Upgrade Thought

Pre-order Raising Resilience In print https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Resilience-Children-Thrive-Uncertainty/dp/0063286564 Or audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0C4VC1DDB?source_code=ASSORAP0511160007 Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  In this episode, I will be speaking with Dr. Tovah Klein. Dr. Klein is the director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development (generally referred...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  In this episode, I will be speaking with Shlomo Meisels. Shlomo is the CEO and founder of SM Staffing, a recruiting agency that matches businesses with potential employees, as well as providing career and entrepreneurship coaching. Expect to hear how Shlomo founded and built this business; what he considers the hardest aspect of his job; what his advice is on...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! In this episode, I will be speaking with Lucas Cohen.  Lucas is so passionate about MMA that he has an MMA betting group and podcast (Counterpunch Podcast). In this conversation, we discuss these entrepreneurial pursuits, his journey growing Counterpunch to over 10k followers on Instagram, and what makes a great sportscaster. Additionally, Lucas shares his opi...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  Today, I will be speaking with my good friend, Miles Segal. Miles just finished his first year at Deep Springs, the smallest college in America, with an undergraduate student body of 28. Deep Springs offers a liberal arts education in philosophy and classics literature on a cattle range in the middle of…California. Expect to learn why he would subject himself...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  In this episode, Bennett Santora and I explore the significance of small milestones; the definition of reasoning skills; the role of axiomatic “first principles” in moral/philosophical reasoning; key economic assumptions; using everyday struggles as forces that drive personal growth; and more.  Enjoy the show!

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be speaking with Daniel Sokolovsky. Danny has lived in 5 countries in the last 7 years, coaching basketball at the professional level. In this episode, expect to hear all about his experiences coaching high-level athletes around the world, what it was like to take a head coaching job at age 27, his mindset for navigating the extreme pressures of...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! After a short hiatus, I am back with a new episode.  Today, I will be welcoming back my friends, Bennett and Manyu. In this episode, we share our thoughts on developing healthy relationships with social media and technology. We share some creative strategies for accomplishing this, before proposing an overarching framework for avoiding hedonic pleasures and em...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Justin Chong.  Tennis is often deemed a “rich sport” because many successful tennis players had access to formal training, high-end tennis centers, and world class coaches. These resources are incredible for those who have the means but can put those without that level of access at a disadvantage. In this discussion, I talk with J...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Peter Szlivics. Peter is an entrepreneur who has been involved in a variety of fascinating business projects: he has a social media marketing agency, a private jet management business, and a BMW listing service.  In this episode, we discuss a wide range of topics, using his business wisdom as a stepping stone to speak about broade...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, we will be discussing two quotes… “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs  “I’m not better than you because I am rich. I am rich because I am better than you.” - Jeff Bezos With regards to the second quote, the conversation morphed into a HEATED debate as to whether people should be open about how much money they make. Never...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Jon Mazer. Jon is a lawyer, who has done all different types of cases, from civil to criminal. Jon has a broad litigation background, representing a wide range of business and individuals. In addition, he studied philosophy, both in college and at the graduate level.  In this episode, we discuss what it is like to be responsible f...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  Today, I will be talking with Bennett Santora, once again. Bennett recently launched a new business venture, selling his juggling balls, which has already earned hundreds of dollars in profit. Additionally, his new Tik Tok account, “Money Mind News,” is now reaching 25 thousand followers. On this account, he discusses creative, unconventional ways to make mon...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Taylor Stadden, a certified mental performance consultant. Taylor works with athletes of all levels, helping them improve their minds, in the service of elite performance. Taylor is the founder of Upper Mentality, a company that he started in 2019, which provides these services to athletes. In this conversation, we discuss what me...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with my good friend, Ramsey Brown. Ramsey has recently started a youtube channel discussing topics related to self-improvement and psychology. Today, we discuss comparing oneself to others, delayed gratification, what religion has to do with working out, how Ramsey records his YouTube videos with no notes, what movies can teach us abou...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought!  Today, I will once again be talking with my good friend Abhimanyu Kumar, better known as Manyu. We begin this episode by talking about something called a worry coin, among other ways to manage anxiety. Next, we delve into some existential questions, and how a philosophy called “absurdism” may address these issues and help people who are struggling to find mea...

HELLO AND WELCOME TO UPGRADE THOUGHT! Today, I will be talking with my good friend, Declan Semler. Declan is a college baseball player at Wesleyan University, and previously, a three sport varsity athlete in high school: he played football, basketball, and baseball for four years. Over the last year, Declan has had an inspiring weight loss journey, as he was able to dramatically transform his body...

HELLO AND WELCOME TO UPGRADE THOUGHT! Today, I will be talking with my good friend, Alex Thom.  Alex Thom, a man of many fascinating interests, is an impressive chef. In this episode, expect to hear all about how he is mastering the skill of cooking, and his decision to begin leveraging this skill on social media.  In addition, we discuss motivational content creators, health, longevity, why you s...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Dr Daniel Susser, a professor at Cornell. Dr Susser has devoted his professional career to understanding technology in a comprehensive way, approaching technological issues philosophically, ethically, politically, legally, etc. These are very timely topics. In this episode, we discuss technology in a relevant and understandable wa...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with my good friend, Bennett Santora. Bennett is a student at Cornell who has been able to turn juggling into a successful side hustle, surpassing 100K followers on both Tik Tok and Instagram. In this episode, expect to hear all about his entrepreneurial pursuits, as well as a great conversation between two buddies about motivation, pr...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be releasing part 2 of my conversation with Abhimanyu Kumar, in which we reflect on one of the most moving books I have ever read, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. Some of the topics we discuss include: the value of weaving narrative into philosophy, how to find your purpose, actionable steps to better understand yourself, and how dee...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! On this episode, I will be talking to Shari Rudavsky. Shari is a journalist at the Indiana Star, a Newspaper in Indiana. She previously wrote about healthcare, and recently stepped into a new role as the editor for the education and entertainment sections of the same paper. In this conversation, we discuss how the everyday person should go about consuming news...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 4 of Upgrade Thought! On this episode, I will be talking to Joe Carbone; Joe is a certified mental performance consultant, meaning that he helps people in various fields improve their thought processes to perform at their best. Joe has worked with athletes of all types, but currently works for Magellan Federal (a company that delivers wellness services to the...

Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I answer all of your questions related to why I am doing this, and what the future holds for this show. Tune in for a quick preview. Instagram: @upgradethought

Today, I will be talking to the strongest man in America, Jeff Lee. A couple weeks ago, Jeff was able to win the Strongman competition, making him the top national powerlifter, for his weight class. Strongman, as you will hear more about on this episode, is a weightlifting competition, that tests competitors on a wide variety of unique, and just flat-out superhuman movements. Get ready to learn ab...

We all feel an innate connection to something - whether that is a game, a sport, a subject in school, a person, a song, etc. For Manyu, it is stories. On this episode, expect to hear his thoughts on why stories are so powerful, what makes a great story, and what stories you need to hear, read, and watch.