Made You Think

The difference in even doing a little bit of preparation between doing nothing for a disaster is massive.

Today we're discussing what you should know about preparing for doomsday, centered around the book "Emergency" by Neil Strauss. What will you do when a massive hurricane, earthquake, or fire hits? When a terrorist attack happens? When the power grid goes down and you're stuck in your home with rapidly depleting supplies? These aren't fun topics to think about… but it's better to plan for them now than suffer the consequences of hiding our heads in the sand.

We cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Surviving various disasters and life-threatening situations
• Minimizing your damage from threats and disasters
• Protecting yourself from terrorist threats
• Future societal outcomes after apocalyptic events
• Leaving the country to avoid disaster
• Hiding caches and finding water
• Utilizing the five flag system for optimal security

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of Emergency and to check out Nat's notes on the book!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our episode on Antifragile, to learn how to turn chaos to your advantage. Our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future. And last, our episode on cryptocurrency, to learn how cryptocurrency works and how it can benefit you.

Mentioned in the show:

• New York Times [1:10]
• Made You Think episode on Cryptocurrency [3:48]
• Made You Think episode on The Sovereign Individual [4:09]
• Infowars [5:07]
• Lord of the Flies [15:35]
• Made You Think episode of The Power of Myth [18:24]
• The Federalist Papers [25:10]
• FEMA [28:32]
• Article on the Dutch flooding risks [31:53]
• 500 Startups [36:53]
• Y Combinator [36:54]
• Start-Up Chile [37:34]
• Estee Lauder [40:20]
• Sovereign Man article on places to get a passport [41:27]
• Made You Think episode on Amusing Ourselves to Death [43:50]
• Huffington Post [44:53]
• Fox News [44:54]
• Pocket app [45:40]
• Doomsday Planning for Less Crazy Folk [51:45]
• Bug Out Bag [1:01:52] (Bug Out Bag essentials checklist)
• Nat Chat podcast [1:05:28]
• CERT Training [1:04:30]
• The guy who fasted for over a year [1:08:16]
• Documentary on Koreatown protecting itself [1:13:56]
• New Yorker article on interviewing North Koreans [1:22:23]
• Making a solar still [1:26:50]
• Online simulation on a population and dying [1:43:15]
• Tesla [1:48:23]
• Nat Chat episode with Zak Slayback [1:48:55]

Books mentioned:

• Emergency (Nat's Notes)
• The Game [1:03] (Nat's Notes)
• The Truth [1:05] (Nat's Notes)
• The Sovereign Individual [4:09] (Nat's Notes)
• The Lean Startup [7:30] (Nat's Notes)
• Amusing Ourselves to Death [43:50] (Nat's Notes)
• Contagious [46:36] (Nat's Notes)
• Deep Survival [1:25:22]
• Man's Search for Meaning [1:26:05] (Nat's Notes)

People mentioned:

• Neil Strauss
• Ariana Grande [3:30]
• Adil Majid [3:48]
• Taylor Pearson [3:50]
• Alex Jones [4:49]
• Jordan Peterson [10:50]
• Carl Jung [10:54]
• Madison and Hamilton [25:16]
• George W. Bush [28:24]
• Rodney King [51:10]
• Nassim Taleb [51:48]
• Laurence Gonzales (author) [1:25:22]
• Viktor Frankl [1:26:05]
• Samy Kamkar [1:45:48]
• Elon Musk [1:48:23]
• Zak Slayback [1:48:55]

Related links:

• Nat's 5-day water fast article

0:00 - Powerful introductory quote, the beginning of the discussion, and some information on what the book's about.

4:39 - Some thoughts on prepping and some popular misconceptions with prepping. Also, thoughts on why you may want to get into prepping for disasters.

7:27 - Discussion on various disaster scenarios, looting, gangs, and the social unrest that arises. Also, how these situations can make us irrational.

11:50 - Thoughts on various genocides around the world and the death tolls of them.

15:00 - The author's perspective on possible outcomes during various apocalyptic events and some discussion on these events. Also, some talk regarding tribes and the events that happened from the year 1900 and onwards.

20:33 (Tangent #1) Discussion on what may happen with nation states and states succeeding in regards to war. Also, some talk about various laws and types of governments.

27:46 - The author's three strategies regarding various disasters and surviving them. Also, some information on why rescue teams don't always show up as soon as the disasters happen and some thoughts on how many people have died during recent natural disasters.

33:48 - The first challenge of escaping. Describing the five flag system and detailing how to go about achieving that system. Also, evading income tax by living in Puerto Rico and getting paid to start a business there, same with Chile.

42:23 - Some signs that you should leave the country and some discussion on these signs. Also, discussion on the media being warped to make us think a certain way.

46:30 - What makes things go viral and get shared. Some thoughts on these driving forces. Also, how much it typically would cost to achieve the five flag system mentioned earlier.

49:56 - The next part on surviving these disasters and traveling away from the country to avoid possible disasters.

52:30 - Some more discussion on survival, hunting, diet, and training yourself to survive beforehand, especially training your instincts. Also, some in-depth discussion on escaping from Long Island and the usefulness of being able to sail.

1:04:26 - How the author learned how to do all of these things. Also, the three qualities and the three skills that will help you out greatly in various disasters. What you should learn to survive in various situations mentioned, as well.

1:09:00 - Urban survival versus wilderness survival and some thoughts on this. Some talk about protecting yourself with weapons and owning guns, as well.

1:16:42 - What you should do first when a disaster hits and what you should do last.

1:18:42 - Where to find safe drinking water in your home if you run out of water. Also, storing water, protecting yourself from nuclear threats, and some talk on bomb threats in general.

1:23:20 - What to do if you're in a building where a bomb explodes, minimizing damage from shooters, what to watch out for when lost, information on solar stills, and the minimum amount of water needed daily for survival.

1:31:05 - Some other things that you can do to help your survival chances.

1:36:20 - Information on hiding items and caches, and some more information on finding water and drinking from streams.

1:39:36 - The last section on rescuing and EMT training. Also, what's currently most likely to kill you here in America.

1:44:23 - (Tangent #2) Self-driving and the possible fragility of the self-driving system. Some thoughts on security, hacking, driving, and fossil fuels, as well.

1:49:34 - Wrap-up. Some last thoughts on surviving various disasters and prepping.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

People who can stay rational and who can maintain hope, tend to always survive these dire scenarios more.

Every time that you're putting a label on something, you are abstracting away from what it truly means.

Meditation has taken western interest by storm… but what is Buddhism, anyway? We try to figure that out in this exploration of The Way of Zen, which lays out the different forms of Buddhism and how they differ. Neither of us knew much about the subtleties, nor how much it's misrepresented in western marketing.

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

• Differences in Eastern and Western wisdom
• The origins of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism
• The negative effects of putting labels on things
• Reducing attachment to things and becoming more open-minded
• Non-conscious and indescribable knowledge
• Meditation and mindfulness
• Finding joy in the journey, not the destination

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Way of Zen and to check out Nat and Neil's notes on the book!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our episode on Letters From a Stoic, to learn ancient wisdom for a better life and our episode on In Praise of Idleness, to reduce the guilt from overworking and to improve your leisurely time.

Mentioned in the show:

• Uber [6:25]
• The Socratic method [22:40]
• Jordan Peterson's Biblical Series [24:07]
• DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) [26:10]
• Inuit [28:06]
• Aristotelian Ethics [43:40]
• Jung's Collective Consciousness [44:49]
• Simulation that is Reality [44:59]
• Reddit [45:46]
• Jocko's Podcast [57:47]
• The Blind Mountainbike Rider [1:02:25]
• The Switch from Search to Social [1:09:38]
• Headspace [1:13:58]

Books mentioned:

• The Way of Zen (Nat's Notes) (Neil's Notes)
• Finite and Infinite Games [0:53] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Antifragile [1:02] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Letters From a Stoic [3:39] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Meditations [3:45] (Nat's Notes)
• Enchiridion [3:48] (Nat's Notes)
• Discourses [3:49] (Nat's Notes)
• Astrophysics For People in a Hurry [29:27]
• Mastery [33:52] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Benazir Bhutto's book mentioned [38:29]
• The Power of Myth [41:44] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• In Praise of Idleness [1:09:26] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance [1:14:28]
• Bhagavad Ghita [1:16:08]
• Godel, Escher, Bach [1:20:55] (Episode coming soon) (Nat's Notes)

People mentioned:

• Alan Watts
• Seneca [3:39]
• Marcus Aurelius [3:45]
• Epictetus [3:48]
• Daniel Kahneman [9:23]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [10:47]
• Euthyphro [22:42]
• Chief Justice Roberts [23:08]
• Jordan Peterson [24:07]
• Sam Harris [25:35]
• Neil Degrasse Tyson [29:27]
• Benazir Bhutto [38:29]
• Aristotle [43:40]
• Carl Jung [44:49]
• Elon Musk [44:59]
• Nick Bostrom [45:08]
• Descartes [45:15]
• Jocko [57:47]
• Sebastian Marshall [1:12:48]

0:00 - Introduction, a powerful quote from the book, and some thoughts on why you may want to re-read books intermittently.

1:56 - A bit of background on the author Alan Watts, some information on the book, and discussion on the similarity between Zen Buddhism and Stoicism.

3:52 - Discussion on the first section in the book and some comparisons between Western and Eastern types of knowledge. Also, some interesting differences in Western and Eastern language.

6:07 - (Tangent #1) Successful startup and company names being both nouns and verbs, such as Google and Uber. Also, thoughts on nouns, verbs, and labels.

7:03 - How when things aren't labeled in the west, things can get confusing. Thoughts on freeing yourself from these "boxes" of labels and restricting labels, as well.

9:54 - The spoken, explained, and labeled things, versus unspoken, unexplained, and unlabeled things. Some more thoughts on labeling things and putting them in the box of that label. Also, thoughts on labeling ourselves and defining ourselves by our past actions.

11:28 - Discussion on the illusion of reality and our reality shifting based on our goals and actions.

12:47 - Further discussion on the narrative fallacy of putting a label on something. Also, the differences in the meaning of words between different people, and the communicative problems that arise due to those.

14:38 - Thoughts on the categories of things and changing your perspective on how you view them. Also, changing your interpretation of reality, to reduce attachment in general and attachment to these categories that things have been labeled under. Seeing the true nature rather than the label and being open to new ideas.

15:37 - The word complexity and how our attempts to understand things with categories is obsolete and overly complex.

17:05 - The example of learning music in the West compared to the East. Also, the comparison of learning language in an immersive and challenging way versus than the traditional approach found in schools.

19:08 - (Tangent #2) Some thoughts on the similarity between the books on the podcast so far and some thoughts on why Zen is not considered a philosophy.

21:39 - Being open to new ideas and ways of thought, and some thoughts on non-conscious and indescribable knowledge.

23:40 - Requiring an indescribable experience to both experience and understand some of the aspects of Zen and non-conscious knowledge. Some talk on where our thoughts come from and asking ourselves the question of where they come from.

26:33 - (Tangent #3) How much of our reality we don't experience because there are no words to describe it. Discussion on our past visual spectrum and not being able to see certain colors in the past, compared to now, where we can see more colors.

30:57 - Neil's personal experiences and life changes after meditating. Becoming more mindful and aware of things that we may normally be mindless to. Also, thoughts on the metaphysical aspect of our reality.

34:08 - The next chapter, discussion on the origins of Buddhism, and comparison between other religions. Also, how Buddhism may be considered a school of thought rather than a religion and some thought on religion in general.

40:09 - Some discussion on the history of Buddhism as well as a bit on other religions.

46:19 - Watt's on Buddhism coming from Hinduism and Buddhism sharing ideas. Also, thoughts on ego, our desires to be in control, and Nirvana.

49:18 - Discussion on brief moments of clarity, being in the zone, and the flow state.

50:56 - The book's section on Mahayana Buddhism and some talk about Bodhisattvas. Shortly after, discussion on Zen awakening and achieving Sattori.

55:32 - Sitting meditation versus bringing meditation into everything that you do. Also, some more discussion on enlightenment and zen versus other Buddhist traditions.

1:00:20 - The principles and practices of Zen Buddhism. Some more on giving up control and some thoughts on control in general.

1:04:49 - (Tangent #4) Thoughts on emotion as a heuristic and Watt's thermostat analogy in regards to human happiness.

1:08:17 - Discussion on Zazen meditation and Watt's views on seated meditation. Also, some talk about our attention spans, the constant entertainment we get, and comparing that to sitting quietly where we don't get that stimulation. Also, discussion on the moments of clarity and mindfulness we get throughout the day.

1:12:26 - Thoughts about whether Zen meditation is getting more popular and discussion on just doing meditation for no purpose, instead of doing it to gain something.

1:15:16 - The last section on Zen and the arts. How the practice of Zen influences art and makes it so much more beautiful. "So much of it was built, for the sake of just building." "The process is the reward". The joy is more in the journey, rather than the destination.

1:21:04 - Wrap-up and a powerful quotation to ponder on.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

It's a very limiting view to believe that everything needs to be really clearly defined to be true.

Every move that an infinite player makes is towards the horizon, and every move a finite player makes is within a boundary.

After reading Finite and Infinite Games, you'll never see the world the same. This simple dichotomy, finite and infinite, will rethink how you see business, life, love, goals, friendships, play, war, and everything you come across. Once you learn to think about the horizon… there's no going back.

We covered a wide range of topics in this discussion, including:

• Improving your life with new perspectives
• Promoting personal growth by defining your boundaries and pushing past them
• Improving your motivation with the infinite mindset
• Finding the balance between over-working and contented leisure
• Consciousness and illusory experiences
• Insights into our relationship with nature

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of Finite and Infinite Games!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, to learn more about the negative impacts that technology has on us and on how to prevent these impacts. Also, be sure to listen to our episode on Mastery by Robert Greene, to learn how to become a master at your craft and improve your life.

Mentioned in the show:

• Made You Think Cryptocurrency episode [0:22]
• Valve [27:57]
• Steam [28:07]
• Zappos [28:59]
• Wait But Why [31:16]
• Elon Musk's Secret Sauce article [31:17]
• Fight Through the Suck article [33:25]
• Narrative Fallacy [34:12]
• Made You Think Antifragile episode [34:15]
• Made You Think The Power of Myth episode [39:15]
• The Philosophy of Mind [47:04]
• What it's Like to Be a Bat paper [47:05]
• The Cartesian [48:58]
• All Natural Apple Meme [1:09:02]
• Made You Think Amusing Ourselves to Death episode [1:15:42]
• The Lincoln Douglas debates [1:15:42]

Books mentioned:

• Finite and Infinite Games
• The Red Book [19:05]
• Bhagavad Gita [21:45] (Nat's Notes)
• The Way of Zen [21:48] (Nat's Notes)
• Sapiens [22:36] (Nat's Notes)
• Valve Employee Handbook [28:19]
• The Dip [32:43] (Nat's Notes)
• Antifragile [34:15] (Nat's Notes) (Made You Think episode)
• The Snowball [36:40]
• The Power of Myth [39:15] (Nat's Notes) (Made You Think episode)
• The Quran [39:20]
• The Art of Seduction [55:50] (Nat's Notes)
• The Game [55:52] (Nat's Notes)
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry [1:03:38]
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels [1:10:40]
• Amusing Ourselves to Death [1:15:42] (Nat's Notes) (Made You Think episode)
• Zen Mind Beginner's Mind [1:16:35] (Nat's Notes)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up [1:26:00] (Nat's Notes)
• 1984 [1:31:26]
• The Sovereign Individual [1:36:32] (Nat's Notes) (Made You Think episode)
• Godel Escher Bach [1:36:34]

People mentioned:

• James P. Carse
• Taylor Pearson [0:19]
• Carl Jung [19:05]
• Bruce Lee [20:23]
• Plato [21:23]
• Seth Godin [32:43]
• Justin Mares [33:25]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [34:15]
• Warren Buffett [36:19]
• Kyrie Irving [38:27]
• Thomas Nagel [47:05]
• Descartes [48:58]
• Robert Greene [55:50]
• Neil Strauss [55:52]
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson [1:03:38]
• Elon Musk [1:14:04]
• Charles Darwin [1:15:37]

0:00 - Intro to the book's discussion, a thesis quote from the book, and talking about the unique writing of the book.

2:48 - The difference between a finite and infinite game, some powerful lessons, and some real-world examples.

8:01 - The distinction between life or death games and some advice on finding the balance between working too much and being content with not working at all.

11:38 - Some more detail on the finite games, thoughts on the past nature that titles have, and thoughts on achieving your goals and accomplishing things.

18:08 - Our social nature, how that affects these games, and the collective consciousness.

20:43 - Ancient philosophy's timeless nature and the wide range of influence that these philosophies have had. Also, thoughts on the development of various philosophies.

23:27 - Thoughts on war from the book and the author's perspective on war.

25:52 - The theory on titles and accomplishments in regards to large and small companies as well as bureaucracy.

29:55 - Bureaucracy in schools, the finite game that schools are, and the title theory applied to schools and degrees.

31:08 - Thinking of everything as a game and taking more risks. Also, some thoughts on how much time you have for major projects that you can accomplish in your life and being selective with those projects.

34:42 - Thoughts on the past nature of wealth, showing wealth off, and wealth in general.

37:33 - Discussion on the boundaries of these games, how successful people think in regards to these boundaries, and constantly striving for a larger goal that's never achieved. Expanding your boundaries, looking through them, and reaching for the horizon.

42:46 - Defining your boundaries by noticing resistance, and pushing through that resistance or increasing it continuously. Pushing past your limits, living on your edge, and recognizing these artificially self-imposed boundaries.

46:03 - The section on what we know to be true, illusory experiences, consciousness, and thoughts on uploading our brains and consciousness to computers, and teleporting ourselves and consciousnesses.

54:52 - The translation of the game towards sexuality and the infinite and finite players within that. Also, thoughts on sexuality and social hierarchy and sacrificing love for other things.

58:32 - The thoughts of parents being like an abstract audience, where even if they aren't there, you're still trying to impress them. Also, more on finite sexuality and infinite sexuality.

1:00:57 - The nature of a finite game and the limits of a finite game. "It's all the limits that you choose to play the game within". Also, applying this to the universe, applying it to time, and to other real-world examples.

1:05:18 - Using the infinite mindset to become more motivated for your goals, to achieve more, and to keep doing more.

1:06:58 - The chapter on nature and its horizons. How everything that happens is natural and how nature just is.

1:10:39 - The morality of fossil fuels, some thoughts on fossil fuel usage, and some more thoughts on the game of nature.

1:14:08 - The author's perspective on explanation and its relation to arguments. Also, the nature of arguments in general.

1:17:44 - Discussion on our control over nature and us versus nature. Also, the author's thoughts on traveling and some discussion on different areas around the world.

1:21:45 - The chapter on nature and the machine world. The comparison of machines with gardens.

1:26:29 - Thoughts on all types waste and how we view waste.

1:27:48 - The book's section on myth, and some discussion on myth and the relationship with infinite and finite players.

1:32:06 - Thoughts on how there is but one infinite game, and some interpretations of this thought. Also, the master player and how they play these finite and infinite games.

1:34:46 - Wrap-up and some closing thoughts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

If you're thinking about it from a more infinite standpoint, the goal is to simply keep building it, keep growing it, and keep making it bigger. There's not really a clear end goal that you're getting to.

For some people, yes, computers are necessary and valuable, but for a lot of other people, they are simply accelerating and enabling this useless information consumption.

In this episode, we cover how the Internet, social media, television, and technology is ruining our abilities to think, reason, entertain ourselves, and what to do about it. Amusing Ourselves to Death is one of both of our favorite books, and it was fun to see how much it related to the other topics we've been covering.

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

• How various forms of information affect our perception
• The prevalence of fake news now
• People concerned about others more than themselves
• Technology negatively affecting our attention spans
• The psychological aspects of the media and commercials
• Minimizing technological distractions
• How technology has changed our conversations

Enjoy! If you want more on Amusing Ourselves to Death, be sure to check out Nat's notes on the book and to pick up a copy yourself!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future, and to our episode on In Praise of Idleness, to reduce the guilt to work so much and to improve your leisure time.

Mentioned in the show:

• Orwell's essays [2:37]
• USA Today [12:50]
• Buzzfeed [13:05]
• Business Insider [13:10]
• Lincoln and Douglas debates [17:09]
• Pulp Fiction [21:10]
• Nat's article on most popular internet sites [28:20]
• Alexa [28:22]
• Nat's 5-day water fast article [30:45]
• Nat's article on Buzzfeed vs WSJ [33:46]
• Neil's website [33:13]
• Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine [40:59]
• The Daily Show [1:02:24]
• The Colbert Report [1:02:25]
• Jon Stewart interview fake news [1:05:05]
• Jon Stewart interview on Crossfire [1:05:37]
• Crossfire show [1:05:37]
• Free speech issue on campuses article [1:06:59]
• Trump's policies [1:12:55]
• Trump's speech in Virginia [1:13:35]
• The Google Memo [1:16:10] (Nat's article on this)
• Made You Think episode on The Sovereign Individual [1:22:05]
• Estee Lauder [1:25:10]
• Sesame Street [1:27:50]
• Duolingo [1:29:18]
• Nat Chat podcast [1:31:12]
• Slack [1:36:18]
• Nat's Facebook setup [1:41:06]
• Second Life [1:53:04]

Books mentioned:

• Amusing Ourselves to Death [1:05] (Nat's Notes)
• Brave New World [1:32]
• 1984 [1:18]
• Antifragile [9:13] (Antifragile's Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• It's Charisma, Stupid [9:25]
• Thomas Paine's Common Sense [21:56]
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck [22:41] (Nat's Notes)
• 50 Shades of Grey [23:15]
• Musashi [31:36]
• The 4-Hour Workweek [1:36:50] (Nat's Notes)

People mentioned:

• Neil Postman [1:07]
• George Orwell [1:18]
• Aldous Huxley [1:32]
• William Taft [7:20]
• Abraham Lincoln [7:25]
• Franklin D. Roosevelt [7:55]
• Donald Trump [8:30]
• Barack Obama [8:40]
• George Bush [8:41]
• Bill Clinton [8:43]
• Ronald Reagan [8:44]
• John F. Kennedy [8:47]
• Chris Christie [8:52]
• Paul Graham [9:24]
• Shakespeare [17:02]
• Stephen A. Douglas [17:09]
• Samuel L. Jackson [21:19]
• John Travolta [21:19]
• Thomas Paine [21:56]
• Mark Manson [22:39]
• James Patterson [26:54]
• Walden [37:41]
• Jim Kramer [51:55]
• Bernie Sanders [1:00:04]
• Plato [1:09:50]
• Socrates [1:09:50]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:10:12]
• Hillary Clinton [1:21:00]
• Scott Adams [1:21:07]
• Ted Cruz [1:21:07]
• Justin Mares [1:36:16]
• Tim Ferriss [1:36:56]

0:00 - Intro to the book's discussion, an excerpt being read, and the book's background.

4:14 - Discussion on how the form of the information portrayed affects how we perceive that information, and some of the informational form shifts that we've had so far.

6:57 - The visual components of information, and the power of appearance and charisma on success and popularity.

9:58 - Thoughts on the validity of written things versus other forms of information.

12:20 - Discussion on the media and the change of what now passes for quality knowledge.

17:17 - Talk on the lengthy Lincoln and Douglas debates in the 1800's and how people were able to sit and maintain focus for upwards of seven hours. Also, discussion on how frequently television changes the screen on you.

21:48 - How much more of a book culture it was back in the day. Also, discussion on how reading and typing in full sentences improves speech.

24:49 - Before the internet, the ability to pay attention was much greater, but now there are constant distractions from the internet that diminish that. Also, talk on how many fewer people are reading longer and tougher books now.

31:59 - Discussion on information requiring much more context and evidence, and talk on the click-baity information out there. Talk on websites pushing information that maximizes ad revenue, instead of quality information.

35:28 - The impact that improved informational transfer speed has had on us, positively and negatively.

38:07 - Thoughts on how so many people are fixated on the lives of others, and the negative impact that social media and technology on us by disconnecting us from the present moment. Also, the social pressure of these things.

47:09 - How little the news affects our decisions and how little we actually do to change things that we don't necessarily like.

52:05 - The large amount of cases where value is added to meaningless data, especially in the news. Also, the news constantly making small issues seem much larger and promoting fake scenarios.56:11 - Discussion on the "peek-a-boo" events that pop up quick, blow up, and then disappear, mostly for entertainment.

57:35 - How television has changed conversation, political changes, and the president using the media to get elected.

1:01:15 - People taking news sources seriously, even though the information is taken out of context and misconstrued.

1:06:40 - The issue with us magnifying small differences and making huge deals out of them and some examples of this.

1:11:33 - How frequent the story changes on the news or on social media "the infinite scroll", and the media manipulating stories so often, making it extremely hard to trust them.

1:19:30 - Commercials being addressed to the psychological needs of the viewer and not the actual product being sold. Also, politicians using catchy sound bites to have people pay attention to them.

1:27:50 - Discussion on various methods of teaching and the huge number of flaws in these teaching methods. Also, how these widespread methods and technology negatively impact us and our attention span.

1:35:18 - How to have an effective schedule for minimizing these technological distractions and some thoughts on this.

1:41:44 - Discussion on us never needing to be bored again due to technology, and the possible negative impact this has on creativity.

1:44:58 - How much computers really help us, and how they accelerate the intake of useless information. Also, the possible future impacts that current technology will have on us and the workforce.

1:54:06 - Some things that will need to change in teaching systems to fix our shrinking attention spans.

1:57:34 - Wrap-up. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the episode on Twitter!

Simply being able to pay attention will be an extremely valuable skill that ninety percent of us won't have.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

There's not a big third-party in the middle taking thirty, fifty, or whatever percent of the cut on the way, it's just directly from one individual to another individual.

In this episode of Made You Think we mixed it up by bringing in two guests: Taylor Pearson and Adil Majid, to ask them all of our burning questions about cryptocurrency. Neil came into the episode completely fresh and asked them everything he could think of, so if you're new to bitcoin, ethereum, and cryptocurrency, or have a basic understanding but want to learn more, this is the crash course you've been looking for.

We cover a wide range of topics, including:

• The history and the creation of cryptocurrencies
• Cryptocurrencies pros, cons, and uses
• Various types and forms of cryptocurrencies
• The major benefits of cryptocurrencies usage
• Long and short-term price speculations
• Reliable sources of cryptocurrency news and information

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure check out Taylor and Adil online!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb to learn how to profit from chaos, and on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future.

Mentioned in the show:

• Spire [1:28]
• Cypher Punks [13:37]
• E-Gold [13:57]
• Dropbox [17:22]
• Filecoin [17:38]
• Source Wifi [17:42]
• Uber [19:21]
• Nick Szabo's Blog - Unenumerated [23:19]
• Steem Crypto-Reddit [38:54]
• Made You Think: The Sovereign Individual [48:35]
• Coinbase [50:05]
• JP Morgan [54:11]
• JP Morgan trading Bitcoin after fraud claim [54:11]
• The Silk Road marketplace [1:10:00]
• Bitcoin forums [1:11:05]
• Ethereum [1:15:30]
• The DAO [1:18:45] (the DAO hack)
• Alibaba [1:23:14]
• Inneo [1:23:23]
• Belaji's article on quantifying decentralization [1:24:20]
• Bitcoin Whitepaper [1:29:10]
• Vitalik Buterin's blog [1:30:56]
• Social Scalability article [1:35:55]
• Nick Szabo's Tim Ferriss Podcast episode [1:36:43]
• Cryptocurrency on Medium [1:37:03]

Books mentioned:

• The Dictator's Handbook [4:18]
• The Master Switch [4:46]
• Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital [57:37]
• Digital Gold [1:08:11]
• The Sovereign Individual [1:30:22] (Made You Think episode) (Nat's Notes)
• The Internet of Money [1:34:59]

People mentioned:

• Taylor Pearson [0:49] (Twitter)
• Adil Majid [1:21] (Twitter)
• Tim Wu [4:46]
• Satoshi Nakamoto [11:19]
• Nick Szabo [14:02]
• Kevin Kelly [34:05]
• Gandhi [51:38]
• Jamie Dimon [54:11]
• Carlota Perez [57:37]
• Ari Paul [1:07:47]
• Chris Burniske [1:07:47]
• Balaji Srinivasan [1:07:47]
• Barry Silbert [1:07:47]
• Vitalik Buterin [1:07:47]
• Laura Shin [1:07:47]
• Elizabeth Stark [1:07:47]
• Fred Wilson [1:07:47]
• Naval Ravikant [1:07:47]
• Hal Finney [1:12:13]
• Bruce Mesquita [1:34:47]
• Andreas Antonopoulos [1:35:09]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:36:20] (Antifragile Made You Think episode)
• Tim Ferriss [1:36:43]

Useful resources:

• Taylor's articles on cryptocurrency (here and here)
• Nat's articles on cryptocurrency (here and here)

0:00 - Intro to the show and some information on what the episode will be about.

0:49 - Taylor Pearson and Adil Majid's introductions and how they both got into cryptocurrency.

5:32 - Some of the ways that cryptocurrency is useful due to it being decentralized and free from governmental control.

8:45 - The two types of cryptocurrencies: currencies and tokens, and some key differences between them.

10:13 - What makes cryptocurrencies able to be decentralized and free from governmental control. Also, why people can't create more bitcoins, info on the blockchain, and info on mining cryptocurrencies.

13:15 - Cryptocurrency creation attempts that came before the creation of Bitcoin.

14:26 - Who is creating cryptocurrencies, how they are created, and how they attain value.

16:23 - Some more information on tokens and some examples of these tokens.

18:11 - Why we would want to use tokens for transactions instead of traditional currency.

23:00 - What the customized contract aspect of cryptocurrencies is and how it is much more beneficial to all parties involved compared to traditional contracts or transactions.

30:59 - The international commerce aspect of cryptocurrencies and the huge impact they can have on minimizing transactional fees.

35:21 - How cryptocurrency is possibly going to affect tech and non-banking companies in the future.

39:18 - The potential of decentralized autonomous organizations in the future and huge impacts these can have on our daily lives.

41:20 - The difference between protocols and applications in cryptocurrencies.

44:49 - Some things that are holding cryptocurrencies back right now.

48:32 - Cryptocurrency regulation and the issue with governmental opposition to cryptocurrencies.

50:39 - Exchanges facing opposition, crypto being free of regulations, and some thoughts on governmental intervention.

54:11 - An example of large companies manipulating the price of cryptocurrencies and how the market cap increasing may help stabilize the currencies.

59:14 - Thoughts on the fluctuations of cryptocurrencies and whether or not it's going to be valuable long-term or short-term.

1:03:15 - What's been going on with the Chinese regulations and how that may play out with the different coins in the future.

1:05:45 - Some excellent sources of cryptocurrency information and news, and what types of sources to avoid.

1:08:05 - The backstory of Bitcoin and its creation. Also, some speculations on who the creator actually was.

1:16:10 - The creation of Ethereum, who the creator is, some benefits it has over Bitcoin, and the DAO hack.

1:22:01 - The Bitcoin fork, where Bitcoin split into Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash, and the differences between them.

1:23:29 - Quantifying the decentralization of these various cryptocurrencies.

1:26:28 - The energy arbitrage with Bitcoin, the possible environmental impacts, and Bitcoin mining.

1:30:08 - What you should check out after this episode to learn more about cryptocurrency.

1:32:58 - Where to go to learn more about the application aspect of crypto rather than the currency aspect.

1:38:40 - Wrap-up and where to find Taylor and Adil online.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

Part of what makes it so complex is also part of what makes it so interesting. There's political philosophy, geopolitics, no regulations, network effects, incentivizing people to participate in a network, a kind of economics, and then, there's the technical standpoint involved.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

In this episode of Made You Think, we read through "In Praise of Idleness" by Bertrand Russell and discussed some of its main ideas. This episode was fun since we were able to read the whole essay throughout the show, stopping and starting as topics caught our interest. Whether you've read Russell before, or this is your first introduction to him, this essay is full of ideas that will make you think about whether you need to spend more time goofing off and relaxing.

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

• Reducing the guilty feeling of wanting to work all day
• Balancing work, leisure, and spending
• Cultivating creativity by increasing leisure time
• Spending your leisure time more wisely
• Increasing your productivity
• Reading books to for pleasure, instead of just knowledge
• Issues with overworking in today's society

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of In Praise of Idleness and to check out Nat's notes on the book!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future, and to listen to our episode on Antifragile, to learn how to turn chaos to your advantage!

Mentioned in the show:

• YMCA [0:54]
• Principia Mathematica [1:55]
• Antifragile Made You Think episode [10:30]
• Mastery Made You Think episode [10:30]
• The Sovereign Individual Made You Think episode [11:22]
• Parkinson's Law [27:19]
• Taylor Pearson's time management article [27:44]
• Patagonia [31:08]
• It's Okay to "Forget" What You Read [1:00:34]
• Y Combinator [1:03:12]
• Y Combinator universal income experiment [1:03:12]
• Stoicism [1:14:08]
• France's lower hour work week [1:19:35]
• Neil's Newsletter [1:23:20] (Nat's Newsletter)

Books mentioned:

• In Praise of Idleness [0:00] (Nat's Notes)
• Antifragile [10:30] (Nat's Notes)
• Mastery [10:30] (Nat's Notes)
• The Sovereign Individual [11:22] (Nat's Notes)
• Sapiens [18:01] (Nat's Notes)
• Let My People Go Surfing [31:08]
• The 4-Hour Workweek [38:04] (Nat's Notes)
• Revolt of the Masses [46:55]
• How to Win at the Sport of Business [58:19]
• The Black Swan [1:01:38] (Nat's Notes)
• You're A Badass [1:13:54]
• The Secret [1:13:55]

People mentioned:

• Mussolini [0:36]
• Bertrand Russell [1:15]
• Mark Cuban [58:16]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:01:38]
• Wolf Blitzer [1:05:51]
• Charles Darwin [1:08:58]

0:00 - Intro to the discussion on In Praise of Idleness. Some background on the author Bertrand Russell and on the book itself.

4:56 - Continuation of the essay. Some perspective on spending and saving money, working, and the work system of society. Some of the issues that Bertrand sees in the world.

7:52 - Thoughts on spending money on leisure compared to spending money on business or work.

13:00 - The next passage of the book, discussing the prospect of working less, adding more idleness to your life, and balancing both of those in today's society.

16:28 - The history of work systems throughout time and in various geographic locations. How these systems of long work hours have impacted us today and how aspects of wealth have changed.

20:40 - Thoughts on how high work hours have negatively impacted our creativity and some extreme issues in the modern workforce.

27:09 - An important technique that you can use to improve your daily productivity and to prioritize your work.

29:48 - Issues with modern companies regarding high work hours and employee productivity. Also, the mentality of people wanting and promoting hard work and long hours, and the stigmas regarding these.

37:28 - Idleness possibly leading to chaos and the importance of having meaningful leisurely time. Some thoughts on the transition from high works hours to lower work hours.

41:01 - Russell's thoughts on keeping the idle occupied by producing munitions and objects of war. Companies doing this currently as well, by promoting spending.

48:29 - The next passages on dismissing work as nobility, keeping people contented with work, people not knowing what to do with excess leisure time, teaching people how to better spend their leisurely time, and more.

57:03 - Losing creative energy due to doing unfulfilling work and instead, doing work that you enjoy to save that creative energy for other things. Also, doing things for enjoyment rather than trying to gain something out of it, especially with reading books.

1:01:20 - Getting hooked on reading by reading books that radically change your conception of the world and reading more books to gain those types of experiences again.

1:02:39 - Thoughts on what may happen with giving people unlimited free time and discussing the issue with people who are used to receiving bite-sized pieces of information. Also, untraining yourself from stimulus to get out of passive leisure and getting into active leisure.

1:08:10 - Russell's thoughts on leisurely time being where our greatest ideas and inspirations come from, and on needing that time to think and to study. Also, a bit on the flaws of college with original ideas and intellectual exploration being ignored.

1:14:43 - Last passage from the book. His utopian vision for the twenty hour work week and some thoughts on what would happen if this was implemented. Also, changing our viewpoint on war and the military.

1:22:13 - The challenge of defining what work and leisure actually are and how they are not well defined today compared to Russell's days.

1:24:58 - Wrap-up, some closing thoughts, and some key takeaways.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

"The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their active energies are fully taken up with work; if they had more leisure, they would again enjoy pleasures in which they took an active part."

"When money can be earned anywhere, you won't obligated to live in or subjugate yourself to high taxation."

In this episode of Made You Think, we discussed "The Sovereign Individual," a book published in 1996 predicting how the Internet would change our lives and work over the following decades. Some of it's come true, some of it is yet to come, but no book has made either of us think so much about how technology might destroy what we think of as citizenship, work, travel, community, and life.

We talked about:

• The increasing popularity of self-education over college
• How to prepare yourself for the future cyber-economy
• The future of job automation and subsequent unemployment
• The decreasing demand for people with degrees and job experience
• The four stages of cultural and societal advancement
• The future of cryptocurrency and online wealth
• The necessity for finding meaning in your life and work

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Sovereign Individual and to check out Nat's notes on the book!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our episode on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and our episode on The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell on using the power of mythology to positively influence our lives.

Mentioned in the show:

• 14,000-Year-Old British Columbian Village [5:54]
• Stonehenge [6:15]
• Internet lines being cut article [18:53]
• Bitcoin [19:14] (Nat's article on Bitcoin)
• Upwork [29:01]
• MomTrusted [30:36]
• Loose Threads Death of the Supply Driven World [34:07] (Podcast)
• WellnessFX [35:21]
• Inflammation and Depression link [40:02]
• Nat Chat Podcast [50:27]
• Fake News article [52:49]
• Swift [56:40]
• Cryptocurrency and Blockchain [56:47] (Nat's article on learning about cryptocurrency)
• Ron Paul - What if the government didn't fund healthcare [1:02:57]
• NomadList [1:10:07]
• Wealthfront [1:21:20]
• Zapier [1:26:15]
• How to Legally Own Somebody [1:29:14]
• Medium [1:30:53]
• Estee Lauder [1:34:04]
• Indochino [1:38:57]
• Adidas [1:40:28]
• Under Armour [1:40:28]
• Estonia U-Visa [1:41:35]
• Game of Thrones [1:52:06]
• Community [1:52:07]
• Lost [1:52:08]

Books mentioned:

• Antifragile (Made You Think episode) [0:33] (Nat's Notes)
• The Sovereign Individual [0:37] (Nat's Notes)
• Snowcrash [16:57]
• Ready Player One [17:21]
• Revolt of the Masses [1:08:57]
• The End of Jobs [1:25:52]

People mentioned:

• James Dale Davidson [0:37]
• Lord William Rees-Mogg [0:37]
• Eduardo Saverin [15:17]
• Neal Stephenson [16:57]
• Al Capone [22:19]
• Connor Grooms [35:18] (Nat Chat episode)
• Malcolm Gladwell [57:15]
• José Ortega y Gasset [1:08:57]
• Arnold Schwarzenegger [1:13:58]
• Peter Thiel [1:16:33]
• Larry Page [1:19:19]
• Taylor Pearson [1:25:52] (Nat Chat episode)
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:29:09] (Antifragile Made You Think episode)
• GE [1:31:18]
• Elon Musk [1:56:34]
• Adil Majid [1:56:54] (Nat Chat episode)
• Justin Mares [1:58:20] (Nat Chat episode)

0:00 - Intro to the podcast and discussion of The Sovereign Individual. Some history on the book and what it's about.

2:52 - Some predictions for the future that the book made in 1996, detailing some of the four stages of civilization that the book describes, and some various cultural examples.

9:00 - Some bits on the informational age, the possible future of wealth, and financial independence.

12:40 - Digital nomading and taking advantage of work that's based online for more money.

16:40 - The shift to the majority of things moving towards being online and us moving towards living just as much online as we do offline.

19:53 - Businesses moving online, money becoming harder to track, Bitcoin, and avoiding taxes.

22:44 - The potential backlash of a digital economy, from taxes being easier to avoid, and people losing their jobs due to companies automating those jobs in the future.

26:57 - With more companies becoming easier to find online, companies will have much more competition, and the consumer will have better pricing.

28:27 - The diversity of people you find when outsourcing work and the affordability aspect of outsourcing.

31:48 - The decline of the parallels with the church and the state, the ease of fact-checking people with degrees and learning nearly anything online, and the declining need for certain degrees.

34:39 - Finding the bulk of medical knowledge online, getting health consultations online, and some thoughts on healthcare and its future.

40:02 - The link between inflammation and depression, and some obvious health strategies that have been known for centuries that we now have the research to back up.

42:07 - Some flaws and some examples of the parallels with the church and the state, the perspective shift on income that comes with entrepreneurship, and the benefits of saving much more money than you spend.

50:20 - People beginning to realize they can self-educate themselves rather than going to college and more employers looking for skills rather than degrees.

52:45 - The rising issue with fake news and popular websites promoting false information.

55:15 - More discussion on employers realizing it's not about the degree or the years spent working, it's more about what someone has done.

57:31 - The life and death of the nation-state. Transitioning from the taxation based state to becoming more of a customer and paying for what you want.

1:05:19 - The unique aspects of America being exported a lot and making other places just as important, and the sustainability aspect of the large intellectual diversity in America.

1:08:52 - A community being formed more on a shared idea of a future, rather than a shared past or shared blood. Also, living in different countries and the future of various countries economies.

1:17:00 - Discussing the return of violence mentioned in the book. Governments, companies, and employees fighting any opposition.

1:20:00 - How some large companies are evading American taxes by routing income in different countries.

1:24:03 - Employee owned versus investor-owned companies and hiring contractors rather than employees.

1:34:19 - The book's predictions on how the cyber-economy will be evolving, most of which we've already seen. Also, some thoughts on how the last shift to a fully based cyber-economy may happen.

1:36:40 - The future of cryptocurrency, some impediments with them, and some thoughts on the inflation of cryptocurrencies.

1:38:44 - Some other prediction's the book made on what will happen when the economy shifts to being fully online and some thoughts on this from Nat and Neil.

1:43:04 - This risk of unemployment due to job automation and higher skill levels being required. Also, some of the issues with this happening and possible revolts.

1:52:45 - The need for finding work you that you truly enjoy doing and finding meaning for your life.

1:57:52 - Wrap-up, some last thoughts on the book and in general, and some last pieces of advice.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

"If you can teach yourself to solve problems, you have a bright career ahead. No matter where you live, you will find problems galore in need of solving. Those who would benefit from solutions of their problems, will pay you handsomely to solve them."

"Picking a path, even if it's not the right path, will get you closer to finding the path that will work for you."

"The Power of Myth" is a series of interviews conducted over two years between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, originally meant for television, but eventually repackaged into this book covering Campbell's lifetime of research on the power of mythology to influence our lives and thinking.

It made both of us seriously think about the value of mythology, stories, religion, and how historic lessons can be carried across time. If you're someone who normally prefers actionable information, and reading non-fiction, The Power of Myth makes a strong case for how timeless stories can teach us more than a bulleted list ever can.

We cover a lot in the episode, including:

• How mythology can influence your work and pursuing your passions
• Using mythology and theology as a guide for your life
• Finding your path to bliss and maintaining that bliss
• Promoting growth by welcoming your challenges and enemies
• Balancing the necessary sacrifices in everything that you do
• Gaining inspiration from ancient mythology and theology

And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Power of Myth!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca to learn ancient wisdom for a better life.

Mentioned in the show:

• Skywalker Ranch [1:02]
• Sarah Lawrence College [1:31]
• Jordan Peterson's Podcast (biblical series) [3:35]
• Maasai Tribe People [9:48]
• Tim Ferriss Podcast (dating heuristic episode) [14:57]
• Masculine/Feminine Personality Traits [15:43] (Three related articles: first, second, and third)
• Jocko Podcast [17:46]
• The Optionality Trap [28:29]
• Bonobos [29:41]
• Andy Dunn's VC blog post [29:45]
• Zappos [35:05]
• Twilight Zone (episode mentioned) [35:38]
• Made You Think Mastery podcast episode [38:35]
• Nat Chat Podcast [39:48]
• DiscMan [41:14]
• Nat and Neil's Nat Chat episode [43:46]
• Bitcoin [50:02]
• Nike [52:55]
• Adidas [52:56]
• Wall-E [57:19]
• Dota 2 [58:26]
• World of Warcraft [58:31]
• Starcraft [58:32]
• Hardcore History Podcast [1:06:10]
• Biblical Series Podcast on Cain and Abel [1:14:33]
• Made You Think Letter's From a Stoic podcast episode [1:20:55]
• Made You Think Antifragile podcast episode [1:20:56]

Books mentioned:

• The Power of Myth (Nat's Notes) [0:44]
• Harry Potter [3:51]
• Sapiens (Nat's Notes) [8:32]
• The Way of the Superior Man (Nat's Notes) [16:17]
• The Odyssey [28:02]
• The Alchemist (Nat's Notes) [28:34]
• The Secret [28:40]
• Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh's book) [35:07]
• Play It Away [38:07]
• The Sovereign Individual (Nat's Notes) [40:42]
• The Quran [49:14]
• American Indian Myths and Legends [1:07:58]
• The Selfish Gene [1:11:48]
• The Bhagavad Gita (Nat's Notes) [1:16:34]
• The Way of Zen [1:17:05]
• Words That Work (Nat's Notes) [1:17:58]
• The Joseph Campbell Companion [1:19:34]

People mentioned:

• Joseph Campbell [0:55]
• Bill Moyers [0:55]
• George Lucas [1:36]
• J.K. Rowling [3:54]
• Yuval Noah Harari [8:35]
• Tim Ferriss [14:57]
• Jocko Willink [17:46]
• Plato [22:00]
• Andy Dunn [29:40]
• Tony Hsieh [35:03]
• Mark Cuban [38:06]
• Dan Carlin [1:06:10]
• Richard Dawkins [1:11:48]
• Carl Jung [1:12:02]
• Alan Watts [1:17:05]
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:17:26]
• Frank Luntz [1:17:58]

0:00 - Introduction, some background information on The Power of Myth, and some popular modern-day mythological references.

4:26 - The ease of remembering myths and some thoughts on our memorization abilities hundreds of years ago.

6:20 - Mythology in the modern world and using mythology to steer you towards better and more authentic desires.

9:30 - Campbell's philosophy with having to earn your adulthood and having a clear demarcation for adulthood.

13:30 - The more mythological aspect of love and lust that was more prominent in the past. Also, speaking on the dynamic of masculine and feminine energy.

19:05 - The significance of various symbols found in the world, speaking about theology versus mythology, and using both as personal guidelines for a better life.

26:58 - Campbell's thoughts of self-actualization, following your bliss, and using that bliss to find the right path in life.

34:26 - Maintaining a creative outlet, having a meaning to live, and making sacrifices to maintain that bliss. 38:35 - Advice for finding your bliss, trying many different things, and taking different paths.

45:24 - Using mythological stories and their characters, challenges, and motivations to help you with your own journies.

48:17 - Balancing the sacrifice and payment for each thing you do and realizing you'll most likely have to put in the same amount of work as everyone one that path before you.

52:02 - Loving your struggles and enemies, as they are the instruments for your destination. Looking for competitors and challenge to promote growth.

57:43 - The false sense of achievement and meaning you get from video games and the huge issue with this.

1:01:49 - The structure of the hero's journey and viewing your life in that structure to make better decisions, similar to "What would this person do?".

1:04:35 - Campbell's mask of eternity idea, how the structure of mythology matches the structure of our daily lives, the morality aspect of myths, and how certain myths may have helped ancient tribes survive.

1:15:58 - Some last thoughts, gaining inspiration from religious myths and ancient texts, and tying words to strong feelings.

1:18:58 - Wrap up, some other last pieces of thoughts, and some info on the next podcast episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

"It's game where, if you do find your bliss and you follow it, you can't lose. Because you're not going for the destination, you're going for that journey."

"It's never going to be easier to just learn and to make little money, than when you're young and in the beginning."

Mastery is the best book that either of us have found at becoming a master of your craft, getting mentors, learning through experience, and reaching the top of your field. If you're serious about becoming known for your work, there are few better books that you could read to help get you there, and we covered many of the key lessons in this episode. In this episode though, we covered:

• Finding your purpose and achieving skill mastery
• Reconnecting with your inner self
• Strategies for improving your life and progression
• Avoiding common mistakes that hinder growth
• Enduring pain to increase mental resilience
• Breaking through learning plateaus
• Remaining patient and trusting the process
• Improving your social intelligence to communicate better

And much more. Enjoy! If you want more on Mastery, be sure to check out Nat's notes on the book and pick up a copy yourself.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb to learn how to profit from chaos, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca to learn ancient wisdom for a better life.

Mentioned in the show:

• How to Become an Expert in Any Skill
• Tinder
• RTS games
• Fountains of Bellagio
• Procter and Gamble
• No Shampoo, No Conditioner article
• How To Get Up To Speed In Any Industry… Quickly article
• Candy Crush
• Deliberate Practice article
• Mattan Griffel Crucial Conversations Slideshow
• MomTrusted
• Morning Pages
• Cryptocurrency
• Teachable
• Neil's brewing company

Books mentioned:

• Mastery by Robert Greene (Nat's Notes)
• Letters from a Stoic (Made You Think Episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Antifragile (Made You Think Episode) (Nat's Notes)
• Excellent Sheep (Nat's Notes)
• Siddartha
• Deep Work (Nat's Notes)
• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Nat's Notes)
• What Every Body is Saying
• The 48 Laws of Power (Nat's Notes)
• Crucial Conversations (Neil's Notes)
• The Art of Learning (Nat's Notes)

People mentioned:

• Robert Greene
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Charles Darwin
• Thomas Edison
• Martha Graham
• William Deresiewicz
• Chaz Giles
• Justin Mares
• Scott Adams
• Seneca
• Ernest Hemingway
• Michael Faraday
• Ignaz Semmelweis
• Peter Thiel
• Ankur Nagpal

2:03 - Start of the discussion. Nat discussing the layout of the book and how you can benefit from it.

7:58 - Anyone can become a master. Nat and Neil on the first steps to achieving mastery and on the first phase of the book, the apprenticeship phase.

12:10 - Focusing on your personal tendencies that hint at your purpose and thoughts on becoming more connected to yourself.

16:55 - Nat and Neil on Greene's three steps for trying to reconnect with your calling and finding work that you truly enjoy.

19:14 - The large number of potential jobs that are there, but aren't always easy to find. A few examples on this from Nat and Neil.

22:04 - Looking at your career as more of a journey with twists and turns, rather than a straight line. Also, some more ideas for finding the things that you're really interested in.

27:27 - Speaking on learning everything that you can and then detailing the first steps of the apprenticeship phase.

33:12 - Discussing the importance of deliberate practice, deep work, and avoiding distractions to achieve optimal efficiency with your work.

36:47 - Greene's strategies to help you complete the apprenticeship phase and for getting the most out of it.

40:22 - Trusting the process, not setting artificial metrics for yourself, and taking the harder options for more growth.

42:35 - Properly implementing feedback from your failures, the importance of trying different things, and broadening your skills.

45:25 - The necessity for having a mentor and learning from them.

53:05 - Choosing the correct mentor, avoiding common mistakes with your mentor, and advice for properly learning from them.

59:20 - Developing social intelligence and improving your ability to navigate personal interactions.

1:06:01 - Strategies to acquire social intelligence and advice for better connecting to others.

1:10:20 - Advice and steps for thinking beyond those initial guidelines, sparking new creativity, and continuing your learning beyond the constraints of the skill.

1:19:58 - Strategies for avoiding emotional pitfalls, maintaining patience, and continually improving yourself.

1:26:18 - Giving yourself an environment to be creative and to actively explore contradictions in yourself and in the world at large.

1:28:35 - Fusing the intuitive with the rational and achieving mastery, seeing the world as it really is, and really trying to understand other's perspectives.

1:35:17 - Wrap up and some final thoughts on the book.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com/

"After continual practice for years, you eventually make the leap to mastery."

"You want your life to be where, if it was your last year, you'd happy with how your life turned out." Letters from a Stoic is one of Neil's and Nat's favorite works of philosophy, and has taken the world by storm in a massive resurgence over the last 10 years. Unlike most philosophy works, it's extremely readable and endlessly applicable, and you'll stumble upon useful bits of wisdom on every page. We've both read it and re-read it multiple times, and knew it had to be one of the first books and collections of wisdom that we shared with you. We covered a ton of topics from the book, including:

• Focusing on developing deep friendships.
• Reading more timeless books and rereading books.
• Practicing negative scenarios to better prepare yourself for them.
• Being grateful for what you currently have.
• Being content your life now, for there may not be a tomorrow.
• Removing the unpragmatic fear of death.
• Facing difficult obstacles head on, instead of avoiding them.

Enjoy! If you want more on Letters from a Stoic, be sure to check out Nat's notes on the book and pick up a copy yourself. And let Neil and Nat know on Twitter what you thought of this episode!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our other launch episode on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb, on how to turn chaos to your advantage!

Mentioned in the show:

• The Marathon of Beer, Books, and Philosophy Nat Chat Episode
• How to Profit from Chaos, Lessons from Antifragile Episode
• Stoicism
• The Lindy Rule
• Neil's Newsletter
• Gratitude journal
• 5-Minute Journal
• Morning Pages
• Fight Through the Suck
• Saturnalia
• Dominic D'Agostino (Tim Ferriss Episode) (Joe Rogan Episode)
• Fushimi Inari Shrine

Books mentioned:

• Letters from a Stoic (Nat's Notes) (Free PDF)
• Antifragile (Nat's Notes)
• Hillbilly Elegy
• The Dip

People mentioned:

• Seneca
• Plato
• Epictetus
• Cato the Elder
• Marcus Aurelius
• Justin Mares
• Seth Godin
• Tim Ferriss
• Joe Rogan
• Socrates
• Steve Jobs
• Randy Komisar
• Adil Majid
• Jocko

1:26 - Intro to the book discussion. Some background on Seneca and stoicism.

5:25 - The issue of not settling in one place or focusing on one thing at a time, costing you strong personal relationships and richer knowledge on one subject.

8:00 - Speaking of the Lindy rule of books, paying more attention to older books that are still popular today.

9:59 - Rereading books every so often to gain new insights and learning more from them.

12:40 - Doing things to strengthen yourself from poverty each day, learning the limits of wealth, and being content with what you have.

17:40 - Using excuses to abstain from discipline and your personal plans. Also, speaking on the nature of fasting.

22:33 - Setting aside a number of days in which you do away with indulgences and pleasures to increase your resilience and gratitude for these things.

25:47 - During times of safety, build yourself up to possible negative events to prepare yourself beforehand.

28:45 - Despite growing physically old, you can maintain your spirit, your willpower, and how you respond to negative events.

30:52 - Enjoying what you're doing now and making sure that you're happy with your life if it was your last year. Also, speaking on proving your words with actions and explaining Seneca's suicide.

35:19 - Escaping deep inner issues with travel and new experiences is faulty. "The same thing that drove you away, you carry with you.". Advice and perspective on traveling with these issues.

42:00 - Investing in religious items will not increase your chances of what you want to happen, it's more going to come from you and what you're doing. Also, abstaining from your pride in things that aren't your own or that can be taken away.

46:21 - Internalizing the idea of death and making the most of your life while alive. Behaving well because it's the right thing to do, instead of behaving well for a reward at the end of your life.

49:18 - Becoming comfortable with your death and recognizing that death is nothingness, as it was before you were born. Also, Nat on a good way to introduce others to stoicism.

51:43 - Doing away with all of those who complain or who worry about things outside of their control. Labeling unpragmatic emotions as useless and asking yourself whether it is necessary.

56:50 - Facing difficult obstacles and your struggles, instead of running away from them in order to lessen the burden.

59:22 - Being happier with less, you can appreciate having more, that much more. A few real world examples of this and some advice for being more appreciative and grateful.

1:04:22 - The issue of the constant comparison game we face today and the constant want of having more, which creates problems.

1:08:45 - Doing the things that scare you and being suspicious of the things that seem easy. Some thoughts on the timeless nature of the book and on its wide application to improve our daily lives.

1:11:20 - Wrap up and some last thoughts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

"It is precisely in times of immunity from care that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress, and it is while Fortune is kind that it should fortify itself against her violence."