Mind Castle

Reagan and Austin follow up on a previous episode, where we set reading goals they for this year (listen to that episode here ). Reagan set off to read 80 books this year and Austin is working on 60. We discuss some of the interesting highlights of books we've read so far, which led to some very random rabbit trails about things like the anti-aging movement, psychedelics and religion, technology t...

We've been teasing it for a while, and it finally happened! Reagan took Austin skydiving for the first time. Austin had never experienced falling for an entire mile through the sky, and since skydiving is a wonderful lesson in overcoming our fears, I (Reagan) couldn't pass up the opportunity. This episode starts with our thoughts before the skydive, and how Austin is feeling after he lands safely...

Practically, how do we build good mental models and find first principles to apply to our lives? We continue our discussion of Naval Ravikant, and dive deep into the concept of first principles and using them in daily decision-making.   The Almanack of Naval Ravikant Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Yo...

We dive into some physics, and Austin gets his mind blown learning how the 2nd law of thermodynamics applies to daily life. This is the 3rd episode in our discussion of Naval Ravikant, examining his views on building mental models and life wisdom. A vital factor is understanding the fundamental laws of our world and how our lives fall under those laws, even without realizing it.  Scribd (one...

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, they review a book that compiles many of his sayings. Naval takes many of the lessons he has learned from making money and applies them to living a meaningful life. They take an in-depth look at how someone this successful thinks on a daily level. What...

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, they review a book that compiles many of his sayings. Naval takes many of the lessons he has learned from making money and applies them to living a meaningful life. They take a specific look at one of the key points Naval talks about. Specific know...

In this video, Reagan and Austin discuss travel and the mindset behind it. Specifically, what gives them such an urge to do it. Austin draws a picture of his latest travel to Belize, a few days prior. Your patience is appreciated, as Austin is VERY sleep-deprived in this episode! Rome Vlogs Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Websi...

Churchill lived one of the most productive and extraordinary lives of the last century. How was Churchill able to do this and become one of the greatest historical figures of the 20th century? With the amount of work and stress on his life, how did this man continually break the glass ceiling? What can be learned from the way he lived his life?   Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Rea...

Ever wonder how many creatives think of good ideas? When someone's income relies on being creative, how do they not run out of ideas? In this episode, we discuss a famous writer named Lee Zlotoff, who was the writer for the famous TV show Macgyver. Lee Zlotoff didn't have time to get stuck, so he developed a very unusual method for always coming up with good ideas.  The Macgyver Method Stilln...

Nausea, dizziness, and extreme fatigue were all experienced by Austin after quitting caffeine. Why would anyone do this? Is it to prove a point? Some test of strength? Or just stupidity? In this episode Austin and Reagan attempt to answer these questions to the satisfaction of their listeners.  Use code SCHROCK10 on checkout and get 10% off anything on www.originmaine.com Scribd (one month fr...

Human brains are good at thinking of things, but not the best at remembering them. Ever since this whole internet thing, it has been pure brain overload, with no possible way of remembering everything (probably a good thing). But how many times do you see something that you decide is important, then 7 minutes later you have completely forgotten? A second brain is a way to quickly capture anything...

In this episode of Mind Castle, Reagan and Austin take a look at an idea that Austin recently did in a YouTube video called "The simple idea that changed my life." This episode flushes the idea about how we approach goals and view ourselves. The main thrust is that when approaching a goal, you look beyond just the outcome, but deeper into who you must become to achieve that goal. You must become a...

When it comes to learning information, there is a lot of noise. If you don't believe that, just open Twitter. How do you cut through the noise and get what you want to get? What is the maple syrup principle? That's what Reagan and Austin discuss in this episode, how to find that distilled knowledge without wasting your time in all the noise. A large part of this is going directly to the source of...

This episode finishes building on the previous episode, discussing first principles and how to choose what is most important to you. Finding baseline reality is important and living in a dreamland won't help you accomplish your dreams. So, while it's vital to be a cook and build your own recipe, be aware of the fundamental reality of the world. Without that baseline, you will live a very confused...

There is a lot to learn from Elon Musk. In this episode, Reagan and Austin dive into one of the fundamental things that sets Elon apart. This is his ability to be a chef in a world of cooks. The difference between a cook and a chef is a chef makes his own recipe, while the cook is bound to follow the book. Without the book, the cook is lost, incapable of making something profound except by acciden...

Hustle culture, toxic productivity. What are they, and are they healthy for a meaningful life? Is it the only way to win in life? In this episode, Reagan and Austin dig into the drawbacks to what the "big winners" of hustle culture preach. Like most things that are unhealthy, it began as something good but got taken to an extreme. We are so busy optimizing our calenders or finding the newest produ...

Why would someone endure such pain and abnormality of behavior by taking a cold shower?? In this episode, we discuss a very specific way Austin chooses to be intentional; cold showers. The way this got started was one day Austin was feeling extra unmotivated and undisciplined and thought; "What's the most disciplined thing I could do right now?" He decided that a cold shower would be the most...

In this episode, Reagan and Austin Schrock discuss the importance and absolute need for intentionality in maintaining a healthy mind. We open with an excerpt from the book Discipline Equals Freedom, by JOCKO Willink called, Sugar Coated Lies. How do we stay focused on every moment of our day-to-day lives?  So much of our lives are pulled by distractions. One thing we covered in this episode i...

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss the books we have read in 2021. We narrow it down to our favorite books (a hard task) and then discuss why we liked them and some of what we have learned. If you follow this podcast, you know that we try our best to expand our minds and maintain peak performance in our lives. The majority of how we do this is by filtering what we take into our minds, aka,...

How are legends made? A common belief is that people are born with talent, or get hit with a lightning bolt of ability that rockets them to greatness. But as we discover in this episode, there is no such thing as innate talent. Masters are not born, they are made. How you choose to act and communicate to yourself is the map you are drawing for your achievements. Talk is cheap; consistent, ded...

What's the difference between people who love reading, and people who don't? What strategy does one person use that enables them to enjoy reading while others get exhausted by it? In this episode, Reagan and I (Austin) jump into our practical tips and tricks of how we read and actually enjoy it. Reading is a skill, so let's sharpen it. We answer some of the questions like "Where do I start if I do...

Between Reagan and I (Austin) we read close to 150 books a year (Reagan reads more than I do...). What drives Reagan to read close to 100 books a year? Why did I make a goal of reading 50 books this year? This is the topic of this episode where we discuss what drives this desire. We discuss a wide variety of books and authors of where to start. We discuss some of the best minds in history and what...

What's your superpower? In this episode, Reagan and I (Austin) discuss one of the unique skill sets we each have and how we use it. Both of our's involve sleep and as the podcast goes we discuss in depth the benefits and advantages of sleep. We are passionate about having a sharp healthy mind and sleep is one of the best ways to do that. One of the interesting facts we discuss is the recent resear...

In today's episode, we are discussing and contemplating the importance of documenting the lives that we live. Between the two of us, we have a combined of at least a year of days documented. The ability to capture and create digital memories has been critical for adding many memories. There isn't a right or wrong way to document your life, there are only effective and ineffective ways. One of...

Today we dive into a book called "Deep Work" by Cal Newport (link below) and discuss how many have fallen into the trap of doing lots of "stuff" in an invisible manner and calling it productivity. We also bring in what may be a radical idea for some; Idleness is the key to productivity. For a world that never seems to slow down, this may catch many off guard. Yet we believe it is essential for mai...