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    Where Are You Getting Your Dopamine From?

    Summary of Where Are You Getting Your Dopamine From? from Imperfect Mens Club

    enSeptember 01, 2023

    About this Episode

    Mark brings up Dopamine

    Jim cites a book he just read relating to neuro diverse people and how their brains work differently.  The dyslexic mind processes 4 or 5 times faster than a normal brain. This is good and bad

    Drugs sex and gambling are some bad sources

    The connection between dopamine and addiction

    Our cell phones are dopamine crazy

    Mark cites a 60 minutes experiment with Anderson Cooper about exactly this

    Jim brings up workaholics and dopamine

    Mark brings up his older brother as ADHD when it wasn’t yet diagnosed

    Both guys have doubts about the need for all these drugs

    Mark tells about his “runners high” experience in Chicago in his 20’s and marathoners

    Jim shares his 20 year career of dopamine hits from rugby

    Both guys are of the opinion that dopamine can be had through only natural sources

    Mark talks about his meditation practice

    Jim asks about the negative sources of dopamine

    The guys talk about fighting when they were younger

    Mark tells his fight story with his son present (8 years old)

    Jim shares some of his experiences being in full control during sex, sports and fighting.  Full control

    Primal urges and survival

    Jim brings up concussions and some studies he’s familiar with.  Jim’s conclusions and how Mark and Jim met

    Both guys talk about pro sports and retirement

    Mark brings up his fighter pilot brother and retirement.  Then they talk about veterans

    Sports coaching and the differences between sports and business

    Jim says that’s why sports are played in seasons…not sustainability

    Mark brings up middle aged men and replacing old habits

    Jim says he’s struggling with the middle aged transition

    Mark brings up his dad and aging adjustments

    Jim brings up alcohol and the first 1 or 2 drinks

    Mark shares his alcohol stories

    Jim uses the phrase “lubricant for the mind”

    Good conversations can hit you up with dopamine.  Meeting new people

    Mark talks about presenting an offer to a candidate as a real high

    Recent Episodes from Imperfect Mens Club

    A Leadership Roadmap To A Successful Life

    A Leadership Roadmap To A Successful Life

    Mark starts out with the wheel and announces we will have a guest on today - Jeff Otis

    He addresses the flywheel and suggests today’s “self-“ focus will be on self awareness and self confidence as it pertains to leadership

    Mark tosses it to Jim and Jim talks about how we all met

    Jim welcomes Jeff and Jeff says hello

    Jim takes Jeff around the wheel and starts with worldview

    Jeff tells us where he’s from - Beaverton OR…it’s also where he still lives

    His community was tight and there were great communities and leaders

    Jeff played baseball all the way thru college

    As far as politics, Jeff is an independent and looks for what is practical and makes sense

    Jeff started looking into what makes up a great leaders.  He shares some insight about Oregon

    He talks about the men in his life and sports and then he tells us about moving into work in staffing which was dominated by women. He has three daughters

    Jeff talks about how important it is to pause and reflect on who you’re speaking to before speaking

    Jim asks Jeff about his male role models and starts with his dad…and little league

    Then Jeff names off the coaches who helped shape him. He was on 21 different championship teams!

    His high school had 13 guys who went D1 or pro!

    Jim shares his high school football success and speaks of the “winning culture”

    Jeff reflects on being a pitcher and Jim folks about how pitchers are a bit off:)

    Jim m loves on to health - Jeff shares how important mental toughness and resilient are so important

    Jeff shares agin how important pausing and reflecting are

    Next is money - Jeff reflects on money. “Monet kind of finds you when you need it”

    Jim quotes “When I stopped chasing money and women, they started chasing me”

    Jim brings Mark back into the discussion. Mark talks a bit about the work we are now doing together

    Mark asks Jeff to speak further about his program that is now “our” program

    Jeff discusses how we met and started to collaborate

    Jim jumps in and asks Jeff about his professional journey. Jeff went in to staffing (just like Mark!)

    He gets into detail about his 15 year career in staffing and his subsequent growth into the leadership space.  He found that people went down 2 available forks   Victim or transformation

    He noticed that people needed help when they hit the wall. He went into digital marketing, his kids started to reach young adulthood, the internet became mainstream and smartphones came out

    He felt compelled to help people craft their successful future selves

    Jeff shares how the Project OTY evolved from this discovery and how he began to have success with young people

    Jim asks Mark’s opinion - Marks talks about his kids and helping them find work and how he evolved into coaching. No one gave themselves permission to dream. Many had no purpose. Enter Jeff

    What’s your unique strength, what’s your vision and how do you define success - most people seemed to struggle with all three

    Jeff begins talking about how we all fit together.  He describes his Project OTY “Build Your Roadmap” Program

    He calls it developing that “North Star”

    Jim offers up another quote - Momentum. “If you’re on a bike and you freeze, you fall down”. He shares a quick story about his daughter’s flight to Japan and how it will “off course” 99% of the time. Jeff - it’s like a guided missile

    Jeff says most people want to help but many don’t know how - That’s what Jeff’s program helps with

    His program takes the what and why and adds the how through his critical thinking journey

    You can’t take anybody where they want to go until you help them define where they want to go, building structure and confidence

    Mark pipes in with more insight about what the audience might get from the partnership and then moves into their current working plan. The program establishes a foundation, a working document for life.

    Jeff - we live in a world of distractions and everyone needs a plan to get them back on track

    Jim bring in the 5 W’s - Who, what, when, where and why. He quotes Thomas Sowell “When you want to help people, you tell them the truth, when you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear”

    Jim cites the value of a coach…an objective third party

    Jeff talks about accountability and how important it is

    Mark end with how optimistic he is about the future

     

    The Importance Of Owning Your Self Respect

    The Importance Of Owning Your Self Respect

    Mark starts with the IMC flywheel of life

    Todays topic is self respect or self dignity and how it impacts relationships

    Mark says it was at the core of his divorce

    “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything

    He shares his thoughts about the mask mandates

    Jim asks Mark to read the definitions of self-respect and self-dignity

    Jim brings the wheel back in, shares the 5 categories and he lands on Relationships

    Mark reflects back on his upbringing and his family’s evolution

    He cites his sister’s disrespectful posture and then he shares his disagreement with his daughter about BLM

    Jim applauds Mark’s ability to maintain his self-respect

    Jim talks a bit about his dad’s ability to demand/maintain his self respect

    Both guys suggested men are being challenged in this area all the time

    Jim says when a leader caves, he can’t get that back

    The guys bring childhood fighting and sports into the discussion

    Then mark shares his experience with employees who give up their dignity at work

    Mark tells his self respect story from 25 years ago

    Jim reflects on Marks story with praise and cites his self-control too

    Jim thinks the self respect issue is very different between men and woman

    He shares his views on his dealings with women

    Mark talks about relationships and how different they can be

    Jim says “manage the crazy” and the guys have fun with it.  He says we’re all “crazy”

    Both guys think masculinity and femininity are being challenged and the roles are blurred

    Man needs woman and woman needs man

    Mark talks about his current relationship and how the roles have developed. He attributes their success to the level of dignity they both encourage each other to maintain

    Jim brings crazy back up and how triggering it is - they get a few laughs

    Jim talks about his wife’s reaction to “crazy”

    Mark says people give up their dignity too easily.  How you say things is important

    Jim brings up cancel culture and how bad that is

    Mark thinks the current people in power are asking us to give up our self respect

    Jim brings up the shift in schools around bullying and how teachers can’t discipline anymore

    Mark shares a junior high school fight story…Jim has one of his own too

    Mark thinks young men are being weakened

    Jim tells his story about misbehaving in class when he was young - one of the best lessons he ever received

    Mark says even if you don’t feel it right away, giving up your self respect eats away at your soul

    He also says that anyone who would intentionally try to take another’s self respect away is evil

    Jim shares his experience with a manipulative leader who cut down students in a group he was in

    Jim brings up the military and their psychological training

    Mark brings up the difference - sacrificing their lives - requires a different set of rules

    What Does It Mean To Be Authentic?

    What Does It Mean To Be Authentic?

    Mark begins with the wheel and the concept of authenticity. You begin in the center with self and it’s fascinating how you can then connect it to all 5 areas of life

    Mark tells how the topic came up in a LinkedIn connection earlier in the day

    Both guys agree that bragging online about material possessions doesn’t work anymore…maybe it never did

    Mark talks about how authenticity is dominating his life lately

    Jim shares his viewpoint and brings AI into the conversation and how AI could potentially bring a lot of inauthentic information into the world. He expands on how we don’t really trust institutions anymore.  Advertisers, brands, etc

    He says you can’t fake authenticity…you’ll eventually be found out

    Mark reflects on his evolution from how he communicated as a young man and how he has discovered his authenticity and feels much braver in his content creation.  Authenticity has become his goal

    Jim is reminded of why we named our podcast the Imperfect Mens Club

    Jim suggests that authenticity is more challenging when you are younger

    He talks about shedding the people who don’t serve you

    Mark suggests that being authentic is risky, but it’s OK to lose people who don’t serve you

    The guys bring up worldview and Mark say our “leaders” are in authentic and it has invaded most institutions

    Jim bring up his mom and how she feels that it’s noisier now then ever.  People in positions of power and influence can no longer be trusted

    Jim calls them paid actors

    Mark talks about the left going back into people’s personal accounts to find dirt

    He also acknowledges that people evolve and change

    They bring up Joe Rogan and Bill Maher and Jim mentions Jon Stewart

    Mark says he does not demonize people, but the left does

    Jim brings up Biden and how sad he is.  Also all the people that defend his sanity - inauthentic

    Both guys suggest that the far left develops narratives based on rumors and lies

    They have fun with how inauthentic Kamal Harris is

    Gavin Newsome rounds out politics and inauthenticity

    Mark shifts the conversation to the topic of health, both physically and mentally

    Jim reenforces the notion of “your best self” and the importance of having an authentic story - your origin story. He’s more comfortable now sharing his flaws and challenges

    Mark gives Jim credit for his evolution of authenticity

    Mark talks about some of his challenges

    Jim brings up his revelation about Mark’s divorce story

    You can get bitter or you can get better

    The guys discuss transparency and the idea of doing what you say you are going to do

    Mark gives his example of looking for people who do and say the same things

    Jim ends with the importance of surrounding yourself with authentic people

    Mark cites his more recent success on LinkedIn and how more people following him who are also trying to be authentic.

     

    How To Embrace Self Doubt

    How To Embrace Self Doubt

    Mark starts with a summary of the clubs philosophy and the flywheel and the 5 areas of life

    He mentions his own recent battle with self doubt and can relate to middle aged men who get much of their self worth from their careers, and what happens when they are faced with a career change

    Jim reiterates what we use as our foundational structure and goes into the topic of today - self doubt

    Jim talks about the connection between self doubt and self worth

    Mark reads a definition of self doubt from a Google search

    Mark shares his most recent challenge with self doubt.  He first mentions how he leaned on colleagues and friends for support

    Mark shares the detail of his “big deal” and how self doubt crept in

    He shares how grateful he was to have tools and resources to lean of to overcome his fears

    Jim, as usual, wants to break it down

    He proposes that Mark might have been in a protective mode and Mark agrees

    He goes on to suggest that he probably had some subconscious drivers that he couldn’t even understand. He also shares how much of how we react is based on being in survival mode

    Mark mentions his divorce and Jim says even though that was “a long time ago” it is likely still lingering and impacting his confidence

    Jim share a quote - “A bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul”

    Mark agrees and suggests that his self worth was at stake

    Mark’s deal went through and he shares how cathartic the win was

    He also shares his gratitude and Jim appreciates it and Mark says we don’t do anything good by ourselves

    Jim observes how much work Mark did and how he took some chances. Mark relates his recruiting work to this deal and how little context he had with this project. While doing his work he got no feedback until it was go time

    Jim brings up Mark’s other situation that he shut down, which opened this “other door”

    Mark shares his experience with how difficult it was for him to get out of an emotionally draining situation and how it may have opened this new door because it freed up space, time and energy

    You have to shed that which does not serve you

    Jim shares the analogy of running with ankle weights and how it felt when you took the weights off

    Mark appreciates Jim’s help and how valuable it is to have a coach and how men feel they should go it alone and how people actually are flattered when you ask for help

    Self doubt leads to lower self worth and that can lead to depression and even suicide

    The guys share some suicide stats

    Mark says he feels like we are living in the most confusing uncertain times in his whole life

    Jim brings up the notion of having a “second act” in life when your primary career comes to an end

    Mark brings in the context of worldview and how much noise there is in the world. He shares his gratitude for having tools available to him to overcome self doubt and fear

    Jim explains the reason for starting the club - a place to go for men to share and support each other

    Mark explains the difference between safe spaces and this safe space

    Jim talks about how we speak with ourselves so critically and how the media makes all this worse

    Mark agrees about how much media and politicians mislead and scare to divide

    Jim brings up the discovery around electric cars and the guys add in the solar, wind and climate change hoaxes

    Mark talks about how he moves from “I don’t know” to either knowing or dismissing an issue

    They wrap up with how important contribution is and Mark ends with how self awareness was triggered and then how he reacted to get better and not bitter

     

    Cross Generational Awareness

    Cross Generational Awareness

    Mark starts reflecting on how we both had recent communications with 30 year olds and how different they operate and communicate than we do.  Generational differences

    Jim laughs about his encounter…”return your fucking phone calls…I don’t understand it Mark”

    Mark frames the technology aspect of communication.  We had none of the technology…no cell phones, social media, etc..

    Jim shares his opinion about how younger people feel we speak too much and they prefer to text

    He also believes everyone is trying to avoid conversation and we miss so much when we don’t talk

    He predicts that intimate conversation. Will be in much higher demand as technology discourages it (AI)

    Mark shares the importance of context and immediate feedback (physical, energy, body language)

    He connects the increase in anxiety and depression in younger people to this disconnection

    Mark believes he’ll be more self aware of these generational differences

    Jim brings his mind map into the discussion and breakdown generational differences

    Mark has a current client that consists of people in their late 20’s and 30’s

    Jim gets specific about Generation Y characteristics and seminal events (housing crash and Sept 11th). Student debt for 43% of this age group

    Mark suggests that every generation has had it’s challenges and that victimhood has become a norm

    Jim goes into detail about Generational details

    The guys talk about the stark differences between being kid in Florida versus California

    They go into detail about the impact of COVID on young people

    Wars, open borders and other conflicts

    Mark asks Jim if he felt anxious as a kid - not really - we were outdoors

    They joke about “playdates” and walking/not walking to school

    Mark talks about speaking differently to different generations

    Jim says he was more mad at himself for tolerating the behavior of the younger person than the bad behavior

    How do you speak accurately without being a dick

    Jim cites the difference between “nice” and “kind” - the value of candor

    Mark cites evil people who are fake nice and fake compassionate

    Can you be too candid?

    It’s better to be feared than liked - Mark uses the word respected

    They dig into the fear concept

    Mark talks about guilt as an accountability tool

    Jim talks about football coaches

    Mark says he feared his dad - letting him down and/or being held accountable

    The guys refer back to their previous guest who claimed to no longer seek his fathers approval

    Jim talks about his dad passing

    Mark talks about his dad’s generation - 95 years old - His daughter videoed him for 12 hours over 3 years

    Jim reminds us how we are the product of our 4 grandparents

    They talk about becoming different people over time

    Jim talks about his Rugby days and how he struggled to not bring that intense personality home as a dad and husband

    They both talked about being intimidating

    Jim shares feedback from the high school football coaches he talks to that most young men don’t seem to want to lead

    Mark talks about leadership and responsibility…and being the jury foreman

    Mark’s take on being responsible for other people’s lives

    Both guys talk about not needing to be the leader anymore and Mark says there are 3 types of people

    Jim ends with what he likes about the younger generations

    Mark shares his concern about the younger generations - anxiety and confusion

    How Childhood Shapes Your Worldview

    How Childhood Shapes Your Worldview

    For the first time the guys have a guest !

    Carl Lane is a childhood friend of Jim’s. They co-captained their high school football team, met at 14 years old and remain great friends today.  Carl went on to play college football at Oregon State and has had great success as an entrepreneur and logistics expert

    It’s a great interview and we all had fun

    Mark begins with the flywheel foundation

    Jim introduces Carl, who also is a listener and fan of the podcast

    Carl talks about what he’s doing professionally

    Carl trained top performing athletes for 6 years

    Jim asks Carl about his views on health and Carl talks about his struggle with depression after retiring from sports.  He shares his desire to lead a healthy life forever - hot yoga and running

    Jim asks Carl to talk about his health scare - testicular issues and how he overcame it

    Jim opens up a discussion about relationships.  Carl shares his views on relationships and begins with his daughter.  The he cites how important his mom and grandma were in his upbringing

    He says he no longer seeks approval from his dad

    Jim asks Mark about his daughters and being mom and dad and how important our daughters are

    Next up is money - abundant or scarce and how money drives behavior

    Carl talks about how we change as we grow - he’s no longer a slave to money

    He talks a bit about having no excuses

    Jim moves into worldview and the impact of childhood - who raised us and how they raised us

    Carl shares stories about his grandparents and parents and brings in his professional athletic connections - uncle, cousin and son

    Jim and Carl share how and when they met and how their friendship grew. How important football was in both their lives.  Both guys cite how different coaches influenced their success

    Jim and Carl continue to develop the story of their friendship and family growing

    Mark cites how we all have the same challenges as middle aged men

    Carl wants to be a cheerleader for the IMC

    Jim - “what the world needs now more than anything is wisdom”

    Jim tells his story about hitting Carl in practice and how the coach lost his shit - Jim had to run laps

    Carl shares his story about the first time he went to Jim’s house and the other perspective having been friends with Huey Newton’s son

    He states how focusing on what we have in common we can accomplish great things

    Carl shares his experience first meeting Jim’s mom and dad

    Jim brings the group into CEI and it gets interesting

    Each of the guys have different opinions because they have different childhoods and upbringings

    Carl talks a bit more about his football experience and how important performance and merit are

    Jim brings up spirituality and Carl shares his journey and how different it is today from how he was raised

    He felt nobody could answer him when he didn’t see any black people in the Last Supper—“I couldn’t ask about that”

    Jim switches to politics and Carl shares how he was thinking in preparation for this interview.  His sides are right and wrong. He doesn’t pick a side.  He waits and listens.  He’s interested in the community and shares some of his service to his various communities

    Carl and Jim are in agreement that K-12 is socialism and then they get released into capitalism

    Carl reflects on watching Jim develop his craft and his dyslexia and then Carl brings up his stuttering problem. Are these disadvantages or simple last whistle”ly obstacles to over come. It’s a choice

    Jim brings up “The last bell and the last whistle”

    Carl brings up his recent work with one of the largest high schools in Charlotte

    Carl ends with how he really wants to be a part of this club

    Mark shares about how important it is to disagree, get along and continue to explore

    Diversity Equity And Inclusion Is A Myth

    Diversity Equity And Inclusion Is A Myth

    Mark frames the episode about DEI

    Self - Worldview - Politics - Conservative - DEI

    Mark reads the definition of DEI

    Jim gives his take on Worldview and shares his addiction to YouTube videos

    Mark reads the definition of equity and says that life is not fair

    Jim says “who gets to decide what is fair…thought police

    Jim says we’ve been compromised and it’s a plan to divide us into groups

    The only way to ruin a country is from the inside

    Jim talks about the 2020 election in the context of George Floyd and BLM and the propaganda around it

    Jim shares thoughts from some cop friends about standing down from crimes

    Mark talks about propaganda and how it works

    Mark says sports and companies don’t function equitability

    He shares some of his upbringing

    Jim cites his referent to George Floyd and groupthink

    Jim talks about how he grew up in a very diverse neighborhood and never saw color as an issue

    Mark’s town was all white and his perspective is quite different

    He talks about human nature and root cause - the home and the schools

    Jim shares some frustration with DEI

    Mark goes back to sports and how the liberal manipulates the numbers/ratio

    Mark asks what he thinks the end game

    The guys tease each other a bit about groupthink

    Jim tells a story about his big sisters article about MLK and how disappointed he would be today

    Mark states when you divide you can control

    Mark reflects on diversity of thought

    Jim tells a story about a sportscaster friend and how sports brings people together

    Mark tells a Chicago basketball story

    Then he tells his aviation story about DEI and how the damage DEI causes is incremental

    How DEI will eventually collapse because it doesn’t work

    Jim asks Mark if there is any benefit to DEI?

    Everyone has been discriminated against and that the market will fix any imbalance

    The guys ask if any progress has been made since civil rights

    Jim tells his tory about presidential museums - LBJ’s in particular - LBJ’s discussions with MLK recordings and the Malcom X recording - “Don’t trust the foxy white liberals” - 1965

    Mark ends with Frederick Douglas - “Leave us alone”

    Are You Being True To Yourself?

    Are You Being True To Yourself?

    Mark starts with some info about the structure of the IMC “Club”

    He transitions to speaking of “Self” and how it all starts there

    Mark lists the 5 areas and talks about subtopics radiating out from the center, the self

    He asks Jim about what happens when he brings up our flywheel

    Im tells our origin story.  “Don’t be frustrated, be fascinated”

    Then he opens up about a trip to England to watch a rugby match - the club

    Men only clubs allow very different private conversations

    Different dynamic for men-only clubs

    He talks about being dyslexic and how his way of viewing the world is so different from mine

    People like to talk about themselves

    Mark tells his story about the Orlando Country Club and the mens locker room

    Getting a bunch of guys with similar outlooks together to talk about life - very cool

    Jim mentions the importance of being with like-minded people

    Jim uses his hand and fingers for the flywheel framework - it all starts with :self:

    Mark starts with the self-hyphen phrases beginning with self awareness

    Jim reads the definition

    Mark talks about self awareness and how victimhood is the opposite

    Next is self-evaluation the self accountability - executionMark talks about incremental change and how most people drop New Years resolutions because of impatience waiting for incremental progress

    The guys are planning to have an assessment to qualify members

    Jim respects self accountable guys

    Mark talks about having drinks with Miles - one of his best friends

    When you are your best self, you lift up everyone around you

    Jim takes on self-identity

    Both guys tout the value of authenticity and talk about how scary it can be

    It’s reinforcement and reps

    Jim brings up self control and talks about having to stop watching YouTube videos and Mark gave up bread and cheese

    Mark talks about the value of an agent, a coach, a group in expediting performance improvement with objectivity and candor

    The guys discuss control and discipline

    Then they discuss self-talk and how important it is to be kind to ourselves and how bad we talk to ourselves

    Self worth and self respect

    Self gratification gets a few laughs

    Mark cites the difference between pleasure and joy and then comments on guilt

    Mark talks about his Catholic faith

    Mark talks about cutting out the redundancies and creating the assessment for the “Club”

    Mark talks about the formation of the resources and process of building the club

    Agency-Can You Get To The Next Level On Your Own?

    Agency-Can You Get To The Next Level On Your Own?

    Mark starts with his definition of “Agency” and how he has worked as an agent as a recruiter

    How personal things got when finding work for someone

    Jim brings up real estate agents

    Mark share his relationship approach

    Jim talks about his agency in the cabinet  business

    Jim tells the story of his friend who managed the Seattle Mariners.  How the young pitcher didn’t negotiate his 35 million dollar deal…his agent did

    Mark goes back to positioning the framework flywheel and the 5 key areas of life and the self

    Mark reads the definition of agency from the dictionary

    Mark talks more about how he acted as an agent as a recruiter

    Jim talks about artists and athletes who’ve been abused by agents

    He shares some stories about his real estate buddies and how valuable they are

    Mark explains where that value lies

    Jim expresses his perceived value of agents

    The guys talk about attorney agency

    Mark lays out agency in the 5 key areas of life

    Jim disagrees and talks about how coaches shouldn’t get personal

    Mark speaks to the difference between Jim and Mark’s positions

    Jim speaks to the difference between agency and mentorship

    Mark speaks about the difference life experiences between Mark and Jim

    Mark brings up how important qualifying clients is and Jim concurs

    …there has to b e alignment between agent and client

    Mark tells how Jim has acted as his agent and vice versa

    Jim thinks friends and family are often too close to be objective

    Jim reminds us how important objectivity is

    Mark appreciates being helped with his tendency to give people the benefit of the doubt

    Jim brings up business agents and how you don’t even need to like him, just respect and trust him

    Jim brings up his Patent attorney story

    Mark wants strong expertise and integrity

    Jim brings the difference between integrity and morality…murderers murder….integrity, not morality

    Mark talks about what separates the guys from the competition

    Jim brings up self awareness again and how you have to do the work

    Mark relates his leadership work with another client and the assessment piece of that process

    Progress is made incrementally.  Practice over time.  Accountability

    Jim speaks to the value of having someone else to hold you accountable

    Mark says the best coaches have coaches

    We can’t make people ready but we can help people who are ready

    Jim brings up depression.  With our help, optimism, a plan and advice we might help people avoid that darkness

    To be your best self while the world changes

    Mark relates his career coaching call from earlier and how much of his teaching comes from his failures

    Jim engages with the time of year and reassessing life.  He speaks to the importance of a system, a framework

    Jim likes his quotes “The only thing worse than no hope is false hope”

    The only thing worse than no advice is bad advice”

    Mark says it’s what makes the guys unique - wisdom

    The guys end in agreement on who to get advice from

    They end with imperfect and club (authentic and community)

    The Key To Happiness - Your Relationships With Others

    The Key To Happiness - Your Relationships With Others

    Mark begins with revisiting the framework of our program. The center of the flywheel and the radiant thinking that moves out from center to the 5 areas of life and todays podcast is about the 5th and final area…Others.  People and relationships

    Mark transitions to how events like Covid have made human contact and relationships even more important than ever

    Jim tells a story about Christmas dinner with 10 family memebers at which they practice 2 traditions. First they go around the table and everyone makes his “Declaration” for the year 2024 and second “what are you hopeful for”. Jim committed himself to “putting it out there” even though not everyone is going to like it

    He hopes we become America first again. Lead with being an American and not a group

    He spoke of his Latino family never identifying as Latino first.  They were Americans who were also Latino

    Mark agrees and says it’s a joke that we even have to talk about this

    Then Mark brings up the Harvard Study Of Men and Happiness Article Here

    Relationships was the number one contribution to happiness. Purpose was number 2

    Mark shares some context about the study and how rich and accurate the data is after 85 years!

    Jim brings our flywheel of life into the discussion.  He explains out “others” category

    Mark talks ab out his dad’s family of eleven children and some of the conflict that existed there

    Jim relates the Others category to the other 4 and shows again that each area affects the other 4…and it’s all about self awareness

    Mark brings up his eldest brother being a pilot, in part, because his father was a pilot

    Jim says we’re all the products of 4 people…both sets of grandparents…whether you know them of not

    Mark talks about interested his eldest daughter is in learning about her ancestry

    Jim claims he’s gotten more interested in his ancestry as he’s gotten older.  Then he talks about his grandparents from Switzerland

    Jim then talks about getting to know his father really well after his passing during the settlement of his estate (very interesting). He finishes with the importance of figuring out your own self through your understanding of your ancestry

    Mark shares his opinion on self awareness and how it benefits relationship

    Jim begins to talk about men and women and shares that everyone is not the same.  Men and women are different

    Mark asks Jim how many women friends he has that aren’t the wives of his or his wife’s friends:)

    Jim admits that he has no female friends but that his kids do have friends of the opposite sex that they’ve not had sex with…and he feels this is progress. Mark agrees that his kids are the same and that this is mostly good.  Progress. But things like polygamy are not sustainable

    Jim revisits his female influencers…his mom was great

    Mark shares the same about his mom

    Jim shares his discovery at about 10 that he was dyslexic. He talks about being publicly humiliated and his mean ugly older female teacher. He became anti authority and distrusts older ugly women:)

    Mark acknowledges that that kind of treatment will leave a scar and likely create an anger over time. Jim agrees and then brings up his young hot teacher who had the opposite effect

    The guys laugh at movies from the 80’s and how thy could never be made today. Mark brings up Mel Brooks

    Jim shifts the discussion to men and then speaks about the value of good friends…they anchor you and call you on your shit

    Mark shares that because he moved when he was 26 that most of his friendships are from 26 on, but they are solid 20 plus year relationships nonetheless.

    Jim asks Mark about his grandfathers and Mark shares his recollections, then Jim asks Mark about whether he has different relationships with his daughters and his son. Mark shares that his relationships are quite different

    Both guys share insights about their daughters and how we go from teaching them to getting taught by them

    Jim shares a story about losing his dad and talking to his friend about losing his. How losing your dad can be empowering as an adult…you get permission to no longer have to impress him

    Jim reflects on a discussion with his daughter about how he has evolved as a man, a dad and that he was different when she was a child

    Jim concludes with a story about his involvement in a high level 3 day coaching program “Landmark Forum?” Some cool exercises about communicating with your father or mother and discovering hidden agendas and misunderstandings