Kind: captions
Language: en
all right so welcome everybody to
another episode of after impact today
we're going to be diving deep with Jason
Silva and joining me on the mic rocking
the mic today is Dr finesse also known
as Christopher McDonald agent Smith is
out sick today uh but we have the doctor
in his place so here we go all right
what what do you have for us Dr so Tom
I'm going to start with the quote from
the episode all right art is the lie
that reveals the truth um I guess talk
to me about what that means to you and
also uh about the larger mission of
impact the oh wow so we're really we're
going we're going hard right off the bat
um the art is or art is the lie that
reveals the truth actually really
interesting it's something that um Jason
talks about a lot and it you know when
you go back and really look at how long
humans have been creating art painting
on cave dwellings um you know all the
way up through Modern Art it really is
our attempt to externalize the internal
experience that we have and film making
to me is sort of the ultimate um version
of that but I think every art you know
from all the different impressionistic
and abstract and um you know modern
variations of painting and things like
that you you really are able to say
something about the object that you're
looking at and um you know whether the
object that you're looking at is a
romance like in a movie or it's a bowl
of fruit or a clock like Dolly you know
so famously painted
you're you're able to to comment on it
and I think that's really um Art's great
ability is to externalize the internal
so it's a lie I guess in the sense that
it it is it is not objective and that if
you were using any sort of objective
measuring device you know you're not
going to get um some of the things that
you see in the subjective um artistic
world but it really does tell you that
emotional flavor so um I I think that's
Arts Art's ability is to communicate
that you're not alone to take these
really deep
um things that you know we all
experience and think that nobody else
has felt like that and externalize it
and I remember my mom actually when when
I first realized that I was in love with
Lisa and my mom said you know the the
most intoxicating thing about love is
feeling like there's no way anybody in
the world has ever felt like you felt
like you feel in that moment that is
true right that's yeah that is very true
and so my mom's statement that is Art to
me that her ability to cut to the truth
of what it feels like to be in love like
I remember that man I'm looking at my
wife right now I remember that and that
sense that no there's no way no one has
ever felt like this it's not possible
like how do things get done if people
feel like this and uh that's Arts
ability Arts great ability is like my
mom uh able to cut through all the
Clutter all the noise and reveal some
inner truth that that you thought only
you had ever experienced and suddenly
you realize you're not alone wow that's
amazing oh and then you asked me to tie
it back to to what we're doing here at
impact Theory correct
um impact Theory will only be fully
revealed over time and I I am this is
one of the great intoxicants for me in
this company is knowing that we're
laying the foundation for something
Grand and fundamentally Paradigm
shifting um that it's this multiphased
approach that will begin to reveal
itself to people and no matter how many
times we try to tell people what we're
doing and it's on the website right now
um they're not really going to
understand until the paradigm shift is
is happening um and being able to really
look at the drivers of culture which to
me is mythology that's the fundamental
driver of cultures mythology and that
we've gotten so good as a society to
create this wonderful mythology from Toy
Story to Star Wars to all the stuff
going on certainly in comic books novels
everything like we're really really good
at at creating the mythology but we
don't know how to internalize it we
don't know how to look at Iron Man and
say I actually want to become Tony Stark
right and so that really is the the
bridge that we want to Gap we want to
the bridge that we want to Gap the Gap
that we want to bridge it's funny how
some part of your brain knows that you
like misspoke even though like it it
happens um so that's the the Gap that we
want to Bridge and in in really looking
at how you do that to me Commerce is the
great engine Commerce is the thing that
is is going to allow us to to bridge
that Gap and what does that look like to
me it looks like really beginning to
show people how to deconstruct mythology
and how to apply it to entrepreneurship
because I think people right now really
don't understand why we're focused on
two things which is mythology creation
and Entrepreneurship and to me the
reason is that entrepreneurship does not
mean owning a business it means being
able to look at an obstacle and figuring
out how to overcome that in service of
your goal so if your goal is to be the
best mom ever awesome but there's going
to be so many obstacles and in fact
that's more terrifying to me than
actually running a business uh I think
it was Aristotle Aristotle or Plato who
said The only impossible job is being a
parent and um it kids are like the
butterfly effect incarnate like who
knows what weird comment on one day by
some you know kid at school or a teacher
that says something Kinder in fact just
today my wife was telling me um a story
from her childhood where this guy made
this off-handed comment was a guy that
she really liked and he made this
off-handed comment that she had like a
really um great back right like she's
playing Sports whatever and he's like oh
you have a really so he made it in the
he meant it in the literal sense not the
like you have a she has a my wife has
she works like a demon but she has like
a really muscular back yes and so he
made some off-handed comment which who
knows what it even meant to him but
she's carried it you know all these
years and that's the the butterfly
effect for me you know just like at at
its absolute finest so that raising kids
to me is is way more terrifying than
building business but to bring it all
back around like the the notion of what
we're trying to do is really show people
how execution is the name of the game
and how mythology can help you in
execution and that there was a time
where this was incredibly true and um
you know we're still telling those
stories today and you know my my um
obsession with Joseph Campbell and the
power of myth really goes into it I
won't I won't BL with the point here but
so that's what we're doing we're going
to change society by changing mythology
and showing people how to use it in
execution that's great um as far as
Jason Jason Silva what is it about his
work that resonates with you he's a poet
you know and it's funny my wife was
saying like um she's watching the
episode and she was like I totally get
why you really like this guy because I
to me he's just he's a modern
philosopher poet and he's looking at the
deepest ideas that we face as um as a
you know a species literally and saying
I'm going to deconstruct this and make
this accessible to people and he said a
lot like don't judge the things that I
say like you what an academic I'm not an
academic I am a poet I'm an artist um
and to me Artistry is a thing that is so
often missing from what scientists are
doing that would make it accessible
artists what they do is they make you
feel something right to your um the the
first quote that you started with
artists make you feel something about
the subject matter that you're diving
into and that's why we're approaching
this from mythology mythology really did
the same thing right mythology is meant
to use narrative to reveal some
underlying truth about how you should
behave what the world is like um what
it's like to be at the mercy of nature
you know all the things that um that
mythology was meant to tackle and it
makes it accessible it makes it like our
minds are just wired for narrative and
to fail to understand that and that
that's why it makes me laugh when people
um are so surprised by the rise of um
social media social media is a way for
us to construct a narrative to to Really
frame our life to say who we either are
who we want to be um and like don't ever
be surprised that people mythologize
their own lives right like you have to
you have to make it you have to be able
to encapsulate your experience and
transmit it and so that's what Jason is
able to do he's able to encapsulate
these big ideas and transmit them wow
okay well in the episode you and Jason
discuss how important it is to make
people feel something uh when you're
presenting an idea this comes down to
understanding how to package your
message and tell a story a skill that
must be developed in most people uh what
are some of the small things that you
know people can do to become better
storytellers everything comes down to
practice I mean that and oh God that's
really cheap because I need to tell you
what to practice and hopefully right now
people are blowing up the comments
saying that they're just not okay with
that answer um so God what should you
practice all right understanding what
details are critical that's important
understanding what details are going to
resonate emotionally with people um I
think the most important part of a story
is emotional resonance and unless you
can tap into the universal um and that's
something Joseph canell talks very
powerfully about in the power of myth is
finding these Elemental things these
things that are so true of what it means
to be a human just understanding how
we're going to process data um and that
was one of the most interesting things
for me about film school is they begin
to teach you about the physical way in
which people interact with the film so
they talk about the ear and how there's
this muscle around the ear and it sounds
get louder that muscle actually tightens
and it essentially turns down the volume
on the ear so if you want something to
be like sustained loud you have to
understand you have to like punctuate it
with moments of silence or it won't be
loud again um and that's something that
uh is has been handled really really
powerfully in movies like gravity um
where you know they've got in the
capsule out of the cap was it in the in
the um the helmet and then out of the
helmet and so they're able to punctuate
like absolute silence which then makes
your ear relax so that you can then have
a loud noise again so understanding like
those really fundamental Elemental
things about the way that people are
digesting your information that's really
really important so understanding
neurology the brain all of that just you
know understanding humans um and then do
it over and over and over tell a story
watch for the reaction tell a story
watch for the reaction refine refine
refine refine refine refine okay this
question comes from one of our impac
toist nice um Tom does it worry you that
virtual reality and ultimately
Singularity might result in the
population re-entering The Matrix but
this time one that would genuinely be
controlled by machines and the people
who design them I find the upsides of
virtual reality helping us work together
to solve worldwide crisis so exciting
but to be honest I'm somewhat sad at the
idea that this beautiful imperfect
reality would wouldn't be enough for us
ever
again man so he and I really um see
things differently so uh rather than go
off on my own tangent about how excited
I am about that let's just deal with the
fundamental human truth so here
technology is a oneway street period
you're never going to be able to stop it
now the question becomes why why are you
never ever ever going to be able to stop
technology and the reason is technology
is Hope and you may be able to hit reset
points like you may be able to um blow
everybody up and you know now we go
backwards and but it'll just rebuild
again like technology is a hope for a
better life and so everything from fire
to language to you know all the things
that Jason's actually going to be
exploring in his new show Origins uh
which that is me plugging the [ __ ] out
of that show for my boy I'm under no
contractual obligation to do that but uh
but yeah just I'm so excited about that
show um so yeah that is my wife is
telling me to look at the cameras it's
totally [ __ ] distracting me uh so I
have no idea where I was going with that
but I'm going to look you guys right in
the eye while I say that I have no idea
where I was headed with that um but uh
yeah what what was the where was I
supposed to take us on that one well he
wanted to know if the up you know there
are some oh yeah God we're getting stuck
back into the Matrix um so my whole
thing is that technology is oneway
street it's never going to go backwards
minus catastrophe and even catastrophe
will only reset and then we will you
know keep going again um so that to me
is is you're never going to be able to
crush out hope you wouldn't want to stay
optimistic I think amazing things are
going to happen like anything it's going
to be a mixed bag it'll be a bumpy ride
it's not going to be like Smooth Sailing
it's going to be hard to get us there
but um you know at the end of the day I
think that that transcending our limits
is part of the human spirit and wanting
to get off the planet wanting to climb
to the top of a mountain wanting to
build societies it that is one of the
things that has led us to be the apex
predator so um stuff like that I don't
know I I just don't struggle with that
emotionally I I don't have a problem
with that I think that once we're um
dealing inside of um a truly constructed
reality which maybe we already are right
but once we're in the next recursive um
version of The Matrix if this is the
Matrix then we'll create things that are
even more interesting and more beautiful
and and I'm sure there will also be
suffering and you know I doubt that
we'll ever be able to fully get rid of
that but um since we don't really know
what's going to happen and I don't think
we could stop it without something
violent and destructive anyway which is
already the negative thing that you fear
so why would you bring that about um
without that then you know just be
optimistic and and try to shape it and
that's my thing is you know as a sort of
Junior futurist as I as I referred to
myself in the episode try to bring that
future into being that you think is
great but trying to stop the future from
happening to me as a Fool's erand yeah
just to jump in I completely agree and
we've seen it time and time again from
people way back in the day who used to
just use a pen to write and suddenly
this typewriter comes along like what's
what is this technology I don't want to
learn the typewriter then they're
getting left behind because they didn't
learn the type and uh you know when the
television came along and changed
propelled technology and prepared
propelled information coming your way
and people didn't adopt to it and they
didn't adapt to it and same thing with
the iPhone it took me a while to get an
iPhone I was like what is this I don't
need an iPhone and I got left behind I
was still on I even I didn't think I had
a Blackberry I think I had a Nokia flip
phone wow and I was still behind and
people were sending me photos that I
couldn't get um so I mean you just have
to adapt or die when it comes to
technology that's I'm on the same page
with you yeah it's it's fascinating to
me how people resist and the one example
that I will give of myself is I resisted
um 3D animation and I refus to go see uh
Toy Story and the reason was I I so I'll
give you an idea I so value the the
ability to draw like it is so amazing to
me and so impressive and something so
desperately aspire to and wish that I
had um some sort of natural gift so that
it would be sort of high return for me
to practice SE I'm not saying I couldn't
get good at it I'm just saying it's not
a high return thing for me because I
don't have sort of the natural skills um
that I could build on um I I love that
so much when I was 19 I said and I
didn't meet my wife till I was 24 when I
was 19 I said I will either marry
somebody who can draw or sing like that
those two things are just so captivating
to me so to me um 3D animation signal
the death of the ability to really draw
now obviously I've since really come to
understand how much Artistry Still
Remains in the 3D World now I'm totally
obsessed with it but that was the one
sort of Lite moment in my life where I
was foolishly resisting the future and
now like seeing what they're able to do
with 3D animation is so amazing and I
love it so much that it's like that that
and halumi cheese remind me to tell that
story someday Toy Story and the beauty
that is 3D animation and halumi cheese
have taught me two very powerful lessons
about not uh resisting trying new things
not resisting change like shape the
change right the best way to predict the
future is to create it shape the change
rather than be afraid of it and I
actually have somebody that I used to be
very very very close to and this person
literally was prepared to become a
Draconian leader and if you know what
Draconian means like to crush down all
scientists because he's he is so afraid
of the future like he's actually
prepared to dedicate himself to that wow
that should always stru me is like so
crazy it's like be ra come on like so
you're going to like Crush what it means
to be human to spare us from what the
fact that we might do something
destructive so you'd rather Usher that
in like it's so so weird to me yeah it's
a little crazy so I have a couple
Facebook questions yeah buddy um so this
one comes from Michael Foster what
triggers your Flow State and how do you
stay in the zone for little period of
time well um so the question what
triggers my flow State and how do I stay
in a state stay a flow for a long time
so first of all I want to remind
everybody that if you share this that
you enter to win um one of the books off
my reading list and I'm trying to make
um agent Smith proud right now he told
me not to forget to remind people about
that uh so yeah what gets me into a flow
state so for me it's all about
concentration it's about deep work I
need um to find a way to tune out the
distractions and then especially
especially especially if the stakes are
high so I'll give you an example when
I'm preparing for an episode
of um impact theory in fact yesterday
was a great example so yesterday the
guest was flying in they ended up being
really late and so my day sorted drug
out and I never really had that moment
of like okay they're coming now and
because I didn't have that time pressure
it like kept getting pushed back I never
actually got into flow with my research
because there was I didn't have the
stakes of like I'm running out of time
and there's something about having the
high stakes moment um where you know you
really have to get it done in crunch
time and actually honestly I think white
summed it up way better than than I'm
doing now which is that you you have
practiced something so much so much so
much um the stakes are incredibly high
and some part of you doesn't give a [ __ ]
like that's when you really get into
flow because when you're obsessed too
much about the victory about crushing it
whatever that you stay in your own head
so you actually have to not give a [ __ ]
a little bit um and then that allows you
to really slip into flow but when I
think about trying to get into flow for
me what I'm thinking about very
specifically is deep work so I put my
headphones on I'll put like film scores
on so there's no lyrics because I find
that lyrics are I didn't know that do
the same thing really swear to God I
have a film score playlist on my phone
be rather then we got to share yeah we
got to share yeah my man all right
what's some go-tos for you oh man
anything by John Barry really I don't
even think he's on my playlist really oh
Manny's fantastic Somewhere in Time uh
uh the dances Dances with Wolves uh
absolutely love that one wow uh and Han
Zimmer I mean you can't go wrong with
him got I'm deep on the Han Zimmer
Rachel Portman that's kind of uh hers is
kind of romantic but all right gets you
in the zone I mean just anything you
could think of wow now do you
specifically avoid
lyrics uh not all the time but nine
times out of 10 I put on a movie score
nine times out of 10 and if I'm doing
something athletic I always always go to
Bill kti Rocky always go to specifically
go in the distance nice I mean I will
play the hell out of a sporting event if
I put that on first wow yeah that's
interesting so if I need to get amped up
I'm doing lyrics all day really lyrics
are super critical to me but if I'm
trying to create then I I need I can't
have the lyrics because my mind grabs
onto words so powerfully that I I go
down into whatever emotion they're
trying to express convey whatever
whereas when it's just the music it
Tunes out all the distractions for me
I'm not thinking about um anything else
like I'm not I don't hear anything else
um my world just like closes down and
for me that um which I've heard I
actually have never done um what's that
drug that makes you focus oh I wouldn't
even know what is it Aderall Aderall so
the millennial in the crowd's like
Aderall [ __ ] exactly let me tell
you right now you want some you want
some um so yeah I've never I've never
[ __ ] with Aderall um I did uh oh God
what's the one that uh keeps you awake
they gave it to fighter pilots it's anti
narcolepsy we're totally derailing on
drugs but I think that Jason would
really appreciate it so let's like go
down this path I've never done
psilocybin which is like his jam oh yeah
um but uh God God damn it what is the
name of that drug it keep it's an
antartic anyway I've done that I that
was actually amazing when I traveled to
the UK if I can get my hands on it like
that's the the bee's knees it doesn't um
it doesn't like make you feel amped you
just aren't tired and until you've
experienced it it's hard to explain that
there's a difference between um like the
sort of jittery caffeine thing and then
just not being tired it is the absence
of sleepiness um and so that's super
powerful if you're traveling and
hopefully by the end of this I remember
what it's called um but yeah I've never
done adall but when people do adall they
say that like your world your focus just
becomes like laser like you can
literally feel your world sort of
closing in that's how I feel when I put
headphones on I love over the ear
headphones like love love love over thee
headphones in fact so originally when we
were doing the show I had headphones
like my man um Dr finesse here and it
just wasn't getting me like in the vibe
so I we had to find a way for me to be
able to use these you had to go the B
yeah I had to like get them over ear um
so yeah music no lyrics deep work where
I know that I've got something intense
to focus on hopefully there's some
Stakes that's how I stay in it um but I
do pop out like there's no question I
wouldn't say that I get into flow for
maybe more than like 45 minutes at a
time like more than that's tough if I'm
writing though and there have been times
oh God hey fun story and by the way if
people are like dude we got it then I'll
move on but like this is interesting to
me so there was one time I was um I
worked as a full-time writer at one
point in my life and um I was writing
the story that was set when it was
raining so in the story it's raining
okay now this I had blackout curtains so
but like photographic blackout curtain
so there was absolutely no light in the
room other than from the computer okay I
was writing in the middle of the day and
I had I'd been riding for like eight
hours whatever I walked out of the room
opened the door and like bright sunlight
everywhere it was so disjoining because
in my head it had been raining for the
last eight hours it was gray it was
dreary it was cold raining and when I
came out I realized oh my God that was
all make
believe so there there are times where
if I'm writing I can get into a prong
Zone all
right joh he says we love the intervie
thank you for that absolutely um the
book Lynch pin speaks about our school
system and the lack of artistry how do
you think we can change that in schools
now so uh the question is the book
lynchpin which is by Seth Goen amazing
amazing book um talks about how there's
a lack of artistry in school and how do
we address that and I don't know that I
have any good insights into education um
I think that there are some pretty
profound people working on it um I will
simply say that if you can ignite
somebody's imagination if you can get
them to really fall in love with what
they're doing um then you've got a shot
and I think that what Elon Musk is
pondering I don't know how deep he is in
it but what he's pondering from an
educational standpoint is pretty
interesting which is to gear it all
around problem solving um which for me
makes a lot of sense like I remember in
math I was really bad at math unless the
teacher would make me go to the board
and then I had to figure it out right
because she's not going to let me sit
down like the fact that I don't know it
is very um evident and there's something
fascinating in education where when
you're learning something a lot of times
some part of your brain thinks you
understand it but you really don't so
you'll be sitting there taking notes go
yeah yeah yeah totally got this got it
got it got it and then you go to do it
and you're like holy [ __ ] like there's
some Gap in here that I didn't actually
realize that I had and so being at the
board really forced me to um to actually
learn it um so I think really showing
kids how this stuff is going to be
advantageous how they're going to use it
is really really important but what I
don't understand is kids don't know what
they want right like 99 times out of a
100 kids do not know what they want they
don't know what they're going to go on
to do what's going to really light them
on fire and so how you don't give
everybody some sort of Base I don't know
and like I really thought math was a
joke I thought it was stupid and then I
became an entrepreneur and realized oh
my God like I use math all the time and
like not understanding math now was
holding me back and like really having
to spend time like learning how to do
things like um find the percent of
something which I didn't know how to do
because I cheated my way through high
school and then in college I didn't have
to take it so it's like you know when
people ask like what would you go back
and tell your you know younger self I
would punch myself in the mouth and say
[ __ ] pay attention in class like
actually learn this [ __ ] you're going to
use it like this stuff is actually
usable unless you plan to be a cog and a
machine somewhere like you like
knowledge is Power Man like really
acquire this stuff so long story short I
have no good answers I am not the person
to ask that question to but thank you
nonetheless it was fun to
answer all right so uh how do you
sustain inspiration particularly during
the banality of building a business oh
God I want to like eat the mic as I
answer this question all right so this
this I'm a [ __ ] expert on I will tell
you this right now everybody at home
whatever you're doing if you're driving
a car I want you to stop pull over I
want you to take notes on this [ __ ] all
right your brain is a runaway machine it
is not going to pay attention to you it
is going to flit and flirt and fly all
around the place and your job is to sit
down and do deep work and really get
good at things and the way to do that is
to learn neuroanatomy to understand how
the brain works to understand that it
bounces around but most importantly to
understand that things like attention
can be crafted now I'm going to liken
this to love because I think it's
something that most people are going to
be able to understand here is the truth
about love here's here's the truth about
learning here's the truth about getting
good at anything grabbing a hold of your
brain whatever the case may
be it will never happen by accident
you're not going to stay in love forever
love is not something that is a
perpetual motion machine it doesn't just
stay in continue you have to decide what
you're going to focus on so with love
for instance with my wife I knew even
before I met her that love is a is um a
chemical State that's it it's it's
certain brain chemistry happening in
your brain and just like a fire will
eventually burn itself out no matter how
big no matter how bright no matter how
much wood there is on that fire
ultimately it will burn out unless you
do
what put more wood on the [ __ ] fire
right like go chop down a tree cut it up
put it on the fire you can keep it going
forever right there's nothing that says
that that fire can't last forever it
just an unattended fire can't last
forever so you have to learn how to
maintain your brain chemistry you have
to learn how to maintain your focus have
to learn how to get excited about
something so how do I stay passionate
how do I stay enthusiastic how do I stay
excited about something I understand
that like right now I am actually
practicing being excited I know that the
way moving my arms right for people that
are just listening I my arms are up yes
all right my arms are up because I know
that the way that you change your
physicality changes your brain chemistry
that I know when I do this like if you
see me do this I am like riding a wave
of what's Happening like the passion the
energy like even the way that like I'm
bouncing myself I'm doing all of this
stuff because I practice it time and
time again the fact that I start talking
faster I force myself to do
that I force myself to do that and I
want people to understand that's how you
start getting good at this stuff is you
understand like people want the
beautiful things in their life like
passion love they want it to be natural
they want it to be
automatic and they will all fail because
the human mind does not work like that
the human mind neurons that fire
together wi together so you have to
force some sort of
correlation you have to force these
things together you've got to practice
them you've got to put them on a loop so
that if I want to get excited now
because I've done it so many times where
when I feel like that first like thread
of excitement I [ __ ] pull and Pull
and Pull and I do all the things that I
need to do to reinforce it to amp it up
to get it going so that I change my
posture and now just changing my posture
will change the way that I feel in fact
if I start like oh God this has happened
sometimes where I'll be sitting um with
a guest I'll be doing an interview and
for whatever reason I'm just [ __ ] low
energy and I know I'm bringing the show
down now I know it's because for
whatever reason my brain is going slowly
but I know how to reverse speed up my
brain normally you start talking fast
because your brain is going fast but I
know that the reverse will work as well
and if I start talking fast my brain
will speed up so I'll literally I'll be
sitting there and I know like and I use
this technique a lot my wife is not
impressed with me right now okay and I
everything everything I do in life
everything is a ruse to impress my wife
that's it if you want to know why I
exist I exist because I love the
neurochemistry of impressing my wife so
much like the world could [ __ ] hate
me but if she looks at me with that look
like you know the look right if she
looks at me with that look like nothing
else matters and so I've just had to
learn like to capture all these things
so that I get good so when I have that
moment where I'm thinking my wife is not
impressed right now I force myself to
reverse engineer the things that will
get me into that brain State I hope yall
took notes that's one of the secrets of
the universe I took some notes in my
head I'm learning something I tpe I've
now got so amped up like I have to take
my sweatshirt I mean just in time for
Valentine's Day I'm going to come back
yeah buddy come back to my wife and be
extra romantic with some of those words
man um okay so here's another quote to
fully Enis vividly live in the present
is to also be acquainted with the fact
that it is expiring as we live through
it how do you relate to this you know
it's interesting that's something that
really like haunts Jason and um I I
think that what makes him so great is he
so fears the fleeting and I love that
about him and and I really think that
that essentially is the foundation to
all of his art and we actually talk
about that in the episode that you know
his um his existential dread over the
impermanence of everything um is is all
tied to that I don't have that same fear
like I so fully get that everything that
we do is fleeting that um I'm so excited
about whatever's coming next and I so
understand how to recreate the feeling
that um while that moment may pass that
in fact I I'll say it another way thank
God everything is fleeting thank God the
the um so I've studied Buddhism while I
do not consider myself a Buddhist uh by
any means and and I'm sure there are
many people that could slap me around
with knowledge of Buddhism but there is
one line that always stuck with me and
it is my most cherished belief from
everything that I've ever encountered
with Buddhism and that is this two shall
pass this two shall pass I live by that
right and so here's why I will never
commit suicide ever like I I just so
know that that concept is so foreign to
me because of two things one I know how
to manipulate my brain chemistry and
that I know that even like like true
mental illness depression can be Unwound
not easily I'm not saying it's easy okay
but as somebody who has struggled very
profoundly with anxiety I can tell you
this [ __ ] is unwind so you can unwind it
you can rewire your brain literally um
so one I know that brain chemistry is
manipulatable that the brain is
malleable that you can change it um and
then two this too shall pass like
whatever thing is dragging you down I'll
speak speak for myself whatever is
dragging me down I just tell myself this
too shall pass this to Shall Pass like
and sometimes it does not pass quickly
right it can be months maybe it's a year
but it is going to pass especially if
you're doing all the things that you
need to to unwind that mental pattern
right and I I struggled with anxiety and
and still do quite frankly but not like
I used to and so unwinding that was a
multi-year process so when I say this to
Shall Pass I'm not saying that happens
like in an instant but I'm saying that
if you put in the work you know it's
going to pass and the intensity of
emotions like those those pass
heartbreak death like it all It All
Passes so because I have that like um
I'm grateful that Jason sees it a
different way because he's created such
beauty out of that fear of transience um
but [ __ ] man I I am grateful for it I am
grateful that anguish doesn't last and
if what I have to accept is that beauty
and Joy also dissipate so that I know
that anguish could never grip me forever
dude I'm okay with that why do you think
anxiety and depression is uh you know so
prevalent
today and I mean and this goes again
that that's like you want to talk about
a question aimed at why impact Theory
exists that's the one um so just as a
quick reminder and thank you Cindy for
that um everybody this is after impact
we're going deep on the Jason Silva
episode and by by the way if you share
this you enter yourself to win one of
the books off my reading list so please
guys share this it's going to help us
build this community uh which is our
everything um okay so the question why
do I think that depression and anxiety
is so prevalent um I think there are a
lot of factors that I don't understand
and so please that the answer that I'm
about to give understand I am well aware
that this is very a very very partial
answer um but this comes down to the
modern context that we're living is sort
of always on always active somebody like
myself who who actually enjoys that fact
but understands there's now something
you have to combat which is um you know
the the levels of stress the levels of
um when you're striving for something
the inevitable comparisons the focusing
on things that you don't have really
driving yourself to achieve you know we
live in this hyperconnected Society
where there's so many people so there's
so many tales of grandiosity and you
know normally we're only in groups of
150 people and in a group of 150 people
you can probably more easily find a
place to deliver value because it's a
much smaller group and so there's much
uh fewer people to compete against and
as this gets bigger and bigger and we're
always on and always pushing and it's
never enough and keeping up with Joneses
and all that and we don't understand and
this is the
key we don't understand that our brain
is wiring itself with all the things
that we focus on so if we spend all of
our time with what we lack and we spend
all of our time with how we don't
measure up and we spend all of our time
feeling judged by people and that's what
we focus on that's what your brain's
going to wire for and you you are
literally hardwiring yourself your for
anxiety for depression okay it is it is
a state of wiring so you have to really
really be careful and I think I've
talked aggressively about how I use the
chip on my shoulder how I use um not
feeling adequate to propel me forward
but I also really really hope people
here that I am so aware that I get what
I focus on that I spend and will tie it
to the 8020 rule that 80% of my time I'm
focused on what's beautiful what I'm
grateful for what's empowering Joy love
um all the amazing things and then only
20% of my time using that stuff to kick
me in the ass to you know the negative
stuff to propel me forward so I'm very
very careful about what I focus on all
right um this kind of goes along uh
anxiety and depression I believe uh
Jason talks about having a fire in your
belly which you have also prefer to as a
sickness um for people who don't wake up
every day with this feeling um How do
they harness that fire you got to create
it man like you you have to create it so
for instance when I can feel that my
brain is slowing down and I'm not making
quick connections and I just feel um
like a chump what most people do is they
start panicking and they start thinking
oh my God maybe I'm not as good as I
thought I was maybe uh maybe I really am
a chump maybe I'm not good at this like
oh my God what if this has all been
self-d delusion and they just spin out
of control I do something very very
different which is when I can feel that
my brain is mush and that little voice
in my head goes this this has all been a
lie you're actually not good at this
like you're really um slow you've always
been a little dimwitted that's when I go
yeah well that would be stupid to listen
to that I know if I start talking faster
right now that my brain will actually
speed up to catch up ah here we go and
now the mere Act of doing that like you
start pumping different chemicals in
your brain or if I'm just like cortisol
is coursing through me and I'm feeling
my anxiety rise I'll start breathing
meditating right I in fact I'll just put
a really fine point on this I have
learned to use my
physicality to manipulate my brain
chemistry and that is that has been an
obsessive study of mine now for 10 years
or
more I'm have to look into that I doe it
and every answer you're looking for is
there Vim Hoff is somebody that I really
really want to get on the show I was
doing some research on him this morning
dude that guy is crazy crazy and I
remember right yeah the IC man when I
first learned about him honestly I
thought no there's no way there's no way
like this is total [ __ ] like this is
some one-off thing and like I just I
couldn't believe he's been studied now
like six ways of Sunday where they
injected him with some virus and they
can actually watch him um alter his
immune system it's just crazy it's crazy
so basically what he's learned how to do
is get control of his autonomic nervous
system it it's wow it's amazing so you
know human potential is is ridiculous
none of us are anywhere near the outer
edges of it so okay well Jason says
trying to flag us down oh sorry
C this from Dan Dan bro what's up dude
so first we'll start with what did you
learn from Jason Sila so your biggest
take and then the second question would
be reflecting back on you're studying
the brain over these years where would
you begin or like recommend someone to
um okay so let me just remind myself
that I have two questions what did I
learn from Jason and then where to begin
with the brain okay I'm going to
practice holding those two things um so
what have I learned from Jason so this
concept of ecstasis um of really holding
on to that really being able to
cultivate that and quite frankly turn it
into art and if I can sort of lump two
things together using your sickness to
create something beautiful so Jason's
sickness is that he is so afraid of the
um the ephemeral nature of joy of beauty
of a shared moment with somebody that he
he creates things to for himself to be
able to hold on to them for them to last
longer and out of that has been born
Jason Sila right and and I love that
about him so much and while I've always
used my sickness to drive me towards
success I haven't necessarily used it to
drive me towards creating something of
beauty um and so that is is really
really interesting especially as we step
into the phase that we're stepping into
now where storytelling is going to be a
big thing for us to really to create
literal art um is going to be a big
thing for us um that that's a really
important reminder that you can really
funnel um those emotions into something
truly truly wonderful um where to begin
with the brain
um wow so my book list which is 25 books
long not all of them deal directly with
the brain but some of them deal
certainly indirectly if I had to like
say what book I would start with
Incognito by David Eagleman that's a
great place to start for like real neuro
anatomy and then anybody who's in a
relationship uh if you're female or in a
relationship with a woman of any kind
your mother wife sisters so basically
everybody there's a book called the
female brain I knew my wife would look
up you all saw me pause right and look
cuz I knew my wife was going to look up
and that turned in look too yeah yeah oh
yeah yeah for SCH my wife is obsessed
with this book um it it is is amazing
and it's all about the neuroanatomy of
the female brain and how it changes it's
just so so so incredible um but yeah so
those two books are just straight
neuroanatomy great places to
start Cindy did you have a all right
while we wait to see what Cindy has for
us I will say share this bad boy uh and
enter to win a one of the 25 books on my
list in fact we could get you um
Incognito the female brain isn't on my
list that's the one hard thing about
cramming things down into 25 books like
it's tough like there are just there are
a hundred other books easily easily
hundred other books that are just game
changers totally totally amazing that
aren't on my list so please don't think
that that is like some definitive list
but they are the the first 25 books you
should read in order by the way I put
them in order just to make it really
nice and easy um you could be read out
of order of course and I didn't read
them in that order but that's my best um
attempt at optimizing those things for
you guys
so this one comes from Chris on Facebook
can you give me a brief example of what
sort of talk down technique you use to
calm yourself when you feel your anxiety
rise I don't talk so what kind of talk
down do I use to lower my anxiety I
don't talk breathing is the key to
anxiety breathing breathing breathing
like you have to trigger so let's talk
about like people you you really really
really need to start at a physical level
because anxiety is a physiological
response um something I had never talked
publicly about before until like a week
ago um is how being cold makes me feel
anxious and that's why I hate being cold
so much because the the physiological
response of being cold is identical uh
to the physiological response that I get
with anxiety so like this slight shivery
this um unrooted sense I don't know I I
don't feel like rooted yeah I don't feel
grounded I don't know how to explain it
so being cold gives me that same [ __ ]
feeling so literally whether you make me
cold or you actually trigger like some
fear based anxious response I feel the
same so um that's why I'm I like bundle
up to death because I don't want to get
in like an anxiety Loop okay um so but
I'm actually now I'm I'm I started
practicing it in New York to actually
force myself to be cold and remind my
brain to separate in fact this is
something that Jason talked about in the
episode he said you know I get into
these anxiety loops and then I just
realize oh I just need to pee and that
he's mistaking one physiological
response for another and that that so
once you under what's that very to what
Mel was talking about too yes that's
very true Mel Robbins Cindy was pointing
out Mel Robins we got to get you a
[ __ ] mic while we're doing this
because you got great nuggets um so Mel
Robin said the same thing um Jason was
talking about the same thing like you
you begin to mistake one physiological
response for another now I bring all of
that up because all of this to me starts
with understanding how to go the other
way right so if your brain hijacks your
physiology you can use your physiology
to take back over your brain this is so
critical like if you want to know one of
the things that I've just used to propel
myself forward it's that it's
understanding things like um laughing
out loud which I my wife and I have used
in our relationship so powerfully um
using uh physiology speaking fast taking
up more space to get enthusiastic to
stay excited um so when I'm feeling
anxious I I understand what's going on
on a physiological level so you have two
different parts of your nervous system
you've got the sympathetic nervous
system which is fight flight or freeze
fight fight flight or freeze and then
you have the parasympathetic nervous
system which is known as rest and digest
so you're you're always fluctuating
between these two modes so if you find
that one is going too far um and the
other needs to kick in like my brain is
going slow I'm way too far on rest and
digest I need to kick myself in to fight
I need to amp myself up so I do things
to my physiology to get my brain to
speed up um so if I feel that I'm going
into an anxiety loop I know that I need
to trigger the parasympathetic nervous
system which is rest and digest and the
way to do that and
I dude it's Times Like These that I wish
I were religious cuz I want to thank
somebody for having such an amazing
trigger simply doing breath
control it it's so weird like it works
every time it doesn't work sometimes it
works every [ __ ] time so learning how
to um which is why I got into meditation
by the way um learning how to meditate
to use your breath control to eliminate
anxiety has just been incred incredibly
incredibly powerful I've taken up excuse
me I've taken up box breathing ever
since you told me about it boy markine
yeah about a month ago so I've been
practicing box breathing and it's kind
of worked here and there I mean it's
something you've got to learn eventually
you know um and I suggest that to to
everyone out there box breathing is
definitely key so I thank you for that
tip absolutely man you can look up Mark
deine Mark Divine will teach you all
about box breathing uh Jason says he has
an aversion to believing in magic magic
uh but still lives as if he believes in
Magic it's paradoxical why do you have
to be able to hold two competing ideas
in your head in order to be successful
yeah man this is oh God this isn't this
is like a graduate level [ __ ] right here
this is this is your doctoral thesis um
being able to hold two ideas in your
head is one of the most important things
I think um in the recipe for Success uh
you have to be I'll I'll give you one
that I hold all the time Tom you're good
enough
Tom you're not good enough dude I hold
those in my head all the time um and and
I'm sure this frustrates you guys to no
end like people will come with the most
amazing news we had another clip go
viral what's up Mel Robinson uh just
broke two million on that we obviously
the Simon sck one was just unbelievable
did over 150 million views so we are now
officially the viral video Kings of this
genre like for real though right I mean
we've had some clips like do some real
business um which is amazing and
obviously we're just incredibly honored
by the guests that come on and share the
stuff we are well aware that it is the
guests that are going viral um and we
see it as our job to create the
environment for them to bring that to
the table which is why it's not
happening for anybody else because we
just create a totally unique environment
that's like an ad for us uh so that's
one for Jason one for us um and you know
uh being able to create that um
environment where where this gu oh man I
really thought I could [ __ ] Vamp for
a second and catch back where I was was
uh but instead of dragging people down
and having to cut this out where were we
headed basically I'm sorry two IDE two
ideas yeah yeah two competing ideas I
really tried to bring that [ __ ] back
around um so yeah holding two competing
ideas it really is the the thing that
you need to do so the you're good enough
you're not good enough they bring me the
stuff we just you know went viral again
it was amazing and now I'm just thinking
okay what's that next thing right like
it's not enough now I'm back to okay
well then the goal that we set for
oursel cuz we had an ecosystem wide goal
to at the end of 2017 to be at 100,000
across the ecosystem and we're growing
so fast now that's just not enough MH so
what people have to understand is I'm
not saying like hey you guys have [ __ ]
up I'm just saying that you you've got
to know when to go back and forth
between these two so now it's like hey
by saying like we're we're not good
enough like we did this and and we all
came over here and we celebrated and
we're like oh my God like we're amazing
we're the viral video Kings this is
awesome like we're crushing it we're
growing so much faster now I know we
have to shift back over here and now
we've got to focus on we're not good
enough right because if we don't do that
then we're not going to hit my real goal
which is
500,000 by the end of the year right so
and now everybody's panicking again so
but that's like that's you have to do
that give and take right because
otherwise people get comfortable and I
think Comfort is the death of success
like you never be successful if you get
comfortable so and that's just one
example I mean there's just so many more
okay
yeah break it down all right so this one
comes from Laura you and Jason both the
power of Stell to INSP and others so
effectively does that mean you disagree
with leaders like eart to who say that
all mental stories reinforce the
false yeah yeah I'm afraid I do and is
it eart tol or eart toy can somebody
please I need a definitive answer
thought it was toally I thought it was
toally I don't know oh man and the thing
is I can't I can't Double Down
so if if somebody who knows definiely
wants to throw that into the comments I
would be forever grateful um so I do
disagree with that and um I disagree
with people that sneer at um narrative
toly all right so echar toly um I've
seen people that I consider just
insanely intelligent sneer at um
narrative um and and make it sound like
you're making [ __ ] up and it's that is
how the human mind works like the human
mind needs narrative to make sense of
things and when you can take an abstract
concept and give it to people in the
form of a narrative like the human brain
over hundreds of thousands millions of
years depending on how you want to look
at it has been evolving to where we are
now and what it has optimized for is
narrative simple as now you can sit
there and fight it it's like people that
say well um oh fake it till you make it
is
[ __ ] no like that's that's how
confidence works like that is literally
the the feedback loop that your brain is
in so I'll give you an example and then
somebody will help me um get back on
track with do I disagree with eart tole
and narrative being a lie um that this
if you guys have read outliers by
Malcolm Gladwell he talks about how kids
that are the oldest in their class end
up becoming professional athletes like
disproportionately more than kids who
are the youngest in their class why
because there is a narrative being told
to them accidentally through their
actions that they're better than other
people but the truth is it's not real
they're just bigger and stronger because
they're older so they may not have any
natural gifts but merely by putting them
it's kind of like what Rocky 3 where he
keeps getting the fake easy fights and
so he's he's winning the no it's is it
one my wife just shamed herself on
national television and then CL Lang
beats when he comes to reality exactly
so it that's what's happening but these
kids build so much confidence that they
just continue to Excel and because they
have confidence they get better coaches
and then they do better because they
have better coaches and more confidence
but it all started with [ __ ] it all
started with they just happened to be
the oldest in their class and so they
were by the realities of how we develop
as human beings they were a little bit
bigger A Little Bit Stronger a little
more emotionally um intelligent and and
so they did better but it was purely
relative it's you know the Clubber Lang
effect so is that fake to me it has a
real outcome so if it has a real outcome
that [ __ ] is real and so narrative to me
is how humans have communicated over
Millennia um it's how we transmit
religion it's how we transmit ideology
it's how we tell our kids what to do
what not to do like it's all narrative
and now I will tell you the real [ __ ]
secret learn to tell yourself a story
about yourself that's
empowering and and I'll just say and I
am so fully expecting the da is going to
play this in court when day I'm going to
get sued for something stupid and the da
is going to say but Tom you have said
repeatedly that it's okay to lie to
yourself yes it's okay to lie to
yourself 100% like if you get a positive
result out of that like of course like
that's the only thing that makes sense
and and um everybody does it the scary
thing is like everybody lies to
themselves I'll [ __ ] take the Pepsi
challenge with anybody who says they
don't lie to themselves but you ready
you all lie to the negative you all tell
yourself you're worse than you are
that's [ __ ] crazy to me like that's
so crazy why would you do that like
unless you're doing it like is the 20%
like quick little hit of okay I'm not
good enough and so you know now I'm
going to bounce back and like be a
bigger badass but okay when you're doing
it because it gives you the result you
want like I'm in but most [ __ ]
just lie to themselves and tear
themselves down and become less of who
they could be because I don't know they
want to erir on the side like they want
to be more true than true and so it's
like oh it's so crazy yeah I don't
understand why we do that to ourselves I
I I don't get it because I'm guilty of
it for sure everyone is it it is it's
Madness it's Madness and no one will
argue that that's bad like no one oh
yeah yeah like rounding down everybody's
chill with that right like let's say
you're a woman and really you're a seven
and a half like everyone is cool with
you rounding down to a seven but people
are going to hate if you round up to an
eight baby girl you're an eight like
[ __ ] you're and you're a 10 like
round that [ __ ] up yeah like whatever is
going to empower you like that's what
you've got to be doing just simple as
simple ass results results check your
beliefs against your results forget your
behavior check your
beliefs your beliefs you asked Jason
what do you see when you peer inside the
singularity yeah now
now want you to answer that yourself
what do I okay so let's start with
defining the singularity so first of all
thank you guys so much for joining us
this is after impact we're going deep on
Jason Silva touching on some of the
things maybe we skimmed across the
surface in the episode we're going to go
deep deep deep uh really talk um and
take your feedback we want to know what
you guys think uh get some questions
from you guys and if you share this
right now before I answer this amazing
question about what the singularity is
and what you're going to see when you
peer into that you're going to enter to
a chance to win in uh one of the books
on my reading list so get up on it grab
it like you want it uh little throwback
there Dr finess what's up um okay so
first of all the singularity is a term
borrowed from physics and it refers to
the event horizon of a black hole where
you cross over it and the rules of
physics are so warped and distorted and
so little understood that we can't
predict what happens on the inside of a
black hole okay so um applied in the as
Jason said the Silicon Valley vernacular
what the singularity refers to is the
moment where um technology is advancing
so rapidly that we can no longer predict
what it will look like so um the ray Kur
who's the guy that really um co-opted
the term for technology uh believes in
2045 we will hit the moment of
Singularity the reason he believes that
is because of Moore's Law which
hopefully you guys know uh what Mo's law
is and basically that's that computing
power will double in um speed and have
in cost every 18 months um things
changing where it was like vacuum tubes
at one point now we're on transistors
and people believe you know what's going
to be the next thing is it going to be
Quantum Computing whatever but people
believe it will that mors law will stay
true um and it stayed true through world
wars and all kinds of stuff so I'm sure
it long will it continue um so according
to Ray cwell in 2045 we hit that point
we're now technology is just it's it's
advancing so rapidly that you you can't
possibly predict and what I think think
is on the inside of that is the Matrix
um I think that's where truly um we're
we become digital beings I I don't think
it's a matrix in the sense that our
biological bodies are harvested uh for
energy um which almost certainly will
not happen in fact we will probably
become entirely digital beings and and
just won't have a physical body and I
think we'll uh it won't be binary it's
not going to be like today we're like
this and tomorrow we're digital beings
you know it's going to be this slow
process that everyone will opt into it's
actually not true and if You' red
Fahrenheit 451 it's going to be like
that uh where there's you know two
groups of people there's people like out
[ __ ] living in the middle of nowhere
trying to be leites forever um and so
fine they'll eventually um in fact what
will happen to them I don't know like
maybe they could maybe they can be
leites on Mars and maybe that becomes
what the colonies are um is people that
can really divorce themselves from
technology this stuff is so interesting
like I am trying to remember that right
now my wife wants to punch herself in
the throat just to not have to hear this
anymore um uh but God I could talk about
this all day so the factions that are
going to happen that's so intriguing um
but I think that what'll happen we'll
become digital we'll be living in The
Matrix um we will create amazing
wonderful worlds that are just
incredibly incredibly interesting but to
make sure that people can't sleep
tonight I will also say that someone
will figure out um how to create a a
torture chamber where people no longer
adjust to the level of pain and imagine
that first moment of pain but the one
thing we know as humans is it will
dissipate right humans can acclimate to
anything imagine you
couldn't oh [ __ ] but you got to focus on
the optimistic stuff you got to think of
all the good things but have fun
sleeping tonight uh but yeah that it
will be amazing it will be amazing we'll
have experiences like anything we can
imagine all right rate and review oh God
which by the way first of all just thank
you to the community we've got how many
reviews now5 got 75 reviews we're five
star so grateful for that but if you go
to iTunes um right now iTunes is our big
push uh if you could go there rate and
review us would be eternally eternally
grateful we're trying to get to 100 only
need 25 more uh so that would be amazing
you know me as soon as we get to about
90 I'm already thinking like 250 but for
right now help us get to 100 that would
be fantastic um also you'll notice we're
not doing Instagram live uh during this
anymore because we found a new format
for Instagram lives which is a lot of
fun I hope you guys will join me over on
IG if you're not already following me on
IG it's @ Tom billu um get over there
turn on notifications as the one and the
only Cindy has uh pointed out and we're
doing hyper intimate um answering your
questions one by one uh so yeah it it we
tried one the other day it was awesome
it was our best IG live ever uh it was
really really a lot of fun all right so
I don't know how much time we have but I
I have a hard stop today um so we're
going to have to take one more and then
we'll oh one minute okay well then we'll
say our goodbye
Dr finesse thank you so much for joining
us and everybody yes everybody watching
please know this man this is the guy
that gets us these amazing guest He is
unbelievable he has proof that your
network is everything long-term
relationships are all that matters he's
been dealing with a lot of these people
for a very very long time he's just been
an amazing human being uh so honored to
have him on the team really grateful
that you filled in today for our boy
agent Smith who was unfortunately out
sick and guys out in the community you
are our everything and and all that
we're doing we're doing because we want
to bring value to you guys so thank you
for joining us thank you for helping
spread the word and until next time my
friends be legendary