The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast - 421. Fitness, Motivation, Mentorship, and Life's Calling ｜ Derek (More Plates More Dates)

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00:00:57.420 Hello, everybody. Today, I have the opportunity to speak with Derek, a social media influencer, Canadian social media influencer.

00:01:16.700 There are a few of us. He runs a YouTube website, a famous one, More Plates, More Dates.

00:01:22.200 He's also a serial entrepreneur who runs three companies, Merrick Health, which is an organization that I use, Gorilla Mind, and Intelligent Shop.

00:01:32.020 And so, what did we discuss?

00:01:35.020 Well, we discussed how Derek transformed himself and made himself successful over a multi-year period, but really starting intensely in 2016.

00:01:46.240 How he became a blogger, how he became a blogger, how he became a blogger, how that transformed into a YouTube career, how that rearranged his relationships with women and with people in the social environment more generally, how that opened up the marketplace for him, how that helped him become financially successful to look for entrepreneurial activities,

00:02:04.040 and what that meant for him psychologically, and what that meant for him psychologically, and interpersonally, and financially.

00:02:12.540 And so, and on the way, we talk about issues pertaining to men's mental and physical health on all sorts of different fronts.

00:02:21.840 Most particularly, because this is where Derek started, with regard to the facilitation of performance and physical fitness, but also with forays into the broader issues of motivation, enthusiasm, and confidence.

00:02:36.600 And so, join us for that.

00:02:38.760 Well, thanks very much for coming in today.

00:02:40.860 Yeah, absolutely.

00:02:41.500 You flew in from Vancouver?

00:02:42.720 Yep.

00:02:43.200 And that's where you're based?

00:02:44.580 Yeah, born and raised.

00:02:45.580 So, why don't you start by telling everybody who's watching and listening what you're up to, like, and how you got to the place that you are.

00:02:55.100 So, start with that.

00:02:56.480 Imagine that people don't know anything about you.

00:02:58.860 Let's start with that.

00:03:00.260 Okay.

00:03:00.620 My name is Derek, and I, I guess most people know me from my YouTube channel, More Plates, More Dates.

00:03:06.520 It started back in 2016.

00:03:09.640 I went to a university in British Columbia, did an undergrad in business administration, and kind of irrelevant and useless for what I'm doing now, but that was my beginnings.

00:03:23.500 And through that, I thought I was going to become an accountant or some typical, you know, business-oriented position in downtown Vancouver or something of that nature.

00:03:34.260 And I was actually bouncing downtown, and I got injured, and while I was injured, I started writing blog articles online about my fitness journey, I suppose, because I was very into bodybuilding at a young age and essentially enthralled in the science of human optimization and biology.

00:03:54.240 And through that, I had accumulated a decent amount of knowledge at that point that I felt useful enough to impart to whoever was interested in reading.

00:04:04.880 And at the time, WordPress blogs were actually a fairly reasonable way of getting information out there.

00:04:11.100 So I started writing on a blog, MorePlatesMoreDates.com, and it was essentially named after, at the time, in my early 20s, something that was catchy, memorable, encompassed what I was, I felt my content oriented around at the time, self-improvement, fitness, et cetera.

00:04:31.620 And as it went on, it sort of evolved into a pretty, it was snowballing in popularity, especially the YouTube channel, as I started to accumulate more viewers, subscribers.

00:04:44.360 And when did the channel start?

00:04:46.620 March 2016.

00:04:48.280 2016. And how long after the blog? How long after you began the blog was that?

00:04:52.780 So, technically, I started the blog in March, I believe, and I probably waited about a month or two to publish my first YouTube video.

00:05:01.020 Or it might have been a couple months before that. It's actually, I don't remember the exact date of my first article.

00:05:05.560 But they're pretty close together in time.

00:05:07.320 Yeah. Essentially, I had somebody who was, at the time, you know, a big name in the, like, Manosphere, Red Pill community, who's like a self-improvement guy, tell me,

00:05:18.420 you should be publishing everywhere, which was good advice even at the time, too.

00:05:22.360 Who was that?

00:05:24.260 His name was Victor Pride. It was like a fake pseudonym.

00:05:29.060 Yeah, yeah. Victor Pride. That's pretty good. All right.

00:05:31.680 So, he was pretty popular at the time. And he said, you should be publishing everywhere. Why aren't you?

00:05:37.900 Why do you listen?

00:05:39.520 Because he was successful.

00:05:41.640 Yeah, but that doesn't answer the question. Because lots of people are successful,

00:05:46.040 and they will tell people what to do, or suggest it, or offer an example.

00:05:50.300 But that doesn't mean people listen.

00:05:52.680 Yeah.

00:05:53.120 Right. So, okay, you recognized his success.

00:05:57.660 He was a trusted authority in the niche that I was publishing in.

00:06:01.620 So, for me, the path forward, it seemed most reasonable to replicate a blueprint set by those

00:06:07.980 that have shown it to be, whatever they did, a successful path themselves.

00:06:12.980 Okay. So, why do you think... Okay. So, fair enough. That's a good answer.

00:06:16.400 And efficiency. Because writing is just infinitely more time-consuming than...

00:06:20.880 Than YouTube.

00:06:21.640 Yeah.

00:06:22.200 Right, right, right. Okay, okay. So, now, you got good advice from someone who hypothetically knew what they were doing.

00:06:29.040 But, you know, one of the things I've noticed that constitutes an impediment for people 1.00

00:06:32.980 when they hope to progress is that they won't swallow evidence of their own stupidity and move... 0.99

00:06:40.480 Because to pay attention to something like that, you have to make allowance for the fact 1.00

00:06:47.140 that you've actually run into someone who knows more than you do.

00:06:50.320 And people will often offer lip service to that, but that doesn't mean they'll actually pay attention.

00:06:54.640 So, what do you think it was that made you sufficiently motivated to...

00:06:59.860 Now, you said, you know, there was an efficiency issue with YouTube.

00:07:02.620 You were obviously interested in this topic, but you put everything into practice and relatively rapidly.

00:07:10.560 So, any internal obstacles to that, or were you just enthusiastic and gung-ho to go?

00:07:15.980 And if you were, why were you?

00:07:17.380 I suppose I had an inordinate amount of free time on my hands because of my injury at the time.

00:07:24.840 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:25.680 So, to me, it felt like I was doing myself a disservice by not publishing on every medium

00:07:31.420 by which I could get the most eyeballs on it.

00:07:33.540 And I had a sense of impending, like, traffic bottleneck when it comes to blogging.

00:07:39.780 So, as we've seen more recently, anyone who essentially stayed on just written articles only

00:07:47.160 has more or less been phased out of relevancy and is not able to get the same eyeballs they once did.

00:07:53.300 Yeah, well, the online communication environment is very dynamic.

00:07:57.420 And not only do you have to be good at it, but you also have to stay on the cutting edge.

00:08:01.580 And the search engines are so manipulated that it's very difficult if you don't want to play the game

00:08:07.160 as to how you even stay ranked for certain things.

00:08:10.360 Right, right, definitely.

00:08:10.940 Yes, and that's becoming more and more opaque.

00:08:13.000 And that will continue to become more and more opaque, right, and invisible.

00:08:18.340 Until the people who are doing it won't even know what they're doing.

00:08:21.440 Yeah, it's wild because Google, you would think with their super refined algorithms,

00:08:26.380 would be able to at least identify with some semblance of accuracy

00:08:29.860 what is the most credible sources of information.

00:08:32.540 Yeah, right.

00:08:33.040 But you will, at least what I was noticing even at the time, and this is still the case today,

00:08:37.880 blogs that had, for example, domain ratings that were seen as high authority

00:08:43.280 because they had backlinks from certain places that were also seen as high authority.

00:08:47.580 You could instantly rank for terms that you were not an expert in,

00:08:50.760 and you're basically lying to your audience.

00:08:53.280 You could say whatever you wanted.

00:08:54.440 As long as you had a couple backlinks from a .gov, a Wikipedia, a whatever,

00:08:59.620 these things would prop you up so much.

00:09:01.380 It could be gamed.

00:09:01.740 Yeah, and then people would buy these sites too, totally flip the content,

00:09:06.520 and get ranked instantly for something they're selling you that is unethical, high ticket, whatever.

00:09:11.900 It's very hard for people to stay ahead of the really malevolent psychopaths.

00:09:17.240 Yeah.

00:09:17.640 Yeah, yeah.

00:09:18.680 It's an arms race always.

00:09:20.320 Now, you said that you had taken a business administration degree

00:09:24.160 and that you were aiming at being an accountant.

00:09:26.860 Okay, this is quite different from being an accountant.

00:09:28.840 Aiming because I didn't really know.

00:09:32.100 It's not like I sought after it because it was my dream job.

00:09:35.540 So why did you do it?

00:09:36.980 It was just at the time what felt to be the most appropriate avenue

00:09:41.320 given I was quite unsure of what my path forward would be.

00:09:45.640 I just knew business was likely the degree that resonated with me the most.

00:09:50.860 Okay, so you had some low-resolution sense that you at least wanted to operate in a business environment.

00:09:56.740 But there's a big difference between accounting and a managerial function like that

00:10:01.640 and the more entrepreneurial function that you ended up adopting.

00:10:04.460 Did you not know when you started down your education road that

00:10:09.100 were you not able to distinguish between the entrepreneurial route and the managerial route?

00:10:15.260 And I'm asking this partly because you made a point of pointing out that

00:10:20.620 the education that you received has almost no bearing on what you're doing now.

00:10:24.920 And so is that actually true?

00:10:26.240 Was university good for you?

00:10:27.560 And how did you, you said the injury, put a lot of free time on your hands.

00:10:32.060 So how did you persist through your degree?

00:10:36.820 How did you realize that wasn't for you?

00:10:39.140 And where did the interest that did eventually guide you bubble up from?

00:10:44.620 I know it was associated with the injury and you're working out.

00:10:47.920 So when I was going to school, there are multiple different sub-disciplines

00:10:52.400 of the business administration degree at the university.

00:10:56.040 And you could do marketing, you could do, one of them is entrepreneurship.

00:11:01.440 But at the time, I had entrepreneurial tendencies,

00:11:05.320 but I certainly had no conception of how to go about starting a business.

00:11:11.120 If it was viable and feasible, like it just seemed like businesses and entrepreneurial

00:11:16.100 endeavors existed, but there was no real segue that I could even conceptualize in my mind

00:11:22.240 as to how I go from A to B.

00:11:23.800 Right, right.

00:11:24.380 It was just like, these people must have been given the business by their parents

00:11:29.500 or they had some inordinate amount of money that I would never attain in order to start it.

00:11:33.740 So I just never really even thought about it with any level of depth.

00:11:37.420 So to me, on a surface level, I thought, okay, I'm going to go work downtown for some big company

00:11:43.580 and be their accountant or maybe specialize further and be a forensic accountant or something.

00:11:48.420 Right, so it was partly because there was a defined pathway.

00:11:50.980 Yeah, yeah, I work very well with concrete goals.

00:11:55.980 So for me, if there's no clear path forward, it becomes very difficult to go step by step

00:12:01.980 and actually check the boxes and get that, you know, reassurance and reinforcement that what I'm doing is correct.

00:12:07.980 And this is sort of why I resonated with the guy who told me about publishing online and all the different platforms,

00:12:15.980 and also my current business partner or one of them, he was a popular influencer, I guess, at the time,

00:12:22.280 which back then, proportionally, it's actually not that long ago, but he had, I think, 40,000 subscribers on YouTube

00:12:29.400 and he was one of the go-to main sources of information for self-improvement and being able to speak articulately

00:12:40.200 with women that you just met and all these things that were highly aspirational traits

00:12:45.820 of somebody who's a teenager who is relatively unsuccessful in all areas of life and I'm still getting into this

00:12:53.120 and understanding what it takes to be, like, a high-performing or, like, high-value man, as they put it nowadays.

00:12:59.600 Right, so how did you stumble onto the realization that that's actually what you wanted?

00:13:04.220 I mean, the title of your blog and your YouTube channel points to that.

00:13:08.840 I mean, obviously, more dance has something to do with it, but, like, do you have any idea when you made the decision

00:13:14.560 that it was a pathway of success that you wanted to walk down and, I mean, you obviously went off to college,

00:13:21.860 you went off to university to pursue that route. Do you remember, where did you grow up?

00:13:30.160 Vancouver, British Columbia.

00:13:31.080 Did most of your friends go off to university?

00:13:33.960 I would say about 50-50.

00:13:36.380 Okay, okay. Were you an ambitious teenager?

00:13:38.980 Yes.

00:13:39.980 In what way?

00:13:40.980 I think this is pretty typical, but a lot of people have this underlying feeling that they're destined for more than what they are currently doing and there's just something they're missing that is the missing piece to solving that equation to set them on the right path and I've always felt like that piece was missing in my life to really guide me forward on what I actually should be doing.

00:14:02.980 Maybe that's not as common as I think, but I feel like a lot of people could.

00:14:06.880 No, I think that's the voice that calls people out of the safety of their foyer's tent into the world, right?

00:14:13.660 If you pay attention to it, that's the voice of adventure.

00:14:16.760 That's what people used to call a calling, right?

00:14:19.940 Yeah.

00:14:20.120 It's a very strange thing because a calling has an independent, it's like an independent spirit because you have to act in cooperation with it.

00:14:31.460 It's like an agreement.

00:14:32.540 It's like a covenant.

00:14:33.440 That's how it used to be described.

00:14:34.880 That's how it's described biblically.

00:14:36.620 Something calls to you and you don't exactly get to pick what that is.

00:14:43.060 Like you can say no, you can avoid it.

00:14:46.200 You can take a different path, but it isn't obvious to me at all that what interests us is within our control.

00:14:53.420 And that's a very strange thing, right?

00:14:55.160 Because it indicates that there's something like an autonomy that's operating in what calls us.

00:15:01.960 You can think the same way about conscience.

00:15:04.760 You know, things you do that you might want to do will still bother you.

00:15:09.720 And you might think, well, if your conscience is you, then why can't you just tell it what to tell you and end of problem?

00:15:18.280 And, well, part of the answer is it wouldn't be much of a conscience if that was the case.

00:15:23.040 But even more, fundamentally, that points to the operation of something that's independent within your psychological landscape.

00:15:34.720 So, one of the things you see in traditional stories is the interplay of two things that guide people forward.

00:15:43.280 There's calling.

00:15:44.540 And so, that's the voice that you just described.

00:15:47.820 So, in the story of Abraham, for example, the biblical story of Abraham, Abraham's about 75 when the story opens.

00:15:54.160 And he's from a very wealthy and privileged background.

00:15:56.780 And he has no reason to do anything because everything that he could have is already at his hand.

00:16:03.360 And a voice comes to him and says, you have to leave all this.

00:16:06.720 You have to go out into the world and have your adventure.

00:16:10.080 You have to get beyond your infantile security and dependence, even if it's providing for you, you know, everything you might need out into the world.

00:16:18.280 And he follows that voice and it leads him into all sorts of catastrophe.

00:16:22.760 Like, it's not a story without its ups and downs after that.

00:16:26.740 It's not an uphill trek towards ever-increasing paradises, right?

00:16:30.480 It's war and famine and starvation or war and famine and betrayal and the necessity of sacrifice, all the things that are terrible about life.

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00:18:16.280 So that voice that you said, or that sense that you had when you were a kid, I think that's in every kid that hasn't had it thrashed out of them by, through one means or another, tyrannical father or over-intrusive mother.

00:18:32.080 Those are the most common crushing elements, let's say.

00:18:35.080 And then the other thing that you've pointed to, which is the desire to be attractive to women, that's a major motivator for men.

00:18:43.280 And it's partly because the biggest predictor of male success on the mating front is socioeconomic success.

00:18:52.420 And the reason for that seems to be that women are attempting in some ways to level the economic playing field, right? 1.00

00:18:58.140 Because pregnancy, childbirth, all of that, child care is very hard on them economically.

00:19:03.040 And so they're looking for someone to split the load, let's say, or share the opportunity.

00:19:09.100 That's another, that's a much more positive way of thinking about it.

00:19:12.500 So I think that voice is common, although I think we're doing everything we can in our culture to squelch it.

00:19:18.060 But it wasn't squelched in you.

00:19:20.200 And then you said you didn't exactly know how to implement it, right?

00:19:22.900 You went off to business school and that wasn't exactly right.

00:19:25.940 You had some sense that the right pathway forward, or the only pathway forward that you could see that was outlined,

00:19:32.880 was more conventional, right?

00:19:35.340 So it'd be university education and then a job in a college.

00:19:38.200 But then you got hurt.

00:19:39.860 And that's interesting, right?

00:19:40.960 Because that's kind of a catastrophe.

00:19:43.060 And yet, in that catastrophe was an opportunity.

00:19:47.600 And the catastrophe produced for you a lot of excess free time.

00:19:52.100 That's a good deal if you can figure out how to use it.

00:19:54.660 So how did you figure out what to do with that free time?

00:19:58.360 And why did you turn to writing?

00:19:59.720 Like, had you been a writer?

00:20:01.500 Yeah, so fortunately, and this is partly why I think having a blueprint of sorts, at least for my, I don't know,

00:20:10.960 the way I orient my goal setting and whatnot, was useful for me is one of my current business partners.

00:20:17.760 He was, at the time, one of the forefront influencers of the, like, manosphere, whatever, niche.

00:20:25.020 And I followed his content pretty closely while I was in university.

00:20:29.280 Oh, yeah.

00:20:29.640 And he had an online forum where young guys would log their self-improvement journeys and whatnot

00:20:36.200 and keep themselves accountable.

00:20:37.480 And over time, he had kind of taken note of my knowledge and rigor in researching topics that I was very interested in.

00:20:48.300 Oh, yeah.

00:20:48.620 Including, but not limited to supplementation, human biology, performance enhancements, preventative medicine.

00:20:55.840 And through that, I was afforded a business opportunity to actually work for him on the side as a blog writer,

00:21:05.040 slash customer service, slash, like, all-around, basically assistant for his current supplement company.

00:21:11.260 Right, so you had a mentor there.

00:21:12.940 Yeah.

00:21:13.440 Yeah, that's a big deal.

00:21:14.600 And I had been getting, like, pseudo-mentored, I guess, through his content for years prior.

00:21:19.180 Right, right.

00:21:19.420 Okay, so let's talk about his content.

00:21:21.400 You pointed to a few things.

00:21:23.400 You said it was associated with the manosphere.

00:21:25.420 We can talk about what that means as well.

00:21:27.680 And that you were preusing the online forums and also tracking people's self-improvement journeys,

00:21:33.020 and you found something compelling in that.

00:21:35.220 Yeah, and tracking my own as well.

00:21:36.760 Okay, so, you know, I just talked to Jocko Willink.

00:21:39.080 I haven't released that podcast yet.

00:21:40.720 And I've talked to Jocko a couple of times.

00:21:42.680 And, you know, one of the things he discovered, which I thought was really fascinating, 0.94

00:21:45.960 because Jocko's quite the bloody monster, you know. 0.85

00:21:47.800 Yeah. 0.98

00:21:48.000 He knows perfectly well that with a couple of bad decisions,

00:21:51.200 he could have been quite the terrifying guy.

00:21:54.160 I mean, he's still a terrifying guy, but for good, you know.

00:21:58.000 Thank God for that.

00:21:59.000 And he said that one of the things he discovered when he went into the military was that,

00:22:02.860 attracted as he was by the thought of mayhem and trouble,

00:22:07.900 he found himself even more attracted by the fact that he had the opportunity to mentor other,

00:22:13.400 to mentor men who were younger than himself,

00:22:15.200 himself, and to guide them on a pathway of improvement.

00:22:20.000 You know, that same pathway that you said called to you when you were a teenager.

00:22:24.680 And that was really, in part, what civilized him, right?

00:22:27.620 Because he found something so compelling in that,

00:22:30.360 that that was more interesting than anything else he could manage.

00:22:32.900 You know, and one of the things I really loved about being a clinical psychologist,

00:22:37.500 and I still am a clinical psychologist for now,

00:22:39.840 and also being a professor was that opportunity to guide my undergraduate students,

00:22:47.640 my clients, my graduate students.

00:22:49.460 There's something, I think what that is,

00:22:50.940 it's a generalized manifestation of the instinct for fatherhood, right?

00:22:55.320 It's something like that.

00:22:56.500 And that's a very profound instinct.

00:22:59.040 The race, the species wouldn't survive without that instinct.

00:23:02.440 Obviously, the paternal instinct is just,

00:23:05.180 it's more subtle in some ways and somewhat less targeted than the maternal instinct.

00:23:11.500 But we wouldn't have children with dependency periods of 18 years

00:23:15.920 if that wasn't a very powerful instinct.

00:23:18.260 Okay, so you could imagine that call to adventure made it manifest in your life

00:23:23.300 when you were a teenager.

00:23:24.920 Then, you know, you got a little older and you could see that

00:23:27.880 when you were in places where other people were pursuing that,

00:23:30.960 there was something about that that was, that gripped you.

00:23:34.060 Okay, now the writing bit, that's,

00:23:35.940 because writing is a difficult enterprise.

00:23:38.220 Like, do you think you had a facility for it, writing per se?

00:23:42.260 Or do you think you were just so compelled by your interest in

00:23:45.540 these things that we've been laying out

00:23:47.740 that you were willing to learn to write to manage that?

00:23:51.120 I suppose a hybrid of both.

00:23:52.920 In hindsight, my writing was not as great as I thought it was at the time,

00:23:56.680 but similar to, I think, any content creator,

00:23:59.160 if you look at your first piece of content versus current,

00:24:01.900 it's the way you present yourself is significantly different.

00:24:05.320 Well, hopefully, hopefully, if you've learned anything.

00:24:08.140 Yeah, so back then, though, my business partner, Chris,

00:24:11.820 who had written multiple articles and published videos,

00:24:16.000 his primary way of funding his entrepreneurial endeavors at the time

00:24:22.740 was through his blog articles he was writing

00:24:25.780 and essentially recommending products that he already used.

00:24:30.020 Okay, so you're writing, you're starting to write,

00:24:33.940 and you're starting, you're being mentored at the same time,

00:24:36.820 and you're writing about topics that interest you,

00:24:39.300 and you're weaving into that the economic opportunity

00:24:42.960 that's associated with blogging.

00:24:44.760 How is it that you, tell me how it is that you actually start writing?

00:24:49.880 Like, imagine that a lot of the people are listening

00:24:52.300 who are looking for something like a step-by-step pathway.

00:24:56.400 It's difficult to discipline yourself to write.

00:24:58.800 And so, and the educational pathway that you picked

00:25:03.640 wasn't necessarily writing intensive.

00:25:07.100 So, what psychological obstacles did you have to overcome

00:25:11.540 to get yourself to sit down and write regularly?

00:25:15.020 You know, I remember when I started to write,

00:25:18.340 one of the things that happened on a pretty regular basis

00:25:20.660 was when I sat down, I would think,

00:25:23.760 well, I have other things to do.

00:25:25.700 This isn't a very good day for this.

00:25:27.320 I don't really have anything to say.

00:25:28.800 No one's going to pay any attention to this anyways.

00:25:30.840 What the hell are you doing?

00:25:33.200 That's about, and then those things would plague me for a fair bit.

00:25:37.200 But then I found over time, if I just sat through that,

00:25:40.360 the amount of time those ideas plagued me shrunk,

00:25:46.080 even though the intensity didn't.

00:25:48.260 And then eventually the intensity shrunk.

00:25:50.200 And after a number of years of practicing,

00:25:52.600 I could, unless I was tired,

00:25:54.520 I could just sit down and get to it, right?

00:25:56.720 Took a long time to organize myself to manage that.

00:25:59.200 So, those are typical impediments.

00:26:01.520 Plus, not knowing anything is also an impediment.

00:26:03.960 So, when you first started to write,

00:26:07.380 tell me how you learned to write.

00:26:08.800 Well, the way you write in WordPress blogs for SEO

00:26:14.960 was not the same as English in university, for example.

00:26:20.620 It was a lot different.

00:26:22.080 So, a lot of the writing was essentially keyword-ridden,

00:26:26.320 just verbiage that I would say to a friend in general

00:26:31.880 about the same advice I'm imparting,

00:26:33.880 but with keywords intertwined and sub-categorization of them

00:26:37.660 to be very reader-friendly.

00:26:40.000 So, you were very conscious about the relationship

00:26:42.740 between your writing and the probability

00:26:44.920 that it would get distributed online.

00:26:47.160 Yeah, the primary concerns for me at the time were similar to you.

00:26:52.440 Is it a good use of time?

00:26:54.280 Are people going to read it, et cetera?

00:26:56.200 Yeah.

00:26:56.520 Fortunately, and this is where I think having good mentors comes into play.

00:27:00.440 If it hadn't been for Chris having essentially built a successful path

00:27:06.200 for somebody starting from scratch on a WordPress blog,

00:27:10.120 I wouldn't have thought it would be a good use of time either

00:27:12.860 that would actually lead anywhere significant.

00:27:15.240 But I had seen the success he had with it,

00:27:17.140 how many people he was able to reach,

00:27:19.500 including myself,

00:27:20.480 and influence my life so significantly

00:27:22.480 that it really inspired me to do it as well.

00:27:25.160 and figured, hey, I have ads valuable of information

00:27:28.020 in these certain disciplines of fitness, diet, nutrition,

00:27:32.940 performance enhancement, preventative medicine,

00:27:34.740 that it's useful and worthwhile to pursue.

00:27:37.360 So, I guess the main obstacles were technological savvy,

00:27:42.980 starting a WordPress blog as easy as it is.

00:27:47.320 It's sites aren't as visually friendly and user-friendly

00:27:51.800 for somebody to set up as they are now back then.

00:27:54.880 And they were quite intensive where you'd,

00:27:57.520 just to move something around,

00:27:58.860 you might need an actual developer to come in and code something

00:28:01.720 just to put a specific header on your title page or something.

00:28:05.480 It was brutal.

00:28:07.400 So, visually very unappealing,

00:28:10.620 very primitive looking blogs,

00:28:13.700 but the information was good.

00:28:15.460 Okay, so let's concentrate on that.

00:28:17.640 I mean, one of the things that's

00:28:19.480 permanently and intractably annoying online

00:28:23.100 are content mills.

00:28:24.880 So, you could imagine that,

00:28:27.520 and this is the true,

00:28:28.540 this is the case whenever you're

00:28:30.220 producing anything creative.

00:28:33.140 There's a real,

00:28:34.460 there's a balance between

00:28:35.560 the quality of the production

00:28:37.140 and the necessity of communicating it, right?

00:28:40.660 And you can have a very high quality production

00:28:43.140 and get nowhere.

00:28:43.760 And you can have no content whatsoever

00:28:47.720 and get somewhere.

00:28:48.820 Like, those would be the two extremes.

00:28:50.380 And just a content mill,

00:28:51.980 you know those sort of sites you go to

00:28:53.240 where they break up the essay into paragraphs

00:28:56.740 that are like three sentences long

00:28:58.060 and put 50 ads between each. 1.00

00:28:59.860 Yes, those goddamn places just drive me mad. 1.00

00:29:02.560 They're definitely run by like narcissistic psychopaths. 1.00

00:29:05.300 Now, and they pollute the informational environment 0.94

00:29:09.580 and that's going to get way worse with AI, right?

00:29:12.160 Because, but now,

00:29:14.680 but you took,

00:29:17.860 this is not a criticism, by the way,

00:29:20.760 and I'll explain why.

00:29:22.040 You took some steps in that direction

00:29:23.700 because you were very conscious of

00:29:25.400 how the words you were using

00:29:27.540 were likely to be picked up by the algorithms

00:29:29.340 that communicated what you were writing.

00:29:32.460 And then while you were talking,

00:29:34.480 you redeemed yourself right away by saying,

00:29:36.140 but the information was valuable.

00:29:37.880 It's like, okay.

00:29:38.720 So for everyone watching and listening,

00:29:40.960 if you're artistically oriented, for example,

00:29:43.320 a lot of artists stab themselves in the heart

00:29:46.440 at the beginning of their career

00:29:47.660 by adopting this pseudo moral framework of,

00:29:51.080 well, I'm not going to sell out.

00:29:52.940 It's like, well, first of all, buddy,

00:29:54.500 who's asking you?

00:29:55.980 You know, if you have an offer

00:29:57.040 of a million dollars in hand

00:29:58.380 and you decide that for artistic reasons,

00:30:00.220 you're going to reject it

00:30:01.200 and that's not just a form of egotism,

00:30:02.980 like more power to you,

00:30:04.020 but you don't get to brag

00:30:05.100 about how you didn't sell out

00:30:06.320 before someone actually asks you to.

00:30:08.980 And then the second thing is 1.00

00:30:10.140 that's a stupid attitude anyways, 1.00

00:30:11.800 because it shows a certain contempt 1.00

00:30:13.920 for your audience,

00:30:14.880 is that if you can't communicate

00:30:16.980 about what you're doing

00:30:17.860 in a manner that people find attractive

00:30:19.680 and that's accessible,

00:30:22.080 you might as well be alone in the dark

00:30:25.000 for the rest of your life

00:30:25.880 because no one's going to know what you're doing.

00:30:28.280 And so there is a balance.

00:30:30.220 I watched the Elvis movie recently,

00:30:32.260 which I really, really liked,

00:30:33.480 and I thought it toyed with this problem

00:30:36.160 extremely interesting

00:30:37.140 because you had Elvis,

00:30:38.080 who obviously had content.

00:30:39.420 I mean, he was quite the charismatic genius

00:30:41.700 and revolutionary in his ability

00:30:44.860 to meld the sounds of black music

00:30:47.920 in the US with, you know,

00:30:49.160 the emerging white rock and roll market.

00:30:51.240 And then you have his promoter

00:30:52.440 and his promoters, you know,

00:30:53.760 a bit of a shady character.

00:30:56.980 But the balance they struck

00:30:59.320 was unbelievably effective

00:31:00.720 because Elvis had a stellar career,

00:31:02.800 you know, and you could argue

00:31:03.580 that his promoter took advantage of him.

00:31:06.420 And I think at times likely did.

00:31:09.780 But you can't argue with the overwhelming

00:31:12.600 and revolutionary success

00:31:14.380 of the entire endeavor.

00:31:15.680 And so you've got this tight balance to maintain.

00:31:18.500 You want to have integrity of content,

00:31:20.280 but you can't sacrifice the willingness

00:31:25.400 and the ability to communicate.

00:31:27.980 That has to be integrated.

00:31:29.600 And I would say for the artistic types,

00:31:31.480 especially that are listening,

00:31:33.660 and for those who might be otherwise stymied

00:31:36.220 by their own integrity,

00:31:37.580 you should take the problem

00:31:39.420 of how to optimize your content production

00:31:42.400 and to communicate it.

00:31:43.760 You should think about that

00:31:44.580 as a creative problem in and of itself.

00:31:46.080 Now you, you, I haven't looked into

00:31:50.100 search engine optimization

00:31:51.300 and that sort of thing much.

00:31:53.040 You don't want it.

00:31:54.240 Yeah.

00:31:54.580 Well, that doesn't mean that my staff hasn't.

00:31:57.620 Okay.

00:31:58.060 Right.

00:31:58.460 And so we're very attuned to the necessity

00:32:01.100 of staying on the cutting edge

00:32:02.780 of the communication platforms.

00:32:04.700 You can't have contempt for your audience.

00:32:06.920 And if your respect for your audience

00:32:09.300 is also aligned with your desire

00:32:11.880 to broaden your, your influence

00:32:14.820 and also to increase your financial opportunity,

00:32:19.040 then that's a nice alignment of motivation.

00:32:21.280 Right.

00:32:21.620 And there's nothing wrong with that

00:32:22.660 if you get everything in its proper place.

00:32:24.700 Okay.

00:32:25.160 So you were writing.

00:32:26.620 Now you said you had valuable content

00:32:28.540 and you started to realize

00:32:30.140 that you could produce information

00:32:32.040 that was as valuable as that

00:32:33.580 which was being offered by people

00:32:34.900 who are already successful.

00:32:36.260 Okay.

00:32:37.000 How did you develop that ability

00:32:38.520 and why, and how did you come

00:32:40.320 to that realization?

00:32:41.080 So I suppose one of my greatest assets

00:32:45.160 is when I become interested in something,

00:32:47.400 I become enthralled in it

00:32:48.860 to where I want to learn

00:32:50.180 as much as I can

00:32:51.700 to be top 0.01% in knowledge

00:32:54.920 in that specific discipline.

00:32:56.560 So in those exact topics

00:32:58.380 I was talking about,

00:32:59.240 I was just so hyper interested in them

00:33:01.700 that I was currently researching them heavily,

00:33:04.420 but I'd also been previously

00:33:06.280 for over half a decade,

00:33:08.900 perhaps seven, eight years at that point.

00:33:11.240 So for me,

00:33:12.140 it felt like I had some sort of life experience

00:33:14.220 that was worth actually writing about.

00:33:16.620 Right.

00:33:17.000 And had been in the trenches

00:33:18.000 and done certain things

00:33:19.180 that were of value

00:33:20.660 rather than just regurgitating.

00:33:22.260 And they were genuine.

00:33:23.580 Yeah.

00:33:24.080 Right, right, right.

00:33:25.220 Okay, so that's very cool,

00:33:26.440 all of that.

00:33:27.120 So we did a study

00:33:29.040 with this program called self-authoring,

00:33:32.160 a part of it called future authoring.

00:33:33.660 It has people develop a vision for their life.

00:33:36.860 So to do that,

00:33:37.800 you think five years down the road

00:33:39.820 and you imagine,

00:33:41.800 like honestly,

00:33:42.620 if you were taking care of yourself,

00:33:43.940 what could your life be like

00:33:45.080 if it was the way you would like it to be?

00:33:47.380 Right.

00:33:47.940 And that's a vague and complex question.

00:33:50.660 And so we also break it down for people.

00:33:53.180 What would your intimate relationship look like?

00:33:56.120 Friendships,

00:33:57.400 business,

00:33:58.680 educational opportunities.

00:33:59.780 How would you take care of yourself

00:34:01.160 mentally and physically?

00:34:02.460 How would you use your free time,

00:34:05.260 so-called free time,

00:34:06.240 most productively?

00:34:08.100 How might you serve other people?

00:34:10.020 Right.

00:34:10.180 So more differentiated.

00:34:11.340 Okay.

00:34:11.660 So now we had students

00:34:13.860 do this program for 90 minutes,

00:34:16.460 no coaching, nothing.

00:34:17.680 No one ever looked at what they wrote

00:34:19.360 before they went off to university

00:34:21.320 and also when they were in university.

00:34:24.200 If they completed that

00:34:25.640 rather than a writing exercise

00:34:27.100 of equivalent length,

00:34:28.020 they were 50% less likely

00:34:29.680 to drop out in the first year.

00:34:31.200 50 bloody percent.

00:34:32.660 Right.

00:34:32.940 Now the biggest effect,

00:34:34.120 this is where it's really cool.

00:34:35.880 The biggest effect was in young men.

00:34:38.520 It was,

00:34:39.480 and the biggest effect was

00:34:40.520 in young men

00:34:41.340 who had a not so stellar academic career.

00:34:44.440 Right.

00:34:45.140 Right.

00:34:45.640 So,

00:34:46.100 and you might imagine

00:34:47.260 that part of the reason

00:34:48.020 they were underperforming,

00:34:49.460 I mean,

00:34:49.660 there's intellectual reasons

00:34:50.660 for underperformance

00:34:51.440 and there's reasons of discipline,

00:34:52.960 but one of the reasons was

00:34:53.940 they didn't,

00:34:54.820 they weren't,

00:34:55.640 they had no compelling reason

00:34:56.920 to do anything.

00:34:58.760 Right.

00:34:59.300 Now I think it's a truism for men 1.00

00:35:01.520 that they won't do a bloody thing

00:35:03.980 until,

00:35:04.980 until they find something that calls.

00:35:07.420 Now women,

00:35:08.200 like they're propelled along

00:35:09.440 their developmental path

00:35:10.620 by biological necessity

00:35:11.940 in a way that men aren't.

00:35:13.380 It's like,

00:35:13.600 you better have your act together

00:35:14.620 by 30 when you're a woman

00:35:15.860 because otherwise you're in trouble.

00:35:17.960 You're a man, 0.78

00:35:18.620 you can monkey around 0.80

00:35:19.460 until you're Abraham's age,

00:35:20.740 like 75,

00:35:21.620 and you're still not scraped off the planet,

00:35:23.620 you know?

00:35:24.060 Yeah.

00:35:24.260 So,

00:35:25.060 but,

00:35:25.480 but you know,

00:35:26.760 you said you,

00:35:27.560 you hit a gold mine

00:35:28.480 in some ways

00:35:29.240 and,

00:35:29.560 and then what else you said

00:35:30.940 that was cool

00:35:31.500 was that,

00:35:32.140 see,

00:35:32.900 it was also dependent

00:35:33.820 to some degree

00:35:34.540 on your genuine knowledge,

00:35:36.680 not just some abstract knowledge

00:35:38.360 as you'd already

00:35:39.080 disciplined yourself

00:35:40.700 in a variety of manners

00:35:41.900 that you could describe

00:35:43.000 if I've got this right

00:35:44.980 that was helpful.

00:35:45.700 So let's,

00:35:46.220 let's delve into that

00:35:47.120 a little bit.

00:35:47.640 So,

00:35:48.100 okay,

00:35:48.300 so now you've got,

00:35:49.680 you've got business partners,

00:35:50.940 you've got a plan

00:35:51.780 to move forward

00:35:52.560 that's on the writing front

00:35:53.920 and then you start making

00:35:54.820 YouTube videos,

00:35:55.520 you've got some mentors,

00:35:56.760 so these are good ways

00:35:57.840 to start a business,

00:35:58.880 right?

00:35:59.120 Find someone who knows

00:36:00.240 how to do it

00:36:00.980 and,

00:36:01.540 you know,

00:36:01.760 see if you can

00:36:02.560 latch yourself onto them

00:36:04.540 in some manner

00:36:05.240 that's mutually productive

00:36:06.520 and learn,

00:36:07.180 okay?

00:36:07.560 And then you could

00:36:08.620 dive into your own

00:36:10.340 experience,

00:36:11.480 okay?

00:36:11.720 So what did you know,

00:36:12.640 how old were you

00:36:13.220 when you started the blog?

00:36:14.980 Um,

00:36:15.540 23.

00:36:17.280 Okay,

00:36:17.520 so pretty young.

00:36:18.300 So what did you know

00:36:19.400 at that time

00:36:20.120 that you felt

00:36:21.660 was worth sharing

00:36:22.700 that other people

00:36:24.020 obviously appreciated

00:36:25.320 and,

00:36:25.820 and how did you manage

00:36:26.820 to build up

00:36:27.480 that body of knowledge?

00:36:29.260 Um,

00:36:29.820 in general,

00:36:30.620 it was my transformation

00:36:33.180 from being

00:36:34.760 what I deemed

00:36:35.420 to be

00:36:36.020 essentially,

00:36:37.700 you wouldn't even

00:36:38.460 perceive that I

00:36:39.500 exercise

00:36:40.040 when I was,

00:36:41.080 uh,

00:36:41.840 probably

00:36:42.220 16,

00:36:44.260 15 years old,

00:36:44.860 I was a rail,

00:36:45.580 like 138 pounds,

00:36:47.240 um,

00:36:47.880 had no muscle

00:36:48.560 to speak of,

00:36:49.420 one of the thinnest

00:36:50.140 kids on my basketball team.

00:36:51.940 How tall were you?

00:36:52.980 Uh,

00:36:53.380 6'1".

00:36:54.540 Oh yeah,

00:36:55.020 that's about exactly

00:36:56.020 the size I was

00:36:56.860 when I started weightlifting,

00:36:58.240 size and weight,

00:36:59.020 yeah,

00:36:59.280 yeah.

00:37:00.000 So,

00:37:00.620 pretty sad,

00:37:01.080 how much could you

00:37:01.620 bench press when you started?

00:37:02.520 Oh,

00:37:02.680 not even the bar.

00:37:03.840 Oh,

00:37:04.160 that's worse than me,

00:37:05.980 that's really sad,

00:37:07.060 man,

00:37:07.160 I could manage 75 pounds,

00:37:09.000 but it was a struggle.

00:37:09.860 Yeah,

00:37:10.340 so,

00:37:11.720 for me,

00:37:12.620 I had gone from,

00:37:14.060 you know,

00:37:14.560 benching less than a girl 0.99

00:37:15.560 to being able to do

00:37:17.300 reasonable feats in the gym

00:37:19.080 and be what would be

00:37:20.280 considered to be a

00:37:21.220 good physique

00:37:22.240 to 99% of people,

00:37:23.920 essentially,

00:37:25.180 even in the fitness industry.

00:37:26.380 And when did you start that?

00:37:28.060 Um,

00:37:28.720 probably around 17 years old.

00:37:30.640 Okay,

00:37:30.900 and how did,

00:37:31.460 okay,

00:37:31.920 how did that come about?

00:37:33.540 Um,

00:37:33.980 primarily through my friends

00:37:35.700 who were all

00:37:36.640 in the gym

00:37:37.880 and making progress

00:37:39.300 and I was the only one

00:37:40.420 who was only playing

00:37:41.340 basketball

00:37:41.780 and not in the gym.

00:37:42.880 Right,

00:37:43.240 so,

00:37:43.620 and you were also

00:37:44.120 on a basketball team,

00:37:45.160 so you had that in

00:37:46.140 on the athletic side.

00:37:47.740 Yeah,

00:37:48.020 yeah,

00:37:48.260 see,

00:37:48.560 I didn't play sports much

00:37:49.800 when I was a kid,

00:37:50.940 partly because I skipped a grade,

00:37:52.440 so I was younger

00:37:53.000 than my peers,

00:37:54.080 and that put me

00:37:54.760 at a disadvantage.

00:37:55.620 So,

00:37:55.860 one of the things you see,

00:37:56.980 for example,

00:37:57.600 is NHL stars

00:37:58.540 are way likely

00:37:59.300 to be the oldest kids

00:38:00.640 in their class.

00:38:01.640 Like,

00:38:02.020 being older,

00:38:03.060 that's a,

00:38:03.400 it's a huge advantage

00:38:04.420 on the athletic front

00:38:05.380 to be even a year older

00:38:06.520 and a huge disadvantage

00:38:07.620 to be a year younger.

00:38:08.880 Anyways,

00:38:09.280 I didn't have

00:38:09.900 the impetus

00:38:11.500 of team sports participation

00:38:13.000 until I went off

00:38:13.940 to graduate school,

00:38:14.820 and that's because

00:38:15.240 I started playing

00:38:15.820 team sports then,

00:38:16.660 and that's also

00:38:17.220 when I started

00:38:17.720 to work out.

00:38:18.720 Okay,

00:38:18.980 so you,

00:38:19.940 you had,

00:38:21.000 again,

00:38:21.460 that's a good indication

00:38:22.880 of the importance

00:38:23.600 of your peer network

00:38:24.700 and your mentoring group.

00:38:25.840 You had people around you

00:38:26.780 who were doing this,

00:38:27.640 and you could see success

00:38:28.860 on their side.

00:38:29.780 So,

00:38:30.060 you went off to the gym.

00:38:30.980 What was it like

00:38:31.560 to go to the gym

00:38:32.160 when you first started to go?

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00:39:42.640 Um,

00:39:43.280 like the first couple

00:39:44.480 of weeks,

00:39:44.980 you're essentially 0.95

00:39:46.180 a cripple 1.00

00:39:46.780 because you're so sore,

00:39:48.120 but this is like,

00:39:49.360 it's when you have

00:39:49.760 a virgin muscle

00:39:50.560 because you work it out

00:39:51.760 and it feels like

00:39:52.560 you've been destroyed.

00:39:53.500 But after a while,

00:39:54.360 you start to adapt

00:39:55.160 and you start to see

00:39:55.860 the scale climbing,

00:39:57.020 especially as a good,

00:39:58.040 positive reinforcement

00:39:59.960 that you visually see.

00:40:01.420 Even if in the mirror

00:40:02.520 I'm not perceiving

00:40:03.320 insane amounts of progress,

00:40:04.720 I can see metrics of change

00:40:06.660 on a numbers basis too

00:40:08.340 that are representing progress

00:40:09.780 and clearly the strength

00:40:11.540 numbers are changing

00:40:12.360 because on a long-term basis,

00:40:15.300 Yeah,

00:40:15.520 so that's an advantage

00:40:16.380 of weightlifting

00:40:17.040 because it gives you

00:40:17.760 those objective metrics

00:40:18.840 very quickly.

00:40:19.640 Because if you just

00:40:20.040 go by the mirror,

00:40:21.020 it's very easy

00:40:21.720 to get discouraged

00:40:22.440 because it takes years

00:40:24.180 to go from

00:40:25.300 what appears to be untrained

00:40:27.100 to somebody who,

00:40:28.600 oh, 0.65

00:40:28.740 that guy is jacked.

00:40:30.580 Yeah.

00:40:30.740 So for me,

00:40:33.160 a lot of it was

00:40:34.240 like positive peer pressure,

00:40:35.760 I suppose,

00:40:36.380 in that my friends

00:40:37.160 were all doing it

00:40:37.840 and I felt kind of like

00:40:38.840 left out if I didn't. 0.99

00:40:41.400 Weak and useless 1.00

00:40:42.200 and isolated. 1.00

00:40:43.900 Yeah.

00:40:44.440 Plus unattractive.

00:40:45.620 Yeah.

00:40:45.980 That's a bad combination.

00:40:47.460 Just by association,

00:40:48.440 I started to go

00:40:49.540 and saw pretty fast results

00:40:51.480 and to me,

00:40:53.480 that was enough

00:40:53.980 to get bit by the iron bug

00:40:56.520 is what they call it

00:40:57.280 where you're so,

00:40:59.480 you become addicted

00:41:00.520 to the results

00:41:01.320 and maybe addicted

00:41:02.260 is too strong of a phrase

00:41:03.180 but like,

00:41:03.980 you really enjoy the process.

00:41:04.720 It's a habit anyways.

00:41:05.980 Yeah.

00:41:06.420 Yeah,

00:41:06.680 it's integrated into your life.

00:41:08.120 Yeah,

00:41:08.480 so I had a really

00:41:09.620 positive experience

00:41:10.820 and for me,

00:41:13.500 it just consumed

00:41:15.300 such a large part of my life

00:41:16.480 learning about it

00:41:17.460 and educating myself

00:41:19.040 to the extreme degree

00:41:21.320 even on the performance

00:41:22.240 enhancement side

00:41:23.140 that it felt worthwhile

00:41:24.860 to start writing about

00:41:26.100 what I had learned to date

00:41:27.700 and perhaps at the time,

00:41:29.580 like I think my knowledge now

00:41:31.000 compared to then,

00:41:31.940 it was a semblance then

00:41:32.960 of it is,

00:41:33.720 that it is now

00:41:34.320 but back then,

00:41:35.320 it felt still valuable enough

00:41:37.020 and worthwhile

00:41:37.560 and I guess proportionally

00:41:38.660 to the concentration

00:41:39.940 of content online

00:41:41.020 at that time

00:41:41.920 was still like top whatever percent.

00:41:44.060 Well,

00:41:44.220 the thing is too,

00:41:45.120 you know,

00:41:45.960 no matter where you are

00:41:47.340 in your stage of development

00:41:48.680 in relationship to a goal,

00:41:50.220 there are people

00:41:50.740 who are behind you,

00:41:52.000 you know,

00:41:52.760 and so even if you don't know

00:41:54.600 everything

00:41:55.420 and you're still somewhat

00:41:57.400 even simple-minded

00:41:58.520 in your approach,

00:41:59.900 that might be exactly

00:42:00.960 what the people

00:42:01.700 who are in

00:42:02.200 even worse shape

00:42:03.400 than you need to hear.

00:42:04.720 Like I always knew

00:42:05.500 it was often the case

00:42:07.600 when I was lecturing

00:42:08.780 as a professor

00:42:09.460 that it was the easiest time

00:42:11.020 for me to lecture

00:42:11.640 was when I was just

00:42:12.780 learning the material

00:42:13.840 because by the time

00:42:15.180 you get to be an expert

00:42:16.080 at something,

00:42:16.520 you forget what people

00:42:17.540 don't know.

00:42:18.280 Right.

00:42:18.700 Right.

00:42:19.060 And then you speak,

00:42:20.120 that's exactly right.

00:42:21.200 Yeah, yeah.

00:42:21.660 So the reason I'm highlighting

00:42:23.200 that is because,

00:42:24.060 you know,

00:42:24.300 people who are listening

00:42:25.080 might think,

00:42:25.620 well,

00:42:25.700 I don't know anything.

00:42:26.800 I mean,

00:42:27.100 in regard to themselves,

00:42:28.260 maybe in regard to me too,

00:42:29.900 but that doesn't mean

00:42:32.700 that the place

00:42:34.120 you're currently standing

00:42:35.340 isn't worth describing

00:42:36.440 and sharing

00:42:37.280 because it could be

00:42:38.880 extremely useful

00:42:39.640 for people

00:42:40.560 for whom you're

00:42:41.300 in their zone

00:42:41.860 of proximal development.

00:42:43.020 So one of the things

00:42:44.020 kids do

00:42:44.620 that's very interesting,

00:42:45.760 eh?

00:42:46.260 When kids mature,

00:42:47.660 they'll often pick

00:42:48.380 a friend that's

00:42:49.060 slightly older than them,

00:42:50.200 someone they look up to,

00:42:51.180 but they tend to pick

00:42:52.380 a person like that

00:42:54.440 who is doing things

00:42:55.640 they could conceivably do,

00:42:57.740 you know,

00:42:57.920 so like a three-year-old

00:42:58.920 isn't going to

00:42:59.840 hear a worship

00:43:00.500 like a 14-year-old

00:43:02.140 because the gap

00:43:02.740 is too great,

00:43:03.440 but he might develop

00:43:04.580 a tremendous admiration

00:43:05.700 for the four-year-old

00:43:06.700 down the street,

00:43:07.440 you know,

00:43:07.680 who's got a little bit

00:43:08.380 more physical skill.

00:43:09.700 It's in his zone

00:43:10.460 of proximal development

00:43:11.580 and as a teacher,

00:43:13.240 that's the zone

00:43:13.860 you should inhabit

00:43:14.620 and that's a very wide zone

00:43:16.040 depending on the people

00:43:17.020 that you're interacting with.

00:43:18.960 So it's reasonable

00:43:20.220 to have some confidence

00:43:21.300 in your own knowledge

00:43:22.600 if you've actually

00:43:23.480 come by it,

00:43:25.340 you know,

00:43:25.680 honestly,

00:43:26.300 let's say.

00:43:26.940 That's likely

00:43:27.660 a big component

00:43:29.460 of what motivated me

00:43:30.600 to pursue the whole thing

00:43:31.820 to begin with too

00:43:32.580 is because Chris,

00:43:34.020 similar to I,

00:43:34.940 was kind of a,

00:43:36.280 at the time,

00:43:37.220 a bodybuilder,

00:43:38.000 meathead kind of guy

00:43:39.280 who I deemed to be

00:43:41.560 not outside the realm

00:43:43.300 of my sphere of interest

00:43:45.140 and had what was

00:43:47.280 a higher level

00:43:48.340 of education at the time

00:43:50.540 and success,

00:43:51.860 but it was within

00:43:52.820 like the proximal range

00:43:54.200 of achievement

00:43:54.680 for what I could conceive

00:43:56.320 I could get to

00:43:57.200 and what he had accomplished

00:43:59.040 was very impressive

00:44:00.040 and something I wanted

00:44:03.360 to achieve myself.

00:44:05.320 Right, right.

00:44:05.880 So that's interesting

00:44:06.780 in relationship

00:44:07.820 to choice of mentor.

00:44:09.640 Right,

00:44:10.100 because you might

00:44:10.540 want to think

00:44:11.080 you want to work

00:44:12.000 for the highest

00:44:12.580 achieving guy

00:44:13.320 in the world,

00:44:13.920 but maybe you don't.

00:44:15.100 Maybe you want to,

00:44:15.880 right, exactly.

00:44:16.580 If it's outside your atmosphere

00:44:18.240 and you're working

00:44:19.060 for some celebrity,

00:44:20.620 you're never going to take,

00:44:21.880 you know,

00:44:22.600 takeaways that are

00:44:23.260 significantly relevant

00:44:24.880 to your current state

00:44:26.260 and time.

00:44:26.820 and perhaps that was

00:44:28.620 a big component

00:44:30.040 as well is

00:44:31.060 I didn't really log

00:44:32.800 like vlogging

00:44:33.840 necessarily on YouTube,

00:44:34.860 but people can absolutely

00:44:35.880 see my development

00:44:36.820 in real time

00:44:37.700 as I publish content.

00:44:39.340 So perhaps

00:44:39.860 following my education along

00:44:41.800 as I educated myself

00:44:43.220 similar to what you mentioned

00:44:44.220 was a big factor

00:44:45.760 that...

00:44:46.140 So what did you have?

00:44:47.200 Okay, so I'm thinking

00:44:48.180 of this Acton Academy.

00:44:50.800 It's a school

00:44:51.620 that helps people

00:44:53.760 develop their own

00:44:54.760 self-motivation,

00:44:55.920 let's say,

00:44:56.500 and one of the exercises

00:44:58.860 that the Acton Academy

00:45:00.080 has,

00:45:00.480 it's very young people do,

00:45:01.680 like 12 years old,

00:45:02.840 is identify

00:45:04.960 a domain of business

00:45:06.740 that they might be

00:45:07.640 interested in pursuing

00:45:08.720 and then writing a letter

00:45:10.700 to someone in that business

00:45:12.780 attempting to describe

00:45:15.660 to that person

00:45:16.420 why entering

00:45:17.960 a mentoring relationship

00:45:18.980 with them would be useful,

00:45:20.740 right,

00:45:21.000 would be interesting

00:45:21.740 and useful.

00:45:22.520 And so you can imagine

00:45:23.400 that helps the kids

00:45:24.320 learn to write a letter

00:45:25.240 like that

00:45:25.780 and to think that through

00:45:26.780 but also

00:45:27.280 one of the things

00:45:29.120 you want to do

00:45:29.840 if you're looking

00:45:31.060 for a mentor

00:45:31.720 and figuring out

00:45:32.480 how to develop yourself

00:45:33.420 is to find someone

00:45:34.140 who can teach you

00:45:34.840 but you can't just

00:45:35.640 go begging for that.

00:45:36.960 Yeah, there has to be

00:45:38.040 a quid pro quo.

00:45:39.140 So with the people

00:45:40.260 that served as your mentors,

00:45:41.720 what do you think

00:45:42.400 it was that you had

00:45:43.580 to offer

00:45:44.180 to make the

00:45:45.040 relationship work?

00:45:47.560 Fortunately,

00:45:48.320 I had enough

00:45:48.980 existing content

00:45:50.460 via their own

00:45:51.700 platforms

00:45:52.240 by posting

00:45:53.560 my own

00:45:53.960 self-improvement

00:45:54.780 journeys

00:45:55.160 even before

00:45:55.920 I was blogging.

00:45:57.580 So prior to that,

00:45:58.820 Right, so you'd done

00:45:59.400 your homework.

00:46:00.260 Yeah, so I had

00:46:01.140 already kind of

00:46:02.700 shown evidence

00:46:03.880 of some level

00:46:05.260 of acumen

00:46:06.440 and success

00:46:07.060 in the niches

00:46:08.880 that I'm speaking of

00:46:09.800 and that's kind of

00:46:11.240 what led Chris

00:46:12.120 to even contact me

00:46:13.700 to say,

00:46:14.340 at one point

00:46:14.960 he had contacted me,

00:46:16.460 hey, do you want

00:46:16.860 to do a guest

00:46:17.540 post on my website

00:46:18.920 and you write

00:46:19.760 top ten,

00:46:21.140 you know,

00:46:21.660 like commonly

00:46:22.320 overlooked something

00:46:23.280 of bodybuilding.

00:46:23.920 Yeah, so you had

00:46:24.640 some proof

00:46:25.160 of previous performance.

00:46:26.880 Well, I just talked

00:46:27.540 to a young guy

00:46:28.360 who sent me

00:46:29.460 three months ago,

00:46:30.720 two months ago,

00:46:31.360 he sent me

00:46:32.100 a bunch of online,

00:46:34.520 a number of online

00:46:35.740 AI projects

00:46:36.760 that he had built

00:46:37.680 out of my material.

00:46:39.080 He didn't ask me

00:46:40.180 if he could do that

00:46:41.060 and he wanted

00:46:42.800 some of my time

00:46:43.560 but what he came

00:46:44.900 armed with

00:46:45.620 was these projects

00:46:47.260 and so I thought,

00:46:48.440 well, I might as well

00:46:48.940 take a look at them

00:46:49.680 and when I looked

00:46:50.260 at them I thought,

00:46:51.200 oh, okay,

00:46:53.580 might be worth,

00:46:54.620 you know,

00:46:55.060 half an hour

00:46:55.560 talking to this kid

00:46:56.560 and so he had already

00:46:58.660 positioned himself

00:47:00.200 so he was a credible

00:47:01.460 communicator, right?

00:47:03.380 Someone I might be

00:47:04.220 interested in having

00:47:04.960 a chat with

00:47:05.640 and so, you know,

00:47:06.860 it's very useful

00:47:07.760 to understand

00:47:08.520 how it is you can

00:47:09.280 position yourself

00:47:10.120 so that, yeah,

00:47:11.380 because if you're asking,

00:47:12.600 if you want something

00:47:13.460 from someone,

00:47:14.140 you should put yourself

00:47:14.940 in a position

00:47:15.580 where the easiest thing

00:47:16.640 for them to say

00:47:17.420 is yes, right?

00:47:19.380 Yeah, and I often see,

00:47:20.920 it's interesting

00:47:21.440 because I hear entrepreneurs

00:47:22.420 speak of this often

00:47:23.520 how if you want

00:47:24.220 to stand out,

00:47:25.060 you know,

00:47:25.360 be willing to work

00:47:26.160 for free

00:47:26.580 or show some value

00:47:27.600 that you're trying to.

00:47:29.240 Yeah, make an offering.

00:47:29.860 Yeah, give something

00:47:30.800 of value to the person

00:47:32.300 that don't just try

00:47:33.880 and take or ask

00:47:34.840 for time or anything

00:47:35.680 like that

00:47:36.160 and while that is

00:47:37.060 common advice,

00:47:37.820 I actually see

00:47:38.540 a shockingly few

00:47:40.000 amount of people

00:47:40.720 actually go out

00:47:42.180 and implement it

00:47:43.000 and even when they do,

00:47:44.280 the way they go

00:47:44.980 about it is

00:47:45.880 often wrong

00:47:47.780 in my opinion.

00:47:48.720 Like they are

00:47:49.160 producing something

00:47:50.320 that is what they think

00:47:51.760 is valuable

00:47:52.300 rather than finding

00:47:53.340 insights from

00:47:54.380 that person's content

00:47:56.120 or something

00:47:57.900 that they can extrapolate

00:47:59.660 out as that person

00:48:00.740 deems it as value.

00:48:02.020 So how can I go

00:48:02.800 about accomplishing this?

00:48:03.560 So they're not making

00:48:04.180 a bridge.

00:48:04.940 Yeah, so sometimes

00:48:05.860 I get reached out

00:48:06.780 to a hundred times

00:48:07.700 a month.

00:48:08.180 Hey, can I make

00:48:08.680 thumbnails for you?

00:48:09.560 Here's examples

00:48:10.780 of thumbnails

00:48:12.160 that I've supposedly

00:48:12.920 created.

00:48:13.780 Like how about you

00:48:14.180 just send me one

00:48:15.120 that might have

00:48:16.340 looked good of

00:48:17.360 you took raw footage

00:48:18.480 yourself and made

00:48:19.140 a great thumbnail

00:48:19.780 and sent it to me

00:48:20.420 in an email.

00:48:21.220 Maybe it would have

00:48:21.820 taken you how many

00:48:22.520 minutes, but you

00:48:23.600 would have stood out

00:48:24.220 from 99% of other

00:48:25.860 people in that moment

00:48:26.740 or the AI thing.

00:48:27.940 I've had some people

00:48:28.420 reach out about AI

00:48:29.220 stuff too where,

00:48:30.840 hey, what if you

00:48:31.360 could consolidate

00:48:32.060 all of your

00:48:33.000 preventative medicine,

00:48:34.560 health, optimization

00:48:35.420 information, one AI

00:48:37.040 robot,

00:48:37.700 here's an example.

00:48:39.300 Often I find,

00:48:40.460 as of now,

00:48:41.020 those are relatively

00:48:42.040 inaccurate,

00:48:42.940 but it's a good

00:48:44.180 idea to show

00:48:45.480 value that could

00:48:47.060 be something

00:48:48.140 the person

00:48:49.220 you're seeking

00:48:49.800 would actually

00:48:51.200 deem to be worth

00:48:52.040 interacting with you.

00:48:52.900 Well, so another

00:48:53.840 thing that I really

00:48:54.800 noticed with the

00:48:55.940 undergraduates

00:48:56.700 at the university,

00:48:57.880 so there are a lot

00:49:00.020 of students and not

00:49:00.800 many professors.

00:49:01.780 Like I think in the

00:49:02.520 psych department at

00:49:03.360 the U of T,

00:49:03.860 there was like 300

00:49:04.540 students for one

00:49:05.440 professor.

00:49:06.620 So developing a

00:49:07.960 relationship with a

00:49:08.780 professor was a tricky

00:49:09.680 business and it's

00:49:11.200 really necessary to

00:49:12.380 develop such a

00:49:13.140 relationship at some

00:49:14.100 point in your life

00:49:14.680 because you can't get

00:49:15.300 mentored properly and

00:49:16.500 then you don't have

00:49:17.160 that pathway that you

00:49:18.160 described, you know.

00:49:19.120 That's a big problem.

00:49:20.680 So a lot of what a

00:49:21.560 university education is,

00:49:22.860 if you're fortunate,

00:49:23.640 is the sequence of

00:49:24.520 mentoring and

00:49:25.100 apprenticeship experiences.

00:49:26.980 But I'd have, you

00:49:27.940 know, students show up

00:49:28.940 to my office and say,

00:49:30.960 you know, can I work

00:49:31.600 in your lab and you

00:49:34.540 have to be careful who

00:49:35.520 you work with because

00:49:36.580 you don't have to bring

00:49:39.260 very many people in who

00:49:40.660 aren't oriented properly

00:49:41.840 for the whole bloody

00:49:42.580 thing to turn into a

00:49:43.480 nightmare.

00:49:44.140 Like one in 30 is

00:49:46.020 probably enough.

00:49:47.060 One bad apple in 30 is

00:49:49.460 enough to sink the ship. 0.96

00:49:51.700 That's a terrible mixed 1.00

00:49:52.660 metaphor, but it's true.

00:49:54.620 I ran a, I helped with a

00:49:57.460 sequence of courses that

00:50:00.000 were designed to produce

00:50:01.720 entrepreneurs all around

00:50:02.680 the world.

00:50:03.460 I think the company that

00:50:04.400 did this, it was the

00:50:05.480 founded, the Funder

00:50:06.220 Institute founded in,

00:50:08.040 in California.

00:50:09.460 And they found that if

00:50:11.880 they had one person in a

00:50:13.240 class of 50 who was

00:50:14.800 tilted in the dark

00:50:16.380 tetrad direction, 1.00

00:50:17.480 narcissistic, psychopathic, 0.98

00:50:19.080 Machiavellian, that that 0.93

00:50:20.580 was enough to sink the 0.93

00:50:21.400 whole course.

00:50:22.380 Like what?

00:50:22.800 So you got to be careful.

00:50:23.680 So anyways, these students

00:50:24.600 would come and say, you

00:50:25.420 know, do you have any

00:50:26.740 opportunities?

00:50:27.240 And usually I had a lot

00:50:29.040 of projects bouncing

00:50:30.200 around in the air.

00:50:32.660 A lot of them only

00:50:34.120 potential and not

00:50:35.320 manifest in any ways.

00:50:36.740 And so I'd often say,

00:50:37.800 well, you know, here's a

00:50:38.560 problem I'm trying to

00:50:39.300 solve.

00:50:40.060 Yeah.

00:50:40.400 Why don't you go do some

00:50:41.400 research on that and come

00:50:42.480 back and answer this

00:50:43.540 question for me?

00:50:44.800 And then the students

00:50:46.120 would bifurcate.

00:50:47.020 There'd be two responses

00:50:48.020 to that.

00:50:48.540 One would be one group of

00:50:49.760 kids would come back like

00:50:50.820 a week later, say they

00:50:52.320 had a week deadline.

00:50:53.260 They'd come back on time.

00:50:55.160 They'd come back and

00:50:56.360 over deliver, but not

00:50:58.000 insanely, but, you

00:50:59.320 know, they went a little

00:51:00.220 bit beyond the call of

00:51:01.940 duty and they provided

00:51:04.440 something that was

00:51:05.140 actually useful.

00:51:06.140 And I'd think, oh, that

00:51:08.820 means I could give you

00:51:10.060 something and you could

00:51:10.980 do it and it would be

00:51:11.880 less trouble for me than

00:51:13.120 doing it myself, which is

00:51:14.860 sort of why you hire

00:51:15.740 someone.

00:51:16.600 But then there was

00:51:17.260 another category of

00:51:18.260 people who would come

00:51:19.020 back and say, well, you

00:51:21.040 know, I couldn't get this

00:51:22.420 finished.

00:51:23.200 And then they'd have

00:51:24.320 five reasons why not.

00:51:25.620 And often they were

00:51:26.600 plausible reasons, you

00:51:27.800 know, but when I delved

00:51:29.260 into the life

00:51:30.040 circumstances of the

00:51:31.240 people who did come back

00:51:32.380 with it finished, they'd

00:51:33.240 had just as many

00:51:33.960 problems.

00:51:34.860 They just didn't let

00:51:35.820 their problems stop

00:51:36.580 them.

00:51:36.860 Now, if there was a

00:51:37.560 death in the family or

00:51:38.600 something, you know,

00:51:39.620 cataclysmic, well, fair

00:51:41.560 enough, maybe, maybe,

00:51:44.720 because you don't get that

00:51:45.500 many opportunities, you

00:51:46.720 know, so you should

00:51:47.400 capitalize on them.

00:51:48.920 But, so this goes along

00:51:50.600 with the statistics show

00:51:51.780 too, that if you're, if

00:51:53.200 you work 10% longer

00:51:55.000 hours, you make 40%

00:51:56.240 more money.

00:51:57.420 And you can imagine

00:51:58.260 that just in a

00:51:58.960 workplace, like, imagine

00:52:01.320 you're running a

00:52:01.880 restaurant and you're

00:52:02.720 going to hire, you hire 0.65

00:52:04.740 some dishwashers and you

00:52:05.860 want to figure out which

00:52:06.620 ones to keep because most

00:52:08.400 of them aren't going to do

00:52:09.080 the job and most of them

00:52:10.360 will quit.

00:52:11.160 And one of them comes 15

00:52:12.600 minutes early and leaves

00:52:13.580 15 minutes late.

00:52:15.900 And you might think, I'm

00:52:16.980 not giving that bloody 0.98

00:52:18.020 capitalist one extra cent of 0.99

00:52:19.800 my, one extra minute of

00:52:21.400 my time.

00:52:22.000 It's like, yeah, well,

00:52:23.200 don't think he won't

00:52:23.920 notice, you know, a

00:52:25.580 little bit above and

00:52:26.580 beyond pays incredible.

00:52:29.660 It segregates you from

00:52:31.080 your competition, right?

00:52:32.240 And at work, if you are

00:52:35.100 willing to go that extra

00:52:36.240 mile and you're smart

00:52:37.980 enough also to non-

00:52:41.340 manipulatively make that

00:52:43.300 known, you know, because

00:52:44.640 people have to see what

00:52:45.620 you're doing too.

00:52:46.280 That's the marketing

00:52:46.980 element.

00:52:47.960 Then when your boss is

00:52:49.500 sitting around and someone

00:52:51.000 in a managerial position

00:52:52.220 higher than yours has left

00:52:53.880 suddenly and he's flailing

00:52:55.520 about trying to figure out

00:52:56.720 who he can slot into that

00:52:57.800 position tomorrow because he

00:52:59.460 doesn't have any time, your

00:53:01.160 name might be the one that

00:53:02.320 drifts up into his

00:53:03.360 imagination.

00:53:04.520 Yeah.

00:53:04.960 Right.

00:53:05.580 I think a lot of people

00:53:06.180 would be shocked how like

00:53:08.440 non-credentialed certain

00:53:09.820 people in high up positions

00:53:10.940 actually are simply by the

00:53:13.380 opportunities afforded to

00:53:14.520 them through hard work and

00:53:17.200 going above the call of

00:53:18.300 duty of the average

00:53:19.040 person.

00:53:19.880 Sometimes it'll be like,

00:53:20.700 how did you become the,

00:53:21.720 you know, producer for X

00:53:23.840 person?

00:53:24.380 It's like, oh, I was just,

00:53:25.960 they asked me to do

00:53:27.440 something or I went out of

00:53:28.760 my way to do it and it was

00:53:29.900 extremely high quality.

00:53:31.460 Yeah.

00:53:31.720 And they gave me

00:53:32.820 something else.

00:53:33.580 Yeah.

00:53:34.200 Yeah.

00:53:34.400 You bet.

00:53:34.800 Well, we know on the

00:53:36.900 objective predictors of

00:53:39.300 success front, the best

00:53:41.860 predictor for success in a

00:53:43.180 complex enterprise is

00:53:44.360 intelligence.

00:53:45.280 And, you know, there's not

00:53:46.360 a lot you can do to crank up

00:53:47.920 your raw intelligence.

00:53:49.180 Although there are things

00:53:50.060 you can do to stop making 1.00

00:53:51.180 yourself stupider. 0.99

00:53:52.400 So while that's something, 1.00

00:53:53.760 you know, right.

00:53:56.520 Conscientiousness is

00:53:57.460 diligence and dutifulness,

00:53:59.280 orderliness,

00:53:59.940 industriousness.

00:54:00.580 It's the second best

00:54:01.500 predictor.

00:54:02.300 Yeah.

00:54:02.440 And you can discipline

00:54:04.020 yourself to become more

00:54:05.180 conscientious and people do

00:54:06.340 across time.

00:54:07.220 As people get older, they

00:54:08.260 get more conscientious.

00:54:09.860 And so, you know, it's,

00:54:11.280 it's lovely to be, to have

00:54:13.200 as a gift from God, an IQ

00:54:14.620 of 145.

00:54:15.960 But if you're willing to

00:54:17.940 work, you know, like

00:54:20.380 actually work and not just

00:54:22.280 look like you're working,

00:54:24.380 especially if you deliver

00:54:26.060 when, when, if you strike

00:54:28.140 when the iron is hot, that

00:54:29.240 can move you an awful long

00:54:30.460 ways.

00:54:30.880 We have lots of people in my

00:54:32.040 organization who, who rose

00:54:35.340 through the ranks in exactly

00:54:36.540 that manner, because they're

00:54:37.480 at hand.

00:54:37.980 You ask them to do something

00:54:39.000 extra and maybe just as a

00:54:40.940 test, you know, this guy

00:54:42.140 seems pretty good at what

00:54:42.960 he's doing.

00:54:43.360 Can we give him something

00:54:44.060 else?

00:54:44.780 Yeah.

00:54:45.020 Yes.

00:54:45.680 Oh, well, maybe he has

00:54:47.340 potential that isn't

00:54:48.400 exhausted by his current

00:54:49.420 role.

00:54:50.460 Yeah.

00:54:50.720 Right.

00:54:51.080 And so that's fun to find

00:54:52.480 out about yourself too.

00:54:54.020 Okay.

00:54:54.240 So you're writing away and

00:54:56.220 what do you start writing

00:54:57.340 about and how often, like,

00:54:59.500 tell me about your writing

00:55:00.460 routine to begin with and

00:55:01.680 how you developed it.

00:55:02.900 In general, I would, when

00:55:05.220 I'm most mentally sharp and.

00:55:07.120 And when was that for you?

00:55:08.800 When I wake up, I,

00:55:10.940 try and stave off eating as

00:55:12.660 long as I can to stay as

00:55:13.900 mentally dialed.

00:55:14.900 And I usually have about a

00:55:16.300 seven to eight hour window

00:55:17.340 where I can crank out whatever

00:55:19.120 content creation on that

00:55:21.140 day.

00:55:21.320 And you found that was when

00:55:22.620 you first woke up.

00:55:23.720 Yeah.

00:55:24.160 Yeah.

00:55:24.380 So I found the same thing,

00:55:25.720 even though I didn't like

00:55:26.460 mornings, I was sharpest to

00:55:28.280 write in the mornings.

00:55:29.340 Yeah.

00:55:29.680 So I would typically sit down

00:55:32.120 and just put on headphones

00:55:33.380 and try and stay as

00:55:34.880 uninterrupted as possible,

00:55:37.440 go on airplane mode and

00:55:38.760 crank away.

00:55:40.520 Noise cancelling headphones?

00:55:41.640 Yeah.

00:55:41.860 Like, to be silent?

00:55:43.380 Yeah.

00:55:43.860 Okay.

00:55:44.240 So you, weren't you listening

00:55:45.160 to music or anything else?

00:55:47.520 Sometimes I listen to

00:55:49.040 soft music that's not

00:55:50.720 totally distracting.

00:55:52.480 Right.

00:55:52.680 It just depends on my mood

00:55:53.740 for that day.

00:55:54.500 Right.

00:55:54.640 But, you know, I wouldn't

00:55:56.620 have anything on the

00:55:57.300 background like a show or

00:55:58.840 hardcore music or anything.

00:56:00.220 Yeah.

00:56:00.360 Well, I found when I was,

00:56:01.780 especially when I was

00:56:02.380 writing seriously, it's like,

00:56:03.560 no, I love listening to

00:56:05.500 music.

00:56:05.920 It's like, no, there's,

00:56:07.460 you can't, if you're serious

00:56:09.160 about what you're doing,

00:56:10.060 you can't allow for

00:56:11.020 distraction.

00:56:11.640 Now, you said as well that

00:56:12.680 you found that that didn't

00:56:14.460 bother you as long as you 0.99

00:56:15.420 were writing about something

00:56:16.160 you're interested in because

00:56:17.160 you were willing to get

00:56:18.000 obsessive about it.

00:56:18.900 I actually think that's a

00:56:19.820 very fundamental male

00:56:20.880 trait, by the way, that

00:56:21.920 unidimensional obsessiveness

00:56:23.500 driven by interest, partly

00:56:25.640 because that is the pathway

00:56:26.780 to success.

00:56:28.500 That, that, that, that's the

00:56:29.780 golden pathway to success for

00:56:31.200 sure.

00:56:31.400 That is the thing that's

00:56:32.400 ideal.

00:56:32.820 So I think that calling,

00:56:34.940 that spontaneous interest is

00:56:36.680 actually that manifestation of

00:56:38.420 the instinct that leads to

00:56:40.160 success.

00:56:41.100 It's deeply rooted in you

00:56:43.180 biologically, way the hell 0.53

00:56:44.800 down below your cognitive

00:56:46.020 systems, way, way down.

00:56:48.540 So if you tap into that, man,

00:56:50.560 it's a, it's a powerful

00:56:52.060 motive force.

00:56:53.480 No, absolutely.

00:56:54.260 Yeah.

00:56:54.440 So for me at the time, I was

00:56:56.460 obsessed primarily with body

00:56:58.720 composition and looking good

00:57:00.740 and performing well, and that

00:57:02.120 led me into the poor performance

00:57:04.160 enhancement side of things.

00:57:05.200 But then further down the road

00:57:06.960 to that, I learned about the

00:57:08.660 detriments and dangers of it.

00:57:10.280 And that led me down the

00:57:11.960 preventative medicine pathway

00:57:13.440 where I became far more

00:57:14.740 passionate about, um, longevity,

00:57:18.260 vitality.

00:57:19.580 Um, and it led me to my primary

00:57:23.000 business endeavors at this point,

00:57:24.440 which is, um, Merrick health,

00:57:26.620 my preventative medicine platform.

00:57:28.720 And through the knowledge on

00:57:31.220 pharmacology and supplementation,

00:57:33.640 I started a supplement company

00:57:35.240 with my co-founder Chris and, um,

00:57:38.800 continued to make content

00:57:40.040 thereafter that was more aligned

00:57:43.420 with my current interest, which

00:57:44.920 has transitioned over time less.

00:57:47.080 Cause obviously as you get older

00:57:48.580 and more mature, it's not like even

00:57:50.780 the name I've considered changing

00:57:52.060 it because it's not like 23 year

00:57:54.100 old, more plates, more dates.

00:57:55.180 Derek is the same as me now,

00:57:57.020 years later, where I'm far more,

00:57:59.280 uh, interested in, um, science-based

00:58:03.320 longevity tactics, blood work

00:58:05.520 analyzation, um, preventative

00:58:07.600 medicine as a whole.

00:58:09.280 And my content is less oriented to,

00:58:11.940 you know, picking up tricks.

00:58:13.360 Well, yeah.

00:58:13.880 Okay.

00:58:14.220 So, but, okay.

00:58:15.080 So let's think about that too here,

00:58:16.700 because, you know, one of the things

00:58:18.160 you said was that when you went to

00:58:20.300 university, you had a vague sense

00:58:21.860 that business was your thing, right?

00:58:23.880 It's very low resolution

00:58:25.140 representation, but that doesn't

00:58:27.040 mean it was wrong.

00:58:27.940 It just meant that it wasn't

00:58:28.840 finally honed, right?

00:58:30.400 It still pulled you in the right

00:58:31.360 direction.

00:58:32.060 Okay.

00:58:32.580 So when you're 23 and you're,

00:58:34.540 you're writing about, uh, more

00:58:36.040 plates, more dates, I mean, you

00:58:37.880 have, you have a compelling

00:58:40.200 interest right at hand, which is

00:58:41.740 you're developing interest in

00:58:43.100 women and being attracted to

00:58:44.560 women. 0.81

00:58:44.740 And so that would go along with

00:58:46.360 looking good.

00:58:47.380 And then that would, that would,

00:58:49.840 you can see how that would

00:58:50.880 segue into a deeper interest in

00:58:53.060 something like performance, right?

00:58:55.140 Because it's like, well, what does

00:58:57.480 it mean to look good?

00:58:58.400 Well, that can be flashy and

00:58:59.800 surface, but people will figure

00:59:01.040 that out pretty damn quick if they

00:59:02.360 have any sense, right?

00:59:03.640 And so there has to be something

00:59:05.240 deeper under that.

00:59:06.240 And that could be something like,

00:59:07.560 well, health and performance,

00:59:08.660 because it really is the case that

00:59:11.020 the truest form of looking good

00:59:13.700 that's sexually attractive is

00:59:15.680 actually associated with optimized

00:59:17.240 health.

00:59:17.780 So for example, the markers that

00:59:19.840 we find attractive in the

00:59:21.520 opposite sex, say, and vice 0.91

00:59:23.420 versa are markers of biological

00:59:26.080 health.

00:59:27.000 So waist to hip ratio in women, 0.99

00:59:28.600 0.68 is optimized for fertility,

00:59:31.140 right?

00:59:31.420 And so symmetry is a, which is a

00:59:33.760 very important determinant of

00:59:35.080 physical attractiveness.

00:59:36.500 Symmetry is an indication of, um,

00:59:39.700 untrammeled neuro, neurological and

00:59:42.580 physiological development.

00:59:43.700 So if you're symmetrical, it indicates

00:59:45.820 that you haven't encountered

00:59:48.700 pathogens or impediments in your

00:59:51.200 developmental pathway that twisted

00:59:52.680 and hurt you in some way that would

00:59:55.020 be more than merely skin deep, right?

00:59:57.560 Now, I'm not saying that everybody who

00:59:58.900 isn't symmetrical, you know, has their

01:00:00.620 underlying problems.

01:00:01.500 I'm saying that if you're looking for

01:00:02.700 a quick and dirty marker of something

01:00:04.640 like biological integrity, symmetry is a

01:00:07.720 great one.

01:00:08.640 Butterflies, this is so cool.

01:00:09.940 You know how beautiful butterflies are.

01:00:11.260 They've worked on that a long time, a

01:00:13.760 long time.

01:00:14.580 They can detect a, uh, deviation from

01:00:17.200 symmetry in a potential mating partner

01:00:18.960 of one part in a million.

01:00:20.760 Wow.

01:00:21.360 Right.

01:00:21.700 And they're butterflies.

01:00:23.080 Like, how they do that is just, like,

01:00:25.880 it's just a miracle that they can do

01:00:27.860 that.

01:00:28.180 I have no idea how that's even possible,

01:00:30.300 but the results are at hand, right?

01:00:32.700 Because a lot of the beauty in

01:00:33.800 butterflies is a consequence of sexual

01:00:35.840 selection.

01:00:36.620 Yeah.

01:00:36.800 I saw this really cool butterfly at one

01:00:38.960 point, just a picture of it.

01:00:40.500 When it closed its wings, it was a

01:00:42.600 leaf, and completely identical to a

01:00:45.180 leaf.

01:00:45.760 And when it opened it, it was beautiful

01:00:47.780 like a butterfly is.

01:00:48.800 And so the natural selection had

01:00:50.300 tuned it to look like a leaf, and the

01:00:52.200 sexual selection had tuned it to be 0.93

01:00:54.080 spectacularly beautiful.

01:00:55.800 And natural selection, or sexual

01:00:57.840 selection, which is the selection of

01:01:00.060 mates by at least somewhat conscious

01:01:02.360 agents, it's a major force that

01:01:04.580 governs evolution.

01:01:05.600 And our sense of beauty is a

01:01:07.700 consequence of sexual selection.

01:01:09.100 And now you can imagine that as a

01:01:10.500 young man, the way that instinct to

01:01:13.000 self-development, the self-development

01:01:15.280 that best produces survival and

01:01:17.300 reproductive fitness over the long

01:01:19.120 run, makes itself manifest as the

01:01:20.900 desire to be attractive to women.

01:01:23.160 Right?

01:01:23.640 And then the women become the judge of 1.00

01:01:25.200 performance.

01:01:26.240 And then you can imagine that if you

01:01:27.540 pursued that diligently, like you did,

01:01:30.040 that that would start to deepen.

01:01:31.880 Yeah.

01:01:32.180 Right?

01:01:32.440 So now you started to become concerned

01:01:34.200 with performance rather than looking

01:01:35.900 good, per se.

01:01:36.640 And then that broadened out into a much

01:01:39.120 deeper understanding of physical

01:01:42.120 health primarily?

01:01:43.140 Or would you say how much physical

01:01:45.060 health and how much mental health?

01:01:47.260 I suppose at the time I didn't really

01:01:50.540 have a huge focus on mental health.

01:01:53.420 It was more cognitive function as a

01:01:54.960 whole.

01:01:55.200 So how sharp, witty, charismatic, these

01:01:59.780 were all things that stemmed from having

01:02:02.000 multiple conversations with attractive

01:02:03.620 and otherwise intimidating women that

01:02:05.780 then bled into business interviews and

01:02:08.400 presentations and things that I noticed.

01:02:10.280 Oh, wow.

01:02:10.660 My conversational capacity was like

01:02:14.000 significantly elevated just by exposing

01:02:16.000 myself to these like otherwise fear

01:02:19.180 inducing encounters with attractive women.

01:02:21.500 No, no.

01:02:22.020 Unpack that.

01:02:23.220 Sure.

01:02:23.460 Okay, okay.

01:02:24.140 So first thing I would say to that is

01:02:25.960 the best way to sustain and develop your

01:02:28.960 cognitive function is through physical

01:02:30.440 exercise.

01:02:31.240 Mm-hmm.

01:02:31.460 Cardiovascular and weightlifting.

01:02:33.280 Oh, yeah.

01:02:33.440 It's way better than doing cognitive

01:02:34.940 exercises.

01:02:35.740 Now, but you pointed to something else

01:02:37.200 more specific, which was that part of

01:02:39.920 the impetus you had to foster your ability

01:02:43.120 to communicate came as a consequence of

01:02:45.760 conversations that you had with challenging

01:02:48.200 women. 0.81

01:02:49.020 Okay, so tell me exactly, tell me how that

01:02:51.380 developed.

01:02:51.900 It wasn't necessarily that I sought out as

01:02:55.300 a goal to, if I talk to attractive women, it 1.00

01:02:58.340 will then lead to business success.

01:03:00.040 Right, of course, of course.

01:03:00.860 But it just, it was an indirect byproduct that

01:03:02.880 I noticed was a fringe benefit.

01:03:06.400 And for me, at least at the time, the most

01:03:09.520 challenging and anxiety inducing activity was

01:03:12.200 walking up to a woman who was very attractive that

01:03:14.940 you didn't know and being able to introduce

01:03:16.540 yourself and have a fluent and articulate

01:03:19.520 conversation.

01:03:20.360 Right.

01:03:20.700 So, after that had been accomplished, and I can

01:03:22.820 repeat it.

01:03:23.460 Okay, so how did you, okay, so there's a shift

01:03:25.800 there, eh?

01:03:26.280 Because, maybe.

01:03:27.380 Because to begin with, if I understand it

01:03:29.740 correctly, your primary focus was on something

01:03:32.440 like physical appearance, right?

01:03:34.040 Yeah.

01:03:34.620 And you had your reasons for that.

01:03:35.960 I mean, you know, you were tall and thin, and you

01:03:37.980 needed to, you needed to fix that up.

01:03:39.680 But then this other idea comes in, you start to

01:03:42.140 notice that the manner in which you're being

01:03:44.480 evaluated by women has something to do with the 0.99

01:03:47.380 surface features that, surface features that

01:03:49.620 we've been talking about, symmetry and muscle

01:03:51.860 mass and physical confidence, all those things

01:03:53.960 you can build up with weightlifting.

01:03:55.620 But then there was a cognitive component.

01:03:58.360 Like, I don't think there is much more, that's much

01:04:00.420 more attractive to women than the capacity to be 1.00

01:04:03.980 articulate.

01:04:04.840 I mean, poets do just fine.

01:04:07.040 Musicians do just fine, right?

01:04:08.680 And it's no, it's no, in no small part, a reflection

01:04:11.660 of their, of the charisma of their capacity to be

01:04:14.660 articulate, right?

01:04:15.940 And this is, this is something that's terribly

01:04:18.460 badly taught to young men.

01:04:20.400 If at all.

01:04:21.020 Right?

01:04:21.220 Well, it's never taught to them.

01:04:22.760 Like, it's so appalling, because if you took a group

01:04:26.160 of 13-year-old guys, and you sat them down and said, 1.00

01:04:28.840 you know, you're, you're kind of useless and hideous. 0.99

01:04:31.680 And one of the things that you could do to be much 1.00

01:04:34.600 more attractive to women is to become 1.00

01:04:36.520 a hell of a lot smarter than you are.

01:04:38.280 And to learn how to show that, and to explain

01:04:40.720 why that is, their motivation for attending,

01:04:44.800 let's say, to English literature, this is something

01:04:46.800 Willink again learned.

01:04:47.960 I mean, he, when he was a commander in the,

01:04:50.020 in the naval seals, one of the things he learned

01:04:53.460 was, for example, that he couldn't speak for his

01:04:55.660 men properly, unless he could make an articulate

01:04:57.660 account of their battlefield performance.

01:05:00.820 Right?

01:05:01.300 And that his performance as a leader was dependent

01:05:04.160 on his ability to be articulate.

01:05:05.920 Then you see people like Russell Brand, for example,

01:05:08.080 who are so articulate that it's just beyond comprehension.

01:05:10.860 And you can see exactly the charisma that

01:05:12.940 rappers are exactly the same, manifestation of exactly

01:05:16.140 the same sort of thing.

01:05:17.580 So, I also think it's pretty damn funny this week

01:05:20.220 that Ben Shapiro is now the world's number one rapper.

01:05:23.060 Oh yeah, I haven't watched that music.

01:05:24.480 Oh my God, it's so funny, especially because Shapiro,

01:05:27.480 I mean, he's a rapid fire speaker, so it's not that surprising,

01:05:30.640 but he's been like criticizing rap as not being music,

01:05:33.420 hip hop for years.

01:05:34.520 Right, right.

01:05:34.980 So, like this is so comical, but it's a good,

01:05:38.900 we can look at the underlying reason why that poetic gift

01:05:42.560 is so attractive.

01:05:43.600 It does indicate your capacity to be articulate,

01:05:46.740 and that is a great indicator of your general competence.

01:05:49.520 Okay, so you were learning that,

01:05:50.780 I noticed too, speaking with you today,

01:05:53.260 you don't have any of the common errors

01:05:56.520 that people often make when they're speaking.

01:05:59.060 No ums, no ahs, no likes, you know,

01:06:03.320 none of that, like, you know, none of that filler,

01:06:07.020 and that you take your time to pause when you need to pause.

01:06:10.640 And all of those bad habits of communication

01:06:13.100 seem to have been completely taken out of you.

01:06:15.260 Now, you've been doing YouTube videos for a long time.

01:06:17.900 So, now you started to pay attention to more verbal articulation.

01:06:24.020 Did that develop along with your interest in writing?

01:06:27.300 Yeah, I think the writing was just a byproduct of the only medium

01:06:32.720 I knew of to communicate my knowledge at the time.

01:06:37.200 It was not necessarily that I had a huge passion for it,

01:06:40.900 and I sought out to write elaborate and in-depth content

01:06:45.360 because I loved writing, it was more, this is the medium

01:06:47.920 by which you reach people and give value.

01:06:51.920 And then, via that, I realized, oh, you know,

01:06:55.460 you can build a far more intimate relationship with the viewer,

01:06:59.360 they can associate with your journey as you develop,

01:07:03.480 et cetera, over video,

01:07:05.220 and infinitely more time efficient as well.

01:07:08.480 Oftentimes, I would try and publish a coinciding article

01:07:11.520 at the same time as the video,

01:07:13.040 and the proofreading process,

01:07:14.580 even taking a transcript that was already written for me

01:07:17.580 of what I said in a video,

01:07:19.820 and making it perfected for all the grammatical corrections

01:07:24.380 that would be necessary for it to be actually publishable online.

01:07:27.880 It was the time equivalent of filming five more videos.

01:07:32.460 Right, right, right.

01:07:33.100 So, I just, eventually, and this is,

01:07:35.740 I think my last article was years ago at this point,

01:07:38.140 stopped writing and went full-time to video.

01:07:40.620 Okay, so what did the writing do to you,

01:07:43.180 or for you, to facilitate that transition?

01:07:46.120 Because one of the important qualities of writing

01:07:50.340 is the formalization of your thought,

01:07:53.400 the formalization of the manner in which you express yourself,

01:07:56.620 the ability to reflect on what you're thinking,

01:08:02.200 because writing allows you to do that,

01:08:03.720 because it's externalized.

01:08:05.420 So, I've turned to video to a large degree as well,

01:08:09.220 although I still write,

01:08:10.160 and the reason I write is because

01:08:11.460 I don't think there's any deeper form of thinking than writing.

01:08:16.200 And so, what did the writing do for you

01:08:18.720 that enabled you to make the transition into YouTube?

01:08:22.380 I think just putting on paper, so to speak,

01:08:29.180 even though it's online,

01:08:30.420 the thoughts I had that were recognized as valuable

01:08:33.940 by people listening, subscribing to my mailing list,

01:08:37.900 that, to me, gave me the reinforcement

01:08:40.220 that pursuing content creation in general was worthwhile.

01:08:43.820 Right, right.

01:08:44.260 And you could identify what your market was interested in too, right?

01:08:47.680 So, you have a dialogue going with them.

01:08:49.300 Yeah, oftentimes when people make videos,

01:08:52.140 they're very scatterbrained,

01:08:53.820 not guided in what they're even trying to say,

01:08:56.760 and at least with writing,

01:08:57.820 it's a very, very meticulous process

01:09:00.040 by which you ensure your work is perfected before it goes out,

01:09:03.900 whereas with a video,

01:09:04.900 while you can edit it and chop it up,

01:09:06.560 at the end of the day,

01:09:07.220 if you're not an articulate speaker,

01:09:08.580 it's not going to come across the same way as written.

01:09:10.900 Right, articulate and focused.

01:09:12.400 Yeah.

01:09:12.600 You know, so one of the things I do before I go on stage

01:09:15.780 is I have the questions I'm trying to address in mind.

01:09:19.800 That's the aim.

01:09:20.620 It's like, so there's a problem.

01:09:23.560 The problem is manifest in the question.

01:09:26.120 Here's something I would like to know about

01:09:28.180 that I don't know about,

01:09:30.320 and then I can aggregate stories around that

01:09:32.800 to try to investigate that problem,

01:09:35.000 and I can share that with the viewer.

01:09:37.740 Now, and that gets me a fair ways

01:09:39.700 because now I'm thinking through this problem,

01:09:42.020 and it's really fun if this happens properly

01:09:45.940 because if the lecture goes spectacularly well,

01:09:49.840 I can weave together all these disparate stories,

01:09:53.880 and it'll come to a point

01:09:55.300 that actually addresses the problem,

01:09:57.220 and I can use that as a punchline,

01:09:58.960 and if it's good,

01:09:59.680 I can do that near the end of the lecture, right?

01:10:01.400 It lands, pull all these things together.

01:10:03.540 It's like telling a very complex joke

01:10:05.480 that actually has a punchline,

01:10:06.940 but it is akin to writing,

01:10:08.520 so people out there who are listening,

01:10:10.020 if you want to write or you want to speak,

01:10:12.200 you need a problem in mind,

01:10:14.140 and your product, that essay or that lecture,

01:10:19.260 needs to circle around that issue at hand,

01:10:23.980 and it should be an issue

01:10:25.480 that your audience would also find compelling.

01:10:29.300 Now, you did market testing, so to speak,

01:10:31.600 with your writing

01:10:32.160 because you could tell what was landing,

01:10:33.820 and you were actually...

01:10:34.900 See, the other thing

01:10:35.700 that people often don't understand

01:10:37.500 is when they're producing a product,

01:10:38.900 they have to find out

01:10:39.560 if there's a market for it.

01:10:40.800 So it's a dialogue between you

01:10:42.400 and your customer base, right?

01:10:44.480 And it's very rare for someone

01:10:46.520 to produce a product

01:10:47.740 and then launch it into the world

01:10:50.540 so that it will be successful

01:10:52.600 without having gone through

01:10:54.040 that dialogical process.

01:10:55.460 So a lot of the serial entrepreneurs

01:10:57.160 I know who've made many companies sequentially,

01:11:00.240 when they have a new idea,

01:11:02.440 they start...

01:11:03.840 They'll launch versions of it quite quickly

01:11:06.880 to see how people are responding,

01:11:09.820 and sometimes they find

01:11:10.800 that the problem they're solving

01:11:11.900 no one cares about,

01:11:13.100 and they'll pivot to some other direction.

01:11:16.020 But the thing about your audience

01:11:17.420 is they'll tell you what they want

01:11:18.820 if you pay attention to them, right?

01:11:20.660 And then you can figure out,

01:11:21.860 you can feel your way forward.

01:11:23.320 What do you think you did well?

01:11:25.700 So let's talk about your YouTube success now.

01:11:27.700 So tell me how that started

01:11:29.800 and tell me what you think you did right

01:11:31.500 and tell us about how it grew.

01:11:34.560 So in general,

01:11:35.400 I think that transitioning from writing

01:11:38.240 to video in general

01:11:40.320 was the first catalyst

01:11:42.140 to having hyper-accelerated growth and exposure

01:11:45.440 simply through efficiency of output.

01:11:48.340 And then further to that,

01:11:50.460 I started to realize that frequency

01:11:52.320 was essentially my bottleneck

01:11:55.160 by which I could,

01:11:56.640 if I could get out more content,

01:11:58.520 I could get more velocity of influence,

01:12:02.720 I suppose,

01:12:03.500 being gained over time.

01:12:05.120 And for me,

01:12:06.240 I went to one video a day.

01:12:08.040 Actually, at my height,

01:12:09.020 I was doing two videos a day,

01:12:10.380 which was...

01:12:10.740 How long?

01:12:10.900 How long were the videos?

01:12:12.020 20 minutes in general.

01:12:13.500 Right, right.

01:12:14.320 So...

01:12:14.680 Why'd you pick 20 minutes?

01:12:16.220 I didn't.

01:12:16.740 I just,

01:12:17.220 whatever it landed at,

01:12:18.180 that was the average.

01:12:19.220 Okay, I see.

01:12:20.040 But they're relatively,

01:12:21.720 like not short form,

01:12:23.040 not three minutes,

01:12:24.020 but not an hour and a half.

01:12:25.240 No podcast.

01:12:26.280 It was mostly me

01:12:27.460 addressing a specific topic

01:12:29.180 and fleshing it out

01:12:30.780 to whatever amount of detail

01:12:32.100 I felt worthwhile.

01:12:33.200 And sometimes that would be an hour.

01:12:34.560 Sometimes it'd be 15 minutes.

01:12:36.460 I would say on average,

01:12:37.440 it was 20, 25 minutes.

01:12:38.500 Right, but you had a central topic in mind.

01:12:40.580 Yeah, exactly.

01:12:41.720 So what sort of topics

01:12:42.680 did you start dealing with

01:12:43.780 when you began?

01:12:44.800 And how has that developed across time?

01:12:46.840 When it started,

01:12:47.720 it was more your standard fitness questions.

01:12:51.280 How to lose fat,

01:12:52.760 how to get shredded,

01:12:54.200 how to gain muscle,

01:12:55.700 optimal diet for keeping fat off.

01:12:59.620 Just any sort of topics

01:13:01.180 that I wish I knew

01:13:02.240 when I was 17 years old

01:13:03.340 and had a quick answer to

01:13:04.500 in a very easy to digest format

01:13:07.260 from a content creator

01:13:08.520 I had a high trust factor in

01:13:10.020 and seemed educated about it

01:13:12.140 and had some sort of experience

01:13:13.340 in the trenches

01:13:13.900 that I can refer to.

01:13:14.860 And how did you identify?

01:13:15.700 Okay, so...

01:13:16.280 So did you try to put yourself in the...

01:13:19.460 Was that your target audience?

01:13:20.900 Was it like, to begin with,

01:13:21.960 was it like guys who are about 17?

01:13:23.760 Did you try to put yourself in their head?

01:13:25.580 Like, how do you think it was

01:13:27.620 that you set yourself up

01:13:29.000 so the right questions to ask

01:13:31.320 appeared for you?

01:13:33.600 I think fortunately for me,

01:13:35.680 often when I make content,

01:13:37.520 it is based on a question

01:13:39.400 I had relatively recently

01:13:42.040 where I can appeal to a demographic

01:13:44.120 that was me

01:13:46.500 five plus years ago, essentially.

01:13:48.660 So you're noticing

01:13:49.360 what you're wondering about.

01:13:50.940 Yeah, so by extension,

01:13:52.460 and I think this is the best way

01:13:53.440 to garner an audience

01:13:54.420 that is actually

01:13:55.580 aligned with what your interests are,

01:13:59.220 is what were you interested in yourself

01:14:00.760 and what are you an expert in?

01:14:01.860 Well, that's also genuine,

01:14:03.180 because that way you're

01:14:04.400 gathering around you

01:14:06.100 the people who are

01:14:07.180 your audience.

01:14:08.900 Yeah.

01:14:09.920 And not someone else's,

01:14:11.140 which is another reason

01:14:11.920 you shouldn't game it.

01:14:13.180 Yeah.

01:14:13.360 It's like, because if you do that right,

01:14:15.240 this is one of the things

01:14:15.900 I love about this podcast,

01:14:17.140 is like, I can just find people

01:14:19.600 I'd like to talk to.

01:14:20.740 That's a good deal.

01:14:22.080 Yeah.

01:14:22.460 You know, and they'll come

01:14:23.260 and talk to me,

01:14:23.940 and then I can share that

01:14:24.980 with everyone,

01:14:25.620 and because none of that

01:14:27.900 is false,

01:14:29.480 I'm never anything other

01:14:30.740 than enthusiastic

01:14:31.460 about what I'm doing,

01:14:32.620 because why would I not

01:14:34.200 want to sit down

01:14:34.880 and talk to someone?

01:14:35.600 I mean, I've talked to

01:14:36.360 my intellectual heroes

01:14:37.540 on the podcast.

01:14:38.540 It's, you know,

01:14:39.280 and people who are great,

01:14:40.140 like yourself,

01:14:40.740 who are great at marketing

01:14:42.060 and communicating,

01:14:42.800 and I can learn more

01:14:43.800 all the time by doing that.

01:14:45.520 And so that's it.

01:14:46.080 That's, so this speaks

01:14:47.360 to this necessity.

01:14:48.440 This is something for everybody

01:14:49.340 to think about, too,

01:14:50.180 is you want to have

01:14:50.840 your bloody motivations aligned,

01:14:53.300 your interests aligned.

01:14:54.360 This is the same

01:14:54.960 when you're working with people.

01:14:56.600 Find out what you're interested in,

01:14:58.320 right,

01:14:58.560 and pursue that.

01:14:59.640 Make sure your head's

01:15:00.680 screwed on straight about that,

01:15:02.220 because your interests

01:15:03.500 were aligned with trying

01:15:04.380 to make things better.

01:15:05.700 You know,

01:15:05.940 you came about that

01:15:07.320 in the typical

01:15:07.880 sort of young man way,

01:15:09.120 which is,

01:15:09.860 how can I get women 1.00

01:15:10.700 to like me,

01:15:11.500 which is a perfectly

01:15:12.500 good question,

01:15:13.720 you know,

01:15:14.120 because they're very,

01:15:14.860 very harsh judges.

01:15:15.920 Yeah.

01:15:16.440 Yes,

01:15:16.860 and they're likely to reject,

01:15:18.300 and so that's a good

01:15:19.440 disciplinary strategy.

01:15:21.640 And getting through that

01:15:22.340 builds a lot of

01:15:23.020 mental fortitude as well.

01:15:24.440 Yeah,

01:15:24.860 more than anything else.

01:15:26.500 Absolutely,

01:15:27.060 more than anything else.

01:15:28.580 Yeah,

01:15:28.800 there's a reason,

01:15:29.800 man.

01:15:30.140 You know,

01:15:30.380 you remember the movie

01:15:31.480 Sleeping Beauty?

01:15:32.580 Remember when the hero

01:15:33.440 escapes from the castle?

01:15:34.800 Yeah.

01:15:35.260 Okay,

01:15:35.460 so it's a feminine image

01:15:36.680 he confronts. 0.63

01:15:37.500 That's the evil queen. 1.00

01:15:39.580 Right. 0.54

01:15:40.200 She turns into the dragon 0.96

01:15:41.780 that burns everything down

01:15:43.240 before he gets to the princess.

01:15:45.320 Right.

01:15:46.400 Right.

01:15:46.840 Well,

01:15:47.000 there's a reason

01:15:47.600 that story echoes.

01:15:49.260 It's because if you want

01:15:50.340 to awaken the sleeping princess,

01:15:52.840 you better let the dragon 0.97

01:15:54.160 burn off everything 1.00

01:15:55.080 stupid about you. 1.00

01:15:56.520 Right. 1.00

01:15:57.080 And if that'll be

01:15:57.980 most of you.

01:15:59.060 Yeah.

01:15:59.440 Right.

01:15:59.760 So that's very painful.

01:16:01.740 Yeah,

01:16:02.240 you're essentially

01:16:02.940 a product

01:16:03.940 on a market

01:16:05.180 that will tell you

01:16:06.520 in real time

01:16:07.440 if you are worth

01:16:08.800 being with or not

01:16:09.560 and you will get

01:16:10.100 the harsh reality check

01:16:11.120 you need.

01:16:11.520 How annoying is that?

01:16:11.880 Yeah.

01:16:12.320 Yeah.

01:16:12.860 Especially in online dating

01:16:13.980 which is essentially

01:16:14.680 how most people

01:16:15.260 meet nowadays,

01:16:16.160 you will get told

01:16:16.820 very quickly

01:16:17.460 if you are appealing

01:16:18.260 or not.

01:16:19.400 Right.

01:16:19.880 Right.

01:16:20.540 Well,

01:16:20.640 it's like pornography.

01:16:22.600 You either deal

01:16:23.500 with the realities

01:16:24.220 of the situation

01:16:25.060 or you swear off women,

01:16:26.720 become an incel,

01:16:27.540 whatever it is,

01:16:28.360 but...

01:16:28.800 Yeah,

01:16:29.020 that's not a good

01:16:29.700 pathway.

01:16:31.100 No.

01:16:31.460 No,

01:16:31.740 there's a lot of

01:16:32.340 resentment

01:16:32.740 and bitterness

01:16:33.420 and murderous rage

01:16:34.740 under that

01:16:35.720 particular decision.

01:16:37.780 Yeah.

01:16:38.140 Right,

01:16:38.580 right,

01:16:38.980 right.

01:16:39.480 Okay,

01:16:39.840 so now

01:16:40.240 you're making

01:16:41.000 on average

01:16:42.000 20-minute videos

01:16:42.980 and you're concentrating

01:16:44.000 on the things

01:16:44.840 that you notice

01:16:46.140 you were wondering about

01:16:47.460 but also that might appeal

01:16:48.760 to the younger people

01:16:49.680 that you're trying

01:16:50.280 to pull along,

01:16:51.780 let's say,

01:16:52.160 or encourage.

01:16:52.840 That's a better way

01:16:53.480 of thinking about it.

01:16:54.840 And so how does that

01:16:55.720 broaden across time?

01:16:57.200 Now,

01:16:57.400 you have Merrick Health

01:16:58.440 and you have

01:16:59.200 a supplement company.

01:17:00.600 Tell me how

01:17:01.260 the work

01:17:02.320 that you were doing

01:17:02.940 in YouTube,

01:17:04.200 where that led you

01:17:05.280 in terms of

01:17:05.940 the deepening

01:17:06.440 of your interest

01:17:07.180 and how that made

01:17:08.240 it self-manifest

01:17:09.420 in the entrepreneurial

01:17:10.440 and business world.

01:17:12.040 So complementary

01:17:12.840 to self-improvement

01:17:15.040 and optimization,

01:17:16.160 you will often,

01:17:18.120 typically you'll end up

01:17:19.040 down rabbit holes

01:17:19.940 of what can I do

01:17:21.220 to enhance

01:17:21.700 cognitive performance?

01:17:22.860 What can I do

01:17:23.380 to optimize my hormones?

01:17:25.000 What can I do

01:17:25.560 to offset

01:17:26.380 neurodegeneration,

01:17:28.020 prevent aging,

01:17:29.180 stay youthful,

01:17:30.540 vital,

01:17:31.260 strong,

01:17:32.320 build muscle,

01:17:32.760 like all these things

01:17:33.500 are intertwined.

01:17:34.720 Yeah,

01:17:34.920 and all those

01:17:35.420 are infinitely

01:17:35.960 deep rabbit holes.

01:17:37.100 Yeah,

01:17:37.480 so transitioning

01:17:38.180 from just cosmetically,

01:17:40.040 how do I be

01:17:40.440 as appealing

01:17:40.840 as possible

01:17:41.460 to also,

01:17:42.640 how do I perform well,

01:17:44.000 feel great,

01:17:45.120 actually be healthy,

01:17:46.860 et cetera,

01:17:48.000 it all is,

01:17:49.340 it felt like

01:17:50.000 a natural progression

01:17:50.860 going from

01:17:51.640 the more superficial

01:17:52.740 to the more

01:17:53.620 actual,

01:17:55.540 integrated focus.

01:17:57.160 So for me,

01:17:58.180 I got a cool story

01:17:59.080 about that.

01:17:59.680 All right,

01:18:01.520 so it's one of the

01:18:02.820 most famous stories

01:18:03.560 in the world.

01:18:04.140 It's Moses'

01:18:04.780 encounter with

01:18:05.300 the burning bush.

01:18:07.080 Okay,

01:18:07.300 so he's just

01:18:07.840 wandering around

01:18:08.580 along his pathway.

01:18:10.020 He's just a young guy.

01:18:10.920 He's a shepherd

01:18:11.420 at this point.

01:18:12.080 He's got two wives.

01:18:12.960 He's doing all right

01:18:13.620 on that front.

01:18:14.640 He's got a good

01:18:15.380 relationship with

01:18:16.120 his father-in-law.

01:18:17.020 There's nothing

01:18:17.460 special about him.

01:18:18.660 He's left his home

01:18:20.100 and he's being a shepherd.

01:18:22.680 And in those days,

01:18:23.380 that was no joke

01:18:24.220 because you were out

01:18:25.480 on your own,

01:18:26.260 taking care of yourself,

01:18:27.500 guarding over these things

01:18:28.480 that were pretty fragile

01:18:29.800 and their reliance.

01:18:31.720 So like,

01:18:32.240 you're a tough dude

01:18:33.000 if you're a shepherd.

01:18:34.360 Low status,

01:18:35.140 but, you know,

01:18:36.000 a contender.

01:18:37.140 All right,

01:18:37.440 so now he's near

01:18:38.440 Mount Sinai,

01:18:39.240 which is the place

01:18:40.020 essentially where

01:18:40.740 heaven and earth meet.

01:18:41.820 That's the symbolic landscape.

01:18:43.880 And he sees something

01:18:45.200 out of the corner

01:18:45.860 of his eye.

01:18:46.980 It glimmers at him

01:18:48.220 and gleams

01:18:48.840 and attracts him.

01:18:49.740 And so he goes off

01:18:50.400 the beaten path

01:18:51.080 to investigate.

01:18:52.260 And it's this burning bush.

01:18:54.260 And what a burning bush is,

01:18:55.360 it's something that's alive

01:18:56.460 because a tree

01:18:57.600 is a very good representation

01:18:59.140 of life itself

01:19:00.840 and its branching complexity,

01:19:02.620 right?

01:19:02.880 It's why we have

01:19:03.520 trees of,

01:19:05.140 say,

01:19:06.100 phylogenetic derivation,

01:19:07.920 evolutionary speaking,

01:19:09.200 and trees of relationship.

01:19:10.940 And a tree is something

01:19:12.120 that branches

01:19:12.740 and it's obviously

01:19:14.260 also something

01:19:14.940 that's alive.

01:19:15.880 This is a burning,

01:19:17.500 it's burning life.

01:19:19.340 Well,

01:19:19.560 you could think about that

01:19:20.480 as life

01:19:21.000 at its most extreme

01:19:22.800 because you are on fire.

01:19:24.100 I mean,

01:19:24.280 we're metabolic agents,

01:19:25.400 right?

01:19:25.760 I mean,

01:19:26.160 we burn to live.

01:19:27.800 And so life is a form of,

01:19:30.000 a burning bush

01:19:30.840 is a living flame.

01:19:31.940 That's a good way

01:19:32.480 of thinking about it.

01:19:33.220 And this is what attracts you

01:19:34.320 is the essence

01:19:35.140 of the living flame.

01:19:36.600 So Moses goes to look,

01:19:38.880 what is this?

01:19:40.420 And then he gets closer

01:19:42.500 and closer to it,

01:19:43.380 right?

01:19:43.560 Which is what you're doing,

01:19:44.620 by the way,

01:19:45.100 when you go from,

01:19:45.940 you know,

01:19:46.220 this superficial attraction

01:19:47.460 into the depths,

01:19:48.380 the rabbit holes,

01:19:49.060 let's say.

01:19:49.520 He gets closer and closer

01:19:50.860 to this source

01:19:51.780 of this energy,

01:19:53.580 right?

01:19:53.780 And so at one point,

01:19:55.180 he notices he's starting

01:19:56.600 to tread on sacred ground.

01:19:58.220 That's how close he is.

01:19:59.160 He's way down in the depths.

01:20:00.540 He takes off his shoes.

01:20:01.700 That's an indication

01:20:02.460 of humility.

01:20:03.420 And he keeps pursuing.

01:20:05.520 And what happens

01:20:06.160 is the voice of God

01:20:07.100 itself speaks to him,

01:20:08.420 right?

01:20:08.640 The essence of being

01:20:09.900 and transforms him.

01:20:11.380 That's what turns him

01:20:12.100 into a leader,

01:20:12.880 that the leader

01:20:13.840 that can stand up

01:20:14.760 against tyranny

01:20:15.440 and slavery. 0.91

01:20:16.700 And so the message

01:20:17.400 of that's,

01:20:18.200 and that's despite

01:20:19.280 his inadequacies

01:20:20.220 because Moses' objection

01:20:21.360 right away,

01:20:21.860 he says,

01:20:22.020 well,

01:20:22.240 I'm inarticulate.

01:20:23.700 I can't speak well.

01:20:25.740 And God basically says,

01:20:26.960 well,

01:20:27.100 that's your problem.

01:20:27.880 You should do something

01:20:28.460 about that

01:20:29.020 by whatever means necessary

01:20:31.200 because this is what

01:20:32.460 you're called upon to do.

01:20:34.040 And so the idea there,

01:20:35.040 it's such a cool idea,

01:20:36.460 which is why this is

01:20:37.720 such a great story

01:20:38.520 is that

01:20:38.920 if you pay attention,

01:20:41.300 things will call to you.

01:20:42.920 You know,

01:20:43.560 some of them are generic,

01:20:44.500 like the male desire

01:20:46.000 to be attractive to women.

01:20:47.360 If you take that seriously,

01:20:49.460 it does this,

01:20:51.040 right?

01:20:51.200 It leads you down

01:20:51.940 into the depths.

01:20:52.940 That's partly where

01:20:53.740 you'll encounter 1.00

01:20:54.460 everything stupid about you 1.00

01:20:55.720 that has to be burned away. 1.00

01:20:56.900 But it's also

01:20:57.480 where you discover

01:20:58.840 the purpose

01:20:59.360 that does make you

01:21:00.560 part of the eternal process

01:21:02.480 that stands up

01:21:03.400 against tyranny and slavery.

01:21:05.160 Right?

01:21:05.500 So that's,

01:21:06.340 and there isn't anything

01:21:07.240 more entertaining

01:21:07.920 than doing that.

01:21:09.040 So, okay,

01:21:09.560 so now you're pursuing

01:21:10.660 your interest

01:21:11.420 and you're getting better

01:21:12.640 and better at communicating

01:21:13.700 and now you're broadening

01:21:15.500 your reach

01:21:16.060 and deepening

01:21:16.680 your understanding.

01:21:17.560 And so how does that

01:21:18.940 make itself manifest

01:21:19.920 actually in the realm

01:21:21.680 of like proximal success?

01:21:23.240 You have Merrick Health.

01:21:25.620 How does this unfold

01:21:27.040 and why does it work?

01:21:29.200 So for me,

01:21:30.980 over time,

01:21:31.940 as I developed

01:21:32.840 my expertise

01:21:33.540 in these very

01:21:34.900 specific niche

01:21:36.520 disciplines,

01:21:38.640 I felt like I had,

01:21:40.700 there was a lack

01:21:41.520 of certain things

01:21:42.900 in the marketplace

01:21:43.520 that actually

01:21:44.560 represented

01:21:45.660 high-value services

01:21:47.440 and or products

01:21:48.360 for the things

01:21:49.560 I was seeking,

01:21:50.160 whether it be

01:21:50.660 pre-workout supplementation

01:21:52.300 for sports performance

01:21:53.260 or cognitive enhancement

01:21:54.580 with nootropics

01:21:55.980 that weren't pixie-dusted

01:21:57.080 with things

01:21:58.480 that were on paper

01:21:59.660 attractive-looking ingredients

01:22:01.080 but were actually

01:22:01.800 at minuscule dosages

01:22:02.840 that impart

01:22:03.500 no actual benefit.

01:22:04.980 There was a lot of areas

01:22:06.060 to be improved

01:22:06.840 in the industries

01:22:07.560 as a whole.

01:22:09.440 Right,

01:22:09.860 so you could see

01:22:10.540 as you delved

01:22:11.580 further and further in

01:22:12.620 the developed expertise,

01:22:13.620 you could see

01:22:13.980 where the holes were

01:22:14.680 essentially.

01:22:15.280 Yeah,

01:22:15.620 and it was getting

01:22:16.240 very frustrating

01:22:17.680 to be able

01:22:18.320 to be talking about

01:22:19.820 what people

01:22:20.460 should be looking for,

01:22:22.160 even what I deem

01:22:23.800 to be high quality

01:22:25.420 of certain

01:22:26.720 products,

01:22:27.660 services,

01:22:28.080 whatever,

01:22:28.760 diagnostic metrics

01:22:30.320 and it not being

01:22:32.180 readily available

01:22:33.000 or in a service

01:22:35.000 that I felt

01:22:35.440 was valuable enough

01:22:36.960 that was

01:22:37.720 something that had

01:22:41.260 people that actually

01:22:43.120 cared behind it

01:22:44.000 and were continuing

01:22:44.960 to educate themselves

01:22:46.060 on the forefront

01:22:46.720 of the cutting edge.

01:22:47.820 Right,

01:22:48.040 so it was something

01:22:48.640 real in other words.

01:22:49.920 So for me,

01:22:50.940 being somebody

01:22:51.600 who's creating content

01:22:52.880 about this

01:22:53.340 every single day

01:22:54.340 and communicating

01:22:55.480 with elevating levels

01:22:58.160 of expertise

01:22:59.940 in these different fields

01:23:01.300 and being associated

01:23:02.380 by proximity

01:23:03.560 to certain

01:23:04.280 expert minds

01:23:05.620 in these industries,

01:23:06.340 it was just

01:23:08.140 a no-brainer

01:23:08.740 for me to pursue

01:23:09.620 what I felt

01:23:10.200 hyper-passionate

01:23:11.040 about bringing

01:23:11.700 the highest level

01:23:12.440 of service to

01:23:13.180 and also

01:23:14.440 was frustrated

01:23:15.220 with not having

01:23:15.960 the access myself.

01:23:17.060 Being a Canadian,

01:23:17.900 for example,

01:23:18.400 with blood work,

01:23:19.440 essentially impossible

01:23:20.360 to get anything

01:23:21.440 if you're not

01:23:22.420 literally dying

01:23:23.460 sometimes.

01:23:24.640 So I would...

01:23:25.240 Yeah,

01:23:25.260 and even then...

01:23:26.980 Oh,

01:23:27.220 even then,

01:23:27.700 it's like...

01:23:28.360 Yeah,

01:23:28.620 it's absolutely...

01:23:29.460 You're imagining

01:23:30.280 your erectile dysfunction

01:23:31.460 or,

01:23:32.180 you know,

01:23:32.480 some...

01:23:33.200 You know,

01:23:33.880 what's...

01:23:34.200 They don't even...

01:23:34.880 The concept of TRT

01:23:36.420 was something

01:23:37.320 back then...

01:23:38.300 TRT.

01:23:38.860 Testosterone replacement therapy

01:23:39.940 that was unfathomable

01:23:41.640 for a primary care...

01:23:44.060 Like a family doctor

01:23:45.200 or somebody

01:23:45.720 to be even discussing

01:23:47.260 with you,

01:23:47.700 let alone let you

01:23:48.320 get a blood test for

01:23:49.320 or anything

01:23:50.420 if you were under

01:23:51.160 the age of...

01:23:52.100 I don't know.

01:23:52.420 So why did you become...

01:23:54.480 Why did you become confident

01:23:56.700 in your developing knowledge?

01:23:58.280 I mean,

01:23:58.480 you're not an MD.

01:23:59.440 You don't have a

01:24:00.080 background in biology.

01:24:02.700 You know,

01:24:03.260 you came at it

01:24:03.980 from the gym,

01:24:05.400 let's say,

01:24:05.940 and from business

01:24:07.500 administration,

01:24:08.540 you know.

01:24:09.300 And so,

01:24:11.320 why is it

01:24:12.700 that you had faith

01:24:13.800 in your progress

01:24:14.840 and...

01:24:15.840 Does it...

01:24:18.340 Does your lack

01:24:19.480 of formal qualification

01:24:21.160 in that regard

01:24:21.820 disturb you?

01:24:22.580 Like,

01:24:22.760 how do you know

01:24:23.260 that you're not

01:24:24.060 peddling snake oil?

01:24:25.540 How do you know

01:24:25.980 that you're not

01:24:26.560 a charlatan,

01:24:27.620 say?

01:24:28.140 I mean,

01:24:28.580 it's not like

01:24:29.080 the health field 0.97

01:24:29.620 isn't full of charlatans.

01:24:30.700 So,

01:24:31.340 you know,

01:24:32.840 you speak with enthusiasm

01:24:34.460 and conviction

01:24:35.220 about what you're doing,

01:24:36.240 but how do you protect yourself

01:24:37.780 against the potential

01:24:38.740 for error?

01:24:40.000 So for me,

01:24:40.700 I have always valued

01:24:41.740 transparency.

01:24:43.180 So,

01:24:43.720 in general,

01:24:44.300 when it came to supplements

01:24:45.240 or diagnostics,

01:24:46.720 medical oversight,

01:24:47.900 it was always based

01:24:48.980 on literature.

01:24:50.080 And I wasn't

01:24:51.480 the first,

01:24:52.080 certainly,

01:24:52.520 but I was one

01:24:53.360 of the first

01:24:53.900 to actually make content

01:24:55.440 literally dissecting

01:24:57.480 scientific papers

01:24:58.420 on YouTube

01:24:59.420 to where I'm speaking

01:25:01.000 about facts

01:25:01.940 to my audience

01:25:03.460 about the most

01:25:04.320 cutting edge

01:25:04.760 of information.

01:25:05.320 How long did it take you

01:25:06.240 to learn to read

01:25:06.860 a scientific paper?

01:25:08.880 That's actually

01:25:09.520 very hard.

01:25:10.660 Yeah,

01:25:11.140 years.

01:25:12.200 And also,

01:25:13.620 just,

01:25:14.380 again,

01:25:14.720 being enthralled in it.

01:25:15.940 At some point,

01:25:16.680 you go above and beyond

01:25:17.600 the scope of

01:25:18.460 what have your gym bros

01:25:19.740 told you?

01:25:20.380 What have you read

01:25:20.960 in online forums?

01:25:22.160 What have you...

01:25:22.900 And as you go up

01:25:24.060 the grapevine,

01:25:25.140 so to speak,

01:25:25.740 of quality of information,

01:25:27.160 you end up in actual

01:25:28.300 scientific literature

01:25:29.160 published by

01:25:30.500 credentialed people.

01:25:31.920 And by extension...

01:25:33.040 And then you learn

01:25:33.440 how to evaluate it,

01:25:34.440 which also takes years.

01:25:35.860 Yeah.

01:25:36.260 And by extension,

01:25:37.360 I suppose a lot

01:25:38.380 of my content,

01:25:39.920 because I had such

01:25:40.940 a specific overlap

01:25:42.740 with different

01:25:43.800 areas of discipline,

01:25:45.320 like hair loss

01:25:46.080 prevention,

01:25:46.980 performance enhancement,

01:25:48.500 hormone optimization,

01:25:50.220 diagnostic analysis,

01:25:51.820 these things are all

01:25:53.140 different subcategories

01:25:55.220 that aren't

01:25:56.100 one and the same

01:25:56.880 and have a unique

01:25:57.580 overlap.

01:25:58.300 So I guess

01:25:59.100 fortunate for me,

01:26:01.000 I had enough

01:26:01.680 of a carved out

01:26:03.020 unique channel

01:26:05.600 that it caught

01:26:06.680 the attention

01:26:07.140 of certain people

01:26:08.020 that even above

01:26:10.080 the scope

01:26:10.580 of the gym bro

01:26:11.300 and the whatever,

01:26:11.940 I started to get

01:26:12.380 associated with the likes

01:26:13.460 of Andrew Huberman,

01:26:15.320 Peter Atiyah.

01:26:15.840 And these are individuals

01:26:16.720 that I consider friends

01:26:17.800 and speak with regularly now.

01:26:20.440 So that kind of thing

01:26:21.280 over time,

01:26:22.260 I suppose my imposter syndrome

01:26:24.220 kind of faded away

01:26:25.360 a little bit

01:26:25.940 because I too

01:26:27.040 didn't think,

01:26:27.860 I'm just some gym bro.

01:26:28.940 Why should I have

01:26:29.940 any right to be talking

01:26:30.960 about anything to do

01:26:31.880 with blood work

01:26:32.560 or anything?

01:26:33.580 And I would often

01:26:34.400 be hesitant to make,

01:26:35.960 I don't necessarily

01:26:36.740 make medical

01:26:37.440 recommendations ever,

01:26:38.380 but I will point

01:26:39.160 to guided encouragement

01:26:41.160 to seek out

01:26:42.100 certain things

01:26:42.960 that I deem to be

01:26:43.780 worthwhile for myself

01:26:44.740 or my family

01:26:45.780 or what have you.

01:26:46.760 So it's never about

01:26:47.720 trying to play doctor.

01:26:49.900 It's more about

01:26:50.840 here's the literature,

01:26:52.060 here's how I've educated myself,

01:26:53.480 here's the scope of influence

01:26:54.660 that has created

01:26:55.440 and assimilated

01:26:56.500 my knowledge basis

01:26:57.540 to where this is what I...

01:26:59.580 Right, and you can trust yourself

01:27:00.900 to some degree

01:27:01.640 because you've defined

01:27:03.320 your pursuits carefully.

01:27:04.620 I mean, one of the threads

01:27:06.200 that weaves through

01:27:07.000 everything we've talked about

01:27:08.080 is the fact that

01:27:08.780 you are actually interested

01:27:10.120 in learning about

01:27:11.680 how to be healthier

01:27:12.920 and better

01:27:13.760 multidimensionally

01:27:15.380 and that's genuine.

01:27:16.120 And then you're also interested

01:27:17.420 in helping other people

01:27:18.680 do that and that's genuine.

01:27:20.020 And so that actually

01:27:21.080 sets the framework

01:27:22.080 within which you can

01:27:23.280 evaluate, say,

01:27:25.080 scientific literature.

01:27:26.260 You know, I mean,

01:27:26.800 if a scientist is evaluating

01:27:28.740 his own data set

01:27:29.700 and his goal is

01:27:30.460 to advance his career,

01:27:31.820 everything,

01:27:32.440 every single statistic

01:27:33.400 that he produces

01:27:34.100 will be a lie.

01:27:35.340 Yeah.

01:27:35.860 Right, because he's

01:27:36.720 bending his vision

01:27:37.900 to serve his narcissism.

01:27:40.300 Right, and so you have

01:27:41.420 to have your vision

01:27:42.860 clear to begin with

01:27:43.900 if you're going to

01:27:45.560 accomplish

01:27:45.680 if you're going to

01:27:46.620 pursue the truth

01:27:47.460 in a manner

01:27:47.880 that's positive.

01:27:49.120 Right, and you can see,

01:27:50.360 I mean, I can see

01:27:50.960 by talking to you

01:27:51.800 that there's a real

01:27:52.420 consistency in the way

01:27:54.100 that you address

01:27:54.760 all these themes

01:27:55.560 and that consistency,

01:27:57.340 I mean, we can boil it

01:27:58.380 down to, to some degree,

01:27:59.520 you can boil it down

01:28:00.260 to self-interest, right?

01:28:01.360 I mean, which is okay.

01:28:02.620 I'm not complaining

01:28:03.260 about that.

01:28:03.940 It's that, well,

01:28:04.660 you're, no one's going

01:28:05.900 to quibble with your desire

01:28:07.000 when you were a young man

01:28:07.900 to be attractive to women.

01:28:08.980 It's like, yeah,

01:28:09.940 obviously.

01:28:10.960 And then the story

01:28:12.520 of how that deepened,

01:28:13.980 that's perfectly plausible.

01:28:15.680 And you do have skin

01:28:17.040 in the game

01:28:17.440 because if you go find 1.00

01:28:18.480 out stupid things 0.99

01:28:19.280 about how people 1.00

01:28:19.880 can be healthy,

01:28:20.580 then you're going to

01:28:22.120 like sink your own boat,

01:28:23.300 which seems like 1.00

01:28:23.860 a stupid proposition. 0.99

01:28:25.340 So where are you at? 1.00

01:28:26.940 Tell people about

01:28:27.740 Merrick Health now

01:28:28.600 and where you're at

01:28:29.600 with that,

01:28:30.000 and then also about

01:28:30.740 the supplement company.

01:28:32.000 Yeah, yeah.

01:28:32.580 By the way, I would,

01:28:33.480 I don't know if this is

01:28:34.140 something you'd be willing

01:28:34.700 to speak to,

01:28:35.220 but I'd love to hear

01:28:35.860 your experience

01:28:36.720 working with Merrick Health,

01:28:38.360 Michaela,

01:28:38.820 and you have used

01:28:39.540 our services for a while now.

01:28:42.300 Yeah.

01:28:43.100 What's your experience?

01:28:44.080 Well, I'm still,

01:28:45.260 my experience has been

01:28:46.380 fine and positive.

01:28:47.580 I'm still learning

01:28:48.380 exactly how to use

01:28:50.180 what you have to offer

01:28:51.260 because it's complicated,

01:28:52.660 right?

01:28:52.940 And, and Michaela

01:28:53.920 has gone farther down

01:28:54.880 those rabbit holes

01:28:55.620 that I have,

01:28:56.420 partly because of necessity

01:28:57.900 and, and, and,

01:28:59.640 and desperation.

01:29:00.980 So I'm still working it out

01:29:02.480 and trying to figure out

01:29:03.680 where I could maximally benefit.

01:29:05.260 And I think that'll probably

01:29:06.400 take me a year or so

01:29:07.740 to really get my feet under,

01:29:10.300 you know,

01:29:10.560 get my feet on the ground

01:29:11.680 so I understand

01:29:12.680 what I'm doing.

01:29:13.720 But I'm very interested

01:29:15.360 in continuing to pursue it,

01:29:16.560 which is obviously partly

01:29:17.840 why I'm talking to you today.

01:29:19.140 It's tricky for me too

01:29:20.420 because I,

01:29:20.980 I'm very careful now

01:29:24.160 about any supplementation

01:29:26.600 because my diet

01:29:27.400 is so restricted.

01:29:29.300 Yeah.

01:29:29.560 So, so I want more information

01:29:31.980 about Merrick Health.

01:29:33.020 Lay it out for people,

01:29:34.040 partly so I know more

01:29:35.120 about it

01:29:35.540 because I'm participating in it,

01:29:36.880 but also tell me

01:29:38.660 what the value proposition,

01:29:40.040 so to speak,

01:29:40.520 is for the people,

01:29:41.440 you know,

01:29:42.000 who are watching and listening.

01:29:43.660 Yeah.

01:29:43.820 So over time,

01:29:44.620 I just found it

01:29:45.400 incredibly difficult

01:29:46.240 to get medical oversight

01:29:48.380 for myself and my family

01:29:50.140 that reflected

01:29:52.200 the most cutting edge literature

01:29:53.920 and was preventative.

01:29:56.220 Oftentimes you will,

01:29:57.620 especially in Canada,

01:29:58.940 my experience

01:29:59.860 and many others

01:30:00.900 is you go to a doctor,

01:30:02.600 even if you're trying to be,

01:30:03.800 and when I say preventative,

01:30:04.600 I mean trying to avoid

01:30:05.880 the onset of disease

01:30:06.960 rather than waiting

01:30:07.800 for you to be in a...

01:30:09.260 Stay healthy

01:30:09.780 rather than be cured.

01:30:11.340 Exactly.

01:30:12.300 And I understand

01:30:13.200 there's like,

01:30:13.960 you know,

01:30:14.200 political stuff

01:30:15.020 associated with that

01:30:16.120 and the costs,

01:30:18.060 you know,

01:30:18.260 it being free

01:30:18.980 and all these things

01:30:20.340 might reflect a lower...

01:30:21.760 Free except for the dying part.

01:30:23.100 So in general,

01:30:25.200 even the access

01:30:26.600 via your own autonomy

01:30:28.900 to be able to pay for it

01:30:30.100 was limited in Canada

01:30:31.100 to a point

01:30:31.680 that it was so frustrating

01:30:32.640 that I was finding myself

01:30:33.660 driving over the border

01:30:34.760 to go buy myself lab work

01:30:37.060 from U.S.-based companies.

01:30:39.220 And then even of those U.S.,

01:30:40.620 because doctors in Canada

01:30:41.840 would literally tell me no,

01:30:43.460 even when I asked to pay

01:30:44.580 for blood work with cash,

01:30:46.460 which was wild to me.

01:30:47.520 Wow.

01:30:48.160 Wow.

01:30:48.840 Scunning, man.

01:30:50.200 So I would...

01:30:51.100 There's the cost of free.

01:30:52.700 The cost of free

01:30:53.600 is that no matter

01:30:54.820 how much money you have,

01:30:55.760 you can't buy the thing.

01:30:57.080 Yeah.

01:30:57.380 Right.

01:30:57.780 Even your physical presence

01:30:59.080 is such a burden

01:30:59.960 on the system, apparently.

01:31:00.860 Yeah, yeah.

01:31:01.340 Well, that's what I think.

01:31:02.260 The hospitals would work

01:31:03.200 a hell of a lot better

01:31:04.020 if there were a lot fewer

01:31:05.340 patients in them.

01:31:06.620 And that's where

01:31:07.440 all the incentives

01:31:08.200 are aligned toward.

01:31:09.460 Yeah.

01:31:09.700 Right.

01:31:10.200 Yeah.

01:31:10.660 Not good.

01:31:11.380 So for me,

01:31:12.080 I would pay out of pocket

01:31:14.080 to a diagnostic company

01:31:16.540 in the States

01:31:17.320 drive over the border,

01:31:19.280 pretend I was,

01:31:20.300 you know,

01:31:20.580 I had like a U.S. billing address

01:31:22.360 to be able to utilize their service

01:31:24.380 and I would get diagnostics

01:31:25.640 and then interpret them myself

01:31:27.300 because as a Canadian,

01:31:28.380 no doctor would,

01:31:29.920 at least of the ones I could find,

01:31:31.580 would look at it,

01:31:32.260 take it seriously and care

01:31:33.480 because they would tell me,

01:31:34.360 oh, you're 24 years old.

01:31:37.380 Why do you...

01:31:38.180 Why are you even looking at this stuff?

01:31:39.240 This is a waste of time.

01:31:40.140 Get out of my office.

01:31:40.780 And then even of the things

01:31:41.900 I wanted to look at,

01:31:42.820 oftentimes it was

01:31:44.100 things that they will not

01:31:46.140 take seriously

01:31:46.720 until it is a problem.

01:31:48.680 So for me,

01:31:50.100 that isn't the approach

01:31:51.320 I want to take.

01:31:51.980 I don't want to be

01:31:52.740 having my parents

01:31:54.280 in, you know,

01:31:55.400 assisted living homes

01:31:57.840 and whatnot

01:31:58.280 when they're older

01:31:59.020 and me being there

01:32:00.260 at an age

01:32:02.380 that is just unjustifiable

01:32:03.620 when they could otherwise

01:32:04.360 avoid the onset of disease.

01:32:05.880 Also for myself,

01:32:07.020 performing at a high level,

01:32:07.980 it's all very important to me.

01:32:09.060 So finding out this information

01:32:10.780 was of critical importance

01:32:13.360 for not just health purposes,

01:32:16.280 but also performance

01:32:17.440 and the overlap of avoiding

01:32:19.480 the onset of any of these things

01:32:20.620 to begin with.

01:32:21.280 Yeah.

01:32:21.700 But even the services

01:32:23.300 available in the US

01:32:24.280 were shockingly sparse.

01:32:26.360 And then of the clinics

01:32:28.420 in the States

01:32:29.140 that would even offer services

01:32:32.020 relevant in the sphere

01:32:34.220 of hormone replacement

01:32:35.240 were cookie cutter

01:32:37.260 almost like

01:32:38.380 not pill mills,

01:32:39.940 but very representative

01:32:41.060 of that structure

01:32:41.920 whereby it was clear

01:32:43.280 their desire

01:32:44.620 and incentive

01:32:45.920 was not to oversee you

01:32:48.020 with high quality care,

01:32:49.140 but more to get you

01:32:50.060 on medications

01:32:50.800 and keep you on them

01:32:52.700 and just essentially

01:32:54.020 make their money

01:32:54.740 on prescriptions.

01:32:56.060 So they would tell you,

01:32:57.180 even if you had

01:32:57.740 a transient blip

01:32:59.420 in your testosterone levels

01:33:00.460 as a late 20s,

01:33:02.640 you should be on TRT

01:33:03.760 and here's seven medications

01:33:05.220 to go with it

01:33:05.960 that you also need to be on

01:33:07.280 to handle the side effects

01:33:08.480 of the testosterone replacement

01:33:10.220 among myriads of peptides

01:33:12.540 and other things

01:33:13.260 that sometimes justifiable,

01:33:15.560 but oftentimes not.

01:33:16.840 And these cookie cutter approaches

01:33:18.220 were so prevalent

01:33:19.620 and unethical in my opinion

01:33:21.260 that it motivated me

01:33:23.180 to seek out

01:33:24.580 like an entrepreneurial,

01:33:26.860 like for me,

01:33:27.360 that was a lot of my motivation

01:33:28.460 to start this company

01:33:29.280 to begin with.

01:33:29.820 How long ago

01:33:30.580 did you start Merrick Health?

01:33:33.100 I think it is

01:33:34.720 coming on three years now.

01:33:36.760 Oh yeah.

01:33:37.140 Yeah.

01:33:37.560 And so what scale

01:33:38.380 of enterprise is it now?

01:33:41.120 It's without speaking to numbers,

01:33:42.900 it's doing quite well

01:33:44.780 and it is,

01:33:47.080 and when I say quite well,

01:33:48.100 it's not just from a monetary,

01:33:49.300 it's also very rewarding

01:33:50.420 and this is why

01:33:51.340 I actually spend

01:33:53.180 so much time on it

01:33:54.120 and I'm passionate about it

01:33:55.340 is we are imparting a service

01:33:58.220 that is of value

01:33:59.300 that is of,

01:34:01.440 I think it's unquantifiable value

01:34:03.200 being able to prevent disease

01:34:04.420 and optimize performance,

01:34:05.620 but also knowing

01:34:07.120 that the medical providers

01:34:09.020 that work for us

01:34:10.640 are ones that have been vetted

01:34:12.120 through our clinical

01:34:13.720 acumen vetting process

01:34:16.920 by which they actually reflect

01:34:18.540 the level of education

01:34:21.980 that we deem to be worthwhile

01:34:23.540 to work with our clients

01:34:24.700 to begin with.

01:34:25.220 So we have like

01:34:25.580 a really rigorous process.

01:34:26.620 And they're committed

01:34:27.420 to the process?

01:34:28.600 They're committed

01:34:28.900 to the idea

01:34:29.800 of preventative medicine?

01:34:31.040 This is what,

01:34:32.540 to me,

01:34:33.140 was the most

01:34:33.980 incentivizing component of it

01:34:36.320 is being able to vet

01:34:37.300 the medical providers

01:34:38.300 and actually ensure

01:34:39.320 we have individuals

01:34:40.040 who are as passionate

01:34:41.140 about further educating themselves.

01:34:42.520 So similar to me

01:34:43.420 where I would read

01:34:44.880 on updated literature,

01:34:46.220 stay up to date

01:34:46.860 with anything to do

01:34:48.620 with endocrinology,

01:34:50.960 hormone optimization,

01:34:52.100 performance,

01:34:52.720 vitality,

01:34:53.880 offsetting,

01:34:55.160 neuro.

01:34:55.320 Right, so that's their fun,

01:34:56.400 now are the,

01:34:57.100 so is that now

01:34:57.780 the fundamental focus

01:34:58.980 of the medical professionals

01:35:00.080 that you are,

01:35:00.980 what, aligned with,

01:35:02.020 that you've hired?

01:35:02.740 Like what is your relationship

01:35:03.940 with the physicians?

01:35:05.100 Some of them have specialties.

01:35:07.300 Like we have an advisory board

01:35:09.620 and some of them are,

01:35:10.820 you know,

01:35:11.320 cardiologist specialties.

01:35:12.540 Some are this,

01:35:13.140 some are that,

01:35:13.680 some are more broad spectrum.

01:35:15.320 We have a foot doctor

01:35:16.440 as well.

01:35:17.300 Some of these individuals though,

01:35:18.980 many,

01:35:19.800 if they make it into our company

01:35:21.220 to begin with,

01:35:22.020 are individuals who

01:35:23.100 have shown the discipline

01:35:25.300 to,

01:35:26.080 and actual enthusiasm

01:35:27.540 to stay educated

01:35:28.960 and continue past the point

01:35:30.940 of becoming medically credentialed

01:35:34.160 to actually work with patients.

01:35:35.460 And what's your finance,

01:35:36.560 like what's,

01:35:37.140 what's the financial arrangement

01:35:38.380 with them?

01:35:38.820 How,

01:35:39.300 how are the medical professionals

01:35:41.160 allied with your company?

01:35:42.760 So it's structured in a way

01:35:45.240 that essentially

01:35:46.240 we are connecting

01:35:47.120 the right clients

01:35:48.140 with the right doctors.

01:35:49.700 So it's,

01:35:50.400 Right.

01:35:50.740 So you're an intermediary.

01:35:51.980 Essentially.

01:35:52.780 In part.

01:35:53.020 Yeah.

01:35:53.480 So it's not like,

01:35:54.820 I'm not playing doctor.

01:35:56.040 Certainly not the case.

01:35:56.900 Right, right.

01:35:57.180 It's,

01:35:57.680 we're finding doctors

01:35:58.640 that reflect what I believe to be,

01:36:00.980 and our team has vetted

01:36:02.140 to be the highest level

01:36:04.060 of applicant

01:36:05.160 that is staying up to date.

01:36:07.900 Actually.

01:36:08.280 What's the diagnostic process?

01:36:10.100 Like if someone wants

01:36:10.940 to start using your,

01:36:12.240 your company,

01:36:13.920 what would that entail for them?

01:36:15.420 What,

01:36:15.620 what can they expect

01:36:16.840 or look forward to?

01:36:18.120 So in general,

01:36:19.260 there's going to be a,

01:36:21.280 somewhat lengthy,

01:36:22.860 depending on what you deem

01:36:24.220 to be lengthy

01:36:24.780 for medical assessment,

01:36:26.420 but,

01:36:27.180 uh,

01:36:27.680 intake questionnaire

01:36:28.640 where we will ask

01:36:30.300 for information

01:36:30.960 on current lifestyle practices,

01:36:32.960 diet,

01:36:33.860 medication,

01:36:34.660 supplements,

01:36:35.520 try to get the full gamut

01:36:36.720 of information,

01:36:38.260 family history

01:36:38.920 that we can then use

01:36:39.860 to have a more informed assessment

01:36:42.180 of the diagnostics

01:36:43.640 that we would be getting.

01:36:44.880 So further to that,

01:36:46.340 after we have

01:36:47.140 some sort of baseline

01:36:48.460 historical reference points

01:36:50.900 and benchmarks,

01:36:51.560 we can use that as context

01:36:53.000 to help guide our interpretations

01:36:54.560 of the diagnostic analysis process.

01:36:58.140 So we have

01:36:59.080 very comprehensive blood work.

01:37:00.840 And this is one of the areas

01:37:01.960 I pride our company on

01:37:03.880 is that we use markers

01:37:05.680 that are,

01:37:06.220 the most,

01:37:07.560 uh,

01:37:08.520 validated and accurate

01:37:09.900 to reflect

01:37:10.780 the sought-after

01:37:12.840 assessment

01:37:13.440 of that organ's function.

01:37:14.800 So for example,

01:37:15.460 when it comes to

01:37:16.480 assessing,

01:37:17.140 uh,

01:37:18.140 atherosclerosis potential,

01:37:19.820 there is certain

01:37:21.460 more advanced metrics

01:37:22.480 like apolipoprotein B,

01:37:24.400 which reflect,

01:37:25.260 um,

01:37:26.760 essentially,

01:37:27.940 atherogenic potential

01:37:28.940 as a whole in the body

01:37:30.000 rather than just looking

01:37:30.920 at LDL-C

01:37:32.060 or HDL-C.

01:37:33.220 Yeah, yeah.

01:37:33.540 We're far more,

01:37:35.080 um,

01:37:35.660 it's not like

01:37:36.180 this is an advanced metric,

01:37:37.440 it's just not yet

01:37:38.680 mainstream enough

01:37:39.660 to be adopted by

01:37:41.380 the masses.

01:37:42.300 So typically,

01:37:43.060 when you get a,

01:37:44.340 you know,

01:37:44.560 cardiovascular risk assessment,

01:37:46.180 you might get your blood pressure

01:37:47.220 checked once

01:37:48.480 in the office

01:37:49.440 and you might have,

01:37:49.960 you know,

01:37:50.140 white coat syndrome

01:37:51.140 or they will not tell you

01:37:52.380 to go check it again

01:37:53.420 and get averages at home.

01:37:54.480 Yeah, right.

01:37:55.080 Which is super important,

01:37:56.300 by the way,

01:37:56.680 one of the lowest hanging fruit

01:37:57.840 things is blood pressure.

01:37:59.340 But above and beyond that,

01:38:00.560 having metrics that actually reflect

01:38:02.160 cumulative risk

01:38:03.140 or even genetic predispositions

01:38:04.980 like LP little a

01:38:06.020 is something that

01:38:06.860 even if you have

01:38:07.600 a normal looking

01:38:08.540 lipid panel,

01:38:10.060 you could have a

01:38:10.840 sky-high

01:38:11.760 lipoprotein little a

01:38:13.300 which reflects

01:38:14.300 a genetic predisposition

01:38:16.060 that is not manipulatable

01:38:17.360 through diet interventions.

01:38:19.180 So that is something

01:38:19.980 that

01:38:20.400 if this is underlying,

01:38:22.040 it'll insidiously,

01:38:23.740 potentially enhance

01:38:24.780 your cardiovascular disease risk

01:38:26.220 significantly so

01:38:27.800 and it is almost

01:38:28.500 never tested for.

01:38:29.760 So these are things

01:38:30.520 that, again,

01:38:31.200 why we're so passionate

01:38:32.240 about what we do

01:38:32.960 is we're the ones

01:38:34.420 trying to stay

01:38:35.820 and it's not like

01:38:36.660 other people don't do this

01:38:37.720 but I feel it's more rare

01:38:39.320 than those who get

01:38:40.300 the credentials

01:38:40.980 and maybe

01:38:41.640 cruise control on them.

01:38:43.680 So if someone's concerned

01:38:44.800 about their health,

01:38:45.660 they go to the

01:38:46.320 Merrick Health website.

01:38:48.060 What do they have to do

01:38:49.320 to follow up,

01:38:51.140 to follow along

01:38:52.200 with this procedure?

01:38:54.300 In general,

01:38:55.960 it will be getting

01:38:56.940 an intake assessment

01:38:58.520 by which you will get

01:38:59.940 a regular physical,

01:39:01.320 blood pressure assessment,

01:39:02.320 family history.

01:39:02.900 Where do people go

01:39:03.320 to do that?

01:39:04.360 It depends where you live

01:39:05.500 because you might have

01:39:06.560 to go to a,

01:39:07.900 you know,

01:39:09.220 an in-person drop-in

01:39:10.320 and get a physical done

01:39:11.440 that meets the metrics

01:39:12.600 of criteria we deem adequate

01:39:14.320 to actually work with us.

01:39:15.780 And then above and beyond that,

01:39:17.120 we have an analysis

01:39:18.480 of blood biomarkers

01:39:20.460 and potentially saliva,

01:39:22.100 urine,

01:39:22.440 depending on what

01:39:23.300 we deem necessary

01:39:24.620 to get a comprehensive picture

01:39:26.720 of your current health status

01:39:27.980 and being cognizant

01:39:30.400 of the fact

01:39:30.840 that this is just

01:39:31.340 a snapshot in time.

01:39:32.320 It's not reflective

01:39:32.900 of everything.

01:39:34.540 So that is where we get

01:39:35.620 more data to pull from

01:39:37.220 contextually with

01:39:38.340 the existing questionnaire,

01:39:40.360 the physical, etc.,

01:39:41.500 to make a more informed

01:39:42.800 assessment for path forward.

01:39:45.360 What can we do

01:39:46.160 and why are you

01:39:47.300 in the state you're in

01:39:47.980 right now?

01:39:48.540 Do you have any issues?

01:39:49.780 What is the root of them?

01:39:51.280 Do you have any symptoms?

01:39:52.400 So rather than

01:39:54.200 assuming health,

01:39:56.020 except when it deviates

01:39:58.660 in illness

01:39:59.660 and then going to the doctor

01:40:01.560 because you're ill,

01:40:03.160 you're a setting

01:40:03.600 of an organization

01:40:04.500 where you can work

01:40:05.300 in tandem with a doctor

01:40:06.620 to not get sick

01:40:09.040 to begin with.

01:40:09.840 But more than that,

01:40:10.620 not just to not get sick,

01:40:11.860 but to optimize your function.

01:40:13.600 It's really a different model

01:40:14.940 of what constitutes

01:40:16.140 the medical,

01:40:17.300 especially now,

01:40:18.720 what constitutes

01:40:19.620 the medical model.

01:40:20.500 One of our, I suppose,

01:40:22.860 specialties of sorts

01:40:24.040 and kind of what led me

01:40:25.400 down the rabbit hole

01:40:26.320 above and beyond

01:40:27.380 the motivations of

01:40:28.520 self-diagnostic evaluation,

01:40:31.900 family, etc.,

01:40:32.740 it was also that

01:40:33.580 bodybuilders are dropping dead

01:40:35.540 left, right, and center

01:40:36.280 at a very young age.

01:40:37.680 And often it is attributed

01:40:39.020 to anabolic steroid use,

01:40:40.860 which is partially the case

01:40:42.760 for sure.

01:40:43.540 But a lot of these individuals

01:40:44.860 and those in high-level sports

01:40:47.780 will be exposing themselves

01:40:48.960 to these drugs

01:40:50.960 regardless of the fact

01:40:52.180 that it's detrimental

01:40:52.820 to their lifespan.

01:40:54.520 And being able to oversee

01:40:56.200 elite athletes

01:40:57.580 with educated medical providers

01:40:59.860 who themselves understand

01:41:01.940 the context behind

01:41:04.080 why they're using

01:41:05.920 what they're using

01:41:06.600 and aren't going to judge them

01:41:08.220 and shun them accordingly

01:41:09.660 because a lot of...

01:41:12.280 Well, there's a fine line

01:41:13.360 between misusing substances

01:41:15.480 to cheat and optimizing

01:41:17.640 your nutrition

01:41:18.580 and your dietary intake

01:41:20.780 in every possible way

01:41:21.820 to maximize your performance.

01:41:23.260 And there's going to be

01:41:23.960 some vicious overlap there.

01:41:25.860 Absolutely.

01:41:26.320 Especially as the technologies

01:41:27.500 transform.

01:41:28.260 Yeah.

01:41:28.580 So while we do work

01:41:29.540 with those who are seeking

01:41:30.380 to optimize,

01:41:31.180 we also have

01:41:32.180 the high-performing

01:41:33.620 bodybuilder

01:41:34.780 who inevitably

01:41:36.300 will be shortening

01:41:37.360 their lifespan

01:41:37.920 with what they're exposing

01:41:38.880 themselves to,

01:41:39.480 but they need somebody

01:41:40.120 who's non-judgmental

01:41:41.240 and very educated

01:41:42.660 about what they're using

01:41:43.880 in order to attenuate

01:41:46.020 the damage

01:41:46.460 as much as possible.

01:41:47.440 And that's where

01:41:47.760 some of our medical providers

01:41:48.940 will provide

01:41:49.500 a non-judgmental environment

01:41:50.840 to actually oversee them

01:41:52.480 to assess that they are doing

01:41:53.800 the not encouraging use

01:41:55.780 by any means.

01:41:56.340 Yeah, yeah.

01:41:57.120 But also not shunning them

01:41:58.720 from access to...

01:41:59.460 Right, so they're serving

01:42:00.320 as they're serving

01:42:01.060 as counselors

01:42:02.300 and consultants.

01:42:04.380 Because at the end of the day,

01:42:05.400 a lot of these sports

01:42:07.620 that are drugged

01:42:09.300 to the gills

01:42:09.820 will exist

01:42:10.760 regardless

01:42:11.540 if they have

01:42:12.320 a medical provider

01:42:13.040 or not.

01:42:14.100 And getting them

01:42:15.140 access to somebody

01:42:16.040 who will try

01:42:16.580 and attenuate the damage

01:42:17.920 is of critical importance

01:42:19.460 to avoid,

01:42:20.100 especially in the fitness industry.

01:42:21.780 And this is...

01:42:22.220 So what proportion

01:42:23.080 of your clients

01:42:23.840 do you suppose

01:42:24.440 fall into the category

01:42:25.520 of the typical person,

01:42:27.940 so to speak,

01:42:28.460 who's looking at

01:42:29.320 optimizing health

01:42:30.420 and performance

01:42:30.960 across time

01:42:31.580 and in contrast

01:42:33.000 to the more elite

01:42:34.320 and competitive types

01:42:35.620 who are looking to,

01:42:36.840 well,

01:42:38.760 to compete

01:42:39.300 and to compete

01:42:40.200 in a manner

01:42:40.560 that allows them

01:42:41.140 to win,

01:42:41.680 let's say,

01:42:42.140 but also to sustain

01:42:43.220 that across time.

01:42:44.580 Yeah.

01:42:45.000 And by the way,

01:42:46.060 to clarify,

01:42:46.980 we're not condoning

01:42:47.800 cheating.

01:42:48.340 This is in sports

01:42:48.960 where it's not tested.

01:42:51.180 So in general,

01:42:53.480 the majority

01:42:53.980 of our clients

01:42:54.540 are still those

01:42:55.320 who are seeking

01:42:55.960 to optimize

01:42:57.460 and enhance

01:42:59.560 quality of life,

01:43:00.340 vitality,

01:43:00.980 lifespan,

01:43:01.880 all metrics

01:43:02.580 of health

01:43:03.120 and performance

01:43:04.020 and are the layman

01:43:05.800 who is seeking

01:43:07.540 just a high-level

01:43:08.840 medical provider

01:43:09.560 who understands

01:43:11.260 the cutting-edge

01:43:13.340 information

01:43:13.780 stays on top of it.

01:43:14.680 The elite athlete

01:43:15.500 is more of a minority.

01:43:18.100 Well, that makes sense

01:43:18.900 because they're rare.

01:43:19.900 Okay, so let me,

01:43:20.640 maybe we'll close

01:43:21.260 with this question.

01:43:22.220 So you've,

01:43:24.360 this has been seven years

01:43:25.720 really since you've been

01:43:26.540 diving into this.

01:43:27.420 That's not very long,

01:43:28.480 right?

01:43:28.800 And so that's a lot

01:43:29.600 of transformation

01:43:30.140 in a short period of time.

01:43:31.540 So now if you're looking

01:43:32.520 five years down the road,

01:43:33.680 let's say,

01:43:35.500 what fields of opportunity

01:43:38.540 do you see opening up

01:43:39.780 for yourself?

01:43:40.840 How would you like

01:43:41.780 things to continue

01:43:42.500 and what do you hope

01:43:43.560 to offer the people,

01:43:45.580 well, what do you hope

01:43:46.460 to offer on the economic

01:43:47.960 and moral front,

01:43:50.040 let's say,

01:43:50.800 as you continue

01:43:51.560 moving forward?

01:43:53.420 I suppose for me,

01:43:55.260 I guess,

01:43:56.140 fortunately,

01:43:57.120 I feel I have found

01:43:58.340 my calling

01:43:59.060 and as all I want to do

01:44:02.160 is scale it

01:44:02.960 as much as I can

01:44:04.120 to be able to influence

01:44:05.380 and educate

01:44:05.920 as at high of a scale

01:44:07.560 as possible

01:44:08.060 because I feel

01:44:08.780 as much as candidly

01:44:10.340 some of these things

01:44:11.820 are,

01:44:12.680 have a monetary incentive

01:44:14.000 and you need to be.

01:44:15.340 That's not a bad thing.

01:44:16.440 Being candid about that,

01:44:17.420 I think,

01:44:17.680 is one of the things

01:44:18.540 that distinguishes.

01:44:20.640 Why bother selling

01:44:21.600 to people

01:44:22.160 who don't want to buy?

01:44:23.540 Yeah.

01:44:23.980 It's not helpful.

01:44:25.000 But I'm very passionate

01:44:25.780 about the products

01:44:26.840 and services we bring.

01:44:28.140 Yeah, yeah.

01:44:28.440 And also,

01:44:29.240 the education I'm imparting

01:44:30.400 that is free

01:44:31.160 at scale too

01:44:32.480 and being able

01:44:33.400 to maximize

01:44:34.260 my efficiency

01:44:35.160 and quality of output,

01:44:37.040 as long as I'm doing that

01:44:38.840 and feel I haven't left

01:44:39.700 anything on the table,

01:44:41.140 that is where I want

01:44:41.780 to be in five years.

01:44:42.560 I don't know.

01:44:42.860 Yeah,

01:44:43.100 so it's this still.

01:44:44.580 It's the same pathway

01:44:45.580 but further differentiation

01:44:47.180 and development.

01:44:48.180 Yeah,

01:44:48.540 and just bringing awareness

01:44:49.660 and education.

01:44:50.380 Best place for people

01:44:51.320 to follow you

01:44:51.960 is that YouTube,

01:44:53.160 would you say?

01:44:53.920 I would say YouTube,

01:44:55.120 More Plates,

01:44:55.500 More Dates,

01:44:56.080 any of the platforms

01:44:57.040 and merikealth.com

01:44:58.920 if you want to get

01:44:59.760 high-quality medical oversight,

01:45:01.080 diagnostics,

01:45:01.820 analysis,

01:45:02.320 et cetera.

01:45:03.420 All right,

01:45:04.020 sir.

01:45:04.300 Well,

01:45:04.700 thank you very much

01:45:05.480 for walking us

01:45:06.320 through all that.

01:45:07.040 Very useful

01:45:07.820 on the career development

01:45:09.600 and the,

01:45:11.160 on the,

01:45:11.580 on the,

01:45:12.220 on the,

01:45:12.820 what would you say?

01:45:14.980 And also with regards

01:45:16.140 to providing people

01:45:17.280 with information

01:45:17.920 about how they can switch

01:45:19.220 from a disease cure orientation

01:45:21.140 to a health enhancement orientation,

01:45:24.100 which is something,

01:45:24.740 it would be lovely

01:45:25.360 to see the entire

01:45:26.180 medical establishment

01:45:26.980 move in that direction

01:45:27.860 and perhaps they will.

01:45:29.040 There's some promising signs

01:45:30.220 on that front.

01:45:31.260 I'm going to continue

01:45:32.140 to talk with Derek

01:45:32.960 for another half an hour

01:45:33.880 on the Daily Wire side

01:45:35.200 as most of you watching

01:45:36.440 and listening already know.

01:45:37.500 So if you're inclined

01:45:38.180 to join us there,

01:45:38.980 please do so.

01:45:40.240 Throw some support

01:45:41.220 the Daily Wire way.

01:45:42.680 They're a good bastion

01:45:43.980 in the,

01:45:44.440 in the fight

01:45:45.860 for free speech,

01:45:46.900 which is ongoing

01:45:47.700 and intensifying

01:45:48.820 as we all sit here

01:45:50.000 and watch.

01:45:51.120 So thank you very much,

01:45:52.200 sir.

01:45:52.380 It was very good to be here.

01:45:52.800 Thank you for having me.

01:45:53.140 Thank you for coming in today

01:45:54.260 all the way from Vancouver.

01:45:55.440 That's much appreciated.

01:45:56.300 It's very nice to do

01:45:57.000 these things in person

01:45:57.760 and to everyone watching

01:45:58.980 and listening,

01:45:59.620 thank you very much

01:46:00.300 for your time and attention

01:46:01.380 and to the Daily Wire folks

01:46:02.700 for facilitating

01:46:03.460 these conversations

01:46:04.420 and making them possible.

01:46:06.060 Much appreciated.

01:46:07.640 Thanks again, sir.

01:46:08.540 Thank you.

01:46:11.940 Thank you.

01:46:12.260 Thank you.

01:46:12.620 Thank you.

01:46:12.700 Thank you.

01:46:14.860 Thank you.

01:46:16.520 Thank you.

01:46:17.680 Thank you.

The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast - February 08, 2024

421. Fitness, Motivation, Mentorship, and Life's Calling ｜ Derek (More Plates More Dates)

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