Mere Mortals Conversations

Gary Waldon is the author of the book 'Sort Your Sh!t Out' and a transformational change specialist. Coming across his CV I remarked to myself that he has been doing career hopping before it was cool. Some of his previous jobs include: topless waiter, gym instructor, bank teller, teacher, lecturer, consultant and all around entrepreneur. Quite the list of areas and he is full of wisdom from the experiences gained across them!
In this conversation we start off with his book and some questions related to the self-help genre. Gary gives some great advice for learning how to introspect and take responsibility for your own problems. We then move onto the topic of sharing personal stories and experiences from one's own life (and potentially from friends/family) in a digital world. At the end I ask Gary some questions related to his career, sources of information, books and goals.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Introduction1:09 - Writing the book 'Sort Your Sh!t Out'4:45 - Figuring out your problems13:15 - Naming your 'Bob'18:49 - The difference between 'shit' and 'stuff'23:30 - Creating an alternative persona26:48 - How to decide what to share online?33:40 - Meta skills from career hopping before it was cool41:09 - Which people do you let into your life?47:56 - Referencing inside a book53:06 - Gary's Mere Mortal Moment54:20 - Books leading to implementable change57:27 - Gary's working goal and associated challenge1:00:35 - The ability to move on and adapt1:03:22 - Where to find 'Sort Your Sh!t Out'

Sort Your Sh!t Out:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-waldon-aa000819Weblink: https://www.sortyourshitoutbook.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sysobook/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sort-your-shit-out-112924396893518
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

Can a person/people be brainwashed into liking the cruel exercise of authority? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Oppression'. The convo begins with a tightening of the definition before discussing whether this topic has ever been a personal concern for ourselves. We then go over some examples from history and ask some hypotheticals related to the psychology of people under an oppressive regime.
The second half of the podcast centres around how the word is used in a modern context. We talk about the Oppression Olympics (very popular phrase of Gad Saad) and 'concept creep', the gradual change of a word over time that distorts it's original meaning. Two books were also referenced in our discussion: the classic 1984 by George Orwell and The Coddling of The American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & ‎Jonathan Haidt. We finish off finally with our MMM's before saluting our lone fan in North Korea.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
P.S. The Mere Mortals don't condone the pony oppression by the evil racist frogs as evidenced throughout this video.
Timeline:0:00 - Intro & definition1:31 - The difference between oppressive and repressive4:48 - Have we ever been oppressed?8:33 - Is it possible to be oppressed without realising it?13:55 - Is it possible to enjoy the oppression?18:22 - How useful is it as a word?22:34 - Coddling of the American Mind book27:30 - The Oppression Olympics31:33 - Dystopian future in 198435:07 - Concept creep37:59 - Mere Mortal Moments40:11 - Shoutout to our North Korean fan

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 is Juan planning on becoming an eminent human being? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the joys one can get from the process of setting and achieving goals, knowing when and where to communicate your goals to others, changing your value system, creating a daily tracking system for oneself, when measuring your own progress becomes detrimental, how to get better at storytelling and whether we would prepare if required to give a graduation speech.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro & MMM announcement1:15 - I love goal setting!6:02 - Changes to the eminent human being categories11:28 - Trailer interruption16:56 - Jim Collins spreadsheet21:08 - The downsides of daily tracking27:32 - Getting better at story telling32:26 - Would you prepare for a speech at a graduation?33:41 - Mere Mortal Moments35:31 - A blaze of information: the 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/mere_mortals_media/Support the show

Being Naive enough doesn't have to be a bad thing always, just enough that it lets you get started in a pursuit most others might not consider.
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, Meanderings, Interviews & Themed Podcast.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalsmedia.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_mediaFacebook: https://facebook.com/MeremortalsmediaSupport the show

Maybe it is better to use duct tape for shoes instead of running barefoot? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: why a witches hat is the optimal shade protection, virtual reality so good that you wouldn't want to leave, people who are so optimistic that you can't stand being around them, the human characteristic of wanting to break something just to see what happens, why animals might actually be boring as all hell, the pointlessness of knowing lots of languages and the potential pain that comes from running barefoot.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - The witch is back1:19 - Mere Mortal Moments5:19 - Better VR: that which makes more good or eliminates the bad?7:35 - Annoyingly optimistic people9:39 - Flipping tables in the utopia12:18 - Would you rather speak all language fluently or speak to animals16:15 - The use of knowing many languages19:49 - Duct tape on your feet as shoes24:57 - View the Mere Mortals from a distanceSupport the show

Three-peat guest Brendan Jayo is back for another conversation. The bulk of this conversation revolves around the Wim Hof Method and how both of us have fared with it. Our ultimate conclusion seems to be that it is potentially useful for those with health problems but both of us being young and healthy, we didn't see any big changes to our life. We also talk about: strange experiences while eye gazing, different branches of Buddhism & Buddhist meditation, going a day without any technology, the overreliance on statistics and the old funny anti-piracy videos shown in cinemas.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Awarding of the Mere Mortals belt0:39 - Overview of Wim Hof and his method4:46 - The science of the WHM7:59 - Health impacts of WHM10:10 - Alternative breathing techniques16:42 - Wim Hof's stressed out lawyer18:11 - Eye gazing & visions24:52 - Buddhist meditation28:54 - Day of no screens30:28 - Measuring body functions and dodgy stats38:10 - You wouldn't steal a handbag. Oh really?
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 Brendan:https://www.instagram.com/brendanjayobalances/
Connect With Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_media/Support the show

Why does a loss of meaning lead to despair and destructiveness? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Nihilism'. As usual we start off with our MMM's and a definition before talking a little bit about the history of the word. The Russians of course have the market cornered on all things despair related so it's no surprise that they made the word popular with Ivan Turgenev's book 'Fathers & Sons'.
The rest of our discussion revolves around how nihilism plays out in real life. Is it possible to be a logical nihilistic and use the concept positively? Does nihilism always lead to despair? What's the difference between existentialism and nihilism? There are also 4 types of nihilism (or more depending on how many you want to count) which are used in a philosophical way to explore some deep topics. As it is a bit of a depressing topic we wanted to finish on a lighter note, so listed out some characters from popular culture that exhibit signs of nihilism (some in a funny way).
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro & Mere Mortal Moments3:47 - Definition5:51 - History of the word: Ivan Turgenev & Friedrich Nietzsche10:46 - The subjective feeling of being nihilistic16:42 - An existentialist vs a nihilist21:42 - Jordan Peterson & nihilism23:11 - Sunny nihilism and its positive potential30:46 - The 4 types of nihilism38:24 - Overwhelming despair41:48 - Nihilism in pop culture: Fight Club/Life of Brian/Joker/Eeyore/One Punch Man44:16 - Finding meaning in life: The Mere Mortals got your back

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

Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first Thursday of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous month's goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own methodology. What do you do differently and why? Let us know in the comments, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Introduction1:11 - Kyrin's November recap3:36 - Juan's November recap6:05 - January goals29:16 - Tip of the month: get in early30:16 - Share your goals with the 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/mere_mortals_media/Support the show

Have you ever noticed yourself telling stories or taking unusual actions to try and impress someone? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: how to know when you are telling a story because it is interesting for the convo versus stoking your own ego, the paradox of conflicting truths and how to psychologically handle that, the insane work schedule of basketball players, getting anxious about trying to consume too much data, why 1984 is the best book ever, what makes a book a timeless classic and Juan's hellish version of a monotonous repetitive day.
As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!
Timeline:0:00 - Intro & Mere Mortal Moments4:22 - Trying too hard to impress people14:04 - Choosing between conflicting information18:58 - Basketball & The Last Dance21:02 - Efficiency and consuming too much information29:30 - George Orwell's 198433:05 - Timeless books37:19 - Hell is a repetitive perfect day39:08 - The optimal day is listening to Mere Mortals on repeat!

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

Naikan is a structured method of self-reflection and on today's Mere Mortal Monday Movement Juan talks about how he hopes to bring this practice into everyday.
You can check out the blog mentioned in this video here:https://www.meremortalsmedia.com/post/naikan-reflection-how-can-this-help-you
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, Meanderings, Interviews & Themed Podcast.
Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalsmedia.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mere_mortals_mediaFacebook: https://facebook.com/MeremortalsmediaSupport the show