Episode 12: Master of His Own (Virtual) Reality, with Mark Metry

Mark Metry is the founder of VU Dream, an agency focusing on growth in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality industry. He’s also the host of Top 100 podcast Humans 2.0 which explores “the modern technological context of our world and provides anyone with the full tools they need to develop themselves.” He aims at exploring the humanness behind our tech-focused society by chatting with entrepreneurs, life coaches, authors, athletes, and other inspirational guests.

Born and raised in Boston as the son of Egyptian immigrants, Mark was motivated by his parent’s determination and made it his personal mission to succeed. Today, apart from running his company and podcast, he’s also a regular speaker, avid meditator, and has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Fearless Motivation, and more. And did we mention he’s just 21?

Discover more about Mark Metry’s journey to early success—including his own struggles—and how he envisions positively impacting the future.

• 00:01:07 – Why Mark thinks there are positive movements being made in the world of startups and technology.
• 00:02:06 – How Mark starts off his mornings with mindfulness meditation and a few chapters of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
• 00:07:03 – Mark discusses his parent’s story of immigrating to the U.S. from Egypt, and how it motivates him to succeed.
• 00:12:23 – Mark reflects on his time growing up in Boston and what kind of a kid he was, including how several health problems affected him and his self-perception.
• 00:15:16 – How Mark’s early interest in learning code on CodeAcademy gaming and the online world sparked his first entrepreneurial aspirations and initial successes.
• 00:21:28 – How the lag time on Minecraft’s server inspired Mark to build his own – which eventually drew hundreds of thousands of visitors to his site.  
• 00:21:28 – Mark explains how he developed his gaming hobby into a legitimate money-making venture while in his early teens.
• 00:23:50 – What motivates him to take his own path of becoming a successful entrepreneur and “resist the status quo.”
• 00:27:02 – How Mark and his family handled him making a substantial income while still in high school.
• 00:32:09 – Mark talks about the wisdom, values, and advice that his parents instilled in him.
• 00:38:40 – Why and how pursuing the typical “college path” sent Mark down an unhealthy path of binge eating, failing classes, and “wasting away.”
• 00:41:00 – How Mark escaped his self-destructive pattern and chose a healthier direction – which included using Bulletproof coffee to aid mental performance.
• 00:47:28 – Mark describes his introduction into meditation and how this impacted his life as well as his decision to start his company VU Dream and podcast Humans 2.0.
• 00:50:10 – Mark shares why he’s become more mindful about what he puts into his body and how he’s seen its positive effects.
• 00:52:01 – Mark discusses how Naveen Jain, founder of Viome, uses military-grade technology and applies it to making humans healthier.
• 01:00:30 – How picking up a whiteboard and journal at Target helped him map out his future plans and live his own dream.
• 01:05:18 – Mark explains how he deals with difficult days and personally handles adversity.
• 01:12:00 – Mark discusses the launch of his virtual and augmented reality company as well as what they’re working on and plan to tackle in the future.
• 01:17:28 – Mark discusses what other personal, professional, and educational ventures he’s focusing on.
• 01:20:53 – Why Mark sees serious value in the future of VR, AR, and other cutting-edge technologies.
• 01:23:44 – How interviewing Issac Lidsky, New York Times Bestselling author and former Saved by the Bell cast member who is also legally blind, opened his mind to how virtual and augmented reality can improve people’s lives physically and mentally.
• 01:27:19 – Mark talks about his podcast, how he goes about creating it, and what inspires him to have the conversations he does on the show.
• 01:32:00 – Mark discusses which healthy habits, mindsets, and practices he finds most valuable.
• 01:40:30 – Mark talks about the 21 Life Lessons he wrote after recently turning 21.

Follow Mark Metry on Social Media

• Website: www.markmetry.com
• Twitter: @markymetry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.metry.9
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry
• Instagram: @markmetry

Listen to Humans 2.0

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Check out VU Dream

• Website: www.vudream.com
• Twitter: @VUDreamOfficial
• Facebook: @VUDreamOfficial