29

Max Shank

Well we know what the advantages are there are obvious event we're we're having this conversation on computers in different states like of course it's it like works. But that's not see here's the thing because I'm gonna hijack what you said Mike and I Mike and I.

01:07:43.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I.

01:07:58.31

Max Shank

Are looking out for your health mentally physically financially and we're going to point out the things that are most likely to fuck you up and the reality is most of the benefits of science need no rhetorical argument. They need no explanation. Phone. It just works like if it's really scientific like it just works so getting the rhetoric out of the scientific method getting appeal to Authority and ad hominent attacks out of the scientific method. That's what's going to help you actually live the best. Because if you don't identify those for what they are which is huge traps you're going to get messed up.

01:08:41.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well said thanks for hijacking me I love it. Let's let's shut this bad boy down last last words for the the listeners.

01:08:54.22

Max Shank

Eat lots of eggs and Salt I don't I don't know it takes more time it takes more effort to figure out what's going to work best for you. I personally followed. The worst exercise plans for my individual body for a really long time and I did it because of how I would measure up to other people and that's once again getting into that like I like saying that.

01:09:16.71

mikebledsoe

But they did.

01:09:30.75

Max Shank

Whatever measuring stick you use is also the 1 that's going to administer your beating so whatever you are measuring. It should be for an important reason and the more I think mature you get like you were talking about child adult the less you're going to care. About impressing other people with how many pounds you can lift and whatever else the more you get in tuneed with what makes your body feel the best and the strongest and the most elastic and that's actually been the biggest. Shift in my training philosophy is I used to really focus on super high level athletics and I still do. But my approach is much more about elasticity and I think that that is the ultimate. Athletic attribute is if can you bounce around without breaking because ultimately no 1 cares. How much you can squat. You don't care how much you can squat um, the amount of pounds on the bar is going to matter less and less and less the older you get and most people eventually come around. To the realization that they just want to be able to move quickly smoothly. Ah with accuracy dexterity agility without hurting and I guess that's that's basically it is it takes more effort to figure out what's. Good for you individually, but it is very well worth it.

01:11:08.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know I think about this whole conversation I think about being your own scientist is really you know we can talk about being your scientist for a lot of things but for your own physical body. Um, your and your. Your internal state too. Not just your physical body. But your your mental emotional spiritual state is really just a practice of and a methodical practice of self-awareness by applying the the scientific method to yourself is to me a a spiritual practice and so ah.

01:11:34.74

Max Shank

Um.

01:11:45.25

mikebledsoe

Really pay attention to the results because in the results are the truth and so if you look at any area of your life if you look at your internal state your your physical body. Your cultural environment. The people that you talk to and hang out with and. Ah, your your physical environment. These are the these are the four different things I really look at to go is what I'm doing getting the results that I want for myself in my life and if there's a result that I don't like then it's time for me to be my own scientist and and conduct that research. If somebody's life is in Shambles I can almost guarantee you they are a very poor scientist. So even if they have a ph d so you've got to apply these things in a practical world. Not just on paper not in a laboratory. Ah, good. Scientist is able to bring this into their own life. That's so I got match where do they find you? Thank you.

01:12:49.17

Max Shank

Boy I Really like that summary. It's ah it's very I Really like the correlation you made with self-wareness because that's really what it is. It's self-awareness with good record keeping and that's how you're going to find the truth. That's also how you're going to gain wisdom.

01:13:03.99

mikebledsoe

Me.

01:13:07.76

Max Shank

Because wisdom as we described before is knowing yourself and acting accordingly. So. that's that's huge um you can find me at Macshank dot com slash elasticity for my latest program which ah is the result of about. 15 years what we just talked about today. So that's where you can find me.

01:13:26.25

mikebledsoe

So by the way folks his programs are always good. Always good. Um, yeah that your five minute flow was good for me I enjoyed that 1

01:13:39.99

Max Shank

That was very ah, successful Shockingly so it was almost like people needed that reminder to wiggle for five minutes and drink a cup of water in the morning and and look very.

01:13:53.22

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah.

01:13:59.45

Max Shank

Scientific. It was a guess and that's where it all starts.

01:14:02.93

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, good work. Ah find me and on Instagram mike underscore bloodtso and I have the strong coach summit coming up in March you can find more details about that at the strongcoach dot com slash summit. Thanks join us. Love you brother.

01:14:20.55

Max Shank

Thank you Love you.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected