The Jason Wright Show

“Too good to be ignored”

I love Steve Martin. He’s the one comedian I’ve watched for almost my entire life. I was born in 1975. Saturday Night Live premiered in 1975. Steve Martin made his SNL debut in 1975. It was at this time my father worked nights at the coal mines near my hometown of Sulphur Springs. One of my earliest memories was watching SNL with my mother when my father worked. 

I suppose it was around 1978 I was actually able to remember Steve Martin. Afterall, I don’t think I remember the 1975 episodes, but my memory begins around the age of 3. I remember when Martin would come out with his banjo, white three piece suit and an arrow through his head. Once he came out and said he had a headache so bad it felt like his head was in a vice. He was actually wearing a huge vice on his head. I had no clue what a vice was, but it was funny the man in the white suit had that “thing” on his head. He was so funny even I as a three year old, couldn’t ignore him.

I’ve been a fan ever since. Martin is the only entertainer who I have paid attention to for basically my entire life. I think he’s a comedic genius. A couple years ago I read his biography “Born Standing Up.” I had no idea what an amazing guy Steve Martin really is. I also didn’t realize he’s a native Texan, which only increases his stock with me.

It was in this book he offered some advice I heard for the first time, and has ever since stuck with me.  When once asked by a fellow performer for career advice Martin replied, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” 

In reading his autobiography as well as listening to reports on Martin’s work ethic, he shows he is someone so dedicated to his craft and has become so good he simply can’t be ignored. I heard a story of  Martin supposedly saying about playing the banjo he didn’t care how long it took him to learn. He figured if he kept at it for 40 years eventually he would have been playing banjo for 40 years. Having this sort of long-term outlook is amazing.

In my effort to hone my craft, I’ve started searching out those who are too good to be ignored. However, I didn’t want to find the obvious ones. George Clooney can’t be ignored, but it’s not because he’s such a good actor, though he is. Like all actors he’s had some breaks, is really good looking, charming and has amazing genetics. I wanted to find those who had excelled in lesser known careers but were so good they couldn’t be ignored.

These are individuals who apply what Cal Newport calls “the craftsman approach” to their work. Indeed some of them are just that–craftsmen. It was in Newport’s book “Too Good to be Ignored” he wrote, “A waggon wheel can’t be noble, but how it is made can be.” I think all these examples share a certain sense of nobility. 

Impossible to ignore #1-Jiro Ono

I wanted to watch something good for my brain. I wanted to be inspired. So I watched a documentary about sushi. I know, right? Not exactly where one would naturally go to be inspired, but that’s what I did.

I had no idea there was such an art to sushi. I got my first glimpse of this during an episode of “Billions.” Mike “Wags” Wagner is at an uber exclusive sushi bar where he notices some guy drowning his sushi in soy sauce. 

Seeing this, Wags loses his sh**. He unleashes on the guy and dresses him down, laying out point by point the training it took for the chef to master his craft. I had to know more. So I set out to find out about the art of making sushi. 

Jiro Ono is the 85 year old owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro,in Tokyo, Japan. The shop only has 10 seats. It’s located in a subway station.

The Jason Wright Show companion episode

I cannot stand having to be in the car for long periods of time. I don’t like not being able to “produce” something. The thing is, I get some amazing ideas while driving. Often I take audio notes for podcast guest ideas, blog ideas, book ideas, ideas for my consulting clients. However, I still don’t feel this is productive time.

Well, I decided on this particular drive to try and experiment. I wrote about it in The Vitruvian Letter. Well, here it is. This is the first episode of “Road Ramblings.” In this instance I was inspired by James Altucher. I wanted to use this as a way to discover. I wanted to “discover” a new way to use these drives.

In this episode I discuss ways you, too can be a “discoverer” and not just a “Googler.” I hope you enjoy it, and take a way a nugget of wisdom to help you in your endeavor to improve always in ALL ways!

Episode 91 Sex, Attachment Issues, Vulnerability and Writing About Burrito Avengers With Adam Lane Smith

This was such a fun episode, and I’m going to be honest it took me to some pretty vulnerable places. I think the best way to be a good host is to be willing to be as transparent as possible with my audience. This episode took me to some pretty sensitive places.

Adam Lane Smith is brilliant. He’s a prolific writer, a retired licensed psychotherapist, a husband a dad and an all around good man. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him through this conversation, and I know you will, too.

Adam Lane Smith is a two-time #1 Amazon bestselling novelist and a retired licensed psychotherapist specialized in trauma and attachment with experience in both clinical and correctional mental health settings. That includes his work in the California justice system where he treated inmates facing the death penalty. He has appeared on over 20 podcasts discussing generational attachment styles, recovering from trauma, and storytelling techniques. 

Adam has written 20 books and coached over 500 aspiring novelists through his program Write Like a Beast. His attachment treatment method detailed in his book Slaying Your Fear is used by mental health professionals across the US, and he has delivered seminars instructing a range of healthcare professionals in treating patients with attachment concerns.

Follow Adam on Twitter @TheBrometheus

Checkout his books and articles at http://www.adamlanesmith.com

In 2009, Coss Marte was sent to jail as the leader of a multi-million dollar cocaine operation. He was also grossly overweight and warned by his physician that his current lifestyle, if left unchecked, would likely kill him. Faced with this grim prognosis, Coss started to get in shape using the tools he had—his prison cell and his own body weight. Within six months, he lost 70 pounds and replicated his successful formula of body weight exercises with 20 other people incarcerated alongside him. After he was released from prison, Coss launched ConBody a “prison style” bootcamp that hires formerly incarcerated individuals to teach fitness classes. Since the launch of his company he’s gained over 25,000+ clients , supported many folks coming home from prison, and has been featured in over 200 major media outlets such as NBC, CNN, The New York Times, TED Talks, and Men’s Fitness. Coss has also won major pitch competitions such as Pitch for Good by TOM’s shoes and the YPO shark tank competition, which combined raised $350,000.

CONBODY is a non-stop, bodyweight, prison-style, fitness method. We proudly hire formerly incarcerated individuals as our instructors.

CONBODY is the first fitness method born in prison, founded by an inmate, managed and run by former inmates. Coss developed the CONBODY method while in solitary confinement. He lost 70 pounds in a 9×6 cell in 6 months using the non-stop, bodyweight method, he created. Coss then used the CONBODY method to help his fellow inmates lose over 1000 pounds while on the inside.

Now CONBODY is the toughest most effective fitness program on the outside.

CONBODY’s mission is to de-stigmatize the formerly incarcerated community, ease their integration back into society, and change the systemic inequity of the criminal justice system. We provide wraparound reentry services for returning citizens. We work with organizations that share our mission to maximize our impact. CONBODY partners with engaged companies to provide fitness & CSR programs. Through the CONBODY FOUNDATION we have expanded upon the original concept of CONBODY in further pursuit of our mission.

CONBODY has worked with over 100 formerly incarcerated professionals with a 0% recidivism rate..

Steven Sashen is the CEO and co-founder of Xero Shoes, makers of lightweight casual and performance shoes and sandals with foot-shaped designs that allow for Natural Movement. He and his wife (and co-founder), Lena Phoenix, appeared on Shark Tank, where they turned down a $400,000 offer from Kevin O’Leary. Sashen is a serial entrepreneur, Emmy award-winning television host, former professional stand up comedian, and a Masters All-American sprinter.

How did you get into the industry?

Xero Shoes was an accident!

I got back into sprinting after a 30 year break (this was in 2007), and was getting injured ALL the time. A friend suggested I try running barefoot to see if I learned anything about my running form and injuries. Well, I did… and by being OUT of my traditional running shoes, I learned what form problems were leading to my injuries, and how to change my form so that they went away… never to return. I wanted that barefoot experience as much as I could have it, and started making minimalist sandals for myself, my wife, and local barefoot runners.

One day, a running coach said, “If you treated this sandal making hobby like a business – like, if you had a website – I’d put you in a book that I’m publishing about barefoot running.”

I rushed home and built a site and, the next thing you know, 7.5 years later, we’re a complete lifestyle footwear brand that makes natural movement shoes and sandals that customers in 94 countries enjoy for everything from taking a walk on the beach, to Crossfit and yoga, to running 256k+ ultra marathons.

Any emerging industry trends?

Athliesure is the big trend of late – people wearing shoes and apparel meant for the gym or for serious activity… but wearing it casually.

Happily, we have many products that work for those people.

Any industry opportunities or challenges?

The biggest challenge is the changing face of retail. Retailers are closing, left and right, and those that remain aren’t pre-ordering as much product as they used to, either asking us to drop ship (at the same terms as if they purchased wholesale) or carry inventory for their at-once business.

Inspiration for the business idea, and your vision for the Business?

We believe in FEET! Your feet are meant to bend, flex, move, and Feel The World. Most shoes prevent you from doing ANY of those things.

In the same way that people equate Natural and Food as something better for you, we want them to realize, and experience, how Natural + Movement = Better… and then be the leader in natural movement footwear.

What’s next for the Business in the near future?

Our business has almost doubled every year since 2014 and we project it will continue to do so, or better, thanks to an expanded product line and capitalizing on the success of our recent products.

Your key initiatives for the success of the Business?

Our biggest initiative is simple: continue releasing products that, when people put them on their feet, make their eyes pop out of their heads thanks to the freedom, comfort, and natural feel of Xero Shoes.

Your most difficult moment at the Business? (and what did you learn?)

With a business growing as fast as ours, the biggest challenge is always finding capital to sustain that growth. We learned something that every small business learns when they need cash – banks are happy to lend you money when you no longer need it.

In this episode I speak to the man behind the man, Mitchell Cohen. Mitchell is a digital marketing superstar and producer of Noah Kagan’s amazingly successful YouTube channel for aspiring entrepreneurs. As of this entry Noah has 180k subscribers to his channel. Much of this has to do with the creative acumen of Mitchell Cohen.

This was a fun episode for me for sure. As someone who is trying to make it in the world of content creation, it was so fun to have time to peer into the mind of a content guru like Mitchell. We also talk about health, wellness and the other topics you know I love to geek out on. Enjoy the show!

More about Mitchell:

Director of Influencer Marketing for AppSumo.Director of Operations & Growth for Noah Kagan’s YouTube, Podcast, and Newsletter.Writes about habits, health, & happiness at @MitchellLandon on Twitter and MitchellLandon.com

Marvin Singh, M.D is an Integrative Gastroenterologist in San Diego, California, and a Member of the Board and Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Medicine. He is also trained and board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology/Hepatology. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Singh completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System followed by fellowship training in Gastroenterology at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines. Singh was trained by Andrew Weil, M.D., a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine.

Singh is currently the Director of Integrative Gastroenterology at the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute at UC Irvine. He is also currently a voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSD in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health; prior to this, he has been a Clinical Assistant Professor at UCLA and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Singh is a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and many other societies. He is actively involved in the American Gastroenterological Association. He is one of the editors of the textbook of Integrative Gastroenterology, 2nd edition (a Weil Series text) and has written several book chapters and articles.

He is dedicated to guiding his clients toward optimal wellness every step of the way, using the most cutting edge technologies to design highly personalized precision based protocols and help them stay on top of their health, rather than underneath disease. Towards this end, he founded Precisione Clinic, to bring the best in preventive medicine to his clients.Articles

CONNECT WITH MARVIN SINGH, M.D.

Q&A

What is your wellness philosophy?

Each human being has a unique blueprint that is affected by a variety of factors such as your DNA, microbiome, diet, immune system, hormones, and environmental exposures. Decoding that blueprint to find the answers we seek regarding health, wellness, longevity,

By: Jason Wright

I’m a guy who gets really moved by powerful music. Sometimes there is a concerto from Mozart that helps me chill out. Sometimes it’s something as down home as Don Williams, “Good Ole Boys Like Me” that takes me back to my Gran and Pop’s house when I was a child. 

For the moment the song is “Waiting on a War” by The Foo Fighters. Man, I love this song. It has had a really profound impact on me like no song has in a while. Maybe it’s just because I can relate to it so well. The song was inspired by a conversation between Foo Fighter’s Founder and lead singer Dave Grohl and his daughter. He once said in a statement:

“Last fall, as I was driving my daughter to school, she turned to me and asked, ‘Daddy, is there going to be a war?’ My heart sank as I realized that she was now living under the same dark cloud that I had felt 40 years ago. I wrote ‘Waiting on a War’ that day. Every day waiting for the sky to fall. Is there more to this than that? Is there more to this than just waiting on a war? Because I need more. We all do. This song was written for my daughter, Harper, who deserves a future, just as every child does.”

The first war I remember waiting on was for my father to disown me. My Dad had a way of dealing with people who had wronged him. He often spoke of his methodology. 

He would say he’d “write em off.” Once Frank Wright Jr. wrote you off there was no coming back. He had written you off for good.

He never clarified whether this applied to me or not. The history of my childhood and into adulthood has proven it did if only temporarily. There have definitely been moments of my father “writing me off.” 

So I spent my entire adolescence trying to keep my father from writing me off. The more common term would be to “disown” me I suppose. I was in constant fear of my Dad disowning me. This fear followed me throughout my adult life. I would do almost anything to keep my father from disowning me. 

This really wasn’t fair to either of us. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he would never fully disown me. For that matter anything that might resemble disowning me was probably a self protective measure. I like to believe him writing me off was his way of protecting himself from any pain I might cause him. I think he’s spent a lot of his life waiting on a war with me.

Waiting on this war has caused so much damage between my Dad and I. We currently don’t speak very often. How can you fully love someone you are constantly waiting on a war with? In matters of international diplomacy we can never fully call someone an ally who we imagine the potential of a war with one day.

As I look back on my life I realize there are a lot of wars I’ve been waiting on. Waiting on these wars has held me back so many times. There has to be “more to this than that” to take a line from the song. 

Waiting on this war with my Dad has definitely impacted my relationship with him. Even to this day my wife has to listen to me prepare for my visits to his and my stepmother’s home. I go there waiting on a war. This means I have to prepare my defenses. I have to plan out a strategy. I have to be tactical. Most importantly I can’t be free to just love him. After all, I’m waiting on a war with him.

What war might you be waiting for? I look at the world today and see so many people waiting on wars. If they can’t find one they will wage one. They see a potential war around every corner. It’s sad. Even though this is the most amazing time to be alive, many can’t enjoy it. Why? They are waiting on a war.

Ray Lamb-Episode 86 of The Jason Wright Show

Ray Lamb is a special individual. It was an honor to get to listen to his heroes journey of the ups, downs, tragedies, perseverance and redemption that has defined his life. In this episode you will get to learn what “never give up” really means. You will also hear from a man who has worked his tail off to achieve the heights of professional and financial success only to come up empty inside.

However, now Ray Lamb knows what really matters in life. His life revolves around God, family, and most certainly his grandson. This is a great story you will want to sit down and digest completely. It’s full of practical lessons learned and battles fought as well as lost, but in the end survived.

You can learn a lot from storms. They have a purpose, and without them rainbows have no meaning. From There to Here is an inspiring and candid story about one man’s journey through life—from a child who met his parents at age 7 and found himself living alone at age 15 to becoming a PGA golf professional flying around in private jets to finally finding peace as an endurance mountain bike racer sleeping soaking wet on the ground in the middle of some of the most remote country in North America. It’s a story about being lost and never really knowing that you were, a story of how a bike and a grandson can change one’s life forever. It will make you rethink who you are and how you came to be that person. You will laugh, you will cry, but in the end, perhaps you may find what he found.

From There To Here By Ray Lamb

More About RayWilliam R. Lamb took up mountain biking at the age of 53, and four years later he completed the Tour Divide, a 3,000-mile mountain bike endurance race in the wilderness from Banff , Canada, to Mexico. It was an adventure that, combined with the birth of his youngest grandson, changed his life forever and inspired him to write this book about his life. William currently serves as a professor in the Lifetime Fitness department at Baylor University. He has a wife, three sons, and four grandchildren, all of whom he loves dearly. Most of all, he believes Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and he wants others to know of God’s salvation through Christ, His Son.

PGA golf and teaching professional, teaching golf for the past 26 years. I’ve had 32 students win individual state championships and 34 teams win state team championships. Over 400 of my students have played collegiate golf. Ive authored 4 golf books and 1 cycling book. Although I still teach golf, I now also teach cycling and mountain biking at Baylor and MCC. I started a new bicycling company this year, Lets Bike and I race mountain bikes full time across the U S. Last year I raced the Leadville 100, the Whiskey 50, 24 hours at Rocky Hill, the San Jaun 200 (won), Mountain Bike nationals in Idaho, the Texas TMBRA series, as well as many others. Cycling is my passion but golf is still my profession!

Episode 85 of The Jason Wright Show with Brett Ferguson

So I’m perusing the Instagrams one day looking for health and wellness tips, and I see this guy who looks like he knows what he’s doing. I scroll. I look. I read. This guy has done some cool stuff. I can also see this guy has a story.

During my research I find he is a signer. He’s a competitive CrossFit athlete. It appears he’s been featured in workout videos all over the world. I have to meet this guy. He is definitely someone who is trying to improve always in ALL ways.

Brett Ferguson

I was right. I connect with Brett Ferguson and find an exceptional human being that I’m now glad to call not just a show guest but friend. I think you will enjoy Brett’s transparent story of the ups and downs and all the rest that have made him who he is today.

Brett Ferguson

Brett has 13 years of experience in the Fitness and Health industry. His professional work with clients takes shape in a variety of forms – Life Coaching, Nutrition Coaching, Personal Training and Coaching CrossFit. His personal work includes working with other alcoholics and addicts in his recovery community, which he has also been a part of for 13 years. He currently trains clients at CrossFit South Brooklyn.