Swanwick Sleep and Swannies Blue Blockers Founder:

James Swanwick is an Australian-American investor, entrepreneur, speaker, former SportsCenter anchor on ESPN and host of The James Swanwick Show podcast. He is the CEO of Swanwick Sleep and creator of blue-light blocking glasses (blue blockers) Swannies, which helps people sleep better; and the author of The 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge, which helps people reduce or quit alcohol. Forbes listed James as one of 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015. Swanwick has interviewed celebrities including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

On This Episode You Will Hear:

Introduction

Celebrate competitors and the competition that breeds better entrepreneurial success.

Dave Asprey, his own blue blocking glasses, his instrumental movement three to four years ago to put butter in your coffee.

Let me tell you, kids are actually the most susceptible to the dangers of blue light. As we age, our eyes actually develop more of a barrier to blue light. When we're very young, our eyes haven't developed as much. That blue light that has been emitted from an iPad or TV screen or cell phone is literally hitting their eyes. We don't know exactly what damage it's doing.

 Even if you got seven or eight hours of sleep, your sleep quality was compromised from blue light. I have not actually limited my screen time, my screen use if anything has increased. However, I protect my eyes with these glasses while I'm using it. I got to tell you, Scott, I sleep flawlessly. I mean for a 42-year-old man, I'm sleeping as good as I'm sure 40 something man can sleep.

Geeking out on Dr. Jack Kruse.

Ten, twenty, or thirty years from now, we are going to look back to this time and realize that putting a phone to our ear and using WiFi was actually just disintegrating our brain and messing with our neurology. All of this causing irreparable damage, just like when people first smoked cigarettes, they didn't really realize it was it was bad for your health.

 I've had people challenge me a lot. In fact, my voice is busted at the moment, you can probably hear it's a little bit creaky. I've been at a self-development seminar for five days, where they broke me down and made me cry in front of 50 people.

One thing that I've been able to grow with, this is not self-promotion, is this level of vulnerability that we reach as a man. This is not to take anything away from the ladies. We as men are afraid to show that softer side or that vulnerable side.

I would imagine them saying just stop being a pussy, dude. I gotta say, I don't want to say I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but I will say that I am certainly embracing going deep, getting triggered, and bringing up some nasty, awkward stuff for the sole purpose of growth. So far, it's working. It's not pretty. It's messy. But I have to say that it's working.

Our job description in relationships has changed. It used to be, go out, hunt, kill, and provide, Be tough, deal with the stuff and take care of business. They're demanding more of us and that more is vulnerability and emotions. It's challenging and it's messy sometimes.

 If we're not getting out of our comfort zones, if we're not challenging ourselves, if we're not taking risks and risking failure, we're not learning. We're not gaining either, you're just paused.

 

 

 I think we're reaching new levels of growth and that's actually more exciting. Be a little selfish about that. What if you grow and you attract even more success because you stop being a douche bag and you treat people like you want to be treated?

No alcohol challenge. I looked in the mirror and I was a weathered man, I had wrinkles. I'd put on about 25 pounds in the course of a year,