Two Percent with Michael Easter

In May of 2016, Melissa Arnot Reid became the first American woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.She has a wonderful new book out called Enough. (I LOVED the book. It’s one of those rare books that pushes you forward from page to page.) Buy it here.The book is about much more than mountaineering and Everest. It’s about Melissa’s fascinating life journey, what pushes us to do great things, why hardship can help us grow, and more (think part Wild and part Into Thin Air). Michael spoke about the book and Melissa’s life, work, and the lessons she’s learned from the mountains. You can watch our conversation at TWOPCT.com or listen here. We covered:* Why Melissa climbs mountains.* How Melissa delineates between discomfort and danger. She explains the wild training strategies she’s used to push herself in training to thrive and stay safer in the world’s highest, most dangerous environments.* Why nature isn’t your competitor, but your best teacher.* What it was like reaching the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen—and what it was like after.* The “arrival fallacy.” We think that by reaching a big goal, we’ll “arrive,” and all will finally be well. But life doesn’t work like that—and that can teach us a lot about growth.* What Melissa learned from her failed attempts on Everest and how they were necessary for her to finally reach the summit without oxygen.* Why mountaineering is a metaphor for life.* How Melissa leveraged the hardships of her childhood to find a suitable path in life.* What Melissa has learned from the Sherpa people of Nepal.* Melissa’s thoughts on the popularity of Mount Everest, whether it’s overcrowded, and how to put that in context (I found this really fascinating given all the media around overcrowding on Everest).* How Melissa learned to get out of her own head.* What her experiences were like mountaineering and guiding, which is a largely male-dominated sport, and advice she’d give women entering male-dominated pursuits.* What men can do to support women in male-dominated fields.* How Melissa trained to climb the biggest mountains in the world.* Melissa’s most indispensable piece of gear not stuff.* Skills that every outdoor person should have.

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We live in a world where its easier than ever to get information (think Google and ChatGPT).That’s great overall—but easy information is often inaccurate, lacks context, and is easily forgettable. If you want to learn and understand something deeply, there’s a better framework. Michael uses it in his work and breaks it down here. You’ll learn:* Just how much information we now consume (the numbers are … wow).* The upsides and downsides of having so much access to information.* A framework that’s helped Michael get better information and make better decisions.Note that I’m on the trail for a couple months and this episode was generated in advance with AI.

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We’re speaking with Alex Hutchinson about his new book The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map.Michael asked Alex 17 questions about exploration—why humans are driven to explore, the benefits of exploration, how exploration is changing, and how we can explore more today.Michael gained so much insight into my own life from Alex’s book and our exchange below, and I hope you will, too.You’ll learn:* Why exploration is critical to being a human.* Why humans are hardwired to seek the unknown.* The truth about dopamine and how it factors into exploration.* Whether humans are unique in our ability to explore.* Another (surprising) animal that is a badass explorer.* How a wild occurrence 50,000 years ago allowed humans to conquer the globe.* Why living well requires pushing yourself into new experiences.* How exploration is changing, and why that’s not necessarily a good thing.* The downsides of technology and how it’s altering the rewards we get from exploration.* Why Alex thinks I should change “Burn The Ships” to “Eat The Camels.”* How endurance and exploration are related (overlaps between Alex’s books).* How writing the book changed Alex’s everyday behaviors (and why those changes led his children to complain about his driving).* How we can explore cities for better experiences.* How you can explore every single day.

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Michael is currently on an 850-ish-mile hike through the desert.He’ll be hiking 20 to 30ish miles a day for the next 45ish days. This post details how he trained for the hike and why this type of training is ideal for being SUPERMEDIUM and improving healthspan and lifespan.He’ll also explain my training philosophy for big events like this.

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I’ll be in the wilderness on a hike for the next 45-ish days.Two Percent will run as always—posts and podcasts will go out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while I’m gone. Today’s episode will cover: * The hike I’m doing. * Why I’m doing the hike (a new book!).* What I hope to get out of the hike. * Why adventure matters for us all.* What to expect on Two Percent while I’m in the wilderness (all good stuff!).

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The Expedition is a monthly journey into thoughts, opinions, ideas, observations, studies, facts, figures, etc.Good ones, insightful ones, interesting ones, weird ones, and ones you can use to live well and long.It’s a roundup of all the worthwhile stuff Michael has discovered in the last month. The Expedition is a bit of an island of misfit toys. But, …

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Michael is speaking with Brett McKay, founder of the Art of Manliness and Dying Breed.Brett has spent the last 17 years in the trenches writing and reporting about how to live a richer, more meaningful life by blending timeless wisdom and practical advice.We asked him 26 questions on topics like health and fitness, parenting, testosterone, marriage, books, faith, and more. Topics include:* Why Brett hates video.* The new Dying Breed project.* The best parenting advice Brett has heard.* How Brett stays healthy despite a hectic work and parenting schedule.* Advice for working with your spouse.* Dumb health trends.* Brett’s two favorite exercises.* What Brett learned getting really strong.* The difference between health and performance.* Testosterone replacement therapy.* Brett’s favorite books.* The benefits of being involved in church.* And much more … P.S., Brett also ran a similar interview with me at Dying Breed. Read it here.

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Today is the second Friday of the month. Which means it’s time for Gear Not Stuff.Read more about the idea behind Gear Not Stuff here. * In short: Gear Not Stuff is a framework that helps us make smarter purchasing decisions. Gear has a clear purpose of helping us achieve a higher purpose—a tool we can use to have better experiences.Today, Michael is covering home-based technology that can improve your health.We’ve validated all of the items against research—that is to say, this is not some wacky s**t that biohackers hustle. Michael currently use each item.

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Michael explains the optimal body size for different fitness activities.Using your height, you’ll be able to calculate the right weight for your goals. Think of it as a SUPERMEDIUM calculator.Why it matters: The calculator will help you find the right balance of strength and endurance, a key to performance and living longer and better.Go to the post at TWOPCT.com to get the calculator.

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Michael’s work as a journalist takes him all around the world—from the streets of Baghdad and jungles of Bolivia to mountaintop monasteries in Bhutan and laboratories in Boston. He wanted a pack system to optimize his travel and keep himself safe.So Michael began working with Justin Kiel—who manages GORUCK’s custom pack division called SCARS—to tweak some of the packs he uses for travel. Justin started cutting, sewing in hidden pockets, tweaking fabrics, and more.After our designs became really, really good, we all got the idea to team up with Huckberry and release some of the designs we’d created.The result is a two-pack system to help you travel more efficiently and safely. We used GORUCK’s 40-liter GR2—big enough for a week of travel—and Bullet—a great day bag.Michael will cover the pack and its features in this episode. You can also win one of the packs if you become a Member in the next 72 hours.

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