The Bledsoe Show

In this episode, I talk with Jeremiah Dupin, international entrepreneur and founder of Poke Poke UAE. Jeremiah shares with us how his experience with chronic illness led him down a path to nutrition obsession. From there we're going into a deep dive into the nuance of nutrition. What we eat really affects our day-to-day lives, and not enough people understand what they're putting in their bodies, and how that affects more than just their bodies. It affects our mood, cognition, sex drive, and more. That's why today we're talking about why it's so important to understand these nuances and make the right nutritional choices that are right for each of us. Check it out. You all are going to learn something today.

In this episode, I talk with the inexhaustible Mr. Noots as we discuss nootropics, and have some fun along the way. Mr. Noots talks about his life from selling novelty test tube babies as a kid to buying his first laser to his time in the US airforce, and how the horrors of drug addiction set him down the road to become what he is today: the mind behind Nootopia. Along the way, we talk about the importance of self-awareness in biohacking and programming states of mind to learn new skills. But the most exciting thing we talk about in this episode is what Mr. Noots has learned in his mission to uncover the secrets of better nootropics. He tells us how people never experience an optimal state of mind because they've only experienced a suboptimal state and how effective nootropics make it possible to achieve these optimal states again and again consistently. It's an incredible, wild ride of an episode. You should all check it out.

00:00.00

mikebledsoe

Well I think we should record now then you got 2 Eight week puppies a week old puppies. Yeah, you don't seem much like ah.

00:01.45

Max Shank

Yeah,, let's do it. Puppies are great. Yeah, ah. I don't seem like a dog owner at all. And in fact, so far I have not been.

00:13.52

mikebledsoe

No.

00:19.17

mikebledsoe

What did she do to you.

00:22.92

Max Shank

Made me an offer I couldn't refuse I guess I mean it's it's funny. Um, we talk about basically on this show. We talk about benevolent selfishness not in so many words, but basically do as good for yourself as you can. Well doing good for other folks and I've never wanted to have the responsibility required but I love dogs. Someone brings a dog into the gym and I'll just play with it the whole time I'll completely ignore the people right? but. I don't know there's a really nice, beautiful connection between beings between a person and a dog and Lindsay my special lady friend. She ah she just fell in love with this dog right. And I watch the two of them together I'm like man I don't want to because Lindsay and I cohabitate so I don't want to stand in the way of that so I was like ah I guess you can have a dog and it can live at the house but outside basically and then. Within 1 trip. Um, it was put on the table like we should take her her brother also so a pair of dogs and that seemed really nice and i. Kind of started to question all the resistance I've had toward that because resistance is a funny thing. It's either the exact right thing and in fact, you should experience a lot of resistance toward stupid risky behavior ah like jumping off cliffs. With no safety equipment. It's not really a reward there. The resistance to do that is is a good thing. It's a safety mechanism but basically ah I thought it would be good to to shake things up a little bit might as well go to instead of one also is. My thanking.

02:32.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think it's kind of like it's probably easier have 1 or 2 kids instead of 1

02:41.43

Max Shank

It's like ah, an energy balancing thing I feel like um, it's ah, a boy and a girl puppy and of of course I'm a boy and my lady is a girl I shouldn't say of course I mean who knows I could be whatever I want to be but it's like ah it feels like a good.

02:55.73

mikebledsoe

It's right can make it up anytime you want.

02:59.18

Max Shank

Yin Yin and Yang balancing so husky pomeranian mutts they're adorable. They're the cutest dogs ever seen. Yeah, one of them is and 1 of them is not.

03:00.66

mikebledsoe

Yeah I love that what kind dogs are these.

03:08.70

mikebledsoe

Wow They probably are furry.

03:17.77

Max Shank

It's they would don't even look like they're from the same litter.

03:18.69

mikebledsoe

Ah, interesting. Yeah, we're looking to getting a dog I think we're gonna end up getting a pit. We want to get like a big tough dog and like a little tiny. Yeah and then I have like a little tiny Yipper you know.

03:22.26

Max Shank

1 1

03:28.67

Max Shank

Ah, defense dog.

03:35.27

Max Shank

like like fuck what's his partner's name like Lenny in of mice and men and then the little shorter smart guy kind of you know I'm talking about ah man it's like ah there are these 2 guy.

03:37.24

mikebledsoe

So.

03:46.78

mikebledsoe

Now.

03:54.39

Max Shank

Someone and Lenny in of mice and men anyone who's read that book and remembers it is laughing right now because Lenny is this ah mentally challenged guy and then there's the who's huge and then there's the much smaller guy who basically. Calls all the shots and Lenny's like I like to pet rabbits and you know that kind of that kind of thing so you got the big. You got the big dog bringing the muscle and then you got the the smart dog.

04:13.33

mikebledsoe

Right? Yeah, yeah, so. Exactly exactly we'll make it work. Yeah um I had an interesting weekend. The ah my my fiance and I did a little couple's Journey. So.

04:25.00

Max Shank

Yeah.

04:38.14

Max Shank

Oh.

04:40.88

mikebledsoe

We took some special medicine. That's really good at opening the heart and creating more connection. So we had an all day experience together. Ah a variation variation which is.

04:46.47

Max Shank

Is that mdma.

04:55.35

Max Shank

Mdma is like hooking up your heart to an electrical socket. So.

05:01.45

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I took ah a variation of that slightly different. Ah it's it's better for 1 on 1 connections or connection to self if you were to take it in a big group. You would kind of find yourself being a little more hermit versus mdma.

05:11.60

Max Shank

Oh.

05:19.90

mikebledsoe

Where you're going to want to you know, be friends and make love to everybody? Yeah, so um, it's yeah, but.

05:20.70

Max Shank

Love everyone? Yeah right? What a horrible drug. What a horrific side effect you, you're gonna want to love everybody ban. It.

05:35.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's really difficult not to love everybody? Um, but it's it's a really good experience for um, you know, even though Ashley and I have had an enormous amount of personal development work and and. Ah, communication work and all these things and and we're probably we're we're definitely in the the point zero one percent of couples on communication and yet even though we're there with sobriety. We use a substance a heart opening substance. And you know we just start digging into areas that we weren't willing to or you know I think I think that these these medicines are so um, things that are really working on the serotonin. You don't really There's there's a level of presence that you're able to stabilize for a period of time there where it allows you to get deep with somebody so beyond just the being really happy and loving There's also a heightened a much heightened level of of presence and so I got to learn a lot. Yeah, a lot of openness. So like.

06:33.91

Max Shank

Oh.

06:42.95

Max Shank

Sounds like openness to yeah.

06:49.50

mikebledsoe

Like I'm open to hearing a prefer experience and she's open to sharing I'm open as open to listening. It's ah it's it goes both ways if 1 of us was using it the other unpleasant we wouldn't get nearly as far. Yeah.

06:51.50

Max Shank

Right.

06:59.15

Max Shank

Huh unless one of you was super enlightened and able to be very open on command I think that's that's why people say that comedians are modern day philosophers. Because that's ironically like None of the only people we listen to because you use humor and it drops a person's guard so it like opens them up in the here and now so they actually take it in rather than lecturing to someone where I don't know if you tried it, people don't love that they they close up.

07:21.81

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so.

07:29.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah now.

07:34.57

Max Shank

Real quick and so that's kind of like a bit of a psychedelic experience for someone to ah catch you off guard with the surprise of humor so much that it rocks your balance off center and so you're like whoa and you just fully like take that. That bit of information in and you know this openness and boundaries thing makes me think about ah the openness to to welcome new lives into my home. It. Ah it feels already like a psychedelic.

07:53.64

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

08:06.10

mikebledsoe

And.

08:12.64

Max Shank

I mean puppies are drugs Man are you kidding me now I'm like gonna love this thing Yo I'm like fucking rocking and rolling right now. It's insane. The fact that I've even accepted this I mean last week I would have never even considered it every time she asked I was like now I'm like I'm a.

08:12.94

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, you're gonna be high for at least six months you got it? yeah.

08:32.27

Max Shank

I'm a cat I'm a cool cat I'm a fat cat I'm a fucking cat I don't want any other things around I don't want to love anything else. That's why I told her I was like I don't want to love anything else, but it can happen really fast and that openness right? So what you're saying.

08:41.16

mikebledsoe

A Ah yeah.

08:51.30

Max Shank

With the medicine which is ah an exogenous substance. Basically that's taking you to that level of openness that is required for let's just call it complete communication where there's no like. Coversion right? oh.

09:10.10

mikebledsoe

About as complete as you're going to be able to get I mean if there's another more complete way I would love to be you know, be with that. But um, what we so fast. Well here's the thing is like I'm willing to share a lot of things.

09:20.62

Max Shank

So fast too.

09:28.97

mikebledsoe

Because I have some of the things I haven't shared up to this point because I'm afraid of how she'll receive. She'll receive it and when I'm having that experience and feeling this way I'm like well if she were to share if I were gonna were to share something that's triggering now's the time to do it because this't gonna be she.

09:33.90

Max Shank

Ah.

09:42.40

Max Shank

Wait till after you get married man. Forget it.

09:46.60

mikebledsoe

Is when she's gonna be the most open.

09:51.39

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, yeah, but yeah, so we had a nice time. It created a lot of closeness. Um and gave us like a really clear vision of where we're currently standing and where we want to go together and.

09:52.88

Max Shank

Ah, just put it off till later. It'll be. It'll be fine.

10:00.45

Max Shank

Yeah.

10:08.66

Max Shank

Whom.

10:10.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it was really really beautiful and I mentioned all this because it brought up because I know you and I like to have create distinction and we like to look at the juxtaposition of 2 things and the contrast of things and her and I both really care about.

10:29.40

Max Shank

E f.

10:29.94

mikebledsoe

People right? and we really care about helping people and being of service to people I know you are too and None of the the differentiating factors between how it expresses between her and me which I think expresses similarly amongst a lot of men and women. Is. She tends to really focus in on the individual like how do I how do I help this individual heal or how do I help this individual. You know, live out their best life and all that and whereas I'm much more concerned about humanity as a whole.

10:56.12

Max Shank

Um.

11:02.77

Max Shank

Move.

11:08.39

Max Shank

Totally.

11:08.76

mikebledsoe

How does how are how a society can benefit from how this person is behaving and so what's that what? well yeah, it's.

11:15.53

Max Shank

I can relate I can relate. It's a bit grandiose isn't it I can absolutely relate the that desire ah for for like it's so exactly me too. It's a big difference of scope.

11:26.81

mikebledsoe

Well well, that's where I'm making decisions from it's it's you know like I want to help this person but I'm not going to sacrifice the people around them in order for them to get what they need like they I want them to show up in a way that's good for everybody. Not just for themselves.

11:35.94

Max Shank

Oh.

11:43.53

Max Shank

Oh interesting I I took it to mean like she enjoys helping people 1 on one and you have this vision of being broadly beneficial to you know None or None or something like that. Oh.

11:58.39

mikebledsoe

No, no yeah I think that's I think that's also true. Um, but yeah, my my desire to help there I used to have the desire to help millions of people and and I know I've touched maybe close to that I don't know.

12:03.20

Max Shank

Misunderstood.

12:16.21

mikebledsoe

Ah, with with some type of message.

12:18.77

Max Shank

Depends if you count ricochets which I do and then and then like you've probably affected like a billion people right? I count ricochets. Ah.

12:23.10

mikebledsoe

Totally totally Rick let's count Ricoche's here I'm going to keep that one. Yeah, ah.

12:31.23

Max Shank

Ah, me too that was good that was like a little easter egg for us today.

12:37.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so um, ah so I think that men and this isn't you know there are no absolutes here. But I think men in general probably think about humanity as a whole and and women think about the individual and that's probably why women are. Going to be much more compassionate to a single person having that's down on their luck versus a man who's more like you know we need to clean up the streets. You know we look at the we have ah a homeless population in Austin Texas which is um, improving. It's getting smaller because.

13:12.25

Max Shank

Wow.

13:15.21

mikebledsoe

The citizens of Austin got together and voted a little over a year ago to create a camping in the city ban. Um, because years ago the the city decided to make it where people could camp in the city which created.

13:29.17

Max Shank

Yeah.

13:32.37

mikebledsoe

Ah, tent you know several tent cities around town that were just insane and and there's still an issue but you know like we're in the car regularly and these people are on something that's causing them to scream at people that don't exist on the street while holding a sign to try to get.

13:33.78

Max Shank

Um.

13:51.88

mikebledsoe

You to hand them money and um, it's you know and she's like well you know can we help this one person and I'm looking around going. How do we clean this shit up because like you know how much how much do you give this person.

14:00.40

Max Shank

Who.

14:11.52

mikebledsoe

Over time. How much help do you give them before you say look We just gotta push you to the outskirts. We don't know what to do with you like you are your responsibility and you're causing problems for other people so where is that line where we're sacrificing the whole we're sacrificing you know.

14:18.54

Max Shank

Yeah.

14:28.59

mikebledsoe

Many individuals because 1 individual can't get their shit together and it's um so it's it's very interesting to me. Yeah, it's just an interesting place to be is because I I what I'm seeing is if I care about humanity then I have to. Ah.

14:31.95

Max Shank

Totally.

14:47.89

mikebledsoe

The the best place for human the thing that creates the best place for humanity as a whole is when if each each individual is taking on personal responsibility and so.

14:55.80

Max Shank

You see that as just the best option was that the word used. Yeah.

15:02.36

mikebledsoe

It's probably optimal like if if humanity as a whole is going to flourish that would only happen under the circumstance of every individual taking personal responsibility. But what we have is a lot of people caring about.

15:12.41

Max Shank

Yeah.

15:18.71

mikebledsoe

You know the feelings of 1 person and trying to get everybody around them to mold to what they desire sacrificing 20 people to make one person happy. It's very interesting.

15:26.49

Max Shank

Ah, right? Well, it's all about it's all about so our our ah species is the the compassionate caring species now. We're still savage animals like a lizard dinosaur. Ah, baboon right? But we have this super high level of compassion which is the only reason ah and desire for connection emotionally and intellectually which is why people painted on cave walls. And left their handprints. There. There's no reason to do that unless you want another person to see it this desire to like leave your Mark and be part of the tribe and sustain and so that's also very easily leveraged to make absolute bad choices. But ah comparative good choices and it relates back to what we were talking about I think ah, it made me think of ah self versus system and I'm also very much system oriented like I it's hard for me to pick something specific to care about. Because the first thing I do is I see how it's connected to a none other things like like world hunger I always come back to this I'm like how is that even possible world hunger is impossible unless you're fucking with the ecosystem. You know what? I mean.

16:56.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

16:58.60

Max Shank

Like there's the right amount of creatures for a certain area or they overeat and then they under reproduce and it like has this normal recycling effect. So if you look at the big system. Totally so the difference between looking at an individual.

17:07.50

mikebledsoe

Ah, the the planet is abundant with food.

17:17.80

Max Shank

Person versus the system I mean look it's not good when someone shoots up a school. Let me be clear I don't think it's good when someone shoots up a school I think it's bad just so there's no confusion here but all but also um, like.

17:28.54

mikebledsoe

Okay, okay.

17:36.28

Max Shank

Let's just shut the fuck up like it becomes such a hot button story but it's such a low amount of the whole system right? So now we're like a fraction of a fraction I mean you could do the math like what's I'm not trying to.

17:45.62

mikebledsoe

Right.

17:54.53

Max Shank

Make light of the situation right? But it's None out of 350000000 people when you know a none are dying of diarrhea or something like that. It's like or fucking mosquitoes are taken out way more people than depressed teenagers with firearms. And so it's like we really don't it's so rare to see people think in systems because ironically the system itself is just taking people on a wave where they care about None thing at a time but they care about it with their whole heart. And they use none of their brain to think about the system at play here and they're like I care about Ukraine this month I care about George Floyd this month I care about police brutality this month or ooh I'm suddenly interested in Afghanistan again because they told me to be like what. What the fuck man I get it.

18:50.75

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, it's very and it is very interesting because I I don't know if it's just because I'm paying attention in a different way or things are actually have actually sped up the. The news cycle is perfectly paced to keep people distracted and if you try to stick with I'm like Afghanistan right? The Afghanistan issue went on the Afghanistan issue went on way longer than it was reported to have gone on. Ah.

19:13.33

Max Shank

Yeah, a trillion miles an hour

19:26.83

mikebledsoe

News about ukraine is dying off actually a lot of the news is now turning into the Ukrainian troops are are you know hiding in civilians' homes and Civilians are getting killed and they're they're breaking international law. But then the. The journalists are kind of like softening it Up. It's like yeah but they kind of have to and it's like no, that's fucking Illegal. Um.

19:48.42

Max Shank

Um, there's a huge reason like it's so good to just look through an abbreviated version of the amendments like 1 of the None rules is no fucking troops can stay at your house and like these people were smart.

19:55.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, and that's a Us thing but that's also an international thing.

20:05.91

Max Shank

I Mean these people were smart putting these rules together. So there's there's a reason and and you said it here's how it ah shakes out right? yeah.

20:12.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, things degrade and when troops starts staying in homes and ah you know their job is to protect the population and now they're just putting the population in danger so that the gangsters in charge can win. And yeah.

20:29.70

Max Shank

Martial law mob mob rule.

20:31.51

mikebledsoe

And so yeah, and you know people are just jumping from None thing to another so I'm just pointing out in that news cycle. How like things have to shift in order to keep people distracted and you're right? It keeps them from thinking about the whole system. It keeps them from thinking about. Like why are we always in some type of pickle like the amount of like the fear cycle is just insane and um, you know I don't really? ah.

21:00.27

Max Shank

Because it pays because it because it pays I mean all of this is related to what you said about people making decisions on an individual basis. I mean it's very possible to run a tight ship as a dictator right? but. It doesn't rebalance as quickly or easily as when we're all just adjusting to the natural rhythms right? You vote with what you pay attention to you vote with your dollars you vote with who you spend time with and if you're always.

21:27.14

mikebledsoe

E.

21:36.45

mikebledsoe

It's ah it's a slower. It's a slower and smoother evolution for everybody the the centralized decision making can be very herky jerky it can it can create whiplash and often does.

21:42.81

Max Shank

Yeah, oh no.

21:52.15

mikebledsoe

Yeah, they get results quickly but how much harm is done in the process when when you're decentralizing the decision making like you're talking about it definitely creates slower reaction times but they're usually safer there. Any Danger is. Isolated to a single area and isn't replicated amongst the entire system and um people have a higher level autonomy which means that people are also experiencing the feedback of their behavior in a much tighter system that allows them to become you know, attain more knowledge and wisdom.

22:13.19

Max Shank

Oh.

22:28.26

Max Shank

O.

22:29.87

mikebledsoe

Ah, without being robbed of that by having their decision making diffused over the entire population.

22:35.22

Max Shank

Yeah I really think of it like a shock absorber. Basically ah, it just has more ah more little shock absorbers rather than just 1 linchpin where one guy is calling all the shots and of course it's always the guy who.

22:38.99

mikebledsoe

E.

22:52.93

Max Shank

Desperately wants the big chair and the big stick which coincidentally is the only person who should be disqualified from that position entirely It's just like it's good to remember with all this stuff. It. It is just mob rule based on a popularity contest. Like that's crazy. So I think it's um, maximizing attention but minimizing action. So if you have a news cycle. That's so quickly. Um with writers who know what fucking sets your ah heart and balls aflame ah they're going to. Use the software to even readjust and so there always have something that is commanding a tremendous amount of your attention but they'll never um, give you time to do any action about it. So you you have like None attention and zero percent action which is good if you're. Meditating about your unity with the universe but it's pretty shit if you're like watching people get murdered and bombed and.

23:58.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think this puts us in a very precarious situation. So um I think you and I both agree that that the United States as far as a group of people is probably the most advanced. Um, the plan is I say the largest group that's the most advanced politically government wise. It's a big you know 33350000000 people are all participating in a yeah for this.

24:20.30

Max Shank

That's such a huge group. Yeah I would say it has the best infrastructure for the most part.

24:33.36

mikebledsoe

You know, a lot of times people like to compare what's happening like the Netherlands to here or Denmark. It's like it's like those people have like ah like less than 10000000 people in the entire country. We have 330000000 this is a different. It's a different situation. Um.

24:36.20

Max Shank

Or Norway Norway. Yeah, right. Right.

24:50.70

mikebledsoe

But you know just just the fact that our country is based on on a philosophical these philosophical concepts of natural law. You know puts us ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. Um the expression of that. Yeah, so.

25:00.79

Max Shank

And it makes it more difficult. It makes it more difficult because it's a bit of a fractured culture Also like I think one of the things that I think that's why I interrupted you. It's so important I think I shouldn't do it anyway. But it's so important to recognize that.

25:11.63

mikebledsoe

In.

25:18.98

Max Shank

In America. The only thing that united us was a desire for freedom to manifest your own destiny now if that includes you know some native genocide then I think we were basically okay with that at the time not now. But at the time that was okay. But so that's the unifying idea but we don't have a culture like let's say Norway or let's say Japan some examples that I think of off the top my head where that there are so many things that are done that are not done because it's the law. Or even because it's profitable. It's done because that's what that culture does and that sort of unity makes things run way more smoothly.

26:00.68

mikebledsoe

Yeah. Yeah, well and everything comes down to narrative and so what we have in the United States is you know Ah the United States was like the beginning of the decentralization of of power of personal response. Of responsibility. It's a decentralizing of that and it's just continued to decentralize decentralized decentralize and what's happened now is there's been a decentralization of narrative and we have you know human beings for none of years grew up in a. With a lot fewer people a lot fewer interactions. We're exposed to way fewer narratives and variations of that narrative and if you go to somewhere like China or Russia I guarantee you that narrative is pretty fucking tight. There's not a lot of variation from. Whatever the top is telling the bottom and it creates a lot of unity like if everybody were buying into the same narrative. This is what hitler was able to achieve you know at the the early years he unified everybody with a common narrative.

27:02.67

Max Shank

Ah, right.

27:10.45

Max Shank

Totally f.

27:19.96

mikebledsoe

And everything went pretty well until you know he took control of all those people's minds and decided to take it sideways. But this I think a lot of people you know, either consciously or subconsciously are. Upset and I imagine a lot of people in these government agencies with ah a lot of these Intel agencies think that it's their job to create a common narrative to unify everybody even if it is reducing things like freedom of Speech. Um, and we know that by reducing things like freedom of speech that just leads to tyranny. Yeah.

27:58.62

Max Shank

The ends justify the means the ends justify the means I mean whenever you get someone with a grandiose idea like that Hitler Napoleon whatever it doesn't matter. They will. That's why I think orwell said it was the most dangerous type of guy because they think they're. Ah, justified in what they're doing. They think they're the hero so they'll commit atrocities thinking that they're the good guy and then there's no way to work them out of that idea and they think oh god that's why you know with everything happening I'm i. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if some really clever people. Ah for good reasons were like we need the world to stop working the way it does because if they believe a story that we are destroying ourselves and the world. Um, you know 7000000000 people plus this giant. Ah, ball or disc. You're on depending on what people are thinking now. Ah the turtle show. Yeah, it's half. It's a half dome. That's a great place to visit by the way half down in Yosemite. Beautiful 10 out of 10 recommend but I would.

29:00.32

mikebledsoe

The turtle show. Um, if.

29:15.37

Max Shank

I could totally get it especially as a systems thinker if I could push a button right now and murder 1000000 people and it guaranteed utopia for the remaining ah billions I would be an asshole not to do it almost right? So if you have that belief.

29:30.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

29:34.92

Max Shank

You're like I gotta fucking rape and kill these people for for for the greater good and whenever you hear greater good that that should be like if you hear the word greater Good rest assured you're gonna be bleeding from the Asshole soon. Either literally or metaphorically.

29:53.00

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so it it becomes concerning because I think that even though America and the ideals that it was founded on is create a situation where we have decentralized narratives and. And infinite narratives and variations of those narratives I mean you've got on. Um one side you've got say something like mainstream media and on the other side you have q and on and q and on is putting out None narrative and in ah in a very convincing way the mainstream. Media is putting out ah narratives and neither one of them are correct and both of them are probably just as far from the truth as the other one is and but then you have all these other variations and ah.

30:42.90

Max Shank

It might be the truth from their perspective by the way like it might be false information but they might believe what they're saying which means they're telling the truth but they're telling a falsehood. Also.

30:50.85

mikebledsoe

Of course. Yeah well I mean I like to define truth is just what has happened and what is happening and people's ideas or perceptions about the truth are are not the truth.

31:06.59

Max Shank

I call that a fact good hard hard to have 1 You can't have a complete one either. That's the problem.

31:08.86

mikebledsoe

So yeah, there you go? Yeah very few people have any facts. Um, yeah. Ah, yeah, so we we we were're in this really strange predicament predicament as americans and what triggered this thought for me was ah the other day China basically cut off like none of. Communication and interaction with the United States and basically said we're not going to participate in our military is communicating and all this stuff. This was ah Friday and I was like oh oh I've been in conflicts before and when one side goes.

31:46.80

Max Shank

How exciting.

31:55.77

mikebledsoe

Silent That's bad juju that's like everybody contracts everybody starts preparing everyone starts wondering who's going to strike first. These are these are these are the thoughts that run across people who are in conflict so people in the military. What do you think.

32:07.40

Max Shank

Winding up.

32:11.66

Max Shank

Move.

32:14.71

mikebledsoe

China Goes silent. What do you think the American military does fucking getting ready just relaxing launch hairs. Yeah yeah, so yeah, just give some space I need some space. Ah but I get thinking about it and I go Wow I look at um, ah.

32:16.51

Max Shank

Probably just just relaxes. No big deal. Yeah, they're fine. Give give them time. Give them some space.

32:34.64

mikebledsoe

You know if you go to say Ukraine right now like there's not a lot of slobs hanging around Ukraine or Russia there there might be some drunks but there's not a bunch of so weak slobs and you come.

32:46.21

Max Shank

Well, they're not a lot of weak people because they just can't be I don't know what you mean by slob but I definitely agree that if you're in an environment that doesn't permit it. It's kind of like that idea about world hunger like if you're in a place you're eating if you're in a really harsh dangerous place. You're tough and you're eating or you're dead. It's like when ah when that Ufc guy. Ah Kabib you remember him and I remember I was just watching because he was like trained in the mountains by his dad who was like a fourth generation. Wrestler.

33:05.10

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so like.

33:24.61

Max Shank

You know and he's just like running up a mountain with boulders when he's like 4 meanwhile you know you could have someone who's raised in Orange County and who's like you know I think I'm going to get into some kickboxing or something like that and they might meet in the same place like in the cage. That's just funny to me.

33:36.98

mikebledsoe

Right. Yeah, no, no and and depending on the sport you know 3 minute rounds the orange county guy might do all right? but I bet if he took it to 20 minute rounds you know we're in a different.

33:44.26

Max Shank

They're like not the same creature. Basically.

33:57.22

Max Shank

Right? Yeah, yeah, it was kind of like ah rocky versus Ivan Draggo also right rocky is just training in the barn with big hunks of wood and the other drawgo in the science lab getting injected with stuff and there's like a.

34:00.73

mikebledsoe

In a different place. So ah, yeah, yeah.

34:13.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, typical russian.

34:17.10

Max Shank

Super computer on the on the wall. Yeah is awesome.

34:20.54

mikebledsoe

Um, did you ever watch ah was it icarus the documentary on the russians doping program. It's really good. It's really good. You should check it out. It's on Netflix. So.

34:29.57

Max Shank

Now sounds amazing.

34:38.22

mikebledsoe

So I look at this and I and I look around in the United States and I'm I'm thinking I mean you and I both have been trying to help these people you know, get their shit together and there's a lot of people that need to get their shit together or it would would it be better for the rest of us if they got their shit together.

34:56.73

Max Shank

Who are we talking about now just people.

34:57.23

mikebledsoe

And um, you know if they did something you know people who think that they're doing their duty by getting a vaccine instead of just taking care of their health. Overall so a lot of fats. There's a lot of slobs getting ah vaccinations instead of just.

35:03.77

Max Shank

Oh shots fired folks to totally.

35:17.10

mikebledsoe

Creating some type of interest about their overall health or learning about how their body works. So.

35:20.26

Max Shank

Yo that that's a shocking funny thing I mean it's tragic also like I never hear I got to get this out though I never hear ads anywhere but I clicked on the radio because I didn't have my like. Ah, phone on Bluetooth It's it when it whatever I'm listening to the radio.

35:38.42

mikebledsoe

He's poor folks easy listening radio.

35:42.69

Max Shank

Ah, and I heard like a fucking a fucking jingle like a little jingle song about how you should get your kids this shot and it's like yo what the fuck I'm I'm just I'm listening to this I'm like are you fucking kidding me. Like how how is this it it sounded like I was listening to mother Goose Barney on sesame street talking about how you should you know fucking inject your None ar old with this experiment for for what the fuck and. Bet a lot of people do that and that thought made me really sad that thought made me really sad because I was like what no don't and and I realize that is what's happening.

36:24.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

36:31.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, was I think they created laws where like um, serial companies can't make can't target kids with like cartoon advertising. They basically can't advertise sugar cereal to kids anymore.

36:45.97

Max Shank

Yep.

36:50.65

mikebledsoe

But they're doing it with pharmaceuticals which is fucking insane.

36:52.98

Max Shank

Why can we advertise pharmaceutical I mean I'm a hardcore capitalist when I get right down to it. But Jesus Christ like that. But then again, then again you I still have that strong belief that the customer is always right? So it's not too. Ah. Like fight against these companies. It's to illuminate and like help people understand how to apply some logic and I think a big part of it actually relates back to the openness that you and I were talking about you have to be open to not know what's going on to be. To be wrong and you have to be open to the idea that the people who are in charge of both countries and companies may not in fact, be having your best interest at heart. So you got to use your critical thinking a little bit.

37:48.93

mikebledsoe

It's the only thing you have that's gonna that's gonna help you out like you can't rely on other people. Um well going to like ah I'm with you on the whole like you know both by the us being capitalists and that we believe in. Voluntary interaction between individuals and that means if someone is going to create and make a drug then I have every right to purchase that from them and there's no one has the right to get between the None of us on creating that transaction and here's the thing is with the. Pharmaceutical companies in the us. Yes, ah the us and New Zealand I think are the only None countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise at a citizens through media and the rest of the countries don't but here's the thing is not only have they allowed that to happen. Which I think that people should be able to run an ad for anything they want ah but they have also cornered the market. There's an entire agency from the government called the Dea who harass people who are and kill and and jail people.

38:47.82

Max Shank

Agreed agreed.

39:01.64

mikebledsoe

Who are selling drugs that they don't think should be sold and so you have an entire agency that their job is to squash out anything. That's not the pharmaceutical companies. So the pharmaceutical companies have leveraged the violence of government. While also creating deals to be able to market. So. It's a double whammy if you were to say okay, we're going to open up the entire market and everyone can advertise like if I want to advertise my cocaine if I want to advertise whatever it is you know or Lipitor or whatever it is. And that would actually cause people at least should cause people to to activate their critical thinking because now they have to go? Well, what's the difference between these two things and ah. Because right now they think the difference between those 2 things is None is safe and None is not safe and it's not safe or safe based on what somebody else thinks so they don't even think about they don't even think to do the research on it and so there's um so going to. Should people be able to advertise I say yes and we should do away with some people getting preferential treatment from the government that that is giving some people more rights than others.

40:27.39

Max Shank

Agreed and here's how I'm gonna tie it back to what we were discussing about openness and relationships and your experience. So there's this concept of nonviolent communication right? where you're not um.

40:42.55

mikebledsoe

In.

40:46.64

Max Shank

You're not an opponent.. You're a collaborator and in a country or a nation or a state of some kind. Ah they have a system of laws and the law is basically when the violence comes out. So imagine if you're in a relationship. And you have to use the threat of violence to control this party all the time that it's basically like the more you have to use the stick the more fucked you basically are you really shouldn't have to enforce. That many things with violence but ah, nothing is more effective. Certainly imagine if like every discussion you got into with a romantic partner. You were like blah blah blah.

41:34.21

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:43.48

Max Shank

Or I'll fucking beat you Yo I've never hit a woman unless she asked me to however, ah, there's like I would win easy in a in a in a fight. Of some kind if that was possible to just be like hey I say this goes or I will beat you like of course if you don't have any critical thinking. You'll just do that every time but it's pretty asshole move. But that's what law is it's like fucking do this or.

42:17.38

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

42:21.47

Max Shank

We will Imprison you or kill you or what the fuck ever and the irony is that it's all of the people who hide away from society the most who are voting the people in to control the people that they're. Afraid of because they're a little too free right? ooh that person might do a bad thing. We need more drugs off the streets. They got to stop with those violent video games. It's like fucking busybodies across the board. But ah you, um, you mentioned a good.

42:40.31

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

42:58.20

Max Shank

Ah, tonic for that realization which is to recognize that there's there's really no such thing as law. It's just consequences right? You do whatever you want? You know you're 100% free to do what you want all the time and there are just consequences right? I find that.

43:14.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, like.

43:17.71

Max Shank

Find that a very ah, comfortable way to live and it's also very accepting too because then you go everyone else is always free to do as they like and talk about the burden. That's off your shoulders because look these people these busybodies These are not happy people.

43:35.29

mikebledsoe

Now.

43:37.17

Max Shank

These might be the most ah mentally ah tortured people ever because they have all this attention. They have no action within their own lives and they're just trying to gain control by leveraging the violence. Of a more powerful entity right? So They're not powerful themselves. They're just trying to diminish everyone else because they're always afraid that someone might do something that that's not a happy person. That's that's no way to go. You know we got Avoidance. We got exposure right.

44:08.57

mikebledsoe

Okay, now.

44:16.98

Max Shank

Avoidance is a path that only leads you to an underground bunker where you are in complete control of the environment. But also you're completely trapped complete exposure is you just have no discernment so you probably walk off of a cliff or get eaten by a tiger or what the fuck ever. But. Um I think part of what makes the slobs or the weak people is they engage in a little too much avoidance and not enough exposure.

44:44.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, agree.

44:51.78

mikebledsoe

Out of thought that I lost but it'll come now we talked about um, rejection or acceptance tolerant. Yeah.

44:54.27

Max Shank

Is it about openness and acceptance we talked about that last week right the difference between tolerance. Yeah I mean it's this is a perfect example of that.

45:09.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah I.

45:18.82

Max Shank

Comes come.

45:19.49

mikebledsoe

This this cuts out the pauses. That's okay, if we pause.

45:25.12

Max Shank

In my normal life I do way more and longer pauses than on a podcast.

45:33.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

45:38.96

Max Shank

Also have a different agenda.

45:50.20

Max Shank

So what did you learn from your experience the one you were telling me about. Yeah.

45:53.33

mikebledsoe

Which one with my lady. Um I learned a lot I learned that you know we we we we. Did a question prompt which was tell me a story I wrote it up on a chalkboard tell me a story about a time you felt fulfilled and then just kept asking each other about stories of fulfillment and looking for patterns and so.

46:22.51

Max Shank

Oh.

46:28.61

Max Shank

Ah.

46:31.46

mikebledsoe

Um, was like oh okay I see a pattern of fulfillment for myself I see a pattern of fulfillment for her. It's like okay if we want to experience more fulfillment moving forward. We should probably do things that are similar to what made us fulfilled in the past and.

46:47.95

Max Shank

A.

46:50.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's definitely patterns of that that was that was really cool to dive into you don't have to take anything to answer these questions or journal about that. But um, it does help and so that was really really beautiful.

46:58.46

Max Shank

A.

47:07.76

mikebledsoe

None of the things I want to I want to cut back over to is my concern and ah, we're kind of jumping back and forth. But my concern is we have ah an entire country of people who. Can't agree on a single narrative or even 2 or 3 narratives and then you have countries like Russia and China who have that single narrative and even though we may be because society progresses and as the pendulum swings between organization and chaos.

47:42.21

Max Shank

Boom.

47:44.24

mikebledsoe

Definitely in a chaotic place and when we're experiencing chaos. It's a great time for someone else who's experiencing organization to take advantage of the people who are in chaos. So that's my one concern is even though we're we are advancing. We are weak during the advancement and um, you know when I heard the news that China Cut Off Communications I was like ah you know I've never seen the country more divided what a what a perfect time to.

48:14.98

Max Shank

Oh.

48:20.50

mikebledsoe

To pull out more tricks.

48:21.19

Max Shank

So when you say concern. Ah, that's like ah low grade fear perhaps of something specific ah happening because of that lack of open and ah.

48:40.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah, absolutely got it? Yeah yeah, yeah.

48:41.80

Max Shank

Congruent communication. So you're concerned maybe about like war. Yeah yeah, War is not that Cool. You know how earlier I was like really anti-school Shootings I'm also very anti-war. I Know it's a bold stance to take.

49:03.89

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah, Wars Funny man. It's just um, people just not getting along people people wanting to rule over ah over other people is what it comes down to.

49:16.50

Max Shank

You know one of the one of the most consistent thoughts I've had is like you know when you're a kid at least in my experience when you're a kid and you see None people fighting and you know there's no need for them to be fighting. Like you have this perspective where them fighting is retarded. It's stupid. There's no need for it. You know you have this unique perspective where you can see what each of them want but neither of them can see what they want. Like they're just blinded in this like cloud of dust and one of the most prevailing thoughts I've had as an adult has been this. This is just ah, a failure to communicate everybody needs to just settle down like relax. We all want basically the same thing but it's it's so surprising. That's the most lasting idea it just seems so unnecessary for people to speak to each other with such venom and it seems like. All these disagreements are basically manufactured. Um, yeah, it's ah I used to get really sad about that honestly and now I I kind of like that. Ah, that quote that ends up. Where you try to change your nation realize you can't try to change your city realize you can't try to change your family realize you can't try to change yourself and you're like man if only I'd done this sooner. It would have had that ricochet effect on out and ah. Mentioned in the past how the the distance between your zone of awareness and zone of control is like your feeling of powerlessness. So if you're aware of like a thousand problems globally which is like I don't know whatever. Twenty Thousand Miles Pi are cubed or squared or some shit like that I don't fucking know I don't I don't remember surface area of a sphere right now but your control area is very small. It's like five feet versus you know. None of Square Miles

51:45.30

mikebledsoe

Totally I've um, I've been experiencing like the the most grounded groundedness I've had in my entire life the last year and a half I just get more and more grounded and one of the results of getting more and more grounded is. Getting much more in touch with that reality of the only thing I can change is me and ah mikeness. Yeah, yeah, well because before I was had some grandiose thoughts about how I could make a.

52:04.85

Max Shank

Of this.

52:13.78

Max Shank

It's an it's a type of accept acceptance I think.

52:23.55

mikebledsoe

You know, a really big impact by you know, being really influential and and you know having a lot of followers or whatever. Yeah, like I know what to do.

52:30.88

Max Shank

I'll fix it I'll fix it. That was what I thought I'll I'll fix it and then ah I'm like I'm like just like those ah fucking grandiose big chair guys. It's like the same thing I Just don't want a big chair I'll fix it I'll fix it.

52:40.86

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just do what I tell you to do ah so fuck your ideas. So you know I um I just got become less and less concerned.

52:47.54

Max Shank

Yeah.

53:00.12

mikebledsoe

I keep up with what's going on I don't let it dominate my my thinking you know it's 1 thing to have awareness or to learn of what's going on around the world. It's another thing that dwell on it. Um, and I become much more focused on what I can impact immediately like you know how.

53:03.76

Max Shank

So.

53:20.20

mikebledsoe

Comfortable Can I make my home. That's a sanctuary instead of you know, trying to worry about like I don't care if I drive a fancy car I need where I spend the most time at my home people come to my home people come to my home and they go Wow this.

53:22.79

Max Shank

Ah.

53:29.29

Max Shank

Right? You got different values.

53:39.45

mikebledsoe

Place is really nice and comfortable. It's not It's not a big expensive home. It's ah it's a moderate home. It's a middle class home. Ah, but it's not but we've created a vibe inside that just. Very welcoming and peaceful and calm and so Ashley and I when we go out in the world. We we have this calmness and peacefulness about us and people they want to know how we do things and you know we get really strong reflections about us. And the thing is neither one of us are going out to try to teach people how to be much I mean this is about the extent of it right? Ah put a band man. Yeah there you go.

54:21.53

Max Shank

What is a good man but a bad man's Teacher. What is a bad man but a good man's job.

54:32.36

mikebledsoe

Ah, so you know the the thing that I keep circling ah since becoming more grounded is really the idea of leading. By example, if I'm not if I'm not happy with how other people are behaving then who I want.

54:45.84

Max Shank

5

54:51.40

mikebledsoe

Everyone else to be I have not fully embodied myself in a way that it's noticeable or I haven't done it long enough or repeated the behavior enough for people to take note or the benefits of taking those behaviors I haven't been doing it enough in order for people to take note but I'll tell you. That the majority of benefit that I that I think I have helped people achieve has been through modeling and because people learn through modeling they create their desires are created because of modeling and and.

55:25.57

Max Shank

Absolutely.

55:29.40

mikebledsoe

For me to think that I said something in particular to get somebody to a specific goal is that is incorrect. You know if I if I wasn't living my life a certain way. People wouldn't give a shit about the words that I was using and in fact, they're probably modeling.

55:38.91

Max Shank

On.

55:48.47

mikebledsoe

A lot of my behavior but are giving credit to the words that I use because people people want. That's the logical things like oh I heard this thing and then I put it in place and now that's logical. But I think.

55:55.16

Max Shank

Ah, well, you're.

56:03.60

Max Shank

I fixed it I fixed it and what it's what's funny is by being a model you unburden yourself of the responsibility of getting them to behave a certain way and you're not burdening them with a fucking command.

56:05.74

mikebledsoe

Most who are learning through modeling.

56:17.29

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

56:23.29

Max Shank

So You are completely unburdened. Ah because you're not trying to force them to be a certain way or manipulate them to be a certain way. People think the word manipulate has a lot of a negative connotation and it does but really, that's all we do. Is we manipulate the world and people for our benefit and sometimes for others.

56:41.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think well I had a conversation with a woman yesterday about this. She was talking about manipulation I was like well I like to create the distinction between influence and manipulation and ah in it with influence I am I am.

56:50.23

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

57:00.75

mikebledsoe

Making somebody else more informed about something so that they can make a better choice for themselves. Manipulation is I'm likely trying to make them less informed or confuse them in a way so that they'll do do the behavior I'll do not because they have ah a greater understanding.

57:04.25

Max Shank

The.

57:20.37

mikebledsoe

So that's yeah, so it's like instead of thinking about it as just like a spectrum of manipulation and say no manipulation is this thing and influences this thing they're very different in my mind So when I'm approaching people. The question I have to ask myself is you know.

57:20.83

Max Shank

It's like fraud. Yeah.

57:31.10

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah.

57:38.41

mikebledsoe

If you're if you're going out and you're going to talk to a girl are you are you practicing influence on the date or are you manipulating And yeah, that wasn't for you that wasn't for you. Um.

57:45.79

Max Shank

Manipulating for sure I mean wait wait that was oh that was a rhetorical question. Got it? Yeah oh got it I mean I.

57:53.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, but I mean this happens a lot and like people talk about marketing and they're like they're like oh marketing is so manipulative I'm like well what kind of marketing are you doing? Are you.

58:04.31

Max Shank

That's why I bring up machiavelli do the ends justify the means if you believe in a product this is an easy argument to make if you believe in a product you should be willing to say anything to sell as many as possible. That's one way of looking at it so you could totally. Ah. Forgive psychologically ah any kind of what might be considered a dirty tactic but I want to ah touch on something None things actually before we move on 1 one of the things that is taken away one of the burdens that's relieved by just being the example. Is. You're not lusting after your own acceptance I'm gonna say that again. So you're not lusting after your own acceptance because what you're doing is you are looking to have someone say you fixed it or you did it. Or whatever. So instead of lusting after that now that desire's gone and if you look at it from a zen buddhist ah framework that desire being gone is going to bring you a lot more peace and a lot more clarity and a lot more flow. You're not going to feel that burden like. Oh I got to I got to like remind myself that I'm good by helping this guy and then another thing you said, um, that was related to being the example and you said it to me like ah.

59:23.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

59:36.73

Max Shank

It was at your house out here. It was a long time ago. It was like maybe five to seven years ago and yeah, he's been enlightened for a long time. Ah you you it was just about it just was one of those times where I was very receptive and I listened and i.

59:43.17

mikebledsoe

I've been enlightened for a while. All.

59:53.98

Max Shank

Started putting it into practice. A lot was I stopped listening as much to what people were saying and more focused on how they were being and now what I'll do sometimes is I'll I'll just try to listen to the noise that someone's making and look at their posture.

01:00:10.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:00:11.72

Max Shank

And I'll try to look beyond the words and see do they go up and down and up and down with their talk and ah du and is their music ah did and you see how the how that flow is kind of coming out. Ah it's It's really interesting to see how people are being. Ah. Because I think that's actually a lot more honest than what that because people are very tricky like have you ever Seen. Ah a really good actor fucking say any word combination and their expression on their face will trick the shit out of me my god.

01:00:46.28

mikebledsoe

That it's insane. Insane. Oh yeah, the the tonality thing is interesting. So your time about body language. Um, you know if somebody has really poor posture hunched over. Um I start I start.

01:00:49.99

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:00:56.98

Max Shank

And.

01:01:04.88

mikebledsoe

Noticing when they're more hunched or more open which may be rare that they're open. But oh wow they they don't feel safe or they have a history of not feeling safe and they just haven't had the physical restoration of their body. Um.

01:01:06.16

Max Shank

O m.

01:01:14.94

Max Shank

The.

01:01:23.46

mikebledsoe

It' not like like whatever is happening energetically takes a lot longer to manifest physically. And yeah me too.

01:01:29.28

Max Shank

I Used to cross my arms all the time all the time all the time and I would do that thing where you flex your knuckles into your arms from the from the back so that ah your biceps look a little bigger and your little forearm. Extensor muscles look bigger so you get these? Ah, It's like the standard personal trainer photo and I look back at I look back at all these photos I took and every single one I've got like fucking sunglasses ah under armor ah shirt that's skin tight. And my arms are crossed and I'm like that guy doesn't want anyone to know who he is that guy So now I'm super sensitive to it I notice when I see people cross their arms I think it's a really funky posture the the arm crop. Yeah.

01:02:10.62

mikebledsoe

Be yeah, exactly just.

01:02:23.65

mikebledsoe

We're putting the hands in pockets too.

01:02:27.00

Max Shank

What what do you do with your hands though. You can't just be like Ricky Bobby like I don't know what to do with them.

01:02:31.45

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's something about and there's a military thing. There's no hands in the pockets. Um, and what I noticed from years of not hanging out with hands in my pockets is. There's.

01:02:37.26

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, 1

01:02:47.69

mikebledsoe

Hands in the pockets is a really safe place to put your hands when you're insecure about like having a more open posture. It's like it's like halfway open and yeah it is kind of strange sometimes I I have to find things to do with my hands every once in a while I'll let myself put my hands into my pocket.

01:02:56.22

Max Shank

Yeah, interesting.

01:03:06.46

mikebledsoe

Only when I know that um you know it's not coming from a place of insecurity. It's like I'm hanging out my friends I just feel like putting my hands in my pocket I'm gonna fucking do it but it it is something that I was I overdid until I couldn't do it anymore and then that's when I recognized oh this is something that.

01:03:10.34

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:03:20.31

Max Shank

What.

01:03:26.63

mikebledsoe

It's a safety you know it's my safety blanket to put my hands in my pockets and kind of hard to be ready for shit when your hands in the pockets when you want to you want to be running down the road.

01:03:30.20

Max Shank

That kind of curiosity Impossible I mean unless you got something good in there then it's even better.

01:03:41.66

mikebledsoe

Running down the road with your hands in your pockets. That's that's when people knock their teeth out. No.

01:03:42.17

Max Shank

Oh yeah, yeah, that's not good, but if you got something interesting in your pocket and could be a great spot. Hey now. Um, yeah I think.

01:03:50.27

mikebledsoe

I've always got some interesting in there. So.

01:03:58.80

Max Shank

The curiosity we're talking about about posture I mean look it's no, It's no mystery that you and I are are nerds about things like this about communication about the way the body moves about integrating the body mind heart The rest of them Chakras and so. I Think that's one of those things that can accelerate that openness if you so curiosity is such a ah powerful force of moving into the Unknown. It's the difference between the unknown being scary and the unknown being exciting. And interesting. It's like an a curious is an opportunity forward right? It's the exact opposite of fear right? which is like ah a threat an unknown threat oncoming versus an unknown opportunity oncoming. And we're talking about using different medicines to do that. The other option is to be extremely invested into what you and I are talking about. So I Think that's one of the things that is attractive about using different medicines like I'm. I'm ah experimenting with some puppy medicine right now I have a feeling it's going to ah increase openness probably patience Positivity Ah love Perhaps I I don't know yet. It'll be really interesting to see how that. Changes my paradigm but I think that's really the the pull of those different medicines psychedelics. Whatever cocktail you and your witch doctor can concoct um, is because it can. Increase your connection and alleviate burdens very quickly. It's like you can either get high by doing breathing exercises and going for a run or you can get high by smoking some cannabis or crack or something like that. You know there are a lot of there are a lot of ways to do it. Sometimes you just have something That's a little more push button so to speak and short term. Well but the effects are long term a lot of the time I mean the walls aren't melting forever.

01:06:12.79

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and short term. Totally totally if done well now that would be terrible.

01:06:26.20

Max Shank

Thankfully, but but you get the you get the alleviation of some of that that guard that dropping of the guard and openness is what allows you to. See some of the filters that you've put on kind of coming back to the stories like I feel sad when I talk to people and I see them hardcore into one narrative or the other because you know, um, there's basically nothing you can say that will resolve that and I I Think. Can pick up on queues and I know a lot of weird facts. But ah once someone's locked into a narrative like that. It's very tricky to get out unless they themselves are getting curious and then you have a chance to take away some of those layers but I think sometimes.

01:07:15.54

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:07:22.89

Max Shank

Using those substances can sort of accelerate that process.

01:07:25.50

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, it causes a can cause a pattern interrupt I think most people that they're in a pattern that whatever narrative they're in is a pattern of thinking feeling behaving and most people no matter how much. Information may be counter to you know this being a good idea or or whatever they can't seem to break it until there's a pattern interrupt you know, somebody somebody ends up with heart disease or cancer or something like that like wakes some of its pattern interrupt is like oh I can't keep eating the banas.

01:08:00.40

Max Shank

Car accident for my mom car accident changed her life. She wasn't injured the car was totaled but ah the whole trajectory of her life changed and she was in her fifty s I mean she was already like a fully baked human so to speak.

01:08:04.25

mikebledsoe

Car accident. Yeah.

01:08:12.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, so as it it.

01:08:19.90

Max Shank

So anything that changes. It's kind of like the only absolute is relativity so you and I our stories are just in relation to everything that we understand so we're like part of a ah net and um so I think we're like None musical note. And when you get together with ah lsd you strike a different chord than if you do heroin and if you hang out with puppies or if you drink coffee like I I drink coffee basically daily um some sometimes I'll skip for like a week or something like that. But I've been pretty. Hot on coffee for at least like six months now and I I enjoy it It's just a different ah chord. You know I'm a note coffee's a note boom play them at the same time. That's this different type of resonance and everybody needs and likes different things like these two puppies. Different personalities. None person should have coffee None person should probably do a microdose mushrooms or something like that. There's not a one size fits all for everybody which is also why those ah dictatorships inevitably piss off so many people. Because not everybody wants the same sized solution right.

01:09:36.58

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

01:09:40.82

Max Shank

Who So here's what I'm thinking I think we want to do a show about ah all the stuff that we like and I want to do a show called unfair advantages.

01:09:42.14

mikebledsoe

And we should wrap this up.

01:09:54.23

mikebledsoe

I Think we were talking about that last show and I forgot that unfair advantages and what else.

01:09:58.97

Max Shank

I'm all about it it like man. It's totally unfair. Ah just a show about stuff We like we. We just only talk about stuff we like I would love it.

01:10:07.89

mikebledsoe

Ah I think people would actually love that I think that would be. There's so many things that I love that I want to share with people that sometimes I'll share something I love and they're like oh man. Um, and I realized I wish I could have gotten this information to this person sooner or so many things.

01:10:16.40

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:10:24.38

Max Shank

Totally yeah, all right? Yeah so I think that'll be good ah man that was fun. What are what's what's our take home message today really curiosity openness.

01:10:27.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, all right I'll make a list I Like that idea.

01:10:39.80

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah I think there's ah, there's a thread of communication and violence and the better we can communicate the the less we may experience violence there was a term that you were discussing which is. You know, releasing the burden and the phrase that came to my mind was unburdened leadership so leading by example is an unburdened way of being a leader and I think I'll name a show that and so so how do you be a leader without feeling all that burden.

01:11:04.10

Max Shank

Um, who I like it right.

01:11:18.85

mikebledsoe

Just lead by example and mind your own business seems pretty pretty easy. So those are my big takeaways from today's show

01:11:20.55

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:11:26.73

Max Shank

Yeah, and get curious about why you might be holding onto the rein so tight like like follow it down with the five Y's like why am I trying to control so hard on this ah closedness it was something I examined myself with dogs. Um.

01:11:40.29

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:11:46.69

Max Shank

Like I had I had always resisted it super heavy and I was like well why? what? What am I really afraid of here and is ah it's good curiosity and unburdened leadership I think are yeah, that's good if you can do that Honestly, you'd be.

01:11:53.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:12:03.77

Max Shank

Way better off and then Mike and I can feel good because we will have helped you and the ricochets will carry em off through our entire society and then we will finally be good. So thank you guys for listening. Love you guys! Love you Mike bye.

01:12:23.35

mikebledsoe

Legit. Love you Max Talk later.

John Beneduce is no stranger to adversity & challenges. In fact, he actively seeks them out as he knows how important they are in helping him grow

It's safe to say society is "prepping us to fight". And if so, this man is one of the best to learn from

00:00.33

mikebledsoe

Yes, I was just writing I was doing my books waiting on that max here and.

00:01.00

Max Shank

Oh.

00:07.77

Max Shank

We were just saying. It's nothing like a ah novel. It's nothing like a ah book. But that's how it all really began was we wanted to write down that you owe me 10 goats and I owe you. My daughter's hand in marriage when she comes of age or something like that right? it's it's Contracts. It's contracts. Basically I O use.

00:25.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah I remember. Ah yeah, it's a recording of of transactions so recording of contracts agreements the I remember um watching my.

00:42.30

Max Shank

It's like the word record you record a record.

00:44.30

mikebledsoe

yeah yeah I remember watching my dad do the books for his business back in like you know the 80 s and 90 s you know I wasn't I wasn't aware enough to know what he was doing until probably the early 90 s but ah.

00:49.82

Max Shank

Yeah. E.

01:03.41

mikebledsoe

Yeah I just remember him like having an actual book of things and and writing in the ledger where the money went and this not I Just remember like that was the most frustrated I ever saw him like.

01:11.51

Max Shank

Oh.

01:18.76

Max Shank

Is.

01:20.69

mikebledsoe

Like the guy. The guy's a craftsman right? He he was a craftsman and so like ah he was a builder like he did a lot of ah home improvements but also built these really amazing cabins from scratch and yeah.

01:24.29

Max Shank

What craft.

01:36.18

Max Shank

No shit building a cabin from scratch is like a really cool thing I think now that's what I think is cool now I think that is cool now I used to think lifting something really really big over your head was super cool.

01:39.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so he was.

01:43.13

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:52.25

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:55.28

Max Shank

And it still kind of is but now making your own cabin from scratch that is fricking cool.

02:01.27

mikebledsoe

Well, it's interesting because you know he was so gifted at that and then because he wanted to do things the way he wanted to do them meant that he was going to own his own business which then came with all these other ah requirements. Ah, for.

02:18.27

Max Shank

Who.

02:20.53

mikebledsoe

To do that because and really the only reason is required is because you have to pay taxes. Other than that you you wouldn't actually have to maintain books. It'd probably be beneficial to maintain books to maintain a ah record of of your transactions and all that stuff.

02:31.97

Max Shank

Yeah.

02:37.60

mikebledsoe

But I think a guy like that would have done better just to have been winging it the whole time and put more of his attention into what he was actually skilled at.

02:45.24

Max Shank

Man that speaks so much to me because we could talk about this probably all day right? where these different personality types crazy thrive in one way and then really struggle in another way and it's like how do you. Compound and multiply your zone of Genius while minimizing the damage of one of these let's just call it a ah deficit or or just like a ah simple lack of desire to do you know back in the day if if you went out on the hunt.

03:15.51

mikebledsoe

Um, what.

03:22.60

Max Shank

Crafting is like a version of hunting or gathering kind of you can make that that leap it's about energy transformation and generation. Ah, there was no need to really keep a record because you either came home with food or you did not. There's no like little book. Oh I can.

03:35.72

mikebledsoe

Right.

03:41.83

Max Shank

Didn't get food again today. It's like no, we all know.

03:43.47

mikebledsoe

Yeah I think the only like thinking ahead that people had to do early on was if you lived up North you had to think about the seasons changing but aside from that you know if the the closer you move to the equator the less.

03:53.97

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

04:01.48

mikebledsoe

You really have to keep a record or think about much of the past or the future. It really is about. Did you bring home a kill today or did you find some food today or are we warm. Are we comfortable today? Yeah, so yeah, the um I you know what I I find to be interesting is.

04:10.29

Max Shank

Right.

04:21.38

mikebledsoe

I avoided doing the books in my business I avoided doing bookkeeping anything with finance at all and so ah, a little over a year ago I decided to I was talking to a friend I was talking to a friend like two and a half years ago and he was like well.

04:27.48

Max Shank

It. Ah.

04:40.29

mikebledsoe

You know you've never done your books I go no he goes you should probably do your books at some point just so you you know what's happening in the business like at a very granular level and I go I go. Okay, he goes I Still do my books and he's he runs multiple companies and.

04:47.89

Max Shank

I.

04:58.20

mikebledsoe

This and that definitely a different personality than I am right? but but he was right. There was a there was a there was something about the business I didn't quite understand yes I could get by without it I didn't need to do it. But if I rip.

05:00.86

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

05:09.86

Max Shank

Um, well, you're a star Mike you can make it you can make it work even if it's not a good plan and I can relate.

05:23.74

mikebledsoe

It's how you broke up for a None

05:24.72

Max Shank

Oh you can make a good plan Work. You can make a bad plan work. Ah, just because you have those skills and I can super relate to that and when you're ah less wise you trick yourself into thinking. That you had a good plan but really, you had a shit plan and you just happened to pull a miracle out of your ass.

05:48.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's a pattern of behavior if you were to look back that the ah and it it is. It's like my whole family The ah the whole family. There was a saying growing up was like a ble so could fall into a pile of shit and still smell like a rose.

05:57.65

Max Shank

But.

06:08.40

mikebledsoe

like like 1 of those like we would put ourselves in these predicaments. But somehow we'd fucking escape. Yeah yeah, and it was kind of like a running joke. But the the thing is is when that is true when that's happened enough times. It starts.

06:14.20

Max Shank

Find the shower. Yeah.

06:22.76

Max Shank

Oh.

06:27.66

mikebledsoe

It's It's hard to make planning important when not planning you still get pretty good Results. Maybe not the ultimate result you're looking for but pretty good results and I think most people have ah they have developed some type. Of something in their personality ah patterns of behavior in their life where they have continued to get a reward and so that's why they keep behaving that way even though there might be some people saying hey you might want to try it this other way. It's like why would I listen to somebody suggesting to do it another way unless my weight. Hasn't been working but what happens is as we get to a certain point that has happened with me. It's like I keep butting up against the same ceiling right? It's like oh every time I try to make more than this amount of money I hit the ceiling every time I do this I hit a ceiling and or every time I have a certain goal I hit a ceiling in the in.

07:17.28

Max Shank

Oh.

07:22.65

Max Shank

On.

07:27.70

mikebledsoe

Reason is because the thing that got me to where I am now is probably the thing that's going to hold me back moving forward and I'm ah I'm a huge fan of of ah knowing your weaknesses and studying it.

07:33.46

Max Shank

Interesting idea.

07:46.19

mikebledsoe

A little bit just so you know what you don't know like I I do I learn enough about finance so that I know how to I can at least spot the Bs I can tell if somebody else knows what they're talking about. But if I don't know anything about it and I just straight up delegate it Out. I I think that's dangerous because I've done that before and gotten burned. How about you have you had like business partnerships and stuff like that where like not necessarily because somebody burned you. But.

08:12.67

Max Shank

Um, like you repeat that you you receive you repeat the same pattern is that what you're asking or.

08:18.90

mikebledsoe

No, no, no like if you don't know enough about a task that you have not developed yourself and say you completely outsource that task That's that's a problem.

08:29.86

Max Shank

Oh yeah, yeah, you put something you put something outside of your observation and and it leaves you vulnerable in in several ways I know at Discount Tire They don't promote anyone from the outside. It's only from the um.

08:47.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

08:49.31

Max Shank

The bottom up the whole thing and it's all about knowing every part of the process. Ah dude, you've said so many things that I want to respond to I took a couple notes here and the first one was ah in relation to the the bookkeeping. It's like.

09:01.15

mikebledsoe

You.

09:07.88

Max Shank

Reminded me immediately of the word intuitive eating and intuitive movement. So now we have intu intuitive finances. Ah here here on our show. We do intuitive finance is a new course coming out featuring ah featuring ah the.

09:19.79

mikebledsoe

Let me go see if that domain's available.

09:26.96

Max Shank

The crypto prince Mike Bledso and the ah the dinosaur.

09:29.82

mikebledsoe

Um, there's like so many domains I have to buy right now just spitting them out. Yeah.

09:35.97

Max Shank

Totally all right? So check it, you have intuitive eating and intuitive movement people are probably familiar with those terms but None of the things I was talking with my buddy about ah we're like man how are you shouldn't do. Intuitive eating if you suck like if you don't have knowledge and skills like intuitive eating is for sure the best way I would I mean it's a bold claim intuitive eating can be wonderful but you but also you need to have.

10:05.30

mikebledsoe

Well, you have to be in touch with your intuition for it to work for 1

10:14.61

Max Shank

Some understanding of what is in the food like you can't if you go on just like pure ah like gut reaction. You're just going to eat ah like chips and soda pop all day long because it's delicious. So with finances you dig into the books a little bit.

10:17.74

mikebledsoe

By the way.

10:34.52

Max Shank

Now you might have a chance to approach something. That's a little bit more intuitive because now you have that vocabulary that ah understanding of the elements right? So that was the None thing I thought of um, it made me laugh.

10:50.14

mikebledsoe

Let's you got to have this structure. You have to have this structure in order to flow and like an intuition and flow go hand in hand. Yeah, exactly.

10:55.40

Max Shank

Right? We're talking about that last week right we were talking about that last week. The pipes are the structure and it harnesses the flow in the direction you want it to go ah and then the other thing that was interesting. We were talking about how? ah. A good outcome doesn't mean you had a good plan and if you're a super achiever guy. You can basically make a bad plan work and you don't want to conflate those 2 you don't want to confuse those things and think oh my plan was good. Really no, you're a stud but your plan sucks and so that's kind of. Looking at those weaknesses and then finally um, the the the identity perpetuating patterns is a funny one to me like if you ah I don't I don't know if this is true. It feels kind of true to me. But if you pride yourself and you label yourself as someone who's extremely tough who can take a lot of punishment and get back up every time they fall down. I have this idea that life is going to feed you more of that. What do you What do you think about that your identity perpetuating your reality.

12:15.37

mikebledsoe

Um, oh yeah, absolutely the? Ah ah well what we have to talk about the reticular activating system in this case and ah the RAS as a part of the brain.

12:27.38

Max Shank

Save the 10 dollars words for another podcast you son of a bitch.

12:34.80

mikebledsoe

Is responsible for so spotting things. So for instance, um, if I go buy a red pickup truck. What am I going to see a lot of on the road red pickup truck. We all know this we've all heard you know and we've all had the experience of.

12:35.99

Max Shank

Fucking nerd.

12:45.98

Max Shank

You.

12:52.32

mikebledsoe

We become interested in something and then all of a sudden we we start seeing it everywhere and we see it's a sign. Um and and so ah, the same thing happens with identity. If we believe something about ourselves and I like the way you talk about identity max which is you know the story we tell ourselves about ourselves if we that is our identity and we have this story about what is true I also like to think about what we believe to be true about ourselves and what we believe to be true about the world. Those are the None big things to have beliefs about right? It's either a belief about self or belief.

13:28.64

Max Shank

Yeah, maybe that's what encompasses your identity right? is your place in the world. Also it's not just the label you attach to yourself. It's um, there's that classic phrase is you know. Life is happening for you. Some people believe and some people believe life happens to you I used to start off asking people questions like ah do you feel Life is more like a game a show or a ride I used to start all my like coaching programs with these weird.

13:47.29

mikebledsoe

Right.

14:07.70

Max Shank

Questions and then I'd ask people what the word intelligent means and people would stumble all over it and have no clue what smart even means and it was just like this fun thing but depending on how you see life if you see life is more like a ride you might have a hell of a wild and awesome ride. But it's going to be different than someone who thinks they are playing a game that they must win right? It's going to be huge difference.

14:27.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, totally yeah, right is passive that it's happening and there's not much I'm going to do um, a game I'm an active participant. It might be great. Ah.

14:36.17

Max Shank

Um, and it might be great. It might be great. The the thing is like I want to I make sure that people understand I'm not trying to say that one is superior although I love games and winning is fun. Winning isn't everything. But it's the only thing right? There's that all like ah but I've I've met people who live life like it's a ride and they they do well and they're very happy and I've seen people who. Live life like a game and it's a real challenge the whole time and it doesn't look as far and vice versa. So There's quadrants you know.

15:19.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well I think the ride I think the ride is a good way to go if you have momentum in a certain direction. There's like because well well what? what? ah.

15:32.12

Max Shank

Everybody's got momentum in a certain direction dude like you the word momentum starts with the word mom. As soon as you get launched out of a vagina there is momentum to you.

15:42.85

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well if you're if you're in a poor trajectory and you're on a ride then it's not a good thing. But if you have if you're going in a great direction with Momentum then the ride is probably really good for you. So.

15:45.53

Max Shank

Your life has momentum as soon as you cross the gate. Yeah.

15:58.64

Max Shank

I Like that we're going to bring it back to physics here. Yeah, we're going to coast a little bit kick push kick push Coast right? I think with when it comes to work which is ah a big part of.

16:05.45

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly.

16:17.36

Max Shank

Ah, even having any accounting or bookkeeping to do. It's um, it's nice to remember that the suffering that you feel the amount of effort you apply has ah very little to do.

16:35.71

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

16:35.97

Max Shank

With the result you know, ah Momentum and Aerodynamics are a really really nice example of that. So just just having ah a better, a better setup can be. Be a huge difference maker. It doesn't matter how much effort or suffering goes into it I think that's ah, another big identity thing I know for me that was ah that was a challenge I Thought that suffering was proportional to success or or good or goodness right? Um, and I think.

17:08.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

17:13.79

Max Shank

A lot of people still do believe that is my guess so like.

17:14.60

mikebledsoe

They do I talk to people who do all time I Want to go back to like the the collecting of evidence for what you believe about the world and what you believe about yourself. So this this identity you know who you believe you are and what you believe the world is and how you fit inside of it.

17:26.34

Max Shank

Oh.

17:33.77

mikebledsoe

You These are all just a series of narratives that are playing out most of these narratives were set up when you were a kid and you what you've been doing the whole time. He's been collecting evidence to support it you ah the that part of your.

17:42.86

Max Shank

I.

17:53.20

mikebledsoe

Brain doesn't go out there looking for things that don't support it. They're going out there look for things that do support it and so you can tell? Yeah, so when you yeah so when you have stacked a lot of time.

18:03.25

Max Shank

Confirmation Bias I think is what that's called think like racism like racism you you get up ah in the morning your parents are racist. They're saying bad things about the neighbors. Maybe you live in a bad area where.

18:14.32

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

18:20.45

Max Shank

All your neighbors are bad white and black and yellow and different colors alike but you only look out like what you were saying with your ah reticular activating system is you look out for those things and not only is it that you see them. Because what you notice is so different than what you see and you just confirm those beliefs over and over again because your vision is crazy small and Selective. You know, kind of going back to the vision Piece. It's a very complex mechanism that. Creates a total illusion inside your brain.

19:02.83

mikebledsoe

There was a I was listening to a podcast by Lex Friedman the other day I forget who shared it with me. Um, but he's he's ah interviewing this like evolutionary physicist I don't know like so some some dude that's they. Is way smarter than either None of us and he was talking about.

19:24.72

Max Shank

Well I resent that clearly you don't know what the word smart means.

19:29.65

mikebledsoe

Ah, this guy. Ah, basically through mathematics is able to demonstrate how our perception is. It's impossible for our perception to match reality. And in fact, it's so far from reality that. Which which isn't not news to you or me but to a lot of people. They they do think that they're noticing some things and then they're perceiving others when in fact, it's None perception that's happening and if we look out through lens of evolution then what we're what we have is. Ah. Ah, ah, the fittest right? It's it's the fittest is what evolves it's not It's not the truth. So the truth does not actually ah doesn't come into play when it comes to survival so whatever you whatever you need to perceive in order to survive. Is how your entire consciousness will develop.

20:33.22

Max Shank

When you say truth What do you mean because I I would agree that what a person sees is dependent on their memory because what they're what they're doing is they're differentiating ah the way a picture is interpreted.

20:50.10

mikebledsoe

And um.

20:52.71

Max Shank

And the picture is just simply about the ah um, the reception of light and we only have a small visible spectrum. So you're talking about the truth being everything versus what is visible to the naked eye. Oh then.

21:08.25

mikebledsoe

That's correct.

21:11.57

Max Shank

Absolutely I mean there's ah there are some great pictures. You can look up on the electromagnetic spectrum That's like a really cool ah thing to check out. Everything is just buzzing around and some of it. We can see and some of it. We can't and some animals.

21:26.57

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and but it's not. It's not necessary. Yeah.

21:30.52

Max Shank

And see ultraviolet and Infrared. It's not Useful. It's really about what is a um I feel like I say it all the time.. It's like what is a predictable Pattern. What is a predictable pattern if you have a really hard turtle shell on your back. It's predictable that. Nothing is going to bite through it as long as you're inside the shell if you're inside a cave and the cave is sealed the the jaguar or the leopard or the line will not get you in the night those kind of things are um.

21:52.83

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

22:09.88

Max Shank

Stuff that we've learned based on what we've seen but it's not the the whole picture right.

22:13.80

mikebledsoe

No, no. But yeah, so we look for the fact is almost nobody has an accurate understanding of the world or of themselves. Well that.

22:26.49

Max Shank

What do you mean? almost nobody who's this who's this guy that has it all figured out I want to meet this dude and.

22:32.64

mikebledsoe

There's this one guy there's this one guy I think that he may have it figured out but he'll remain nameless.

22:40.97

Max Shank

He's the one he's the 1 standing on the milk crate at the corner of a Columbus and None right? it it is probably someone like that I mean hey yeah, the concept.

22:44.00

mikebledsoe

For sure for sure. He's the fuck crazy fucker lives under the bridge. Well, there's a have you read? the have you read this series by Jed Mckenna okay Jeed Mckenna wrote a ah.

22:57.58

Max Shank

M.

23:00.16

mikebledsoe

Series. The first book is called spiritual enlightenment The damnedest thing and um I used to be really hesitant to even mention it in public. But I've gotten a little bit looser because you know what if you want to destroy your entire ego. You know who am I to stop you So the. This guy. Ah, this guy wrote this book on Enlightenment. He basically outlines how spirituality is actually ah will keep you from being enlightened and really creates a distinction between the 2 And you know that the the deal is you can't explain what enlightenment is because it's something that would only you can only experience once it's you can only experience it and then once you've experienced it. There's no going back to the illusion and.

23:53.90

Max Shank

Well, and once again, what are we trying to describe when we say the word enlightenment so just getting really right? It's ah it's a sign. It's a symbol that we're using to determine like this feeling that we we have this feeling in mind.

23:57.14

mikebledsoe

Was It's indescribable. Well well being well being well being. Well different people. Well a lot of people see it as a feeling but the the way the guy describes it This book is that you only see you you know the absolute truth at all times you're.

24:11.78

Max Shank

Right? and.

24:21.41

Max Shank

Yeah.

24:23.10

mikebledsoe

You stabilize that state of consciousness and um, basically life gets incredibly boring because there's no narratives I mean you can witness narratives but you're not actually participating um in them anymore at all.

24:37.11

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

24:42.64

mikebledsoe

There's nothing to believe about yourself. There's nothing to believe about the world outside of what you can directly validate for yourself through observation and even then the story that tying the the dots together to create a narrative just doesn't exist anymore.

24:59.11

Max Shank

It would be so hard to function with other people if you actually did that it'd be.

25:03.36

mikebledsoe

Well well in the book If you read the book series. You'd really, there's he he's basically documenting conversations and he fucking almost hates having to interact with people. You know it's It's not a you know he basically just sees everybody as little children.

25:15.30

Max Shank

Um, right.

25:21.59

Max Shank

Well that I agree with I mean people are like little children. Um.

25:23.32

mikebledsoe

Well, he gets into that in the book as well. I think you would enjoy the series. Yeah, it's a it's a trilogy. It's it's I chuckled my way through it and it was. It was pretty good. Ah although I.

25:30.36

Max Shank

The series. Okay.

25:40.35

Max Shank

I Feel like.

25:42.47

mikebledsoe

Read it in 2017 at it early Twenty seventeen it ah it did do a number on me totally totally.

25:46.65

Max Shank

Ah, might hit a little different now too. Ah I liked what you said about spirituality getting in the way of enlightenment because when I think of the word enlightenment I Like you know me I like to keep things as simple as possible because I'm not as smart as all these science guys and.

25:55.97

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:11.66

Max Shank

When I think of enlightenment I think about just a reduction in in mass. So you're you're reducing So you're trying to literally make yourself lighter. Yeah, it's like I wrote this phrase down that I've always loved. It's like you can only sharpen.

26:20.42

mikebledsoe

It's a destructive process.

26:31.20

Max Shank

By removing material like otherwise it's a different thing but you sharpen something by taking stuff away and ah there are a lot of different analogies in some ancient wisdoms About. You know, don't be sharp like a sword you know, let yourself become dull and plain like a stone in a River and that kind of stuff and I really resonate with that and the more you have to keep up with these stories the the more you are burdened. And so it's like how do you find a way to fully connect which is like flow in that moment without getting attached and you realize every attachment you have is derived from that identity that you have all all the attachments. Are in relation to your identity. It's like a big net where you're the center spoke or maybe a wheel where you're in the center and it's all these relationships with everything else.

27:30.19

mikebledsoe

Well, the way the way that Jed ah he describes it in the book. He's like you know, a lot of people like to think about what you're talking about these these these beliefs that are in our consciousness like I believe they're in this beautiful web. Or a net or something like that he goes the reality is it's a rat's nest. You have no idea what belongs where until you start pulling a thread and and even then you don't know what? Ah every what all it was connected to and um, yeah, so like that that really hit home for me when.

27:59.22

Max Shank

Um, oh yeah.

28:08.74

mikebledsoe

Because I up to that point I was thinking Oh there's this beautiful web and if I pull this part of the web then I'm not really sure what'll happen on this other side of the web but he's like now it's a Rat's nest. It's just as a is a disaster zone inside of people's minds. Oh.

28:17.48

Max Shank

E.

28:23.29

Max Shank

Um, often yeah.

28:27.88

mikebledsoe

Which I find to be accurate because anytime I've worked with people through like a belief and then we watch it dissolve. There's just no way to predict how that's going to impact their life. It's like oh I didn't know it wass going to impact that area of your life in that way. Okay, that was a surprise.

28:43.17

Max Shank

Some people are more attached. Some people are a little some people have a pretty easy time letting stuff go and some people have ah a really hard time or.

28:44.79

mikebledsoe

Some people are more attached.

28:52.64

mikebledsoe

I have um so I have a ah story to share I have a ah mentee I was talking to yesterday and he goes mike do you believe in curses I was like well um, you know. If you're talking about someone putting a curse on you if you believe someone put a curse on you then the only way the curse will work is if you believe that the curse is real if you believe that someone put a curse on you then it weren't like you you are cursed and and.

29:21.25

Max Shank

Um, then it definitely worked. You're fucked. That's yeah.

29:29.50

mikebledsoe

And you're the only one that can undo it right? and so and so that was That's how I started he goes. He's like well well I met this guy and he said that he said that Um, my family had a curse and I.

29:43.89

Max Shank

Sounds like 1 of them spiritual ah barriers to enlightenment perhaps or maybe he was right I don't I don't know.

29:48.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well well Ego I Go what? Well I say I I was like well we have to Define Curse of course that we we do that on the show at Lot. We Define things and I was like like look I don't I don't necessarily believe in curses in the way that ah. People who use that language probably believe in them because I don't need to believe in the curse I Um I I think that people use that language when they're actually confused about what that is. It's like this. It's mystical. And that's one of the things that ah jeed was getting in the book with spirituality is there's so so much mysticism and that is there's so much mystery, There's so much that we don't understand that you have to buy into and that happens a lot in spirituality people start throwing these words around and I don't know what they're talking about.

30:44.60

Max Shank

On.

30:44.85

mikebledsoe

And I'm pretty sure they have no idea what they're talking about because they just strung together a bunch of words that don't make any sense to to anybody in the room and if I were to ask them to break it down in plain language. It's not going to happen and so anytime anyone starts using a lot of flowery language. Both me my fiancee would just leave.

30:55.95

Max Shank

Um, right.

31:04.62

mikebledsoe

Like neither one of us like to put up with that that shit you know and so that there's a lot of people in the quote unquote conscious community that exists that like you know I think they're doing good stuff I like them and all that but we're probably not going to hang out I don't want to like those people are confused. And so ah, what.

31:25.45

Max Shank

How could people not be confused I mean we act like it's just been this sequential build. But the reality is that cultures and nations and peoples and laws have just been patched together ah time and time again with. Almost never having a chance to really clean the slate. That's why when you have something like America it's like whoa. It's not totally blank slate but it's it's pretty close. They were like okay, let's let's think about this real quick like.

31:54.53

mikebledsoe

It was. It was pretty. It was pretty blank.

32:04.41

Max Shank

What are we going to do here and because and then of course now what we have is just the patchwork quilt of that initial weaving and we're just sticking stuff in here and we're like oh yeah, the school's not doing so good so they need more tests or we'll teach them the tests ahead of time and.

32:09.64

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

32:23.67

Max Shank

It's just all these fucking patches and ah so it's no wonder that it's just this absolute cluster fuck like you were saying where most of the stuff you just have to take on faith Ah, which of course is kind of kind of back to. Well.

32:35.95

mikebledsoe

We you don't have to I I I try not my my goal is I tell people a lot of times they'll ask me what I believe I go and I said you know I don't believe in much of anything if I can't validate it for myself then I'm gonna tell you.

32:42.72

Max Shank

Yeah I mean.

32:55.92

mikebledsoe

I don't know. Ah there are things that are useful if I were to believe when I believe this way it's something I can't validate for myself. But I can validate the result of believing it which is ah something I want in my life or something I don't want in my life. So I I like to.

32:56.92

Max Shank

O.

33:04.61

Max Shank

And.

33:11.30

Max Shank

E.

33:14.52

mikebledsoe

Be able to admit that I have no idea what the truth is but I do know what's useful and ah there are some things that I can validate for myself and I just know that now going back to the curse and and a curse on the family the the way that I. I Talked about that with him is that every family has a curse and the yeah and they they have some blessings as well. But the but the curse.

33:40.63

Max Shank

Whoa How about a blessing do they have blessings Also because if you can curse another person then it would stand to reason that you could also bless them The logic's not sound completely. But.

33:48.22

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, you could.

33:55.70

Max Shank

If you believe that you can be cursed. You probably also believe someone could say a prayer for you or give you a blessing or cast a magical spell.

33:59.91

mikebledsoe

But I think we've all seen this like I think what? But what he was talking about is that there's a trend in his family. There's a trend of this pattern of behavior and and it seems mysterious to to them and maybe to people around them who who.

34:08.84

Max Shank

In.

34:19.57

mikebledsoe

Are Not very good at paying attention. Um, they're not in that practice and so but if you pay attention close Enough. You have well there is a pattern of behavior that's leading to these cursed results right? These results to seem to be a curse. Well the curse is going to be a mystery until you. Until you go to? why are people why? what is the behavior that's leading to this and where did that behavior come from and.

34:45.17

Max Shank

Back to curiosity if you can get to that state like then then that's like as close as you can get to a ah blank slate moving forward is to get curious about what is rather than confirming what you believe I think is the.

34:52.22

mikebledsoe

Key So curiosity keep curiosity.

35:04.14

Max Shank

The major key so you're curious about what is or perhaps what can be ah and that way you are not confirming the pre-existing beliefs right? Which definitely feels more stable I mean everything. All the all this talk about writing stuff down and recording things is to increase predictability and stability. So I feel comfortable lending you the None goats.

35:30.35

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well this is what as you I said Curiosity is the cure for curses. So if you if we're going to show title somehow. So so so um, look so I'm talking to him and I go.

35:38.60

Max Shank

Um, cool. That's that sounds nice.

35:50.26

mikebledsoe

This is the curse is what your parents learn from from their parents and then what they taught you is is there's an ancestral pattern of behavior that's playing out and if you don't understand how that pattern works then it's going to be mysterious. And then someone's going to come along and and use the label curse because it's the word curse is kind of a mysterious thing in itself like Witches curse things and that you know it's kind of like it's magic. Yeah, so like I and then so I have to go back in that. Yeah.

36:15.78

Max Shank

Um, yeah, like a Hex or something like that. Yeah, but you can use magic for good too. You know.

36:24.97

mikebledsoe

It to something that's magical or mystical is just something you don't understand how it works yet. Yeah.

36:29.62

Max Shank

Yes, exactly magic You don't get the trick and as soon as you know how it works. It's not magic anymore. It's just a trick hey do the trick. You know it's magic when you don't follow what's happening and most things really are magic I'm a very curious guy I don't like to not know stuff.

36:36.33

mikebledsoe

Now.

36:47.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

36:49.43

Max Shank

Honestly, maybe it's maybe it's a character defect or an an effect I don't I don't know exactly what it is but ah, it's really difficult actually to know how stuff works just if you look around wherever you are right now and just try to figure out how all the stuff is working. Unless you are a like Captain Science or something like that. You're going to find it really taxing to figure out how everything works in the world around you and I think one of the things about objectivism which is where i'm. Trying to come at things from it's weird I'm like objectivist in terms of like if it works I'm going to use it and that's good enough for me and also a more metaphysical connection to an everlasting eternal and infinite source that is. Totally the opposite of objective. It's completely subjective. It's like a feeling that it's funny because it's either ah true or not true and so if I am making myself. Believe that it is true and it gives me a good feeling then I just kind of gave myself a little blessing basically and I think that's a lot of what religion is about It's like hey you know what it feels good that there is a wise fatherly figure who's not too hands on.

38:06.49

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

38:21.42

Max Shank

By the way, not an overbearing parent or father figure all powerful looking out for me. He loves me says so in the book. That's that's going to feel pretty nice I can totally understand what I would feel nice. Are you kidding.

38:33.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well you know, ah this brings up. Yeah well well I see a huge like a really beneficial place for religion. Um, you know when I look at when I look at you know people that are you know mainstream people.

38:38.37

Max Shank

About the boost in morale.

38:47.62

Max Shank

Fanatics. Oh.

38:51.95

mikebledsoe

Religion is a really great way to get them to behave like if somebody doesn't hasn't been through the questions and the logic and really sat with themselves and have an understanding of like ah of karma basically cause and effect how you know if I do this and I get this result. Most people have no idea that person is going to do really good going to church on Sunday and having the None commandments repeated to them and because the 10 commandments. It's kind of hard hard to argue with that shit like.

39:26.10

Max Shank

It's a bit outlandish really I mean no killing or coveting the neighbor's wife give me a break.

39:30.48

mikebledsoe

I think there was there was I think the one that don't covet your neighbor's wife is the only one that does not include an action that every the 9 commandments was don't do these things and then the last one was like.

39:47.64

Max Shank

Don't even want this.

39:49.67

mikebledsoe

Stamp out that desire like it was the it was the only one that was around desire. Everything else was about behavior so which is really really interesting that it that it that it was wrapped like that which I think is also really good advice. Ah you want to be miserable.

39:58.36

Max Shank

Um, it's like yeah, ah.

40:07.81

Max Shank

Just covet everything You don't have.

40:08.31

mikebledsoe

Like it. Yeah I mean just means to have envy you know to be jealous like it's like oh you know that dude's wife is hotter than mine I I think about her all the time talk about suffering you want to make yourself suffer.

40:21.16

Max Shank

How about the illusion. How about the illusion like that I mean you bring up a great point could talk about it all day. But I won't I mean look at what we do to fabricate a better illusion shiny sports cars glittery tits. We're doing the whole nine yards just to. We're so hyper audio visual. We're so hypervisual. It's insane and you know that.

40:46.44

mikebledsoe

I think 75% of your perception at least seventy five eighty percent on the yeah well the eyes are just an extension of your nervous system. It's just like your nerves have come out and it makes more sense. It makes sense.

40:53.42

Max Shank

Um, it's like.

41:00.69

Max Shank

Yeah, yeah, no I follow I Follow what you're ah what you're going at um I think it's interesting. A lot of people consume media now with the sound off and it's just visual isn't that interesting.

41:03.82

mikebledsoe

Now.

41:10.63

mikebledsoe

I Do I I I have everything set up to where I have to like purposely turn the sound on and and I hope if you don't have a caption on your video I'm I'm skipping right over because I don't want to interrupt I don't want to interrupt my music.

41:19.50

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

41:24.52

Max Shank

Um, oh shit game over that.

41:29.22

mikebledsoe

And got my music playing to my phone now I'm going to have some fucking Instagram real barin now get out of here. So I caption everything. Ah.

41:33.86

Max Shank

Totally totally totally. But I think that just goes to show that we we are. We're very one-dimensional and very heavily focused on the vision and this whole this whole thing. It's like we're not quite.

41:42.53

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

41:52.86

Max Shank

Um, full slaves to our primal ah lust and hunger which that's pretty fun. That's one good option but we're also not fully bought in to this enlightened state either. You know? So we're not we're not really ah enjoying the primal ah savageness and we're also not really in the egoless enviousless wrathless smoothness of ah you know, connected communication and communion. With other things and ah creatures in your universe which is your unique perspective. So. It's a but it's a real bummer to be between those 2 is that's like the worst place you don't really get the benefit of either None you know you're.

42:35.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah.

42:46.30

mikebledsoe

Ah, yeah.

42:49.76

Max Shank

Lizard Brain afraid all the time you're not really getting the you know the the lust and the hunger they're full due and you're not on the the wizard mode either sounds awful just bought in the illusion.

42:58.50

mikebledsoe

Terrible terrible. So ah, so so there there was this moment I had where I um I really got to have um, an appreciation for religion I was it was ah. 2018 I was in ah Paris France and I went to see Notre ah Notre Dame um and before it burned ah and I got to go I walked in.

43:22.62

Max Shank

Any.

43:33.80

Max Shank

Um I did too. It was awesome I might have been there in the same year I might have been there at like the same time is fucking weird. We were there on a date.

43:36.17

mikebledsoe

So cool. So I walked in I'm looking at oh oh weird. So they add all this these ah these these monk These monks had like these hats. You know you saw like the hats with the Jewels and.

43:50.57

Max Shank

Just kidding like.

43:55.44

mikebledsoe

And everything and are and I'm in there and I'm looking at the the cathedral from inside and I go and then I went and looked at the outside I was like man there is a lot of symbolism here and I was like this is super psychedelic like yeah, what I'm looking at.

44:08.63

Max Shank

Um, lot of fancy hats in religions too.

44:13.71

mikebledsoe

What I'm looking at is it looks very mystical and reminds me I remember looking at this one piece and I was like that's a fucking dmt trip right? there I'm gonna tell you right now I've I've been there and I and then I started seeing it everywhere I was like this is. These cathedrals in Europe are so psychedelic and so I'm in Notre domina and I'm like I'm like okay I'm getting a download here. Let's go home. Went back to the apartment I booked a tour.

44:32.94

Max Shank

Um.

44:45.59

mikebledsoe

For the next day I was like I need I need like a proper tour this me wandering around and by myself not going to cut it and so what do I do I drop acid before the tour because I'm a genius and ah. We signed up for a group tour but we were me and my ex-wife were the only 2 that signed up so we had a private tour while on Assad and we we got to go the guy was like I normally don't tell people about this because if there's catholics ah in the group they get really triggered.

45:06.25

Max Shank

Amazing.

45:20.80

mikebledsoe

Because there was so much of the symbolism on the church was taken from ah ancient Egypt and and basically every religion up to that point is represented in in Notre Dame um which makes it even more interesting than some of the other cathedrals. Yeah, it's.

45:34.90

Max Shank

See I didn't I didn't even know that that's awesome I checked it out but I did not get a tour I Certainly didn't get that.

45:40.33

mikebledsoe

Ah, there there is references in the architecture to ah the chakras 7 chakras it's very it to me. It was like very blatant but ah to someone who's.

45:48.49

Max Shank

So now.

45:54.34

Max Shank

Ah, neat. That's awesome. That's neat. No no, no, that's neat. No, that's really cool. This is neat.

45:59.19

mikebledsoe

Ah, he said 8 I was like but ah that is neat. So so i' go inside and I and I get to spend a couple I you know how long I spend because I'm on asset two or three hours with this tour guide and we're just jamming I'm like just pulling all the information out of him and I'm like I'm like well what do you think about this, he goes.

46:13.30

Max Shank

A.

46:18.69

mikebledsoe

Oh you're one of those I was like yeah man I don't care like like let's really go there So I got to go there with this guy and basically what I got the conclusion I came to is these monks are sitting in the church in a dark room and they're in there just chanting chanting for days.

46:19.83

Max Shank

Are in.

46:37.72

mikebledsoe

Chanting and chant they're getting into these psychedelic states they're doing it through chanting. Maybe they're drinking some wine and chanting and they're getting into this weird state and maybe there's some mushrooms in the wine who the fuck knows and they get these. They get all this information they get they get to have contact.

46:43.57

Max Shank

Yep.

46:56.58

mikebledsoe

With the divine this they have this mystical experience that they then get their experience truth in a way that you can't explain to somebody else. But once you have this experience. You go. You know we probably you know.

47:06.12

Max Shank

Oh.

47:13.26

mikebledsoe

Property rights is a thing and the cat back then the Catholic Church controlled property if you want to buy or sell you know your deed it was held with the Catholic Church and and Notre Damme was ah was it started being built I want to say in 808 or 900 somewhere there and wasn't finished until like well technically still not finished. But. I think it was ah like a none project so it was not a short project.

47:36.19

Max Shank

Um, the 151516 sounds right to me fifteen sixteen hundred I can't recall maybe as late as 17

47:43.49

mikebledsoe

Well I think they then I think they may have had like a finishing point but then they started up again and depending on who was who was who believed what at the time they would like tear down a statue and put a different statue up and all the shit. Yeah.

47:51.63

Max Shank

Rebuilding and building.

47:59.10

Max Shank

Funky right? I remember there were some cool statues and like gargoyles and devils on the outside and shut like that there. It was actually the outside was super hardcore I remember looking at that for a long time. There was a lot of angels and demons.

48:01.37

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, it's like like super hardcore.

48:14.38

mikebledsoe

And Mary with Mary with a torch surrounded by gargoyles and yeah, it's fucking wild and so um, so I I got thinking about it and I got to appreciate I go all these peasants outside they're giving them gifts because they come out.

48:15.38

Max Shank

Devils and freaky shit. Yeah, you know that would.

48:33.28

mikebledsoe

After days of chanting go I got the message I had a meeting with god I had this divine mystical experience and you know what Don not don't try to fuck your buddys wife you know, ah and you shouldn't steal shit and you know what I mean like.

48:49.10

Max Shank

Um.

48:52.30

mikebledsoe

All these rules were created by the church. Um, but they're not they weren't new but like there was other rules like they had you know the church was running shit back then they were really running shit until around the fifteen hundreds and so um, ah.

48:55.35

Max Shank

Um, well those aren't new ideas though at that point either.

49:03.78

Max Shank

Yeah.

49:11.68

mikebledsoe

I Really just got a big appreciation for religion at that point because I go well for me to expect for everybody to have had I've had a lot of mystical experiences. You know that the meeting with God has happened several times where.

49:23.44

Max Shank

Um.

49:29.44

mikebledsoe

I Go into this really deep state and things become very obvious and the behaviors that follow like oh yeah I should change this I shouldn't shouldn't behave like this anymore like this because I'm at a blindment with this other thing and so as like I'm just making myself miserable.

49:35.35

Max Shank

What.

49:47.91

mikebledsoe

So when I first had that experience I go everybody should have this experience and then after years of promoting people to have this experience I Realized a ah most people are not willing to have the experience. They're not. They're not even curious about it. It's not interesting to them and then B some people.

49:52.47

Max Shank

Um I.

50:02.82

Max Shank

And.

50:06.73

mikebledsoe

Become curious about it and they probably shouldn't have touched it because they don't they couldn't they they can't handle. There's they don't have enough like some type of mental construct in order to handle the the weight of that experience because you're going from 0 to 60

50:24.37

Max Shank

Um.

50:26.10

mikebledsoe

And ah and a split second with some of these things. Um, and so.

50:29.42

Max Shank

Yeah, it's way faster than chanting. It's like you can achieve kind of a similar experience with a lot of different things like you can get the runners high or you can just ah smoke a blunt or something like that you can chant for three days or you can just drop some acid.

50:41.10

mikebledsoe

Totally yeah.

50:47.13

Max Shank

And so we have all these shortcuts to get into that state and I think it's a connected and receptive state. It allows you to see past your own illusion I think it it temporarily depending on the dosage right.

51:03.32

mikebledsoe

Yep.

51:04.40

Max Shank

Temporarily takes away that tight grip on the um ego that you've built essentially as a suit of armor to survive the environment that you live in and we live in an environment where stories matter quite a lot I Mean. Like the the reality of how I am on a day-to-day. Basis is so different than from what you would find if you just searched for me on the internet. You would think that all I do is play Sports lift weights.

51:33.37

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

51:40.74

Max Shank

And dance in my backyard with my shirt off but I call it mobility instead of dancing and that would be That's like the whole thing. That's that's the illusion that's out there. So whatever. Whatever avatar you project out you you use it. Maybe not as armor maybe almost as like a scuba suit to enter the environment of society that we're in so it's natural that you would want to do that. You'd want to have armor plating you'd want to have these ah pretty colors on this avatar. So people really like it and maybe someone will even love you. If Your feathers are are pretty enough and so everything is just reinforcing these ideas but it's still coming from like a lizard brain type of desire and so it's no wonder that people are a little tangled up. Like in like a ah web of self and parents and teachers and fame and shame and blame and all these different things like that's why when you were like oh people are just children I'm like yeah they're like often abused children and abuse is like. It happens in so many different ways. It's like ah probably like 1 of the least popular things to talk about is rape but the only problem with rape is the lack of consent because nearly everybody is on board with sex and a lot of people from both genders like raping. Also. But that's like maybe even another. Ah, that's a different can of worms that I'm not not looking to unpack right now off the cuff because well look. It's um.

53:23.68

mikebledsoe

Why'd you even mention it.

53:29.53

Max Shank

People have their boundaries crossed in a lot of different ways and the the thing is it's that feeling of having your boundary crossed and so people feel um, abused or diminished or beaten down or taken from in a lot of different ways and so it's like. That idea that ah wherever you get wounded the bone grows back twice as strong like the calcification is like your personality from all these miniature traumas you've had and if someone's. Forcing you to do None thing or another they're still forcing you to do None thing or another and how you can harmonize that into the future is going to determine how you find the world and you know there are different levels of trauma. But if you're not willing to let it go. You are just going to go ah equal and opposite to that force basically right.

54:25.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

54:31.37

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, So I'm not Surprised. People are all all twisted up with identity and perception and I know personally I've found a lot of peace through trying to see things as they are. And it's not something that is like on off switch but it can happen really fast all at once. In fact, just for anyone listening. It's kind of an interesting thing in my experience. It's not a linear progress on this sort of. Thinking it All. It's like giant leaps forward and then a little plateau and then a giant leap forward and then a little Plateau I don't know what it's been like for you. But.

55:17.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it? um well the giant leaps forward or never yeah, they can be difficult. But yeah, it seems like seems like there's this giant leap forward then I got to stabilize the jump right? There's not a. So like oh I jump forward and everything's Great. It's like oh now because in those giant leaps especially if you have a shift in your own identity then everybody in your life. You're about to ah destroy their expectations of you. The stability is gone.

55:37.27

Max Shank

But.

55:49.48

Max Shank

Well, the Stability's gone right? The stability.

55:54.85

mikebledsoe

There's chaos it creates chaos and it creates chaos for your friends and your family because they can count on you to behave like this whether it's a good behavior or not and they're even looking to count on. They're counting on you to behave poorly and then all of a sudden you do something in order to be successful.

56:05.51

Max Shank

Right.

56:13.73

mikebledsoe

And they may even get mad at you about it. They like like I've I've had people in the past that were like mad that I was successful enough to where I didn't have to run my gym anymore they were like oh you're like leaving.

56:17.74

Max Shank

They'll definitely get mad at you about it. A lot of the time.

56:26.48

Max Shank

A.

56:30.18

mikebledsoe

Things behind you, you're you're changing and you're a different person like and they're mad about it I go Well yeah, that was isn't that the point like what do you think I was doing all this work for to stay the same.

56:34.66

Max Shank

Um, yeah, yeah, dude I remember that I remember the one that made me laugh The hardest um I fired this guy who worked for me because he was lying to me.

56:54.19

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

56:54.45

Max Shank

And if I can't trust someone. It's basically like see you later you know and 1 of the members at my gym texted me and said I can't believe you did this. You're really ruining my happiness.

57:05.62

mikebledsoe

Ah, you're in charge of their happiness. All of a sudden.

57:11.00

Max Shank

I just thought it was so funny. It was like anything different. This guy's like totally lost it and you know there are two sides to every story right? So there's no point in trying to have like an argument about its rightness or wrongness it. It just is what it is. It's like that Mark Twain quote how his. Taylor was the only reasonable person because he took his measurement new every time instead of measuring him against how he was in the past and dude absolutely like if you quit drinking I think that's ah one that a lot of people relate to you know.

57:34.38

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

57:45.54

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah.

57:48.86

Max Shank

Ah, used to be a bit of a party animal or just ah, a different type of party animal and as soon as you stop as soon as you stop doing that They're like what do? what are you doing? You're you're like ditching us. Oh you're too good for us or something I guess like no man like just doing a different thing.

57:51.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah I had the same thing quit drinking. Yeah.

58:03.26

mikebledsoe

Well it kind of sucks when you stop drinking because I had this experience I remember it was yeah it's like well 20 I remember it was like 2013 and i.

58:12.44

Max Shank

That's where our culture has fun for adults. That's like the place.

58:21.61

mikebledsoe

I had to actually cut back on drinking a little bit up to that point not completely I started smoking a little bit of weed when I was my and 2011 so I started smoking weed because I didn't like how I was behaving when I was on alcohol I was. Blacking out I was doing and saying stupid shit. Um I was around like my gym members. You know I'd be out at a bar with gym members. The next thing you know like like what what did I say last night I don't even know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, the next day is like.

58:52.55

Max Shank

Feeling of up.

58:57.14

mikebledsoe

I Just I don't know what I did but I got this feeling. It wasn't good. You know, ah and so I cut back the drink and I I discovered that weed if I smoked a little weed before I went out I would drink way less and then weed would make me way less aggressive.

58:59.53

Max Shank

Right.

59:14.18

mikebledsoe

So I could still be out I could still be sociable.

59:14.87

Max Shank

Um, oh you think Alcohol alcohol is like so crazy when you think about it that we're just like yeah whatever you can have it have as much as you want? whatever.

59:21.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but but I was using the weed to like offset the you know it calm me down and and then I would just drink less and because I was already kind of feeling it if I drink too much while being high that ah that. Wasn't fun I would I would hit it.

59:40.75

Max Shank

But it sounds like yeah I mean it sounds like you got to that point where you were ah using your intuition and getting curious about it instead of just writing the momentum of like oh it's Friday let's all get drunk because that's just what we do and I think a lot of folks.

59:52.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah now.

01:00:00.12

Max Shank

Maybe don't even like it that much. They just want to be liked so they'll do the thing that gets people to like them. You know, drinking can be a competition that you can win speaking of life as a game.

01:00:04.36

mikebledsoe

Well, it's.

01:00:12.87

Max Shank

As soon as I figured that out I was like hey I bet I could poison myself twice as fast as you motherfucker and that everyone's like yeah you did it.

01:00:19.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, if you ever win a drink game. It doesn't It's never as cool as you think it's gonna be and a lot of people need that liquid courage. You know like it's the only way they can. It's like ah well it's it's it's well they have to like D It's like.

01:00:34.52

Max Shank

Be sexual. It's the only way they can like let their guard down.

01:00:39.39

mikebledsoe

It detaches them from themselves enough to where they can just kind of let loose. But anyways I digress I um so in 2013 I started eating way more psychedelic mushrooms and then after my None big psychedelic mushroom experience.

01:00:44.50

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

01:00:56.66

mikebledsoe

I cut out alcohol a hundred percent I

01:01:00.40

Max Shank

Dude, we should do a series of shows on a different substance every week guys. We're gonna start it. Nice and simple coffee week. One is coffee nice and simple week two. We bring out a little booze week 3 weed week 4

01:01:03.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's not the None time I've heard this pitch.

01:01:12.40

mikebledsoe

I want to do it now I want to do it's a lead magnet. It's a lead magnet. We'll do 10 shows on 10 different substances and there's ah the lead magnet is that you can um you have to figure out which substance we were on. It's a mystery.

01:01:17.14

Max Shank

Okay, we're going to go in Spain.

01:01:31.10

mikebledsoe

During the show and if you can match it up successfully you get a prize. Yeah, you have to like you know label it. There's gonna be 10 shows 10 substances definitely social security number. Um yeah I think that's a great idea. So.

01:01:32.90

Max Shank

Um, and you only get None guess. You got to enter your social security number.

01:01:49.87

mikebledsoe

Started eating mushrooms and I cut out alcohol completely and I was the guy you know I owned the gym I was I had a a house with a big backyard at a pool and you know I I bought the house because it was a great place to entertain guests. So I'm throwing these parties I got a keg in the backyard like we're doing everything.

01:01:52.25

Max Shank

A.

01:02:08.74

mikebledsoe

I'm not drinking and it's not 1 those things where I'm like I'm trying not to drink is just like I really just don't give a fuck about having a drink at all like someone can hand me a beer and it's like 0 desire. Yeah.

01:02:09.43

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:02:20.10

Max Shank

But well you got something better something that that suits you better. That's what it's about right? It's like let's get intuitive about the different medicines that we're applying.

01:02:28.91

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and so I just remember this one afternoon I've got a bunch of people in my house were standing in a circle. Everyone's got a red solo cup in their hand I'm drinking water and I'm happy as a clam. And I probably smoked a little bit of weed. Um, but I kept on trying to have conversations that had way more depth than what I would have when I was on alcohol and I just remember people looking at me weird I Remember people getting uncomfortable and walking away and it was.

01:02:54.51

Max Shank

Or you can.

01:03:06.10

mikebledsoe

It was all of a sudden there was this barrier between me and the people who I had been getting drunk with for years and having a good time with and when I look back and I go oh I just wasn't meeting their expectation of who they believe Mike Bletzo to be. They didn't know what to do with me and in fact.

01:03:20.41

Max Shank

Inhale.

01:03:23.72

mikebledsoe

Probably didn't weren't that interested in talking to me because they were wanting to talk to a guy that was more like who I was behaving like and so.

01:03:31.56

Max Shank

And I mean your cells are all changing except for like neurons basically throughout your whole life. They're they're dividing and dying and dividing and dying. They're going through this process of death and rebirth and so.

01:03:38.33

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:03:50.75

Max Shank

If most of your cells are different seven years later wouldn't like you also be quite different seven years later and the fact of the matter is your brain and the pathways in your brain can change way way faster.

01:03:57.28

mikebledsoe

Absolutely.

01:04:10.50

mikebledsoe

Well yeah, the first was it in and exercise science I remember we were studying is like the majority of the results that people get in their performance in the first 12 weeks of training are due to new motor patterns new. It's your nervous system that's adapting. That's why you're that's why you got strong so fast.

01:04:10.32

Max Shank

Then like your bones and you.

01:04:29.88

mikebledsoe

After that now it has more to has less to do with the nervous system and more to do with the muscle mass or whatever other things that need to structurally change. But yeah, the nervous system can change really fast. Yeah.

01:04:40.79

Max Shank

Right? You're just using what you have better. You're just using what you have better when you get those neurological adapt changes adaptations. Yeah.

01:04:50.12

mikebledsoe

Thanks for putting in plain english.

01:04:55.94

Max Shank

Ah, fucking got me.

01:05:01.69

Max Shank

Um, and let's see we started with ah symbols and records and record keeping and now we're at the the record of your self which is in your Dna. Also we got your brain.

01:05:11.47

mikebledsoe

Yep.

01:05:19.45

Max Shank

Which is within your single life and then you got your Dna which is a long long very tightly bound record of all of the things that need direction for cell production.

01:05:34.99

mikebledsoe

That's ah, that's a great theory I think that that I think that's a a piece of it I've I've ah I've thought about this a bit the Dna thing yeah the Dna thing I think there's a lot we know about Dna I think that we can do a Dna test and we can find out our ancestry.

01:05:43.29

Max Shank

Um, tell me more tell me tell me more about it older we can match Dna we can match it. That's that's a good start.

01:05:52.85

mikebledsoe

Ah, figure out what part all that. But but here's a thing when they start looking at ah Dna of different ah species like humans have more their Dna has more in common with like some insect I forget which one it is.

01:06:05.58

Max Shank

E.

01:06:12.57

mikebledsoe

Then a fucking chimp and I look at that and I go we don't We don't know um wish I had it? Yeah please um there. Ah.

01:06:18.24

Max Shank

Um I don't know this one I'm going to fact, check this when the show's over.

01:06:31.44

mikebledsoe

Well I remember reading that story and I was like and people were like whoa. You know that's crazy I Go Yeah, that's crazy. It just tells me that we don't know nearly ah the amount that we think we know about what comprises who we are. Ah.

01:06:49.35

Max Shank

It's weird because we know almost nothing and we know a lot at the same time sometimes it's like the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It's like knowledge is knowing which Dna sequence is responsible for.

01:07:06.34

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:07:06.94

Max Shank

Sickle cell anemia. For example, like that's very, that's very consistent and repeatable so that would be something and be like oh yeah, that's that's pretty wild so there. That's how that basically happens right? and then there's also ah. Like way more that we don't understand about Dna I mean the way that it wraps itself up I think ah maybe Drew Barry Drew Barry is the Youtube channel you can watch like a little animation of. Dna moving around.

01:07:46.15

mikebledsoe

We're gonna be able to show that um I see animals that share human Dna sequences apes monkeys and humans um mice dogs chickens.

01:07:49.81

Max Shank

Oh man, Yeah, this is wild.

01:08:02.49

mikebledsoe

Ah, now it's just it's some article from some school. It wasn't very good information.

01:08:04.59

Max Shank

Does it show the different percentages because I'm guessing a chimp is more than a chicken.

01:08:13.61

Max Shank

But that's the record that's been kept basically that that's the record of how to direct resources I mean that's the record that's being played. That's the record that's being played.

01:08:18.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it is a record it is a record what my my my my thing is it's not in ah in the narrative. Well I would say.

01:08:31.24

Max Shank

No, that's the record that's being played in your body is your Dna is unzipping and rezipping itself up to make stuff.

01:08:37.50

mikebledsoe

Well I would just I would just say it's a record not the record I think there's way more. There's some shit we don't know.

01:08:43.40

Max Shank

Um, tell me more. There's like a little chip in my Pineil Gland or something like that like a calcium I don't know either.

01:08:51.19

mikebledsoe

Maybe I don't know I don't know what it is but I think it's I think it's a lot I think it's a lot safer like I think there's plenty of evidence and evidence to show that Dna There were so many things that they thought that would be solved by ah, sequencing the genome.

01:09:10.50

Max Shank

Oh.

01:09:10.85

mikebledsoe

And none of it came true and it's because it's it's I don't think it's telling as big of a story as they once thought it was going to be telling So I I think I think there's something Beyond Dna that is still yet to be discovered. That's going to. We're going to find plays a much bigger role.

01:09:18.79

Max Shank

Um, you know why.

01:09:28.81

Max Shank

Oh my gosh.

01:09:29.26

mikebledsoe

So I just like to hold that perspective because that's the perspective that keeps people looking and being curious versus saying that you know this is the this is the one and only true god.

01:09:35.68

Max Shank

E. Well here's how I would say it here's how I would say it is Dna is the ah program that's being run but there are a lot of factors that determine how your Dna is expressed how it's bound up. It's packaged whether we're going to copy this part of the code or that part of the code it changes based on how much sunlight you get it changes based on the different hormones that are working in your body I mean you have all of these different pieces playing together and so. To take back. Take it back to you know some semblance of objectivism. It's clear that the way you think the way you label things the way you um, retell tell and retail different experiences has an influence. On your physical body including the way your Dna is expressed so that's epigenetics right? So after you're already alive you have this relationship to your environment that's in a state of constant flux and your body. Just always like yeah we'll adapt to that we'll adapt it and it's happening so many times on such a small level that you can't really track it um, but just to keep it very practical. What you think is influencing ah the hormones it's influencing your digestion it's going to influence. How your Dna is expressed same thing with sunlight so there are all these external factors and what I'm getting to is from a practical standpoint you got to just start out with a few things that are really big boosters. You know things that very clearly. Lift you up to a higher state. Ah not necessarily drugs but it could be drugs that lifts you up to a higher state right? That's going to be what to that's going to be what determines your life. Basically.

01:11:41.72

mikebledsoe

Temporarily.

01:11:45.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, and I like to think about it and um, we have we have states and then we have stages and like states are things that we we visit like we may have like a state of consciousness. It's like oh that's temporary. Your state is changing.

01:11:57.57

Max Shank

Right.

01:12:04.38

mikebledsoe

All the time it changes if you if you breathe really shallow and fast versus breathing really deep and slow that's going to change your state Now that's going to make an impact on how you perceive things. Um up.

01:12:11.85

Max Shank

A.

01:12:17.94

Max Shank

And how should you breathe. How should how should you breathe I mean it's like nutrition. Ah you should never breathe through your mouth or you should breathe through your mouth every day as fast as possible. Yeah.

01:12:22.50

mikebledsoe

Right.

01:12:36.38

Max Shank

You should always breathe as slow as possible or you should never hold your breath and never strain your breath I mean I can I can follow. Ah, the logic of most of those recommendations and they totally contradict each other. So once again, no wonder things are confusing the superstitions are all over the map in terms of how we should eat how we should manage our finances how we should move how we should even fucking breathe so that. Is probably what makes that simplicity so attractive.

01:13:12.35

mikebledsoe

You just made me want to look up the etymology of superstition. So I feel like that's like a very accurate way of talking about we tomorrow superstition. Um.

01:13:28.30

Max Shank

Alternate definition language you're fucked you just hit the center. The first use of superstition was just called language. It's like the snake eating its own tail I don't know what you're going to think you're going to find.

01:13:30.95

mikebledsoe

And I say what.

01:13:40.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah was a ah.

01:13:45.12

Max Shank

I Means you you know Green Monkeys You know Green Monkeys have different calls for whether a hawk is coming or a tiger is coming and they will lie so that the other monkeys will look away so they can steal a banana.

01:13:59.56

mikebledsoe

A.

01:14:03.75

Max Shank

That's superstition hey look out. There's an eagle up there. Maybe that's not quite superstition.

01:14:06.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well. The definition here is an irrational belief that an object action or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences. Its outcome number None a belief practice or right irrationally maintained by ignorance of laws of nature or by faith and magic or chance. And None a fearful abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality man.

01:14:30.84

Max Shank

Kind of back to curses on that last's definition the first one ah is just like a skinner box. Um, they did a lot of and experiments with a skinner box. Bf Skinner was the guy's name and they put a button inside the box. And they put a little feed thing and the feed thing was not connected to the button. It was just on a timer but the pigeon I think builds an association with the button in the food. So. It's just fucking pecking this button nonstop because it has now. Ah. Has this superstition that if it hits the button the right way or enough times that the food will come out but it's just on a timer and then what's funny is this guy who did a show called mind field and he did a show called vsauce before on Youtube pretty huge channel actually he did the same thing with people. In a box and a dollar bill dispenser and it worked the same way. So so people are just like hitting this button that doesn't do anything and dollar bills are coming out on a timer and they're hitting it different ways and it's like man we think we're so different than these other animals and we are but we we are super different and we're.

01:15:42.89

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:15:49.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah the the use of the word superstitions I brought up I read this book a while back called most dangerous superstition or the most dangerous superstition by Larkin Rose

01:15:50.98

Max Shank

Like just the same. Yeah.

01:16:08.21

mikebledsoe

It's interesting because I won't tell people exactly what the superstition is but it's a easy read. It's like less than 100 pages and and it's it's good. It's good. It'll it'll change your thinking around some things. Ah, but.

01:16:14.78

Max Shank

You tease.

01:16:25.37

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's my my book recommendation of the day speaking of superstition. It'll it it demonstrates. Ah it demonstrates how deep a superstition can get into a culture to where people just think that that's the way it is.

01:16:27.40

Max Shank

On.

01:16:42.99

mikebledsoe

And he he takes this one superstition and he just surrounds it and then something that you believe is actually necessary at the end you may think is not really that necessary.

01:16:54.74

Max Shank

Yo, let's get back to what's truly necessary that's a cluster fucking and of itself I mean how about how about the concept of a weekend that's just made up. We made that shit up. There's there's lunar cycles that shit.

01:17:03.41

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, got yeah.

01:17:13.94

Max Shank

There's lunar cycles. There's solar cycles. There's days. There's years. There's months that shit makes sense a weekend a weekend. What the fuck is a weekend say we could look this up. But yeah.

01:17:17.70

mikebledsoe

Although the week is made up or the an entire week like once you once you get once you get down to like the lunar cycle then is the daily cycle I think it's just ah, some dudes got together and said you know we need to have. We need to split this twenty eight days after Twenty nine days up a little more ah huh yeah for working well and you know the the jews did it none with the the sabbath. You know you got one day off you, you don't do shit for one day

01:17:37.67

Max Shank

5 on 2 off 5 on 2 offs like for working. Basically.

01:17:53.58

Max Shank

Um, I also thought it was weird that the the word weak is the same as the word weak like the opposite of strong and on the weekend you will be weakened. Oh really? yeah I'm sure there is but I don't know if it's.

01:17:54.26

mikebledsoe

And then.

01:18:02.14

mikebledsoe

There's a whole Youtube video on this. You'll be weakened. She also goes into and in the morning. What what are you mourning.

01:18:14.14

Max Shank

Totally I've been saying happy day to people I've been saying happy day to people for a while now because I noticed.

01:18:15.22

mikebledsoe

Did you lose something Did you have a loss. There's a there's a group people that say Grand rising.

01:18:27.42

Max Shank

Heavy I like it. Wow that sounds way cooler. No question. Ah.

01:18:27.43

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, met with Grand rising instead of good morning. Yeah.

01:18:37.38

mikebledsoe

Ah, get some weird looks walk up the hotel Hotel desk Clerk Grand rising to you. Ah I think we should ah about that time to wrap it up. Ah.

01:18:42.65

Max Shank

Grand rising sounds like a Friday night type of Maneuver Grand rising um, yeah, why don't you why don't you let everybody know what the point of our conversation was today.

01:18:58.62

mikebledsoe

The point man to reduce the burden of your stories to to find the cure for your curses and to get more in touch with.

01:19:02.76

Max Shank

Are.

01:19:14.32

mikebledsoe

Reality even though none of us really have the opportunity to do that.

01:19:17.76

Max Shank

Um, thought we had some good stuff about intuitive accounting intuitive eating and intuitive movement and it kind of it kind of relates back to the superstitions thing that we closed out on so we have this idea. Ah, which is a beautiful concept of intuitive blank intuitive movement intuitive eating intuitive Accounting. Ah, but if you don't have that foundation ahead of time your intuition will just be very um, like easy easily Trickable. You'll be easy to trick and you're probably just writing the momentum of whatever superstition you were exposed to so whatever your environmental stimuli were you'll you'll just you know intuit on that. As opposed to building up that vocabulary and that also is going to make you feel more confident in what you do when you have ah when you can speak the language. You know that's kind of related to that concept of Fear. Really only being about the Unknown. So Um I think that actually works out pretty nicely. We have all these records Some of them are pure superstition. Some of them are observable and repeatable and that's really Cool. Um. But unless you get curious. You will probably just fall into superstition very very easily and yeah I think that's it the other the other part though is good.

01:21:00.21

mikebledsoe

I Like that if you're if you're not if you're not curious. You're susceptible to superstition. Yep.

01:21:08.65

Max Shank

And confirmation bias right? like both both of those are antithetical to curiosity and I I Really do think Man. Ah Curiosity is the way to um. Harmonize with the unknown in the future. It takes the future from something that you are afraid of to something that you are curious or perhaps even excited about and that relationship with the unknown is a big contributor to how someone ah participates. In the world. Be it A ride a game or a show or whatever. So um, you know we're full of superstitions get curious about it. We'll probably still die with a lot of superstitions that we still believe at the end of it all.

01:22:04.35

mikebledsoe

Except for max and I we're gonna be enlightened by the end. All y'all go check max out at http://maxschank.com and you can check out some of stuff I got going on over at http://thestrongcoach.com we got a summit coming up in.

01:22:05.17

Max Shank

But we'll do our best to get curious anyway.

01:22:10.96

Max Shank

Um.

01:22:24.10

mikebledsoe

Middle of September I recommend you come? Yeah, oh yeah, and oh yeah I got talk to you about that? Yeah there. Ya'll.

01:22:25.30

Max Shank

O Still got a few spots. Hu Ah, yeah, yeah, we'll talk later bye.

This week's episode is for courageous people only. The topics we discuss in it will challenge you as they touch on deep Truths that many would rather distract themselves from

If you're like most people, you'd rather distract and delude yourself from the actual Truth than you would face it and overcome it. As a result, you're likely living a reality that's a few degrees removed from True Reality…

…and in doing so, you're making things harder for yourself than they need to be as you cannot accept what "is" in order to resolve it and move past it

Listen in to this week's conversation as Josh Trent and I share personal experiences that have taken years to accept and work through, to Universal Laws and Truths that humanity is slowly waking up to

This episode is for courageous people only. The topics we discuss in it are going to challenge you deeply

Josh and I touch on deep Truths that many people would rather distract themselves from than face them, sit in the discomfort that may form, and learn the lesson to be learned from overcoming them

From sharing personal experiences that have taken years to accept + work through, overcoming sensations of guilt, shame, insecurities, and resentment to Universal Laws and Truths that humanity is slowly waking up to… 

…this episode has everything someone wanting more from their life could ever ask for

00:00.00

Max Shank

All right? Welcome back to Monday morning with max and Mike we're talking about launch pads. We're talking about ramps. We're talking about Trebuches. We're talking about flinging things a mighty distance this applies to both physics and also business That's what I'm excited about. I don't want to go out there and go fishing. You know one pole at a time I want to be able to deliver a tremendous payload at a great distance. You know what I mean and have it create a very massive effect. But in order to do that. You got to spend a lot more time with the building of it. It's like fishing pole pretty easy to build water wheel significantly harder to build but greater impact lot more work ahead of time and then you take it all the way to something like a rocket which can or a power plant. Can deliver a tremendous amount of power but it requires a huge amount of upfront work and because I've done a lot of biz coaching with people I feel like that that is the number None thing that. Separates people who create an exponential growth in their business is the ones who are willing to do the setup time to make something that is a more sophisticated leverage and force multiplier. You know what? I'm saying.

01:27.51

mikebledsoe

Yeah I Think the None thing you got to consider in that case is does what you want to build actually solve a problem and um I think a lot of people you know think I think a lot of people start businesses based on something they Like. Or something you know around what it is that they want to do which works sometimes because they figured out. They've solved some problem for themselves and they they can help other people through a product or service. Um, but I'm a big fan of of seeing if it's the right Poll. Before I go launch a hundred of them like I don't want to put the wrong bait on my hook I could be I could be catching the wrong fish or I could be catching no fish at All. So I would use one pole make.

02:16.13

Max Shank

I like I like the fishing analogy. The fishing analogy is good because people are about as smart as fish.

02:24.18

mikebledsoe

Ah, it's true. Ah so no, but like it's good to put figure out if if it you know test with one poll or maybe test with 20 polls all with different bait. What um, keeps popping off is now we're pulling the hooks out and we're replacing all them with that one Bait I think that. That's like the I've been thinking about the business as ah, especially like a coaching business as a triangle at the bottom you have you have your offer and then one of the sides is marketing and the other sides is the fulfillment. The coaching aspect. Find that most people and the way this would work is like what are you selling? How do you market it and then how do you fulfill on it whether it's a coaching business or not and.

03:12.98

Max Shank

Ah, right? How do you? How do you educate them about it and how do you get it to them. So like the bottom is what is it and then one side is how do you tell the right people about how do they know about it and then how do you get it to them I like it.

03:19.16

mikebledsoe

Right.

03:25.32

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly so but I find them I know you do triangles are the best sturdy pointed can penetrate well and super hard to tip over.

03:31.46

Max Shank

Also I like triangles.

03:36.87

Max Shank

So I mean they're not hexagons. But they're really cool.

03:44.95

mikebledsoe

Ah, so well depends on what kind of time go with oh let's hear it.

03:46.11

Max Shank

You know my favorite ah Buckminster Fuller joke he's ah he goes ah is well. It's more of a statement I guess he goes. Ah why do architects build square houses. So engineers can put triangles in them.

04:08.49

mikebledsoe

I I like it I like it. Yeah yeah, tons of triangles. Yeah, None of triangles. Yeah yeah, without that your shit's going to get fucked up. So um.

04:10.73

Max Shank

And if you you've done a bunch of house framing and stuff like that too before right? So you have these rectangle boxes that are just full of triangles. You better have those fuckers in there.

04:28.22

mikebledsoe

Well, it just won't even look right.

04:31.44

Max Shank

No oh it's going to go over without some triangles in there. Yeah.

04:32.86

mikebledsoe

Just kind of push it over Ah yeah, so I like thinking about this because I more often than not when I bump into an entrepreneur either a new entrepreneur or an entrepreneur suffering None times out of None It's the the bottom. Part of the pyramid. It's the offer. It's the it's the what they're selling. Um, yeah, yeah sand at the beach. Yeah, and so so somebody you know it's like somebody has these air things people think that it's a marketing problem.

04:55.12

Max Shank

Sand at the beach like why would you want to do that to yourself. Ah yeah.

05:10.66

mikebledsoe

And I'm like it's not a marketing like does anyone want what you're selling in the None place when it's not a marketing problem like your offers should be the thing you're offering should be an obvious solution if it's not obvious solution then there's more work to be done there. Um, some people in business would say that the development of the offer is a function of the marketing department. Which I don't necessarily disagree disagree with but so is the fulfillment. They kind of all bleed into each other. Yeah, So so if you so if you nail down a solid offer and then you just.

05:33.74

Max Shank

I Think marketing marketing is part of the offer for sure. Yeah.

05:49.30

mikebledsoe

Funnel as many people towards that that one offer not now you got a winning formula.

05:53.48

Max Shank

Well, and even even better. Is you you set up your shop within a current flow of consciousness directed at that specific thing and I mean Youtube has been a game changer in this because. There's just such a bigger library of things that are searchable if you have questions that need solving and if you if you meet people where they're at and you match their pace. They don't notice that you're a fisherman. Basically you just kind of enter the conversation that they're already having.

06:16.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

06:31.96

Max Shank

And the the finesse of that offer is really.. It's the same as seduction for the most part. That's why so many of these great copywriters were like pickup artist stuff before then because it's all about getting someone from I don't know. To yes, right? And so however, you craft that that story that is entering that person's mind is going to guide their next decisions.

07:02.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, what are we talking about toy forgot about our topic since you made it you may you you made it up. Ah oh yeah, oh.

07:09.95

Max Shank

Triangles we were talking about lot. No no, we were talking talking about launch pads launch pads rocket ships trebute none fishing from fishing poles to ah nuclear power plants. Ah we're we're just trying to eat and fuck right. That's really what it comes down to we want to make sure that we're safe. We want to get enough calories. We want to continue our genes we we insist that the genes get carried forward every animal and plant is like None sure about that part of the equation like definitely more of us and we just that's life baby more of us. Ah so it's all about energy. It's all about conserving calories. It's always it's also about um, expanding the mass.

07:49.71

mikebledsoe

That's life. Yeah I.

08:05.26

Max Shank

Of the tribe which is also like a stored energy kind of calorie thing. It's like ah it's like the size of the tribe is your energy bank and actually in dune they talk about how the tribe shares the water ah like everybody shares all the water and then if 1 guy dies they suck the water out and like it's all about.

08:07.27

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um. Yeah, about if.

08:23.63

mikebledsoe

Well, it's ah yeah I mean unless you have a tribe where half of the tribe ah is useless Now that's a drain on the energy.

08:24.97

Max Shank

Just ah pooling those re pooling those resources.

08:36.65

Max Shank

True but that has happened for a long time I mean we we ah well and it's and it's ah it's uncertain of what the utility is in some of those cases like ah, there's that grandmother idea where there's the wisdom that.

08:40.64

mikebledsoe

I Know that's why I bring it up.

08:56.24

Max Shank

Passed on like why would I'm not saying this to be crude, but like why would a lady stay alive and go through Menopause like why would they stop being able to bear children and maybe it's ah like physical. Ah. Power but I think ah that is only exhibited and I think like Orcas and elephants. There aren't that many creatures that go through Menopa and maybe chimps. Also I can't quite remember exactly but it's this idea that there's a ah huge value to.

09:25.88

mikebledsoe

Um.

09:33.55

Max Shank

Them teaching the next generation how to do stuff and with orca they have different hunting techniques based on where they live they have different languages between these different pods. So there's a utility that's not strictly. Ah, hunting gathering or procreating. But I know what you're talking about too. It's like the bigger the percentage of freeloaders are the heavier. The wagon gets and it's still and a simple energy equation right? If you have one ah hundred kilograms in the wagon and you have None guy pulling. It's. Totally fine. But if you suddenly have ten Thousand Kilograms unless it's very ah, good piece of machinery that None guy won't be able to move it.

10:15.94

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it feels like that's where we're at now. So a bunch of people are just jumping in the wagon and not pulling it. But I'm not yeah and um, while'm not blaming them I get it I get it. Well here's the thing. Ah if you lack if you lack.

10:25.46

Max Shank

Um, hard to blame hard to blame. Yeah yeah, who would very few wouldn't do that.

10:35.90

mikebledsoe

If you lack the skills to demand a certain amount of money I mean this is what happens we're in inflation right now and but like.

10:42.82

Max Shank

Oh God here we go again. It's all it's all just about show me a better offer. That's what it's about because if so to be a freeloader to be a freeloader. It's got to be a better offer than the other thing that you are thinking about doing.

10:48.50

mikebledsoe

It. It's It's exactly right.

10:55.85

mikebledsoe

Exactly always goes back to incentives with you as well. But the thing is what we have is ah the cost of living is outpacing salaries. So it's not like people's salaries are inflating at the same rate that that's historically.

11:00.75

Max Shank

Totally.

11:14.28

mikebledsoe

Been untrue. So like what is true is that the salary state. You know you'll get a 1% raise and you get your dopamine hit and you stick with it but inflation is 10% and so your lifestyle keeps decreasing the people at the top get more money and then so I think a lot of people are just like.

11:15.00

Max Shank

Right? ah.

11:29.48

Max Shank

Right? Well if.

11:34.22

mikebledsoe

Why I can't pay my bills at Fifteen Twenty dollars an hour I can't pay my bills so why work you know it's so I get it.

11:38.50

Max Shank

Right? right? Don't totally I there's like ah a Bob Newhart joke from like a really long time ago where he talks about working at the ah unemployment office and. He it didn't take him too long before he realized that he was handing out these $60 checks and he was only getting fifty bucks a week and he had to he had to be there all week I mean this has been going on for a long time and the thing that has increased people's quality of life has been technology and maybe quality of life is actually a stretch because I think that you can perhaps live a much higher quality of life with some lower tech.

12:26.57

mikebledsoe

Well ah, technology technology allows us to leverage its leverage to increase power. So if you put the if you put power in somebody's hand who's going to make choices that don't take them towards a higher quality of life. They're actually going to go to a lower quality life.

12:29.52

Max Shank

Even though you know there are people you know what I mean exactly more leverage.

12:45.88

mikebledsoe

Much faster and because there's dopamine that's associated with the tool the technology the dopamine will create the illusion that their lifestyle is improving because now they got a fancier phone or whatever the fuck or more people like their their photo today.

13:01.21

Max Shank

Um, well they're using that tool but they're just using it at a very like low level way.

13:05.46

mikebledsoe

Ah, and so so like they think they think that having the tool They think that having the tool is the increase in quality of life when it's the thing that can increase the quality of life exactly.

13:20.52

Max Shank

It's not the tool. It's what you do with it. That's what like all like every every girl I've ever met has always said that to me, it's not about the tool itself. It's what you do with it. But.

13:26.56

mikebledsoe

Um, and making you feel better. How the yeah so that's it's not the size of your tool max.

13:33.14

Max Shank

Ah, yeah I don't know I don't know why I Assume it's ah like this with everybody. That's what I've been told I've been told that so much so much I Wonder if it is though if they're just saying that like. I Just meet all of the most considerate ladies ever. Is there a common denominator here that I haven't considered who so so we're talking we're we're we're talking.

13:54.66

mikebledsoe

Ah, oh he's going into reflection folks. Ah, we'll see him back in a week absolutely

14:05.93

Max Shank

We're talking money though. Also right and the size of your wallet is way more important than the size of your genitals fellows for the record fat guys with tiny cocks fat old guys with tiny cocks are out there right now with the most beautiful women in the world If that's your if that's your thing.

14:11.11

mikebledsoe

When it when it comes to getting getting and having ladies.

14:23.98

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

14:25.19

Max Shank

You know Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the truth is how you do professionally and how you ah carry yourself is going to be way more important and that kind of leads us back to the launch pads. It's this. It's the same kind of thing. Can you defer the gratification.

14:33.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, you know I um.

14:43.72

Max Shank

To build what is necessary so that it has its its own momentum without you pushing it all the time and I think that's what what everybody wants or at least everybody I think maybe should want is something that.

15:00.25

mikebledsoe

Yeah, there's um, man see if I can find it real quick. Nope Um I was thinking about the ah the myth of it takes money to make money. There's like that that famous phrase.

15:00.60

Max Shank

Can sustain itself.

15:16.61

mikebledsoe

It's a meme that floats around in in our culture and it's It's not true. It's ah you need resources to make money and money is also a byproduct of using those resources well and ah you are your primary resources.

15:16.79

Max Shank

Um, yeah.

15:36.53

mikebledsoe

Um, are basically your ability to observe critically think and problem solve and most people I bring that up because I don't want people to get stuck in the way of thinking that oh I need to have money before I can make money because I think a lot of people. Or or in that mentality by that's exactly right? It's exactly right? So I think that there are certain common phrases out there that are almost intended to keep people from being successful and that's one of them.

15:56.89

Max Shank

I Need to lose some weight before I join the gym.

16:09.15

Max Shank

Oh almost or certainly I mean there's mind control everywhere um depends how deep you want to go down that rabbit hole. But even just ah like let's say regular Tv especially as a dude.

16:12.46

mikebledsoe

Most certainly? yeah yeah.

16:27.99

Max Shank

It's like how many Tv shows have you seen in your life where the father was a powerful figure with a good set of values and a good. It's ah it's never that it's like some whiny bitch. It's like some whiny bitch like.

16:39.83

mikebledsoe

Not since the early sixty s.

16:47.15

Max Shank

Who's always like oh can we have sex wife and the wife never wants to and the guy always does and in reality and in reality in reality. It's like as soon as you get to that age. It's the exact fucking opposite. Are you kidding me like None 50 year old ah in a couple.

16:50.10

mikebledsoe

That is interesting I never thought about that.

17:06.69

Max Shank

It's not going to be the guy who's like scrounging for it all the time he's done. It's just it's just a funny ah example where it's not just the commercials. It's just it's not like those rap videos and all that stuff That's ah mind controlling us. It's even um.

17:09.82

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

17:26.61

Max Shank

Like a Tv show where that's your model that you see and believe and now you think oh that's normal. Not this other thing and whatever you think is normal. That's what you're going to like reinforce.

17:32.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah I've thought I've thought about this is I remember the first movie I went and saw in a theater I was five years old I don't remember seeing it but my mom told me that the first movie I saw was bambi and.

17:49.51

Max Shank

Ah.

17:51.43

mikebledsoe

And like I remember growing up and hunting and then people were like oh but you're going to kill bambi you know and I and I was always like well yeah I mean and I think that ah Disney movies are probably primarily responsible for veganism. At this point.

17:58.67

Max Shank

If yeah.

18:09.57

Max Shank

What whoa somebody saved that clip Jesus What a claim is off the wall I Love it go on.

18:09.76

mikebledsoe

Is and.

18:13.35

mikebledsoe

Well but it's well I mean so if we're talking about mind control and programming how many Disney films have talking animals that have the consciousness of human beings right? And so now what you have is a bunch of adults that think that the animals. Are equal to humans and there's nothing different about the 2 of us and they're people too and these are the types of things that you would most people would never be able to come to that conclusion unless they were None None 3 4 5 none watching animals talk and. This and that I'm not saying that animals don't think and don't have feelings and all that stuff but they're not us.

18:57.89

Max Shank

I think the main difference is the talking thing I was thinking about this the other day like for example, it's okay, in some cultures to to eat ah a dog right? and and here it's totally okay to eat a pig. And right now that's fine. But if you were to have sex with a pig people would I think that's illegal I think it's ah or at least frowned upon if it's not illegal if it's not illegal. It's at least frowned upon in today's day and age it's because there are a lot of bigoted people out there who are discriminating against the yeah.

19:22.57

mikebledsoe

I Think it's too legal.

19:36.84

Max Shank

Beastie Alllet Tours I don't know whatever now picture this tomorrow tomorrow. You know what really grinds my gears is that Ah now imagine tomorrow Switch flipped pigs can speak english.

19:38.39

mikebledsoe

Got a bone to pick max. Um.

19:52.54

mikebledsoe

Ah.

19:56.22

Max Shank

My guess is that the rules would exactly flip I think if pigs could speak English It would be perfectly legit to have sex with them and not okay to eat them anymore I think it's all about whether they can communicate.

20:08.35

mikebledsoe

Well that that falls right in line with the Disney thing if you're witness lobsters having conversations with squirrels then you know like I can see what could happen for you anyways.

20:23.13

Max Shank

Which one was the lobsters and the squirrels.

20:27.16

mikebledsoe

Yeah I was mixing up my movies. So the back to the triangles and fishing poles the the max and I were talking about right before the show is we we would like to put together something. People are listening to this show. They like it I've gotten a few dms of people offering to send us money which we still haven't set up the donation page yet, but it'll get up eventually and um, watch should be None of those things where.

21:00.56

Max Shank

Please please I'm hungry Please I'm hungry I'll eat I'll eat food.

21:02.10

mikebledsoe

Thousands of dollars start rolling in and I'm like ah I should have set this up max is he's he's losing weight a pound a week right now he's gonna be nothing here by by Christmas and.

21:18.89

Max Shank

I'm going on a food strike until those donations start rolling in. There's no way I'm doing that. Ah, okay, so we got the triangle We got the offer.

21:22.57

mikebledsoe

No, ah so ah so I'm curious I'm curious about what it is that people people want I'm always curious about what is it that people want. Yeah oh well, a I look both.

21:36.60

Max Shank

Our listeners or or all people. Okay I'll tell you what they want it goes back to um my my 3 levels theory here lizard mammal wizard people.

21:41.99

mikebledsoe

Both So okay, let's go.

21:56.32

Max Shank

In Lizard mode. They just want to be safe. They just want food. That's it. They're stuck and if you don't get out of that lizard Brain Mode. You're fucking lizard and you might thrash Around. You might have some sharp fangs and claws. But you're not going to fuck around with love or self-actualization which are the. Higher orders of thinking right? you go to the None tier which is the Mammalian brain the mammal wants to be loved So the lizard wants to be safe. The mammal wants to be loved and of course people will try to substitute ah food for love if they can't find it. At that level. So Let's just go back a step and so if people can get love I'm just always shoveling ice cream trying to fill the void in my heart with frozen cream out of a cow. Ah I Love it. Okay, so.

22:36.72

mikebledsoe

This explains your ice cream habit.

22:54.55

Max Shank

You get love as a mammal.. That's what you want and if you can go even beyond that your Self-actualization. You're following your Bliss. You're finding the intersection between doing what you feel totally blissed out doing you're in a flow state and it's good for the tribe. And you're safe. All that stuff is happening. You feel like you are expressing your most authentic or unfiltered self that feels good and of course in order to get to that point you usually need to be safe so secure The lizard Love the mammal. Free The Wizard. That's what people want and the form it takes can be different. Um you know sex and food and whatnot.

23:39.39

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's what they that's what people want they want they want safety love and after that it's yeah, um, be their best self.

23:48.30

Max Shank

Self self actualization legacy. Maybe yeah.

23:53.72

mikebledsoe

Find a lot of people hit self-actualization and want to help other people get the self- actualualization but don't There's not enough people. It's like we've had ah we've hit a tipping point or like ah we've slid back in society a bit good correct. Yeah enough people. There's not enough people that are.

24:03.22

Max Shank

What do you mean? there aren't enough people who are trying to self-actualize or.

24:13.44

mikebledsoe

At that point I think with the last couple years. Ah people slid back into survival and so a lot of a lot of the ah lot of people stopped spending money on things that were more in alignment with self-actualization and started.

24:15.61

Max Shank

Ah, yeah, oh yeah, yeah.

24:31.61

mikebledsoe

Buying more toilet paper now now we're in a depression.

24:32.70

Max Shank

Word totally and it's interesting. How the word so closely mirrors the way that people feel when they're um, less Expressive. I Really hone in on that juxtaposition or that comparison between um, shoot I Just lost my train of thought depression expression. Yeah, exactly so being able to fully express yourself like I have a little note Card. It's just a.

24:53.33

mikebledsoe

A.

24:58.85

mikebledsoe

Depression expression.

25:09.97

Max Shank

A small list. It's in ah, a copy of the doubtaging. It's like pocketsized and I realized a while ago for business for fitness the the list of of stuff should be pretty short overall like the general list that you follow through on and for me, it's like. Have sing I have dance I have climb I have swing like a sword or a rope or something like that. So I Just have these like little bullet points. Basically for what I want to do on a daily basis and the more I sing and dance the more expressive I feel and the less. Feel like filtered or damped down and the word expression itself is all about standing out. So It's like to stand and to be like expressed and it's um, it's important to harmonize that I think with.

25:50.59

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

26:07.40

Max Shank

A feeling of oneness So like the exact opposite of expressing this expressing this unique ah sensation of an individual self and sync back in to the all-encompassing soup.

26:20.92

mikebledsoe

Yeah, it can be done takes practice hold both. Um.

26:27.51

Max Shank

Oh yeah, you were talking about how we're in a depression now and I don't know if it's that far yet. It's not ah I'm like.

26:35.24

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, there's there's more jobs available than there are people willing to work the jobs and.

26:42.56

Max Shank

Now that that sounds like Greece a few years ago where it was like 50 I don't know if there's exact statistics but it was like just an overwhelming amount of people who were working in the government and an overwhelming amount of people who were just getting paid by the government and there was like nobody left who wanted to work.

26:57.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well there I think it's just this. Ah this is one of those and this is just one of those times where you're.

27:02.23

Max Shank

And I get it.

27:09.65

mikebledsoe

In in business you have to be really good at having that solid offer you actually need to be solving a problem because I think yeah luxury items luxury services be the first to go.

27:18.50

Max Shank

The less necessary. It is the sooner. It goes gone depending on the demographic. Yeah, and then it almost never changes for them.

27:28.50

mikebledsoe

Um, unless unless you're serving the 1% and never changes well people.

27:36.40

Max Shank

It's more individual changes. It's like ah individuals slide in and out of the 1% but as a group the 1% is always there. They're always super wealthy and it always has been since alpha males.

27:44.64

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, in fact, even during it during it during a downturn. They become even more wealthy and that's.

27:52.55

Max Shank

Yeah, because they have the dry powder to be able to build rocket ships while you're just fishing furiously in the stream with your one pole because you're like fuck I I need to catch None fish today to feed my family I ain't got time to be building a fucking water wheel or a rocket ship or any of that. So you're just furiously swinging your pole in the water and what about him.

28:12.36

mikebledsoe

This makes me think about ah Jeff Bezos talk about a guy talk about a guy who like set the plan in place. He may not have known he was gonna do what he's doing now but he was a online bookstore.

28:23.60

Max Shank

Did. Amazing! amazing.

28:29.75

mikebledsoe

That just slowly added more and more categories of shit to sell and now oh no, they they probably dwarf any other retail. There's no retailer that stands a chance against them. So.

28:36.26

Max Shank

Here.

28:45.27

Max Shank

Um, they're so there's they have such incredible economies of scale because they can provide such a crazy value now right? They have that bulk.

28:52.97

mikebledsoe

Well I think I point that out because I think people think about scale before they think about solving the 1 problem he solved the 1 problem which is you can't find a book at your local bookstore right? once he once he crushed that then he had the ability to to scale. Both.

29:00.25

Max Shank

I see. Right.

29:12.87

mikebledsoe

Vertically and horizontally.

29:14.64

Max Shank

Yeah I mean I remember him saying once people never want something to arrive slower. They never want it to be more expensive and he's like we just basically focus on that and it's not quite like Youtube. Um, but he's connected the buyers and the sellers in a marketplace he is the marketplace and he's got such a huge market share and the delivery. So actually one of the sides of the triangle you were talking about which is the delivery.

29:37.87

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um.

29:53.11

Max Shank

Of that offer or that good or service to the person is I mean what's better. What's better. You can get it same day. You can get it 2 day for free and usually it's a pretty seamless process to return that shit like you go into a coles you fuck. They.

29:56.77

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the feature.

30:11.78

Max Shank

You print out a label 1 ne-click ordering I mean there's a lot of utility there and it's all software based for the most part that's what's so great because we know that's outrageous leverage and of course Youtube has created um, created a marketplace. Right? A media marketplace where the creators like you and I and the advertisers also like you and I but usually different things can ah basically work together to use that flow of consciousness. So. It's really, a.

30:43.30

mikebledsoe

Yeah Youtube Google Facebook Instagram yeah.

30:48.56

Max Shank

Oh my god Youtube is such a home run. That's like the most insane I'm so hot on Youtube as a user and as a creator because like the videos I've put up five plus years ago are still getting lots of views and those views a small.

31:01.50

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

31:07.84

Max Shank

Percentage converts into people who buy something from me and they're just there they're they're there like I don't even have to pay to have those things there like speaking of you don't need ah money to make money. Of course it's better to have more. It's easier to make money when you have a lot.

31:14.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, um.

31:25.63

Max Shank

Like that's always been the case you know so.

31:26.60

mikebledsoe

Yeah I want to go back to that the Amazon you're talking about people don't want things never want anything slower um in ah Alex hormose's hundred million dollar offers book which is one of the best books on offers I've ever read. Um, if if you're a coach. It's probably the. Like it. It very fits our industry but he talks about getting the 2 things that make something more valuable is speed and effort so less effort faster. An example that he uses in the book is. Why will so why would somebody spend $20000 on liposuction but have a hard time spending a couple thousand dollars on a trainer even though like it's obvious to everyone listening why you wouldn't want to get liposuction. But why can they charge that amount of money and there's.

32:20.79

Max Shank

The speed and the ease.

32:22.67

mikebledsoe

No, yeah, there's no um, shortage of people getting their fat rearranged by a surgeon. So.

32:31.97

Max Shank

Well, it's like a different value system for that individual right? So they think their time is valuable. They don't think that um the cost of having their body sliced open is too high right.

32:47.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

32:50.25

Max Shank

And they think and they believe the cost of exercising for a long time is is too high So simple cost right? It's simple cost benefit and when we talk about cost um calories in time are almost synonymous right? because without calories you're dead.

32:54.63

mikebledsoe

It's too expensive.

33:07.83

Max Shank

But you could also think of time as the resource and actually it's a little more practical to think of it that way like how many hours per day you can invest you have a fixed amount Yada Yada and then you have dollars and as far as. Investing is concerned mean your your stuff and your time is basically all you got right.

33:31.11

mikebledsoe

Yeah, so two things I've been thinking about in regard to offers recently I've been asking myself None questions. The none question entered my mind. Um as I was talking to a buddy who's in the cosmetics industry and he found. He found a product that if he walked into a room 80% of the women wanted his product and that got me thinking I go wow what is a product that if I walked in a room more than half the room would want it. So.

34:07.38

Max Shank

Just start hanging out with me. But um.

34:10.20

mikebledsoe

That's right, that's right? Ah, but there's there are certain products. Um you know, 80% of the people are using toilet paper 80% of the people drink water you know at least um at least 80% but yeah so like ah.

34:18.16

Max Shank

Wait only 80% do the ah I mean I guess some people use the wet wipes but like in America at least a lot of people wipe their ass with their hands.

34:29.50

mikebledsoe

Learnings We got bad days and wet wet wipes. Yeah in hand. Yeah yeah.

34:35.80

Max Shank

Also that yeah and hand for talking global. It's better to just focus on North America or America for the sake of these conversations right? That's where our audience is.

34:47.50

mikebledsoe

Most of them I think we had someone listening from Chad someone from Chad was listening yesterday I'll show you the stats. Yeah so Chad um the ah so I was thinking about like what is what is it that.

34:51.27

Max Shank

I apologize to all of our audience in Sudan fucking from from Chad no way that's funny. Ah.

35:06.49

mikebledsoe

That almost everybody wants to have and then and then a couple months ago I started asking myself the question of like how would I add a zero to every time I sell something how would I how do I make it 10 times more valuable. So.

35:22.97

Max Shank

Oh.

35:24.76

mikebledsoe

Some people may hear that and go how do I make it 10 times more expensive. No 10 times more valuable at least so valuable that someone had to have it so those are like 2 thought experiments I've had around offers I think that you know.

35:38.73

Max Shank

You have.

35:42.60

mikebledsoe

1 is what's the total addressable market. So how many people out there want or need yours and also looking at how many people are offering the same exact thing that also impacts the total addressable market. So if you can offer something that's truly unique. Your marketing doesn't even have to be that good that truly solves a problem.

35:51.67

Max Shank

9

36:01.49

mikebledsoe

And ah, a lot of people want it. It doesn't have to be that great and then um I think it's also much easier to create good marketing when you have that really special unique offer. Um and then also the thought experiment. I really like to do is the the 10 x how do I make this None times more valuable. What would what would that product or service look like for those people or what are those people spending that much money on. So if I go okay, what do people spend none on the majority of the market that spends that kind of money.

36:31.00

Max Shank

Oh.

36:39.37

mikebledsoe

Usually a home wine. Yeah so ah anyways, and then and then the other experiment too is what would your? what would your offer look like if it was a None of the price.

36:40.35

Max Shank

Wine.

36:47.13

Max Shank

Individual bottles.

36:55.47

Max Shank

Yeah I like the decimal. The decimal imagination is pretty good across the board for any of those like can we get it 10 times faster to them. Can we get the results 10 times faster can we make the experience last 10 times as long, you know all that.

36:56.65

mikebledsoe

What could you deliver.

37:11.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, um, yeah.

37:14.78

Max Shank

Is ah it's a clean visualization for some reason it it expands way more than thinking of doubling it I mean of course mathematically.

37:19.44

mikebledsoe

Well doubling doesn't work doubling doubling doesn't work because people I believe that people's minds will start gravitating towards working twice as hard. It's It's a lot easier to work twice as hard that if I say.

37:32.10

Max Shank

Oh here.

37:38.36

mikebledsoe

the the 10 x thinking is a governor on how much work you can do because you can't work 10 times more than you're already working I mean unless you're only working an hour a da hour then then you could shut up max. But then.

37:46.62

Max Shank

Yeah I mean I could.

37:54.70

Max Shank

Ah, hey this is work is my work for the day.

37:55.57

mikebledsoe

But then um, yeah, there you go? Ah so so the 10 x thinking really does force people into a high leverage way of thinking. It's a higher order of thinking.

38:05.42

Max Shank

I agree. You also said something that I was just talking about yesterday which is huge is you don't want to identify with suffering I mean you can if you want to but I feel like it is a major inhibitor in the results you get. Because instead of your ah result being proportional to the result itself your your metric is how much you suffered and the ratio of how much you suffered to what you produced and I think that um holds a lot of people in a.

38:38.16

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

38:44.92

Max Shank

Really diminished state because the the value that they were taught either implicitly or explicitly is that suffering is the value. Not the value is the value and hey that's fucked and I'm sorry if that's you ah. But you can change your mind if you want to.

39:06.58

mikebledsoe

Ah, you're you're spot on. Yeah there there was a period of time where I didn't yeah.

39:13.72

Max Shank

That's what I learned I mean full disclosure. That's what I learned like if you suffer more you're more good and the reality is ah like that's kind of true historically like when we tell stories if a guy suffers a lot. We're like man that Martyr was a real badass. He got. Drawn and quartered for what he believed in or this guy got crucified for what he believed in I mean crazy right? So you don't want to identify with suffering. It's way it's way more It's kind of a ah weird selfish thing.

39:34.23

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, wild.

39:49.29

Max Shank

And if you really focus on solving a problem for somebody else. You'll recognize that your suffering is totally irrelevant except for the fact that if you suffer more you'll probably be able to produce less. So so.

40:00.32

mikebledsoe

Yeah, the um ah in my in my trainings a lot of times I have students they do a journaling about how about the the collapse distinction of sacrifice and service and.

40:16.62

Max Shank

Oh shit. That's a good one I hope you have that written down. It's nice. 1

40:19.67

mikebledsoe

Yeah, So there's yeah, there's there's this it happens a lot with people with military Backgrounds Blue Colar Backgrounds I mean such as max and I come come from these types of backgrounds and the idea is that. Sacrifices and service are like intermingled constantly in the language. So as you're getting older because here's the thing we learn definitions of words through context we don't sit Down. We weren't taught each word and sat down and. Go Oh Let's look at the dictionary so we learn everything through context and so unconsciously a lot of us when when people hear about service their mind automatically translate that to be associated with sacrifice as Well. And so.

41:12.82

Max Shank

Get right.

41:14.92

mikebledsoe

What ends up happening I see this a lot with mothers is if they like they they can't enjoy themselves because the moment they start enjoying themselves. They're not being a good mom. Yeah, exactly exactly So this.

41:18.34

Max Shank

Oh yeah, the Sufferin mama.

41:27.80

Max Shank

They're a bad mom. You're a bad mom. What are you fucking enjoying yourself bad mom.

41:34.74

mikebledsoe

This idea So I have everyone journal out you know, ah the definition of each go look it up just go look it out and write it down now. Can you have service without sacrifice. Can you have sacrifice without service. Yes, on both. So.

41:40.86

Max Shank

M.

41:50.24

Max Shank

Depends on how you define sacrifice 1 of the definitions I think for sacrifice is just ah like what are you? What are you paying right? I'm sacrificing this in exchange for this. So it really depends on the.

41:53.71

mikebledsoe

Um.

41:57.89

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well my friend Jesse just yeah well Jesse Elder defined the sacrifice is that you the difference between sacrificing and investing is.

42:07.32

Max Shank

The definition. So what you said is right? You just have to have it there.

42:16.53

mikebledsoe

A lot of times people use the word sacrifice when they're talking about giving up something now for something greater later and that's yeah and that's technically an investment. Not a sacrifice sacrifice is when you give up something for a lesser value. So that's.

42:21.74

Max Shank

Like in a chess game when you do a sacrifice for a gambit.

42:35.33

mikebledsoe

That's a distinction that he's created that I that I find to be really useful that may not necessarily be true, but it's a really useful way to think possible. What.

42:39.58

Max Shank

Um, you know I don't even know if it's possible to sacrifice something for a lesser value because in that moment you are making a value estimation. On what you're going to get out of this behavior. So I think you are always ah basically gambling. Um, it kind of is similar to yeah I think I mean people always do what they think is going to get them.

43:04.90

mikebledsoe

Ah, sometimes people know that they're gonna I don't know it's hard to say I. Well, let's get out.

43:15.94

Max Shank

The the most for the least if we want it if we want to simplify it down people want the most for the least and sometimes what they give up is not worth as much as what they got is like my friend Rob says is the fucking you're getting worth the fucking. You're getting.

43:32.52

mikebledsoe

Um, or going like this. Yeah.

43:33.84

Max Shank

Ah, ah what you made me think of you. What me? what you made me think of though um was why I think ah tolerance is the worst thing in the world I think being able to I think.

43:48.85

mikebledsoe

Dude you live in California you're supposed to be tolerant of everything everybody all the time you you should have a flat flat set of values. Everything should be the same value all the time.

43:52.76

Max Shank

No okay so go go ahead and lump lump me in lump me in with tens of millions of people in a sweeping generalization because I'm such a normal such ah because I'm such a normal fucking dude in the None place right.

44:02.66

mikebledsoe

I Just did I.

44:11.11

mikebledsoe

Ah.

44:12.38

Max Shank

Jesus fucking Christ so being able to tolerate physical forces. That's good. That's athletic, right? But when people tolerate something. Ah let's say psychologically or relationship. Wise it's ah it's one of the worst things you can do because you're not what you should do is you should reject it or you should accept it and I think people make the mistake of they tolerate. Which is like they're being wounded constantly and they build this resentment from this little barbed wound so you should either accept it fully or reject it but you should never tolerate never tolerate behavior you don't want accept it. Let it go or reject that shit.

45:02.91

mikebledsoe

Ooh.

45:07.80

Max Shank

Don't fucking tolerate. It's the work tolerant. You heard it here first. Tolerance is the worst thing for a relationship. That's what's up.

45:13.70

mikebledsoe

I Love it I Love it. You're right I like the acceptance or reject it. Tolerance tolerance is like I don't want to make a choice I don't want to. It's a lack of responsibility in the context your.

45:25.60

Max Shank

Um, yeah, no, it's even worse. It is a choice. It is a choice I'm gonna I'm gonna watch I'm gonna watch this thing that a person does and I'm not gonna like it and I'm gonna Harbor resentment because of it.

45:32.42

mikebledsoe

Well, every non-choice is a choice.

45:45.00

Max Shank

And it's going to feel like and it's going to feel like a perpetual cost is's going to feel like ah, a perpetual suffering. It's going to feel like a sacrifice. That's what made me think of it is like you're you're you're now in a psychological energetic debt because you are tolerating instead of accepting.

45:51.37

mikebledsoe

Ah.

46:02.80

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah.

46:04.66

Max Shank

And it's like that French phrase to know all is to forgive all like you know full acceptance is going to allow that energy to flow full rejection is going to allow you to flow your energy elsewhere but Tolerance is just this like parasitic energy leakage where nobody's winning. Out of that Deal. Tolerance sucks.

46:24.55

mikebledsoe

I Really I Really like that perspective. That's that's brand new for me I'm gonna write some things down. But I think that's just gonna be the title of the show is tolerant sucks.

46:41.64

Max Shank

I knew I stumbled onto something good here. This is a new thing for me too. It's when within the last week some headline shit. Yeah.

46:42.95

mikebledsoe

Yeah, some headline shit. Oh yeah, yeah, what did you? What did you? What caused you to stumble across this one. What we got you thinking on this. Do you remember you might be like me, you just wake up and you're like ah.

46:55.54

Max Shank

So my my my special lit I mean I'm kind of like Richard Feynman in that sense where like I just get a kick out of thinking about things I like to dance around with sticks and ropes and clubs and swords and that kind of shit. But.

47:06.10

mikebledsoe

Ah.

47:14.72

Max Shank

I also get a real kick out of just sitting in a big comfy chair and thinking about shit you know, but this time ah I was talking with my special lady friend. None of her friends. Ah, just recently broke up with her boyfriend right? And so. She went to go console this friend. She told me a little bit about what's going on nothing like no grizzly details or anything like that just in um, you know generalities. How do you interact and relate to another person and. You realize that it's ah it's rarely something like all at once that sends it to hell there is a straw that breaks the Camel's back but there's always something in the background that is being tolerated. That's the problem is like something has been tolerated instead of accepted or rejected. Accepted boom floodgates are open rejected boom the gates are closed and so as far as like ascribing fault to None party or the other like the the alleged offender or the one who's just quietly suffering those offenses. It's like. You got to take away that resentful tolerance and accept everything whole heart as it is or you got to reject it a little bit more forcefully and the longer those boundaries get ah, blurred and fuzzy and. You move your boundaries in and you feel resentment because now you're not really comfortable because your boundaries aren't where you'd like them to be um, it. It just seems so clear to me now even looking back at all my past relationships and I've never felt better about that. Personally because you just learn something from everybody and you appreciate the time for what it was and it's it's very easy to become ah resentful and I think that's ah all because of tolerance instead of acceptance or rejection.

49:21.30

mikebledsoe

Love it. Love it. Thank you for that one all right? What's have do with ah fishing poles. Yep.

49:24.63

Max Shank

And yeah, man, Thank you, You want to know so people often ah resent their circumstances and they tolerate their circumstances but they don't fully accept them either. And that's like having a big chip on your shoulder. Ah and and you're stuck in this ideology rather than just accepting where where you are here and now and realizing that what you have is here and now and whatever you have. That's what the fuck you have. And if you're like but that other guy has more. It's like Okay, yeah, yeah, he does so like a thousand years ago. The guy who had.

50:08.62

mikebledsoe

What are you gonna do about it anytime anyone complains about something I ask them? What are you gonna do about it and a lot of time that throws people off.

50:19.83

Max Shank

Um, well look. You should either be ah like asking for help or offering help Really if you're not sure what to do like ask for help or offer help You're not going to get anywhere.

50:29.63

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

50:35.87

Max Shank

By complaining unless you go into politics then you can get a tremendous amount you can actually get more power and money than anyone else in the world If you just come That's professional level complaining.

50:43.67

mikebledsoe

Could you imagine if if ah could you imagine? ah like ah a Ceo going out in the world and complaining for his marketing just going out there and complaining about shit.

50:59.28

Max Shank

Ah, Amazing. You can only complain as part of your marketing If. You're complaining about the state of the market I Can't believe how horrible this market is. That's why I came in here to change the game with my new and improved version of what this market is lacking like there's a., There's ah, there's a place for it for sure. But yeah I I think ah, you don't want to tolerate your situation you fucking accept it or you reject it and you come up with a new one. But I think I Really think Tolerance is like ah a really bad value. Ah, in the sense that we're talking about and in the sense of physical forces. It's one of the best ever means you can tolerate a huge amount of force without ah deform ah plastic deformation right? without breaking or deforming. So That's that's a good thing physically and then energetically acceptance not tolerance but acceptance so I think that applies to where people are in their lives. Professionally I think Also I think a lot about. A lot of acceptance is about seeing things for what they truly are and when it comes to putting an offer together. It's like it's great if you like something but it doesn't mean that other people have to like it and the same thing is true for like a solution that worked for you. It. It may not be the solution that everybody else wants and I think that's ah, that's how a lot of people get sucked into some sort of weird fanaticism or zealotry I'm trying to think of a less fancy word but they get they get really hyper about something. Because it really worked well for them and then they start basically using a hammer to bash down every screw that they find because they don't know the difference in what is being presented in that other person versus what happened to them. They're like oh my God I did hamstring curls and it cured my life. Everyone's doing hamstring curls and I've I've attended maybe 50 weekend seminars in my life. No. Well I mean as a student I've taught like 200 but I I would ah I would notice it in myself. I'd go to a seminar I'd come back and I would just be like parroting that shit I couldn't help it you know and as I started teaching more seminars I made more and more of a point to remind people to not just like brain dump.

53:31.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

53:46.65

Max Shank

Everything I told them on their new clients and think that you know it's a 1 ne-size fits all approach to everything.

53:50.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah I had a ah talk with a guy the other day where I told him just that in his marketing is focus on the benefits. Not the features. He had all these features it was revolutionary for him.

54:05.10

Max Shank

Revolutionary Revolutionary Revolutionary The features just need to be a bullet point to justify the price I think unless it's part of the story.

54:08.55

mikebledsoe

But it's well this is this is the problem. Well None problem is people are focused on the people people know the features and they think that if I they tell other people the features they're going to get the value of it but they need to hear the benefit they're going to get from the features. But the other thing is is going back to being in touch with reality I'm not sure. There's you know I think there's some coaches out there that are telling other coaches that you know they can make a million dollars you know following their their bliss type of thing. But.

54:45.90

Max Shank

Some of them some of them. Yeah.

54:47.64

mikebledsoe

Some of them some of them can and I think part of it is like some of them did and then they turn around tell people do the same thing but that doesn't always work. So for instance, yeah.

54:56.64

Max Shank

It's like multi-level marketing. It's like multi-level marketing like 90% of the people. Ah, it didn't have what it takes in the none place and did nothing with it and then a small percentage are like fucking rock stars and they're like. What is this an electric dildo some fancy antioxidant berry juice I'll sell None of them this month I'm on it. You know what? I mean it doesn't it doesn't matter even what it is. There's just that crew that will always do well. But.

55:14.20

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. But I get for instance I'll get a I'll get a coach as I'm like um I'm like okay, what are your goals. Oh I want to be able to make x amount of dollars. I was like okay your business needs to make this amount if you want to take this amount home and there and then it's kind of like a oh shit and I'm like okay who's your who's your client like what type people are you serving is like well mma fighters in their early twenty s trying to go pro.

55:32.25

Max Shank

Well.

55:50.50

mikebledsoe

And I go Well do those guys have money. Do they have and and do they valueate? Yeah I mean and well I think most guys trying to go pro and mate don't have money I I.

55:54.28

Max Shank

Do they want this I mean a lot of them may have money but do they want it.

56:05.48

Max Shank

My experience is the same I used to want to train those guys like my gym at the very beginning because I was into all that shit I was like a fucking retarded testosterone out 21 year old when I started my gym I was I was fighting in the cage.

56:08.46

mikebledsoe

Okay, yeah.

56:25.37

Max Shank

Was like I am a tough motherfucker and I'm gonna fill this gym full of guys just like me and you know what those guys didn't pay a God damn thing those guys suck Those guys are those guys are always about like.

56:30.30

mikebledsoe

Yep.

56:39.51

Max Shank

Ah, dude I'll tweet you bro and I'm like oh Jesus fucking. It didn't take long for me to head down to the country clubs and swoop up some of the 45 to 65 range there are easier businesses and hard businesses. Let's just say it that way.

56:41.49

mikebledsoe

I'm great people.

56:46.79

mikebledsoe

Exactly exactly? Yeah, so like what I.

56:59.15

Max Shank

There are easier businesses. There are things that people already want and there are things that are a tough sell.

57:01.69

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well here here's the thing I I do 2 things for free. So I get.? Yeah yeah I did 2 things I have 2 offers for free that I give people and both of them tap into my expertise that I normally get paid for or at least used to get paid for and I am he ruined it as.

57:11.61

Max Shank

I'm excited by whatever these 2 things are going to be by the way. Ah.

57:25.76

Max Shank

Is it prostate massage is that one of them. Sorry.

57:31.23

mikebledsoe

Um, so I give these things away and I and I love it because I don't charge a dime for it whereas a bunch of other people are trying to figure out how to charge what I'm doing when I'm offering for free and the only reason I can offer it for free is because I have. Paying customers somewhere else people that actually do have money.

57:50.81

Max Shank

Oh shit, he's flexing on y'all right now I give away better stuff for free may maybe better. You don't always get what you pay for, but it's because you are so confident.

57:57.60

mikebledsoe

Well not yeah, probably but like maybe better you don't always get me pay for it.

58:08.12

Max Shank

In your ecosystem right? that you have created that once they experience something you've given them for free. You got None of value down the road right? no.

58:15.17

mikebledsoe

Well well here's the thing is thinking about like um, well yeah, maybe but actually I don't have a plan for it at all with the 2 things I like I have no plan for either None of these things to ever make money and these are. But types of thing people want to help people who it's charity. That's not really it's not it's not really charity um oh no, what? what? I give away for free is I do a Tuesday night workout for a handful of my buddies at my house.

58:32.25

Max Shank

Um, so it's so it's marketing. No fuck you. It's not char you it's marketing a free book is great marketing.

58:48.71

Max Shank

Oh that's nice. Yeah, that sounds great.

58:51.82

mikebledsoe

Right? And then we grill some meat afterwards and we kick it and they get world-class training. You know most of them never been exposed to like a coach that's been exposed to things I've been exposed to so they're getting their minds blown. They're learning more about their bodies for an hour once a week and.

59:09.18

Max Shank

I dig it.

59:10.76

mikebledsoe

I and I never care to train pay you know accept money for for physical training. So I do that So I give that away for free and then I give away which I give that to people who don't know that they could get training right? like they don't even know to go get it but because.

59:25.58

Max Shank

Right.

59:29.20

mikebledsoe

My friends I'm like come over to my house I'll I'll I'll treat you and then on Thursday mornings I have I meet with these guys who are blue collar and these guys could can't afford me for for the types of of advice and. Coaching that I would give but if they can figure out a way to make time out of their day at None a m on Thursdays I meet with them at the park. We kick it for an hour and I just help them with whatever it is. That's going on in their life. Well I just kept on coming across all these guys so like ah it was like I was getting like all these blue collar guys like.

59:59.36

Max Shank

No kidding How do you set this one up.

01:00:08.40

mikebledsoe

I'd be at a cafe student just couldn't stop talking to me so I was like I Well I guess I'm not supposed to work' going to supposed to talk to this guy. So I talked to this guy I'm like oh you start sharing his problems with me is like I don't know why I all a sudden look like a a target for other people's problems. But then.

01:00:16.86

Max Shank

Ah.

01:00:26.97

mikebledsoe

I Got a guy that came to saw saw me solar and you know the the conversation turned and he needed some help so I was able to give him some help and then another guy I met ah you know at the at the gym same thing like you know he's he's. Somehow what opens up to me and starts talking and then so I got these guys and I'm like look if you have any of your other friends that you know and some of these guys are dealing. You know they're dealing with some heavy like legal stuff and all sorts of crazy shit and so I'm meeting with them and. For most of them the benefit they get is just understanding that whatever they're experiencing internally other guys are experiencing that same thing internally too. I mean that that by itself is just so healing because most of these guys they screwed up something we Well we all screwed up.

01:01:14.37

Max Shank

Ah. Lost Boys their lost boys.

01:01:23.26

mikebledsoe

We we all screw up in our life. Yeah, we all screw up in our life At some point right? and then we then we judge our s ourselves for having screwed up and most guys they just clam up and never share that with anybody because they think that their situation is truly unique.

01:01:33.28

Max Shank

Often. Talk about suppressing right? I mean who suppresses more than dudes with their feelings. Ah.

01:01:41.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, So um, so just just the act of getting out and hanging out and talking about it and then realizing that other dudes have the same problems and then and then I'll obviously also offering strategies for dealing with. These things. Yeah, so these are 2 things that I like to I just do for for free that I know other people are trying to charge for and if you're trying to sell coaching to somebody that doesn't have money like I don't have any interest in trying to sell something.

01:02:02.70

Max Shank

It's like a feeling of a community. It sounds like.

01:02:18.38

mikebledsoe

To the blue collar I'm not gonna go sell coaching to the blue collar community one. They're not really looking for it. Um, and ah because they don't know it exists. They just don't even know it exists. Yeah.

01:02:22.90

Max Shank

But now.

01:02:31.73

Max Shank

You're talking about using the right bait for the right fish basically and the fact that not everything has to be ah, a monetary exchange because my guess is you get a tremendous amount out of these experiences every week otherwise you would not do them.

01:02:38.25

mikebledsoe

Not everything.

01:02:44.47

mikebledsoe

I Absolutely so but the only reason I can do them is because I am using the right bait with the right fish somewhere else that feeds me it pays my bills it.

01:02:53.96

Max Shank

Exactly you got a crew of guys out on a fleet of boats. They're catching fish you're shooting the breeze with the guy at the diner and if you don't free up your time. Ah, you're always stuck with the pole.

01:03:02.32

mikebledsoe

Exactly.

01:03:11.21

Max Shank

In the River You don't have a chance to tell other guys about fishing. You don't have a chance to just relax on the beach yourself. Um, yeah, that's a really interesting way to use our resources right? It's like you're using your resources to get something that.

01:03:29.84

mikebledsoe

Yeah, well, ah, there's ah this this actually happens in like a lot of the the medicine world like I learned about this from Ashley she's psychotherapist and they have this thing called a sliding scale. So you know they may charge.

01:03:31.12

Max Shank

Ah, you can't purchase.

01:03:49.28

mikebledsoe

Two hundred bucks, two hundred and fifty three hundred bucks an hour as as a psychotherapist to their clients. But if someone comes in There's a certain number of spots they have allotted that they're allowed to go down in a sliding scalells like you know I'm only in charge you a hundred bucks because I know you can't afford it in this and that and I look at it I go man. Ah, sliding scale is too narrow I want a sliding scale where I'm charging this person $3000 per hour and then I'm giving this person the thing for twenty bucks an hour or five bucks an hour or free ends.

01:04:20.22

Max Shank

Well, that just means you're good at drawing a boundary of what you feel comfortable with my my thing is people pay full price. Ah for what I'm doing or they pay nothing and I I I like that I like that idea better.

01:04:31.70

mikebledsoe

Yeah, that's that's pretty much I don't I don't do discounts either. You know.

01:04:39.83

Max Shank

Because um, when I was when I was coming up when I was just a young book coming up I was ah you know started out coaching people for burritos. So not a very high rate of pay per hour and then over time it went up. Fifty bucks an hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour sixty buck hour an hour hundred two hundred three hundred an hou hou hour undred two hundred three hundred an hou hour um but I had grandfathered a few people in and I didn't and I did it too long I tolerated that shit because I thought I was doing them a solid and so I was training people at three hundred an hour and then I was training.

01:05:08.19

mikebledsoe

So yeah, yeah.

01:05:18.26

Max Shank

Ah, a couple guys. One guy was training it 60 and the other guy was training at 150 and I just remember I just remember being like ah I just had to draw the boundary 1 time and that's that's the ah the aftershock.

01:05:25.98

mikebledsoe

It's 20% and yeah.

01:05:37.92

Max Shank

That the other person experiences because I didn't draw boundaries soon enough. It's the same as in a relationship they were like whoa. Oh my god from 60 to 300 I was like yeah, it's like my bad because I was stupid and thought like to not raise your rates the whole way. So now you're 10 times more upset.

01:05:54.96

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:05:55.82

Max Shank

Because I tolerated and avoided it for so long and then also I'm not feeling good about those sessions where I'm making sixty bucks where the other ones I'm making 300 now now I feel like a charity case. It's like I almost subliminally want to do a worse job.

01:06:05.88

mikebledsoe

It's hard to walk away feeling good.

01:06:11.93

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:06:14.40

Max Shank

So it's more appropriate value like I want to like fucking abuse him or something you know what I mean like like if he's only paying sixty bucks but if I like hit him with a stick or something like I'll I don't know whatever it's like I think ah you know people probably beat their wives.

01:06:17.91

mikebledsoe

Ah, maybe I should be paying my trainer more Maybe that's what's happening.

01:06:29.36

mikebledsoe

You get a little resentment you start resenting them a little bit. Yeah husbands. Yeah.

01:06:34.21

Max Shank

People probably beat their wives for the same reason or beat their spouses or say mean things to each other I don't know it. It does seem like it always comes back to that clear setting of boundaries fucking accept it fully or reject it but don't tolerate it. Don't tolerate it.

01:06:42.43

mikebledsoe

Boy how did you? Ah, how do you have? How do you have that conversation.

01:06:51.37

Max Shank

How do you have it. You just got to have it. There's no easy way. Um, there's no easy way to have it. Oh um, I'll tell you exactly what is because I want them to like me.

01:06:54.48

mikebledsoe

Ah, but how do you do it? Not I know there's no easy way. Yeah yeah I mean it you know why? it's not easy by the way people people. Yeah well, there's that but there's there's like well there's.

01:07:10.29

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:07:12.17

mikebledsoe

We we play out the worst case scenarios in our minds before the conversations I find that the conversations are rarely are as bad as what I think they might be so it's all the time leading up to the conversation is that suffering The conversation itself is actually not that bad.

01:07:14.25

Max Shank

Now they hate me.

01:07:24.40

Max Shank

Totally well and if you're more and it's like more geared toward looking out for the negatives most high performing guys usually are Anyway, they're looking out.

01:07:30.41

mikebledsoe

Totally.

01:07:36.97

Max Shank

What are my weaknesses. What's the worst case scenario I got to look out for and you just play this probability tree in your head like you've probably and folks listening like played out different ways. A conversation could go before you go have it right.

01:07:47.20

mikebledsoe

Totally it almost never goes the way I think it will like I'll I'll I'll like these are the 5 different scenarios and then the sixth one that I didn't think it pops up.

01:07:50.95

Max Shank

You're like okay maybe there's like a 20% chance this will happen 40% chance this.

01:08:01.80

Max Shank

It almost always goes the way I think it will I'm not just trying to like bullshit either like ah probably because I think about it too much too much. Ah, but yeah.

01:08:07.57

mikebledsoe

Maybe maybe I find that whether I thought through it or not really doesn't matter about the outcome you know? yeah.

01:08:20.57

Max Shank

I think that's typically the case also that I would agree with um, at any rate it's it's the same. It's like I made a mistake I ah I'm charging this much now you're the only one you and None other person are the only people paying this. I don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. So this is the new rate if you want to continue great if you don't also great. Ah, no, not those not those None other others did ah just like the.

01:08:39.64

mikebledsoe

Did they stay.

01:08:47.62

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, the the gap wasn't so big.

01:08:53.53

Max Shank

Late I mean between 60 and like a couple hundred is ah a gargantuan amount that person ended up that person ended up paying a None and working with another coach so he still stayed with the gym but he like yeah um.

01:08:57.70

mikebledsoe

That's a big jump. Totally Okay, that's even Better. You probably still took home the same amount without having do any of the work.

01:09:10.97

Max Shank

Yeah, is way better. Um, ah, but once again like I'm I'm in a lucky place because I coach people because I I like to not because I I have to and when you have to it feels like you're less able.

01:09:18.70

mikebledsoe

Bright new.

01:09:27.77

Max Shank

To say what's really on your mind and draw those boundaries you're like fuck I I want to draw I Want to set good boundaries but I need the fucking burrito like exactly um, same same thing with having ah resources available time money which is.

01:09:32.46

mikebledsoe

Right? right? hungry None

01:09:46.96

Max Shank

Ah, claim check on other people's time. Basically I don't know if you ever heard that term I Love that concept. Um, you know when things go a little bit haywire like they have in the world. Economically if you have resources available. That's the time to capitalize because ah.

01:09:47.94

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:10:06.71

Max Shank

Basically who whoever needs does not have the power and whoever does not need has the power in any kind of.

01:10:12.95

mikebledsoe

True Dad Well when he I also want point out like when you say resources. It's not just money I think that in what what we're time well time as part of it but like the the ability to to ah perspective and how you're perceiving the situation.

01:10:20.12

Max Shank

Time time money effort energy.

01:10:32.81

mikebledsoe

Is Also really huge because in times like these one of the things that's happening is there's a massive shift right? The way I see it is We did a really good job of fighting to keep things the same for like 20 years. It's like okay, it's the same. It's the same. It's same I can expect this I can expect this I go to work I Do this kind of job. Expect expect expect and then we ran out of like the we we weren't able to hold the floodgates back any longer of change which the universe is just always delivering change and so more change happens.

01:11:03.21

Max Shank

4

01:11:09.82

mikebledsoe

More quickly than what we're used to which which looks bleak but the reality is is that we have a huge opportunity in those moments and if you can stay out of that lizard brain take some deep breaths realize and look around and say. Okay,, there's still a roof over my head I still got my iphone in my pocket and I got enough money for groceries. Maybe not all the groceries that I want to get but some of them so like okay all right? Well you're safe take a breath. Nobody's taking that away from you and what can you create? Can you.? Can you? Um, what problems are emerging in which you can participate in a solution and so there are there are and everything is at a discount right now too. So if if you're if you're right.

01:12:04.72

Max Shank

I Feel like I'm at the blue collar meeting now.

01:12:09.12

mikebledsoe

Ah, everything's at a discount So like um for somebody who has a resource of a big bank account. They can come in and swoop up and bite real estate crypto stocks everything everything's at a discount right now Commodities every.

01:12:24.74

Max Shank

Penny pennies on the dollar pennies on the dollar. Ah.

01:12:28.41

mikebledsoe

Well not all commodities. But um, a lot of things are a discount right now and they're going to get swooped up now if you don't have the bank account to swoop up and get these things then you have you have to use your mind and you have to use your time and your energy and your.

01:12:42.35

Max Shank

Energy reserves.

01:12:47.41

mikebledsoe

Problem solve the number None thing I want to point out is problem solving skills. What problem can you solve for other people because the more you can do that because what we have is we have an increase in problems right now. But it's not the same problems that we had two years ago so you got to change the type of work that you do if you really want to capitalize. On what's happening right now.

01:13:09.48

Max Shank

It's like who moved my cheese. You know that little management book. Ah, it's great is who moved my cheese is basically like.

01:13:10.26

mikebledsoe

Now.

01:13:20.13

Max Shank

If you lament that the cheese got moved. You're going to fuck yourself up. But if you just keep looking for where the cheese went off to you're going to find it a lot better. Okay, so like you you find the reward somewhere.

01:13:25.43

mikebledsoe

Hang on. Oh yeah, okay, an exits.

01:13:33.80

Max Shank

And then you go back the next day and it's gone. You're like what the fuck who moved my cheese and then you go on this tirade Meanwhile the other mouse is just like continuing to look for the cheese. So it's really about um so there's resource allocation which is how you use what you got and then there is resource.

01:13:39.65

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:13:53.58

Max Shank

Acquisition which is what can you? How can you trade that what can you trade for that. Um, and I would say that as far as resource allocation is concerned man if you were even like 50% efficient with your resources. You'd be very rich.

01:13:55.72

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:14:11.24

mikebledsoe

Most people.

01:14:12.27

Max Shank

Like you be fucking crazy rich. You don't have to do that much. You just got to do something that people really want and the more swings you take the more likely you are to figure something out but don't get um, don't get stuck in like None idea and think like oh that. This should work forever. Then you're the last guy selling horse and buggies in a street full of cars and you're fucked. You're like who moved who took away all the horses. What's going on here. My carriage business is fucked and it's like no, you got to adapt adaptability. So chief attribute of survival.

01:14:49.78

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, ah and this brings me back to feedback loops people are blind to feedback loops and that's why they wait too long to change and so one of the things I like to do with people is we create a ninety day dashboard where we're tracking.

01:14:50.44

Max Shank

Adaptability Change I mean that's that's it.

01:15:07.24

mikebledsoe

The work that we're doing over the next ninety days to take us specifically towards our goals and I just had a I mean going back and forth with one of my clients this morning where he he's like he's like why I have all this stuff that I've been doing but it's this other thing that's actually creating the result and he's like complaining they're like. Ah, he's like he's like I'm not sure this program is working I'm like this is a demonstration of the program working but you have figured out what doesn't move the needle and you figured out what does move the needle so on your on your ninety day dashboard

01:15:33.45

Max Shank

Hey.

01:15:40.67

Max Shank

Right.

01:15:45.73

mikebledsoe

Just take off all the shit. That's not working that's taking up your time and energy and put this stuff in that is working and do that instead and so the idea of planning out ninety days at a time and then doing the work and then getting the feedback if you've never done that the none time you do it. You're going to realize that 80% of the work you do is useless and then you you revise it in the next ninety days it gets a little better in the next ninety days it gets a little better and that's why I like to work with people for at least a year is because we get through 4 revisions. Or you know one None initial and None revisions of their ninety day ninety days of work at a time and within a year you've made 3 revisions. It looks pretty good. You got a good handle on what moves the needle but a lot of times you know.

01:16:34.82

Max Shank

You got to do your own experiments. You got to do your own experiments and you can't get attached to doing it one way or another what you said before was really good too. It's like you have ah why do people take so long to change it's because ah. It's unknown people prefer the familiar pain to the unknown, a lot of the time and that's why if you're afraid ah which is uncertainty about the future. Um in ah in a negative sense then the solution is curiosity which is. Ah, a happy uncertainty so fear is like a scary uncertainty and curiosity is like a happy uncertainty so you basically um, you know as a coach as a marketer as a fisherman you're basically trying to instill people. With that level of enthusiasm which is like a fire which is like inspiration There's a sense of excitement about the future I mean you can also just full on like scaretactic people into buying ah bulk food barrels and shit like that. But but but but even so you can get them. Curious and excited about how safe you could feel if you had 15 years of food in your cellar or some shit like that I don't know but ah basically you have the fear and the curiosity which is all about the future and then the past you have like resentment and nostalgia.

01:17:53.89

mikebledsoe

FF.

01:18:08.88

Max Shank

And nostalgia is kind of like a weird trap. It's nice. Ah, but actually I think um appreciation is a little bit better Nostalgia is almost like the past is better appreciation.

01:18:21.17

mikebledsoe

So yeah, you're wishing when I think about nostalgia is like I think about a good old day I remember I played that football and.

01:18:27.85

Max Shank

The good old days the good old days I remember I score 3 touchdowns in the single half it at that a has schoolll football game and ah Mvp ah fuck that head cheerleader and now I got a baby bubba junior. Yeah.

01:18:38.92

mikebledsoe

Ah, the.

01:18:46.39

mikebledsoe

I Hope I want to I hope everyone appreciates our range so takes a really special person to have made it this far.

01:18:46.80

Max Shank

That that is like the classic move.

01:18:57.71

Max Shank

Ah, it sure does I feel like there should be a special prize to anyone who who listens to this long.

01:19:03.60

mikebledsoe

Ah, if you're listening just let me know I I think the special prize is just is just me knowing that you made it here. That's really yeah.

01:19:14.60

Max Shank

Yeah, let us know what you want for a prize I mean we're good at drawing boundaries. So we'll tell you no but I mean maybe we'll say yes, no ask no get. That's what I have noticed.

01:19:19.75

mikebledsoe

We might say yes, yeah, here's the thing max and I want to give you something. We just don't know what it is. We don't know what you want and we don't know if we're willing to give it to you but you know yeah shit load.

01:19:32.96

Max Shank

That's fact, we're willing to give quite a lot I mean there are a lot of win-win opportunities out there. So I think one of the things that you and I ah definitely have a talent for is more result with less effort and building. Ah, launch ramp or a water wheel or a rocket ship or something that will really ah deliver a lot of results per the amount of energy put in and um, physically business wise too. I certainly enjoy doing that it feels pretty simple and straightforward. But that's probably just something about having like 15 years of experience with it. Yeah.

01:20:18.60

mikebledsoe

That helps you're 15 years in

01:20:25.41

Max Shank

Ah, into like training itself I'm ah like almost 17 but I didn't start well I started doing like free ebooks like about fifteen years ago like I I I took. Ah.

01:20:27.85

mikebledsoe

What about business.

01:20:36.74

mikebledsoe

Okay, we start about the same time then.

01:20:43.68

Max Shank

Ah I did I tell you about the real stoneliing manual at some point. Yeah, just fucking Sunglasses Jujitsu Rash Guard shaved head looking tough horrible quality photos ridiculous claims about lifting rocks.

01:20:44.25

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah, yeah.

01:21:02.60

Max Shank

It was just such the perfect stamp in time for how tough I wanted to appear it was. It's like awesome. Yeah yeah, and.

01:21:06.90

mikebledsoe

Yeah, yeah, go Youtube that folks max shank lifting rocks I don't know what you search for to get there but that might take you.

01:21:19.30

Max Shank

Yeah I mean if you look at my Youtube channel and you go ah, here's a little easter egg if you go from ah like date oldest to newest. It's such a fucking trip I mean I was doing shit at Crossfit Enciitas back in the day. So ah, you know.

01:21:28.25

mikebledsoe

Oh yeah, ah.

01:21:37.54

Max Shank

That's the other thing I got I got to say like I've just tried so many things and the internet doesn't know about the fucking Encyclopedia of Colossal failures that I have been a part of but I think like also let me.

01:21:47.49

mikebledsoe

Yeah, ah.

01:21:56.65

Max Shank

Let me clarify even further the colossal failures often took about 10 times the effort of the things that were raging successes so like I've spent so much energy on some things and then they just like lose money lose more money. Take None of my time.

01:22:02.22

mikebledsoe

Yeah.

01:22:15.80

mikebledsoe

Um, yeah.

01:22:15.46

Max Shank

Lose even more money and then I fucking quit because so I've just hit my limit and then something that was like just a casual publishing of some shit that I wrote is a None times better. We're talking like you know 20 k launch. It took me a week to put this shit together. You know.

01:22:35.13

mikebledsoe

That's that's how the strong coach was it was very low effort big reward and while I was simultaneously I was running the strong crutch for close to a year and then I'm simultaneously launching a different company and the launching the company was like five weeks of

01:22:35.23

Max Shank

Ah, that kind of thing.

01:22:43.53

Max Shank

Um, yeah. Yeah, what.

01:22:52.29

mikebledsoe

Just felt like torture and then at the end had like a a really shitty launch and in the same month where I was I barely gave my primary business much attention. It had a record breaking month and I go I had to sit down with myself and go okay.

01:23:07.00

Max Shank

Yeah.

01:23:11.91

mikebledsoe

You're being silly just focus on the thing that works or we or maybe don't focus on just let it keep on breaking records without you working I don't know.

01:23:15.91

Max Shank

Yeah, it's like it's like thinking I mean we could get super philosophical here and just say let the universe pull you in whatever direction you're supposed to go but I do at the very least agree that the amount of. Effort that you put into something has very little to do with how the people like it I mean sometimes it's related but sometimes they're completely independent and also kind of like we were saying for the sacrificing and the suffering Ah don't don't imagine that you get more points. For working harder or longer or suffering more or not liking the shit that you're doing like you don't get points. It's it's like fake points in a fake game. It makes no sense whatsoever.

01:24:01.74

mikebledsoe

Yeah I said we are. We're almost an hour and a half in let's shut this baby down. Yeah you got any final thoughts here. Holy shit fishing poles and triangles.

01:24:08.29

Max Shank

Wrap it up. So ah, what's what's the topic fishing poles and triangles. Ah okay I'll so I'll sum up what I think um. Anyone can put together an offer an offer is going to involve some marketing which is basically storytelling and helping the person understand the value of taking the action you want and then of course there's fulfillment on top of that I would like to reiterate. That ah tolerance is the worst thing ever because when you tolerate something you're not rejecting it. You're not accepting it what you are accepting is a burden that will help grow resentment in your heart. This is a problem both relationship wise and business wise which is. Another. It's it's just a commercial relationship. It's still a relationship um give give people what they want and if you give people what you want ah don't expect if it's a little more challenging and and that's okay, too. Look for the intersection between what you love doing and what people put a high price on there's an even better venn diagram if you look up the word eki guy into Google images and. Ah, if you're always flinging your pole in the stream because you're always hungry. You're never going to have time to build a fishing boat or a fishing net or a rocket ship or any of that you can't build that stuff unless you know how to build it so you need plans to do it. But you also need to defer a lot of gratification into the future. Which if you're in lizard mode good luck. No chance you pretty much need to be in a more ah wizard-like state which means you need to secure the lizard love the mammal so you can free the wizard and you know performing at a high level like this is related to a lot of. Very simple things I like to use movement and music and singing and dancing to express and get into a flow state and I know I perform better just by getting better blood flow. You know, singing open ins the throat chakra there are all kinds of things you can do. But. Ultimately, you got to think about your resource allocation and that's what's going to lead to that resource acquisition if. That's the goal and yeah, that's that's that's what I got.

01:26:48.92

mikebledsoe

So good I'm not gonna add anything because that was was extremely comprehensive. Yeah yeah, you take your brain drugs today.

01:26:52.96

Max Shank

Um, yeah I fucking nailed it there I nailed it that was good. Great talk I Love I Love these talks by the way I don't care that no one's donated anything yet because there's so much fun.

01:27:02.90

mikebledsoe

People have offered I just haven't sent them our benmos but I ah.

01:27:09.36

Max Shank

Dude I'm starving over here come on dude just take care of it. Jesus fucking Christ man starving over here I'm giving you gold Mike I'm giving you gold. Ah.

01:27:20.19

mikebledsoe

I hope the guy out go to http://macsank.com he's got some products over there.

01:27:26.37

Max Shank

I.

01:27:28.58

mikebledsoe

Ah, and I have ah a live summit happening here in Austin Texas September sixteen through None It's an all inclusive retreat I ran out a summer camp got paleo chefs coming in and we start off our morning swimming in a spring. So um. Should come hang out. We can chat about business talk about how to get out of that if you're stuck in that lizard mode or even the mammal mode we can. We can help get you into that that wizard mode where you can create some shit. So. It's going to be awesome.

01:28:02.99

Max Shank

It's gonna be awesome. It's gonna be awesome and now I want you guys to I Want you guys to contemplate. Ah how your relationship with pigs would differ if they could suddenly speak English Love you.

01:28:05.30

mikebledsoe

Can be better than the last one.

01:28:11.75

mikebledsoe

Oh that's right, keep that one in mind. Love you later.

Ice baths have expanded into wider markets in recent years with the emergence of Wim Hof & others preaching their benefits for the masses

Today's guest is an Army Combat Veteran with a background in game theory & analytics for optimization; making him potentially the last person you'd think to be a leader in the world of ice baths and cold immersion

Listen in as he shares how their company is revolutionizing the industry and making ice baths more accessible for all