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- [00:01]
A
Okay, I got the red smoke. Sun runs north and south west of the smoke. West of the smoke. Okay, copy. West of the smoke. I'm looking at danger close now. Oh, wait a minute.
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B
Give it to me.
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A
I mean it cleared hot. Coffee cleared hot. Good morning everybody. We are back. I got my coffee, got my sweatshirt which. Okay, here's the opener. I realize I'm wearing the same sweatshirt I wore on last Friday's episode. And that's because I'm super simple person and when I find something I like, I wear the crap out of it. I don't really care about attire, whether it matches vertical lines and horizontal lines for me, completely fine. Wear them however you want to. Maybe pair that with a Hawaiian shirt. It drives my wife absolutely nuts. You could ask Leah. She is. What would be the word? I would say appalled by what I wear, sometimes disgusted. I don't know. I would let her choose, but she's not exactly a huge fan of my fashion sense of which I don't claim to have any. But I am wearing this sweatshirt because you can't see outside, obviously. I'm in northwestern Montana. It's sweatshirt weather. My buddy Dan Hart got me this sweatshirt when we were in Bozeman and it's amazing. So a bunch of people have reached out to me who makes this. This is by a brand called Marine Layer. Normal spelling. I have no association with them whatsoever. If you can find one of these things, I for what the actual name of the SKU is. But they're super comfortable. Like I said, not sponsored by them, not promoted by them. Got it as a gift. Absolutely loving this thing. Another thing I can open with that'll probably help. I see sometimes people in the comments asking where can you submit for a question? Where do I get these questions? Where they come from? The vast majority of the time they are coming straight from my email inbox. What's the email people will ask. Well, it is. Are you ready for this? It's super complicated. Andy stumpf the numbers 21 2mail.com andystumpf212mail.com Some people have said to me that you're crazy to put your email address out there. You're gonna get some messages from crazy people. And you know what? I do, But I also get messages like the one that I'm about to read. I have four questions for today, relatively different topics and it gives me the ability to have a somewhat of a two way conversation. I mean it's certainly, you know, information comes in and I can answer, as I've said many times. On the show. It would be great to have some of these people sitting here so I could ask some clarifying questions because I only have the information sitting in front of me, but that's the easiest way. Andystumpf212mail.com if you're a crazy person or an insane person, please, you know, don't. You don't need to write in, but for everybody else, that's how you do it. Let's kick this off. Let's have a little sip of coffee here. I do iced coffee, even though it's in the morning and it's cold because I can drink it faster and I'm about caffeine delivery more than I am about taste. Today's episode is brought to you by Spartan Forge. Ask yourself this Would it be beneficial to take decades worth of military intelligence and targeting and put it into what I'm gonna call a hunting app? Even though I use it as an aviation app with AI with mapping layers that are hard to find anywhere else? With lidar with animal behavior patterning, with a blue Force tracker type application, the answer is yes. And you can find all of that at Spartan Forge. Let's head over to spartanforge AI right now because honestly, showing you guys this stuff is easier than me trying to describe it. LIDAR and UAV mapping. Do you want to be able to see through the. Not that I was going to say the terrain, but that's not it. Through the foliage or anything that might obscure the terrain that's underneath. Lidar is amazing. I pair that often with slope angle measurement, especially when it comes to flying the helicopter. Deer movement and prediction. This is what I'm talking about. Using all of that targeting data to give you an assessment of the opportunities that you may have in the best locations to have them in app life. Pin sharing. Is this with a hunting group? Is this with an EMS group, a search and rescue group? All of it can be used. Lidar. Here's a great example of two images. The difference here on the left and the right one you can see, I don't know, this looks like a lot of trees and vegetation. The other one, you can actually see trails that are underneath that. Because of how LiDAR works. And what else? Oh, they also have some apparel. I actually really like the Spartan Forge apparel. And right down here, you can download a free version today so you can give this bad boy a try before you commit to it. This thing is amazing. It is the best aviation app not designed for aviation. I will literally use the Foreflight app and put it away and then pop up my Spartan Forge. Keeping track of property lines, permissions, pins, locations, sharing things. It is amazing. Spartanforge AI put technology in your pocket and use it to become the most lethal version of yourself. Back to the show and we're off. Andy, I appreciate the advice you've given to others and the way you cut through the noise with honesty. I'm in a situation I can't quite make sense of anymore. I was hoping to get your take on whether it's time to throw in the towel or if there's still a way to pull through. Well, let's see what we can do. Let's see if we can make any sense of this together. When I was eight, my father took his own life and about five years ago my stepdad of over 20 plus years whom stepped in when my father passed away did the same. Both times my family had to pick up the pieces just or, I'm sorry. Within just nine months of my stepfather taking his life, my dog of 12 plus years died and my wife of almost 14 years together left me in early 2021. So yeah, Covid sucked. I don't like to think of my life as harder than anyone else's, but these things have stacked up. I've been in and out of mental hospitals, I'm almost 40 now, divorced, with a child, and the relationship with my ex is toxic, to say the least. She's made it clear that if I'm with someone she doesn't approve of, she'll take me for child support, and if that happens, I'll lose the ability to support myself and my son at my home. To make things even more complicated, I recently got another woman pregnant. We don't get along, we fight often. She's not considering an abortion, and I don't see us lasting as a couple. I am terrified of how to handle raising a child with her while also knowing that once my ex finds out, she'll come after me for support too. Please don't let yourself or your listeners think I'm blaming either of these women. And that's coming from someone who is still waiting or who is still on the waiting list for your hopefully upcoming New York Times bestseller, Extremely Limited Ownership. Which is a joke, by the way. A playoff of Jocko and Leif's book Extreme Ownership. I made these jokes to their face. I might be able to get them as a ghostwriter. Maybe Jocko would write the forward. Hard to say up until this point. It's still a joke. Maybe one day I'll write it Even I will take responsibility for the situations I put myself in now. But given all of this, I don't know if I should keep trying to fight through it or accept. Accept that I'm in over my head. I'd really appreciate any perspective you have. And just so you know, if this email sounds thoughtful and accountable, I am taking extreme ownership. If it sounds like a mess, I'm blaming AI and taking extremely limited ownership. Oh, that's right. I forgot in the subject line he. You said you asked AI to help you write this, which I guess is a. I guess that's an approach and it's something that a lot of people can use these days. But for something like this, when you're writing about your life to the best of your ability, man, just, just fire away. One of the last sentences here. Given all of this, I don't know if I should keep trying to fight through it or accept that I'm in over my head. What does that even mean? What are you even trying to say in that sentence? Are you trying to say in a roundabout way that you're considering taking the path that your father and your father in law chose? Because if you're even thinking about that, maybe just take a moment to reflect on the impact that their actions and their choices had on, on you and everybody else in their family and maybe just sit with that for a bit before you. Ma', am, you probably didn't mean to do this, but flippantly throw out there, accept that I'm in over my head. Let's say you are in over your head. Because right now, honestly, in this situation, it sounds like you have a lot. And you might be in over your head in this moment, which happens to all of us at points in our life, but who cares? That's not permission for you to just give up. You have a child and another child on the way. So yeah, you might feel like you're in over your head. So what do you think that that allows you to have poor behavior? Do you think that that allows you to have or to take poor actions or to be selfish and only think about yourself? Because I'm going to tell you right now, your vision is going to improve as soon as you pull your head out of your own ass. It's really limited with what you can see when your head's that far up. I don't care if you're over your head or feeling great. You have at a minimum two other people. I'm counting the two. One child and one unborn child that you are Obligated and responsible for. Now, for a second here, I want to talk, I want to go back to talking about your father and your father in law. The statistics on this are, are wild. The child of somebody who commits suicide is statistically so much more likely to make that decision themselves. And I have said this so many times and this is still the place that I land. I, I understand that it's an irrational choice that becomes a rational thought and choice in the moment. I do understand how people can arrive there. I've never experienced that myself. I'm not saying it makes sense, but I do understand that process. So it might seem irrational to me and everybody else. The people that we're talking about arrive in this situation and to them it is the only rational, reasonable, less painful option. But everybody else around that situation, to use your own words in this email, is left picking up the pieces. Why would you want to leave anybody else in that situation? Why would you want to repeat what the consequences were of what your father did to you and your stepfather? If this is even something that you are considering or realistically thinking about, you need to immediately engage a mental health professional. If you even go onto Google and you start peripherally looking around at things that the Internet would consider to be thoughts or ideations about taking your own life or harming yourself. What you're going to start seeing in the results are phone numbers in places that you can contact to talk to somebody. Why are those there? They're there for your protection. They're there for your help. They're there because engaging with these people and entities can actually help and it can prevent you or interrupt that cycle of going from irrational thought and behavior that becoming something that is what remains to be seen to that individual as the only reasonable option. If you have to at a baseline, utilize that. If you are not at that place, dude, instantaneously, the first thing that you need to do is take care of yourself. And you also need to find somebody that is going to hold you accountable other than a random person on the Internet. Because this I'm over my head is irritating to me. Not like I'm not irritated at you as a person. I am irritated at the headspace, not your headspace, but the headspace that people can arrive at. And I am as guilty of this as anybody else. Where because you think you're in over your head, that you give yourself permission to give up, it's bullshit. It's a lie that we tell ourself. It's an excuse at best and you are letting down Everybody that you are responsible for taking care of. And oh, by the way, if you're going to think with your little head and develop two children that come into the world, you have surrendered your right, you have surrendered your ability to think of yourself as the most important person in the world until you launch those kids out into the world and for the rest of their lives. That is the way that it works, at least in my opinion. So if you want to allow your decision making to occur below the waist for short periods of time, well, guess what? Regardless of how hard it is above the neck, where the real decisions should be made, you don't get to give up. You don't get to throw in the towel if you feel like you're in over your head or you're underwater, guess what, motherfucker? Time to learn how to swim a little bit better. So let's dive into this here just a little bit more. Understand, you're divorced, you have a child. What I don't understand, and I can only speak about this through my own experience of going through divorce. So my n is 1, when I went through that process, we signed paperwork at the end of that process that had boundaries on monetary support, timeline, parental, what would it be? Custody, parental visitation, all of those things. It was very concrete. It was black and white. And at no point in that, once we signed that documentation and we were done, we regardless if my ex wife approved or disapproved, hated or loved the person that I may choose to be with after that, they had no ability to re enter back into those agreements or re enter back into those conversations and try to come after me because of something that upsets them. So I don't know what state you're in, but I feel like that threat from your ex, or I hope that that threat from your ex is actually quite empty. You said you're divorced, so I'm assuming that that is in fact handled. And maybe though you guys did this yourself, maybe you did through mediation, whatever it may be, maybe you left the child support aspect out of this because again, I'm not an expert. But if you did and they have the ability to reengage, that's a different story. But there's still even in that it's not an unlimited upside. I mean, they can't ask you, I guess they could ask you for like, you know, I want $5 million a year. @ the end of the day, oftentimes this is going to end up going to court and you sit in front of a judge and the judge is going to make a realistic decision, use that term in air quotes because I've heard horror stories but I've also heard amazingly fair decisions as well from both male and female judges in, you know, so in air quotes they're going to make a reasonable decision based off of your monetary situation, both yours and your ex. So she may be able to come after you for child support. But here's another thought as well.
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B
Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day.
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A
Yeah.
- [16:06]
B
Give it a try@mintmobile.com switch upfront payment.
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A
Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com you should be paying child support. If you were married and had a child with your ex wife, you should be supporting that child. If you got out of this divorce process and for whatever reason are not economically supporting your ex wife for. And again, this is one of those things where I only have the information that you put in front of me, whether it says it or not on a piece of paperwork, dude, you need to be supporting your kid if that is through money, through your ex, you know, whatever the situation may be. But that is your child. Why you're not paying that now, I don't know. Maybe the, the her situation is better off than yours. Maybe you feel like you're, you're unable to do so right now. But regardless of what it is, I wouldn't shy away from those responsibilities. One thing I have seen in this process, in myself, in my own situation and in many other people's, it doesn't really matter the threat that comes from the other side. Ex wives, ex husbands, they can get as emotional as they want, they can become as irrational as they want. They can threaten you over email, phone and text and all of these things. Cool. Let's see what a court of law has to say about it. Let's get some lawyers involved and actually run this through the process. You can say you're gonna come after me and destroy me and those are all great things. Let's see that actually happen. What I have seen more times than not, and I'm not saying it's always fair, but I have seen the legal system land fairly on those issues. And most of the Time, the person making the threat is far less happy with the end result because they got far less than they actually wanted. I think that's probably a good thing. So threats are the threats. It is what it is. But go back through your paperwork, man, and look into, see if there are boundaries. If not, a Google search, depending on the state that you live in, is probably going to determine what your maximum payments may be based off of your income and your situation. And yeah, man, your kid, your responsibility with your ex wife. Don't try to get away from that. Now, to make things even more complicated, you recently got another woman pregnant. You don't get along, you fight often she's going to have the kid and you don't see us lasting as a couple. Again, I feel like this is another example of you thinking with your little head instead of your big head. How's that working out for you? Doesn't sound to be working out for you that well. So here is a thought. Maybe stop doing that for a little bit. Maybe until you get to a place where you have your shit together more than you do now. We hold off on that a little bit. It's almost as if contraception exists. The birds and the bees is a really easy conversation. If I need to, I can explain to you how you got this other woman pregnant. I feel like I don't need to do that because you're almost 40. So I think you understand the other mechanisms that could be in place, and I don't think we need to review those either. But maybe, unless you want to complicate your life even more and feel like you're even deeper into this swimming pool that you're already describing as being underwater, you need to stop doing that. If you don't change anything, nothing is going to change. And right now it seems like there are two examples that you are struggling with. Wondering what your behavior should be like going forward. Here's the thought. Maybe it shouldn't be exactly the same as your behavior looking in the rear view mirror. So let's assume that both of these go in a direction that you don't want them to go. It sounds like you have a toxic relationship with your ex. Your words, not necessarily mine. Let's hypothesize into the future with this woman who is pregnant now. You have. She has. I'm going to say you have the child. It is comical to me when men will say, oh yeah, you know, my wife and I, we had a kid. Now you were there for a very short biological requirement. And then the rest of that was carried to term by a woman and you might have held her hand as she was having the kid. I think most men would tell you if we were responsible for having children, the human race would come to an end in one generation. Because holy cow, insane what women are able to do. But let's be clear, it's the women who are having the kids, carrying them to term. And honestly, for like the first two years, I don't even think kids need their dad. I'm not saying dad should disappear, but I'm not able to provide milk other than from in a bottle. And I can change diapers and all those good things. But man, it's a one sided relationship. It gets way better later on. And for the young fathers who are looking at their, you know, infant children like, I don't know if this thing even loves me, they do love you and they'll love you even more and they'll need you even more later in their life. So stay the course. Let's push this thing out. Right? We are a couple years from now, let's say you have another toxic relationship with this person, the second person. Now you have two kids with two different women. Both of the relationships are toxic. To go back to this sentence, I don't know if I should keep trying to fight through it or accept that I'm in over my head. You have two children. In what world do you think that you should stop trying to fight through it? There is nothing in life that is going to happen to you that is permanent unless you make a decision like your father in law and like your father that makes it so. And again, the pebble into the still pond, the rippling consequences farther than you could ever even possibly imagine for longer than you could ever even possibly imagine the impact that that has as long as you don't make that choice. Sure, let's say your ex finds out about this new woman and does come after you and economically it becomes horrible. Okay? Figure out a way. Maybe you need to change jobs. Maybe you need to take your ex to court. Maybe you need to fight this tooth and nail for your survival. But would you rather have two children with a father that is willing to do anything to fight for their survival? Or two children that have a fleet, no memory whatsoever and maybe some photographs of who their father was and the only people that they hear about their father from are your two exes? Is that what you want to leave behind? Is that what you want your kids to know of you and who you were and the decisions that you made? I don't think so. So there's not a world that exists where you should stop fighting for this. Does that mean that if you continue to fight that things are going to be easy? No. Does it mean that they're going to get easier right away? No. It's probably going to get harder. This is probably going to suck more than it does right now. This might end up sucking more than you thought anything could suck ever in your life. And as long as you don't give up on that, you're going to be okay and you're going to figure out a way through it. And I guarantee you, if you stay the course, you will look back years from now, if not decades from now, so appreciative and grateful that you did fight through this because of the children that you have and the relationship that you can have with those children. They are worth it. They are more than worth it. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the value that can come from that. So, yeah, you need to keep trying to fight. You have struggled with mental health. Again, I'm gonna go right back to. Especially if you're talking about the suicidal stuff, you have got to reinvest in yourself. It sounds like money is an issue, which it is for all of us, but you need to invest some of that in yourself. One of the ways that you can help armor yourself a little bit is by making yourself the best, healthiest, most efficient version of yourself. A lot of that is between the ears. So many people focus on the muscles from the neck down, and those are important. I'm not gonna argue that at all. But the most difficult struggles that I've ever had, and I think the most. How's I about to say the most painful experiences I ever had? I've had some pretty painful experiences, but. And those were in the moment, though, like, you know, a peak of pain that didn't necessarily feel great afterward, but it cascades away. You want to talk about stuff that lasts for a long time, that hurts is a cut that feels like it's never going to heal. That's upstairs. That's between the ears, above the neck. Emotional and psychological. Those probably are the most painful experiences that I've ever had. There's people out there who can help you. There's entire ecosystems of counselors and therapists that can help you if you want to get through this. Having somebody that you can talk to, that is objective, that you can bounce ideas off of, is going to be critical because you're going to have moments where you're in the lowest point, you need to have tools. You need to have an architecture that can help you get out of those lowest moments to prevent yourself from looking at an irrational decision rationally. I'm glad that you mentioned here, you know, you're taking extreme ownership. Okay, that's good. Take it over yourself as well. Take it over your own mental health, not just these external situations that you find yourself in. That's great to apply it to both of those things, but now you need to turn around and apply that to yourself. Take out of your vernacular accepting that you are in over your head. Who gives a shit? You're in over your head. You're sinking. Figure it out. Does that have to be some heroic one step move? No. More than likely it's gonna be a hundred sequential steps that nobody sees and you may not even feel the momentum for the first 50 and that's gonna suck. And you're gonna feel like you're going nowhere, but you're not. You're slowly building momentum, you're building habits, you're building patterns, and you have to build on top of that. I'm sorry that you're in this situation, but you need to own the vast majority of the part about you getting into it. This isn't random happenstance. This isn't bad luck. This, what you have described, and again I only have the information you have given to me is based largely off bad decisions. Stop making those to the best of your ability. Reduce the size of your bad decisions. Start making better ones. Take care of yourself physically and mentally. And do not ever talk to anybody ever again about being in over your head. Unless it's a mental health professional. Do not allow yourself to right that excuse. Because in our lowest moments, what do people want to do? They want to cash that check. And that's not fair. It is not fair to the people you're leaving behind and is not fair to your kids. So probably are not going to enjoy the feedback that I just gave you. And I don't care. Because this is about more than just you. So what's the first step? Remove head from asshole. Step two, look around and start taking micro steps towards where you want to be. And do not ever let yourself feel you've arrived at a place where you have to give up. Because nobody ever in any situation can actually make you quit. The only person that can make you quit is yourself. And you do that by talking yourself into it. And that is all I have for question number one today. Whew. Question number two, radically shifting gears. Andy, I have two questions. Number one, I have trouble sleeping, so I take between 5 milligrams and 15 milligrams of THC gummies per night to sleep. While they work well to put me to sleep and keep me asleep, I often wonder how I would be able to react to a home invasion situation while under the influence. Although the milligrams are low, they would definitely alter my ability to be able to be as sharp as I could be if something happened. Any advice? Great question. I can give you advice, but you should also look into the straight black and white legalities of this. I don't know if you mean a homeless situation where you have to defend yourself with lethal force if you're talking about having a firearm in the house, or you're gonna go straight Steven Seagal and just dice somebody up with kitchen knives while keeping an eye on your pies in the oven. But from Let me say this. I'm not a police officer. I've watched a lot of cops and I'm not a lawyer, even though I did watch the entire series of suits multiple times. That's where I got my Juris Doctorate. I'm pretty sure it doesn't hold up in court. The reason I bring up those two things is that there are 100% situations where justifiable use of force is pretty black and white. Crazy person comes into your house at night to either do you harm, random act of violence, whatever it may be, they're kicking in the door, they're armed, you defend yourself, somebody ends up dead, cut and dry. Does that mean you're not gonna have to go through the legal process? Probably not. It's gonna be a shitty ride either way. But I don't know where the introduction of substances that alter your mind may fall into this or your perception or your cognitive ability. And you could apply alcohol to this too. Somebody could say, I have trouble sleeping and I have between four to six drinks per night with the same concerns. I don't know where the line is with the law. So wherever you live, do me a favor and Google that and just get to a solid understanding of legally the risk that you are either putting yourself in or not. Because I don't have the answer to that. So I can't answer that. And maybe if I have anybody who listens to the show that is from the legal world, you could answer as to how this would play in. Because I feel like this is something that would be brought up if there was a criminal, criminal or civil case. I do feel like this is something that would be introduced as, as part of the proceeding. So I'm going to strip the legal aspect of it aside. Is this 5 to 15 milligrams of THC, is it going to alter your ability to be as sharp as possible and react in the way that you may want to? To the degree that you may want to call it in a violent situation? Yes, it is absolutely going to. To what degree, I have no idea. I'm not an expert on THC or edibles or these types of gummies. I don't know if you end up building a tolerance to those things. So if you're been doing this for six months, your body either processes it better or you, you have an ability to be more clear or it always has the same impact, but it will have an impact to some degree. Is it a debilitating impact? I don't know. That's going to probably depend on the user. But this question I do believe is valid because you're talking about worst case scenario, but also you're trying to live your life as it presents itself and you have problems sleeping. I can tell you right now, no training program, no diet can outdo horrible sleep. I'm not an advocate for people doing this, but I'm also not against it. I want people to be able to live their lives. Everything in life is a pro versus conversation, a risk versus reward. Is there, I'm sure some risk in taking 5 to 15 milligrams of THC gummies per night to sleep? Yes. Is there a reward? Probably for a lot of people if it nets them the sleep that they're looking for. Now, I don't know if it's the REM sleep or deep sleep or all those things. I don't know if you get all those phases of sleep, but that's a choice for an individual to make. I am not here to regulate whether or not you should be able to do this, but let's just look at it through the risk versus reward. We strip the legal aspect aside. You know, anything that modifies your thought process, your cognitive ability is going to degrade your performance. I think that's pretty black and white. I know some people out there who would say, oh, here's the solution, take 15 milligrams and then, you know, go train. That way you're training like you fight. I don't advocate for that. Especially if you're talking about going to a live fire range, right? Like if you're talking firearms and that, please don't take 15 milligrams and then go to A gun range. Let's just not do that. Let's just realize there's going to be a degradation. So probably the best thing that you can do would be as sharp as attack as humanly possible without the M. I was going to say mh. Mhc confusing the milligrams and thc. You need to get yourself to being as sharp as possible. And whether you're talking about firearms, Jiu Jitsu, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, whatever it is, train your ass off. So you are super, super, super competent in whatever your discipline may be, aprex predator, if you will. Then if you are unable to sleep and you need to introduce this, you are reducing your capability from something that is already incredibly high. Which for most people, it is shocking to me, the number of people that just don't train, they realize that violent confrontations can exist. And before I say anything else, I'm not like, I don't give a shit if you train jiu Jitsu or krav or a gun guy and shoot three gun. Whatever it is, like follow whatever you love. I don't care about that. I'm not religious about any particular martial art. I think that a lot of them, almost, let's say all of them have something positive that you could pull from them. Are they are all a direct application to the real world? No. But no tool is perfect for every job, right? Most of the time you're going to need a couple different tools. So it's amazing to me, people realize that violence exists, but they just want to play the odds. You know, they're playing the roulette of life. And most of the time they get away with it because very few people actually encounter physical violence, which is a great thing. And if you do, and you can, please take my strategy on this. Leave, run away, be embarrassed, who gives a shit? Let somebody talk down to you, Let somebody be mean to you verbally. Don't end up in the hospital, don't end up in jail. Just run away. Who cares if you can, but if you can't and you find yourself in that situation, if you've never trained and you're going to rely on seeing red and performing, you're not going to. And the consequences of that are going to be on you. The odds are in your favor. I'm not going to sit here and say that everybody's going to encounter violence, and I'm really glad that most people never do. But if it's something you're concerned with, dude, put the time in, put the reps in at the very least, if you're going to have a degradation of your ability, you're starting from super, super, super high, which is going to exceed the ability of most people. And I feel like you'll probably be okay. That's the best advice I can give you. Look at the legalities of this though, please, because I don't know what they are. The last thing that I would want to see happen to somebody is a legitimate defense of themselves. And you're in either a criminal or a civil try and something like trial and something like the use of a THC gummy is what unwinds your ability to articulate your defense properly and you end up losing the legal struggle in that that would suck. And I don't know how it works. The training side of the house I have a little bit better of a handle on. So that's what I would recommend. Question 200, 100% between me and you, because I recognize one pays your bills and one was a guest on the show. But if you had to make a choice between Merrick and ways to Wells, which would it be? I have no problem being 100% transparent with the brands that I work. So for a year and a half I did work with Merrick, but I didn't get paid to work with Merrick, so it didn't pay my bills. I received free treatment from them in exchange for talking about my experience with their brand. Specifically, we're talking about hormone optimization, trt. It was peptides, vitamins, minerals, all of those things, blood work, et cetera. I didn't get paid. They caught my treatment, which I was very grateful for. And I've always been super open and honest about my experience with them and it was good. When I met Brigham, I met him. If anybody who's follows the YouTube channel, I posted a video, had to have been six months ago, where I got a ride in the backseat of a MiG. I met him for the first time in Bozeman at Jerich Isaacman's hangar, who is now, it looks like, going to be running NASA, which is amazing. And I'm going to get him on the podcast here at some point. That's the first time I'd ever met Brigham. And he was explaining to me the difference in the ways to Wells model and what they have. You know, the app with the AI and all these really, really cool tools. And it was interesting. And so I started talking with him more and eventually I made the decision to switch over to Ways to Wells. I just got back from Austin, where I Got to go into their facility. Blood draw on site the next day, came in and got an IBU treatment which was insane. Double IVs given at the same time. Pulling blood out of one of my arms, putting blood back in. The difference in color was crazy. Stripping away the toxins. That's about the limit of my understanding of what was happening. IV stem cells to fight, just tackle and fight systemic inflammation. I've had stomach issues for quite some time and I'm trying to take every path that I possibly can to address those. Hydration with that in an IV bag, red light therapy. But got the full walk around and now fully integrated into their system. And if I had to choose between the two, I would go to Ways to Wells. I have nothing bad to say about Merrick. Ways to Wells is offering me more of what it is that I am looking for through a portal. Specifically the app that I have the ability to access my records, message my providers directly, process a refill of any medications or peptides or vitamins or minerals. The AI tool Allen that they have is. It's ridiculous. If you have questions about what's going on that you can ask it. And again, I'm not trying to do an ad for Ways to Wells either because I don't have a professional relationship with them. I'm paying for my service with Ways to Wells. So I went from a service that was at a net cost to me of zero to a service that I am paying for and I'm glad that I did. Merrick and Ways to Wells use different blood drawing facilities. I was able to use LabCorp with Merrick, which exists in Montana. Ways to Wells uses Quest, which exists in Montana. But the nearest draw was like five hours away which is why I did my draw in person when I was just in Austin. Having said that, in January, Waze is updating their app and profile and program. It doesn't matter where your blood draw comes from. As long as you get the appropriate labs, you can feed it into their system. As long as it comes from an actual lab and not you on Photoshop putting stuff in for your numbers, you're going to be able to use it. So it'll switch that off. But I'm not going to recommend anybody go either way. I'll just say this. I had a really good experience with Merrick and I went from a service that was given to me for free to a service that I am now paying for out of pocket. There's a reason for that. Do your research on both. I have worked with both brands And I am now. I have landed where I land. I'm getting ready to onboard my wife with ways to. Well also. So hopefully that answers your question. And again, I am not. I have no business relationship with Brigham or Waze. I did have a business relationship with Merrick from the providing of treatment in exchange for talking about again, honestly. And for those of you who may have missed those episodes, this, this shit isn't magic. I didn't start TRT and all of a sudden I'm like, oh, I feel so much better. It has been almost two years now and I am still working with what is the best for me. Diet, sleep routine. I've got. I bought an eight sleep that I have at the house to monitor sleep metrics. I'm looking at getting an aura ring again for my walk around metrics, hydration, vitamins. I'm still playing with all of it. Am I feeling better? Yes. Is it an overnight instantaneous difference? Absolutely not. So if you're going to go down that road, just pack a lunch. It's more of a marathon than a sprint, but it has been worthwhile for me. But that's where I land. So that is my answer to those. Today's episode is brought to you by Peak. You know what I'm talking about. The makers of the finest tea. I own a coffee shop. People may think that I don't enjoy tea and to be honest with you, I didn't start drinking tea at all until I started working with Peak. But this stuff is legit. Does this sound like something you may be looking for? Gut health, longevity, convenience. A microbiome reset energy or mood or immune support. Does that sound like something that could positively impact your life? If the answer to that is yes, then guess what? Peak has a product for you. I have a couple sitting in front of me right here and I only brought out what I could carry. I got a bunch more. Sun Goddess Matcha for radiant skin and energy. A digestive calm mix. Ginger digestion elixir. What do we got over here? La Ginger or also known as La Ginger for a warming detox. What do we got over here? BT fountain beauty, electrolyte, youthful skin and deep dehydrate or deep dehydration. Deep hydration in case you are dehydrated. This organization has some amazing teas depending on what it is that you're trying to target. Now again, the Gut Health. Naturally fermented for living Probiotics and prebiotics. Longevity packed with antioxidants. Convenience. Dissolves instantly in water. No tea bags or brewing. And I've showed this many times before. Look at this. This is all you need to travel with. If you're going to make a cup of tea, you need some hot water and a vessel to drink it out of. And you're good to go. For microbiome. It's going to help balance gut flora for better digestion and smoother metabolism. Immune support Polyphenols is going to help bolster your body's resilience. They source this stuff from wild harvested 250 year old trees for unmatched purity. And they use a col extraction technology which helps retain maximum phytonutrients. This stuff has been amazing for me. It's not always a great time to have a cup of coffee, but depending on the product or what I'm trying to target, Peak has something for me. So if you're ready to elevate your day and transform your health for a limited time, you can get 20% off on the puwear bundle which you're going to find when you go to this website I'm about to give you. Plus a free starter kit including a rechargeable frother. This is USB C rechargeable and a glass beaker so you can be a total scientist and nerd with the amount of water you use. Head to peaklife.com ClearedHot that is P I Q U E-Life.com Cleared Hot to claim this exclusive offer. Back to the show. Question number three. Good morning, Andy. I'm a longtime listener and senior in engineering college. It may be hard to put into words, but you've been a role model to me. Your stories and the stories of your guests have shaped how I see myself as a young man. That is amazing. Michael, you're interrupting my Friday episode.
- [43:21]
B
Sorry about that. I thought you were gone already.
- [43:23]
A
No, we leave tomorrow.
- [43:25]
B
All right, well, I'll just wait in the.
- [43:28]
A
This.
- [43:28]
B
Wait in the casting couch over here.
- [43:30]
A
Come join us. Michael is joining us because he doesn't respect my privacy. He doesn't respect my personal time. Let's go.
- [43:39]
B
Absolutely not.
- [43:40]
A
That mustache is unacceptable. I apologize, Michael. This is. What do we now, what do I call this show? Your microphone's on. Is your camera on? Switch it onto yourself. Show people your face.
- [43:52]
B
The beauty looks good.
- [43:55]
A
It looks like a worm.
- [43:58]
B
Very. I would say more caterpillar.
- [44:04]
A
What do we call this episode now that you're a part of it?
- [44:07]
B
Michael fucks it up. Everything up.
- [44:10]
A
No, no, that's just days that ended. Why are we starting our collection? Does the camera pick that.
- [44:16]
B
No, it can't. But it's only three if you count the one I just brought right now.
- [44:24]
A
This is a. You actually came in at a time for a good question. I'm gonna read this email and I'm curious because I can answer this. I'm a few decades more down the road than you are. I'm curious your thoughts on this, too. Okay. My close friend and I both had the itch to become seals. But life took us in a different direction. That dream first started when I attended a summer camp where they held a live SEAL demonstration. Watching that left a lasting impression on me. And through college, the same itch has never gone away. Even though I understand the implications of serving during peacetime. As someone who has struggled with self image, this is the person writing. I have always wanted to challenge myself with everything I can do. My college requires five internships, and for each one, I had sought opportunities that take me away from my college town to be someone new. I joined a fraternity, work out regularly. Joined the university cheerleading team, which I believe. I believe this is a man.
- [45:22]
B
Sounds like it's right up my alley.
- [45:23]
A
Well, as you came in, I had already pre read this, so I was like, yeah, come on in.
- [45:27]
B
Perfect for Michael.
- [45:28]
A
Did you make the team yet? Because I know you tried out for it. We'll get to that in a second. Yeah, withhold commentary. We'll get to it. I'm going to read this part again. Join the university cheering team. Tried Jiu jitsu. Doesn't seem like they tried it for very long.
- [45:44]
B
No, not really.
- [45:45]
A
And I've sought anything that challenges me physically and mentally. Late in high school and into my freshman year of college, I struggled with depression. Now I see myself as a strong young man with many life experiences under my belt, but I still find myself unsure which step forward is the right one. The question is this. I wanted to ask if you have ever struggled with self image, battle periods of depression, or found yourself caught up in trying to redo the past. Have you ever wanted to go to Mexico with Marcus and Amber Capone's vets program? I don't know if you were in the studio yet when I hosted them. They host vets Is psychedelic theory.
- [46:21]
B
Okay, I was gonna say that's the. Yeah, okay, I know what you're talking about.
- [46:24]
A
And at any point in your life, did you ever feel tempted to self medicate with alcohol, drugs or other vices as a way to cope? The reason I think you fit into this is I. My guess is you are about the same age as this person. Have you ever dealt with battles with self image, battle periods of depression, or found yourself caught up in trying to redo the past? Michael, legitimately, like, how do you view, like, self image? Do you ever second guess yourself? Do you ever question yourself if you feel like you're not good enough?
- [46:55]
B
All the time, like, literally, probably every day.
- [46:59]
A
But it's not like. On what issues.
- [47:03]
B
Man? Some body image issues. Just because since I've started lifting consistently, you're just, you're always seeing yourself in a mirror, which I don't think has ever been really great for anybody, to just constantly be looking at yourself, because it makes for me, it's made me, like, almost desensitized to what I actually look like.
- [47:26]
A
And, you know, it's wild. Most gyms are full of mirrors. Yeah.
- [47:29]
B
Yeah.
- [47:30]
A
I wonder if it would be better off psychologically if they weren't in there.
- [47:34]
B
I think that definitely I would, I would agree with that.
- [47:40]
A
Yeah. Because it's playing against two things. You're trying to make yourself better at the same time. You're sitting there looking at yourself, completely comparing yourself to somebody else.
- [47:48]
B
Oh, for sure. Yeah.
- [47:50]
A
So where do you fall short on your body? I mean, obviously you're very small and you have the body of a. Well, female.
- [47:54]
B
But of course.
- [47:55]
A
Yeah, other than those things.
- [47:57]
B
No, just, I mean, just consistently. I mean, it really varies by day either, oh, I don't look big enough. Oh, I look scrawny. Oh, I look too fat. Oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And mentally, I know that it is. It's all a mental game. So it really, I don't want to bother me too much, but there are still the times where I'm just like, oh, that's, you know, it's just, I get in my head about it sometimes.
- [48:28]
A
Do you ever find yourself caught up in trying to redo the past now that you have an immense amount of life experience to call upon? Like, would you want to redo middle school? Since that's like.
- [48:37]
B
No, I'm a huge experience in your life. Yeah, yeah. No, I, I, not really. Honestly, I would say I'm pretty good at moving on with, with my life.
- [48:47]
A
How about battling periods of depression?
- [48:49]
B
For sure. Yeah.
- [48:51]
A
Not so much clinical, or do you have just sine waves up days and down days? Now it's.
- [48:58]
B
Honestly, now it's pretty rock steady. Like, I don't really get too sad, but on the flip side, I also don't really get excited for anything.
- [49:07]
A
What about watching Javi?
- [49:09]
B
Yeah, that excites me.
- [49:12]
A
In what way?
- [49:15]
B
No comment.
- [49:16]
A
Fair enough. He was acting bizarre when we got home the other night. Very clingy.
- [49:23]
B
Yeah, that's strange.
- [49:26]
A
Notice there was several peanut butter jars that were empty in the garbage.
- [49:31]
B
My allergy has been a front this whole time.
- [49:33]
A
That's right.
- [49:33]
B
So you wouldn't even suspect it was walnut butter. Also allergic.
- [49:39]
A
Oh, what kind of butter are you not allergic to?
- [49:42]
B
Almond.
- [49:42]
A
That's what it was.
- [49:44]
B
Yeah. I'm sure. Sorry. What, What? We got kind of off depression.
- [49:48]
A
So when was it at its peak for you? Highs and lows where it would oscillate?
- [49:57]
B
Probably like right out of high school. Just not sure. Well, I wasn't really active at all as far as just physical activity. Wasn't sure really where I was going with. I mean, I'm still not really sure, but I've embraced the uncertainty at this point. I'm just kind of riding the wave. Yeah.
- [50:19]
A
That is literally still the strategy that I am, honest.
- [50:21]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [50:22]
A
So.
- [50:25]
B
But yeah, probably just right after high school, but honestly, since I started doing jiu jitsu and then just doing other physical activity that the. It's crazy how much of an effect physical activity has on your mental health.
- [50:39]
A
Yeah.
- [50:40]
B
Like it's, it's. It's so hard to state without actually experiencing that how much of an effect it has.
- [50:46]
A
Yeah. I think everything that this person is writing in about is completely normal. So again, the full question was I wanted to ask if you've ever struggled with self image, battle periods of depression, or found yourself caught up in trying to redo the past. So I can go backwards on that. I've never tried to redo the past because I recognize that you can't redo the past. What I'll say is I constantly been trying not to repeat shitty actions or behavior into the future so the past doesn't repeat itself. And there have been, there have been moments in my life from the past that certainly I am unable to forget. And you can spend way too much time like just destroying yourself on just negative self talk, which can be amazing. But that has a point of diminishing return as well. I think everybody needs to have those things so they can remind themselves of who they don't want to be. But if you live in the past constantly and you never give yourself the ability to grow or don't learn how to forgive yourself or to at least move forward from that, I think that actually may be able to lead to depression. So I've never been caught up trying to redo the past. I'm constantly caught up in trying to make the future better than the past. I don't think I've ever battled periods of depression. I put myself in the category like you described, too. A little bit more flat.
- [52:11]
B
Yeah.
- [52:12]
A
I don't remember. I actually struggle to remember kind of who I was getting out of high school. I mean, obviously I know who I was, but I don't remember the emotional ability that I had at that point.
- [52:23]
B
It was just so long ago.
- [52:24]
A
It is. Yeah. It was right before they created electricity. But I don't think I. I have never been diagnosed with depression. I don't think I've ever been manic, which is the other side of that, obviously. Just look at Kanye West. He would probably be the best example of a manic depressive cycle.
- [52:42]
B
Yeah.
- [52:42]
A
By the way, I'm not a doctor, so I don't have the ability to diagnose that, but I feel like if you were to put it in a textbook, if it had to be encapsulated by one picture, that may not be a bad one.
- [52:53]
B
Yeah. Maybe throw a little bit of. A little bit of schizophrenia in there.
- [52:57]
A
Yeah.
- [52:58]
B
There is a lot going on.
- [53:00]
A
I feel like he's got swings. High, high swings and low, low swings. So I can't say that I've ever really battled periods of depression. I've certainly had days and weeks and months that. I mean, the divorce that lasted almost two years was a good example of a. Maybe a little bit more of an extended downswing that was much more of a. Just a grind. And really, it's just. The situation just sucked. But have I ever struggled with self image? So I bet people. Some people out there would look at me and they're like, oh, you graduated high school. You left. You went to the Seal teams. You did almost 20 years, worked for a bunch of companies. Beyond that, you have a business. You got your black belt in jiu jitsu. You just got it dialed.
- [53:45]
B
Yeah, you're dialed in.
- [53:46]
A
There hasn't been a day in my life where I haven't struggled with self image. Where I've been, where I've woken up and like, I am just crushing and nailing everything. I am in a constant battle with myself to manage the negative self talk versus at least reality. And looking in the mirror every morning when I wake up and just like, good morning, you piece of. What are you? I fight those thoughts like I imposter syndrome 100 real in absolutely everything that I do. I constantly question myself about this show. I question myself about Jiu Jitsu. I question myself about flying, about business, about relationships, about the Career that I walked away from in 2013, almost 13 years ago. @ this point, did I do a good job? Was I good representation of myself? Do I remember it accurately? To the people that I work with share the same thoughts. Like, it's gnarly. So what I would say to the person writing in is, welcome to the club. I don't know anybody who's escaped it, but I will say this. I have met some people who have said that they do have it nailed and that they never have those questions or doubts. And I'm not anybody to judge anybody else. But I will say those people that describe it like that are a little bit of a hot mess.
- [55:15]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [55:16]
A
You know what I mean? The more they say they have it dialed, you sit back and you look, you're like, were you there for this? Because I was. Well, what about this? But what about that? And maybe, maybe though they have it dialed because they're so blissfully unaware and they're able to just control alt delete it, which is a reference I'm sure you don't understand.
- [55:34]
B
I know what the. I know what control alt delete does.
- [55:36]
A
Yeah, because I told you.
- [55:38]
B
What? No, that's. That's basic computer knowledge.
- [55:40]
A
When was the last time you worked on anything other than an Apple?
- [55:44]
B
I have a home computer. That's Windows.
- [55:48]
A
Why?
- [55:50]
B
Because I built it and I wanted it.
- [55:57]
A
What do you use it for?
- [56:00]
B
Various things, but mostly gaming.
- [56:02]
A
What are the other various things? You just crushing Excel spreadsheets.
- [56:07]
B
Yep.
- [56:08]
A
What are the other various things?
- [56:10]
B
No, it's mostly gaming.
- [56:13]
A
What game do you play?
- [56:16]
B
I just got Battlefield 6. Yeah, I think it's actually probably a one to one. If you played it, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between your experiences and the video game.
- [56:29]
A
Why do you think the first person shooters is so popular? Like, do you want to go to war?
- [56:35]
B
No.
- [56:36]
A
You want to run around in the burned out cities and.
- [56:39]
B
No, but they're.
- [56:40]
A
Why do people love it so much? Don't get me wrong, I liked him when I was. When I played video games too. I actually, I never compared it to the reality of the job. Because you're like, oh, I'm looking at this on the TV with a controller in my hand.
- [56:53]
B
Right? Yeah.
- [56:55]
A
I don't know. I feel like probably more men play them than women too.
- [56:58]
B
Oh, 100%.
- [56:59]
A
Yeah. Maybe they're just more designed towards our shark. Like really not advanced brain.
- [57:05]
B
Yeah. I don't know. I think part of it definitely is the aspect of like, oh, I don't Want to go actually do this? So there's like, you get like a little bit of the. Literally, like less than 0.001% of the experience.
- [57:22]
A
Yeah.
- [57:22]
B
But a huge part of it for me at least is like the arcade feeling of like, oh, this is like, how many points can I get? How many kills can I get?
- [57:30]
A
You know, competitive nature.
- [57:31]
B
Yeah, yeah. It's not like a. A substitute. And I really don't think anybody plays it as a substitute for going into the military.
- [57:39]
A
I hope not. Yeah.
- [57:41]
B
If you do, that's an issue. And reevaluate your choices, because that's crazy.
- [57:46]
A
Yeah, well, and that would be like 1% of your military career. Right. There needs to be a video game. Like Battlefield 7 should just be doing paperwork. I don't feel like it would trend very well. Like, you just, you're. Battlefield 7 is. You're writing your enlisted, you know, fit rep and submitting it up or doing pms, you know, plan maintenance and, you know, cleaning guns or like oiling bearings or.
- [58:15]
B
Yeah, they should do that. That would be hilarious.
- [58:18]
A
Admin work. Or like, hey, you're non deployable because you haven't been to the dent dentist in two years. So. Yeah, in Battlefield seven, you're driving your vehicle over to the dental office and you can't even find like a uniform of the day you're supposed to wear because you're such a mess.
- [58:31]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, the, the realism also isn't really there in the.
- [58:39]
A
I think that's by design. Yeah, they can replicate it so far. What. What are we going for with the mustache?
- [58:48]
B
Well, it was for Halloween.
- [58:50]
A
And what were you. You say you were a pedophile for Halloween?
- [58:53]
B
No, I had a soul patch along with it and I.
- [58:56]
A
Where's the pictures of that?
- [58:58]
B
I have them, but I don't want to show them.
- [59:01]
A
Let me put it in the episode.
- [59:03]
B
Okay, I'll send. I'll send one to you.
- [59:05]
A
Yeah, I will insert it.
- [59:06]
B
Okay. I was like a. I don't know, like Studio 54, like,'70s kind of thing.
- [59:13]
A
I bet you were.
- [59:13]
B
Yeah.
- [59:14]
A
Where did you go for Halloween?
- [59:17]
B
They. Well, I went to a party at the V for some reason.
- [59:21]
A
What's the V?
- [59:21]
B
Vfw.
- [59:23]
A
Why wouldn't you just say vfw?
- [59:25]
B
Because everybody calls it the V.
- [59:28]
A
Did anybody thank you for your service?
- [59:31]
B
No. No, nobody did. I was disappointed.
- [59:37]
A
Is the VFW like the hot hangout in Kalispell?
- [59:41]
B
No, not really, but yeah, I go there every once in a while.
- [59:45]
A
Great.
- [59:46]
B
Yeah.
- [59:46]
A
Thank you for your service, Michael.
- [59:47]
B
Yeah, thanks I appreciate that.
- [59:50]
A
Yeah. Okay. So you're at the V, to use the term the kids use.
- [59:54]
B
Yeah, the kids use. Yeah.
- [59:55]
A
Was it packed?
- [59:56]
B
It was pretty packed, yeah.
- [59:58]
A
For Halloween, did you talk to any women?
- [60:02]
B
No. I mean, we had like a, A private party. So talk to my friend that's a woman.
- [60:08]
A
Great.
- [60:09]
B
So, yeah.
- [60:10]
A
So, okay, you were Studio 54. Excuse me. Holy cow. All right. Your Studio 54.
- [60:20]
B
Yeah.
- [60:21]
A
After Halloween, though, you're like, heck, I gotta put the costume away. Yeah, but you kept this part.
- [60:28]
B
Yeah, I just was like, you know, I've never had a mustache, so I'm just gonna keep it. See? See how I like it.
- [60:35]
A
Is anybody complimenting you on it?
- [60:37]
B
A couple people.
- [60:38]
A
Couple people outside of your family?
- [60:40]
B
Yeah. Yeah, a couple people. Also saying I look like a pedophile. So mixed reviews. It's a mixed bag.
- [60:48]
A
Are you gonna let it grow out and wax it?
- [60:50]
B
No, I don't really like that style.
- [60:53]
A
Handlebar down.
- [60:55]
B
No, I might. We'll see. We'll see.
- [61:00]
A
I think you should get rid of it.
- [61:02]
B
I know that's what you think.
- [61:03]
A
It looks horrible.
- [61:04]
B
Well, sucks.
- [61:06]
A
I'd like for you to meet a woman one day.
- [61:08]
B
Yeah, well, this is, I think, attracting the wrong crowd, I think.
- [61:12]
A
Did you offer any women a mustache ride?
- [61:16]
B
No.
- [61:16]
A
Do you know the reference movie from where that comes from?
- [61:20]
B
No, but I can, I can put two and two together and know what it means.
- [61:27]
A
Super Troopers.
- [61:28]
B
Oh.
- [61:29]
A
Never seen it.
- [61:31]
B
I think I have a long time ago, but I obviously don't remember that.
- [61:34]
A
Yeah, the German couple, they pull over. Who wants a mustache rat?
- [61:39]
B
Is that the one where they put nitrous in the car and get super high and are going like two miles down the road? I don't know, maybe I'm thinking of a different movie.
- [61:51]
A
It's been a bit since I've watched it. I don't, I don't think there's nitrous car.
- [61:57]
B
Okay.
- [61:58]
A
You can put nitrous oxide, like into your engine.
- [62:01]
B
Yeah. But they try to and they accidentally open it into the car.
- [62:04]
A
That was definitely not that movie.
- [62:06]
B
Okay, okay.
- [62:06]
A
100. Not that movie. What advice would you give this young man?
- [62:17]
B
I'm. Jeez, I mean, I really don't know. I, I, I know that what really works for me is focusing on the day to day and not, you know, not constantly looking at big picture stuff, because that is just super overwhelming. Um, you know, every once in a while it's good to like, for me at least take a step back and see, okay, where, where am I heading? But in general Just focusing on day to day is, for me, very helpful.
- [62:47]
A
Yeah. Best advice I would give is just stay the course. Everything that you have described, I think almost everybody lives in the exact struggle with these things. I just don't think everybody talks about it. I think it's normal. And I do think it gets better as you get older because you develop strategies and you can see patterns and you can see historical behavior, but you're going to be okay. Oh. Have you ever felt tempted to medicate with alcohol, drugs, or other vices as a way to cope? Did you ever go down that path? No. Yeah.
- [63:17]
B
No, I never really. I don't know what, like, I don't really have, like, that. I don't know if addictive personality is something to call it.
- [63:25]
A
But you do like a nice rose?
- [63:28]
B
Of course. Yeah. No, I've never really had the urge.
- [63:35]
A
Or I never did either. And I always felt, especially with alcohol, the problems are still just there. Like, if you look in the bottom of a bottle for the solution to your problem, what you end up with is waking up feeling like garbage, and the problem is still there. Equally as bad, potentially slightly worse.
- [63:51]
B
Yeah. You know, I've never, you know, woken up from a night out and been like, wow, I want to do that every night.
- [63:57]
A
Like, yeah. Yep, same here. What other advice would you have for this person?
- [64:06]
B
None. I mean, I'm also somewhat in the same spot as he is, so I'm just like.
- [64:12]
A
I think we all are.
- [64:12]
B
Yeah, most of us are. I'm living it right now. So it's just like. Just focus on the day and that's. That's. That. Get to the end of the day.
- [64:20]
A
Cool. What's the old clock say on the. By the red light?
- [64:24]
B
One hour. We just hit an hour.
- [64:25]
A
Perfect. That's all we have. Thank you for interrupting the show and not respecting the fact that there was a production in place and that you think you can just barge in anywhere.
- [64:34]
B
You're welcome.
- [64:35]
A
Yeah, real rude. Real rude. All right.