Sam Noorlag: Language Mastery, Muay Thai Challenges, and Finding Balance in Life

Dive headfirst into the depths of personal growth and skill acquisition with me and my good friend Sam in a podcast that promises a blend of earnest revelation and practical strategies for life's complex battles. We tackle the intricacies of learning languages, with Sam spilling the beans on his approach to mastering Spanish through music and podcasts. As we swap language learning hacks and resources, you'll get an insider's look into our personal strategies for expanding our linguistic horizons, including my own venture into Japanese with a twist of Harry Potter charm.

Step into the ring with us as we share the sweat, discipline, and occasional knockouts from our forays into Muay Thai and MMA. It's not just about the punches and kicks; we're peeling back the layers on what it takes to climb back into a fitness regimen and the raw, genuine check on one's capabilities that come with combat sports. 

Lastly, we navigate the seismic shift from the halls of academia to the grind of the workforce, contemplating the search for identity and balance amid adulthood's many expectations. You'll hear us dissect the impact of social media on personal fulfillment and the tactics we've employed to keep our well-being in check, including my own social media detox journey.

Our conversation rounds off with an exploration of hobbies and their role in shaping our self-image, punctuated by my candid reflections on overcoming a smoking habit and how it's reshaped my engagement with video games and literature. Join us as we lay out the roadmap to facing life's challenges head-on, while continuously chiseling away at new skills and self-improvement.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Welcome back to another episode of Feel Free, the only podcast that'll tell you to chase dreams and call you out on all your bullshit, myself included. Back with my buddy, sam. What up?

Speaker 2: 0:19

What up, dude?

Speaker 1: 0:21

Yeah, we're here in this hot ass office to talk about wellness. Can't believe you're wearing a hat right now.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Just fucked up being bald man.

Speaker 1: 0:27

Sometimes you gotta sweat you know, keep it sweaty.

Speaker 2: 0:31

Keep it sweaty all the time. Stay lean.

Speaker 1: 0:33

So I brought you on because it's been a while since we caught up. I wanted to hear about, obviously, anything wellness related, but also you had gotten a new job and also when we talked, you wanted to talk a little bit about acquiring new skills, right. And then I also wanted to talk about, like your fighting hobby, slash wellness thing.

Speaker 2: 0:52

Yeah, because you've been. It's a quest to become an anime character.

Speaker 1: 0:55

A quest to become an anime character, all right, cool. So when you messaged me about the acquiring the new skills, is this also going to lead into you talking about the new job that you got to?

Speaker 2: 1:04

No, honestly, I feel like the new skills thing is like more in regards to the fighting and then also I've been like relearning Spanish and like dabbling in other languages to keep in. Chess too, to like keep the brain sharp.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Actually, this is way better than the job thing.

Speaker 2: 1:17

So yeah all right, fuck a job. Fuck the job you should work. It's important.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Yeah, I mean I'm a little dope. I actually just started using Duolingo again to learn Japanese.

Speaker 2: 1:26

Yeah, duolingo is great. I feel like it's like a great jumping off point. There's an idea in like language learning. I don't know if you're familiar. It's called like comprehensible input. Basically, like the premise of it is if you can understand like 50, 60% of something, if you can get your vocabulary to that point, say, with an app like Duolingo or like a book. And then I listened to podcasts in Spanish, I listened to a ton of music from Mexico and it's like you just start learning like local phrases and you start developing an accent, like from the area you want. The canons too. That's important too, because, like I mean, my Spanish is still crap. I'm like maybe six months into like trying to do baby steps on my own and only recently like really delving into it and like setting a schedule and everything for learning which is important.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Absolutely, and learning new skills especially. I remember you had taken up the piano too. So learning music and language is also huge for neuroplasticity, which is, you know, just keeping the brain sharp and all that shit. I did use Duolingo for a bit and then I fell off, but then I bought like an actual workbook it's called Ganky, which is the third edition. I think I gave you my second edition. I don't have it.

Speaker 2: 2:44

Yeah, I don't know where it is. I'm sorry it's gone.

Speaker 1: 2:47

It was the workbook that I had from Grand Valley or something.

Speaker 2: 2:51

Yeah, I remember that Right.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Yeah, so I actually got the third edition, which just comes with a whole bunch of resources and stuff. So trying to set a schedule for that is also tough, but I'm trying to just do like at least 15 minutes in the morning.

Speaker 2: 3:03

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:04

You know? And then also there's something called Pimsler, do you?

Speaker 2: 3:06

know what Pimsler is?

Speaker 1: 3:07

Yeah, yeah, so I actually use some of my Audible credits to get the lessons for Japanese for Pimsler.

Speaker 2: 3:14

I've been reading Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish.

Speaker 2: 3:17

Oh shit, yeah, hell yeah, it's tough dude because you know you'll have to keep stopping and highlighting, but I think, like full immersion is honestly the best way to do it. Yeah, everybody learns different, like. There's people like me who I feel like I learn well in traditional ways, like I sit down and I study and I review and I make flashcards, but I'm also now introducing more things, like through Pimsler and all sorts of stuff like that. There's also something called Lingopie, which I have a subscription to. It's a Google Chrome extension and when you watch Netflix, it gives you the like subtitles in the language you want and you can click on them and it freezes it and then you can save those as flashcards and you review after each episode. Like you create your own curriculum, basically just through watching shows. What it's pretty sick.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Yeah, it's like $59.99 a year.

Speaker 2: 4:10

That's not bad? No, no, not at all. And I can't you know what I do with your subscriptions, because I always forget is like I sign up and I just cancel right away because I will forget, and then it'll be like January of next year and I'll be like what the Another $60.

Speaker 1: 4:23

Yeah Dang.

Speaker 2: 4:24

It's gone, yeah.

Speaker 1: 4:26

It's been fun they're actually doing that for Duolingo again. I was about to buy it and then I told myself I'm like, listen, let's get like four or five days under our belt before we go and purchase a year long subscription for something.

Speaker 2: 4:36

Yeah, 14 day streak.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Yeah, yeah, you have a little fire emoji and shit.

Speaker 2: 4:40

That owl pisses me off, though. It's like hey, remember when you were trying to study? Yeah, you suck. It's like spend a week when are you? Yeah, it's great.

Speaker 1: 4:49

So you said you're reading the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish. Yeah, yeah, we just watched a lot of Harry.

Speaker 2: 4:55

Potter. We're break, see, and I remember, because I've always been a big Harry Potter fan, I remember talking to you about Harry Potter and you're like whatever. I just didn't get into it Now you're engaged to a Harry Potter fan, so you are one. I know, yeah, it's, they're so good. Did you read? You've read the books or no? Okay, we'll have a separate conversation outside.

Speaker 1: 5:14

She has them on audiobook, okay, and she's sending me them, so I'm going to listen to them.

Speaker 2: 5:19

Who is it?

Speaker 1: 5:19

Stephen Fry, I think it's some British dude, stephen Fry.

Speaker 2: 5:22

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:23

He's pretty good.

Speaker 2: 5:24

Yeah, I like it. Yeah, that's definitely worth who I am.

Speaker 1: 5:28

So that's the next on my list, other than I started reading again. This is actually great. So we're talking about new skills, language is huge and learning music is great. I've also gotten back into all my physical wellness goals. Yep, like I'm just hitting mad pushups, mad pushups on Mad pushups.

Speaker 2: 5:46

Plyometrics or calisthenics, calisthenics yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Calisthenics and plyos at least once a week.

Speaker 2: 5:51

Okay.

Speaker 1: 5:52

Not skipping leg day, so that's good, and then I started reading again, so I'm looking forward to that. The last few episodes I've had, I've had people come on and talk about either their sobriety or new wellness goals and stuff, but you've been off for three weeks now with physical things, right? I?

Speaker 2: 6:13

mean I'm back this week. Nice, it was just so. Three weeks ago I was really sick with like a. Everybody's been having like a mystery bug, like a flu or some shit the last week or whatever, so I was like it wiped me out. Then I went to Florida for a week and then I came back and it was like Christmas craziness and I had done like no shopping and I had to just do all that. But yeah, now we're back and Nice, it's like you never left.

Speaker 2: 6:36

I mean super sore versus like so normally when I lift I'll do like an hour to an hour 20 minutes of like hard lifting and then I'll do like 20 minutes of cardio. I went and I did 40 minutes, still with like a high intensity of lifting, maybe two days ago, and like I can't my chest hurts so bad. That's good though. It's a good thing, yeah, knowing that you're tearing it down, but I think just as long as you always come back to it, it's like that same concept of like a marathon, not a sprint, it's like 26. I have the rest of my life to be like in shape. As long as I continue on the trajectory, I'll keep being in shape and just stay active.

Speaker 1: 7:16

Yeah, I hit like a snag where I was like out of it for like a couple months though, just playing video games and being a degenerate.

Speaker 2: 7:23

Happens.

Speaker 1: 7:24

Yeah, and so it's been nice getting back into that routine again. Now, what type of fighting are you doing? So it's Muay Thai.

Speaker 2: 7:35

So I started training about a little over like a year ago maybe a year and a half at this point and when I started it was kickboxing specifically like in the Thai style. So Muay Thai includes knees and elbows, it's the art of the eight limbs or something. So it's like both your hands, feet, knees, elbows. So I started doing that because I was such a big fan of like mixed martial arts and the UFC and fighting, and one day I mean my cousin, were just like let's try it, let's give it a try. And it was so tough. Like I was in shape before I lifted, did cardio. Like the first day I was puking in the bathroom like of the dojo and it's like right off, everybody's here in it and I'm like wow, I had no idea that a 16 year old could beat my ass like that.

Speaker 2: 8:23

So because there's so many just like savages in that gym, but right, yeah, I mean from a not just a fitness perspective, but just like a straight up mental toughness, I'd say pride thing.

Speaker 1: 8:35

So it's pretty humbling then, right.

Speaker 2: 8:36

Well, yeah, cause you know what you always think like as a fit guy, like, oh, I can handle myself in a situation, should it arise Right Now. Like, to be fair, the people that were humbling me were good fighters. Yeah, so it's not like another average Joe. Like when I was with my cousin who's my training partner. Most of the time he wasn't humbling me so much as, like when we get into the sparring rounds with other people, you kind of get a sense of like the gap between you and like somebody who knows what they're doing, like with space and time management and like all and all that stuff. So it's definitely a humbling experience. It's like, but I think you need those. You need to like knock yourself down, ego wise a bit, because if you're somebody that like, for example, if we're just staying on fighting can't fight and you don't know that and you just think like you know you're fit, you're tough, you're going to probably get checked or right pretty bad, like in the real world. So well.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Also, I think it's nice to be okay with that humbling experience, because most people would go into something like that, get their ass whooped and be like, well, fuck that. Yeah, most people don't like being bad at things, yeah, or being hit in the face or being hit in the face, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:43

Still not my favorite thing to be fair, but at least, like all the all the blood vessels in my nose are like toughened up now, so I don't leak anymore.

Speaker 1: 9:52

That's nice. Yeah, yeah, it's good.

Speaker 2: 9:54

It's nice, ruin a lot of shirts. Yeah, it's messed up.

Speaker 1: 9:58

Yeah, I never. I don't know the whole fighting thing. The only time I fought is with Joe, as you know, like the titty twisters. They don't teach that move at my gym, but I use it. The purple nerples.

Speaker 2: 10:09

Yeah, oh, all right, nice, the purple nerples are great and jujitsu too. So I started in Muay Thai and my gym's a MMA gym. So it's like like striking, like so Muay Thai style. We also do like Dutch style kickboxing, which is a little bit different, and then, like the mixed martial arts, you do a lot of the groundwork, you do like jujitsu, wrestling, like the grappling arts too. So basically the class is structured You'll show up the first hour striking and like conditioning, you know, for striking, and then the next 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how long you want to stay. You just roll around and grapple and wrestle and kind of learn submissions and stuff like that. So it's like a whole, like a complete picture, I guess.

Speaker 1: 10:48

Nice. Yeah, I actually just had one of our buddies from UIC one of Will's buddies too His name was Marcos.

Speaker 2: 10:55

I know.

Speaker 1: 10:56

Yeah, yeah. So he came on to talk about he's a Brazilian jujitsu coach, nice, yeah, he said I could come down for a free lesson and yeah, I don't know. The whole wrestling thing, the whole wrestling thing, the whole wrestling thing.

Speaker 2: 11:10

You know, I'll tell you this much I have been my worst injuries are not from fighting people like on the feet. My worst injuries are from grappling like heavyweight dudes and they fall on you and, like I, blew out my rib. Oh yeah. Not the, actually like the, I think it's the intercostal muscle, like the one between the ribs.

Speaker 1: 11:28

The rib cage.

Speaker 2: 11:29

The rib cage Big tour, so that was a bad one. That hurt for like two months. Yeah, that's, that's fucked, that's fucked up.

Speaker 1: 11:37

You see I already have like one really high impact activity in basketball. So it's I'm 30 now and, yeah, I know I'm old as fuck man.

Speaker 2: 11:48

You know I'm not like totally against like trying to get into a martial arts, but right now, like my love for for basketball is just, you know, yeah, I think like if you have a passion that helps you be, like, physically active and has discipline in that regard, it's like I don't think it has to be fighting by any means, right?

Speaker 2: 12:07

I think people should maybe know how to defend themselves on like a general basis but like you're also at a point where, like you'll probably be pretty fine versus like the average American dude For sure, and I'm fast fuck boy Boy.

Speaker 1: 12:19

So if anything like honestly, if it's fight or flight, like Flight bitch, I'm out yeah. Yeah, joe's training for the Olympics, and I'm fast as fuck too, so I'll be gone.

Speaker 2: 12:30

Fighting is a solid, solid method of self defense. Like if they don't have a gunner, and I've gone, I'm gone.

Speaker 1: 12:37

There was that one story about Josh Uh-huh yeah, rar on the train, ran yeah.

Speaker 2: 12:43

Cardio's king man. So even in fighting, it's like I'll have people. When we have like new people that come to the gym, sometimes you get like the big, like muscle head dudes from, like you know, your local LA fitness that want to come and like fight and like, by the time we're done with an hour of drills, which is kind of how the class is structured like we do cardio warm up and then we hit pads, slash each other for like drills, and then you do like three to five rounds of sparring after, which is like the sparring is when you're really gassing because like there's somebody in front of you trying to like beat your ass Right and like dude. Sometimes, like some of these big dudes that you would look at on the street, by the time they get to me I'm just like picking at them.

Speaker 1: 13:23

You know, because like yeah, with their gas, though that's what I'm saying, yeah.

Speaker 2: 13:27

Like but it doesn't take long to gas, like they're gassed in the first round, like in the first 30 seconds. So, realistically, like, if you could just paddle around a big guy, I think he'll be all right.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Right, but these guys also don't do a lot of cardio at the gym.

Speaker 2: 13:40

You never know. I mean even the ones that do. You're also just any time that you're like 200 plus pounds is just mass and you're swinging. It's a different kind of like tiring Right. It's like if you're not used to that specific conditioning, just like in basketball. Like if you're not used to like all the jumping and all the coming down in the right ways from those jumps, you get hurt and tired, for sure.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 14:04

It's the same thing with fighting, like any sport, really.

Speaker 1: 14:06

So how long have you been fighting? When did you start doing this? Like a year and a half ago. Year and a half, yeah, okay, yeah, damn, that's been a while.

Speaker 2: 14:18

It has been a while I think it's like last July, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 14:23

Were you still going? Wait, did you start when you were at GQ?

Speaker 2: 14:26

Yeah, yep, okay.

Speaker 1: 14:28

Yeah, yeah, okay.

Speaker 2: 14:32

And I don't like seven, eight months. Just got a promotion, so nice yeah.

Speaker 1: 14:36

So, aside from the fighting Learning a new language, I actually did want to talk about the job, even if it is a little boring Okay cuz.

Speaker 1: 14:45

Originally. You know the whole feel-free podcast about chasing your dreams, shit like that being authentic, calling yourself out on your bullshit and With with school here in Amarica, north Amarica, the United States. We kind of like force people into this college system and just tell them, like, pick some majors that make an acceptable amount of money. Right right, you had landed a really nice job right out of college, but it was too much.

Speaker 2: 15:18

Yeah, it was way too much, too much for me at the time, like I remember. Just you know and like you said, you just kind of get charted on that course of college without really thinking, because you're in college and you're just enjoying being in college and then you graduate and you enter the real world and you know there are certain degrees where you more or less you know exactly what you're getting into. Like accounting, you kind of know what you're getting into, right. It's like a more open-ended business degree like supply chain so broad, there's so many different fields, so you really don't know, unless you do your own due diligence and research which again I didn't right you don't really know what the specific job entails. So I was more on like the purchasing side of things For a big company and I hated it.

Speaker 2: 16:06

And now I'm on a different end of supply chain and I actually quite like what I do. But I think, more importantly than like what I do specifically, I like the people that I work with and the company that I'm at, so like that just makes it so much better when and it's hybrid too so it's like I'm only in office two days a week, right, which is huge for me because it's like I feel like I personally work better at home, like when I'm by myself. I can keep myself honest most of the time, you know, and just no distractions of the office and nobody like micromanaging. Like at my old job it was constant check-ins for like no reason. And here is my boss is like hey, did you do your stuff? And I'm like, yep, that's it, yeah it's great.

Speaker 1: 16:48

I think that's interesting too, because it's the same. You're kind of using the degree supply chain management, but because it's so broad, like you said, there's another end of the spectrum that you were on with the job Hybrid thing. So I think a lot of things went right for the job right, which is why you like it so much, and I think that that's great. You didn't really have to like learn anything new in order to get the job, though right, you were already ready for it.

Speaker 2: 17:16

Right, I mean like we use a system called SAP. Yeah, like a certain software which I had to learn that, but that's not, you know, for somebody that's tech savvy and if you have like the right onboarding program. Yeah, which is also the part of the problem with the original job is there was like no onboarding program and they're like here's your, here's your desk, here's how you manage it, kind of go, do it through you and through me.

Speaker 2: 17:38

I do it on like one of their bigger centers to run and I was like fresh out of school and I was like having panic attacks in the bathroom.

Speaker 1: 17:46

My vape and I'm like I can't do this. Yeah, and that's what I did.

Speaker 2: 17:50

I went home after like three months I quit that job and just kind of, like I don't know, spiraled. Is that the right word. It is spiraled for a bit, yeah, and here's where I landed, or climbed my way back up, I guess the spiraling is interesting, though, because Some people don't come out of that.

Speaker 2: 18:11

A lot of people don't, yeah, and it's like there's a lot of Bitterness right now. I think I mean I'll only speak for this country specifically, but I would imagine around the world, like especially post COVID, people just didn't come out of those spirals for different reasons, right. But yeah, I mean, nobody has like a life plan for you. You have to figure it out, obviously, right. I think a lot of kids in college in America, like everybody, knows that, but they don't necessarily take the steps to like prevent that spiral as soon as they leave school, which is what I did. So I don't know. I think that there just needs to be maybe more emphasis on really thinking like again, chasing your dreams and what you want to do and finding ways through, if not through formal education, through another means. But there should be People, advisors in your life, like adults. When you're a kid in school, that kind of help you to actually marry what you want to do with what should make you money or or what you're, yeah, what your most apt, aptical aptitude for right, yeah.

Speaker 2: 19:14

Yeah, I mean, and we went to the same high school. Yeah there wasn't a ton of resources there. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 19:19

I see you have private school though.

Speaker 2: 19:21

Yeah, well but like there are other private schools in the area that are like really nice and almost everybody I know that comes out of there is doing really well, right, like not to knock where we went. But like just kind of bare bones and like great, a little bit like as a school.

Speaker 1: 19:35

I think that's generally across the board in most high schools though Like yeah cuz, even Generally, like kids coming out of high school going into college and then kids coming out of college going into the workforce like Just not fucking ready, man no and, like you know, like when I'm 18 years old, it's a lot of responsibility to make that life decision that's going to affect you so profoundly go.

Speaker 1: 20:01

God, yeah, yeah, but it's so different in Europe, though, how they do the internship program or how they kind of introduce you to things While you're in high school. Yeah, a little bit, but I think the fact that we don't treat the kids here with like Respect we treat kids as kids until they're 18.

Speaker 1: 20:21

Yeah, pretty much, and I think that has done like an absolute disservice, not to like try and get off a tangent at all, but in order to marry the idea, like you said, of Doing what you love but also Providing for yourself what's your best aptitude doing all these things should be. You know, we should be pushing the correct direction somehow, but we're not. You know, and I think, outside of Doing that, I think having the things around you that you enjoy, like now you have the fighting, right now you're, you're learning a language. I got my reading back on. Even though I play video games, I still generally enjoy all facets of my life, like I don't hate my fucking job either. Right, you know, but if you're comparing the people we were right out of college or the people we are now, it's totally different, yeah, vastly different, like I.

Speaker 2: 21:12

Honestly, I think part of it too is just like, if you don't have like a readiness and like a drive to really work, even if you somewhat like what you do, I think you're never going to like reach your full potential that way either, because, like right out of school, dude, I didn't want to do anything.

Speaker 1: 21:28

No, what do you?

Speaker 2: 21:29

like laying bed all day and do nothing. And like you know you essentially and everybody comes from different backgrounds you know there are kids that have to get very mature very quickly. You know, like kids that from 14 15 like have to work full-time to help support their family. Right, I wasn't in that position, you know, for better or worse. So when you're 18 and you make those decisions and then when you graduate college, it kind of feels like that rugs pulled out from under you a little bit.

Speaker 2: 21:53

Yeah, because it's like oh, the real world is really fucking different than what my mom told me you know so you just have to figure it out on your own and and it's a shame, I agree like we should definitely be doing what Europe does in regards to like the apprentice ships and Making sure that people actually can try things that they're.

Speaker 1: 22:14

Get a little taste of it.

Speaker 2: 22:15

You know something, anything, you know, and that's why at least I'm glad that through high school and college I at least worked, you know, and had like the exposure to what it was, more or less, but a different sense. I always looked at it as like a pocket money, fun money thing. To you know, I never took like the job itself very seriously until I started having bills to pay right at that point it's like, well, I don't want this job, I want a different job.

Speaker 1: 22:39

Hey, bills, you know right. So I feel that, yeah, so In terms of the new, acquiring new skills, did you? You said, like with the new job you didn't have to get any new skills for this new job With your old job? And I remember, before you even started working at GQ, yeah. People skills were. I mean, it's not to say you weren't extroverted right dealing with confrontation was, was not there.

Speaker 1: 23:11

but then, like working through GQ, or you're like able to professionally Talk to like brides and prom moms and shit like that yeah, did what you learn at GQ help with this job that you have right now?

Speaker 2: 23:23

I think, a hundred percent. It helps, not necessarily with the day-to-day tasks, but in business, I think, like, if you can just be somewhat competent, you'll move up fairly quickly in big companies because there's so many people that are not one. But, like, that social aspect, I think is, is what got me hired in the first place. Right, like, more so than like, obviously, like the day-to-day help me in the interview process where I can be personable and I can, like you know, connect with people on a personal level. Right, you know, like, get to know people. And I feel that for me now, when I started where I am, I was the first person hired for my team. They hired me before they hired my boss.

Speaker 1: 24:04

Oh shit so.

Speaker 2: 24:05

I was like sitting there for like a week before my boss even was my boss and, and so like I've been there since the Genesis and I think that our team is like so nice and cohesive and like we all have so much fun together and like we'll go out on team lunches all the time and like spend two hours, whatever just having fun and that like creating that environment. I think it's where, like me working at GQ on the retail side, especially watching your dad interact with people, because there's nobody more personable than that guy there isn't and I was super introverted. Like to this day, like in my personal life, I don't make huge Moves to like you know, I don't go out a lot, I don't try to make new friends where I am, but I have that skill for when I really need it right.

Speaker 1: 24:52

And that's why I'm using it.

Speaker 2: 24:53

And now, that's why I think, why my trajectory is so good right now.

Speaker 1: 24:57

Yeah, cuz you were able to do that and I liked how, before you said like, before you were kind of like saying you got to be hungry for yeah, like, change your like to just better yourself or something along those lines, and I think, even if you're working a job you don't like, there are things to learn about it that can help you out later, you know yeah, and like a lot of people don't like jobs, especially new over, maybe like overwhelming jobs, because they don't feel competent in that role right.

Speaker 2: 25:26

So like if you could just be a dog and learn everything you possibly can about that role and like really kind of just prove to your boss or to the company and your self to yourself that, like you can do this.

Speaker 2: 25:38

You know, like buck up basically which you know isn't always the best advice certain situations you should get out of right. But, like in that situation, I just felt like, coming into this new job, I was nervous because it's the same industry as the job I hated, right, but I needed the money and that's like the big difference and I have that dog in me now.

Speaker 1: 25:59

That's just that's just like.

Speaker 2: 26:01

Pull up the x-ray picture, that dog you know. Editor, just. But yeah, it's like you kind of just have to tough it out and now I feel like very competent, like people from different departments Come to me for questions like nice. I feel very great and comfortable in my role and because of that I think you realize that the big, scary job sometimes aren't that big and scary. You know, it's just a matter of like you have to adjust to it and learn.

Speaker 1: 26:27

Yeah, I think that's like important with life in general too. Now Kind of tanging a little bit, not really, but we're changing gears, so what the fighting thing? And also just physical wellness in general, yeah, being able to adapt to situations. So if you get hurt, do you still work out, do you still do cardio?

Speaker 2: 26:51

Um dependent. I don't like Like with my rib thing that I was talking about that was bad, like I could not breathe.

Speaker 1: 26:59

Do you.

Speaker 2: 27:00

I could not, like you know you couldn't take a deep breath because when your lungs expand, it presses on the muscle. I couldn't sleep, couldn't breathe. I took like a solid month off of all fitness because at a certain point, like you have to understand like recovery is is Everything. At that point, you know, it's like if I don't take the recovery now, I'll get a full tear of the intercostal muscle and I'll be out for like half or I'll have to have surgery on it, right? So I Take it on a case-by-case basis, like if I tweak something in the gym, I'll just go work another body part, I'll crush my legs and that's why I'm getting thick legs. So, yeah, it's like because I actually love working legs more than upper body. Now, wow, love it. It's like there's something about it because I stopped squatting and I started hack squatting on the machines.

Speaker 1: 27:46

Hack. Squats are nice.

Speaker 2: 27:47

I feel so good I started doing a lot of knees, over toes, stuff for, because, like that's the other thing, you do get injured, especially like I have an autoimmune thing. So I Do like I am more a little bit prone to injuries because I always have a little bit of inflammation and weakness in certain areas, right. So yeah, for me, like I, just when I'm hurt, I recover if I need it and I don't push it too hard. But there's a fine line like you have to be able to push through injuries a lot of the time. You know just to to grow overall, right, but if it's bad, like, there's no reason to so that.

Speaker 1: 28:23

So there's certain times when you know that that dog and you can actually, yeah, start barking, start barking and Actually do more damage, then it should. Yeah to being able to like adapt is something that I need to work on this year, because normally when I get hurt, mm-hmm, I usually fuck up my knee or my ankle playing basketball. I get all you know hurt about it and then I'm like, well, I'm not gonna do anything, you know. So this time, if I do get hurt, you know, knock on whatever wood or plastic. Yep, there we go. If I do end up getting hurt, I need to change like a workout plan to be able to still accommodate myself so I don't fall into some rut for three months of not working out.

Speaker 2: 29:05

Yeah, and that's the thing too, because I think you're like me where you you kind of like tie in yourself concept so much to like you being fit equals you being happy, right, like, yeah, energy, because if I'm alone with my thoughts all day, every day, and I don't have a physical outlet, right, and whether that's like straight up working out or fighting something going on a high yeah walk or clearing your head.

Speaker 2: 29:30

If I can't do any of that, I'm gonna go to a dark place, right to be honest, you know, it's like I'm right there with you and I have like meditative things that I work on and you know reading that I work on it and skills outside, and that's why I think it's important to have those skills, like trying to learn a language and trying to do other things outside of the physical, because, realistically, like one or the other is not always gonna be there, like you might be going through stuff where you can't physically work out and so just work out your brain instead. You know, just try something.

Speaker 2: 30:02

Yeah, yeah well, it's like, it's just like a life in general, it's just like a balancing act, you know it's like. And the other thing, for me too, it's like.

Speaker 2: 30:11

I also just know in general, in both of those fields I feel like comfortably ahead of most people and not to be like a Like I don't know, not not like trying to gloat or anything, no, just saying like put in the work for it though like for like a mental thing for me when I feel like, okay, I can't work out, I don't want to spiral, I just think, hey, you're already so ahead of where you could be like, if you look at the average person physically, you could take months off and still be ahead and come back and be fine. Right so it's like, breathe through it, work on something that you can work on, and when the time comes and you want to bring in that Physical back or whatever it is that you lost, do it.

Speaker 1: 30:51

I think that's being able to pat yourself on the back for your, for all your hard work is important too. Yeah, because you could just be super, you know, hard on yourself and get yourself down in a sense like that, which will actually make you spiral quicker, faster and more than before. You know my buddy Brandon, who was just on, talked about he got a hernia.

Speaker 2: 31:11

Yeah, it was luck.

Speaker 1: 31:12

Yeah, and he just had surgery a couple weeks ago, but he's been walking on the treadmill. You know just something. Yeah, just something. Yeah. He also learns Mandarin and other things too, other languages, so he's always doing some shit like that.

Speaker 2: 31:28

I'll tell you what dude. When it comes to those tonal languages Huge respect to people that can learn those coming from like a Germanic language, like like English, yeah, or it's like not tonal at all. It's like you can understand me, regardless of like any inflection, I have right like Chinese. If you don't have the right inflection, you said a whole different word or nothing at all.

Speaker 1: 31:48

It's like I did. That's how I feel when he's yelling at me. Yeah, he yells at me, and Mandarin, mandarin. Yeah, I have a buddy that yells at me in Russian.

Speaker 2: 31:55

So there we go. It's pretty cool, yeah. I mean, it's just learning like new skills. Like that is so fun to me Because, like, if what's the point, you're just gonna sit there and be stagnant your whole life and just be the same. That's not fun.

Speaker 1: 32:11

It's not fun, but it's not even just not fun, it's. I liked how you said You're, we're similar because we had, we tie our self identity to, like this working out thing. Yeah, you know, and that stagnation, that Not doing anything, not learning anything, dude, it fucking kills me inside man.

Speaker 2: 32:33

And it feels like you're rotting.

Speaker 1: 32:35

It feels like I'm rotting and I feel like a piece of shit for coming around people while I'm rotting, because I'm like, yeah, I know what I'm doing, you know, I know I'm down in the dumps and I'm purposely doing it, right. Not right now, but previously. You know, and which is kind of like I say at the beginning of every podcast that you know, chase dreams call you out on your bullshit, myself included. But rarely do people call me out on my bullshit, like if I'm spiraling. You know, because I Work myself so hard that I Sometimes I'm hard on myself, right. So when people see me taking a break, they think it's good. They're like, oh, he's finally taking a break. People don't understand that when I'm taking a break, it's months on end and it's too much.

Speaker 2: 33:24

You are a very all or nothing person, absolutely, I feel like I'm the same way, more or less, and I'm trying not to be.

Speaker 1: 33:30

And that's why again?

Speaker 2: 33:32

when I was injured I was like, okay, I'll pick up chess again. So I bought a book on openings I've been studying opening theory and stuff like that and almost played your brother to a draw randomly on the floor so. That's a win then. Oh, I mean, I think I could beat him.

Speaker 2: 33:47

Yeah, I'm calling him out publicly, but yeah, give me a month or two, joe, I'll come for you, but it's just like not having like that. I try not to have like one aspect of my life carry that much weight for me anymore yeah exactly Because, like before, if I couldn't work out, my mind goes all right, I might as well smoke and eat burritos all day. You know where it's like hey, how about you? Just I don't know eat a salad and go for a walk If you can't work out.

Speaker 1: 34:17

Yeah, you don't have to do that, you don't have to go like all scorched earth Correct.

Speaker 2: 34:22

Yeah, it's like, it's like well it was my little tank, my body.

Speaker 1: 34:25

I guess Right.

Speaker 2: 34:28

So, and then it just makes it that more difficult when you want to come back.

Speaker 1: 34:32

It is for sure.

Speaker 2: 34:33

So it's like I don't know there's something with the mental in regards to that is just like not letting yourself slip fully. Like even if you're in a terrible situation with you, say, your fitness doesn't mean that you have to let everything else go, which is like sometimes I fall for that trap all the time, like I just said, like well, well, foot's gone, I'm done.

Speaker 1: 34:55

Can smoke and eat burritos, play video games.

Speaker 2: 34:58

Fighting, like I had like a really kick heavy game. So like I'll kick people's elbows, I'll break my toes, like every other month, and just like that I'll go through, because who needs a toe? You know, chop it off For sure, but you know like, and it sucks, but like I don't break my toe and go well, I guess I'm just gonna like stop my membership at the gym and just lay in bed all day. It's like I break my toe and I tape it and I go back to the gym and I kick somebody in the head with it, right.

Speaker 1: 35:25

That's kind of how I am with my knee, though. Yeah, because like there's always, like unfortunately, even like with the knees over toe guy doing like day stretches and all that shit, there is still an nagging pain Just from the calcification of the patellar tendon what are? You gonna do? You know I'm not gonna not go play you know, yeah, how do you un-calcify a tendon Surgery?

Speaker 1: 35:45

Yeah, yeah, and I'm not doing that right now, no. So I think being able to work, push through something like that is really important. But to have these other things other than having my entire self identity be basketball, you know, or another thing that was a problem was my writing. It was either my writing or basketball was my identity, and if I went through a phase in life where I couldn't hoop and I wasn't feeling creative enough to write, then it was like scorched earth.

Speaker 2: 36:17

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:18

Because I'd like to view the writing thing as the mental you know, and the basketball is the physical right, but if those two failed, those were, like my fail safe, you know, even in my sober era, john, which is, like I'd like to think, pretty resilient, you know. But when those two things fall, it's like, well, everything's fucked now, you know. Yeah, so this time around, you know, I'm three months without nicotine at this point again, which is great. I did pick up that really weird habit of restoring old video games, like using a solder gun to replace the batteries in old Pokemon games, crack head stuff.

Speaker 2: 36:53

Crack head stuff, 100% yeah, just taking apart your VHS for fun, yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:59

It's some crack head shit.

Speaker 2: 37:00

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 37:01

And then the reading, and then you know the language and playing more chess again too. So yeah, it's just gotta have more things at your disposal. New skills, you know, and not even just like skills in general, but just like hobbies you know.

Speaker 2: 37:16

Yeah, I mean like if you don't have, if you don't have hobbies and you don't have like a thing physically occupying your time, it's like you're just breathing, Like you're just taking up space.

Speaker 1: 37:25

Man Like You're just like mouth breathing.

Speaker 2: 37:29

Man. People don't know how. This is a PSA. If you breathe through your mouth, you physically look different. You physically look worse. Yeah, for sure it's crazy, isn't it? I see people doing them like shut your mouth, breathe through your nose.

Speaker 1: 37:42

I think Josh was Josh like oh yeah, I breathe through my mouth all the time, like doesn't give a fuck about it.

Speaker 2: 37:49

Hey man, it literally changes you. It does change you like shifts. It makes you look like softer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're doing it. Yeah, you're doing it.

Speaker 1: 37:59

Like people walking around, like it's like Professor Farnsworth from Future of the World, yeah, top yeah, it's just loose ass jaw, I think.

Speaker 1: 38:07

Joe got me on that breathing thing like a year ago because he read some book about some runner in the breathing through your nose and stuff and it's really important. Yep, I take my mouth at night not every night because I just forget, you know, but breathing through your nose is really important. It got a little difficult when I'm working out because I have the retainers in. And for some reason my mouth gets fucking dry with the retainers in.

Speaker 2: 38:30

Yeah, oh yeah, I mean it'll. It's cause you're trying to digest the retainers, it's like a whole thing, but Really Well, like you're still alive, it breaks stuff down. That's like when you put them in, you pull out, it's all drools. Cause you're trying to break down something that's not it's supposed to be in your mouth.

Speaker 1: 38:43

It could be correct.

Speaker 2: 38:43

Yeah, so it's like you get stank breath and everything but like with the nose breathing. Same thing, like when I'm at the end of like a sparring round and I'm just getting like I'm done, like my face turns like purple. I'm like you still try, like I try actively to breathe through my nose and like control my tempo.

Speaker 1: 39:01

Control your breathing.

Speaker 2: 39:02

Yeah, and especially too, when you, when you first start fighting, you're really scared, you know, because you're not used to being in like physical altercations like that Right, at least I wasn't right and you're not used to it's like two fold right. You're not used to being hit and you're not used to being hurt and tired, which is like a whole different thing, Like when you have a conco, like you're seeing stars and you can't breathe because your heart's like 180. And then also, on the other side of that coin, it's like I wasn't used to hurting people and like not like I actively try to hurt people I train with but I'm not used to like flipping the switch of violence in your brain, to like being like I'm gonna hurt you.

Speaker 1: 39:41

You know like I'm gonna go forward Like fight mode, right.

Speaker 2: 39:44

Like those, like it's so weird. Especially I spar women too, and it's like that's a whole new thing for me. It's like being able to just like crack a woman in the face is a weird feeling, you know. But I mean they're, but if you don't, they're gonna hit you hard.

Speaker 1: 39:58

Right, yeah.

Speaker 2: 39:59

Some of the women at my gym are dogs.

Speaker 1: 40:02

Like they take like semi-professional fights.

Speaker 2: 40:04

I've seen them like choke girls out. I've seen one girl break a girl's arm in an arm bar in a fight. I was like oh my God. So it's like I don't feel bad about it anymore.

Speaker 1: 40:12

No, you can't.

Speaker 2: 40:13

But like it was a huge mental hurdle to try to like flip that switch and just be like this is okay.

Speaker 1: 40:18

Well, I mean, we in the 21st century, we kind of, like you know, raise humans to not want to be violent, to not be angry, to not hate, you know, which actually suppresses it even more, which is dangerous also.

Speaker 2: 40:32

That's why you get like a lot of the crazy stuff in the country now, but that's a whole different thing, right, that's a whole separate topic.

Speaker 1: 40:38

But next week Next week on the Feel Free podcast.

Speaker 2: 40:41

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 40:43

Yeah, so you started fighting because you wanted to be an anime character. Do you plan on dyeing your hair and your beard a different color, like purple or something I mean?

Speaker 2: 40:53

yeah, I mean you'd have to have hair to dye it. Okay, that's step number one. I like to consider myself more of what's the big dude from Full Metal Alchemist with the mustache.

Speaker 1: 41:04

Major in the strong, major in the strong, just that one thing of hair. Yeah, Major in the strong. I'm trying to have that aesthetic.

Speaker 2: 41:09

Yeah, you know what's funny? I kind of I've never really thought about dyeing anything except actually from my gym. Like some people, when we do like a, when a fighter's like in a camp, like he might dye his hair like peroxide his shit, yeah, like other people will do like their beards and stuff, okay, I thought about it, but I'm like I don't want to be that ugly you know it's not good for your hair, it's bad.

Speaker 1: 41:29

It's bad for your hair. I've actually bleached my hair twice, yeah.

Speaker 2: 41:34

Did highlights. I remember Johnny Frost attempts.

Speaker 1: 41:36

Johnny Frost attempts. Yeah, that was a good.

Speaker 2: 41:38

John Johnny. Frost attempts, that was like one of my go-to, that's like on my like Mount Rushmore of Johns.

Speaker 1: 41:43

You know I had fun with that. Yes, it was nice.

Speaker 2: 41:48

Very backstreet boys, it was Very beautiful.

Speaker 1: 41:51

Very free, I'd like to say One of the most feel free moments. But, yeah, not good for the hair. I've always wanted like different hair, like anime style hair but I just don't want to fuck my hair up Like.

Speaker 2: 42:02

I mean like, and yeah, it's like it's never going to look like it does in the shows. You know, because like it's like perfect and it doesn't move and it doesn't get greasy, and it's like, yeah, it like shines though. You know, if it's like, it's like just right.

Speaker 1: 42:12

If I wanted like hair like Ike from Fire Emblem. It's literally like royal blue, but it like it's blue blue, you know, and it's shine like. If I were to like dye my hair blue, it would be like like dark blue and it wouldn't and it would be stringy is the thing, well, I mean like.

Speaker 2: 42:31

Well, I can't speak on like the texture of your hair, obviously, but if you want like a light blue, first you have to bleach it, right? And then you die, so you could do it, but then you're going to tank your roots probably. Yeah, and I don't want to do that. I wouldn't, yeah, nice hair. I don't want to do that, morty, no, you can't, you shouldn't?

Speaker 1: 42:46

No, fuck that, it's the work. Yeah, gianna, like does that to her hair, like every month or two Does she, yeah, she fucks it up. She keeps asking Kath, when can I dye my hair? And my sister and Lisa are like just hold on, just wait Right, like your hair heal, you know For real Cause.

Speaker 2: 43:02

I mean, yeah, it's like, it's cool If you, if you're into like the colored hair thing and you want to have that right, Like obviously go for it. That's your look, that's you follow your dreams, but but like don't like ruin your hair because of that.

Speaker 1: 43:17

For fashion yeah.

Speaker 2: 43:19

Wig off Amazon. You know, see how you feel about it. First Right Test it out.

Speaker 1: 43:23

Thank, you for a test drive. That's actually one of the reasons why I started doing the push-up. So much was anime.

Speaker 2: 43:30

Well, punch man, yeah, like a specific push-up anime. There's many.

Speaker 1: 43:35

Well, I think it's more of just like a general idea of fitness, like how you wanted to learn fighting as Joe Liga.

Speaker 1: 43:41

I'm going to be an anime character but, yeah, we talked on just anime. The other podcast that I have with Kath and I have a couple episodes with my brother and other people here where we talk about anime. Very important part of my self-identity is anime because of the characters, the things they overcome, what they do and stuff and I can watch my hero for a month and look at them and be like, well, how can I be a hero without superpowers? Yeah, I'm not fucking getting shaped.

Speaker 2: 44:14

Yeah, it's like I don't want to help people, I just want to be jacked.

Speaker 2: 44:17

Forget being a hero, you know it's funny, though, at my work it's like I'm one of the younger dudes on my team and my boss is really an anime. She loves it and through like osmosis through me and her, now like our team of 10 people who had never seen anime before. Like the supervisor on my team, I got him so far in like a six month period. He's watched all of my hero. He's current on JJK. He's watched all of Demon Slayer, like he's watched all of Full Metal. Alchemist's brotherhood let's go Hunter.

Speaker 2: 44:53

He's beasted and through he's like I never knew anime could be like dark and like have good plots. Like he watched Death Note, I'm like, and now he's a fiend. It's like I knew it.

Speaker 1: 45:02

You know, everybody's like that deep down though yeah.

Speaker 2: 45:06

Do people like put on airs and try to be like really cool, Be like no, that's for kids, Like that's cartoon shit. Like I remember at the library you know there's that huge manga section. I remember browsing that and people kind of like give you like a look. Like this guy looking at comic books. I'm like cause they're fun and I like them.

Speaker 1: 45:22

It's like I don't really like.

Speaker 2: 45:23

What other reason do you want? It's like they're just dope.

Speaker 1: 45:26

Maybe they want you to write a research paper on why it's dope?

Speaker 2: 45:29

I don't think so, dude. I think they just want to hate, just want to. I think so, cause it's like and that's the other thing too. It's like, dude, since I got rid of, like, all my social media, it's like I don't give a crap what people think. It must be nice, dude, it's pretty nice, I don't care. It's like. People say like, it's like a red flag or whatever. Who says that? Like bitches, you go on dates with it. It's like. It's like oh, what's your Instagram? Cause, like you know, you'll meet on like a half or something.

Speaker 1: 45:52

That's a red flag if he doesn't have social media. Is that what they say?

Speaker 2: 45:55

I've heard it once. Only once, to be fair, like the vast majority of people don't care. But, like I've heard it, like I'm like how is that a negative that I don't spend three hours of my day just doom scrolling on something, or like.

Speaker 1: 46:09

Scrolling other people's lives or just being like oh.

Speaker 2: 46:11

I'll never look like that. I'll never have that much money. It's like it's terrible for you it's like sorry, I'd rather watch cartoons. Fuck, I guess, I guess.

Speaker 1: 46:20

But that they're reasoning for that is like, oh, I just need to know what's happening. In like, all my friends live and it's so BS.

Speaker 2: 46:25

Cause, like every time you look over their shoulders, they don't know those people bro. They're just like it's influencing.

Speaker 1: 46:31

Yeah, I'm sure.

Speaker 2: 46:32

Especially if you have TikTok. It's like you know, like you can, might see one of your friends, tiktoks might support your friends there.

Speaker 1: 46:38

Yeah, you're not on there for your friends.

Speaker 2: 46:40

Dude, you're on there to watch some heinous stuff Like.

Speaker 1: 46:42

I mean, like it's just like that.

Speaker 2: 46:44

That app just consumes your life.

Speaker 1: 46:46

I had to get rid of it because of the thing.

Speaker 2: 46:48

My For you page was getting too specific. I was like all right, man, I'm done Like TikTok was the one that killed social media. For me, it's like I was on there and I'm like, all right, it's 2am and my eyes are bloodshot and I'm holding my phone like this and keep dropping it on my face and it's like this isn't healthy. I'm on here too much.

Speaker 1: 47:06

See, I like they got the reels on.

Speaker 2: 47:09

Instagram. It's like the same thing, it is the same thing. But, that. That ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 47:16

Dude, I think who was I just fucking talking to about this? I was talking to Dylan about it. If I, he doesn't have social media either. Yeah, if I didn't have to, you know the podcast Network and shit yeah. I would not have any of this shit.

Speaker 2: 47:28

Yeah Well, they make it really hard to like if you want to have any kind of like Business, business or like any kind of project that you're working on. If you're not like promoting On a network like that, like nobody's gonna find you, everybody's connected, right. You know, like I like I find things just like Spotify, discover and, you know, like new podcast, like oh, that sounds interesting, we'll give it a shot, but for the most part I feel like very unplugged and I really like it.

Speaker 1: 47:56

That's fine, I bet it's phenomenal, yeah, I mean like I'll watch YouTube videos and that's like a whole other problem because those wormholes go hard.

Speaker 2: 48:01

Oh yeah, it's like I'm three. I'm watching a monkey escape like from a zoo. At you know, like beat people in the streets, like you'll find yourself just doing all kinds of weird stuff on YouTube in like late at night.

Speaker 1: 48:12

Can Lisa's Lisa's dad literally like watches videos, like like accidents, like car, yeah, uh, yeah, like a dash cam footage. I have a guy that I work with that just watches people die he's like.

Speaker 2: 48:28

Oh, I love watching the motorcycle ones where they're like flying at a hundred just fly off. I'm like you see me. You mean watching death. Oh, dude, it's like. I Don't, you know, I don't even know that's a red flag.

Speaker 1: 48:41

You're not having social media. Yeah, not a red flag. No, right though.

Speaker 2: 48:46

So yeah, it's like what it's like. That's a bit much, isn't it? He's like oh, you know, like those, like those Chinese factory videos where people get caught in the machine. So I know, I don't know those. Actually, what is happening on the internet? It's a dark place, I think.

Speaker 1: 48:59

Yeah, dude, my honestly, my YouTube feed is all Basketball highlights. Yeah and lo-fi.

Speaker 2: 49:06

Yeah, that's it. I mean, that's the one thing about YouTube is you can really get it how you want it. You know it's yeah in like a.

Speaker 2: 49:15

Obviously, that also has like a negative way where you can go and watch stuff you really shouldn't be watching all day, every day. I'm just like consuming you. But I feel like YouTube, like that At least it's a long format, right. I think the long format stuff is somewhat important, right, for like a tension span and just overall mental health to not be like bombarded by like new things pictures, and ten second it's like when you like in like old cartoons, we're like somebody's having like a flashback or like they're freaking out.

Speaker 2: 49:42

It's just like picture, picture, picture, like Vietnam cut explosion, it's like that. And you just keep going and going and going.

Speaker 1: 49:52

Yeah, I'd like to get to the point where I just like hire somebody to do it all for me. You know, that'd be great, I'd be sick, yeah, but right now, unfortunately, that's the only app like I only social media I really have on my phone that I Use. I don't use Facebook because I have it synced, so if I post something to Instagram for the podcast, it goes to Facebook. Yeah, you know, but I don't like do anything on Facebook and snapchats, just like that's. That's strictly like friends pretty much.

Speaker 2: 50:21

We're in like I shouldn't say I have no social media. I have snapchat, but I use it like as a messenger, right? I message people on snapchat more than I text them. Like you know, I'm texting is like my mom, right. Snapchat is like my friends, cuz I know they'll pick it up.

Speaker 1: 50:34

I mean text me so I understand the correct. I'm like. I'm like, yeah, you're old 30.

Speaker 2: 50:41

Enough, it's like I got fucking text. Yeah 30%, I don't know, but like, even so, like I'll still snap you occasionally, it's just, but I think, like I never know with you Whether you have it or it's deleted, right, cuz you'll go through phases of like well, you've been sending me stuff, like I haven't had that for three months.

Speaker 2: 50:58

So yeah, it's like I'll just always text you because I know you're more direct with that. But fast, majority of like I'll have like group chats with people and it's like. It's just like with the tax it gets to me. The group text, though, can all die. The group text suck. But, like at least the group snapchat thing, it's like I'll just mute it, I'll go in there when I want it, you know. So it's like, yeah, you can do that with your text too, but Something's different feels like more whimsical on snapchat, you know.

Speaker 1: 51:23

Yeah, it's like more like informal and just like hey, you know, I mean there's an, there's an explorer page which is really dumb, that's like the most, that is the most heinous, like, that's like the most advertisement.

Speaker 2: 51:36

Ask, oh, dude, shit, you can get just brain dead stuff on there, man, it's silly dude brain dead clickbait.

Speaker 1: 51:42

Oh god.

Speaker 2: 51:44

Man cuz, I think like one of the only things that Joey has to social media snapchat.

Speaker 1: 51:48

I was just gonna say this I'll see him on there all the fucking time and I'm like that's hit.

Speaker 2: 51:52

That's his social media though right, he's just like he's. He likes it. Yeah, I don't, you know. I don't know what that says about him. But, yeah, I don't know. It's just not for me. I can't do it. It's bad for that.

Speaker 1: 52:05

Yeah, I'm just waiting for the day where I can just kind of like unplugged, you know, still do the podcast and the book thing. Yeah, the less I'm on social media and I think this is the same thing with anybody the less you're on social media, the happier you're gonna be.

Speaker 2: 52:21

I feel much happier, dude. I feel much happier because, like, my biggest problem was comparing myself to other people.

Speaker 1: 52:26

I was gonna say, you went through a little body dysmorphia phase for a little bit.

Speaker 2: 52:30

Yeah, I talked about that on the, on the first one that I did years ago and like, yeah, I had that, just because I grew up like a heavier kid and I never, you know, you get like teas and stuff and you never really have that like Sense of self or like that positive sense of self and you're always like dog in yourself. So even now, like I'm in shape and I feel great and I like I don't have the dysmorphia so much, like it doesn't mean that like there's not like shades of it or remnants of it that like still affect you, because when you're a child, of course impacted like that.

Speaker 2: 52:59

It's like it's gonna have a profound effect on you as an adult too.

Speaker 1: 53:03

I actually had Somebody. I spoke on the revolutionized mind podcast and I also had Angelica on this podcast and she talked about body dysmorphia with social media as well. So it is an actual thing. It's fucked up.

Speaker 2: 53:17

It's messed up, yeah, it's like and like. I think it especially probably impacts women a bit more heavily. Oh god, yeah, so it's like. So it's like when you're a guy, it's like, it's not like, maybe, or you feel sometimes like it gets like swept under the rug, like yeah, whatever most men's mental health.

Speaker 1: 53:33

It's just under the rug.

Speaker 2: 53:34

Yeah, yeah, here be like that sometimes 2023 dog in you bro, no but yeah, it's like it. It's definitely like crappy to just like constantly see that stuff. Like you compare yourself.

Speaker 2: 53:50

Yeah, cuz like even if you're not doing it consciously, you're doing it on a subconscious level, right, and you're like well, like I, just like, I just, you know, it's like thing, I don't look like that guy or I don't make as much money as that dude, you're like whatever it is and then, like you realize that person's probably like empty too. You know what I mean. It's like they're just posting like you see that you see their life. I'm like two second segments and like I can like take a photo in a mirror and edit it to make it look like I'm like Nasty shredded, but I'm not.

Speaker 1: 54:18

Yeah, I mean it's like, and so like, that's all they and you could go put on your nicest Clothing and go stand next to the Tesla that I test drove yesterday. Yeah, and then just put an emoji in the caption. People like, oh my god, you know but yeah, it's real fake. But then the other 99% of their life is just as empty as just staring at this.

Speaker 2: 54:39

Yeah, it's all the same.

Speaker 1: 54:40

Hate it. It's the worst. This morning I did not do my morning ritual of Stare at my phone for 30, 40 minutes, yeah. So I read all morning, probably an hour and a half, yeah, yeah, I switched off between. I'm reading the will to power by by Nisha, which is actually a little more studying. Okay, you know, I have to like use a highlighter, break down. I have to break it down. I have to actually be immersed. I have to like almost take notes, yeah, you know. And then I I'm reading Lord of the Rings Good, books.

Speaker 1: 55:20

Yeah, so really good books. I'm switching off between doing that and also on audible. I've been listening to a biography on Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, I'm just nerding the fuck out over here 16th, 16th president.

Speaker 2: 55:33

Yeah, let's go yeah.

Speaker 1: 55:35

After that I'm gonna do an Albert Einstein biography.

Speaker 2: 55:38

Yeah, yeah, man, it's like I Like I keep teetering between like fiction and nonfiction, cuz, like I love nonfiction, I love learning, but, man, you get to a certain point and you're just like I want to have fun.

Speaker 1: 55:50

It's dry, it's dry.

Speaker 2: 55:52

Super dry. Yeah, like I've been reading a book on like, like, like gut health and like the microbiome and everything which is like relevant.

Speaker 1: 56:00

That's kind of interesting. My stomach is terrible, right.

Speaker 2: 56:03

It's interesting but at the same time it's like, yeah, it's quite dry and scientific. When they're, like you know, documenting the various different bacteria that live in there, they're giving you like each scientific name.

Speaker 1: 56:13

You're like God, yeah this book and like that's kind of tough. But yeah, I just finished a so on audible, they have these things called the great courses, right, that Company or segment, what you call it.

Speaker 1: 56:28

I just finished one on existentialism, which is, like everybody in that boat, the picture behind me, yeah, you know yeah, so it was like an 18-hour Audiobook that some guy gave on existentialism, basically just ran through every single one of the big, the big guns, because it's honestly like my favorite type of philosophy, I'd like to say, which is where I draw a lot of my my writing from. Yeah, I just finished that and I'm like you know what I don't know. Ever since I stopped smoking, I've been like doing a lot better. I'm actually At the point now where I haven't even beaten the Hogwarts game on switch. Okay, and it's a good game. It is a good game, but uh, I'm just running out of video game juice.

Speaker 2: 57:13

Let me tell you the older I get, the more frequently I buy 60 dollar games and play them for two hours and say Like I finished. Hogwarts just barely, and I love Harry Potter like I love. No, yeah, it's a great game yeah but like I was, I was really at the end. I was like, can we get get that over with? Yeah.

Speaker 2: 57:32

I don't want to be sitting at my desk looking at magic anymore, man. It's like it's great. I mean it was yeah, especially like when you first get like the exploration of like the castle and you get like free reign.

Speaker 1: 57:42

Oh yeah, it's dope.

Speaker 2: 57:44

It's sick.

Speaker 1: 57:44

Well, I just played like 20 hours of stardew in like two weeks and that's like super chill.

Speaker 2: 57:51

I played 10 hours. See a stars in two days.

Speaker 1: 57:54

Oh, it's fine. Yeah, I love that game. Halfway through, I think it's pretty good. Oh my god. In one game of the year. Yeah like there's moments like when I'm smoking, or when I'm spiraling, or you're talking about nicotine, I'm assuming, or anything? Nicotine honestly like unlocks. Yeah, a lot of my bad habits, right?

Speaker 2: 58:19

or I should say like I Tobacco yeah, I'm tobacco itself, not like the Zinn or like no, not in.

Speaker 1: 58:29

but Like with the video games to, I tend to not do like first-person shooters and shit. I don't do Grand Theft Auto, so I'm not hating on it, it's just like yeah, it's not my jam.

Speaker 1: 58:41

You know, I need to be thinking a little bit more. So now I'm at the point now where I'm all video game doubt, you know, and I told Lisa I'm like I have to beat the Hogwarts game. I never leave a game undone, or different people. I can't, yeah, I just can't. Mm-hmm, it's just like a book, dude, we're also different people.

Speaker 2: 59:00

Oh man, I need books half read all the time.

Speaker 1: 59:03

Really, I've only done it once. I should say all the time.

Speaker 2: 59:07

But like, if I just really like, lose interest or if I like if I like take somebody else's recommendation and it's just like really not my style, like I'll give it a shout, get halfway through it and I'll be like man. I feel that like this isn't me, but Like of course you still like, because I have my headboard of my bed is like hollowed, it's like a bookcase, yeah, and so to kind of just stare at me when I sleep and so sometimes I think about like you know he's starting them, but starting a book where you have no idea where you left off is like that's tough, miserable.

Speaker 1: 59:38

So, I mostly just don't see, I, I can't bring myself to purchase another thing without finn-. How about that? Like I, yeah, there's a fire emblem game that came out in January, so it's almost gonna be a year, and Now, with where I'm at, I'm like I can't purchase that game until I beat the Hogwarts game.

Speaker 2: 59:58

That's fair right. I mean, that's just like a fiscally responsible thing, that it right well, yeah, I'm getting my bang from a buck, you know.

Speaker 1: 1:00:04

But I also know that if I buy the fire emblem game, it might be six to nine months before I beat the Hogwarts game.

Speaker 2: 1:00:11

Yeah, I think like for me, like in the last like few weeks since I've got the promotion, and like I it came with like more pay obviously that now I'm like able to save a lot every month. Nice that I'm like Literally like just last week when I got back from Florida I had like a whole XL open and I like made a budget for my way I feel like the first time because, like I've always had More than my bills, so I've been fortunate in that way, you know.

Speaker 2: 1:00:35

But to actually sit down with the budget, to sit down and like, see, especially like my bank's paying me like did you spend a thousand dollars eating out last month? And I'm like, oh no, it's just like only cuz you know like you'll take people off for dinner and they'll sell you later, but like right still shows up is like, oh my god, right. But it's just like that realization of, especially for me. I want to like get my own place soon and I need to stop buying $60 games that I don't play.

Speaker 1: 1:01:02

The thing about see a stars though 29 yeah that's like indie games in general are cheaper.

Speaker 2: 1:01:08

Mm-hmm, like, how much was stardew?

Speaker 1: 1:01:10

15 off.

Speaker 2: 1:01:11

I have like 300 hours on stardew 300, it's not. Yeah, maybe like two, I don't know. But I have like a, one of my most played games and it's funny because I've never even gotten that far into it like I've Finished. I've never done the Jojo route. Okay, leave that that many hours. And I just keep restarting firms because I don't like the corporate thing. It's like feels dirty.

Speaker 1: 1:01:32

I did the Jojo route, the first two, yeah, and this farm that I'm on my third, one, which is easily my best farm that I have 85 hours in. Do I did the community center route? Yeah, because I wanted it to be more challenging.

Speaker 2: 1:01:46

See, and I never realized that it was more challenging until like right now. Oh yeah, the.

Speaker 1: 1:01:50

Jojomart easy, if you know he cuz.

Speaker 2: 1:01:52

You just pay for everything you know.

Speaker 1: 1:01:54

Eric's like dude, I know how to make money, I'm just gonna fucking pay for it. I'm like, yeah, that's, that's the move right. So yeah, the first two farms I did. I just learned how to make a lot of money super fast.

Speaker 2: 1:02:04

You can literally unlock everything and like fall at least you know, yeah, those are things like Every time I pick it back up, I never think like I'm gonna really like min max this, I'm gonna be like super efficient. It's like I just have fun and then, like by the time that falls over, I realized I missed something that I could only really like get in, fall like, obviously there's ways around everything community center, though right, and I'm like man, you're too.

Speaker 2: 1:02:30

Next year just like looking up hacks. I'm like freaking how to Stardew get what I want. It's like, yeah, it's such a relaxing game though the soundtrack.

Speaker 1: 1:02:39

God. When you buy the sea oh, did I tell you that we're going to see? I don't think I told you so. Eric and Christina and Lisa and I are going to see An orchestra perform the Stardew Valley soundtrack in the city in yeah, in March, I think that's nice, that's nice, and you have to see if Star sounds nice too.

Speaker 2: 1:03:01

Man, any of those indie game designs, it's like I'll Unlike you. I'll play like a little bit of like Call of Duty's when, like then, when a new one comes out, I'll get it. I'll play for a few weeks with friends just cuz you know, for me it's like more like a social aspect, like we'll hop on discord and shoot the shit right, and you know, call of Duty is just like a mindless, like just get out and pray, but yeah. I just get dunked on by like a 16 year old.

Speaker 2: 1:03:25

It's like alright man I don't have those reflexes anymore for games but like Something about like. Every time I come back to a nice indie game, like a well-made one, like see if stars, or like Stardew, I feel like at peace. I feel like yeah, it scratches my video game itch and shooters don't, because those for me are competitive and like rage inducing, like I don't get like mad.

Speaker 1: 1:03:48

I was the same thing with league, though that's why I had to get rid of it, yeah and like I don't like smash stuff any anymore.

Speaker 2: 1:03:55

But like you know, I'm a grown man, like I pay for everything on my smashing my nice setup. No, I don't get mad like, but I'll like off to like walk away. I'm like this isn't like why I'm just getting mad. My blood pressure suck, but I I do still smoke. So it's like Mm-hmm, it's you. How bad can you be when you're stone playing Call of Duty in your underwear? It's like not very. No, it's like it's still just rage inducing.

Speaker 1: 1:04:18

Yeah, I can't worth it. That's why I had to get rid of I had to get rid of league. For that reason though, too. Yeah, because it is time-consuming, it's highly addictive and it's rage inducing.

Speaker 2: 1:04:28

Yeah, Well, it's the thing about like like cotton. I can jump on for a 15 minute mash and be done. It's like league. It's like that's like an hour commitment. Every time you boot that launcher at least, yeah. And next thing you know it's like three in the morning and you're like your eyes are red, you know your region.

Speaker 1: 1:04:42

Yeah, you should go to bed angry sometimes and that's like the worst or what.

Speaker 2: 1:04:46

I've been doing a decompress at night, john. What well like when I read a little bit, but when I do watch shows, I watch tiny house hunters Just like your mom really yeah, and I'm gonna tell her that next time you talk, I'm like damn, I need a tiny ass home. It's like, take me somewhere small, quaint. Yeah, it's just like a. It's weird cuz.

Speaker 1: 1:05:06

It's like I don't genuinely like hgTV, like that type of reality show, like so, but it's nice man, do you see yourself buying like a plot of land and putting a tiny home on it If not a tiny home like a small cottage somewhere. Do that. I could do that right now.

Speaker 2: 1:05:23

Yeah, with cuz like. So Like I mean my sisters both have so much money saved right now because they live at home and they have great. They've had like good job, they've had like good heads on their shoulders in that wrist like regard for a long time. Right, and we'll definitely end up doing like a sibling lake house, I'm sure, like somewhere tucked away. I bet it's like you need that. It's like where you guys have. The lake house is like such a nice location where it's like you just get away from everything and all the Especially like the this area when we were kids, like it was not this built up and congested. You know what I mean. Like here.

Speaker 2: 1:05:59

Yeah, yeah general, like in in the whole suburbia. You know it's like especially the closer you get to the city. It was never like that bad and traffic was never like that bad, right, but now it's like I just need a break. Sometimes, man, like you get the fuck out of here. Yeah, cuz I find myself driving home and just like getting too aggressive for no reason. I'm like yelling at an old person for on the highway.

Speaker 1: 1:06:23

Just take a breath, man, so Just really not a lot to be angry about when you think about it, yeah. I find myself when I do get angry about something that doesn't need To be met with that anger. I'm like Dude, just ease up. And I say this to lease all the time. I've been saying that for like months now. Just like ease up. You know been telling her to ease up.

Speaker 2: 1:06:44

Yeah, it's smack Die, tell it to yourself. But yeah, I feel you like I've been much better at like being accountable with that cuz. Like you know, I like I used to have such a short fuse and for certain things, like I still kind of do, but I just like I'm much better at just being like why are you mad right now? It's just like breathe, just take a step back, just chill. You're actually your life's pretty sweet.

Speaker 1: 1:07:08

Yeah, like you've done the work you know, huh, feel good man, yeah Well that's it. So yeah, I think so.

Speaker 2: 1:07:21

I mean just feeling good, feeling free.

Speaker 1: 1:07:26

Feel free. I think we had a. Yeah, I think it was a good episode, though Is there anything that you could say to the listeners, kind of about the new skills thing, whether it's like not getting discouraged with new skills or like just how would you go about it?

Speaker 2: 1:07:48

Yeah, I think that anytime you practice anything new or try to acquire a new skill, there's like that initial hump and you got to realize, like that hump and that threshold, 90% of the people, when they start on that incline, get discouraged and turn around and Know all those people that you look up to, all those people that speak fluent languages or a grandmasters and chess or a really fit, and really know like they got past that hump and then they get past the next one and they get past the next one and Just keep pushing forward. That's really all you can do. It's like if you're not going forward, you're stagnant. It's like simple as so. Find what you like, find the way that works for you to learn or to grow, because everybody's a little bit different in that regard too, like Not everybody is like a straight-up study, sit down, physical pencil and paper thing. So find works for you and push past those humps and I think you'll do great.

Speaker 1: 1:08:46

Nice All right, yeah, well, I really appreciate everybody coming out listening to the episode. It don't forget like subscribe, following all that other crap. Yeah, get some new skills, new hobbies, all that other shit. Do your best to, you know, live a better life healthy life, I should add. But we're peace now, so stay up and feel free.