Mere Mortals Conversations

Tanya Hall is officially a repeat guest on the Mere Mortals Conversations. Tanya is an ultramarathoner, combined with being a foodie and lives rurally on a farm in the Brisbane outskirts. In this convo we discussed: how barefoot running sounds great but is hard to implement in reality, the difference between running on trails vs roads, the method of burning fat doing zone 2 training, some mental benefits she has seen from moving out to a farm and the fun that can be had from climbing tree and digging holes.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Eating, drinking & running1:46 - 'Born to Run' book and barefoot running6:20 - Road running vs trail running13:14 - Zone 2 training16:18 - Fasting and free time19:51 - Run-walking21:38 - Powerwalking (also known as racewalking)24:43 - Eating during an ultramarathon27:00 - Living rural on a farm32:26 - Psychological benefits of living rural35:16 - Screen time for kids39:30 - Climbing trees and digging holes

Connect with Tanya:https://www.australianfoodie.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australianfoodie/
About Mere Mortals:Deep conversations with a light-hearted touch. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

What are the differences between terrible, bad, stupid and good questions? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Questions'. We start of with a definition and a little bit of history from Thomas Babington Macaulay before getting onto the topic of terrible questions. We mostly agreed that intent and context play a large part of the equation, rather than the actual words themselves. This can take the form of trolling, insincere, loaded and rhetorical questions, in which there is no real way to win except to not answer.
The second half of the convo focuses upon good questions and how we think about the internal questions that occur inside our own mind. There is also some fascinating knowledge to be gained from how different languages engage in the process of asking questions. In particular there is an obscure language in Mexico called Chalcatongo Mixtec that doesn't have the grammar structure or intonation to allow the classic format of questions.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro1:05 - Definition3:10 - Terrible questions4:54 - If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?7:22 - Bad questions vs stupid questions11:59 - Insincere, loaded and rhetorical questions15:13 - What makes a good question20:50 - Internal questions we ask ourselves27:26 - Brangelina and magazines32:48 - Languages without questions35:00 - Chalcatongo Mixtec37:45 - A good question: are you listening to enough Mere Mortals?

About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

How do you know when you are holding onto something for too long? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the unusual podcast format between Mr Ferriss and Dr Attia, the benefits of fasting, how difficult it is to actually translate text and books, not judging people too quickly, credit cards and the uselessness of Qantas points, my bizarre day dream involving plane crashes and heroic feats, signs that you are holding on too long to a relationship/hobby/passion and the ability to diversify your identity across different categories.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:(0:00) - This is an outrage!(0:37) - Tim Ferriss & Peter Attia podcast(5:21) - Fasting for longevity/lifestyle instead of performance6:25 - The difficulty of language translations10:56 - One thing that changed Juan's mind14:07 - Judging a book by its cover16:11 - Changing credit cards for the Qantas points19:36 - My insane daydreaming22:31 - Transitioning out of the things you once loved29:54 - Letting go of the intensity31:51 - Diversifying your identity33:35 - Mere Mortal Moments35:51 - Keeping the Mere Mortal love alive!

About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Misinformation can be the sharing of inaccurate information, REGARDLESS of an intention to deceive Mere Mortals! Juan talks through the thoughts on misinformation, inclusive of the podcast information we share.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Have you ever thought of Nassim Taleb's antifragility in the context of sport? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: our unfortunate friend Joey and how some people are not genetically suited to do the thing they love, millions of dollars locked in Bitcoin because people can't remember the password, Juan's mistaken belief that Elmo is not part of Sesame Street, the misogyny of Skeletor in his old cartoon, purposefully watching sport just to be able to socialise at work and blunt people who will always correct other's mistakes.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro & Mere Mortal Moments2:09 - Anti-Agility: The more sport you play the worse you become5:10 - Being locked out of Bitcoin9:05 - Skeletor is a misogynist!11:00 - Learning about boring stuff just to socialise16:32 - Correcting people's mistakes21:49 - Mere Mortals on audio or video?

About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Trent Mason is a certified executive coach and enterprise agilist, an individual who leverages systems thinking and strengths based approaches to foster a lean/agile culture, valuing people, relationships, collaboration and continuous improvement.
In his own words:"My practice is best described as a humanistic approach to agile. I focus on coaching ‘the self’ and how we make conscious choices to create the right environment and conditions for performance. At a system level, it’s about agile for the context in which you operate, empathy for circumstance and history, and using strength-based approaches to agile evolutions."
In this conversation we started off with Trent's origins in engineering and flying as a pilot, his transition to working at the intersection with business and IT, how he now helps organisations foster an Agile mindset and topped it off with his routines, meaningful books and the art of keeping stats on yourself!
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Introduction1:15 - What got Trent into flying4:01 - Choosing his path6:00 - Noticing the issue with business miscommunication10:05 - From traditional to Agile14:40 - Trent's current goal21:15 - Do businesses know they need help?23:10 - The shift in weight25:40 - Calisthenics28:30 - General Life34:32 - Favourite Books and a Challenge to the mind40:32 - Trent's Mantra and goals
Trent's Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trent-mason-356621103/
About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Did you know that Australian prostitutes are more educated than the general population? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Prostitution'. We start off with the definition which is actually pretty broad and includes most kind of sex work, not just prostitution as the selling of sex for payment. There are some pretty interesting worldwide and local statistics as well as some funny points from history about the 'oldest profession in the world'.
After the preliminaries we get into the more serious topic of the ethics, laws and overall benefits/detriments of sex work. Unfortunately there does seem to be a big divide between the liberal ideal of freedom to use one's body however one wants (voluntary prostitution) and the more real world effects of sex trafficking and forced circumstances (involuntary prostitution). To end off the convo we have a chat about some personal experiences and the ridiculous 'Operation Midnight Climax' that was part of the MK Ultra experiments.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Ahhhhhhhhh Intro1:23 - Definition3:38 - History of prostitution7:41 - Some facts & stats13:37 - Potential benefits beyond mere pleasure21:17 - Two ends of the spectrum: voluntary & involuntary26:45 - The stigma of sex31:13 - Laws and the legality of prostitution37:11 - Bad effects of making something illegal39:04 - Other topics that are taboo43:17 - Prostitution in Latin America48:41 - A brothel in Orange51:33 - Operation Midnight Climax54:18 - Mere Mortal Moments56:44 - Kyrin will sell himself for more views!

About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_media/Support the show

Is it possible to cultivate the skill of determination? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the increasing ease to be unknowingly not-truthful, gamma waves from meditation, whether it is worth practicing determination to be able to use it whenever, Ross Edgley swimming around Great Britain, people who take it to the absolute extreme, when will the Mere Mortals be at the physical prime of their lives and learning the fundamentals to be able to do the cool tricks.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro1:31 - Who is telling the truth?3:05 - Good feelings and baselining7:18 - The skill of determination in any context13:30 - Ross Edgley & taking it to the extreme21:29 - The prime of our lives25:12 - Mere Mortal Moments30:44 - Be stubborn Mere Mortal listenersSupport the show

The power to question is the basis of all human progress. Start being curious about the world around you, through conversations and about your own thinking.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_media/Support the show

How much damage can one eager American do in an obscure Wikipedia language? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: the recent lockdown in Brisbane, the story of the Scots Wikipedia scandal and why you can't reference Wikipedia, Kyrin's new Space Jam shirt, feeling comfortable in extravagant fashion, why there is no middle of fashion, spending extra money on something you love and being lied to as a kid.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - The Brisbane Lockdown1:23 - Mere Mortal Moments6:45 - Scots Wikipedia scandal10:46 - Why can't I reference Wikipedia?16:53 - The Space Jam shirt22:17 - In the middle of fashion26:08 - Spending 10x or 100x more on something34:13 - A Snizzlepop & bird flying through a kid's stomach

About Mere Mortals:Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_media/Support the show