Shows
What Is Humans?PerseverancePerseverance is the act of pushing through despite difficulty or challenge. How often are we faced with adversity? The anwer is quite a lot. On a regular basis we have challenges that come our way without warning or heads up. This isn't an excuse to give up and curl up into a ball, but rather an opportunity to push forward. There is a school of thought which says that we should hide weakness and ignore pain or suffering. Remove it from your vocabulary and it's like it never happened. This path can be detrimental and in...2024-06-2023 minWhat Is Humans?Buy InWhen it comes to buy in, it is two fold. As an individual you have to be bought in to your career, hobbies, and life. The flip side of the coin is that you have to have buy in if you are going to lead a project yourself, whether that be a family, a company or a team. A team has to be bought in to be able to implement long lasting instrumental changes. This notion has been studied and analyzed time and time again. The question is how do we create it and better yet how do we...2024-06-1328 minWhat Is Humans?Alex Edge: How To Chase Your Dreams While Being The Nicest Person In The RoomAlmost Friday Media today is an established brand in the new age media world. Boasting more than a dozen channels, multiple podcasts, and sketches, Almost Friday Media has grown significantly since its early days as a proverbial meme page on instagram. A lot of that growth is in part thanks to our guest on the podcast today. Alex Edge is the VP of operations at Almost Friday Media. The individual that has helped create the systems and processes that have scaled this company from 6 employees to approximately 40 in about 2 years. Alex is quick though to pass the praise and...2024-06-061h 23What Is Humans?Do You Care?The correlation between how much you care and how much you succeed is palpable. You could be the most talented baker in the world, but if you don’t love to bake there is only so high that you will be able to go. Caring and passion push those that are good into greatness, and it’s not something that comes in time or develops more as you go, it seems it truly is there or it isn’t. Whether this is in our careers or in our relationships we have to care more than anything about them to be abl...2024-05-3020 minWhat Is Humans?Nothing OwnedNo idea is original? Every single idea that you have had has been informed by a million different stimuli before you. Your childhood, the sandwich you ate yesterday, the way your shoelaces didn’t tie quite right every single thing is a culmination of experiences that have crossed your mind. This can be a sobering thought…one that shouldn’t be digested lightly. There is a piece of us that wants to hold on so tightly to ideas, sentiments and beliefs that we believe to be our own. We take pride in them, they are ours aren’t they? 2024-05-2326 minWhat Is Humans?Doubt Your WorkRick Rubin said in the Creative Act, “Doubt your work, but don’t doubt yourself.” Or something to that effect. The idea was that doubt might not be the worst thing in the world. Doubt is vilified in society. “Doubting Thomas” is even a saying that we use to describe people who are nervous or anxious about a plan, idea or themselves. Doubt can be detrimental though when it is tied to all or nothing statements. Those statements might include, “I can’t” “I could never” “I hate”. These statements are finite or concrete. There is no room for growth. Doubting your wo...2024-05-1626 minWhat Is Humans?Tanner James: Lead With Curiosity, The Evolution of a CreatorOk we realized that when we originally aired this episode it didn't necessarily get the credit that it was due. Our guest Tanner James is a long time friend and mentor to both of us, and we released this episode when Shane and I were both travelling and a little all over the place. We want to rerelease this episode because of how valuable the conversation was not only for ourselves, but also for others at home. I hope this time you are able to better enjoy the ups and downs of Tanner's creative journey. "This episode...2024-05-0955 minWhat Is Humans?Economies of ScaleThis is a finance term, we will not be trying to explain finance in this episode because as everyone knows we are not experts in this subject. Rather we are going to explore how the idea of economies of scale informs other facets of our lives inside and outside of business. Economies of scale primarily refers to the connection between the costs of production as a company grows. In layman’s terms this is the advantage that you or a company may have by increasing production. If we are planning for success which we always should be we have to...2024-05-0228 minWhat Is Humans?Phases of BeingOur Central Nervous System sits behind our brain and dictates over all other things how we act and behave. We have three phases inside of this central nervous system; ventral aka free, sympathetic aka fight or flight and then dorsal aka depression. Those three phases supersede our feelings and our moods. Your CNS can be affected though by your daily habits and routines. When we are operating at a high capacity we are resting and working equally creating a flow state where we feel free and creative. In society we are often told that more is...2024-04-1823 minWhat Is Humans?Breaking FramesA mentor of ours named Logan Gelbrich recently introduced us to a new phenomenon, named breaking frames. The idea that in order to grow we have to ultimately break the frame in which our capacity is limited to in order to expand it and take in new information. We have a limited understanding of the way the world works, moves and acts based on previous experiences. Those could be from our family and friends, society or coaches mentors etc. If we don’t seek out new and disconfirming information we fall prey to only achieving growth when tragedy strikes. ...2024-04-1128 minWhat Is Humans?Slow BuildCal Newport is an expert on productivity, and he recently went on a podcast that we love called the Rich Roll Podcast. In this episode Rich actually spoke about a coach of his that talked about running a marathon. The coach says, “The fastest runner never wins the race, but rather the runner that slows down the least.” This quote is interesting on many levels. One because almost always we believe that the fastest runner will almost always win the race, and two because of the way this quote reaches outside of the realm of running altogether. The fastest runn...2024-04-0428 minWhat Is Humans?Out of Your WayWe are getting in our own way. Everyone does it. We think that we can do everything or we believe that if we ask for help or seem like we aren’t the best at everything we will in some way look dumb. The reality is that when we have the self awareness moment that we don’t need to take on absolutely everything we can set our minds at ease and invest more into the things that are important to us. The more time we spend on mundane tasks or ones that are outside of our core competency that...2024-03-2826 minWhat Is Humans?Pain and SufferingThis title is much more ominous than the conversation. Today we discussed a new take on an old theme at the What Is Humans? Podcast…Expectations. In a recent conversation that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gave to a group of Stanford Graduates he wished them pain and suffering. You might be thinking that sounds pretty malicious who would ever do such a thing, but Jensen thinks otherwise. High expectations are often born out of circumstances in which we are expecting certain things to happen. Outcomes that have almost always been there for us, given our effort, our upbringing or a...2024-03-2128 minWhat Is Humans?Tanner James: The Evolution of a Creator's Journey Lead by CuriosityThis episode was recorded at 7ish in the morning. Tanner sat down in the studio with us and settled in. We were lucky enough to steal a couple of minutes of his time as he was boarding a flight to Japan later in the day. It seems this detail is important to share because it mirrors so much of his way of life. From the outside looking in he moves quickly to and from the next adventurous and awesome pursuit, but always taking the time to engage and connect with friends in his home, Venice Beach. The conversation we...2024-03-1455 minWhat Is Humans?Widen Your LensWe are shaped and molded by our experiences. Our worldview and outlook changes over time as we grow up and begin to form opinions of our own. The lens that we begin to then see the world through shapes our interactions as well. We have a closed understanding of what is possible and what isn’t the way the world is and the opportunities and obstacles that exist. This perspective is solely based on our experiences. The minute that we widen that lens and open ourselves up to new ideas and ways of thinking we change the lens through wh...2024-03-0728 minWhat Is Humans?Broken PromisesBroken promises are the answer to your success. That might seem counterintuitive but we would like to argue the case. Broken promises exist at a place where you are stretching and reaching past what you think you might be capable of reaching. As long as those promises are calculated, studied, and aligned with what matters most to you then broken or not everything will ultimately work out. If you fail to hit your goals and keep your promises that become the breeding ground for learning moments that can ultimately propel you to even higher heights. In...2024-02-2936 minWhat Is Humans?Lost in TranslationCommunication is key, at least that’s what we are told. How much communication? How often? Are we speaking the same language? Are we on the same page? All of these sayings come back to one commonly misunderstood principle: communication. Whether this is in your professional career or in your personal life, typically nobody has benefitted from oversharing. We all fall victim when sharing too much information, but those consequences are far better than the latter. When we aren’t clear about what we want and what we need it can lead to resentment because we assume that the othe...2024-02-2232 minWhat Is Humans?Hurry LessIn today’s episode we discuss the idea of hurriedness. This term manifests itself in different ways, physically, mentally and more often than not it becomes a state of being based on the first two. “I’m busy” is a socially acceptable term in the western world that signifies much more that what it says on the surface level…. This is a good thing, it means you are doing a lot and people like that…it means that you don’t have much time aka you’re in demand. These are things that we have been trained to seek as approval when...2024-02-1526 minWhat Is Humans?An Ultra Marathon Runner on Sense of Self, and Bucking The Status QuoToday we are joined by Hope Forman; Attorney at Law, Ultra Marathon Runner, and Ice Cream Entrepreneur. Hope is a long time friend of ours, but more importantly she is one of the hardest working and most disciplined people that we know. In our conversation we run through her early childhood, adventures to Africa, and how she got into long distance running in the first place. Her undeniable sense of self has allowed her to choose what she loves over the status quo time and time again, rarely bending to adhering to trends or society based on what others...2024-02-0856 minWhat Is Humans?MentorshipToday we are discussing mentorship. Primarily this conversation will be through the eyes of seeking mentors in the space that you wish to improve. While we don’t touch much on how to become a better mentor the advice and questions should apply equally! It has been something that people have told us about ever since graduating high school it seems. Whether you are reading it in a book or a linkedin post every single well to do article talks about the importance of mentorship. Successful people have mentors…but what does that mean? How did they find them? Who...2024-02-0329 minWhat Is Humans?Ema Rajic: An Olympic Swimmer on Dedication, Purpose and FamilyToday we are joined by Ema Rajic as our first guest on the What Is Humans? Podcast. While Ema is our friend she just so happens to also be a national record holder, and Olympian. She sat down with us to discuss what brought her to such high performance levels at such a young age, her dreams being muted due to a global pandemic, and life after sports. Her candid conversation and stories surrounding new highs is grounded by her vulnerability in expressing the lows that came with that success. Her family laid the groundwork fo...2024-01-251h 09What Is Humans?Nothing Is RoutineWe create habits and routines in our lives because it is comfortable. We find things that work for us, and takes the fuss out of mornings, nights, work and play. We are all different but in some way shape or form we all have routines and habits that dictate a majority of our time on earth. What if routines can be a bad thing though? Surely we can become stiff and unable to adapt to change, but what if we don’t understand or know why we do the things that we do? Whether that is sitting in front of...2024-01-1823 minWhat Is Humans?0 to 1There is a massive difference between, 0 and 1 and not that big of a difference between 1 and 10 or 1 and 1000, let us explain why. Whether you are getting off the couch and on your journey to running a marathon, or you are looking for a job, but you just need to write the first line of your new resume…the first step is the hardest. This step is also the one that catapults you into an exponential amount of work and success once achieved! Many of us are plagued by perfection. We think that because things aren’t perfect, we can’t post...2024-01-1125 minWhat Is Humans?Master As You GoWhat comes first…do we start talking about things and then we become thought leaders, or do we do a lot and then talk about them later after we believe that we have accomplished enough to finally share it? We would like to argue for the latter. In order to become a subject matter expert on anything you must do before you are ready. You must immerse yourself in it, teach before you’ve done anything, while you’re doing it and afterwards as well because it is all valuable. If we convince ourselves that nobody will listen to us or...2024-01-0425 minWhat Is Humans?2023 RecapAs the year of 2023 comes to a close, we look back on some of the highs and some of the lows as well as takeaways. This episode as always will be a reflection of our year here at the What Is Humans? Podcast, in our personal lives and for what we have accomplished during the podcast as well. Hopefully this will be a good time for you at home to reflect as well while you ring in the new year with loved ones wherever you are. As we just recently finished with the episode on fe...2023-12-2925 minWhat Is Humans?Feedback FaultsIt’s the end of the year and whether it is our yearly review with our bosses or Santa who is checking to see if we were naughty or nice it seems like we are always receiving feedback. Feedback in both of these cases is often given without our request and has some consequences associated with it. We have an emotional response built up around feedback cycles, maybe its a pat on the back that leads to a raise or maybe it’s the fear that we have done something wrong, and a weakness in our skillset will be brou...2023-12-2124 minWhat Is Humans?Protecting Your PeaceWhen we have big lofty goals it can be easy to consistently take on more, believing that we are impervious to mortal capacities. It’s interesting and abundantly true that the most important things to becoming a high achiever are still the most basic ones. Getting enough sleep, eating right and carving out time for rest and relaxation become monumental in achieving what you have set out to. Personal insecurities can inhibit us from communicating what is most important to us to those around us…like people we work with, people we work for, and people that we live with...2023-12-1425 minWhat Is Humans?Prosperity PoisonProsperity can be a poison. Typically when we are prospering this is seen as a good thing most of the time, and I would agree that most of the time this is a benefit to us. On the other hand though too much prosperity can cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture and pick and prod at smaller more insignificant issues just because we can. We can become bogged down in issues that take away from our life’s purpose when we aren’t forced to focus on being the best versions of ourselves that we can be...2023-12-0732 minWhat Is Humans?Inferiority ComplexExcuses are always present and so is doubt. It can be so easy for us to make excuses to try and protect ourselves from rejection or perceived failure. We let our egos come first and convince ourselves that things have to be perfect before we ever start. This inferiority complex acts as a crutch to make sure that if we ever try and fail we can lean on that crutch to hold our egos up. The reality is that we are scared to even start because what happens if we aren’t good at the start or people don’t li...2023-11-3028 minWhat Is Humans?Learning CurveAs we attempt to learn something new there is a learning curve that exists. I’m not sure where the term originated, but over time it has become an established saying that refers to the amount of time that it takes to become knowledgeable or apt with a topic or new skill. As we go through life this learning curve can become more daunting and scary to us. When we are kids learning is everywhere and often times we meet it head on, but as we get older we let society and external forces dictate our idea of the le...2023-11-2323 minWhat Is Humans?Restful WorkThere are different states of work, most normally in society we think of hard work as one that leaves us exhausted and dreading the next day. Hard work can be rewarding don’t get us wrong, that satisfying feeling of kicking up your feet after a long day’s work is one of the greatest feelings in the world. What if there was a way however to get the same satisfaction out of the work itself. Rather than being relieved the work is done, we are excited for the next day and almost lose track of ourselves and time thro...2023-11-1636 minWhat Is Humans?Memento Mori“Memento Mori” or remember you must die in Latin is a pretty terrifying saying, but an important one. Stoicism, a ideology that stems from Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers often used the idea of death as a reminder of their mortality. This while seemingly depressing can often be a motivator to recognize that time in and of itself is not abundant but rather limited. What feels like something that we will always have more of is truly the only thing we want to get back at the end of the day. Whether we have big audaci...2023-11-0925 minWhat Is Humans?Confidence Is HumilityThis seems like a pretty definitive statement, but a contradictory one. If you are confident, how can you be humble at the same time? Most often we hear these words thrown around when someone achieves something great and they acknowledge all the hard work of their teammates, coworkers and others to make that greatness become possible. That level of humility can be difficult to attain though as you achieve greatness and the praise starts rolling in. Truly confident people know though that it took months and years of failures to put them in the very position that they are...2023-11-0227 minWhat Is Humans?Risk Is RelativeRisk is relative to the person who is taking the risk, regardless what the task at hand is. The same task to one person may be severely riskier to one person than the other. We would be terrified to drop into a skatepark if you asked us to do it today, but for a seasoned skater that would be nothing to them. We often think of our heroes as these gods that laugh in the face of challenge or risk, but in reality they are humans just like us. We let the fear of risk stop us from doing...2023-10-2622 minWhat Is Humans?Perception vs PerspectiveEveryone has their own perception of the world, but very few share others perspectives. Oftentimes we go about our lives only living in our own perceptions and through struggle attempt to bring others into our perception of it. As we have spoken about often on this podcast it is extremely difficult, arguably impossible, to force anyone to think a certain way without allowing them to draw their own conclusions. A more productive method is seeking to gain others perspective. Perspectives can be found within ourselves in what we believe and also in others. Both ways n...2023-10-1925 minWhat Is Humans?Accept ProblemsProblems exist everywhere. They appear on a micro scale in our own personal lives and they exist at a macro scale affecting millions globally and then there’s all the problems that exist in between. Problems are obstacles or hurdles that appear outside of the preconceived plan that we had within our heads for the way we think things should go. You forgot to pack your lunch today, an email got lost in the shuffle and now you are behind on a project, or the economy isn’t doing too hot, all of these problems weren’t in the plans...2023-10-1236 minWhat Is Humans?Give It Forward“Sharing is caring,” at least that’s what we have heard our whole lives. This is one of the first things we hear as young children…whether we are playing at school or with our siblings, sharing is one of the first lessons we learn in childhood. Typically this starts with sharing toys, but as we grow older that thing we share changes. We can share our opinion, we can share our time, or we can just share our stories. Whether we are receiving or the shared item or we are the one that is doing the sharing there seems to...2023-10-0519 minWhat Is Humans?Curiosity WinsThe smartest person in the room is rarely the most fulfilled. That’s because our perception of how intelligent we are is based upon the belief that we know more than the others around us. On the contrary the most successful person in the room always believes there is more to learn especially from the people that they surround themselves with. Today we discuss the importance curiosity plays in personal fulfillment. That hunger and desire to dive deeper is a key factor in determining what our passions are, but also the longevity of those passions. The best performers in th...2023-09-2826 minWhat Is Humans?Follow Your Obsessions A month ago we talked about what it takes to do good work. Paul Graham released a series of essays which talked about the three things necessary to do good work, well as it turned out he also talked about what it takes to become a genius as well. This was called the bus collection theory of geniuses. He mentions that determination and ability are necessary to become a genius but one third step is obsession. The reason he talks about bus ticket collectors among other things is their obsession with collecting tickets for nothing other than pure joy. ...2023-09-2127 minWhat Is Humans?Admiration vs Aspiration Admiration and aspiration are two very different things, but it can be easy to get them confused. Admiring someone means that you appreciate the success that they have had in a personal or professional setting. Aspiration on the other hand means what exactly you are trying to become. As children and as adults we often admire individuals, and believe that we want to be just like them. These people could be pro athletes, celebrities or musicians. We see the success and attention that they receive and we immediately believe that we want to be just like them. In reality t...2023-09-1428 minWhat Is Humans?Structure As FunctionWe can go through life recklessly moving about day to day inefficiently bulldozing our way through obstacles in our way ultimately making it to our final destination battered and bruised or we can make things work for us. Our conversation today centers around structure being essential to our everyday lives. We create systems and tools to make our lives more efficient, but even that can be exhausting to even think about getting into place. It’s easy to sit back and kick our feet up after a hard day’s work without any desire to look back on or impr...2023-09-0726 minWhat Is Humans?Falling Into PlaceSometimes when things are going wrong it feels like everything is going wrong. Murphy’s law takes over and it can feel like our world is crashing down around us before our eyes. Routines, relationships, or activities that occupied much of our time and mental, physical and emotional capacity can disappear in a moment’s notice leaving us to pick up the pieces. It’s easy in moments like these to dwell in hardship, unable to see the silver lining that our friends and families try to tell us will be on the other side of tough times. The abilit...2023-08-3125 minWhat Is Humans?Necessity of Mystery“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” This quote perfectly encapsulates the necessity of mystery in our lives. Naturally we are trying to figure out the next step or the right path forward, one that is secure and safe and yields the most known result. This obviously isn’t incorrect, if anything this appears to be the most logical approach to life. Why would anyone do anything that they are unsure of what they are getting into in the first place? Mystery creates life, certainty creates death. Death of spontaneity, death of creat...2023-08-2424 minWhat Is Humans?Control The NarrativeSo often in the news we read something shocking from a corporate juggernaut and just like a Hollywood film we all hold our breaths to see what the corporation will say in response. Sometimes a CEO acts out brashly and responds right away with no consultation, sometimes we hear no response leaving us all wondering whether they even care in the first place, and then sometimes a corporation responds just right. This is called a Public Relations Crisis, something that has its own name and industry in fact, because it is that important to most big name corporations. Experts...2023-08-1724 minWhat Is Humans?Creation vs DiscoveryWe are always trying to create within our lives whether we know it or not. Creating opportunities for ourselves or our loved ones through work, creating memories with friends and family, and of course creating the lives that we have always dreamed of. Now when we put it in those terms it can seem unbelievably daunting to try and undertake. Creating something from nothing is unbelievably difficult, just ask a magician or a successful entrepreneur. Discovery on the other hand feels like a path we have all been down before. Learning about new things in school or at work...2023-08-1029 minWhat Is Humans?Notice The GapsIn this week’s episode we talk about a new thought that comes off the back of themes that we have discussed many times over like finding fulfillment and following your curiosity. The initial idea for this conversation came from an essay titled, “How To Do Great Work” by Paul Graham. It should be noted that Paul Graham is an amazing computer scientist, most famous for his work on Lisp, Viaweb which later became Yahoo Store, and then startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y combinator. First off, the title of the essay itself, “How To Do Great Work,” caught our...2023-08-0327 minWhat Is Humans?Identity LagWe consistently go through changes, specifically in our identities. We change jobs, relationships and roles. We mean different things to different people all the while trying to figure out who we are to ourselves. When these changes happen and new habits and ideas are formed it can take up to two years before our psychological self realizes this. Even though other aspects of our life have changed there is no denying that it takes time for other parts of our mind and emotions to catch up. We continue to grapple as do others with the new journeys that we...2023-07-2626 minWhat Is Humans?Pressure Is A Privilege “Pressure is a privilege,” was a quote that was said by Billie Jean King. She was one of the greatest female tennis players of the 20th century. Today we discuss this idea that she built much of her career on. The idea that pressure is a gift that only those who earn it can receive is contradictory to much of the human experience. We spend most of our time trying to avoid pressure, stress and deadlines. A popular phrase is the feeling of being, “stressed out.” Stressing out to the point of worry or exhaustion feels like an altogether different...2023-07-2121 minWhat Is Humans?Embrace vs IgnorePain and suffering are always present, we have talked about that many times before, the difference is how we approach it. We have to make thousands of decisions a day and each of them have some form of “i don’t want to do that”. As a conscious individual it is imperative that we recognize when these feelings come to fruition and what we do about them. We have the option to ignore the fear, and pain that comes with making hard decisions or we can embrace them. Attacking the hardest parts of the day is the key to moving...2023-07-1323 minWhat Is Humans?Risky BusinessWe all have to take a risk at one point or another in our lives. It could be a risk as small as trying a new food, or something as big as going after your dreams. The conversation around risk often goes the same way. It starts and ends with…”what’s your backup plan?” Meaning if you fail, how are you going to hedge your bets in order to be ok. The idea that you would have a backup plan and not go all in on your dreams contradicts everything the very confidence you have in achieving the goals yo...2023-07-0619 minWhat Is Humans?Ideas vs ActionAll day swimming around noodling up inside of our noggins are these grandiose ideas. Some of them are big and some of them are small, ideas come in all shapes and sizes, constantly going in and then coming out typically at the worst times. Maybe you do all your best thinking in the shower, or maybe you have the best ideas right as your head hits the pillow. Whenever the lightning strikes, it happens to all of us. There is a surplus of ideas in the world. All over the world every day there are brilliant ideas that are...2023-06-2919 minWhat Is Humans?The Pain You ChooseThere is always a trade off. A sacrifice that we make as individuals in order to get one thing for another thing. This is as simple as trading money for goods or services, and as we become adults it turns into trading our time and energy. As kids our parents typically are making decisions for us about where we spend our time, enrolling us in school, and extra-curriculars in hopes that we will be healthy and happy children. We invest time and energy as children and adults in order to secure some sort of long term payoff. Investments like...2023-06-2222 minWhat Is Humans?Rewire YourselfStagnation is inevitable. We are creatures of habit. Our routines and habits make us who we are for better or for worse. The same route to work, the same streaming shows after dinner, it is just a fact of life that routine brings us comfort. Sometimes that comfort or that routine can be the enemy though that keeps us from moving forward. It lulls us into thinking we are safe and we are secure, regardless of how true that is. Sometimes what it takes to reinvigorate and shake things up is a little bit of rewiring. 2023-06-1520 minWhat Is Humans?Keeping Score“Referees don’t fall in love,” that’s a song that sparked the idea for today’s conversation. This song title got our brains stirring, trying to make sense of what seemed like a seemingly nonsensical sentiment. The title refers to the idea that referees are just that within the game…referees. The ref doesn’t win the game or lose the game, but rather sits by and judges and makes sure that the rules are being abided by. A necessary part of any game, but certainly not what most children dream of becoming. To step onto the court of life it mea...2023-06-0824 minWhat Is Humans?Fruits of Labor“The fruits of labor”, feels like the saying has been around forever, an easy reminder of what your reward will be for continued hard work. It’s one thing to think about the accolades, the spoils, or the fruits, it is another entirely different story to put in the labor necessary to receive that fruit, and then sometimes even still it doesn’t always work out how you planned it. The important part of work, especially as we are young and impatient, can always seem like the finish line, the glory at the end, but the joy lies in the labo...2023-06-0121 minWhat Is Humans?Time Well SpentTime is one resource that is constantly fleeting. We can’t get more of it, and oftentimes when we finally realize how precious it is, we can feel like it’s already too late. In the present without clear and concise direction it can be hard to know if your time is well spent. Especially when we have little to no direction in our life is it very typical to feel like we are wasting our time and it feels like many others feel the same way. Today we discuss what time well spent is and how we can begi...2023-05-2521 minWhat Is Humans?Tides of Influence “Go with the flow” typically a compliment to describe people that are able to roll with the punches. In this specific episode we observe the external and internal factors that contribute to our ability to be easily swayed in one direction or the other. Our friends and family often can be big influences on our lives, that convince us in one way or another what is the right path. The media we consume like social apps, books and podcasts can also convince us of what is the right or wrong thing to do. Then there is the internal battle that...2023-05-1824 minWhat Is Humans?Experience LivingIt can be so easy to put our heads down and follow the path that we and society has laid out for ourselves. Go to school, get good grades and find a stable job to stay comfortable. While that is certainly what we have done, today we discuss the possibility of trying out new and maybe more adventurous experiences in lieu of climbing the corporate ladder. We recount another conversation that Wired magazine founder Kevin Kelly spoke about on the Rich Roll podcast earlier this week. One in which his own experience bouncing back and forth between China in...2023-05-1127 minWhat Is Humans?Self CreditGive yourself some credit. Whether we are going into a year end review, getting ready for a first date, or comparing ourselves against our peers everyone knows the feeling of self doubt. You’re nervous, every insecurity you can think of is making its way to the top of your brain. Am I smart enough? Will this person like me? The list goes on and on and is different for every person, but also very much the same. When we take on a new and exciting but scary endeavor where we feel like we are maybe a little out of...2023-05-0418 minWhat Is Humans?Captain Your Own Ship“When you don’t know what port you’re sailing to, no wind is favorable.” In life things move so fast it can get easy to make life decisions without thinking about them. Maybe not thinking is a little harsh but using determining factors that are outside of your core values. Maybe a certain career path offers money or stability, maybe everyone does this so it seems like what’s right. If you don’t stop and take the time to determine and chart out the direction you want to go in it can be extremely easy to fall into a trap...2023-04-2727 minWhat Is Humans?Worry LessOff the back of our last week’s episode on decision making we are working on pumping the brakes a little and loosening the grip on life. As we get older, responsibilities become greater and decisions in return can feel much heavier. Am I doing the right thing? Am I with the right person? Am I in the right career? All of these questions are valid and nonetheless big questions that can dictate a large part of our lives, but if these decisions on a daily basis become so heavy we can’t decide at all they can create para...2023-04-2022 minWhat Is Humans?Growing PainsAs we get older we begin to mature and things around us start to change. It’s hard to explain, but decisions have more consequences and things become heavier than they ever were as a child. It can often feel like the freedom we gain as an adult can be both a blessing and a curse. Some things are easier to decide, while others are more difficult and harder. As you grow older in life, there feels a caving pressure that your decisions have an impact that could last a lifetime. While this can be true...2023-04-1326 minWhat Is Humans?Stop ApologizingDo you mean it? As a kid and even as an adult that was always something we would ask someone when they apologized. If they meant they were sorry, then there felt like there could be some forgiveness and life could move on. As adults what tends to happen is we catch ourselves apologizing more and more, this time not because we hit someone on the playground, but because we feel insecure or inadequate. At one point or another in our lives we have all went into a conversation with I’m sorry on the tip of our tongues. Th...2023-04-0628 minWhat Is Humans?Delusional ConfidenceFear can be the biggest inhibitor to starting. Insecurities within ourselves often act as the biggest obstacle and reminder to why we can’t do something. Going for the promotion, striking out on your own, all of these goals and aspirations can be silenced by a little voice inside our head telling us that we aren’t good enough. In reality, only you are thinking that about yourself, and every other single person is thinking the exact same thing about themselves. There are people out there with way less ability and experience that have just practiced being delusionally confident and...2023-03-3026 minWhat Is Humans?Asking For HelpThe topic for this week’s episode is all about asking for help. Asking for help seemed so easy when we were kids and everything about the world was interesting and exciting. I’m sure if you asked any adult at that time, we were straight up annoying them with the amount of questions we asked. Somewhere along the road we become self aware and feel like we are the only one who might not know the answer. We stop asking questions in class, stop asking for help at work when a task is overwhelming and we can even stop...2023-03-2326 minWhat Is Humans?Intentional SpontaneityWorking on yourself is hard work. That’s just the truth. It requires focus, hard work and lots of discipline, but the reward is definitely worth it. The only thing is that when it comes to a regimen and a schedule that is set out to make us better, it can become extremely stale. We know that as human beings we crave new and exciting adventures and stimuli. I mean think about scrolling on social media every day, just going on and on to the next video or post to see something new and exciting. Whether your personal goals ar...2023-03-1628 minWhat Is Humans?Close The GapGoals are just dreams without a plan. The ability to dream and think big is key to living the most amazing life that you set out for yourself, however there’s a catch. You have to have some semblance of reality in order to reach said goals. There are details, planning and an aspect of reality that you have to be in touch with in order to achieve said dreams. Both are necessary, but one without the other can leave you in a pretty precarious spot. If you’re too realistic on one hand, you may never dare to drea...2023-03-0926 minWhat Is Humans?Art of BusynessThere’s a big difference between being overwhelmed and being fulfilled. The feeling that we have can either breathe life into us or it can crush us under constant pressure. We hide behind this facade of being busy as a way of telling ourselves that objects in motion tend to stay in motion, which is totally true if we were all just objects. We have goals, aspirations and most importantly feelings that can dictate if the things that we are doing in our day to day are lifting us up or tearing us down. The oppo...2023-03-0229 minWhat Is Humans?Shame In PursuitYou’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. Shame can feel like one of those inevitables in life that happens to everyone. It seems kind of odd though when it rears its ugly head. We had been experiencing shame that was built up in our own heads, a figment of how we thought our friends and family might react to certain goals that we were working on pursuing. Massive changes were on the horizon, and we were worried that could leave us alienated and feeling ashamed of the decisions that we had made in fol...2023-02-2326 minWhat Is Humans?Life InvestmentsPlanning can be difficult, it’s something that takes effort and intentionality, and most importantly foresight. When we think about our lives and the things that will help us grow personally, it is extremely hard to choose the things that will be the best for us when every fiber in our being is telling us to take the easy way out. That’s not just you and me either, that is everyone. Buying fast food sounds a lot better than cooking food, buying those new jeans sounds a lot more fun than budgeting and saving for a new home. Shor...2023-02-1628 minWhat Is Humans?Creating MeaningSo often in life we can feel trapped in the mundane tasks of life. As life moves fast it may seem extremely difficult to find meaning in it. This week we seek to find answers of where in life we are affected by this dilemma and how would be best to create that meaning in where it may be lacking. As you listen to this try to take some time out of your day in the morning and evening to ask yourself why. Why is this important? Why do I care? Ect. As we often sp...2023-02-0925 minWhat Is Humans?Experts in Uncertainty Pain, Uncertainty and Constant Work, are the three things that Dr. Phillip Stutz claims are the only things we can count on in this life. As this podcast has now been out for almost two years, we both realized we’ve never really talked about the saying “experts in almost nothing”. As podcast fanatics who care about personal growth on all levels we avidly listen to other podcasts and read books that speak on the same topics we talk about ourselves, but there’s one difference we like to really hit home. We don’t have any clue what t...2023-02-0224 minWhat Is Humans?Quality Demands QualityThere are certain standards in life that we set for ourselves. They live in all different worlds that we belong to; relationships, career, and the list goes on and on. When we begin to let these standards slip it can take a toll on what we not only allow and expect of ourselves, but also of what we think we deserve. The inability to live up to the standards we set for ourselves can leave us feeling frustrated and bitter. In response to this, it is always important to practice grace, but recognize that we must be honest with...2023-01-2628 minWhat Is Humans?Expression of SelfToday we discuss a topic that is intimidating to most, but has the power to unlock your greatest potential for fulfillment. Expressing ourselves can be hard in everyday life, because we often have very few outlets, but it can be even harder when we are worrying about outside audiences as opposed to what we think as individuals. Rick Rubin, a famous Music Producer who has worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Adele and Ed Sheeran to name a few, spoke exclusively on this idea. Rubin talked about his process and how every time he enters a session he is...2023-01-1929 minWhat Is Humans?Write Your Own NarrativeAccording to Seth Godin, there are two stories in our lives, the one we want the world to tell about us and the one we tell ourselves. The first is an autobiography, one that WE write ourselves with highlights for the world to see long once we are gone. The second is our inner self talk, the dialogue that plays in our head everyday along the way. The latter can be a catalyst for the first if we use it correctly, because in the autobiography nobody is going to see half the work that went into writing that story...2023-01-1230 minWhat Is Humans?Hope In Uncertainty The world is full of uncertainty. Uncertainty in our days, weeks and months, our careers, passions and relationships and a whole lot of other aspects of life. It can be daunting to try and remain hopeful with all of that uncertainty around. What lies around the corner can cause fear, anxiety or depression. As humans we hate not knowing what is going to happen or how it is going to happen. How do we begin to find hope in these trying times as opposed to the latter. Our first instinct may be to plan everything out...2023-01-0527 minWhat Is Humans?Lessons of '22Today in the final episode of What is Humans? In the year 2022 we look back at the biggest lessons and takeaways from the year. A journey of personal and professional experiences that have lead to an outrageous amount of growth and self discovery and many times rediscovery. Things like taking risks, building a community, and efficiency are all a part of this conversation, but those lessons could look completely different for your 2022. It can be easy to look at the wins and losses of 2022, but what’s more important is to understand why you felt they...2022-12-2939 minWhat Is Humans?After EffectsAs the new year approaches and we look back and reflect on the past year, it can be easy to make a lot of assumptions and affirmations about the changes you want to see in the future. We often tell ourselves we want to be fitter, read more, or have better relationships with the ones we care about most. While these are all noble goals for the new year, it’s important to think about why we want these goals and what the values are behind them that we feel will be sustainable. We often hope that dropping a fe...2022-12-2234 minWhat Is Humans?Demands of SelfAs individuals we have to be able to gauge in a healthy way how much we are demanding of ourselves. In many ways as children, demands are put on or for us by parents, teachers or coaches. In a lot of ways this shapes what we demand of ourselves as we grow up and become adults. Newfound freedoms of adulthood though can leave us floating day by day, however when we forget to evaluate what we ask of ourselves. The demands that exist in adulthood can leave us haggard and feeling burnt out especially when it...2022-12-1529 minWhat Is Humans?Boredom and NoveltyThere are a certain amount of mundane tasks that are a necessary part of human existence. Washing the dishes, making your bed, checking your email and the list goes on and on. These tasks can seem so mind numbing and repetitive that we look for escape into new and novel experiences. This is a normal and necessary piece of life, we all want to experience new and exciting things. Without planning though we can turn to vices in our lives to alleviate the pain and discomfort of boredom, true fulfillment lies in finding the balance of worthwhile tasks that...2022-12-0832 minWhat Is Humans?Be Your Own AccountantIt can be hard to keep track of things when it moves so fast, but if we don’t keep track things can get lost and blown out of proportion. Whether it’s your metaphorical bank account or your goals the only way to keep track of things is to stay on top of them. Being your own accountant allows you to take agency over the goals you set and keep track of the progress along the way. When we set out to achieve big goals it’s easy to get lost in the weeds, that’s w...2022-12-0138 minWhat Is Humans?Ulterior MotivesWe are constantly taking actions in our lives, doing things every single moment of every day. Sometimes these actions are selfless and for others and sometimes they are for ourselves. What happens when some actions are for others and for ourselves? Maybe you bring a bottle of wine over to a housewarming party to show you care, what if you send a late email to surprise your boss that you’re working extra late to get a new promotion? Some actions are never just as they seem, some can have ulterior motives. Ulterior motives are extr...2022-11-2431 minWhat Is Humans?Winter DisciplineWinter, it's cold, lifeless and full of food. These are some of the normal things we associate with this season of the year. It’s a time to celebrate, be with family and friends and more than anything curl up in a ball and drench yourself in comfort. While this is our natural instinct to the cold and windy nights of the season, it doesn’t seem like it's necessarily the most advantageous reaction to the cold. We have a couple of different options, we can give into the cold and let it dictate our next 1...2022-11-1727 minWhat Is Humans?Sense of Urgency In a world where it seems we have more time than ever, the one thing that seems lost is a sense of urgency. A skill that seems like a must to achieve insurmountable goals we set for ourselves, can be very hard to come by and leave us wondering if it is our fault or the goal’s fault. The real question then lies in the way that we curate this urgency, if it comes naturally, like in moments of peril or when a superior needs something of us, or if we can create that urgency ourselves. 2022-11-1032 minWhat Is Humans?Credit ChecksBeing recognized for the things we have done can often seem like all we ever want, but is it always the most important thing? Taking credit can often cause us to become resentful or selfish especially in our relationships whether that be at work, friendships or relationships. Many times when we fiend for the recognition or the credit that we desperately craved it can fall flat when we are standing up there alone. The biggest reason that we feel the need to remind others or ourselves of the hard work we’ve done or think we deserve can come fr...2022-11-0335 minWhat Is Humans?Intentional RestIn life we can feel stuck in one of two places, go go go or no motivation whatsoever. We know that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, but what’s the downfall of just doing the same thing over and over again. Do we become fatigued and burn out? Do we become masters at whatever we are doing? Today, we discuss a new training technique called dynamic loading and its effects on aspects other than just the physical. In a world previously prided on more is more, many are now seeing the bene...2022-10-2731 minWhat Is Humans?Circles of SelfMandalas, an ancient work of art that has been used throughout religion, history, and even the most ancient of civilizations, but how can it apply even further in our everyday lives. Mandalas start with a point in the center, have two circles around them typically and then patterns that stretch and interweave to reach the outer circle. The tiny dot at the center is you and the other rings represent close friends and family. These building blocks for ourselves are necessary, and ultimately what keep us afloat just like in the self actualization pyramid of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Ne...2022-10-2031 minWhat Is Humans?Differences of Degree Friedrich Nietzche once talked about the largest barrier to higher level thinking as our natural instinct as humans to simplify things. The early understanding as the first humans to take experiences and categorize them as opposites. For example, light and dark, good and evil, master and slave. This categorization makes it easy to understand and initially Jussie people, things and experiences without much thought. This major simplification ingrained in our DNA is false, argued Nietzche. Things are not opposites in our world but rather differences of degree. There is no good and bad just varying deg...2022-10-1335 minWhat Is Humans?Outcome ObstructionThe journey or the destination? An age old debate that is always a constant lesson in appreciating the moments we are in instead of longing for the result or outcome we are starving for. In today’s episode of What Is Humans? We reflect on the idea of outcome obstruction through an inspiring Japanese pottery company. The company requires apprentices to work for 20 years before becoming full time at the company. After making every pot for the first twenty years the masters will break their pots to keep apprentices from becoming too attached to any one creation. 2022-10-0633 minWhat Is Humans?State of FluxAs we have stated many times, change is the only constant. Something that is hard to come to terms with especially as humans we fear it so much. Our environments change, and our relationships change, but the one thing more than ever to remember is that we as individuals change. Today, we discuss a Stoic saying from a famous philosopher Heraclitus. He said, “No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” This saying begins to get at a natural phenomenon about...2022-09-2932 minWhat Is Humans?Necessity of BeliefIn order to pursue great things we must first believe that we are great or at least that’s what we would like to propose. Self-belief can oftentimes be the thing that holds us back most when we think about starting off on an unknown path outside of our comfort zones. We convince ourselves that we aren’t capable or worthy of the rewards that may come from the hard work along the way. The ebbs and flows of life can have an effect on the way we perceive ourselves and what we are capable of. We...2022-09-2234 minWhat Is Humans?Remixing The WheelRarely in life are we creating something truly original. Whether we are looking to innovate, reach our goals, or simply be creative subconsciously we are inspired by creations we have seen already in our life. Oftentimes this can seem daunting or discouraging. The idea that we may have to create something truly unique and from scratch can seem unimaginably difficult, and on the other side it can seem discouraging that your ideas aren’t truly unique, but rather a new interpretation of a previous idea. In order to reach the goals we set out for ours...2022-09-1534 minWhat Is Humans?Joy IntoleranceOver time, inventions and progression of society have made our lives exponentially easier. As humans we naturally seek out pleasure, as a defense mechanism. This isn’t comfort vs discomfort, but rather the idea that with so many pain killers and open opportunities for joy in our lives we might not know true happiness nearly as much as generations before us. True happiness is a vague term that is different for everyone but in this case could be described as the unwavering joy that secedes some sort of pain. The ability to overcome obstacles or hard...2022-09-0832 minWhat Is Humans?Negative Space Balance is noticeable, but never more so than in design. A discipline that has been trained over years and years to recognize when two elements are too close or too far. These elements are related these paragraphs are completely different. We have trained our minds to quickly recognize and decipher information in this way. However, some things that are so glaringly obvious on paper can be terribly hard to recognize in our own lives. With us almost always at the center of our own self portraits of the world we can forget what lies behind. A b...2022-09-0127 minWhat Is Humans?Power In Proximity Proximity, as in nearness or closeness to a person or place can be an extremely powerful tool. We have talked many times about environments before;creating them for ourselves, the ones we grew up with and the ones that are created around us. In this instance, we will discuss not only the benefits of surrounding ourselves with people that are looking to challenge us but also closeness to ideas, beliefs and values that are challenging us as well. In contrast to other episodes where we have discussed balance, today we will look at im...2022-08-2533 minWhat Is Humans?Lead With Legacy In what ways can thinking of the end bring us peace of mind in the present? How can we gather strength from past generations before us? Today we begin to look at the people that we want to become and how that can direct us in the right direction in the present. In everyday life mundane decisions like where to eat, what television show to watch, or which shirt to wear can seem insignificant especially without thinking about your future self. Humans naturally are working to escape pain, doing whatever in the moment to seek out...2022-08-1829 minWhat Is Humans?Embrace FateLife is constantly fluctuating and changing, good things and bad things all of the time. With so many of our lives we live a good life one we rarely ever have to recollect or think about until something bad happens. In that moment as a negative comes into our lives we have many decisions; happy or sad, angry or accepting. The ultimate realization is that most of the time these negatives are out of our control. A moment in time that leaves us aloof as to the next step. That moment acts...2022-08-1129 minWhat Is Humans?Power of PossibilityIn life doors close, life becomes stagnant and in many ways it can feel that the universe is working against us. Options seem fleeting and possibilities seem limited. The way out can seem elusive to the naked eye unsure which way to go or where to turn. In those moments it is important to recognize and respond by stepping out and exploring what the world has to offer. Our routines and lives can become habits almost to our detriment, limiting us to what we are truly capable of experiencing. In this episode we will look at...2022-08-0432 minWhat Is Humans?BalanceBalance is a constant challenge for every person, it is rarely perfect with any one person and often can become a major burden whether we take on too many things or just one. This week Shane and Dennis discuss new hit show on Apple TV Severance and the very real conversation it explores about work life balance. While the extreme version of work life balance can be not nearly as severe it still begs the question, is balance even correct to begin with? Everything in moderation, a common phrase, can come out to m...2022-07-2836 min