This episode was a really unique one for me in many ways. 

1. I have known Chris Powers for about 30 years and he is one of my oldest friends in the world. We went to junior high together and have been friends ever since. For that reason, the comfort level and trust we have, allowed us to have a conversation that is very difficult to have with someone you don't know that well. Part of that is because we know each other well enough to call bullshit (or possible bullshit) when we saw it, which makes the discussion more raw and authentic. Part of the reason is also because in most conversations there is a degree of mental energy that is allocated towards filtering my language to make sure the other person doesn't misinterpret or get offended by what I am saying. In this conversation I didn't have to do that and it allowed me to dedicate all of my mental efforts to following the logical thread, it allowed me to ask better questions and hopefully get to better insights. It was a valuable experience that I hope I can carry over into future conversations to make them even more authentic and impactful.

2. Chris and I spent 40 minutes having that really raw, authentic conversation about his value- legacy. By legacy he meant "winning." Winning he defined as being successful, having recognition, money, giving his kids a good life, etc. To his credit and what made the conversation great, was that he was honest about his need to "win." He explained why others might take issue with that or see it as a bad thing, but it still made sense for him. He also was open to me questioning and dissecting it to see if there were flaws in it. It was exactly the type of conversation I want to have on this podcast. Unfortunately I forgot to hit the record button. Believe me, it hurt like hell because I so badly wanted to be able to share the conversation we had. But we licked our wounds and decided we would have a new conversation about the conversation we just had. That is the point this podcast picks up. So apologies, it may feel like you are jumping into the middle of the discussion, but I think it works. You still get to hear his raw values/beliefs and our exploration of them. 

3. That leads to my 3rd and final reason this episode was unique for me. Maybe because I knew him so well, maybe because we had already had such a deep conversation already, or maybe because I just got too comfortable and confident-- I am not sure this podcast was my best work. As I listened back to it, I realized I cut him off too much, I talked too much (and at times probably cursed too much), I was too eager and over confident to point out his potential flaws and where I thought I had it right. Although it makes me cringe a bit to listen back to it, I still wanted to share it. It was still a really good conversation and highlights the reason I am doing this podcast. Also it was an extremely valuable lesson/reminder for me of the importance of checking myself. I want to be raw and authentic, but I can't do it at the sacrifice of listening and learning.

With that, I really appreciate you reading all of this (if you made it this far) and listening to this episode. I hope you really enjoy it.