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SPEAKER_11
 Bring a little optimism into your life with The Bright Side, a new kind of daily podcast from Hello Sunshine, hosted by me, Danielle Robay.
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SPEAKER_11
And me, Simone Boyce.
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Every weekday, we're bringing you conversations about culture, the latest trends, inspiration, and so much more.
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SPEAKER_00
I am so excited about this podcast, The Bright Side.
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SPEAKER_00
You guys are giving people a chance to shine a light on their lives, shine a light on a little advice that they want to share.
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SPEAKER_01
 Listen to The Bright Side on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.
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Open your free iHeart app and search The Bright Side.
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SPEAKER_07
 Guess what, Will?
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SPEAKER_07
What's up, Mango?
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SPEAKER_07
I've been trying to write a promo for our podcast, Part-Time Genius, but even though we've done over 250 episodes, we don't really talk about murders or cults.
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SPEAKER_08
I mean, we did just cover the Illuminati of cheese, so I feel like that makes us pretty edgy.
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SPEAKER_08
We also solve mysteries like how Chinese is your Chinese food and how do dollar stores make money?
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SPEAKER_08
And then, of course, can you game a dog show?
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SPEAKER_08
 So what you're saying is everyone should be listening.
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SPEAKER_08
Listen to Part-Time Genius on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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SPEAKER_06
This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol.
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SPEAKER_06
The joy they brought to the nation.
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SPEAKER_02
You're free completely.
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SPEAKER_02
No one is there to destroy you.
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SPEAKER_06
The danger they endured.
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SPEAKER_07
They said my head should be cut off.
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SPEAKER_06
 I'm John Legend.
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SPEAKER_06
Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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SPEAKER_04
 It just felt like an unlimited amounts of positive things can happen with that.
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SPEAKER_04
And I was kind of sitting in that class and it just really struck with me.
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SPEAKER_04
I feel like everybody walked out of that class and just moved on.
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SPEAKER_04
And I was like, I have to talk to the teacher more.
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SPEAKER_04
This just blew my mind.
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SPEAKER_04
Like I never really realized that you can consciously seek to get out of your comfort zone to gain value.
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SPEAKER_03
 Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world.
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SPEAKER_03
Thanks to each and every single one of you who come back every week to listen, to learn, and to grow.
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SPEAKER_03
Now, I'm super excited for this week's episode.
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SPEAKER_03
It's been one that I've been waiting for for a long, long time.
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SPEAKER_03
These guys are not only super talented, but really, really good friends.
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SPEAKER_03
And I really believe in the work that they're putting out into the world and the work that they're doing.
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Now, when I first discovered them,
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 I was absolutely blown away, and to see them grow, and to see them have the impact that they're having, and the impact that they're having on people's lives through the way they do it is just magnificent.
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So you know I'm talking about the one and only Yes Theory.
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They're one of the most inspiring, creative entities of our generation.
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Driven by their motto, Seek Discomfort, this group of friends from Egypt, France, and Sweden travel the world conquering everyday fears with the help of their community.
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 Always choosing love over fear, which I absolutely love.
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A few days after meeting in summer of 2015, they started a video series called Project 30, where they documented the process of doing 30 new things in 30 days.
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SPEAKER_03
A few thousand subscribers later, they'd found their calling.
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SPEAKER_03
 Now, best known for their YouTube channel, Yes Theory, is based in Venice Beach, California.
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They continue to produce unique, adventurous, and inspiring content, consistently putting in over 20 million views per month and more, from tackling insecurities like asking strangers for favors to bungee jumping out of a helicopter with Will Smith into the Grand Canyon.
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 YesTheory is on a mission to inspire, empower, and unify a community of people committed to reaching their full potential by seeking discomfort.
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Welcome to the show, Matt, Thomas, and Amar in spirit.
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It's good to have you here, man.
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So good to be here, Jay.
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Thank you for having us.
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SPEAKER_03
You guys are so epic.
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SPEAKER_03
Like literally, like the stuff you put out is just...
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SPEAKER_03
 I'm like, I wish I was part of the crew, you know, like that's, that's how I feel like.
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SPEAKER_03
You're welcome anytime.
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SPEAKER_05
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_05
Really?
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SPEAKER_05
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_05
I should take Jay on something.
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Do you have a big fear that you've been trying to conquer?
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I would love to figure that out with you.
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Like that would be fun to figure out, like, what is my real fear?
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Because I feel like half the time, I don't think when you, when you start breaking down a lot of fears and I don't think this is true, but you can start thinking like, Oh, I have no fears.
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 And that's not true.
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I think we all have fears.
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I think I have fears that I don't even know about.
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So one day we need to do a brainstorm on what my fear is and then we need to go and go and figure it out.
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And the biggest thing is just finding the fears that you feel like limit you.
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SPEAKER_04
Right.
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And sometimes it's, it's, it's the image or perception that you have of yourself.
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And so, you know, Matt recently tried to land a backflip and it wasn't about the backflip.
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It was about how not being able to do it made him feel and just realizing, I mean, you can probably explain this better than I can.
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 can but yeah well the backflip didn't go so well yeah so these are the scars from the backflip a couple weeks ago yeah yeah but like Thomas said the whole point is
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 is to achieve freedom ultimately.
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And a lot of people will dismiss fears that they have, thinking that it's either too dangerous or unnecessary.
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But in our opinion, whatever constructs that you've built for yourself and whatever fears that may seem small are the most important because those small fears that you overcome allow you to overcome the bigger fears.
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And that's the goal.
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SPEAKER_03
 Yeah, absolutely.
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Now that you've told me that they came from backflicks, I'm like, yeah, no, I don't think I can afford to do that.
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SPEAKER_04
Yeah, it's tough, but I think you're going to end up like, it's just a matter of time.
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SPEAKER_04
I think he tried to do it in three days and the people who he was doing with, with these professional parkour artists who were like, it took me two months to do this.
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And, you know, so we were, he put a very like slim timeline on it and he also had a genuine fear of it.
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So I think with time.
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 You'll achieve it.
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Parkour is something I've always wanted to be good at, man.
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SPEAKER_03
It looks cool.
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But do you always, when you take on a challenge, do you do it until you can do it?
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Or is it just the trying that's important?
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Like you said, Oh, he's going to get there.
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But is it about getting there and getting the result?
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Or is it just about, Hey, I tried, I got some bruises on my face and I gave it a go.
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Which one, which one's important?
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 A line I love is, the beauty is in the attempt.
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And John Wooden, the coach for the UCLA basketball team, I think it was UCLA, defined success as just doing your best, leaving it all on the court.
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And for us, that's how we see it as well.
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There have been many episodes where we've completely failed.
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And we had given it our all, and it felt like we had won.
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 For us that was the key and that's kind of how we approach everything we we we've gone after Things that seemed impossible and went into it, you know knowing that it likely wouldn't happen But it was worth a shot and then sometimes it actually happens.
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SPEAKER_05
Yeah, and that's the ultimate glory totally and I think the
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SPEAKER_04
 You learn the most in the process and the outcome is obviously always serves in that as well.
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I think, you know, how do we challenge Will Smith to bungee jump out of a helicopter and not gotten a response?
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I don't think we would have been like, oh, that wasn't worth it.
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You know, it was still worth the shot, but the fact that it worked made us believe in the impossible.
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At that point it was like, okay, now we can literally do anything.
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SPEAKER_04
 And so I think there's value in both, but not succeeding is not always the most important, or succeeding is not always the most important outcome.
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SPEAKER_03
 I love what you said there, though.
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SPEAKER_03
How fun is it when something happens in your life which you never ever imagined would be possible, and then as soon as it's now possible, now you start actually believing in the impossible, right?
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SPEAKER_03
So for you guys, was that moment the Will Smith bungee jump for you guys, or was it before that when you started seeing all the audience come through?
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SPEAKER_03
What was that moment where you were just like, whoa, we just did something that we never imagined was possible?
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SPEAKER_03
Was it like that?
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And then you started to feel like, oh, now we need to think bigger and bigger and bigger.
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SPEAKER_04
 I feel like the very first moment we had was we had a video where we signed Chelsea players to our soccer team.
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This was day 19 of knowing each other.
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So we, yeah, this was in, yeah, exactly.
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Beginning of Project 30.
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And we had this idea, we found out that the Chelsea FC soccer team were staying in this hotel and we were like, it would be hilarious to like rip up a fake contract and then ask them, do you want to join our team?
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Because we had like a little soccer team and we were like,
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SPEAKER_04
 it'd be amazing if they would just sign this.
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And then we went after it and snuck into the hotel and got them to sign and then put it up and it went on like Ladbible and all these kind of like soccer pages, football pages.
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And- Dude, I know what Ladbible is.
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SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
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And it just like blew our minds.
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Like the video got like 100,000 views, but we thought we were like the biggest.
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SPEAKER_05
At the time we were getting 500 views a video and it was mostly from friends and family.
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And we were living in a one bedroom apartment in Montreal, completely broke.
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 making these videos every day.
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 And so we uploaded that video the night and then we went to bed and every morning I would wake up and just check the views because I like views.
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SPEAKER_05
I like views.
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SPEAKER_05
I like views a lot.
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SPEAKER_05
You're going to make a meme out of that.
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SPEAKER_05
I went to the video and it had a thousand views and we never had a thousand views ever.
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SPEAKER_05
So immediately I'm like, this is crazy.
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And I click refresh and it went to 3000 views.
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And all of a sudden I'm in my boxers and I get up and I shake the boys awake and I'm like,
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SPEAKER_05
 It's going viral.
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SPEAKER_05
It just went crazy.
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SPEAKER_05
And it was just such a wild experience seeing this thing just gain life without you even touching it at that point.
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SPEAKER_05
You know, like virality was such, we had never experienced it.
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SPEAKER_05
So to see your creation being experienced by so many people.
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SPEAKER_05
 It was such a, it was such a fulfilling experience.
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SPEAKER_05
And then you, we just kept, it gave us so much motivation and it truly made us believe that like we could really bring our content to the world.
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SPEAKER_05
Do you remember the players that you signed?
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SPEAKER_05
John Terry and Nemanja Matic.
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SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I know, I know, as in, I love, I'm a huge soccer fan.
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SPEAKER_03
Are you a Chelsea?
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SPEAKER_03
I'm a Manchester United fan, but I know exactly.
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SPEAKER_03
 I need to watch that video.
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SPEAKER_04
I don't think I've seen it.
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SPEAKER_04
It's pretty funny.
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SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I need to watch that one.
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SPEAKER_04
It was one of the first ones we made and it kind of made us, it was the first time a video worked beyond our family and friends.
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SPEAKER_04
And there's just something you learn when that happens.
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SPEAKER_04
I'm sure you experienced it too.
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SPEAKER_04
The first time a video just stands out, you're like, whoa, wait, there's people I've never heard of before commenting on this.
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SPEAKER_04
It's such a weird experience to have.
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SPEAKER_04
And I think that really,
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SPEAKER_04
 There's been like moments like that throughout time in the past five years we've been doing this that just expanded like what we thought was possible, right?
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SPEAKER_04
Like that was like the very first one.
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SPEAKER_04
The very first one was just starting and making the first video and clicking upload and then seeing that it's like, oh wow, we have a video.
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SPEAKER_04
It's up on the internet.
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SPEAKER_04
And then second and then third and then 17th day we do this and that happens.
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SPEAKER_04
And then I think just
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SPEAKER_05
 Was it 17th or 19th?
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SPEAKER_04
19th, maybe, probably 19th.
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SPEAKER_04
But basically, the powerful thing with that experience is you just challenge what you expect from yourself and then you can start pushing that and becoming a better filmmaker and becoming more creative.
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SPEAKER_04
 And yeah, it's been an amazing journey just learning.
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SPEAKER_04
And you learn as much from the failures as the successes, but there's just something that happens when it does work that makes you just want to push yourself even more and get excited by the challenge of filmmaking and creation and understanding how the internet functions.
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SPEAKER_04
Also creating a piece that people really connect with is exciting because then you're like, oh, we really hit people with this one.
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SPEAKER_04
 people were excited to watch this.
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SPEAKER_03
Yeah, yeah.
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SPEAKER_03
Absolutely.
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SPEAKER_03
I remember when I felt that when you guys fooled the world and I was seeing it everywhere and then when I saw you guys did it, it was the Justin Bieber burrito thing.
0
SPEAKER_03
And I was just like, I couldn't believe it.
0
SPEAKER_03
I was so impressed because I think I already was in touch with you guys then.
0
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_03
 I think we were already communicating.
0
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, we were.
0
SPEAKER_03
And then I remember seeing it and I was just like, oh, no way.
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SPEAKER_03
No way did they do that.
0
SPEAKER_03
Now, you guys are genius.
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SPEAKER_03
It's not easy.
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SPEAKER_03
The way you guys do, the way you guys think about your ideas, the way you make videos, the way you build it up.
0
SPEAKER_03
I mean, it's genius, man.
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SPEAKER_03
It's really strong.
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SPEAKER_03
 I want to hear about both of your personal journeys of personal growth before Project 30 and Yes Theory.
0
SPEAKER_03
Like I want to know what was it in your own life that brought you to make this content?
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SPEAKER_03
Because let's, let's, you know, this could have very easily just been fun content, prank content.
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SPEAKER_03
It could just be like that, but it's not.
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SPEAKER_03
It's about seeking discomfort.
0
SPEAKER_03
There's a message, like you all believe that there's a rule behind your work, that it has to be.
0
SPEAKER_03
 centered around meaning and it has to have impact, right?
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SPEAKER_03
It's not just, oh, let's just make some fun videos that get views.
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SPEAKER_03
So tell me about your lives independently before Project 30 that already had that kind of mindset.
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SPEAKER_03
Either of you.
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SPEAKER_05
Yeah, well, I was never really into entrepreneurship or filmmaking or any of that as a kid.
0
SPEAKER_05
I was more just into adventure with friends.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And the one memory that I remember was every summer I would go to France where I was half French, half American.
0
SPEAKER_05
So in the summer I would go to France and my friends would stay back in the States.
0
SPEAKER_05
And while I was in France, I would come up with a list of like 20 fun ideas that my friends and I could do when we get back.
0
SPEAKER_05
Whether it was like going bungee jumping or going on this road trip three hours away.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And I would write the list and I would remember sending it to my friends and them kind of not wanting to do it and just kind of wanting to hang out in our town.
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SPEAKER_05
And I remember how frustrating that felt to want to go to all these places and do all these things and not have people really align with it.
0
SPEAKER_05
And so I ended up in high school in my first year of college.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And I love these people, but it was mostly people who wanted to kind of stay in one place and party a lot and have a good time.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I kind of got stuck in that environment, the party, like the constantly partying.
0
SPEAKER_05
And then when I was 19, after my first year in college, I went on a trip with my family to Russia.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And while we were in Russia, I read Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity.
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SPEAKER_05
And I remember reading it when he was 17.
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SPEAKER_05
Richard Branson started his first ever company.
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SPEAKER_05
It was a student magazine.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And he built it up over three years to be the biggest magazine for teenagers in all the UK.
0
SPEAKER_05
And the way he described it, working with his friends in the basement, grinding every day on phone calls, like trying to convince advertisers to pay money.
0
SPEAKER_05
 And how eventually after a year he got his first advertiser and then it grew and grew and grew.
0
SPEAKER_05
And the excitement of that was so much more thrilling than what I was doing.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I became obsessed, like I needed to start a company somehow.
0
SPEAKER_05
And so when I got home after the summer, when I got back to college,
0
SPEAKER_05
 I kind of just quit partying.
0
SPEAKER_05
I just didn't want to go out anymore.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I just bought every entrepreneurial book that I could and just dissected everything that these guys and women were doing.
0
SPEAKER_05
And over the next three years in college, I tried to start several businesses with different partners.
0
SPEAKER_05
And the first few didn't really work out.
0
SPEAKER_05
 But then the last one that I did was a clothing company where we would partner up with street artists from around the world and we would give back to the homeless in their cities.
0
SPEAKER_05
And that project ended up being my biggest one at the time and it got the attention of my university.
0
SPEAKER_05
We had a lot of students who were ambassadors.
0
SPEAKER_05
 Thomas was a student at the university and his class did a marketing consulting thing on my company.
0
SPEAKER_05
And it was him and three other students who consulted for me for a semester.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I met him, the first day that I met him, they had this pitch ready for my clothing company.
0
SPEAKER_05
 But the one thing that actually stuck out was a story that he told me about sneaking into a big concert that he loved, of this artist that he loved.
0
SPEAKER_05
And his storytelling instantly captured me.
0
SPEAKER_05
And he had a small YouTube channel at the time and I instantly went after the meeting to check out the YouTube channel.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I was just so enthralled because he was actually the first person that I'd met
0
SPEAKER_05
 that had that same obsession with creating something and sacrificing everything else for it.
0
SPEAKER_05
I'd never met anyone that was willing to grind 24-7 to make something happen.
0
SPEAKER_05
And so we connected pretty much instantly.
0
SPEAKER_05
And after he told me all of his story, it was just like, yeah, let's do something together.
0
SPEAKER_05
And I'll let you explain your story.
0
SPEAKER_03
 That's amazing, man.
0
SPEAKER_03
Thanks for sharing that.
0
SPEAKER_03
I hope, I hope everyone who's listening and watching can just hear themselves in that experience because I think everything you just said, there's, there's so much of it that we can all relate to, whether you're just lost in the partying world or whether you feel you're wasting time or whether you feel like maybe your current friends don't want the adventure life that you want, or, you know, all of those thoughts, but showing that when you're seeking it,
0
SPEAKER_03
 Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_03
You find it, you know, you find and connect with the people.
0
SPEAKER_04
So yeah, let's, let's hear yours.
0
SPEAKER_04
No, that's super interesting.
0
SPEAKER_04
I didn't even know about this story of your friends.
0
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_04
I didn't know that.
0
SPEAKER_04
For me, it was, uh, it was kind of interesting.
0
SPEAKER_04
I grew up in a family where my dad and all my uncles were all entrepreneurs.
0
SPEAKER_04
 So, my grandfather had moved from Sweden to France for a job at Tetra Pak, and when he was 50, he got fired.
0
SPEAKER_04
And my dad and all his older brothers basically saw their dad go from being like the super like popular and successful guy to being somebody who just didn't have a job anymore for several years.
0
SPEAKER_04
And it just planted the seed in all of them that they never wanted to work for somebody else.
0
SPEAKER_04
 And so I grew up in a very like, that was like the narrative, you know, in my family, just like work for yourself, like create something on your own.
0
SPEAKER_04
And I never knew really what I wanted to do, like growing up as a teenager in France, I was like, okay, well, you know, figure that out eventually, I guess.
0
SPEAKER_04
And I kind of ended up pursuing the path of traditional entrepreneurship, going into tech was like the big thing in 2000, you know, or 2011, 2012, when I was kind of getting started in college.
0
SPEAKER_04
And so did that for a while.
0
SPEAKER_04
 In one of my entrepreneurship classes, one of my teacher started his class with, is it worth it to go to the Louvre in Paris, the museum?
0
SPEAKER_04
And I was so confused.
0
SPEAKER_04
I'm like, I thought we were in entrepreneurship class.
0
SPEAKER_04
Why are we talking about this museum?
0
SPEAKER_04
And his eventual point was that when you go to a museum far away and you go, you put yourself in an environment that's so different from anything you've experienced before,
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SPEAKER_04
 you kind of transcend your previous perception of reality to some extent.
0
SPEAKER_04
It's not just about going to see the Mona Lisa, it's about the smell, it's about the people that you run into, it's about the restaurant or the cafe you were at right before.
0
SPEAKER_04
It's about taking a plane and stepping off and being somewhere completely different.
0
SPEAKER_04
 All of these emotions and experiences kind of expand your brain and you make new connections, right?
0
SPEAKER_04
And maybe you thought you were going to see the Mona Lisa, but it's actually the thing right behind it that you were blown away by.
0
SPEAKER_04
And that's the beauty of doing something where you get out of your comfort zone.
0
SPEAKER_04
And it can actually be an amazing tool for creativity, for fulfillment, for adventure.
0
SPEAKER_04
It just felt like an unlimited amount of positive things can happen with that.
0
SPEAKER_04
 And I was kind of sitting in that class and it just really struck with me.
0
SPEAKER_04
I feel like everybody walked out of that class and just moved on.
0
SPEAKER_04
And I was like, I have to talk to the teacher more.
0
SPEAKER_04
This just blew my mind.
0
SPEAKER_04
Like I never really realized that you can consciously seek to get out of your comfort zone to gain value.
0
SPEAKER_04
And so it just kind of like planted a seed in my mind.
0
SPEAKER_04
And like eight months later, I was making these videos and initially it was like comedy skits, which were like fine and fun to make about like my experience in college.
0
SPEAKER_04
 But I just wanted more purpose and I wanted something that could also give me purpose in the journey.
0
SPEAKER_04
Not just like, okay, these skits are great, but I want something where like more grounded in reality.
0
SPEAKER_04
And so that was around the time I met Matt and he showed me this show on MTV called The Buried Life, which was about these four guys crossing off a hundred things off their bucket list and helping somebody else do the same.
0
SPEAKER_04
And immediately it just connected.
0
SPEAKER_04
Like we were blown away.
0
SPEAKER_04
 And I was just felt so inspired by this concept.
0
SPEAKER_04
And they had actually stopped making episodes anymore.
0
SPEAKER_04
And it just felt like such a shame.
0
SPEAKER_04
I was like, this is the best show I've ever seen in my life.
0
SPEAKER_04
And so around that time, kind of ended up simmering.
0
SPEAKER_04
Matt and I were brainstorming a lot of ideas on like, what could we do?
0
SPEAKER_04
And then the idea of doing 30 things that we'd never done before in 30 days and making a video about it every single day came up.
0
SPEAKER_04
And then that was kind of like the birth of Yes Theory.
0
SPEAKER_04
You originally wanted to be what, 100?
0
SPEAKER_04
 Yeah, I was like, I can do it every day for a year.
0
SPEAKER_04
And I woke up in the middle of the night and I told my roommate, and he was like, you can't do a video every day for a year.
0
SPEAKER_04
Like, that's ludicrous.
0
SPEAKER_04
He was like, you should do something smaller, like a week or something.
0
SPEAKER_04
And a week just didn't feel like, what am I going to get out of a week?
0
SPEAKER_04
But a month felt like the perfect timeline for that.
0
SPEAKER_04
And luckily we met Ammar in that exact period as well.
0
SPEAKER_04
He had snuck into my best friend's going away party.
0
SPEAKER_04
 And I just told him about this.
0
SPEAKER_04
I'm like, I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_04
I'm not like, I'm just the summer.
0
SPEAKER_04
I'm just going to do this thing.
0
SPEAKER_04
I'm like working on the side to make money right now and blah, blah, blah.
0
SPEAKER_04
And then a few days later he met Matt and it was just like love at first sight basically.
0
SPEAKER_02
 When you find that bright spot to help you get through your day, it's powerful.
0
SPEAKER_11
That's where The Bright Side comes in.
0
SPEAKER_11
A new daily podcast from Hello Sunshine that's bringing you a daily dose of joy.
0
SPEAKER_11
I'm Danielle Robay.
0
SPEAKER_11
And I'm Simone Boyce.
0
SPEAKER_02
Listen, both Danielle and I are reporters.
0
SPEAKER_02
We've covered the news and we know the world can feel heavy, but The Bright Side podcast is a space to have a little fun, to learn something new and get into some friendly debates.
0
SPEAKER_11
 That's right.
0
SPEAKER_11
Join us five days a week to see how life can look from the bright side.
0
SPEAKER_02
We'll hear from celebrities, authors, experts and listeners like you, whether it's relationships, friend advice or figuring out how to navigate life's transitions.
0
SPEAKER_02
We'll talk through it all together.
0
SPEAKER_11
Listen to the bright side from Hello Sunshine every weekday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_09
 Parents, ready to discover a new educational and interactive podcast for kids?
0
SPEAKER_09
Join Stories for Kids by Lingokids, where episodes are packed with fun activities.
0
SPEAKER_09
Right, Elliot?
0
SPEAKER_09
Oh, yes!
0
SPEAKER_09
We learned how to recycle at the beach.
0
SPEAKER_09
 That was great fun!
0
SPEAKER_09
Cowie, what do you say?
0
SPEAKER_09
It was!
0
SPEAKER_09
And that time when we did the science experiment and Billy made raisins dance!
0
SPEAKER_09
That is so cool, Billy!
0
SPEAKER_09
He did!
0
SPEAKER_09
Not to mention when a certain Elliot took up swimming classes with Lisa.
0
SPEAKER_09
That was me!
0
SPEAKER_09
Bet you can't catch me!
0
SPEAKER_09
I'm going to get you!
0
SPEAKER_09
 All this fun and more in our Stories for Kids.
0
SPEAKER_09
Lingo Kids' Stories for Kids is now available on Story Button, the kid-friendly device for screenless podcast listening.
0
SPEAKER_09
Listen to Stories for Kids on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_08
 Guess what, Mango?
0
SPEAKER_08
What's that, Will?
0
SPEAKER_08
So iHeart is giving us a whole minute to promote our podcast, Part-Time Genius.
0
SPEAKER_07
I know, that's why I spent my whole week composing a haiku for the occasion.
0
SPEAKER_07
It's about my emotional journey in podcasting over the last seven years, and it's called Earthquake House.
0
SPEAKER_08
Mango, I'm going to cut you off right there.
0
SPEAKER_07
Why don't we just tell people about our show instead?
0
SPEAKER_07
Yeah, that's a better idea.
0
SPEAKER_07
So every week on Part-Time Genius, we feed our curiosity by answering the world's most important questions.
0
SPEAKER_07
Things like, when did America start dialing 911?
0
SPEAKER_07
 is William Shatner's best acting work in Esperanto.
0
SPEAKER_07
Also, what happened to Esperanto?
0
SPEAKER_08
Plus, we cover questions like how Chinese is your Chinese food?
0
SPEAKER_08
How do dollar stores stay in business?
0
SPEAKER_08
And of course, is there an Illuminati of cheese?
0
SPEAKER_07
There absolutely is.
0
SPEAKER_07
And we are risking our lives by talking about it.
0
SPEAKER_07
But if you love mind blowing facts, incredible history and really bad jokes, make your brains happy and tune in to Part Time Genius.
0
SPEAKER_08
Listen to Part Time Genius on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_03
 I love it, man.
0
SPEAKER_03
It's amazing.
0
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_03
It's good to, good to hear those stories because I think, yeah, I just love the fact that you guys found each other.
0
SPEAKER_03
Cause that's, that seems like such a big thing that you all share this fascination with trying out new things, new experiences.
0
SPEAKER_03
And you have this message, which is, you know, if you want something, ask for it, right?
0
SPEAKER_03
Like if you don't, if you don't ask for something you don't know, like tell me about how you became so convinced about that message or where that originated from, because I think that,
0
SPEAKER_03
 I think we're living in a world where people forget trying things that you guys try.
0
SPEAKER_03
We're just scared of asking for things on an everyday basis, even if it's simple things, right?
0
SPEAKER_03
Even if it's like really normal, everyday things, we struggle.
0
SPEAKER_03
Tell us where that came from.
0
SPEAKER_05
Great question.
0
SPEAKER_05
I'd actually love to know what you think.
0
SPEAKER_05
Why do you think people are afraid of asking?
0
SPEAKER_03
 I think people are afraid of asking because they think it shows their flaws or it shows their weaknesses.
0
SPEAKER_03
Because if you ask someone for something, it makes it look like you're weak and you're in need.
0
SPEAKER_03
And you now have flaws that if they say no, then you now think they're going to think that you're not worth anything or that you've lost value.
0
SPEAKER_03
 We generally, I'm just thinking of examples, like people get scared to ask for what they deserve in a relationship because they don't want to make the other person feel like they have the power to give or not give them something, or people feel afraid to
0
SPEAKER_03
 to ask for they're having an issue with their building or someone in their life and they feel scared to ask for what they what they're worth because they're scared again i think it's we're scared of giving away power we think somehow that when we're asking we're giving the other person the power because they're getting the power to say yes or no
0
SPEAKER_05
 It's almost like we've given them the power already.
0
SPEAKER_05
We've handed over our power to other people and these people get to decide who we are and what we do.
0
SPEAKER_05
And maybe it comes from childhood and from parents just being very stern.
0
SPEAKER_05
I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_05
But there's a, it's almost like having a taste of,
0
SPEAKER_05
 Like the first time you do it, it's so nerve wracking, whether it's discomfort or asking for something that makes you feel uncomfortable.
0
SPEAKER_05
And then all of a sudden you gradually opens up this kind of freeing environment within yourself where you're like, oh, that did not turn out so bad.
0
SPEAKER_05
Like I asked that person for help and they were so willing to help me.
0
SPEAKER_05
And then I asked that person, you know, to share my post and they did it right away.
0
SPEAKER_05
And then all of a sudden, not only do you,
0
SPEAKER_05
 Ask for help when you need it, but you're so much more empathetic and you're so much more willing to help other people and then it becomes this cycle of You helping others and others helping you and that's how I mean growth in general happens.
0
SPEAKER_05
Yeah Yeah, otherwise, you're just stuck alone and nobody you're helping nobody and you're not being helped and you just kind of stall Yeah, it also creates it attracts the people
0
SPEAKER_04
 It's a great filter too, right?
0
SPEAKER_04
Because somebody who's going to help you is open-minded and empathetic and kind most likely.
0
SPEAKER_04
But also, if I was never sharing what I wanted to do, you and I would never have connected.
0
SPEAKER_04
And if you were never sharing what you wanted to do, we never would have found that middle ground.
0
SPEAKER_04
And same with Ammar.
0
SPEAKER_04
I think that the beautiful thing is we weren't afraid to ask each other.
0
SPEAKER_04
 for, like, help in different areas.
0
SPEAKER_04
It's kind of like, I think one of our friends, Ben Nemton, who actually is on the show Buried Life, says that you're drastically more likely to actually make something happen if you write it down.
0
SPEAKER_04
And you're even
1
SPEAKER_03
 I think even more likely to make it happen if you have like an accountability buddy, so somebody who holds you accountable or who can potentially help you.
1
SPEAKER_03
Because now you're making it real, right?
1
SPEAKER_03
Like so many people in the back of their minds think like, oh, I'll run a marathon one day maybe, you know?
1
SPEAKER_03
But if you start to take the steps towards it and tell people you're going to do it, immediately now it's real.
1
SPEAKER_03
So it's very easy to get stalled and never have anything happen.
1
SPEAKER_03
But I really like the way you mentioned it too about in relationships asking for what we want.
1
SPEAKER_03
It's so important.
1
SPEAKER_06
 Yeah, yeah.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I think we struggle to ask for stuff because we also haven't invested enough to ask in the sense of like, even when you guys are doing a trick on the Chelsea football players, you've still invested in making a contract.
1
SPEAKER_06
Like you've got into that place, whereas if you just walked in and walked up to them and said, Hey, do you want to sign for my club?
1
SPEAKER_06
And there was no contract, you hadn't planned it out.
1
SPEAKER_06
Right.
1
SPEAKER_06
 they probably wouldn't have agreed or there would have been no video.
1
SPEAKER_06
It would have been just some silly prank video, but it's when you've created a scenario and similarly in our lives, like if you've invested in a relationship with someone or you've, you've put some time and energy into it, you then feel that you're able to ask.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I think that's why we struggle to ask because we've just, we've not really brought anything to the table.
1
SPEAKER_06
Does that make sense?
1
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_06
 Yeah, no, it's cool.
1
SPEAKER_06
I like looking at it for you guys because you guys are doing this on a daily basis.
1
SPEAKER_06
The amount of times you've heard the word no, you're called Yes Theory, but you've probably heard more no's than anyone in the world, I'm guessing, at this stage.
1
SPEAKER_06
What was the biggest no, when you tried a new video idea or you tried a concept and it was just like, nope, it's not going that way?
1
SPEAKER_06
Probably Elon.
1
SPEAKER_06
Funny enough.
1
SPEAKER_03
 Yeah, we're actually trying to pull off like something we're calling Elon Week.
1
SPEAKER_03
We're going to try our best for an entire week to try and get Elon's attention to ask him a question.
1
SPEAKER_03
I love it.
1
SPEAKER_03
And we've tried in the past and he's a very, very difficult man to reach.
1
SPEAKER_03
So that's probably been one of the biggest, it's not even a no, it's a non-answer.
1
SPEAKER_06
 If anyone can do it, you guys can do it.
1
SPEAKER_06
I think we're going to pull it off.
1
SPEAKER_03
I think we're going to pull it off.
1
SPEAKER_06
I think you will pull it off.
1
SPEAKER_06
Yeah, I could see it.
1
SPEAKER_06
Elon week sounds cool.
1
SPEAKER_03
I want to help out.
1
SPEAKER_06
Yeah, that's great.
1
SPEAKER_06
That's that's cool.
1
SPEAKER_03
But there's actually one that I was thinking that was so funny because we walked out and we just didn't have the right energy.
1
SPEAKER_03
We had this idea of trying to convince a stranger to come shark diving with us.
1
SPEAKER_03
 Do you remember that day when we went out?
1
SPEAKER_03
And it was just such a brutal day of like, we walked out and we were already a little tired and not in the best headspace.
1
SPEAKER_03
Because you got to like, and I'm sure you can relate to this, but like, you will pull in the energy that you project.
1
SPEAKER_03
And so if you walk out and you're in a bad mood, and you're kind of awkward when you're asking, the reactions you're going to get back are going to be terrible.
1
SPEAKER_03
And we were just people were like,
1
SPEAKER_03
 like roasting us for asking them.
1
SPEAKER_03
And he was just bringing us down and down and down.
1
SPEAKER_03
And we just eventually just after 30 minutes of trying, which usually we try for like hours, after 30 minutes, we just like, let's just drive home.
1
SPEAKER_03
 Let's just, let's just not even keep going.
1
SPEAKER_03
Like there's no way we're convincing somebody today.
1
SPEAKER_03
And sometimes you just have to, you just have to accept that that's what it is, right?
1
SPEAKER_03
Like not every single time will work, but we learned something that day, right?
1
SPEAKER_03
That we carried over and the next time we were better.
1
SPEAKER_03
But yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
And again, it's the filter.
1
SPEAKER_04
 We're so thankful for the no's.
1
SPEAKER_04
Because if that person said maybe and it was a yes, you know, it just wouldn't have worked.
1
SPEAKER_04
We want the enthusiastic hell yes.
1
SPEAKER_04
No questions asked.
1
SPEAKER_04
Like the people that have said yes to us in the past, whether it was going on a first date across the world or going, I mean, there's so many.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, there's a lot.
1
SPEAKER_04
 It's never, they've never gone into detail of what the thing includes, whether it's safe, et cetera.
1
SPEAKER_04
They're like, that sounds amazing.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm down.
1
SPEAKER_04
And these people have ended up being our friends over the last five years.
1
SPEAKER_04
They're people we stay in touch with for that reason.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's that spirit that we're looking for in people.
1
SPEAKER_04
 almost like this like childlike excitement and enthusiasm, you know, that's what we live for.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_03
And what's interesting is we try and make sure they don't know like that we have a YouTube channel and all these things because we want the yes to be as pure as possible from a place of genuine spontaneity and excitement for adventure.
1
SPEAKER_03
And so when we get that, like we've just been
1
SPEAKER_03
 So lucky, like you're saying, to meet some incredible people that were open to two strangers or three strangers on the street walking around asking them for something ludicrous.
1
SPEAKER_03
And then in the end realizing what we love is keeping, because then there's, it's all, it all just becomes more and more positive surprises, right?
1
SPEAKER_03
Like what, we're actually flying to this place and what, like, you know, it's, it's, it's an amazing thing to just watch it unfold in their eyes and reward them for the trust that they had in that moment.
1
SPEAKER_02
 When the Taliban banned music in Afghanistan, millions were plunged into silence.
1
SPEAKER_02
Radios were smashed.
1
SPEAKER_02
Cassettes burned.
1
SPEAKER_02
You could be beaten or jailed or killed for breaking the rules.
1
SPEAKER_02
And yet, Afghans did it anyway.
1
SPEAKER_02
This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol.
1
SPEAKER_02
 The danger they endured.
1
SPEAKER_06
They said my head should be cut off.
1
SPEAKER_02
The joy they brought to the nation.
1
SPEAKER_00
You're free completely.
1
SPEAKER_00
No one is there to destroy you.
1
SPEAKER_02
I'm John Legend.
1
SPEAKER_02
Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1
SPEAKER_00
 A new season of Bridgerton is here.
1
SPEAKER_00
And with it, a new season of Bridgerton, the official podcast.
1
SPEAKER_00
I'm your host, Gabrielle Collins.
1
SPEAKER_00
And this season, we are bringing fans even deeper into the ton.
1
SPEAKER_00
Colin Bridgerton has returned from his travels abroad.
1
SPEAKER_00
Is Betrothal written in the stars for the eligible bachelor?
1
SPEAKER_00
Meanwhile, the ton is reverberating with speculation of who holds Lady Whistledown's pen.
1
SPEAKER_00
We're discussing it all.
1
SPEAKER_00
 I sit down with Nicola Coughlin, Luke Newton, Shonda Rhimes, and more to offer an exclusive peek behind the scenes of each episode of the new season.
1
SPEAKER_00
Watch season three of the Shondaland series on Netflix.
1
SPEAKER_00
Then, fall in love all over again by listening to Bridgerton, the official podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1
SPEAKER_00
Subscribe to catch a new episode every Thursday.
1
SPEAKER_01
 Hey everyone, this is Molly and Matt and we're the hosts of Grownup Stuff How to Adult, a podcast from Ruby Studio and iHeart Podcasts.
1
SPEAKER_05
It's a show dedicated to helping you figure out the trickiest parts of adulting.
1
SPEAKER_01
 like how to start planning for retirement, creating a healthy skincare routine, understanding when and how much to tip someone, and so much more.
1
SPEAKER_05
We're back with season two of the podcast, which means more opportunities to glow up and become a more responsible and better adult, one life lesson at a time.
1
SPEAKER_01
And let me just tell you, this show is just as much for us as it is for you.
1
SPEAKER_01
So let's figure this stuff out together.
1
SPEAKER_01
This season, we're going to talk about whether or not we're financially and emotionally ready for dog ownership.
1
SPEAKER_05
 We're going to figure out the benefits of a high yield savings account.
1
SPEAKER_01
And what exactly are the duties of being a member of the wedding party?
1
SPEAKER_05
All that plus so much more.
1
SPEAKER_01
Let's learn about all of it and then some.
1
SPEAKER_01
Listen to Grown Up Stuff How to Adult on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1
SPEAKER_06
 Yeah, that's awesome.
1
SPEAKER_06
One of the things I've been reflecting on, which you guys are both echoing is just how everyone who's winning more is actually also losing more.
1
SPEAKER_06
So it's like anytime you're getting a yes, you've already heard like 39 no's, right?
1
SPEAKER_06
It's like every time one of those people after hours says yes, that means you've spent hours hearing no's.
1
SPEAKER_06
 And whatever we're doing in any of our spaces, whether it's trying to get Elon, or whether it's trying to make a new video, or coming up with a new concept, or launching a new podcast like you guys are doing soon, whatever it is out of all of those things, it's like you've heard no's the whole way.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I think getting used to hearing no is actually such an important skill.
1
SPEAKER_06
And it sounds like you guys have really mastered it, because I can't imagine how hard it is.
1
SPEAKER_06
It's so easy for you guys to go on the streets and be like, we're yes theory.
1
SPEAKER_06
 You know, to try and be, I love the fact that you're not actually getting people to say yes, because you have a YouTube channel.
1
SPEAKER_06
They're saying yes, because you're getting that pure yes, as you said.
1
SPEAKER_06
I mean, that's, that's awesome.
1
SPEAKER_06
I've loved that.
1
SPEAKER_06
That's great to hear that.
1
SPEAKER_06
Because I think that's hard for people to understand what's, what's been the, uh,
1
SPEAKER_06
 what have you personally learned from breaking through your fears?
1
SPEAKER_06
Like which one for you was like, I really got over something, right?
1
SPEAKER_06
Like I really broke through something deep, personal and intimate for me when we did this thing, that was the one where I realized I learned a lot from it.
1
SPEAKER_06
So what was the fear or what was the challenge or what was the discomfort and what was the lesson you learned from breaking through that individually?
1
SPEAKER_06
 And it can't be together.
1
SPEAKER_03
For me, probably the most difficult experience that I've had doing this the past five years was we went out with Wim Hof, Iceman in Poland.
1
SPEAKER_03
And we ended up creating a documentary out of it because the experience was not at all what we were expecting.
1
SPEAKER_03
 Like we thought we were coming out to do the Wim Hof Method and learn the basics.
1
SPEAKER_03
And as soon as we got there, he saw us all wearing our Sikh discomfort sweaters and the first day we're like, let's go cliff jumping in the water.
1
SPEAKER_03
And he's like, okay.
1
SPEAKER_03
And you know, he's kind of seeing that we're comfortable being in uncomfortable situations.
1
SPEAKER_03
And so he's like, okay, the Wim Hof Method is not going to work.
1
SPEAKER_03
Like this is going to be too easy for you guys.
1
SPEAKER_03
We've got to up the stakes.
1
SPEAKER_03
 And we're like, what, what does that mean?
1
SPEAKER_03
And so the next day we wake up and he's just pacing back and forth in the breakfast room and we're like, what, what is he, what's going on?
1
SPEAKER_03
And he's like, I don't know if I'm allowed to curse, but he just goes, F the training.
1
SPEAKER_03
We're like, what?
1
SPEAKER_03
We're not going to do any of the training.
1
SPEAKER_03
We're going 10 minutes in ice water.
1
SPEAKER_03
Prepare.
1
SPEAKER_03
You have 30 minutes.
1
SPEAKER_03
Don't eat any breakfast.
1
SPEAKER_03
We're going in 30 minutes.
1
SPEAKER_03
Set your mind.
1
SPEAKER_03
And we're just like,
1
SPEAKER_03
 What are you talking about?
1
SPEAKER_03
Negative 10 degrees.
1
SPEAKER_03
There's a snowstorm outside.
1
SPEAKER_03
Typically, if you spend more than three minutes in below freezing ice water, which we were about to do, you can hit hypothermia if you're not careful.
1
SPEAKER_03
There's a lot of risks.
1
SPEAKER_03
There's no medical staff, nothing.
1
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_03
We're just like, wait, what?
1
SPEAKER_03
Who has done 10 minutes?
1
SPEAKER_03
 And this isn't just like a regular ice bath, this is like a moving body of water, so it actually makes it much more challenging because when you're in an ice bath, after a few minutes there's like a very thin coat of warm water that builds around your body, but here it's just
1
SPEAKER_03
 It's impossible, like you're freezing the entire time.
1
SPEAKER_03
And I put my toes in the water and I was immediately like, I need to get out.
1
SPEAKER_03
Like within 10 seconds, I thought it was over for me.
1
SPEAKER_03
We walked in all together, ended up doing this, like saying yes to like, okay, let's do the 10 minutes, let's try it.
1
SPEAKER_03
In my mind, I was like, I'm gonna last two minutes, two, three minutes.
1
SPEAKER_03
 And I'd never been in so much pain, physical pain in my whole life.
1
SPEAKER_03
And I definitely do not recommend for anyone to try this at home.
1
SPEAKER_03
But I think having these guys around and then having Wim there, and he saw that I was the one struggling the most, like pushing me and encouraging me.
1
SPEAKER_03
And then in the end, ending up breaking the 10-minute mark and then running back up to the sauna.
1
SPEAKER_03
And it took me a whole hour to get back to normal temperature.
1
SPEAKER_03
 I have a very rational clock that ticks in my brain that goes, okay, it's enough.
1
SPEAKER_03
I got injured pretty hard when I was 18.
1
SPEAKER_03
I developed these chronic injuries from sports.
1
SPEAKER_03
I've been always super careful with not pushing myself physically too much.
1
SPEAKER_03
If I go on a run and I start to feel my ankle weird, I'm like, okay, I'm done.
1
SPEAKER_03
I'm walking back now.
1
SPEAKER_03
 And this was like, within a minute, I thought it was over.
1
SPEAKER_03
And so I didn't only push what I thought my physical ability was, but also my own perception of when I'm supposed to stop.
1
SPEAKER_03
And after calming down from that,
1
SPEAKER_03
 just being so proud of myself for having achieved something that I genuinely believed was impossible 30 minutes earlier.
1
SPEAKER_03
I didn't think going to Poland that I would pass two minutes in ice water.
1
SPEAKER_03
I thought we would train our way up to two minutes.
1
SPEAKER_03
So to have done 10 only using
1
SPEAKER_03
 basically like the small skills that I have in meditation, just trying to like control my pain.
1
SPEAKER_03
And I would love to ask you about this too, but it's just, there was something in there where I just transcended and I had to be so focused on just, because as soon as you start shivering, it's over.
1
SPEAKER_03
So that was the main thing he was telling us.
1
SPEAKER_03
You just got to, the only thing you can use is the power of your mind.
1
SPEAKER_03
And I was like, what is he talking about?
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SPEAKER_03
 Like the power of my mind, I'm freezing.
1
SPEAKER_03
There's nothing to do with my mind.
1
SPEAKER_03
But what I realized is so much of my own limitation that I'd set was in my mind.
1
SPEAKER_03
It wasn't the physical pain, it was how I was coping with it and how far I was allowing myself to go.
1
SPEAKER_03
And then the next day we climbed a mountain in a snowstorm in shorts, that's it, shorts and shoes.
1
SPEAKER_03
I got to the top and
1
SPEAKER_03
 that also just became one of the most surreal moments.
1
SPEAKER_03
So like back to back, I just did two things that I never thought I could do.
1
SPEAKER_03
And after a few days of reflection, I just realized that now I'm like, I approach certain challenges with a completely new perspective.
1
SPEAKER_03
Like I don't always, previously I'd have like this, okay, this is how far I can go.
1
SPEAKER_03
 you know, in my mind, I had an idea of when my limit was going to arrive and now I'm always kind of, you know, second guessing it, not to push myself and get injured, but I'm always making sure that I haven't set, you know, a limit to myself that can actually just hold me back from how far I can actually go.
1
SPEAKER_03
So it was a very interesting experience.
1
SPEAKER_03
That's awesome.
1
SPEAKER_03
But in the end, just ended up...
1
SPEAKER_03
 gaining a new level of self-respect for myself.
1
SPEAKER_03
I'm like, damn, what else can I do?
1
SPEAKER_03
Which was amazing.
1
SPEAKER_06
Thank you for sharing that, man.
1
SPEAKER_06
That's what I love about this story, because I think for a lot of people who are listening and watching, it's like, when we see these incredible feats being performed, we often think of people who train for them, or people who are athletes and naturally athletic.
1
SPEAKER_06
And it's just like, when you just look at it as normal people, all of us sitting here, we're just normal people.
1
SPEAKER_06
 who are trying to do extraordinary things with our body or our minds and giving it a go.
1
SPEAKER_06
And when you were talking about it, I can hear it.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I really appreciate your honesty and vulnerability of just like, yeah, basically I thought I was going to last 30 seconds.
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SPEAKER_06
And I think that's most of us in so many places.
1
SPEAKER_06
But when I hear you say it, I'm hopefully everyone who's listening and watching is going to be like,
1
SPEAKER_06
 oh yeah, if Thomas can do it, I can do it too, you know?
1
SPEAKER_06
And I'm not saying, again, don't try it at home, but the point being that you start to be like, oh, well, if he didn't train and he's not, you know, it's not like you're an athlete.
1
SPEAKER_06
It's not like you come from an athletic background.
1
SPEAKER_06
It's just, this is what you could achieve by saying yes, and again, very importantly, being around a good, supportive group of people, being with an expert in what he does, and being in that space.
1
SPEAKER_06
Yeah, I love that, man.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's a good story.
1
SPEAKER_04
And for that same reason that we're so obsessed with community.
1
SPEAKER_04
 Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
Because had you been in that water by yourself?
1
SPEAKER_04
No, zero, literally zero percent chance.
1
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
For all of us.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
So we just, yeah, we, everybody thrives with a supportive community.
1
SPEAKER_04
I love it, man.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's what we push.
1
SPEAKER_04
What's yours?
1
SPEAKER_04
 Mine was last year, I did my first Ironman, full Ironman triathlon.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, and just like Thomas said, there was just this impossibility to it, and I'd heard about it when I was 21 from a friend of my parents, who was this 45-year-old dude and so athletic, and he told me what it entailed.
1
SPEAKER_04
I don't know if you know what an Ironman is, but it's a two and a half kilometer swim, 180 kilometer bike ride, and then a full marathon.
1
SPEAKER_04
 So on average, it takes Xander Fulmer.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, it's insane.
1
SPEAKER_04
And so when he explained it that immediately, it just kind of, you know, you cast it aside, there's just no chance.
1
SPEAKER_04
But then as we started to do Yes Theory and start to meet all these incredible people, we started to meet more triathletes and iron people who had completed Ironman, like Rich Roll, who became a big inspiration.
1
SPEAKER_06
I interviewed him last week.
1
SPEAKER_06
I was with him yesterday.
1
SPEAKER_06
I was on his podcast yesterday.
1
SPEAKER_06
Yeah, he's a legend.
1
SPEAKER_06
Do you guys know him?
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And so seeing these people like you're saying, normal people who achieved extraordinary things, you know, you start thinking like maybe there's something here, but you don't immediately go for the full thing usually.
1
SPEAKER_04
Not straight into the water for 10 minutes.
1
SPEAKER_04
So I started to do like a smaller triathlon than a half Ironman.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then actually on the day of the jump with Will Smith last year,
1
SPEAKER_04
 Or was it two years ago?
1
SPEAKER_04
Two years ago.
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SPEAKER_04
Two years ago.
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SPEAKER_04
I met his personal trainer, Aaron, and I'd been thinking about doing an Ironman, and I walked up to him, and I hadn't talked to him ever before.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, hey man, I heard you're Will's personal trainer.
1
SPEAKER_04
He's like, yes, yes I am.
1
SPEAKER_04
 I was like, well, I'm doing an Iron Man in May.
1
SPEAKER_04
You should do it with me.
1
SPEAKER_04
And he kind of just looked at me like I was crazy and I was like, all right, cool.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'll see you later.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then I ran into him an hour later and he'd thought about it and he was at a point in his life where he needed something to break constructs and just get out of his shell and he accepted.
1
SPEAKER_04
He was like, yeah, let's do it.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And so within a month, I was training with Will Smith's personal trainer nearly every day, and he was giving me this curriculum of what this would actually entail.
1
SPEAKER_04
And when I'd thought about doing the Ironman, my goal was I just want to finish.
1
SPEAKER_04
17 hours is the max.
1
SPEAKER_04
If I do it in 17 hours, I'll be so stoked.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'll be the happiest man alive.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then when I started to talk to Aaron, Aaron said, when you do something in your life,
1
SPEAKER_04
 as big as this, you should never, ever, ever half-ass it.
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SPEAKER_04
It should be full commitment because it's going to reflect in everything else you do after.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I never thought about it like that.
1
SPEAKER_04
I always just thought you needed to finish the thing that didn't necessarily require full effort.
1
SPEAKER_04
 But he explained that the reward is in the practice, it's not in the result.
1
SPEAKER_04
And so for eight months, this man just grinded me down, like you can, you know, to the pebbles.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was just every day woke up at 5 a.m.
1
SPEAKER_04
feeling broken and having to go for a two-hour run and then a three-hour bike ride, you know.
1
SPEAKER_04
So by the end of the eight months, and this required me to take time off videos and traveling,
1
SPEAKER_04
 Sometimes it's very stressful, frustrating.
1
SPEAKER_04
I told him it was worth it.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, guys, it's going to be worth it.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then on the day of the race, Aaron and I had decided that our goal was to do it under 12 hours, which is below, it's the top quarter of the people that finished the race, which having never done a full one, I was just like, this is ridiculous.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And with no sleep, because you don't sleep the night before, you're so anxious and you have to wake up at 3.30 a.m.
1
SPEAKER_04
to get to the starting line.
1
SPEAKER_06
How many people do it?
1
SPEAKER_04
2,000 did it in that race.
1
SPEAKER_04
I think 40,000 to 50,000 do it a year.
1
SPEAKER_04
And what's amazing is people of all ages, you know, like there's 21-year-olds and there's 70-year-olds that go for it and each have their own respective goals.
1
SPEAKER_04
 But so when I did it, and what ended up happening was I did the swim, then I did the bike, and then on mile 10 of the race, which was about 10 hours in, my body just completely shut down.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I started to cry and started to walk.
1
SPEAKER_04
And after eight months of training, I was so mad at my body.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, how could you do this to me?
1
SPEAKER_04
And then as I was walking, and other people around you are collapsing as well, so you're like, I guess I can just give up here.
1
SPEAKER_04
 You know, what is it, 16 more miles to go?
1
SPEAKER_04
There's just no freaking chance.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then I actually thought about Amar, who had done a marathon without training the year before.
1
SPEAKER_04
And he told me that halfway through the race, the same thing happened, and that he decided that every mile from that point on, he would dedicate to somebody that he loved, and he would imagine them running by his side.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And so remembering that, and remembering everything Aaron had taught me, I slowly started to get back up and slowly started to run.
1
SPEAKER_04
And every single mile was, at first I imagined my brother, I imagined Thomas, I imagined my parents, I imagined my friend Steve, I imagined all these people who especially supported me the last eight months.
1
SPEAKER_04
 I'm crying and I'm running and I'm just full of sweat and people are just dying next to me, giving up.
1
SPEAKER_04
I just have these people in my mind and I refuse to think of anything else.
1
SPEAKER_04
What's wild is if you look at the time, I actually speed up the second half of the race faster than I was the first half.
1
SPEAKER_04
These guys were tracking me and when I was hitting that mile, they were like, oh God, he's stopping.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And then they were like, oh, wait, what's, you know, he's picking it back up.
1
SPEAKER_04
And it was because of that community.
1
SPEAKER_04
And so on the last mile, and by that point, I'm just completely ruined.
1
SPEAKER_04
You know, these guys came for the last mile and ran it with me by my side.
1
SPEAKER_04
And by the end, there's just nothing left.
1
SPEAKER_04
And the video at the end is just me collapsing into Mar's arms and then these guys' arms.
1
SPEAKER_04
 It was just a, and I finished in 11 hours and 57 minutes.
1
SPEAKER_04
So three minutes below the 12 hour mark that I'd aimed for.
1
SPEAKER_04
And it was the first time in my life.
1
SPEAKER_04
 that I felt like a winner.
1
SPEAKER_04
For so long, forever, I was just riddled with self-doubt.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, I'm not a winner.
1
SPEAKER_04
Even through Yes Theory, it was motivated by self-doubt to prove to myself.
1
SPEAKER_04
But this was, it was me.
1
SPEAKER_04
I had to prove this.
1
SPEAKER_04
This was just me.
1
SPEAKER_04
And yes, with the support of the community, but it's all in my mind.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And to be able to hit your goal under 12 hours and see it visually, you know, and physically has, I mean, completely profoundly changed my life.
1
SPEAKER_04
After we went to dinner, I went to dinner with Aaron and I hadn't really thought about the whole thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was just happy it was over.
1
SPEAKER_04
And he walks up to me and by this point he's like my best friend and my partner, you know, he's just my guy.
1
SPEAKER_04
And he just pats me on the shoulder and he's like, Hey buddy, just so you know, those three minutes are going to change the rest of your life.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And I just, you know, stood in silence.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, wow.
1
SPEAKER_04
And it's been eight months since that day and so many parts of my life have changed because of it.
1
SPEAKER_04
So many things I thought were impossible have changed, whether it was with relationships or goals that I had or even something like approaching a backflip that I never, you know, there's just small things and big things.
1
SPEAKER_04
 because I finally was able to prove to myself that I could win.
1
SPEAKER_04
It just changes your identity to go through that discomfort and to come out successful.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's the most blissful, beautiful, freeing experience that a human can possibly have.
1
SPEAKER_04
 So to chase that discomfort, that's why we preach it, because that's what creates freedom, you know?
1
SPEAKER_04
And even for somebody like you, I'm sure writing a book has been a thing that you've wanted to do forever, for example, and so many other things.
1
SPEAKER_04
But to actually have it in your hands, like, I made this thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And it's probably going to be number one in your Times bestseller, maybe.
1
SPEAKER_04
You know, like you did this and these are physical manifestations of what we're capable of.
1
SPEAKER_04
And the reason something like a yes theory or seek discomfort never gets old is because the challenge just continues.
1
SPEAKER_04
You know, what else can I do is the question.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And you know, there's opportunity everywhere.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's endless.
1
SPEAKER_04
And that's what makes life so goddamn exciting.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's like a playground for all your dreams.
1
SPEAKER_04
One after the other, if you tackle them, it's the most beautiful thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
And that's what we, that's like our fuel.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_06
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_06
That's a great story, man.
1
SPEAKER_06
That's beautiful hearing it from your, from your mouth in that way.
1
SPEAKER_06
It's like, it's, yeah, it's like.
1
SPEAKER_06
 I was there with you, you know, when I was hearing you say that, I really felt like I was there with you.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I love that the fears are different.
1
SPEAKER_06
What you find easy or hard is different.
1
SPEAKER_06
Like, you know, as humanity, like we, we all find certain things really easy and simple and natural and effortless.
1
SPEAKER_06
And there are certain things that we find hard and it's different for different people.
1
SPEAKER_06
And we don't have the same challenges and we don't feel the same discomfort.
1
SPEAKER_06
Like for some people sitting in cold is easy and for some people, you
1
SPEAKER_06
 Sitting in heat is hard and for some, you know, whatever it is, it's different.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I think it's wonderful that you all like let yourselves, you gave him eight months off from making videos to go and test this.
1
SPEAKER_06
And you know, you had a different test.
1
SPEAKER_06
And this may be because when I hear you guys talk about this, there's camaraderie, there's friendship, there's brotherhood, like there's respect.
1
SPEAKER_06
Like when I hear you all sharing the stories today and when I watch your content,
1
SPEAKER_06
 It's not like a dare, right?
1
SPEAKER_06
There's a difference.
1
SPEAKER_06
And it's, it's subtle, but it's, it's something that I really want to bring up is that I don't feel like you guys are daring each other.
1
SPEAKER_06
It's like, you're like cheering each other on.
1
SPEAKER_06
You're like, you're like wanting the person to win.
1
SPEAKER_06
Tell me about the difference between a real
1
SPEAKER_06
 discomfort challenge versus peer pressure.
1
SPEAKER_06
Because I feel like there's a difference and I feel like you've built a community around really challenging yourselves and rooting for your friends and brothers to win and sisters to win and you're really rooting for each other.
1
SPEAKER_06
Whereas I feel that
1
SPEAKER_06
 In the same way, we often experience dare culture or like peer pressure culture, like force culture.
1
SPEAKER_06
And I know for me, that force culture has always made me back away from challenges, whereas the brotherhood has always made me want to challenge myself more.
1
SPEAKER_06
So tell me about how you've been able to understand the difference and how you've been able to focus so strongly on the positive one.
1
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, that's a great question.
1
SPEAKER_03
 I think the intention behind it is the most important thing.
1
SPEAKER_03
Why are you challenging this person to do it?
1
SPEAKER_03
Because if it comes from a place of like, okay, I'm going to humiliate this person or I'm going to put them in a position that's going to make them feel really bad about themselves, that's terrible.
1
SPEAKER_03
You know what I mean?
1
SPEAKER_03
Or if you're doing it only because you think this might get views or if you're going down a cart in a staircase just because you think it's whatever.
1
SPEAKER_03
 It's um, that never sits well.
1
SPEAKER_03
Whereas if you're like, okay, I'm gonna give my friend five minutes to prepare for a stand-up set and sign him up without him knowing.
1
SPEAKER_03
That's a whole different thing because it's coming from a place of, yes, you know, there's an element of cheekiness, but there's definitely, it's also like a belief that doing this is something that has an element of growth.
1
SPEAKER_03
Like being up and bombing and then coming back down is an experience that
1
SPEAKER_03
 is in the moment painful and not great.
1
SPEAKER_03
But in the end, you've now experienced what it is to not do great.
1
SPEAKER_03
And then from there, like literally anything else on stage is not going to feel as bad as whatever that was.
1
SPEAKER_03
You know, there is always something to learn there.
1
SPEAKER_03
And with everything we do, if we ever put each other in uncomfortable or difficult situations, it always come from a place of love.
1
SPEAKER_03
It comes from a place of, I think, you know, this person is actually going to benefit from this experience.
1
SPEAKER_03
There's, um,
1
SPEAKER_03
 Would you agree with that?
1
SPEAKER_03
It's the intention.
1
SPEAKER_03
So was it loving when you sent me to Miami to take the world?