Many people called 2020 the 'worst year of their life' or the 'year from hell'. Consider how that perspective may be aiding in creating the conditions you say you don't want. Maybe we can use the fire of suffering to sharpen our sword so we can fight future battles with more courage and strength. "Within every adversity is an equal or greater benefit. Within every problem is an opportunity. Even in the knocks of life, we can find great gifts."

2020 was one of the best years of my life for the multitude of gifts it gave me in the form of these 30 profound lessons I learnt. Maybe we should all hop off the treadmill of life for a moment and force ourselves to pause and reflect on how the never-ending adversity of life gifts us with many silver linings...we just have to have our eyes open to see them.

The following conversation with Daniel DeBrocke discusses the art and science of mastering and managing habits, the psychology of food and nutrition, dealing with eating disorders and how Daniel plans to achieve ambitious goals like his goal to squat 1000Lb, bench press 600Lb and deadlift 900Lb raw. Daniel DeBrocke (StackedStrength) is a strength coach and competitive powerlifter who holds a 1700lbs raw total. Daniel also writes for several renowned publications such as EliteFTS, Kabuki Strength, T-Nation, Bar Bend, Breaking Muscle, Evil Genius Sport Performance. @stackedstrength

The following conversation centres around Socionomics, the science of history and social prediction which aims to understand how social mood influences the social actions of the individual and a population at large. This conversation is with the Director of Socionomics Institute, Matt Lampert and has many practical implications to how psychology, behaviour, sociology influence the economy and stock market. We dissect how individuals can make more informed profitable decisions in the stock market as a result of understanding the concept of Socionomics.  https://twitter.com/Socionomics http://socionomics.net/

The following conversation is with David Tuck, the Head of Mission for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Australia. Our conversation centres around how the ICRC manages international humanitarian law, humanitarian aid, armed conflicts and the risk and consequences of nuclear war. David leads a team who work closely with government, military, diplomatic and academic stakeholders to promote the ICRC and its activities. David's work fosters a greater understanding of the ICRC’s global operations and encourages dialogue on international humanitarian issues and law. David Tuck holds an LL.M. in International Humanitarian Law from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) and Bachelor of Asian Studies (specialist in Hindi) from the Australian National University.

This conversation is with Col Buz Carpenter, an Air Force pilot most famous for being 1/85 humans in history to fly the fastest operational fighter jet ever made, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird where he executed global reconnaissance missions. Buz also served as a C-141 aircraft commander during Desert Storm and Desert Shield and flew RF-4Cs in the Vietnam War. From 1983-85 he worked at the Pentagon serving as "Black World" programmer handling a $6 billion dollar budget for stealth fighters including F-117, F-22, & the B-2 bomber programs. Currently, Buz serves as a Docent at the Udvar Hazy Center of the National Air & Space Museum at Dulles airport in Washington DC. Getting the opportunity to speak to Buz and reflect over his career is an experience I am extremely humbled and grateful for. I hope you enjoy one of my favourite conversations I've ever had, with Colonel Buz Carpenter.

In the 2nd year of the Peloponnesian War (one of the worlds greatest world wars), 430 BCE, an outbreak of plague erupted in Athens. In 2020 the world is/did experience its own plague of sorts, the purpose of this is to document the severity of one of histories worst plagues in hopes it provides a valuable perspective of a forgotten history for those of us today.

This conversation with Ben LaChance discusses the habits and systems it takes to create and manage a team of high performing athletes in collegiate sport, the habits and principles that underpin a winning culture, how to develop buy-in and trust from people and the physical preparation plan Ben uses in the weight room to get the most of his athletes.  Ben LaChance is a strength & conditioning coach at Queens University of Charlotte, former strength & conditioning coach for the Minnesota Twins Baseball and former strength and conditioning assistant at North Carolina State University.

This conversation is with Andrew Menechian discusses the psychology of changing habits, Andrew's most valuable habits he performs daily, the effect of social media smartphone use on our brain and how Andrew changed his habits around that, lessons learnt through martial arts, harmful foods that people don't realise, developing a healthy relationship with food, balancing work ethic and experiencing joy and his experience with addiction.

Andrew Menechian is a personal trainer and coach from Sydney, Australia.  @andrewmenechian

This conversation with Abigail Shrier centres around the recent explosion in gender dysphoria rates in young girls and unpacks the suspected root causes. I did my best to discuss topics and ask questions she has not talked about before to uncover more of the nuance behind these tricky subjects. We extend the conversation to how we can facilitate the growth and development of the younger generations through critical thinking, parenting strategies, education, looking through history and carefully selected books to foster child development. I hope you enjoy this conversation and it shines a new perspective on these topics for you. 

Abigail Shrier is an author and Wall Street Journal writer with a bachelor of philosophy from the University of Oxford, a Euretta J. Kellett Fellowship recipient and studied law at Yale Law School. Her new book "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" is available here: https://amzn.to/2FWj3Kw 

Books Discussed in This Conversation:  The Idiot by Elif Batuman: https://amzn.to/2ZI8hy8 Democracy in America Book by Alexis de Tocqueville https://amzn.to/35FB1LX Pride and Prejudice Novel by Jane Austen https://amzn.to/33Cjamw Kierkegaard in the Present Age by Søren Kierkegaard https://amzn.to/2H97Jet