800k Q&A - Diary Of A CEO, Iman Gadzhi & Body Positivity

No one cares what you're doing. Nobody cares about you. Every single person is completely wrapped up in their own lives. When you walk into a room, no one's looking at you. When you drop a glass of Coke down the front of your top, no one cares, no one remembers. There is nothing more liberating than realizing how indifferent the rest of the world is to what you're doing. You are the center of your own universe, and you basically don't even exist in anybody else's. That should be the best antidote to social anxiety that I can think of. (airplane whooshing) Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the show. It is an 800,000 subscriber Q&A episode, and as around about 700,000 of you will be familiar with, this means that I asked for questions from Twitter and Locals and YouTube community and Instagram, and there were way more than I'm gonna have time to get through today but we've bundled them together and I'm gonna try and get through as many as I can. Before we get into the episode, I do want to give an announcement that I am going on tour. I'm going to be doing live shows later this year, and you get to choose which cities I go to. If you go to chriswilliamson.live, you can enter the city that you live in, and we're just going to use that information to help route the different locations that I'll go to to do the live event. I absolutely can't wait to put everybody into a room together. Uh, my imposter syndrome around "Why am I stood on stage in front of hundreds of people?" is going to take a little bit of work to drop off before this happens, but I, I really, really, really excited to do it and you guys get to choose where I go. So, go to chriswilliamson.live, put your city in, and also you'll find out first when show dates and locations and tickets are all announced as well. Let's get into it. Jackson Pekin, "My dead-end factory job pays 120 grand, but it is depressing. How would you make the leap to quit?" Think about how good you are at doing a job that you hate, and now think about how good you would be if you were doing a job that you love. Like, really what you're doing is you're exchanging sanity for time, and it's, that's the cost, right? Like, sometimes sanity involves lots of time, sometimes it involves lots of cognitive effort, sometimes it involves you being depressed or unhappy, and you could basically see exchanging money for sanity as, "Well, if I get a more enjoyable job which pays me less money, it nets out at the same." Because think about all of the coping mechanisms that you're probably going through in a desperate attempt to put up with this job. You might be training less, you might be going, uh, less outgoing, you might be spending more time on your phone, you might be turning to other drugs like weed or nicotine. All of those will fall away if you were to switch jobs, and you would probably also be much better at what you do. All_tha_thingys9, "What did you think about the response to your Diary of a CEO Instagram reel?" Yes, very interesting. The Fiat 500 Instagram club, uh, took offense at some of the things that I said, uh, on that podcast reel. Um, every single person that's ever listened to Modern Wisdom knows exactly my position when it comes to the dating market. Like, I am, in the eyes of the manosphere, so blue-pilled I'm a cook, and in the eyes of Guardian readers, so bigoted that I'm a misogynist. Like, if I split the difference (laughs) between those two, so be it. Like, I, I really loved the episode. I, I, I thought that the reel was spicily edited together, but it did what we need to. Like, Steven's team has a, a, like a very quick-cut style, uh, the way that they put their, their shorts together, and yeah. The, the comments section spoke for itself. It's a bunch of, you know, a lot of them are women who maybe haven't been exposed to this stuff before, but I can't go any gentler than that. If you listen to what I'm saying, especially on the podcast, it's like so delicate. "We can't roll back women's education and employment. We can't do this. Like, this is how difficult it is for girls." Like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. If I caveated anymore, I would basically be... I would, I would be lying. I would be, I would be, um, d- dampening down the insights so much that no one actually got to any truth anymore. And the other thing, I was talking to David Buss about this yesterday. I feel so bulletproof in the science around this. It, there's no other topic on the planet that I know as well as intrasexual dynamics, mating, and attraction, and because of that, it means that if I do get pushback like that, typically if you were on less well-grounded footing, you'd be like, "Oh, no. Oh, what, what if I'm not actually, my position might not be too certain here." Every single stat that I cited, I'm happy to give references for. Every single position that I had there, I'm like, "Yeah, I, I feel like that was what I meant to say." I think it's accurately grounded in science, and I think that it is fair and put forward in a empathetic and well-meaning way. And if the Fiat 500 Instagram club doesn't like that, then I don't care. SarahGraceW, "After all of your conversations about females, do you think you understand us more or less?" Smiley face. That's a very good question. Um, I'd like to think more. I do think more. Um, there is a chasm when you start learning about evolutionary psychology where you stop seeing people as people and start seeing them as just a collection of traits and signals that they're doing, um, but I'm out of that, on the other side now. Um, everyone's complex, right? Absolutely everybody is. But I do think that a good, grounded understanding of human nature through evolutionary psychology n- helps to make people a little bit less murky. LJ 22, "You recently spoke with Alex Hormozi about the starving rat experiment, where the animal has a reward to run toward, the smell of cheese, and something they fear to run away from, the smell of a cat. At this stage in life, what would you say is a reward you are running toward and a fear you are running from, and if you had a figurative spring (laughs) attached to your figurative tail, do you think it would be the reward or the fear making you pull more forcefully?"Um, (sighs) it's definitely more reward than it is fear now. It was fear for a very, very long time. It's maybe 50/50. I don't know. Um, I try and err on the side of finding things that are good, of running toward paying forward the benefits and insights, uh, and opportunities that I've had to learn that have really helped me to become a better version of myself. It feels like Modern Wisdom is the podcast that I wish that I'd had 10 years ago because it would've taught me a lot of the things about the world that I really needed to hear. And this is why I love doing it, because if I didn't run this show, I would listen to this show. Like, this is the podcast that I want to listen to. I just happen to be an active participant in making it happen. Um, in terms of running away from stuff, there's still some senses of insufficiency. You know, like, th- there is some negative inner voices that I get if I fall short of my own expectations, and they're pretty cutting and pretty brutal at times. It's a lot quieter than it used to be, but it's still very much there and, like, way more than would be optimal. Um, but it is getting better, so I'd say maybe 50/50 at the moment in terms of my, uh, amount of force, and it would be just trying to make the best of all of the opportunities that I've got at the moment. I really think that the conversations we're having here are super, super important. I appreciate all of you guys for being incredibly sensible and reasonable and having amazing, interesting, curious conversations in the comments or there's this new question sticker that you can do on, on Spotify, which you may not have seen, which is really cool, and no one else sees that except for me and the guys behind the scenes. So, um, yeah, it's awesome. I, I really like what we're talking about, and I think it's important, so that's driving me to do more. (laughs) Romi, "Congratulations, Chris. What is your attachment style? How was your relationship with your parents when you were growing up? I love your podcast. Female listener here from Argentina." Thank you, Romi, from South America. (smacks lips) I think I'm mostly anxious attachment. Uh, relationship with parents was great. Mom and Dad looked after me a lot. They were quite stern. They were, uh, you know, I was disciplined and, uh, I knew sort of where the lines were. Um, I kind of get the impression that attachment style is very, very heavily heritable, uh, rather than environmentally, uh, inculcated. I would love to see some of these studies about crying it out and babies being left on their own replicated and whether or not they do, I think, that they would be... I think that you're going to see them struggle. So, I don't think that my relationship with my parents growing up would massively impact my attachment style. However, I do have anxious attachment to a degree. I've worked on that too, and that has been helped by, um, having a, a greater sense of confidence in myself and, um, being more grounded in the things that I'm doing, and not playing a role so much. Uh, yeah. Well Man Lifestyle, "Appreciate all of your insights as well as your guests of the show. It is a massive inspiration to be better every day. Congratulations on 800,000 brother. Cheers to community." Thank you very much. Awesome. Always brings a smile to my face when a man doing good work is being rewarded for it. Keep up the good work sir. Patrick Connors. Thank you. These are not questions. Uh, it's my fault. "How would you say your writing style has changed or developed through the time you've been doing this podcast? Are you trying to actively shape it, or do you just want to get better at getting your points across without any stylistic direction in mind?" Hmm. Writing style has changed because of the newsletter, and that has been a massive change, because every single week I need to get about 1,000 words down. Um, I've become shorter with my writing style. Sentences are shorter. Uh, I'm trying to shape it to be as simple as possible. I like using cool language, but it doesn't convey as easily over written word as it does, um, when you're hearing it. I think you can afford to be a little bit more flamboyant with your language when you're speaking. But when you're writing, you actually want to optimize just for simplicity, uh, and accessibility unless you need to be a little bit more, like, verbose or whatever. So, yeah. That would be the changes. Grieves_Josh, "Can you tell us more about the project you and James Smith are working on?" Uh, soon. Yes, very soon. Me and James are going to be launching something this year. Super, super, super excited. Nearly, but not quite yet. Um, yeah. "So well deserved..." Uh, Little Billy, "So well deserved. I would not mentally be the same man I am now without Modern Wisdom. What guest from the last year has challenged you the most intellectually when talking to them? I know there are people I talk to that require me to use a lot of brainpower keeping up, while others are much less taxing to talk to." (sighs) That Stephen Shore episode about population collapse was just, uh, like a out-of-body experience because it's just such a frame shift around how I thought the entire world was working and, and what I was... Or what I thought about the future of humanity. Um, it wasn't th- it wasn't difficult to speak to him, but every sentence that he said was causing 10 different questions to arise in my mind. So, I would say maybe him. Hamza El-Azzawi, "Will you have Iman Gadzhi on your podcast?" Okay, so I actually kept a secret from you guys up to now, which is we trained a language learning model on 250 podcast episodes that I spoke on and every single blog post that I ever wrote. So, we have a ChrisBot that supposedly is able to answer questions in as effectively of a way as I would. Um, so I'm gonna ask some of the questions from today to the ChrisBot, and we will compare what it says with what I would have said, uh, and maybe we'll even let it make some decisions. So, Hamza asked, "Will you have Iman Gadzhi on your podcast?" So, I'll ask ChrisBot, "Will you have Iman Gadzhi on your podcast?" Iman Gadzhi is someone I've been wanting to have on the podcast for a while now. I'm always looking for interesting people to interview and Iman Gadzhi definitely fits the bill. I'm hoping to have him on the podcast soon.Decision is made. I will reach out to Iman. I have a mutual friend. ChrisBot is already influencing the progress of this show. (laughs) Mag- Ma- Mapalou, "I've just started following your content recently, and I've just seen how you used to record podcasts in a not-so-fancy way." That is a, a very complimentary way of saying that it was shit. Uh, "Just goes to show (laughs) we all start somewhere. My question would be, what had kept you going?" I just loved the conversations. I've always spoken to people that I'm interested in talking to on the podcast. For most of the... Almost every single person that's come on the podcast, it's because I can't wait to learn from them. Th- that is the most powerful, motivating fuel that I can think of. Like, all that you're going to do is continue to satisfy your curiosity over, and over, and over, and over again. I, th- there was no... Just because it wasn't fancy, because I, I, wasn't getting as many plays, because no one was (laughs) , no one cared about the podcast or me or anyone that I was speaking to, I wanted to keep going because it was what I wanted to do. I wasn't doing this for anybody else. And, you know, it goes back to that question about the guy that earns a ton of money, but works in a factory that he hates. You're using an external motivator to motivate yourself because intrinsically you're not enjoying what you're doing. I was enjoying what I was doing, so it didn't matter about the fact that I started somewhere and that somewhere was a little bit crap. "Tim Kilroe, Is finding a quality woman harder for this generation than it was for my father?" Let's ask ChrisBot whether he thinks that it's more difficult to find a quality woman in this generation. He might throw me under the bus here. "I think it's hard to make a generalization about this, as everyone's experience is difficult. However, I do think that technology has changed the way we interact with each other, and that can make it harder to find meaningful connections. It's important to take the time to get to know someone and build a strong foundation before making any decisions." Hmm. Not far off. Uh, technology changed the way we interact, and that makes it harder to make meaningful connections, yes. Nexting, very difficult. Um, I think it's harder for both sides also. It's important to take time to get to know someone and build a strong foundation before ask, making any decisions. What do I think about that? Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think all of those... ChrisBot's not done a bad job there. Um, my opinion, Tim, not far off that. There are some challenges that are new, yeah. Um, you are competing with a, uh, broader, uh, competence hierarchy. There are more men competing for all women. There are more women competing for all men as well. Uh, and on top of that, the landscape generally has changed. What people expect has changed. The fact that there is basically an endless number of options means that everyone is go- going to be nexting, right? Just looking over the shoulder of who they're with to see if somebody better is going to come down the line. Whereas if you're in a, a village with 200 people in it, there's 10 that are available and your age. So yeah, perhaps. N- NeoCaly, "Who's got a longer morning routine, you or Ben Greenfield?" Uh, that would be Ben Greenfield, I think. Mine has been stripped back. It used to be 90 minutes, and now it's much closer to 40, 40 minutes or so. Get up, walk, breath work, meditate, read, start writing. That's the order. Petrub1984, "Why the Crocs?" Why not the Crocs, Petrub? That's the question that I want to ask. I am a complete Croc convert, as far as I can see. They are pretty close to an elite type of footwear. The perfect two-car garage for me would be Crocs and Vans, Comfy Cush Vans. So, you know. Also, for traveling in, unbelievable. Rich Thurston, I wonder if this is Mike's brother. Mike Thurston's brother, I think, is called Richard. "If comparison is the thief of joy, to what extent can influencers perpetuate/prevent this? P.S. Thanks for the queue jump back in 2012 when I lost all of my mates." Okay, um, my pleasure. Uh, I, I don't remember it either. But, "If comparison is the thief of joy, to what extent can influencers perpetuate/prevent this?" That's a really great question that, um, for each influencer who decides to position or posit this beautiful, aspirational life, other people are then going to start measuring themselves off that, and it's going to cause pain. Given the fact that we are more exposed to this than ever before, that means that more comparison could equal people feeling less and less competent, that they are further and further away from what they would/should/could be. Um, to what extent can influencers prevent this, is a great question. And I think being more open, honest, vulnerable, um, helps to mediate this, "I have the perfect, beautiful Instagram life, and all I do is drink cocktails in the Maldives and stay in single-digit body fat and nothing ever phases me." Opening up a little bit more honestly around the challenges that you've got in life and all of the times that you fail helps to humanize you, and it helps an audience to resonate with what it is that you're saying. Like, no one's perfect. Dude, I've been around some of the best-known people on the planet for the last 15 years, right? Like, whether it be reality TV people, sports stars, singers, whatever, and now the YouTube and content creation world. Everyone's got shit going on behind the scenes. Everybody does. It's important, I think, for people to open up as much as they can. This doesn't mean, you know, talking about your chronic flatulence or your athlete's foot, or whatever. But opening up as much as you can, uh, helps, because it humanizes the people that are up there, and it also, um... It means that the world's, uh, asymmetry, or that-... um, how do you say, like status disparity- or perfection disparity, right? The perfection disparity between the two is, is a little bit less. Wales92, "How do you deal with the rapid growth of the podcast subs? Absolutely amazing work." Thank you very much. Um, yeah, this is also a really good question because I have felt, um, a bit of a difference over the last few months, uh, specifically probably the last six, which is more attention and more scrutiny and more eyes. And obviously, you know, you do a thing that you care about and you hope that it's successful and you hope that people also care about it, but all of the attention that you get isn't necessarily good. And you didn't ask for that not-good attention. You just wanted the people that like the stuff that you do. But as you grow, you start to reach out into the real internet, like the Fiat 500, uh, Instagram (laughs) internet. And the more that you do that, the more that you start to suck in people who maybe have an ax to grind, who aren't part of the core community. And again, I- I think, you know, credit to the fact that this is a, whatever, 800 and something thousand person YouTube channel and almost every single comment is reasonable, well-balanced, uh, well thought out. Uh, and even now, people who do comment stuff that is totally unhinged get fact-checked by other people who have obviously listened to the show for longer and are more reasonable and say, "That's... Y- what are you talking about? Like, that's not... Tha- that's not the way that you behave." Basically. So, I'm very, very proud- proud of it. But it is making me, (sighs) not ambiently anxious, but I'm more aware of it. Uh, and I think I'm going to have to maybe get some more ad- advice, uh, from guys that are further ahead than me about how to deal with that attention as it continues to grow. Iandavidson39501, (app appears) "Thoughts on Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Trilogy. Will we ever see part three, Doors of Stone?" I love those first two books. If you need a fantasy, uh, duo, I... It's supposed to be a trilogy, but the third one isn't out yet. Uh, it's fantastic. I absolutely adore it. It seems to be a game of who will write the book last between George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss at the moment, and I really hope that both of them just get it done because they're both getting older, uh, and I- I wanna see how it ends. But yeah, Kingkiller Trilogy, if anybody needs a new fantasy series, go and check out the first two books. They're awesome. (app appears) berkreb, "Why did you start and stop Muay Thai?" I started because I was bored of bodybuilding and bro, bro-lift split style training. I needed something new to do, and it was just the right time. I'd always done martial arts as a kid. I'd done, uh, Lau Kar kung fu to Brown Sash and a bunch of other stuff. But it was only ever going to be a bit of a stopgap for me because when I got back to the UK, I'd lost a ton of weight because I was doing it out in Thailand, and I didn't like the way that I felt. I preferred being heavier. Like, I just feel better when I'm a heavier guy, and I wasn't able to hold onto any mass at all whilst training. I very well may start some striking up again. I do little bits here and there, maybe once every month or something, just dick about, but yeah, it was fun. (app appears) sanjalalamusic, "Does thinking about death make you braver, calmer in your everyday life?" Let's see what ChrisBot has to say. Okay, (slaps desk) ChrisBot, "Does thinking about death make you braver, calmer in your everyday life? I think the following about death can be a powerful reminder to live life to the fullest and make the most of every moment. It can also help to put things into perspective and help us to prioritize what's important. Ultimately, it can help us to be braver and calmer in our everyday lives." ChrisBot, that is, that's just saying the question back to you. Um, I have to say, my real Chris, his opinion is, I don't spend that much time meditating on death. I know that I should do. I know that it would be good to remind me that I have a limited amount of time left here. (inhales) I don't think about it enough for it to... For me to be able to say what sort of an effect it has. But when I do spend time in nature and I'm being made to feel small because of the grandness of the night sky or an awesome tree or, you know, some beautiful animals or whatever, uh, it does make me feel more connected and braver and calmer. So, maybe I should do it more. (app appears) cameron-dix, "What was the best thing being bullied did to/for you? Weirdly phrased, I know." (sighs) Let's see if ChrisBot can answer this one. Just get rid of the weirdly phrased bit. "Did to or for you?" Come on, ChrisBot. (app appears) "Being bullied taught me the importance of resilience and standing up for myself. It also helped me to develop empathy and compassion for others who are going through similar experiences. It was a difficult time, but ultimately made me a stronger, more understanding person." Not far off. He's quite diplomatic, is ChrisBot. But I'm- I'm glad he's doing that as opposed to being a raving bigot. Uh, I would say the best thing that it did to me was gave me comfort in being on my own, that I have absolutely no concern about working in solitude, living in solitude, dropping my entire life at 33 and moving out to America. Um, it's a double-edged sword, right? A lot of the things that you dislike the most in yourself are the dark side of something that you really appreciate. And for me, you know, I have always wished that I was more extroverted. I always wished that I was able to socialize more easily. Um, and yet I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I can work on my own and I- I don't necessarily need a ton of support around me to just keep on getting things done and pursue toward goals and developments that I like. So-It's both sides of it. Alan Wickstead, "Have you any tips on recovering from a long period of procrastination/low mood/inefficiency? Have you made many improvements to personal health, but the thought of opening the laptop and getting shit done is too much sometimes?" Yeah, so this is, um... There's an interesting quote from Steven Pressfield in The War of Art, and he says, "A real writer knows that the writing part, uh, that writing isn't the hard part. It's sitting down to write that's hard." And his point is that almost all of the inertia occurs at the very, very beginning. Tips for recovering from a long period of procrastination, low mood, and inefficiency is focus on biology first. So, Huberman says, "You cannot change the mind with the mind. You have to change it with the body." It's not strictly true because of meditation, but I do think that he's right. Get moving, get up at the same time, enough hydration, sunlight, hot, cold train, spend time with friends. Like, you need that base of just good feels and then on top of that, you can start to build anything that you want to do, which is more abstract. I would say set yourself the smallest target that you can. Do it before you do anything else, ideally before you touch your phone first thing in the morning, and a win would be ten minutes of whatever the work is that you're doing. Okay, ten minutes is good. Another thing, you could use the Zeigarnic effect, which is, um, leaving a sentence if you are... let's say it's writing or whatever, uh, leaving a sentence half finished when you complete your work session for the day, which means that when you begin to restart the next day, you're not beginning from a full stop. You're beginning halfway through a sentence. And, you know, who can't finish a sentence? Everyone can finish a sentence. Oh, but then I've written half a sentence and then I've written another one and then we're into the flow. So, those are some things that work for me, especially given that I'm writing a lot at the moment. Bodhisala, "Doing something you love or doing something that pays well?" Okay, Chris Bott, let's not be such a Swiss diplomat with this one, okay? "I think it's important to have a balance between doing something you love," fuck's sake, "and doing something that pays well. It's important to find a job you enjoy that pays you enough to support yourself and your family. That way, you can have a fulfilling career and still have financial security to pursue your passions." I would personally say that because the question says doing something that pays well, not something that pays adequately, do something that you love. Because again, you're going to look back in 20 years time and all of the money that you earned between now and then you would probably give to have this time back. So, you might as well optimize for enjoying the time as opposed to earning as much money as possible. Once you get over that base, it's marginal gains all the way up. It seems like around about sort of $70,000, $80,000, about 60,000 pounds is a limit. Beyond that, each doubling of money seems to give you a- a- an increase in satisfaction, but it's, you know, it's 140, then it's 280, then it's 560. You know, it's an increasingly large amount to get a small dose of, of life satisfaction. Uh, so yeah, I would say do something that you love, uh, and then you're always gonna be better at that thing in any case. And if you fail, there are always, always, always going to be jobs that you hate that will pay well waiting for you on the other side of it. Ad Vet, "What's a core value that guides your life?" Right. This, this is more direct. I feel like this is Chris Bott's, right in his wheelhouse. "One of the core values that dr- that guides my life is to always strive for growth and improvement. I believe that we should never stop learning and growing, that we should always be open to new ideas and perspectives. This helps me to stay motivated and to push, keep pushing myself to be the best version of myself." A bit of repetition there, Chris Bott. Uh, not far off. Um, for me, curiosity is just the most effective one, and the reason is that it's so inbuilt in me and it keeps my ego small and it helps me focus on satisfying my innate desire to learn, and that always guides me towards stuff which is satisfying and useful. Because if it wasn't interesting to me, it wouldn't do either of those things, and the presumption is that if I find it useful and interesting, maybe some non-insignificant cohort of other people will do too, and that's the hope for what happens with all of you guys. Remyhids.me, "What are your favorite references for solo monologue-type podcasts?" I don't know what you mean there. When I do the lessons-type podcast, that is usually coming from me, um, taking my favorite learnings from newsletters that I've done, which you can sign up for at chriswillx.com/books. Um, and I use Apple Notes. If you're looking for the structure, it's always Apple Notes. Will Connelly, "Chances of you getting Chris Brown on the podcast (laughs) after he shared you on his story?" Yeah, Chris Brown shared a video of me quoting Hormozi to Hormozi and then quoting Alain de Botton to Hormozi to, like, 150 million people the other day. Didn't expect C Breezy to be into bro philosophy, but here we are. Uh, chances of me getting him on the podcast? I don't know. Would anyone be interested in Chris Brown? He's massive time, but I- I don't know what... Like, other than being, you know, a very successful performing artist and having a history with Rihanna, I don't really know what he's done, but maybe, I guess. The Rufus, "What was your experience on Diary of a CEO like?" So, we got tons of questions about that Instagram Reel and, and this Diary of a CEO thing. Uh, I really enjoyed it. It was an intense period because I'd been with Hormozi in Vegas the day before, two days before, and then went for dinner with Steven the night before we recorded for five hours until God knows what time, got up the next day, packed, ready to go, recorded Diary of a CEO and went from there to LAX to fly from LA to Qatar, 16 hours direct. So, it was kind of a whirlwind. Um-... the operation that Steve's got there, despite the fact that we kind of do the same thing, the, uh, daily experience of what's going on is very different for both of us. You know, Steven's got a, a really sophisticated team, which is very enviable, uh, and, like, um, it's a machine to watch. Um, so that definitely gave me a little bit of a nudge to say, "Look, perhaps you should relinquish a little bit of control. You don't need to do pa- every single thing," because Steven is able to farm that out to other people that are competent and, and good at what they do, uh, and his life hasn't come crashing down around him. So the operational side of things was interesting. Uh, Steven's a good interviewer. You know, we've known each other for quite a long time, um, and he gives a lot of space, which I enjoy. Uh, you don't ever feel rushed, which is good. Uh, the recreation of his, like, house studio thing in LA was hilarious, so I enjoyed seeing how that worked. Uh, and we spoke about all of the stuff that I'm interested in. We spoke about, uh, you know, the sort of whole bro philosophy stuff, insights about life, lessons that I've learned, mating problems, challenges for guys, challenges for girls, um, and it's performing really, really well, which is, which is nice. Like, it's, it's good when new people hear things that they're maybe unfamiliar with and it opens their eyes and, um, you know, for every single person that is here off the back of that episode, welcome. Designsbyjessie, "How do you use your knowledge from your podcasts in your personal life?" I try and apply it as much as possible because mental masturbation is not particularly good for anyone, and if you are very much in your head, just constantly being cerebral, you can end up having that happen (sucks in breath) an awful lot. Um, trying to think, "How can I apply this? Does this grow any corn," as I said on Steven's show. "Show me how I can use this. What, what, how does this impact my daily actions?" Uh, seems to be a good prompt, and it works for me. But it's difficult. Like, uh, you know, there's m- way, way, way more knowledge than there is time to apply it and memory capacity to remember the thing that you're supposed to apply, so it's tough. Adham0877, "Are you planning on getting Jonathan Haidt to the show?" Let's ask Chris-Bot again. Chris-Bot, are you planning on getting Jonathan Haidt to the show? "I would love to have Jonathan Haidt on the show. He is an incredibly insightful thinker, and I'm sure he would have a lot of valuable insights to share. I'm definitely looking into it, and hopefully I can make it happen soon." Looks like Jonathan Haidt is also coming on the show. Thanks, Chris-Bot. I wonder if there's anyone that Chris-Bot... Let's see this. Would you bring, bring Hitler on the podcast? "No, I would not bring Hitler on the podcast." Chris-Bot's got a spine. I like this guy. Um, we have found that somewhere in between Iman Gadzhi, Jonathan Haidt, and Hitler is a line that Chris-Bot will not cross. So, let us keep going. Uh, "Hi, Chris. What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self 10 years ago?" Okay, let's try... Let's see if Chris-Bot can come up with this. He's already really stuck his flag in the ground about Hitler. "Hi, Chris. What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self 10 years ago?" "One piece of advice I would give to my younger self 10 years ago is to take more risks and be more open to new experiences. Life is short, and it's important to take chances and try new things. Don't be afraid to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone." Not far off. Uh, that would definitely be one of them. Probably just have faith that everything's going to be fine, because I, I operate a lot of the time from... I have operated from a place of fear, um, scarcity, concern that I'm gonna look stupid or that everything's gonna come crashing down or it's all gonna fall apart, or you know, the sort of rampant imposter syndrome thing. Um, nothing really, uh, uh, that didn't improve my performance, none of that, almost none of it, uh, contributed to getting from where I was to where I am. So, I could have gotten rid of all of it and just enjoyed the experience more. So I think fearing less would've, would've probably been a good piece of advice. Almost everybody that's listening to this is going to be absolutely fine, no matter what they face. Every single challenge that you have come up against up to now you have surpassed by virtue of you being here. The fact that you are sat here listening to this means that you've survived. So therefore, why would you presume that all of the things that you fear right now have any validity either? They probably don't. Uh, medusawtf, "Are opinionated women less attractive?" Oh, that's interesting. Are opinionated women less attractive? I would say very dependent on what opinion it is. Like, if it's a strongly opinionated woman about the Jews, maybe more difficult to, to get turned on. Um, opinionated women less... I, I don't think it mediates attraction massively, and it's not strongly opinionated, it's just opinionated. No, I would say no. Opinionated women, no. Women who have absolutely no opinion at all are so passive that they basically become like a maid. You want something, right? You need... You're having a conversation and if, "What do you think about this? What's your opinion on such and such?" And it's just... If there's never any response, uh, w- what are you going to be attracted to? Like with, you're not having a conversation. It's like speaking to a mirror or, or a- an empty room, I suppose. Strongly opinionated women, I guess sometimes that might be correlated with high disagreeability.... that to me is less attractive. Uh, highly disagreeable women, for some of my friends, they love that kind of spark and that kind of pushback and push and pull type thing. That's not my bag. But for some people it is. On average, I would say opinionated women, relatively neutral, very heavily opinionated women sometimes may be, uh, less good. Hmm. (swallows) Behind_theCatchlights, "Male/female relations divide grow further or do you expect a positive tipping point when?" I think this is, will male and female relation, th- the divide between men and women and their relations grow further or do you expect a positive tipping point? (inhales deeply) Another really great question. I (sighs) would say (water plops) I would like to think that it's going to turn around. Um, this is heavily going to be mediated by what people learn. I think that the way that we go about our, um, relationships, increasingly unbelieving the fact that the way we go about our relationships is memetic, so w- we see the way that other people behave, we see the sorts of behavior that we believe is acceptable by the kinds of behavior that other people do around us, and then we model that for what we want in our relationship. And what you end up with is kind of like an, uh, a curve that goes either up or a curve that goes down, almost like the COVID R number, because as more of one particular type of relationship occurs publicly, you get more people emulating that, which shows more people, which shows more people, and so on and so on. Um, (smacks lips) I don't know. To be honest, I, at the moment, it could go either way. Um, I'm not massively (laughs) I'm not... Today, I've woken up and I'm not feeling massively confident about it. Other days I do feel a little bit more confident. But today, (inhales deeply) I think that there needs to be a rather large cultural flashpoint, um, almost like, not like a reverse MeToo, but- but, like, kind of like how MeToo sort of captured the culture so much. But something that brings everybody together and makes them realize that you're not supposed to be each other's adversaries, that women should care about men falling behind, that men should care about women feeling lonely and retreating into, into careers and, and the challenge of blending a career with, with maybe wanting to be a mother, but then not being sure if that's just the patriarchy conning them into it. All of that kind of needs to happen, and it really needs to happen right now. So, (smacks lips) that's the plan. That's what would fix it. Um, (laughs) whether or not it's gonna happen anytime soon, I don't know. But it can't keep going like this for much longer or else, uh, it, we're gonna be so far apart that no one can ever have a conversation again. Uh, Cammie.Brown, "Do you think growing up in a working class environment has been more of a plus than a negative?" I would personally say that it's been a massive plus. To me, it's helped to keep my feet on the ground. It's meant that I basically have no materialistic desires at all. Um, I, w- w- w- in terms of the negatives of it, you don't understand just how grand your plans could be. I- I'm, I'm never going to build a business or, or grow a company to the size of somebody who was around completely unbounded, blue sky, helicopter thinking belief entrepreneurs, you know, the parents spent all of their time with them between the ages of five and 20 or something, because I- I- I just, I don't have that fundamental model. But I think from a personal level, it actually helps you to be much more satisfied with a much lower level of materialistic success. Um, so yeah, I, you know, there are positives and minuses on both sides. I would say personally that I'm glad that I had the working class upbringing that I did. Craig Pollitt, "Do you agree with Steven Pinker's claims that now is the best time in human history?" I'm going to ask ChrisBot does he know who Steven Pinker is, does he understand that it's the best time in human history? "I think Steven Pinker makes some valid points, but I don't necessarily agree with his overall claim that now is the best time in human history." Interesting. "There are still mely cha- many challenges and injustices," oh dear, "that need to be addressed, and I think it's important to recognize that while there have been some improvements, there is still a lot of work to be done." ChrisBot went woke there a little, didn't he? Injustices, challenges and injustices. There are challenges and injustices, but yeah, it, it's, it's objectively by far the best time to live in human history. However, think about the, uh, base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. If you've got all of the bottom stuff, the food, the shelter, the social connection sorted, even if it's through social media, you actually have the opportunity to deal with an existential crisis. No caveman 30,000 years ago was wondering whether he was enacting his logos forward and speaking his truth, contributing to the universe and the astral realm in the best way possible, because he was worried that he was going to be killed or stabbed or freeze to death tomorrow night. Oddly, an existential crisis is a luxurious position to be in. It's just not one that is necessarily often given a whole lot of sympathy. It's like, oh, poor little comfortable 21st century people complaining about the fact that they can't enact their logos and, and, and, you know, master the universe properly. It is still difficult. Like, getting to that stage of development is one that very few humans have had to deal with before, so we don't have a massive amount or we don't have as, uh, an equivalent amount of advice on what to do when you get there. So, from a foundational perspective, yes, best time to exist in human history by far, medical advances, safety from climate, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Psychologically, actually probably coming off the other side of that, oh, maybe, maybe, actually now I'm thinking about it, maybe 20 years ago was better. I wonder whether, again, this is on average, are you talking about places that are in extreme provi- poverty? For people that are mostly listening to this podcast, I would maybe be tempted to say that 2004-... was perhaps a ... a slightly more psychologically stable time than now. That is wild to think that ... to think that it might have been better 20 years ago. That's, uh, that's the first time I've ever thought of that. Interesting. Uh, Bradley Ronmak, "Will you ever be a pickleball world champion?" Uh, no, I won't, but I'm good friends with Zane Navratil, who is the current number three ranked men's player in the world, uh, and I've tried to play him on the courts just over there, uh, and the guy's unplayable. I ... it ... it ... The difference, the chasm between me, a casual, recreational pickleball player, and him is unbelievably vast. So I'm going to say no. Ling Mikaelian, "Will you invite Posie Parker to Modern Wisdom?" This is the lady who has been involved in a bunch of, uh, k- kind of like protests and riots in Australia at the moment. I think she's doing some stuff to do with feminism. Uh, I'm not familiar with her work, uh, but I am kind of interested in learning more stuff about her. I feel like I've got ... In my s- watch later playlist on YouTube, I feel like I've got more stuff from her. Uh, C.L., "I just want to say thank you. I've watched some of your videos and had a really good discussion afterward with my teenage son. It's helped me understand the world as he sees it." That's very cool. That's awesome. Thank you. Uh, I love how diverse the people that listen to the show is as well. Uh, it's ... That's really great. And if your son is, you know, even taking 1% of the best stuff that comes from the show, I'm sure that he's going to be an absolute killer. Mike, "Congratulations, Chris. What are the steps you went through to build your social circle or that you would follow now if you were to start from nothing at 20? How about 30 or 40?" Okay, so I'm gonna ... Chris Bot this, but we'll just do it from 20. "What are the steps that you went through?" Come on, Chris Bot. Let's give us an interesting one. "What are the steps that you went through to build your ..." "If I were to start from nothing at 20, I would focus on building relationships with people who share similar interests and values. I would also try to get involved in activities and organizations that I'm passionate about, as this is a good way to meet like-minded people. Additionally, I would make an effort to be open and friendly to everyone I meet, as this can help to build strong connections. Finally, I would make sure to stay in touch with the people I meet and nurture those relationships over time." That's not bad. That's not bad from Chris Bot, especially the last thing, which is to keep in touch. Um, I went to places that w- had people in that were like the sort of people that I wanted to be friends with. So I wanted to be friends with people that did fitness, so I started doing CrossFit. I wanted to be friends with people that, uh, read and were into sort of rationality and existential risk, so I joined the LessWrong community out here in Austin. Um, keeping in touch is a really, really important point because it's not just about meeting someone, it's about keeping on top of that. And you would not believe how many people suck super hard at maintaining friendships. Even if you, you meet somebody and then just drop them a message a couple of days later, "Hey man, great to meet you. Do you fancy going for a coffee next week?" It's not gonna work every single time, but it makes such a huge difference and it means that over time you will start to grow that social circle out, and that's been a ... a big help for me. So seven out of ten response from Chris Bot there. "OG listeners are fortunate enough to know your original motivations behind the podcast, but as you reach almost one million subscribers, speak to guests with their own content, uh, uh, contentions, and get clipped down into endless short-form videos, what do you think a new subscriber might misunderstand about your motivations or your character? What gets lost in translation amongst the masses?" That is an elite question. "What do you think a new subscriber might misunderstand about your motivations or your character?" So it's kind of what I said before. Like, I'm way too blue-pilled and, uh, in the eyes of the manosphere community, uh, the ... It's like I'm just cooking for women because I'm playing the politically correct collec- correct role, because I can't wait to get, like, a hosting slot on fucking Channel 4 or something. Uh, and then for somebody that comes from a more left-leaning perspective or someone that is part of the 5- 500 Club or a Guardian reader, uh, I'm gonna look like a raving misogynist bigot budget Andrew Tate. So, um, (laughs) I think there are a lot of ways that people could misunderstand this if you are getting clipped down into endless short-form videos. That being said, I ... I honestly feel like the conversations that I have on the show are ... It would be struggle ... It would be hard for me to be more reasonable. It would be hard for me to find guests that come on and are more caveated. I feel like I'm f- finding the line of where guests say things where I'm like, "Hang on a second." Like, "Is that really what you think? Do we need to play devil's advocate here? Have you got a reference for that?" Da-da-da-da-da-da. Um, I would hazard a guess that given the fact that the difference between the comments on Instagram and the comments on YouTube, specifically on the Diary of a CEO podcast, YouTube, people that have maybe either watched the full thing or heard what I've done before, interpreted it ... it saw a different person, saw a different video, right, to what they saw on Instagram. Um, but this is what I was saying before, that the more content that gets put out there, the more opportunities there are for people to misinterpret, uh, misconstrue, artificially, uh, manipulate what it is that you've done or said, uh, and claim that that is you. Right? They're saying that this is the tip of the iceberg and y- you don't know the bigoted, raving racist or whatever it is that's, that's lurking below the depths. Tate said that he realized as his platform grew that he had to be more careful about the things that he said because it reaches more people, which basically gives it a greater opportunity to be misconstrued. So maybe you do need to just be more precise as you keep on growing. But at the moment, you know, I ... I'm really, really happy with how everything has gone. I ... I'm confident that at some point within the next few years, there will be some-... sentence that falls out of my mouth, that I say in a, a, a bumbled way, that is taken in a bad, a bad manner. But you go, okay, there's 1,000 hours behind me of me not being the raving, like, Jew-hating misogynist or whatever that I'm being accused of. Probably easier to presume that it was an error or imprecise speech than me finally unveiling my KKK membership. Geordie Shore: "Hi, Chris. You mentioned to read more articles on Substack... You mentioned you read more articles on Substack than books these days. Can you share your top Substack articles you must read before you die (laughs) list?" I might put this together. I might do, uh, an article list, uh, as a addition to the reading list. Certainly Substacks that you should check out, Rob Henderson's is fantastic, Gwenda Bogle's is fantastic. Um, Astral Codex Ten, uh, by Scott Alexander is great. Experimental History by Adam Mastriani is also great. Uh, and Pirate Wires by Mike Solana. All great reads. Andrea with the Bangs: "You've mentioned the idea that words and declarations mean more than actions in the age of social media. What does this mean to you? How do you prioritize practicing what you preach in your own life?" This is kind of the same as what I said before, that you can do the mental masturbation thing, uh, and come out on the other side realizing that you've learned an awful lot and enacted basically nothing. Um, I try as best I can to live out the strategies that I care about. I'm so far from perfect, right? I, I, I literally couldn't be further from perfect. But the bar is set so high, like perfect is, uh, uh, beyond unreachable. Um, prioritizing practicing what I preach is just how can I apply this? Does it grow corn? What does this look like when I try and take it and make it actionable? And this is the same with everything that you, that you learn. If you just allow all of the content to come over you, to wash over you, and then eventually you're going to hear something that goes, "Oh, holy fuck, I can't not see that. I can't unsee it." Okay, build the habit around that one. Don't try and force the habit on the thing that sounds like you should do it, but you have absolutely no desire to. Think about the thing that hits you through the heart and you go, "I roll over and spend 45 minutes every single night checking my phone before I go to bed." Okay, practice that. Put it outside of your room. Or I do, you know, X, Y, and Z, whatever it is. Take the thing that resonates, apply it as hard as you can. Don't miss two days in a row, as a rule. Uh, Greg Lunt: "How big is your team, and in what areas are you looking to expand?" Let's see if Chris-Bot knows how big the team is. "My team currently consists of myself, my video editor Dean, and a few other people who help with the podcast and other projects. We're looking to expand our team in the areas of content creation, marketing, and social media." Uh, he's got out of his skis. You knew about Dean, that's good. A few other people who help with the podcast, that would be Ben. Uh, we just brought on a new guy called Chase. He is looking after some of the YouTube stuff. Uh, and I would love to get a business manager and a producer on because it would make life an awful lot easier. Adam, question: "Will (laughs) people stop buying books and now can just listen to podcasts with the author going into greater detail about the book? I find myself doing this a lot." I would say yes to a degree, but when you do listen to an author where, you know, even a three-hour conversation only scratches the surface of a book, there will be times where you just have to go out and buy it. And this is why, you know, the podcast Tours for Authors are being so successful, because it is the front end of their funnel. It's capturing people with cool stuff, and then they dig down and, and watch more. Marc Cushen: "Two guests I'd really like to see on the show, True Geordie and Derren Brown. Any chance?" So me and Bryan, True Geordie, have been talking for quite a while. (laughs) I think s- we'll probably do something before the end of the year. Derren Brown, I would absolutely love to bring him on, I think he's fascinating, but I don't have an in with him yet. So, hold on tight. Jason Brady: "Do you think Hormozi is the Naval of his generation?" I think Naval is the Naval of his generation. Hormozi is a really, really impressive operator. I love the Bro Philosophy stuff. I love the fact that he's got real world applicable evidence that he's done these things, that he's not just LARPing about it and he's not just doing the mental masturbation thing. But Naval is a different breed of human. He is... His insights are phenomenal and I really... uh, I very much miss him being more active on the sort of content creation circuit. But hopefully that'll change, and if it does, I will be sat here waiting, waiting for him, waiting to, to pounce with an email. Fit Anansi: "Looking back, how did you make it so big and so quick in the podcast world?" I don't think I did. Man, like, it's taken half a decade (laughs) and 600 and something episodes to get to really even a remotely appreciable size where anybody cares about what I'm doing. Um, so I, I, I don't think I have made it very quick. There are people whose ascension has been basically vertical. Brett Cooper, um, launched the podcast, or launched her channel a year ago, a year and a couple of months ago, and she's at two million subs. Um, but I g- I don't... I don't not care. Like I love the fact that the show is growing and I love the fact that people resonate with what I care about, but nothing's changed. Me and Dean always felt like the podcast was undersubscribed because the conversations that we were having were sometimes very different to what you could get, because I was finding people that, to me, were personally interesting and they weren't doing the circuit.... because nothing's ever changed, it's very strange that what we do is the same thing. It's the (laughs) same Facebook Messenger thread that we talk backward and forward on about thumbnail amends and, and what guests are coming up and stuff. Uh, the only thing that's changed is the fact that we've done it for so long that there's now this army of, of people that watch. Um, the most important things that have happened in terms of growth, if that's the question, are just being consistent, being consistent, finding big guests, having good conversations, uh, and, and getting better at doing the craft, which happens because you've done it consistently. That Guy Pete you refuse to invite to gatherings. I've seen Pete comment on a bunch of different episodes, and his comments usually are pretty good. (text pings) "How has deep diving into evolutionary psychology affected how you navigate relationships in real life?" True to form, That Guy Pete, good question. Let's see what ChrisBot says. (text pings) "How has deep diving into evolutionary psychology affected how you navigate relationships in real life? Exploring evolutionary psychology has helped me to better understand underlying motivations behind human behavior." Good. "This has enabled me to better navigate relationships in real life by being more aware of the underlying dynamics at play." Okay. "It has also helped me to be more mindful of my own behavior and to be more conscious of how my actions might affect oth-" uh, that was a bit of shit. Um, it is difficult in some regards. Like I said before, there is a period where you don't see people as people. You see them as just a collection of inputs and, and signals and incentives that are kind of, like, manipulating (laughs) them like a marionette on strings. Um, and that's a little disconcerting because you start to see code instead of seeing matrix, and it can feel disquieting, um, manipulative in a way. Uh, not that you're necessarily being manipulative, but when you start to deconstruct why people do the things that they do, it takes you out of just the enjoyment or the natural sensation of just being with the person doing the thing. Always asking that question, even if you asked it before, now having the answer, kind of, it, it, it's jarring. So, you know, for the people that are into the EP stuff, I think that this is just a price that you have to pay. Uh, there's that (laughs) Alain de Botton quote, the one that Chris Brown shared, uh, "Loneliness is a kind of tax you have to pay to atone for a certain complexity of mind." I wonder whether discordance is a kind of tax you have to pay to atone for a certain depth of evolutionary psychology insight. We will see. Uh, Elz, "Have you ever or would you ever record a podcast and dislike how it went enough to not post it?" You know, I've never been asked this question before, and I thought that this would be something that would've come up. There are a bunch of podcasts that I've recorded that have never seen the light of day. Most of the time, it is because the guest just wasn't having a particularly good day for one reason or another. Uh, and my goal is to keep producing content that I would listen to. If I ask myself, "Would I listen to this podcast? Would I enjoy listening to this podcast?" and the answer is no, I'm asking for a lot from you. Even at two times speed, you know, you're still giving me 45 minutes of your day. (laughs) Um, I can't, I, I... In all good conscience, I can't put out an episode that doesn't... I- it doesn't add value, uh, and if it doesn't make the guest look good, because, you know, they were, they weren't performing particularly well, well, it's, it's not a positive for them to reach, you know, cumulative couple of million followers across all platforms burbling and bumbling and stumbling over their words. Stoicism_enjoyer, "I'm 13." Holy fuck, okay. (text pings) "What should I do with my life? What books to read, what business to start, (laughs) what should my main focus be? P.S. Big fan of your podcast since 80,000 subs. Mind-blowing to see you've 10Xed so quickly." I... We were at 80,000 subs three years ago, two years ago? Three... Two and a half years ago, we were at 80,000 subs, so you've been listening since you were 11 or 10. "What should I do with my life at 13?" Um, look, I don't wanna be patronizing. I, I think that you're asking the right questions, which is very important, but I think that just getting on with sinking into the experience of being a human, all of the main learnings that you're going to get are going to come from socializing, interacting with other people, having real world experiences. I would spend as little time as possible on the internet. I would spend as little time as possible on your phone and on social media. I would find i-... I mean, you, you sound, you sound like you're fucking 21, Stoicism Enjoyer, so I would maybe try and hang out with some people that are a little bit older than you that are gonna be on your level. Um, uh, you do not need to start a business at age 13. Uh, I- it would be cool if you could. Maybe there's something that you can see, um, where you have access a- and you can leverage the fact that you are so much further ahead at such a younger age. Uh, if you were to start a business, I would be looking at something that you have a specific piece of technical advantage in, um, so insights around what other 13-year-olds want at this age and then how can I get this out onto the internet, leverage it. You need something that isn't going to cost a lot, so a digital course would be great. Um, you don't want to really be doing drop shipping and like, (laughs) I mean, or sending a bunch of fidget spinners to your parents' house so that you can try and sell them in school, trying to arbitrage bottles of Prime. I wouldn't focus on that. Uh, but dude, I mean, you're asking questions that are, th- the people that are literally twice your age haven't asked themselves. So, keep on thinking deeply.... focus on enjoying life, has a, have as many experiences as possible. In terms of books to read, um, Essentialism by Greg McKeown; Way of the Superior Man by, uh, David Deida; uh, Atomic Habits by James Clear. Probably something to do with health and fitness, which would be great. Um, (exhales) The ALIGN Method by Aaron Alexander; uh, Kelly Starrett's new Built to Move; Peter Attia's new Outlive. Business to start, something online. What should my main focus be? Just enjoy life, bro. You don't get, like, the child years back. So, keep listening to Modern Wisdom, but other than that, get off the internet, enjoy life and, uh, y- you are going to be an absolute killer in no time at all. Uh, Knight League, "Did you ever think you would become a famous million sub YouTuber on your first day starting your channel?" Uh, the first, first, first day starting my channel was in 2017. Um, we recorded a failed episode (laughs) that never, never went out when the podcast was called Mind and Matter. Um, I, I had no idea what was gonna happen and... I always wanted to just have interesting conversations, and now there's just more people watching, so I, I have no complaints. Lil Broomstick, "How much of the current toxic elements of the pillasphere, m- pillasphere, manosphere, do you believe are attributable to young men being left out of dating and sexual relationships early as teenage and young men, i.e. 13 to 25, before men enter prime earning years?" I don't quite understand... Men being left out of dating and sexual relationships? Okay, so is the fact that younger guys aged eight- uh, 13 to 25 are having less dating and sexual encounters contributing to the proliferation of red pill, black pill, et cetera, and the manosphere stuff? Yeah, perhaps. I think, you know, a, a good part of what's going on with MGTOW, black pill, incel culture, red pill, manosphere, high value, low value man, and then on the other side sort of boss bitch-leaning culture, r/female dating strategy, um, all of, like, that, tradwife, all of those movements, right, on both si-... Maybe slightly less tradwife. Um, what's happening is these are copes from both sides of the aisle on, "We are struggling in the mating market. We need to find a solution for it. The solution is band together over the shared hatred of an out group." Usually point the finger at the other sex. Um, so yeah, actually, uh, uh, it certainly the toxic elements of it, um, would be eased an awful lot if young guys were having real world interactions with women because they would realize that it's not the... the, the group of girls that the internet tells you are out there waiting for you to hijack all of your earnings and run off with your brother and your left leg. Then they're very, very difficult to find. The problem is that because not many guys have got real world experience to dis- disprove that, how are they going to actually have any advice other than what they've read on the internet? So yeah, I think that might be right. (notification sound) Fit_Barber_yyc, "What's it like living (laughs) with a maniac like Zach Tallander?" Zach is fantastic to live with. We get on very, very well. He is a great influence on me and he helps to keep me upbeat and positive, and I think that I help to make him nice and, and focused. So it's not as maniacal as you might think. (notification sound) Xavier, "Can you please invite Lex Fridman?" Lex came to my birthday a couple of weeks ago, uh, that Michael Malice did at his house, which was very nice of him, and he will be on the show eventually. The guy is busy. He's trying to make robots to save the world and, and automate his lunch or whatever it is. He's doing big things. So, it'll happen. It's just a case of when. "Wake up. What's the number one bad habit that has held you back for the longest time?" This sounds like a good (slams table) Chris Bott question. "What's the number one bad habit that's held you back for the longest time?" "The number one bad habit that's held me back for the longest time is procrastination. I often find myself putting off tasks and projects until the last minute, which can lead to stress and poor quality work. I'm working on becoming more mindful of my time and making sure I'm taking action on the things that are important to me." I would have said probably my phone. Phone does cause me to procrastinate, but just phone use. I, I, I don't like how much time I spend on my phone. I wish I didn't. I don't spend, uh, you know, forever hou-... I don't know what my average screen time is per day, but it's more than I want, and the story that I tell myself around my phone use is also... Like, that sucks. It's not good. (notification sound) Eray, "Honest opinion of Dubai. Ever see yourself living there?" Chris Bott, come on, let's (slaps table) do this. "Honest opinion of Dubai. Ever see yourself living there?" "I think Dubai is an amazing city with a lot to offer. It's a great place to visit and explore, and I could definitely see myself living there one day. Culture and architecture are fascinating." Eh. "The city has a lot of energy and vibrancy. Yeah, I think it's a good place to live and work, and I would love to experience it for myself one day." I've been. I've been, Chris Bott. I've been fucking tons of times. Uh, I could see myself living there, but it would probably mostly be for the tax, um, to be honest. It's great for short trips, but starting a family there, probably not. Uh, there isn't a massive amount of sort of nature, or at least nature in the way that I... Not unless you think that sand is nature. Um, it's not very, uh, how would you say? Appropriate for dogs. I'm a big dog person. I really like it and a lot of my friends that are out there are loving it, but I don't think that I'm probably going to settle down there. So, I could s- see myself living there for a short period of time, but in terms of settling down for forever home, probably not. Uh, Benf7, "Have you ever suffered with anxiety or depression?" (slams table) Come on, Chris Bott, this is a nice upfront question for you to ask. "Yes, I've suffered with anxiety and depression in the past. It was a difficult time, but I was able to get through it with the help of therapy and medication." This is just a lie, I'm afraid. "I'm now in a much better place and I'm grateful for the support I received."... didn't do really any therapy, never been medicated. So Chris Bott is, he's having a bad day so far. Uh, I have suffered with anxiety and depression, mostly depression, throughout my 20s. Um, it's rough, man. Like, you know, being ashamed about the fact that you feel sad and you have nothing to feel sad about was the worst part of it. So, you know, I would... My depression would manifest by, uh, me being in bed bound for, you know, a few days at a time, maybe once every few months. And because I was the owner, director of my own company, no one could tell me where I needed to be. I could make excuses. I could get other people to go and do stuff for me. And then it would usually happen in between two appointments or, or events or whatever where I actually had to be there, where I couldn't not be there. And I would just spend this time lying in bed, eat shit food, not open the curtains, not want to do anything, um, hate myself. Like, just real, real low mood. And it would happen consistently, like a lot throughout my 20s. Um, sleep pattern was a massive, massive contributor to that. And fixing the sleep pattern fixed an awful lot of everything that happened downstream. Um, always thought that I was depressed for a good chunk of it. Turned out I was heavily, heavily sleep deprived and then a bunch of other things too. Um, but it's, it's not, it's not fun. Uh, and I'm very, very glad that I'm in a place now where there's still... That, that, that person's still in me. Um, but the voice and the tenor of them are much more quiet. Um, I do sometimes wonder what will, what would happen, what will happen, uh, if I enter one of those stages while I've still got the show to do and if I've got to, you know, turn up and try and have a conversation with somebody. Maybe it's a big guest or maybe it's... I don't know. I, I don't ever want to come and put on a face and pretend that everything's fine and dandy in my own life to you guys because I've tried to be really pr- truthful and, and open and vulnerable. But (laughs) I also don't wanna be the guy that comes on and goes, "Hi, mate. How's everything going today?" And me to respond to the guest and say that, uh, "I hate myself and, and I, I've spent the last three days in bed with curtains closed eating Papa John's." So, yeah. I, I, um, I'm very glad at the, the progress that I've made and I do not miss that, uh, texture of my own mind. My Ironman Journey. "Why is there so much body positivity around plus-sized women, but so little for men?" (sighs) Chris Bott, come on. Let's see. Step into the fire, Chris Bott. Tell us why is there so much (laughs) body positivity? "I think that there is a lack of body positivity for men because the great... The traditional gender roles and expectations that have been placed on them. Men are often expected to be strong and muscular, and any deviation from this can be seen as a sign of weakness. I think it's important to recognize that all body types are valid and to celebrate the diversity of men's (laughs) bodies." Chris Bott, come on. Um, that's a really good question. I, I've asked this question a, a ton. I did a, a video with Zach a little while ago about how, um, the, uh, comparison between women's lingerie photos on a, a website and male underwear photos and that all of the guys were peeled out of their mind and all of the women were bigger girls. Uh, the barefaced answer is that body positivity is a virtue signal that proselytizes to the world about the fact that you care about people of all sizes, especially women of all sizes. But there is no movement which is praising like bigger men. There are a lot of movements that are praising bigger women, therefore all of the body positivity is aimed toward the group that looks like it needs help. Guys have had it good for so long. Why should a guy that isn't in shape be, uh, given any sort of recompense? It is usually all done to the women. Another part of this, which I've spoken about a ton, and I really love this concept, is that male self-development sees the person as mutable and the world as immutable. So it's the male's job to change himself because the world's not gonna change for him. Female self-development sees the person as mutable and the world as immutable, which is you are already perfect as you are. The world needs to change around you. And I think that this is massively patronizing to women. Like, if I was a woman and that was what the world was telling me, "You don't need to worry, let us move all of these obstacles out of your way with Marvel series and movies or Disney or whatever." I would think, "Fuck you." Like, "I, I'm a competent, agentic person that can do her own shit. I don't need you to do this for me." But given the fact that body positivity is warping the world around women of different sizes and men for the most part are being told like, "Better get in the gym, buddy." Emily May Stirt, "Do you think people have too high expectations of relationships now?" Maybe. T- to a degree, yeah, actually. Um, and this is on both sides of the fence. I think that, uh, it is very, very easy to presume that because you have access to such a huge pool of partners there is always going to be something more optimal for you. Right? You're going to look over the shoulder of whoever you're with to just see what's coming next. Nexting is what Logan Ury called it. Um, people want their soulmate, their sexual paramour, they want their best friend, they want the future partner and, and raiser of their children, they want the pillar of their community. But who, who are we to say that you shouldn't ask for that from a relationship? Um-And I know, it- it- obviously if you have too high standards, it means that you're going to end up either alone or permanently unsatisfied. So individually, it's suboptimal. Societally, it's suboptimal because it means that fewer and fewer people are getting together. It's very difficult, like it- it- I'm struggling to find a way to say, "You shouldn't do it," because it sounds a lot like me saying, "You should settle." I'm like, "Well, fucking hell, like, that doesn't seem like very firm ground for me to stand on." But basically, to a degree, you will have to compromise. There is going to be someone out there that is 90% or 95% right, but if you don't like the fact that they slurp their tea (laughs) on a morning or that they wear bell-bottom or flared jeans instead of tight jeans or something, like look, is this really a non-negotiable for you? Or are you just nitpicking because you want to try and find 100? Because 100 may be out there, but it's basically going to be impossible. So to a degree, yeah, maybe dialing that back would be a good idea. Uh, Jay, jaysingh1989, "Top five books for self-development." Uh, I am going to ask Chris-Bot what he thinks the top five books for self-development are, 'cause he can't wheedle his way out of this one. Uh, number one, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Not bad. Number two, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Never read it. Number three, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Never read it. Number four, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Read half of it. Number five, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Got, like, one and a half right. Alchemist would probably be in there. Um, Atomic Habits, Essentialism by Greg McKeown, let's say The Alchemist 'cause Chris-Bot said it. Um, what else would I put in there? The Ape Who Understood the Universe by Steve Stewart Williams and, hmm ... (sound of text appearing) Let's say The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida. However, there is a list of 100 books that you can read before you die if you go to chriswillex.com/books. Go on. Escaping mediocrity, "How do you judge the potential of a guest? Interesting person, breath of-" Breath of knowledge. Breath of knowledge, yes. Um, it's whether or not I'm interested in them, whether or not I want to hear them say things on a podcast. The- at the moment, what I'm realizing is, someone's ability to communicate is probably the, uh, tightest bottleneck of all of the different things. You can have someone that has amazing insights, but if they're really struggling to get them out of their mouth, it's basically unlistenable. And you can have someone that's got, you know, acceptable, moderate lessons about life and the world, but a really, really great candor in the way that they speak and- and they're a compelling storyteller. They're phenomenal. So I think optimizing toward good storytelling, good communication is great, um, which is why, yeah, uh, just, "Am I going to be interested in this person?" is the best litmus test, because that's going to take into account all of that stuff above. Uh, Holly Wall, "Can I offer you a free sports massage when you're in Sydney? James can vouch." Presumably James Smith. Sure. Uh, for the people that don't know, we've been advertising for dates for the tour and a lot of listeners are in Australia, so it would seem that I'm going to Australia and Sydney at some point. David Vertleb, "Advice for social anxiety/public speaking." Um, huh. I have only done a little bit of public speaking, so I'm not massively familiar with that. Given the fact that I'm about to do a live tour, probably gonna have to spend a good bit of time getting over that. For social anxiety, no one cares what you're doing. Nobody cares about you, at all. Uh, every single person is completely wrapped up in their own lives. When you walk into a room, no one's looking at you. When you drop a glass of Coke down the front of your top, no one cares, no one remembers. When you leave within 20 seconds, no one gives a shit. Like, there is nothing more liberating than realizing how indifferent the rest of the world is to what you're doing. You are the center of your own universe, and you basically don't even exist in anybody else's. That should be the best answer, the best antidote to social anxiety that I can think of. Uh, Dr. Direct, that's a good name, "A lot of you podcasters at the top have the same sponsors. Do you truly believe in their products?" So I'm guessing that this would be stuff like Athletic Greens and, uh, BetterHelp and maybe, I don't know, what else? Manscaped? So, every single sponsor that I have on the show, I use. Athletic Greens, I use every single day. Element, I use every single day. Manscaped, I don't need to use every single day, thankfully, but I use it on the days that I need to use it. Uh, I truly- do y- you truly believe in their product? I do. I can't speak for all of the rest of the guys, but there are more people that want to sponsor the show than slots I have on the show. Therefore, I'm in the luxurious position of being able to choose who comes on the show, who I'm going to get sponsored by. Which means that I can say no to anybody that I don't believe in. Like, I wear Gymshark stuff. I train in it. Anybody that's seen me training in Austin knows that I just basically live in their stuff. Anyone that's seen me traveling knows that I've got Element or Athletic Greens with me. Uh, you know, it's- I understand that the- there's probably a bit of skepticism around the fact that, why is it that all of the big podcasts use the same sponsors? But the reason that they have the biggest budgets are because they're the ones that are the most successful, and the reason they're the ones that are the most successful is usually because they're the best. So it's a- a little bit circular, but yes, I do. In short, I do. AJ Kokregja, "What do you think about physical appearance and attraction?" It's fundamental. Uh, I- I don't believe that you can fake attraction. It- it would be...That would be way too blue pilled. Let's see what ChrisBot says, because if ChrisBot says that, maybe I am a blue pilled cuck. Um, "What do you think about physical appearance and attraction?" Don't say something stupid. "I think physical appearance is important, but it's not the only factor when it comes to attraction. I think that there are qualities, uh, to look for that go beyond physical appearance, such as kindness, intelligence, and a shared sense of humor." Not gonna get hard off the back of in- like, a shared sense of humor. I don't think... "Ultimately to find s-" It's important to find someone who you can connect with on a deeper level. Nah. Uh, physical appearance and attraction are fundamental. That being said, people can be sexy in ways that aren't to do with their physical appearance. It can be the way that they hold themselves, it can be their sort of manner. I think girls that have got a little bit of sass are, you know, hot. But it's not to do with necessarily their appearance. It's a huge lever, like the thing that you are attracted to, the way that it shows up, remembering that almost all of your senses are dedicated to the visual field. It's a big deal. So, it... Yeah, massive. Uh, curlinTX, "What's the scoop on marriage contracts, prenups, and dowry? What's the future look like in that arena? Can laying out your plan for the future and boundaries for your person, progeny, and property make the XX more secure and the XY has defined goals?" That's for the AMA. I, I thought that prenups were relatively watertight, and since I've started sort of delving further into the world of why guys specifically are avoiding marriage, and in some of the threads that I've been involved in, people have said, you know, "I'm not gonna get into a relationship so that a woman can take half of my thing," and I well-meaningly said, "Well, just why don't you get a prenup?" And then it seems that these things kind of don't really count for much and that the judge can just throw them out, uh, if they want to. Which kind of begs the question, like, what- what's the point of them? Um, so I need to do a lot more reading on this. So I- I can't give you an answer, but I'm glad that you've asked the question because it's something that I really need to learn about. Uh, benjamincoote, his real name is Chad Williamson, "Those who know Stardusk..." I don't know Stardusk and I don't get that reference. So if someone wants to explain it to me, please do. Dave Novell, "Population collapse is the most interesting new subject for me that I've learned about in the last 12 months. What's the most interesting new subject you've learned about over the last 12 months?" You stole mine, Dave, because for me it is what I'm captivated by. Uh, I was already on the mating crisis stuff probably 18 months ago, so I can't say that from the last 12. Let's say the, um, impact of hormonal birth control on women's psychology or maybe intrasexual competition and the difference between how male and female coalitions and friendships work. Uh, jalalbecht, "I want to start a writing business. I'm decent at writing, but I don't know how to start. Any advice?" I don't know what you're going to sell as writing. Is this copywriting? Do you want to get paid to be a writer on Substack? First thing that you need to do is have an audience. You need to be able to reach people that could maybe want to pay you to write stuff, so build up something. If you're going to be a writer, it would be best to do that off the back of a platform that is heavily geared toward writing. So, Substack, start a Substack, write one blog post every week for the next six months, promote it, get into that content creation game and see where you go from there. You will naturally start to accumulate people and if you don't, if you're not picking up people or if you're finding the writing thing too hard, maybe writing isn't right for you. Joanne... No, Jan- jananevic, "Best friend is aiming down. How to deal with close friends unwilling to move forward?" ChrisBot, come on now, something good. "It can be difficult to watch a close friend struggle and feel like they're stuck in a rut. The best thing you can do is be there for them and offer your support. Let them know that you are there for them and that you're willing to listen and help in any way you can. Encourage them to take small steps toward their goals and celebrate their successes, no matter how small. Remind them that they're capable of admiring their goals and that you believe in them achieving their goals and that you believe in them." Not bad from ChrisBot there. I don't think that that's too far off. Um, another side of it is, it's not your job to drown whilst trying to keep somebody afloat who doesn't want to swim. Like, you can continue to encourage, to cajole, to coerce someone to improve themselves, but there are upper bounds and after a while you realize that you're basically exchanging your growth for their loss and after a while it may be best to find new friends. bjornrasmussen, "Chris, I was wondering how many of your listeners are female. I never thought of your podcast as for men, but recommended your podcast to a female friend and she apparently thought it was sexist, which I don't understand at all. So I'm curious if it is just her or if women don't tune in at all." Very good question. Around about a third of the listeners are female. So I... Maybe they're all sexists. Maybe every woman that's listening to this right now is a sexist. Uh, but yeah, it's between a third and a quarter of the audience are female. For me personally, I have never tried to make this podcast for any sex. I am a guy, so my insights around male psychology are always going to be deeper. But this year I would- I would hazard a guess that we're probably not far off 50/50 on male to female guests. So many over the last few months of all of the intrasexual dynamics stuff, you know, people from- researchers from different backgrounds, PhDs. Um, you know, fucking This is Your Brain on Birth Control by Dr. Sarah Hill. No guy really in their right mind should be interested in that, apart from the fact that they're potentially getting into a relationship where it's their mother or their sister or their friend or whatever. My point being...... I really try hard to just follow whatever I'm interested in, and whatever side of that that falls on, so be it. However, a lot of girls tune in, and to those of you that are here, I praise you and your estrogen, uh, for blessing us with your time. Thank you very much. Uh, Untold Encounters, "Hey, Chris. Congratulations on the 800,000 subs. You definitely deserve it because of the great content you create that has made me think differently and better about life decisions." Thank you very much. "Question: I remember your conversation with Mary Harrington where you said you have not looked into surrogacy and some of its ethical problems. Are you planning on having a conversation with Katie Faust since she has been talking and researching the ethics and problems of surrogacy and gamete donation, and how they could be potential children's rights violations?" I am not familiar with Katie Faust. However, I have a list, and she is getting added to the list. So, thank you very much for that. Uh, S. Don, "Chris, been an OG listener since lockdown 2020, and I'm genuinely so stoked to see you grow. I wanted to ask, with the increased success, you still seem to be the same person. How have you fought off the 'keeping up with the Joneses' mentality that is so prevalent in the US and also in the UK, such as buying a Rolex, a sports car, and designer clothes, et cetera? Also, do you see yourself living in the Au- in Austin/the US long term, or can we see return back to the Toon?" Um, a few things. First off, designer clothes have never attracted me. Uh, I dress almost exclusively for comfort and convenience. Um, and, like, fancier clothes basically get less uncomfortable, so that's been easy. Uh, I am actually kind of interested in buying a nice watch just because I've become a fan of the watches themselves. Uh, sports car, I don't know. I- I get Ubers everywhere in Austin at the moment. Um, I have no real sense of self-worth that gets taken from material desires. I have none of it. I don't judge myself based on the Louboutins that I'm wearing or the, like, the- the jacket that I've got or the- the brand of car that I drive. Like, I nice, I like nice things but I like nice things in as much as they functionally facilitate what I want to do with my life. Um, you know, in future, maybe I'll get to the stage where buying a- a Rolex or a sports car or something isn't as, so high of a bar to get over that I'm gonna be bothered about it. But there's stuff, other stuff that I would spend my money on. I'd invest in companies, I would, uh, pay for experiences for me and my friends, I would spend on growing this show and- and... Like, I- I took... Good example, um, the Vegas trip that we did for David Goggins towards the back end of last year, flew me and all of the production team out to Vegas. Bunch of friends came in from Dubai, bunch of, uh, staff came in from the UK, other friends came in from America, Michaela and her husband and a bunch of other people, and we went out on a night out, we went to Cirque du Soleil, we did a ton of stuff. That is the best way that I could spend my money compared with buying a- a Rolex or a sports car. And it cost less, it cost less than all of those things. And yeah, I don't still have it now, but I've still got the memories. Well, I've got some of them. It was a bit, it was a slightly heavy weekend. Ben Middleton, "Keep up the great work. Question: would you ever have a guest on who couldn't bring in, couldn't bring much to the table intellectually, no modern wisdom, but potentially would bring in huge views for your show?" So, I don't have a problem with someone who doesn't bring much intellectually, as long as they're interesting. Like, it's not just intellectuals that are interesting. Um, optimizing for people that are just big names that I'm not interested in is something that I really don't want to do. Uh, I think I've managed to steer clear of doing it so far. Um, I'm trying to even think like who, who would be... The thing is that most of the people that would bring in huge views would be interesting to me in one form or another because by the fact that they've got such a gravitas around them, they're probably living an extraordinary life in one form or another, which I could learn a lot from, and then we could dig into it and everyone would get to find out about what their life's like. So, um, I would have someone on who doesn't bring much to the table intellectually, but I would almost never bring someone on who, well, I wouldn't, I straight up wouldn't bring somebody on who doesn't interest me. Like, what's the point? Like, it's my show. It's my... (laughs) It sounds so much, the only child in me is coming out. This is my show, my show, and I've, no one else, no one else gets to tell me what to do. Um, it is my show. I- I've always followed my instincts with it, I've always brought people on who I'm interested in, which is why you've been s- subjected to endless numbers of human nature and evolutionary psychology, because that's what I'm interested in right now. Previously, it was existential risk. Before that it was CrossFit. Before that it was life hacks. After that it was, uh, productivity tips. That- that's the way that I'm working. So, intellectually versus interest, I think is the way that I'm framing it. Peter Capusi, "Uh, you mentioned that you're doing 240 minutes of zone cardio a week," zone two cardio a week, I think that's supposed to be. "Is there a certain reason you do this type of cardio? What is the benefit compared to other forms of cardio training for you?" Doing 180, and this is Andrew Huberman, you know, he's just, Huberman is speaking out of my mouth here. Uh, Pete Retir said the same thing. Basically, you want to get about three hours of zone two, which is probably 125 to 140 beats per minute, uh, of cardio in per week. It's good for heart health. I wanted to be more calm. I wanted to have a lower resting heart rate and a higher HRV. That's the best way to do it. Red Beard, "How should you deal with pride after a glow up?" Let's see what Chris Bott has to say about this, you big cook. "I think it's important to recognize that a glow up is a positive thing, to be proud of yourself for the hard work and effort you put in to achieve it. However, it's also important to remember that it's not about physical appearance, that there are many other aspects of life that are just as important. Celebrate your accomplishments, but also remember to stay humble and kind to others." Bit- bit mincy, that wasn't it. Um-How should you deal with pride after a glow up? (sighs) I don't know, man. I mean, a lot of people struggle with imposter syndrome, which is basically the opposite, right? It's that you've had the glow up and you still see yourself as the glowed down, the worst version of you. So, um, maybe do the thing that Hormozi said, actually, which is start hanging around with people that are, you know, like ... Uh, get into a room with bigger people, so to speak. So, if you do have a glow up, get some hotter friends, and then you're gonna feel ugly again. Maybe that would work. Christopher S., "Huge congratulations, Chris. Yours is honestly one of the most intellectually honest and diverse podcasts in the game." Thank you very much. "In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes that our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some kind of ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it. You've spoken about the influence this book had on you, so my question in regards to balancing practically with the concept of going pro, what advice would you give to a writer, for example, who hears as though they were put on the planet to write yet lacks the financial security to commit wholesale to be so creative a vocation? Or, more specifically, how did you balance the output that eventually springboarded your growth with your previous professional commitments? Appreciate you!" Appreciate you too, Christopher. Good name. Um, it's hard, man. Like there, there are, um, literal material, fucking like physical constraints on how many hours you have in a day, and creativity gets constrained down more by that. If you are working in a job whilst trying to do the writing thing, whilst trying to live a life, whilst trying to bring up blah, blah, blah, it's gonna be tough. Um, (sniffs) "What advice would you give to a writer that feels as though they were put on the planet to write yet lacks the financial security to commit wholesale to so creative a vocation?" (sighs) You've just ... I'd like dip your toe in one step at a time, if you are risk-averse. I am massively risk-averse. I did the show alongside running the business for basically the first four years of it. Um, and then finally, after I'd proven to myself that it was going to be able to work, I was able to take that step. I could let go of the thing that was my sort of security, and I could move into the thing that was going to be much more risky. Um, I think that is probably the best place to start. Um, in terms of balancing the outputs, accept the fact that this is going to be hard. This is why most people can't do the thing that you're trying to do. Most people can't become a writer because they can't deal with the discomfort of doing both reliable work to keep the lights on and creative work to build their writing career at the same time. Some people may have a, a rich father or win the lottery or, you know, fortunately sell a business and then they can pivot. If that's not you, the price that you have to pay to get to the life that you want is eating shit and doing two things that are both kind of difficult and sapping at the same time. And on the other side of that, hopefully you get something that's right and, and is a much better life for you. But even if you don't, you've closed the loop of wondering, "Wonder what would've happened if I'd tried to commit for two years to become a writer whilst I was working in that factory," or whatever. Danny Johnson, "If you were to appear on Diary of a CEO, what question would you leave for the next guest?" Did appear on Diary of a CEO, Danny. I wonder if this was posted before that one went live. Um, the question that I asked was one that I stole from a friend, guy called George Mack, and the question was, "What topic currently overlooked by the mainstream media in future will be studied by historians?" Fucking good question there. Etsy Bags, "Would you ever start an OnlyFans?" Chris Bott, come on. Say yes. Say yes. Say yes. No. Piss. "I wouldn't start an OnlyFans (laughs) because I believe everyone should be able to express themselves in whatever way they choose, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of monetizing my content in that way." Chris Bott, it's, it's sex neutral. What are you talking about? Apparently not. Sorry, mate. Uh, Javray Noso, "Best platform to learn skills like marketing, et cetera, not just getting educated by uni?" I would say YouTube. Uh, you know, Hormozi's books, bloody hell, read those. Read $100 Million Offers and $100 Million Deals, which is gonna be out soon. There you go. Javray ... No, that's Javray again. You're not having two. Sorry, Javray. Uh, Jargon Junkie, "Can you do a session with Rianne Stone? You both talk about similar things." I saw a quote from Rianne that said something like, um, "After a life of privilege, equality feels like, uh, persecution." It w- h- he was basically saying that, um, somebody that has had an unseen, undetected position of privilege for a good amount of time, when they are asked to ... wh- wh- when the field is asked to be evened, it feels like they're being pulled back. And I thought that that was really interesting, but I'm not super familiar with anything else that they do, so I'd have to look into it. Peter Sadness, "Not a question, but I'd like to thank you, Chris. Your podcast really helped me in understanding myself and the world we live in. Thanks to you, my health is much better than before as well as my self-confidence thanks to epi- episodes with Goggins or Jocko Willink. Thanks." Peter, I appreciate you. Thank you very much. Hamza Elazzawi, "What businesses/income sources do you have, if you don't mind sharing?" Yeah, sure. So, uh, I've got the show, uh, we've got that on audio on YouTube. I have a number of properties in the UK, so I guess like real estate. Uh, I have some very basic bitch investing, which is just, uh, an S&P tracker that I dollar cost average into every single month, filling up my ... Well, in the UK, we have a thing called a, uh, interest fee, free stocks and shares ISA, which allows you to basically, um-... lump a particular ton of money in per year, and you're allowed to do that tax-free, and then the downstream benefits from it are also tax-free, so I'm maxing out that. Um, what else have I got? Like Amazon affiliate stuff, which is fucking pennies. Anyone that thinks that they can make money off Amazon affiliates is moving far more traffic than I am. Uh, that's it, really. I, uh, y- life gets paid for by the show, uh, and the sponsors that I work with. YouTube AdSense revenue is good. It's okay. It's, uh, I would have loved to have been a part of YouTube before the Adpocalypse or whatever it was called. I can't imagine how much money people were making then. But, um, I don't know. I- I feel like I am leaving probably quite a lot on the table in terms of monetizing and stuff. I've never been that good at building businesses. I only realized this recently. Being a businessman, a self-identified businessman for ages, I- I- I- I don't have that hunger brain to like really, really get after it and just make tons of money. Which is good, as we've said today about the materialism thing, but it also makes me think, "Well, how much am I just leaving on the table? I could earn it and- and do anything with it." So, I don't know. We'll see. I- I- I do want to monetize a bit more bet- uh, appropriately, after a while. Um, Pete de Gene, "Could you share again why you prefer LMNT and why you take it daily? Awesome content. Keep it up." Thank you. Prefer it? Uh, prefer it to what? I'm not sure. Uh, I take it daily because it is better for you on a morning than a coffee. Your adrenal system, the caffeine, uh, that SALT acts on, is active for the first 90 minutes of the day. Your adenosine system isn't, so having coffee first thing in the morning is pointless. You're just ramping up your, uh, like adenosine, um, uh, ramping up the amount of caffeine that's in your body while it's not binding to the adenosine receptors. Uh, you might as well just take something that tastes really, really nice and is refreshing and optimizes your hydration and your appetite and your brain health and does everything else. Uh, and then you can have your coffee or your caffeine or whatever a few hours later. Um, Kwuma Dreams, "Do you, uh, do you have do nothing day or are you constantly working or thinking about working?" Let's see what Krisbot says. Are you, do you have do nothing day? Are you constantly working or thinking about working? "I try to take at least one day a week to do nothing." Horse shit, Krisbot. Absolute horse shit, Krisbot. Got it wrong. "I try to take one, at least one day a week to do nothing and just relax. I think it's important to take time to recharge and give yourself a break from work. On these days, I like to spend time with friends and family, read a book outdoors..." uh, or just take a walk and enjoy the outdoors. Um, only got two pieces of family, Krisbot, both of them live in the UK. That's Mom and Dad, so I don't get to do that. Um, I do like to spend time with friends and family. I like to take little breaks, go and play pick up ball, be in nature, do stuff like that. But no, I- I'm usually always thinking about something. Um, but I enjoy it. Like that's revitalizing to me, is thinking about things. But pressing the gas pedal of how much to work and how much to not work is, um, important. Uh, Hounsey Boy, "Do you think there is a connection between the masculinity crisis and recreational weed?" Come on, Krisbot, let's get a good question in here. "I don't think there is a direct connection between the masculinity crisis and recreational weed. However, I do think that recreational weed can be used as a tool to help people relax, reduce stress. It can be beneficial to those struggling with masculinity issues." Krisbot's a stoner. Who knew? Um, I actually think that there is. I think that there's a- a good bit of evidence that suggests that, um, guys that are using screens that are on a combination of pharmaceutical prescription painkillers and/or recreational weed. Uh, I think it is probably causing them to just optimize for comfort and convenience. Um, I would love to see some stats around it, but my, off the top of my dome, I'd say yes. Okay, I think that's enough for today. But before you go, uh, I want to say a big thank you to Zachary and Miguel from AIship.co. They were the people who made the Krisbot for me. I- I don't know whether you thought that was cool today, I th- I think it's really funny to kind of ask a- a language learning model version of me the questions. If you think I should keep doing that on the next few Q&As, then just say so. Uh, but that was great. Um, so Zachary and Miguel from AIship.co. If you need an AI solution, they can do all sorts of things. Uh, and you can check out the site. It's linked in the description below. AIship.co. And that's it. I'll see you at 900K. (instrumental music) What's happening, people? Thank you very much for tuning in. If you enjoyed that episode, then press here for a selection of the best clips from the podcast over the last few weeks. And don't forget to subscribe. Peace.