Mere Mortals Conversations

What is the essence of having a profound conversation but simultaneously not taking yourself too seriously? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: our slight re-branding for the Mere Mortals brand, starting a new project for a bad reason and then transitioning out of it, how you could use your body issues as a catalyst for change, kids nowadays who have their entire childho...

Tanya Hall is officially a repeat guest on the Mere Mortals Conversations. Tanya is an ultramarathoner, combined with being a foodie and lives rurally on a farm in the Brisbane outskirts. In this convo we discussed: how barefoot running sounds great but is hard to implement in reality, the difference between running on trails vs roads, the method of burning fat doing zone 2 training, some mental b...

What are the differences between terrible, bad, stupid and good questions? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Questions'. We start of with a definition and a little bit of history from Thomas Babington Macaulay before getting onto the topic of terrible questions. We mostly agreed that intent and context play a large part of the equation, rather than the actual words...

How do you know when you are holding onto something for too long? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the unusual podcast format between Mr Ferriss and Dr Attia, the benefits of fasting, how difficult it is to actually translate text and books, not judging people too quickly, credit cards and the uselessness of Qantas points, my bizarre day dream involving plane crashes and...

Misinformation can be the sharing of inaccurate information, REGARDLESS of an intention to deceive Mere Mortals! Juan talks through the thoughts on misinformation, inclusive of the podcast information we share. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out! About Mere Mortals: Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, T...

Have you ever thought of Nassim Taleb's antifragility in the context of sport? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: our unfortunate friend Joey and how some people are not genetically suited to do the thing they love, millions of dollars locked in Bitcoin because people can't remember the password, Juan's mistaken belief that Elmo is not part of Sesame Stre...

Trent Mason is a certified executive coach and enterprise agilist, an individual who leverages systems thinking and strengths based approaches to foster a lean/agile culture, valuing people, relationships, collaboration and continuous improvement. In his own words: "My practice is best described as a humanistic approach to agile. I focus on coaching ‘the self’ and how we make conscious choice...

Did you know that Australian prostitutes are more educated than the general population? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Prostitution'. We start off with the definition which is actually pretty broad and includes most kind of sex work, not just prostitution as the selling of sex for payment. There are some pretty interesting worldwide and local statistics as well a...

Is it possible to cultivate the skill of determination? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the increasing ease to be unknowingly not-truthful, gamma waves from meditation, whether it is worth practicing determination to be able to use it whenever, Ross Edgley swimming around Great Britain, people who take it to the absolute extreme, when will the Mere Mortals be at the phys...

The power to question is the basis of all human progress. Start being curious about the world around you, through conversations and about your own thinking. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out! About Mere Mortals: Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Themed Podcast, Conversations & Meanderings. Connec...

How much damage can one eager American do in an obscure Wikipedia language? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: the recent lockdown in Brisbane, the story of the Scots Wikipedia scandal and why you can't reference Wikipedia, Kyrin's new Space Jam shirt, feeling comfortable in extravagant fashion, why there is no middle of fashion, spending extra money on someth...

Gary Waldon is the author of the book 'Sort Your Sh!t Out' and a transformational change specialist. Coming across his CV I remarked to myself that he has been doing career hopping before it was cool. Some of his previous jobs include: topless waiter, gym instructor, bank teller, teacher, lecturer, consultant and all around entrepreneur. Quite the list of areas and he is full of wisdom f...

Can a person/people be brainwashed into liking the cruel exercise of authority? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Oppression'. The convo begins with a tightening of the definition before discussing whether this topic has ever been a personal concern for ourselves. We then go over some examples from history and ask some hypotheticals related to the psychology of peop...

How is Juan planning on becoming an eminent human being? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: the joys one can get from the process of setting and achieving goals, knowing when and where to communicate your goals to others, changing your value system, creating a daily tracking system for oneself, when measuring your own progress becomes detrimental, how to get better at story...

Being Naive enough doesn't have to be a bad thing always, just enough that it lets you get started in a pursuit most others might not consider. As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out! About Mere Mortals: Striving for excellence through life's lessons. Daily uploads @ 5pm AEST. 4M's, Book Reviews, Musings, Bonus, Meanderings, Interviews & Themed Podcast. Connect with Mere...

Maybe it is better to use duct tape for shoes instead of running barefoot? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: why a witches hat is the optimal shade protection, virtual reality so good that you wouldn't want to leave, people who are so optimistic that you can't stand being around them, the human characteristic of wanting to break something just to see what hap...

Three-peat guest Brendan Jayo is back for another conversation. The bulk of this conversation revolves around the Wim Hof Method and how both of us have fared with it. Our ultimate conclusion seems to be that it is potentially useful for those with health problems but both of us being young and healthy, we didn't see any big changes to our life. We also talk about: strange experiences while e...

Why does a loss of meaning lead to despair and destructiveness? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Nihilism'. As usual we start off with our MMM's and a definition before talking a little bit about the history of the word. The Russians of course have the market cornered on all things despair related so it's no surprise that they made the word popular with I...

Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first Thursday of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous month's goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series,...

Have you ever noticed yourself telling stories or taking unusual actions to try and impress someone? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: how to know when you are telling a story because it is interesting for the convo versus stoking your own ego, the paradox of conflicting truths and how to psychologically handle that, the insane work schedule of basketball players, getting...

Naikan is a structured method of self-reflection and on today's Mere Mortal Monday Movement Juan talks about how he hopes to bring this practice into everyday. You can check out the blog mentioned in this video here: https://www.meremortalsmedia.com/post/naikan-reflection-how-can-this-help-you As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out! About Mere Mortals: Striving for excellence through...

Have you heard of the Congolese Dandies and their expensive fashionable attire (suits) whilst living in ghettos/slums? In this episode of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: the difference between being highly focused vs getting into a flow state of non-thinking, gym etiquette and if it is permissible to use two machines for supersetting, wasting precious resources on random crap in Sapeur...

Jacques Massie is the host of the 'Couple A Lattes' Podcast, photographer and aspiring author. I first met Jacques when he reached out to Juan and I to be guests on his podcast to talk about meditation (and finance). I really enjoyed the convo I had with him and resolved to question him on the Mere Mortals channel after I heard him speak about his self-organised 7 day silent retreat. Thi...

Is 10,000 hours actually enough time to become a master of your craft? In this themed episode Juan and I discuss the topic of 'Mastery'. As usual we start off with our MMM's and a definition before asking how to tell if somebody is a master? This led us onto the 10,000 hour rule popularised by Malcolm Gladwell and why you might need to broaden your skillset. Robert Greene has a fant...

Is volunteering worth it or is it better to directly donate? In this episode of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: using binary decision making to take away the stress from certain options, effective altruism and why volunteering may not be the best use of time, becoming overly rational and missing out on the human connection, intangibles that make a difference but can't be quantified, w...