WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:09.500 I quit. Oh. I'm not doing Two Dads and Tech anymore. Oh. Yeah. Oh, did we start recording? What's up, Troy? [laughs] Yeah. Yeah, we did. We did. Hey, cut that out. Cut that out, team. No, don't cut that out. 2 00:00:09.510 --> 00:00:19.200 [laughs] I was... I did that on purpose. I wanted that to be in the episode. Edit out. It was a joke. Oh, don't ever cut... Fre- it's, it's cool. It's stupid. Okay. [laughs] What's how you doing? I'm home. Oh, man. 3 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:26.730 Happy birthday. It's been a minute. Oh, Valence, I forgot about that. Happy birthday. I know. I can't believe- I know... dude. Wow, forgot about that. I know. We had a whole motif. Way too long. 4 00:00:26.730 --> 00:00:35.100 We had a whole motif going on, and we just- The, we- One day... we used to say happy birthday- Just one day... and bring up Brian Lamana every single episode, and then we just kind of stopped. Ugh. You got too serious. 5 00:00:35.150 --> 00:00:50.300 I heard, I, I once heard Brian Lamana did a quadruple backflip into a pool without any water. [laughs] Oh, that was funny. Oh. Oh. I haven't heard much about him lately. [laughs] I know. I texted him this week. 6 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:58.740 He's such a good, he's such a good guy, man. I just respect that guy so much. He rejected my, my ask. I texted him this week as well. Oh, really? And respectfully, though. 7 00:00:58.760 --> 00:01:05.580 He was like, "I, I really can't do that 'cause these obligations," but- I hear you... it's al- it's okay. Man, uh, crazy couple days. 8 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:14.620 For everyone listening, we're recording this on Sunday, so four days ago- Crazy week, yeah... uh, is when we recorded this... crazy week. Yeah, so- Let's go with week. Crazy week... crazy week. 9 00:01:14.800 --> 00:01:27.780 Yeah, I would, yeah, crazy few days. Crazy few weeks. Um, how you doing, man? Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, crazy week. Crazy week. I think... I'm, I mean, I'm doing all right. You know? 10 00:01:27.820 --> 00:01:39.360 Like, at, at, at the end of the day, like, I have my priorities. I have my responsi- my responsibilities that I have to take care of. But just in general, I feel like, um, I felt... 11 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:54.620 If anybody here knows, like, how the Sunday scaries feel, I had, like, the Sunday scaries feeling there for a bit where it was just, like, on edge, anxious. I wouldn't necessarily say demotivated, but, like, slightly. 12 00:01:54.640 --> 00:02:06.840 Like, it was just, I, I feel like regardless of, like, where you stand with any sort of belief or anything like that, 'cause I think everyone knows, like, this, the world and the, well, the country specifically has been through some weird stuff in the last seven days. 13 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:13.140 Weird, weird stuff. School shootings, assassinations, stabbings on a bus, like, weird stuff. I'm gonna bring that all up. Right? Like, that's... 14 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:24.530 So, like, regardless of where you stand, like, at the end of the day, it, it felt weird, just, like, down, dark, kind of like, whoa, like, is this... Not even is this, but this is reality. Like, this is 15 00:02:25.700 --> 00:02:38.600 the world we live in. This is what people do. This is, I, I don't know, like it's... So yeah, I don't know. Therefore, like, ever since the, the bus stabbing, it's just been weird. It's been weird, you know? 16 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:45.460 I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a weird week. Weird week. I think that I was able to forget about it yesterday. 17 00:02:45.540 --> 00:02:50.750 Like, just forget about the week and, like, go out, hang out with friends and not sit there and, like, say... 'Cause we have the news on. 18 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:59.980 We wake up, have coffee, the news is on, and you know, the news never really loves to portray, like, positive things. Yeah. And same, and same thing with even just, like, media outlets in general on, on short forums. 19 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:07.329 But, um, and all it was was just negative, negative, negative. And so, like, getting away from that and just going out, hanging out with friends, letting the kids play around- Yeah... 20 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:19.170 like, that was a, it was needed, man. But, but how are you? Yeah. Um, I, I wrote a post to the effect of I'm, I'm 32. I was born in '93. 21 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:36.950 I don't know everything that happened in the '90s, 'cause I'm a child in the '90s, but I feel like the country is more polarized and divided right now than ever before in my lifetime. And it's, 22 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:44.820 it's nerve-wracking. You know, I saw a post yesterday, which was Saturday, for those listening on Wednesday morning, 23 00:03:45.970 --> 00:03:53.840 that was something to the, like, some super mega viral, like, tens of millions of people looking at this post that all it said was, "You going to church tomorrow?" 24 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:05.380 And it was just like the, the week has been so crazy that just, like, there are people that just, like, don't know what to do or how to respond, uh, people looking to everything, uh, for answers. 25 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:13.020 And, you know, I went to church this morning, and I was a little uneasy. I'm like, there's a lot of tension in the world, and 26 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:24.520 a lot of crazy people, and a lot of people that feel this way or that about any specific issue, particularly the ones in the last several days. And I have a family. You know? 27 00:04:24.840 --> 00:04:36.900 I, I, I don't usually feel unsafe, but I'm, I don't necessarily think I felt unsafe, but I was like, uh, I don't feel as safe [laughs] as I usually do. I mean, just being honest, like- Yeah... so yeah. I'm feeling okay. 28 00:04:37.820 --> 00:04:42.420 I think all things considered, I am aware that the things happening in the globe 29 00:04:43.580 --> 00:04:55.940 are global events, and I am one person, really an ant in the midst of billions of people doing different things, all of which affect other people's lives in various ways. 30 00:04:55.950 --> 00:05:09.500 So, like, I'm a very small part in a larger, you know, world view, but for some reason, I, and I know so many people felt this way, like, this week felt like it affected me. 31 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:20.840 Like, it almost felt like this week happened to me. You know, usually world events, like, there's so many bad things that happen. Any week in the news something happens horrific. 32 00:05:20.910 --> 00:05:30.080 [laughs] I mean, honestly, you can find a horrific thing in the news every week. But I usually see those things happening and think, "Wow, that's tragic. That's terrible. 33 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:37.140 I'm, you know, I'm so sad that that is happening in the world." But this week it felt like this week just kept happening to me. 34 00:05:37.219 --> 00:05:50.540 [laughs] Like, every day I'm like, "Oh my God, this is affecting my life and my emotions and my feed and my friends and my..." And I'm like, I don't usually feel that way about things, you know? So I don't know. 35 00:05:50.580 --> 00:06:06.088 Why- It was different. Why do you think that is? I think it was, I, I mean, I'll be raw for a second. I watched the video of the assassination on accident.I would never have intentionally watched that. 36 00:06:06.208 --> 00:06:23.928 I just don't want that in my mind. And I saw it before I could react not to see it. That jacked me up, dude. I mean, I've, I've not been able to get that out of my head. And the, the feelings I have about it make me... 37 00:06:24.008 --> 00:06:41.048 It almost puts me back in these states of mind where I was actually experiencing firsthand traumatizing moments. And a few of them come to mind. I mean, one time I lived in the suburbs of Chicago, and someone was T-boned 38 00:06:42.028 --> 00:06:50.128 right in front of my house. Uh, I lived on a four-lane highway, uh, you know, forty-five mile an hour road, but like people went seventy, 39 00:06:51.028 --> 00:07:00.028 and this dude was going eighty and T-boned this other guy going thirty, thirty-five, literally right in front of my house. I heard it, and it was a s- shocking sound. 40 00:07:00.088 --> 00:07:11.708 I ran outside, and I see this dude's car against a tree with his whole front end just, like, gone. Sprint across the street, and he's dying right in front of me. 41 00:07:11.748 --> 00:07:23.828 Like, I'm, I'm trying to talk to him, unresponsive, having a bit of a seizure, blood everywhere. I mean, it was... I was traumatized. And there were people behind me, and I yelled out, "You, call 911." 42 00:07:23.838 --> 00:07:28.678 I learned early in life through first aid training and stuff, don't ever say, "Someone call 911." 43 00:07:29.288 --> 00:07:37.588 Look someone in the eyes and tell them specifically, "You are the one calling 911," and watch them do it because groupthink psychology, everyone thinks someone else did it when no one did it. 44 00:07:37.768 --> 00:07:44.928 And I watched the fire department show up, and they had to rip the doors off the car because he was trapped inside the front seat. 45 00:07:45.798 --> 00:07:56.608 The dude died, and like, uh, like I'm shaking a little bit right now even talking about this because I'm watching this happen, and it's legitimate trauma being etched in my brain that I will never get rid of. 46 00:07:58.548 --> 00:08:15.108 That is the type of feeling I had watching that video, not because of where I stand on the spectrum politically or... Just watching someone get sniped jacked my brain up in a way that I wish I could undo. Yeah. And 47 00:08:16.688 --> 00:08:33.308 I can only expect there are millions, if not hundreds of millions of people that feel pretty much exactly the same way. Yeah. Like- Yeah... I wish I could unsee that. Same thing with the, with the Charlotte train murder. 48 00:08:33.408 --> 00:08:48.838 Like, I wish I could unsee that, and you can't. That's the problem. Yeah. You can't unsee that, and that's what I think the world this week went through as an almost group mind, is everyone seeing these things that are, 49 00:08:49.928 --> 00:08:53.868 for one person, just ruinous mentally. 50 00:08:54.128 --> 00:09:11.648 But so many people seeing it and then reacting to it together, talking about it in groups, seeing other people react to it, and then people on TikTok reacting to their reactions and the reaction videos, and you can't not see those things, and you can't unsee them once you see it. 51 00:09:11.688 --> 00:09:19.108 So I think people are just dealing with it, man, and- Yeah... that's, that's where my emotions are right now. Um- Yeah... it's just tough. 52 00:09:19.188 --> 00:09:31.148 I wanna, I wanna touch on something that you said in the, in the very beginning, um, when I kind of turned it on you on how you were feeling, and you mentioned that you were born in the nineties, so you're a, you know, you're a child, so you never really got to 53 00:09:32.228 --> 00:09:42.648 talk about the experience of the nineties, but you said essentially we feel more divided than ever, or at least more divided since you've been born, I'll say that. Why do you think that is? I think 54 00:09:44.328 --> 00:09:49.408 the easiest answer I have to that, and I don't know if it's right or wrong, is people think, 55 00:09:51.148 --> 00:10:02.688 uh, both ends of the spectrum, there's probably a lot of steps in between these two s- two ends, but people think Charlie Kirk was a saint or the devil. A- a- and I'm being very general paintbrush because I don't, 56 00:10:03.928 --> 00:10:13.488 you know- Yeah... the thing is the devil. Yeah, people are like, "That guy deserves it." I mean, I've seen that, people celebrating it, and people are like, "I will never stop fighting for what he believed in." 57 00:10:13.568 --> 00:10:25.468 Like that, those two sides of the coin are just everywhere, and people equate that to who you are as an American and what the, what that means for our country. I think. That's, that's my opinion. 58 00:10:26.188 --> 00:10:34.628 Do you think it's bigger than that, than just Charlie Kirk? Do you think there's- Yes... a bigger reason as to why it feels so divided right now? Yes. 59 00:10:34.728 --> 00:10:46.748 I mean, you know the V for V- V for Vendetta movie and the idea of this guy wearing a mask, and I haven't seen it in so long, although I should watch it again because I think there's a lot of allegorical [chuckles] ways that movie probably applies to us right now. 60 00:10:46.828 --> 00:11:00.908 But at the end, there's, the dude with the mask dies at some point, and there's like hundreds or thousands of people with the exact same mask, like, marching, and it's like really unsettling scene where you're like, "Oh my goodness." 61 00:11:01.508 --> 00:11:15.048 I think what's happened, two things. People have s- have reacted to this death as an almost challenge to take up a mantle of what they think this person believed in. 62 00:11:15.188 --> 00:11:28.518 Like, "Okay, he's no longer here, so it's my duty to now go continue this voice or this ethos and thesis of his." That, but two, like people who already believed in what that person was doing... 63 00:11:29.128 --> 00:11:39.608 I mean, you even think, uh, I'm, I'm blanking on the name. There's other very prominent figures that do similar things to what Charlie did that are like, "Well, I will now do what he did. 64 00:11:39.648 --> 00:11:55.268 Like, actually, I will go to the campuses, I will speak, I will carry it on," to where it's almost like, man, the, the amplification of the death actually un- not undoes, that's wrong, but magnifies who he was before he died. 65 00:11:55.368 --> 00:12:03.928 Um- Yeah... and so I think that's a polarizing thing because people feel so differently about what he did and who he was as a person. Yeah. In your lifetime, do you ever think 66 00:12:05.508 --> 00:12:13.961 the country will find a balance of, like-What's morally right and what's morally wrong, and, and I wouldn't say have the same beliefs. 67 00:12:14.052 --> 00:12:22.952 I don't think everybody should have the same beliefs, 'cause at that point you're like a country of, what is it? Totalitariasm, however you say it. Total whatever. Total- totalitarianism. Yeah. Yeah, whatever. 68 00:12:23.572 --> 00:12:30.192 Big word, but do you ever think, like, this country would actually be united? No. Uh, 69 00:12:31.532 --> 00:12:42.612 I, I, I have a, I have a degree in history, and my wife also has a degree in history, so behind the scenes, I happen to be a history buff who paid way too much money for his degree. 70 00:12:42.832 --> 00:13:00.572 [laughs] And I also went to master's school, uh, to get a philosophy and theology degree, and so I've just spent an insane, way too much time reading, like, the different superpowers of history and the ways that over and over and over and over again, they all go through a similar cycle. 71 00:13:00.632 --> 00:13:12.612 You see the Roman Empire, you see this in Chinese history, you see this in every superpower, really as far back as human history can go, goes up and goes down, and goes up and goes down, and goes up and goes down. 72 00:13:12.912 --> 00:13:29.272 I think the concept of a United States is noble, but if you look at the history of the United States as objectively as you can, they've really never been united. Yeah. 73 00:13:29.392 --> 00:13:47.312 From the concept of the United States when they broke off from the colonists and England, it started with division and land being stolen, and conquering, and it sort of just never ended. 74 00:13:47.412 --> 00:13:58.512 Uh, a- and now 250 years removed, like, w- now we're here. And the- Yeah... United States, like these United States, it's kind of a fallacious term. 75 00:13:58.652 --> 00:14:08.512 Uh, this'll probably offend a lot of people, but, like, the actual United States have never been fully integrated into a united concept. 76 00:14:08.652 --> 00:14:23.272 There's the Civil War, there's the Revolutionary War, there's the Cold War, there's a- the, all the wars that people have always felt differently about, whether domestic or globally, that have constantly divided the United States. 77 00:14:23.312 --> 00:14:35.932 And i- if you look back at the history of who a state becomes, even how we've added from 13 colonies now to 50 states, like, every state addition [laughs] is a super divided concept. Yeah. 78 00:14:35.962 --> 00:14:44.172 "Hey, you're part of the United States now." Like, "Wait a second, I don't wanna be." "Who cares? You are." You know, it's like, oh, that's really not what I think the concept of united means. 79 00:14:44.872 --> 00:14:56.752 So no, I don't ever think we're gonna be, like, at a place where it's like, oh, all 340 million people who are in this country love each other and have a same similar mind. 80 00:14:57.632 --> 00:15:21.192 It just d- it doesn't, it, it didn't, wouldn't make sense for us to get there with how super diverse our country is and then also how melting pot of a demographic, both racially, historically, all the different borders and, and even, like, the removal of borders in some concept with how aggressively globalization is affecting the world, and technology is making it easier and easier to travel. 81 00:15:21.712 --> 00:15:27.372 I mean, I think we're just gonna become more and more of a melting pot. I mean, if I were to guess, I don't have a crystal ball, but that's, that's what makes- Yeah... sense in my mind. 82 00:15:28.532 --> 00:15:32.492 If you removed the opportunity that the United States had, so 83 00:15:33.412 --> 00:15:46.392 I think that's one thing that this country has going for it is just a lot of people have access to opportunity, whether that just be doing things on their own, getting a computer or even going down to the library, learning things, and creating something for themselves. 84 00:15:46.972 --> 00:15:57.242 If you removed that, which I, I don't think this is a strong opinion, but I, I think it's a, an opinion, I think that we glorify work way too much in the United States. I think we- Oh, yeah... 85 00:15:57.272 --> 00:16:11.652 glorify overworking, I think we glorify career, like, all that stuff, but you remove, if you remove that from the equation, do you think this country's a good country? What is good? Do you think it's a healthy country? 86 00:16:12.802 --> 00:16:22.101 Outside of the opportunities that- What is healthy? I think we have to define the terms. I don't think it's even cop-out to do that. I think we have to define the terms to answer the question. Well, let's go back, then. 87 00:16:22.112 --> 00:16:31.412 Do you think it's a happy country? I think there are happy people. I think there are happy people in the country. I think there are good things about the country. 88 00:16:31.512 --> 00:16:44.932 I think there are healthy people in the country, but it's a comparative concept to say we are good, we are healthy, we are happy, because look at the Netherlands, look at Iceland, look at, 89 00:16:45.982 --> 00:16:47.232 uh, you know, y- fill in the blank. 90 00:16:47.292 --> 00:17:00.182 You know, there's, there's other countries in the world that no matter where we put ourselves on this grading scale, oh, well, that country is healthier statistically, or, well, that country's happier statistically, or, well, that country is healthier statistically. 91 00:17:00.212 --> 00:17:09.772 So then what does it mean? Are we healthy but not as healthy? Are we unhealthy? Like, where do you draw the line? Well, let's, let's, let's, let's dig deeper on this, 'cause I know [laughs] 92 00:17:09.882 --> 00:17:20.452 I know you have a, an opinion on this. Do you think we're a healthy country in general? I don't think we're a healthy, I don't think we're a healthy- Like, Like physical health? Mental health? What do you mean? 93 00:17:20.482 --> 00:17:34.412 Physical, mental health, yes. Not healthy as in like- So, like, physiological- Are we-... are we healthy? Yes. I think, I think physiologically the entire world is unhealthy. Interesting. You think so? The entire world. 94 00:17:34.442 --> 00:17:39.792 Yes. So, like, as an absolute. Yes. As a human race, I think physiologically 95 00:17:40.992 --> 00:17:57.232 we are unhealthy, and I think there are those who have really gone after being healthy with their diet, with their mental routine, with meditation, spirituality, like, whatever their thing is to break their cycle, 96 00:17:58.432 --> 00:18:03.932 but, like, we are becoming unhealthier as humans. 97 00:18:04.152 --> 00:18:17.552 That is the whole effect of technology, of work and, and how work affects us-Of getting further and further away from who we used to be, which is hunters and gatherers. 98 00:18:18.012 --> 00:18:27.032 People used to walk ten, 20, 30,000 steps a day by just surviving [laughs]. And now some days I look at my watch, and it's like, "You walked 300 steps." 99 00:18:27.132 --> 00:18:37.132 I'm like, "Oh, that's because I went from my bed to the kitchen to get coffee into my office," and I'm like, "Yikes, I need to go run five miles to, like, undo this." Yeah. But, like, that is not the norm. 100 00:18:37.192 --> 00:18:42.232 I think it's, the, the exception is being healthy. I think the norm is actually being unhealthy. 101 00:18:42.652 --> 00:18:53.472 Do you think the inverse could also be said that we have so much study and so much research on what's unhealthy and what's healthy that we are... I, I think as a whole, I think general paintbrush, 102 00:18:54.392 --> 00:18:56.952 we are v- very unhealthy [laughs] now. 103 00:18:57.012 --> 00:19:06.532 Do you think that the inverse can be said because we have all this research from hundreds and hundreds of years of what's healthy and what's not, that it's actually easier than ever to be healthy because we know what is and what isn't? 104 00:19:06.852 --> 00:19:17.492 Yeah. I think the inverse could be said, and I think that applies to so much. The access to knowledge is better now even than when our parents were in school, even than when you and I were in school. Like- Yeah. 105 00:19:17.552 --> 00:19:27.372 I remember having to do, like, like graduate thesis and stuff where I have to do annotated bibliographies, and I was actually looking at an actual stack of books in front of me. 106 00:19:27.902 --> 00:19:31.002 And I'm like, the concept of doing that now, why would I do that? Like- Yeah... 107 00:19:31.032 --> 00:19:39.072 these books are immediately out of date the moment they are published because of how fast technology allows information and knowledge to change. 108 00:19:39.142 --> 00:19:42.812 Now I'm like e- obviously there's a, there's a point where you draw a line and say, well, this book is still valid. 109 00:19:42.892 --> 00:19:53.712 But, like, why do an annotated bibliography with 30 books when I could get 500 resources that are instantly verifiable and accessible on one screen and not at the library? 110 00:19:53.792 --> 00:20:03.772 So, yeah, I think our access to knowledge gives us power, so and, and once... on the one sense, knowledge is power. But I also think, I think knowledge tends to create apathy, you know? 111 00:20:03.932 --> 00:20:15.912 Like, oh yeah, I know I'm being unhealthy and you can, you can show me all the reasons why, but, like, at some point you're so inundated with all of the different verified sources saying what you're doing is unhealthy. 112 00:20:15.952 --> 00:20:28.972 Like, look, drinking alcohol, it is bad to consume alcohol, but people will find every which way to continue drinking, and it's fine. Like, drink in moderation, drink socially, have fun. I don't care. 113 00:20:29.232 --> 00:20:35.432 I don't drink, but I don't, I don't care if other people drink. Yeah. But consuming alcohol is bad. I mean, like, that's just science. 114 00:20:35.972 --> 00:20:49.212 So I think we do so many different things to accept the things that we know are unhealthy because of the ways that we cope with that unhealthiness, thinking, "This is better for me because I, I open up in social settings," or, like, whatever reason you have. 115 00:20:50.352 --> 00:21:03.102 I don't know. I think every, every argument has a pro and con, but, you know, I think these are, these are interesting thought experiments. Yeah. And then one thing you mentioned was the access to information now is... 116 00:21:03.152 --> 00:21:11.272 I mean, knowledge is power, and I agree that there's... it's never been easier to access any information that you want in the world than it is today. 117 00:21:11.412 --> 00:21:14.632 Um, tomorrow it's probably gonna be even easier just because that's how fast things are moving. 118 00:21:14.892 --> 00:21:23.372 But if everyone has the same access to information, then how do you define and how does one become, like, an expert in this specific topic if we all have the access up to that topic? 119 00:21:23.712 --> 00:21:37.392 Yeah, I mean, I think this is actually where, like, the idea of equity comes in play and an equitable society because what you said is everyone has the same access to information, and actually that's not true. 120 00:21:37.432 --> 00:21:40.261 When you look at all- No... of the people, even in just a country, 121 00:21:41.552 --> 00:21:55.952 there's still a majority with an unequitable access to everything, to voting, to information, to education, to healthy food, uh, you know, all the different things that, like... 122 00:21:56.122 --> 00:22:05.772 Then it's like, well, is it this person or this group of people or this city's fault? Flint, Michigan, great example. I don't know what the latest is on that, so 123 00:22:06.832 --> 00:22:16.732 someone could please tell me, or I can research it right after this episode. But, like, how does a city in the United States not have clean water? I don't know. Like, that's, that's, that's crazy to me. 124 00:22:16.812 --> 00:22:28.972 Like, you'd, you'd expect in the United States, some people would say we are a superpower in the world, like, the number one country in the world. Like, how do, how do cities that big have terrible drinking water? 125 00:22:30.011 --> 00:22:39.982 But, like, they do. So it's like an equitable society, I don't think people have the same access to almost anything. And then you think about where people are located. Someone in New York City 126 00:22:41.072 --> 00:22:56.332 who may be in poverty might have a different access to someone in the sticks of North Dakota because of the amount of time it would take for them to get from where they are to where they're going. So I don't know. 127 00:22:56.432 --> 00:23:11.872 It's an interesting question. What's the biggest personal cost that you've paid chasing success and chasing money? That's a great question. You answer first while I figure out what's happening with my video. 128 00:23:12.651 --> 00:23:30.552 [laughs] I was like, wait, is he still there? Um, the biggest personal cost that I've cha- that I've paid while chasing success. Um, hmm. I think, um, 129 00:23:32.932 --> 00:23:49.392 the biggest personal cost is probably right now, and I would say the personal cost is, like, my, my mental well-being. Um, I'd say normally I'm very, very, very positive, and I'm very... 130 00:23:49.412 --> 00:23:55.772 Like, I, I look at the positive side to everything. I'm always like, "Ah, I'll figure it out. I'll make it work," things like that. Um, I wouldn't... 131 00:23:56.652 --> 00:24:01.852 By the way, everyone, Daniel just, like, got cut out of this recording, but I'm gonna go ahead and continue. But I wouldn't say that, 132 00:24:02.772 --> 00:24:09.282 like, I've given up a lot in regards to, like, family time and stuff like that, but I have given up a lot of my mental health. Like, I, I... 133 00:24:09.292 --> 00:24:17.052 When I was in sales, it was, my mental health was good because I was making a lot of money. I was doing well. I had balance. I hung out with my family. 134 00:24:17.132 --> 00:24:25.151 I had fun on weekends.And going off on my own, I guess you could say is chasing success, trying to chase a better and more enriched life, has definitely like taken... 135 00:24:26.212 --> 00:24:35.012 Again, I'm normally really positive, but like I-- and I'm still mostly positive, but I've noticed that there's more negative thoughts that I think about sometimes. So I think that's it. I, 136 00:24:35.992 --> 00:24:47.052 I think I've made, I think I've done a really good job at making sure that I make time for my wife and for my kid. I think I've done a good job at that, and I don't ever want to lose sight of that. 137 00:24:47.372 --> 00:24:52.772 I think you've done a good job of that, too, for what it's worth. It's not easy to make that balance or to strike that balance. 138 00:24:53.092 --> 00:25:03.722 And I think in our, our season of life, it, it feels maybe like we have more pressure to strike that balance. Yeah. You know, our kids are so malleable at this age. Dude. 139 00:25:03.772 --> 00:25:14.092 And they develop so rapidly that it's like every missed opportunity, at least for me, feels like I missed a whole season of their life. [laughs] Yeah. And so I don't wanna miss a moment. 140 00:25:14.512 --> 00:25:21.202 You know, "I don't wanna miss a thing." Like, I literally don't wanna miss a thing. 'Cause I'm like, if I miss that thing, it's, it's, it's gone. Near E. 141 00:25:21.362 --> 00:25:32.552 All talked about this, uh, in three, three, three, four episodes ago, where he- Yeah... he missed a moment in his kid's life that was important, but he doesn't know what it was about because he missed it. Yeah. 142 00:25:32.712 --> 00:25:42.532 His child, his daughter, tried to show him something, and he was distracted by his phone, and looked up- Yeah... and the moment was gone. Can't redo that. You can't replay that. Yeah. You can't make that moment again. 143 00:25:42.592 --> 00:25:52.412 Like, that specific moment is lost and- No. Yeah, literally- Yeah... I'm, the second we jump off this podcast, I'm taking Liam to go play nine holes, 'cause he's been playing in the sim, and he's- I love it... 144 00:25:52.432 --> 00:26:00.652 dude's striking the ball. And I'm like, "You know what?" I was, I was watching that video you sent me. He's, he's looking good. That swing, man, that's a powerful swing. Next Tiger Woods on our hands. Dude, and he's... 145 00:26:00.732 --> 00:26:08.482 Yeah, he's, he's a hoot right now. It's been a blast. But anyways, yeah, so what, what about you? What's, like, the biggest personal cost that you've paid trying to chase success? 146 00:26:08.552 --> 00:26:24.852 Or even if it's success, just we can, we can relate that to dollars if you want to. I think the biggest personal cost sometimes is my mental health. Yeah, same. I feel like- Right... I'm not proud of that, but, 147 00:26:26.352 --> 00:26:33.191 and I may have even talked about this in our last episode, but sometimes I, I... it's almost like I look in the mirror and I'm like, "Oh, geez." 148 00:26:33.272 --> 00:26:45.672 Like, I'm not doing the things that I know I need physically, mentally, spiritually to be healthy. Like, I've been so consumed in succeeding- Yeah... 149 00:26:45.712 --> 00:26:54.932 and all the different metrics that look like success with Two Dads and Tech and with Beehive and with Palmetto Parents and all the different things that make us money. 150 00:26:55.152 --> 00:27:06.272 I've been so focused on that that I've basically just stopped focusing on these things that are actually what help me to be more successful in these other things. 151 00:27:06.852 --> 00:27:20.012 And so I've, I've, I get upside down, uh, to be honest, and I think what's, what I'm learning, like, right now, this week- Yeah. Yeah... today, what I'm learning- Yeah... about myself 152 00:27:20.972 --> 00:27:36.042 is I have to treat these things that positively impact my mental health as absolutely have-to-haves, priorities every day. Yeah. Yeah. 153 00:27:36.132 --> 00:27:50.272 And counterintuitively, spending the time to do these things, for me, causes these other things I'm usually so focused on to perform better. The return is tenfold. 154 00:27:50.452 --> 00:28:00.162 If I wake up earlier, okay, I'm sacrificing sleep, but I actually have more energy. If I, you know, spend time... I'm, I pray. 155 00:28:00.232 --> 00:28:09.781 If I spend time in prayer, which my brain can be like, "Oh, this is such a waste of time," actually, quote, "wasting" that time affects everything positively for the rest of my day. 156 00:28:10.172 --> 00:28:18.962 If I go do yoga, yoga s- is so hard for me because it's, one, actually physically demanding. Yeah, it's hard. It also feels like I'm wasting time, like, actually. Yeah. Yeah. 157 00:28:19.012 --> 00:28:32.672 I'm, like, sitting in this hot room for an hour- Yeah... stretching. Yeah. And I'm like, I'd rather run or work out- Yeah... or swim, doing anything that feels like I'm making, like, forward motion or doing something. 158 00:28:32.852 --> 00:28:38.982 Yoga feels like I'm not doing something, but it's actually so impactful for my mental state- Yeah... for my physical wellbeing. 159 00:28:39.432 --> 00:28:54.412 So all these things that feel like I'm not doing anything are actually doing the most things, and it's super just countercultural for me to spend the time doing these things where I feel like I'm actually wasting time that actually causes a positive effect on everything else in my day. 160 00:28:54.492 --> 00:29:08.072 So that's what I'm learning is, like, I need to prioritize these things that are hard to prioritize. And, and the way you're saying it is m- maybe you don't prioritize them as much as you would like to. Is that a- No... 161 00:29:08.102 --> 00:29:22.372 fair assumption? And is, is... what's the reason? Uh, I blame the amount of time I have. And what's interesting is, like, everyone has the same amount of time in their day. You simply do what you are prioritizing. Yeah. 162 00:29:22.452 --> 00:29:39.292 And when I'm, when I'm out of time, it's because I've wasted time. I mean, that's plain and simple. Either I've slept in too much or I went to bed too late or I, you know... Even if you, if you... 163 00:29:39.772 --> 00:29:51.312 I just learned, I don't even know if this is true because it was a totally unverified source, but apparently Elon Musk divides his day into five-minute increments, which doesn't sound that far-fetched. 164 00:29:51.432 --> 00:30:00.072 I'm sure he doesn't do it like- Lit. Like he really-... calculably. Yeah. But, like, five-minute increment. And he's like, "I'm gonna do this task for five minutes." And it might be a micro task or a sub task. 165 00:30:00.562 --> 00:30:04.192 The task might be to start a task, but he's like, "This is what I'm gonna do for five minutes. This is what I'm gonna do." 166 00:30:04.652 --> 00:30:14.132 And you think if he's doing SpaceX, he's doing Twitter, he's doing Neural, I think is the, I can't remember the, the, the- Neuralink... brain chip one. He's doing all this stuff. Neuralink, yeah. 167 00:30:14.172 --> 00:30:25.012 Where I'm, I'm like, all right, 30 minutes, an hour, I have these blocks. And, like, I, I'm pretty flexible with them sometimes unless it's, like, legit meetings that I'm attending. I'm like two hours of outbound. 168 00:30:25.112 --> 00:30:39.624 Like, okay, I might do-45 minutes of outbound, you know, 30 minutes of, you know, follow-up. So okay, well, what'd you do with the additional 45 minutes? You, you had two hours blocked. So it's like staying prioritized. 169 00:30:39.894 --> 00:30:48.224 It's like I don't have any time. It's like, well, what do you do with all this free time? Yeah. I scrolled, I stared at a blank wall. I looked busy, but I wasn't actually busy. Yeah. 170 00:30:48.264 --> 00:30:58.524 So I think it's just being responsible, being, being... Having great time management is such a life hack. I mean, it really is. It is, and it's harder to, harder to actually do it, and it's harder to stick with it. 171 00:30:58.623 --> 00:31:06.154 I won't say it- it's not hard to do it for a day. It's not hard to do it for two days in a row. It's hard to do it for that 30th day, 31st day, 32nd day. Like, that's when things get tough. 172 00:31:06.154 --> 00:31:14.264 I gotta jump here soon, but I wanna, wanna ask something, and it's, it's a-- we're getting to this age where technology is, is getting crazy. 173 00:31:14.364 --> 00:31:22.594 I actually just read that they are about to create the first robot that can actually birth a human if people cannot afford IVF and things like that. So, like- Yeah... 174 00:31:22.594 --> 00:31:29.884 they are replicating a-- everything that you need from a woman, putting it in a robot, and the robot will have the kid, um, which is crazy. 175 00:31:30.044 --> 00:31:36.264 It's still, like, early, early in this testing period, but we're, we're going through all these technological, like, transformations right now, and we're-- I feel, like, faster than ever. 176 00:31:36.404 --> 00:31:45.004 And one thing that I'm curious about is, and we're not far from it if we're not already doing it, is I'd call it, like, digital immortality, where somebody passes away- Hmm... 177 00:31:45.074 --> 00:31:55.324 there's like a real live version of them that is digital, where you can converse with them, have conversations with them, things like that. Is that something that you want, or is that something that kind of scares you? 178 00:31:55.814 --> 00:32:02.324 What are your thoughts on having somebody living forever more than just images? Yeah, I think that's a great question. Um, 179 00:32:03.384 --> 00:32:10.144 I just learned that there are apparently 200 or so people in the world that are cryogenically frozen 180 00:32:11.364 --> 00:32:18.684 forever, and their hope-- it started back in, like, 1957, and there's a whole bunch of, like, ethical stuff around this, like is it ethical at all? All this weird stuff. 181 00:32:19.684 --> 00:32:35.533 But 200 people, give or take, around the world that are frozen in these chambers in the hopes that someday we will invent technology that can either, one, revive them back to life, crazy, or two, harvest their conscience into some, you know, thing like what you're describing. 182 00:32:36.364 --> 00:32:43.344 Uh, the, the easy answer or the short answer to that is I don't want that. I think it has to do with what I believe in in my world views. 183 00:32:43.384 --> 00:32:57.464 Like, I just don't need that 'cause my, my conscience and my own belief system carries on. I have no need for the digital concept of that. But I think, too, there are-- this is where the ethics gets in, into question. 184 00:32:57.484 --> 00:33:06.104 Like, there are, I think, actually probably very good things that could come scientifically from people volunteering to do that. It's weird. I'm not even suggesting that people should do that. 185 00:33:06.964 --> 00:33:22.824 But, like, imagine what you could learn about the evolution of human health and disease prevention and think of like microbiology and people out there, like, trying to figure out how to cure uncurable diseases. 186 00:33:22.884 --> 00:33:37.234 Like, if we had a snapshot in time now, imagine what someone in 2075 can learn with the technology they, they'll have in fifty years from what now looked like biologically. Right. 187 00:33:37.234 --> 00:33:49.644 All we really have is fossils and, like, observable data. But what if we had, like, the actual human specimen? I mean, it just gets so weird. Yeah. Uh, I mean, I don't know. But what about you? I mean, would you, 188 00:33:50.844 --> 00:33:55.184 would you digitize your conscience? I don't know. I, I, I think of it less as mine right now. 189 00:33:55.204 --> 00:34:05.984 Like, the way I think of it is, okay, if my wife passed away, my mom passed away or something, like, would I want there to be a digital version that I can interact with? And I, I don't think so. Like, I, I would've-- 190 00:34:07.764 --> 00:34:14.424 I don't know, like, almost like a ChatGPT that's them, you know? Like, and I'm sure it's gonna be a thing within the next five to ten years where it's like people- It's alr- it's already a thing. Okay. 191 00:34:14.484 --> 00:34:17.144 It's already a thing. And, like, that doesn't surprise me, right? 192 00:34:17.164 --> 00:34:24.994 That doesn't surprise me at all because, like, life is life, and, like, life is the most important thing and the only thing that we really have at the end of the day. And so- Yeah... um, I don't know. 193 00:34:26.424 --> 00:34:33.674 I don't know what I think about it. I haven't thought about it too much. Um, I just- Yeah... I just started thinking about it when I asked that [chuckles] question. I didn't think about it ever before. Yeah. 194 00:34:33.704 --> 00:34:38.284 And so I don't know. I don't know if I'd want to interact. I-- like, I, I feel like I'd want to interact, but, like, 195 00:34:40.164 --> 00:34:49.064 I, I wouldn't want it to manipulate me into thinking that, like, that person's still here or anything like that, you know? It's interesting. I know. It, it would- Like-... it would require a lot of very careful 196 00:34:49.964 --> 00:35:04.504 understanding of this is not my wife, but is maybe a coping mechanism to help me grieve my wife or remember my wife, you know? Imagine-- now I'm just thinking of all this crazy stuff. Like, imagine being able to, 197 00:35:05.464 --> 00:35:13.604 this is crazy, ingest every note on your notes app, picture in your, in your photo album, video, yada, yada. 198 00:35:13.684 --> 00:35:27.494 So now this digital person who's no longer here, you have the memory of everything that they've ever gone through because you have everything from like their baby pictures and maybe trips from Disney World, all that stuff, and you can just upload into one space, and now it's just like this person- Yep... 199 00:35:27.524 --> 00:35:33.984 knows everything about its life, and you can always ask a question. That would be kinda cool. Like, "Hey, how'd you like that- Yeah... whatever, Mexico trip?" 200 00:35:34.044 --> 00:35:42.694 But even then, still a very weird concept to think about, and it's very- Yeah... I don't know. Like, I kinda get-- I'm getting, like, the, the- Watch the movie- Ugh... Goosebumps. 201 00:35:42.924 --> 00:35:53.444 Watch the movie Transcendence with Johnny Depp. I won't give anything away. Totally spot on what we're talking about right now. Goes super deep into this concept of digitizing your conscience, and it's, like, 202 00:35:54.404 --> 00:36:02.644 really eerie. It's a great movie. I watch it. It's pretty old. It's, like, ten years old, but it's so good. I highly recommend it, Transcendence with Johnny Depp. 203 00:36:02.764 --> 00:36:16.604 Speaking of all the health stuff, we are sponsored in this episode by Momentous, and so if you're looking to start your health routine, Troy and I both are very into protein, creatine, collagen peptides, uh, particularly me with collagen peptides. 204 00:36:16.924 --> 00:36:24.884 If you've listened to Two Dads and Tech before, you know that I just have, uh, chronic kinda degenerative disc issues and- Knee pain. [laughs] Yeah, chronic, chronic everything. 205 00:36:25.224 --> 00:36:30.544 [laughs] Collagen peptides really are a good supplement for recovery, and Momentous does it better than anyone else. 206 00:36:30.584 --> 00:36:40.224 I mean, they're just, you know, verified clean source, you know, all the way from wherever the heck in Europe that they're sourcing all of these materials. And, uh, you know, the Olympics use them. 207 00:36:40.484 --> 00:36:47.504 The, you know, professional athletes use them. But check out livemomentous.com. Use code TWODADS at checkout. You're gonna save thirty-five percent. 208 00:36:47.564 --> 00:36:55.164 If you don't know anything about protein or creatine or collagen peptides, it's a super easy thing to just check out, see if you like it, and you're saving a bunch of money right off the bat. 209 00:36:55.224 --> 00:37:05.004 So check it out, livemomentous.com. Use code TWODADS for thirty-five percent off. Troy, this was a great episode. Dude, this was a ad hoc episode with no notes, no, no preparation. 210 00:37:05.034 --> 00:37:14.504 It was just like, "Yo, let's talk," and I love this episode. I thought it was- I know. I think this one actually has maybe more nuggets than most. Yeah. This was awesome. Anyways, yeah, everybody, Momentous, it's great. 211 00:37:14.664 --> 00:37:19.784 One thing I'll say about it, most protein you put a scoop in a, in a cup of water, and you stir it with a spoon, you can never get rid of the chunks. 212 00:37:19.824 --> 00:37:26.964 This is the only protein I've ever had where, like, you don't need a shaker bottle. You can literally just stir it- Dissolves... chunks go away. Yeah. It's like- Yeah... it's incredible. Yeah. Anyway. It's awesome. 213 00:37:27.124 --> 00:37:34.584 This is a great-- dude, yeah, great episode. Everyone, twodadsintech.com. We're supposed to say it at the beginning, if you're, if you're listening this far, subscribe on YouTube. Yes, please. 214 00:37:34.604 --> 00:37:45.124 It really, really, really helps us, and then five stars- Yeah... on Apple, Spotify. Five stars. Five stars on Apple, five stars on Spotify. If they do stars, I don't know. But follow us everywhere @twodadsintech. 215 00:37:45.324 --> 00:37:53.164 Everywhere. Please do subscribe on YouTube. Check us out, twodadsintech.com. We have a newsletter every week as well. Uh, we'll see you next Wednesday, everyone. Thank you for listening.