14 Lessons from 5 Years Of Modern Wisdom

It's Modern Wisdom's 5th birthday!! 5 years ago on February 14th 2018 I launched this podcast with a conversation in my old company's office in the North East of England. Over the last 589 episodes, 1000+ hours and nearly 2000 days of working away on this project I've learned a lot, and today I'm going through some of the most important lessons and insights I've picked up. Expect to learn the importance of a wide vocabulary, why all amateurs are narcissists, why learning about the reasons for your actions can liberate you or destroy you, whether you should trade youth for money, if you should be known for your takes or your work, why envy not greed drives the world, how to stop getting stuck in old patterns and much more... Sponsors: Get 10% discount on all Gymshark’s products at https://bit.ly/sharkwisdom (use code: MW10) Get over 37% discount on all products site-wide from MyProtein at https://bit.ly/proteinwisdom (use code: MODERNWISDOM) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #psychology #mindset #philosophy - 00:00 Intro 02:00 A Richer Vocabulary Means a Richer Life 06:10 The Tension Between Success & Desire to Feel Like You’re Enough 13:12 The Danger of Believing Your Limitations 20:00 The Vestigial Pattern Bias 27:48 Envy Drives the World, Not Greed 31:25 Do You Want to be Known for Your Work or Your Takes? 39:20 Would You Trade Money for Youth? 47:13 Proximate & Ultimate Reasons for Human Behaviour 54:31 Don’t Outsource Your Self-Worth 59:11 The Tocqueville Paradox 1:03:55 Don't Underestimate How Normal the Normies Are - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris Williamsonhost

Feb 13, 20231h 8mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 13, 2023
Duration: 1h 8m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

It's Modern Wisdom's 5th birthday!! 5 years ago on February 14th 2018 I launched this podcast with a conversation in my old company's office in the North East of England. Over the last 589 episodes, 1000+ hours and nearly 2000 days of working away on this project I've learned a lot, and today I'm going through some of the most important lessons and insights I've picked up. Expect to learn the importance of a wide vocabulary, why all amateurs are narcissists, why learning about the reasons for your actions can liberate you or destroy you, whether you should trade youth for money, if you should be known for your takes or your work, why envy not greed drives the world, how to stop getting stuck in old patterns and much more... Sponsors: Get 10% discount on all Gymshark’s products at https://bit.ly/sharkwisdom (use code: MW10) Get over 37% discount on all products site-wide from MyProtein at https://bit.ly/proteinwisdom (use code: MODERNWISDOM) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #psychology #mindset #philosophy - 00:00 Intro 02:00 A Richer Vocabulary Means a Richer Life 06:10 The Tension Between Success & Desire to Feel Like You’re Enough 13:12 The Danger of Believing Your Limitations 20:00 The Vestigial Pattern Bias 27:48 Envy Drives the World, Not Greed 31:25 Do You Want to be Known for Your Work or Your Takes? 39:20 Would You Trade Money for Youth? 47:13 Proximate & Ultimate Reasons for Human Behaviour 54:31 Don’t Outsource Your Self-Worth 59:11 The Tocqueville Paradox 1:03:55 Don't Underestimate How Normal the Normies Are - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson, 14 Lessons from 5 Years Of Modern Wisdom explores five Years, Fourteen Lessons: Success, Meaning, And Being Enough Chris Williamson reflects on five years of hosting Modern Wisdom, distilling 14 key lessons about language, success, cynicism, status, time, and self-worth. He explores how a richer vocabulary deepens experience, why many high performers are driven by insufficiency, and how cynicism functions as a protective but toxic worldview. He contrasts grind versus ease, work versus drama, money versus time, and ultimate versus proximate evolutionary motives. Throughout, he urges listeners to reclaim agency, lower the bar for presence, and recognize how far they already are from the "norm" by simply choosing to grow.

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