Today I join my dad to discuss religious neuroticism, the strange desire to punish oneself for sin, and the sovereignty of God. I hope it blesses you.

Link to source article: https://zachrudolph.substack.com/p/a-seductive-trap

Join me! https://open.substack.com/pub/zachrudolph?r=rep67&utm_medium=ios

“You’re never too successful to be unhappy.” Today I join my dad over coffee to dig into a innovation on happiness I discovered while reading ‘Goodbye, Things - The New Japanese Minimalism’ we discuss it’s implications and how it might change the way we make goals.

Happy New Year friends!

Goodbye, Things: https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Things-New-Japanese-Minimalism/dp/0393609030

Between the inherent difficulty of life and how easily we fall into self deception, It can become natural for many of us to live in a kind of jaded misery.

Today I discuss how existentialism can easily turn into self-pity for a person like me, and then we explore an excerpt from a brilliant piece by GK Chesterton.

Read Chesterton’s full piece: https://www.poeticous.com/chesterton/orthodoxy-chapter-v--the-flag-of-the-world

Read The Place Behind Her Eyes: https://open.substack.com/pub/zachrudolph/p/the-place-behind-her-eyes?r=rep67&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

*i fear I may have scapegoated the term “existentialism”. it may perhaps be more accurate to say that existentialism can be either of two extremes but appear roughly the same to the outside.

It can be in one sense, the purest acknowledgment of God and our smallness in relation to him, or it can be demonic self deification that looks to the outside; like humility.

I intend to flesh this out more in the future as I grow into a fuller understanding of it.

Love you guys 🙏

Today I’m joined by Steve Reiter. We discuss his upbringing, his career at Focus On The Family, The Never Alone Project, and how he came to be one of the founders of Holy Smokes; a international network of men who gather weekly and share life over cigars.

I joined my local group a few months ago and it has been life changing. Today we extend an invite to you.

Join the Facebook group: https://fb.me/g/oZygWDMU4/kvdByGP8

Holy Smokes Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5HDPSd6368EQWoyhyn2b?si=td6x73BOT_-cxJJj2cx97A

The Never Alone Project: https://www.neveralonepandemic.org

Article: Will Cigars Save Masculinity? https://open.substack.com/pub/zachrudolph/p/will-cigars-save-masculinity?r=rep67&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

It will be fixed and back up this upcoming week!

Today I speak with Steve Reiter. We discuss his upbringing in the Assemblies Of God church, his career at Focus On The Family, The Never Alone Project, and Holy Smokes; a international network of Christian men who get together and enjoy cigars.

Cigars have opened a world previously not visible to me. They create an environment of slowing down. An environment of conversation and connection so painfully missing from today’s masculinity.

My hope is that by the end of this podcast, you will have one more option to not go through life alone. 

If you have further questions feel free to message me. Below are the links discussed in this episode; starting with my original article on the group and links to join. 

Article: Will Cigars Save Masculinity? https://open.substack.com/pub/zachrudolph/p/will-cigars-save-masculinity?r=rep67&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

The Holy Smokes Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5HDPSd6368EQWoyhyn2b?si=DCykHOcZRomXw5oV2668_g

Join the group: https://fb.me/g/oZygWDMU4/kvdByGP8

*the audio in the second half is slightly out of sync. My apologies. I would fix it but I have to work now. 😂

If you’re utopian towards yourself, you will be dystopian towards others.

*TO BE CLEAR I AM NOT JUSTIFYING SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES REMOVING HIM. But, everyone is going to be covering that part of the story so I wanted to go somewhere else with this.*

Link to the original conversation: https://youtu.be/4AWLcxTGZPA

Dennis Prager once said “Without courage it’s impossible to do good.” But it just as easily might be said “Without energy it’s impossible to do good.”

Today we look at relatability vs intentionality, then; explore how we’re unintentionally making ourselves exhausted.

Every moment spent on social media involves heated debates, half naked people, false glamour and real tragedy. In each of these we are making countless decisions about what we agree with, what we disagree with, and what we would’ve said different. But what if our energy is a tank? What if it has a limited supply? What if we are unintentionally depleting our much-needed energy on things that don’t matter?

What if we’re so worn out by the end of the day that living with things like “purpose” and “meaning” simply takes too much effort?

“Let us not grow weary in doing good…” Galatians 6:9

“You go NPC all day, then you come home and be Audience.”

In a world of constant change, the necessity of individual agency is higher than ever. Taking the standard path, getting a standard job is being replaced by a world of regular career change and “side hustles”. At the same time, generational separation, homogenizing education, and constant distraction kill off would-be growth leaving many of our young in a “why even try?” Mindset.

Regardless of world events, we have a obligation to strive. To leave everything on the field. The first step is acknowledging the agency gap.

Sources:

https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/john_gatto.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/personal-agency

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QDTz7K9ionI&feature=youtu.be

https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B06ZZZ42RP&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow