Roberto Lovato's memoir delves into his family history, revealing intimate stories behind headlines about gang violence and Central American migration. It explores the interconnected violence between the U.S. and El Salvador, offering a personal and historical perspective on identity and trauma.
In 'In the Heart of the Sea,' Nathaniel Philbrick recounts the tragic story of the whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale in the South Pacific in 1820. The book details the crew's desperate struggle to survive in three small whaleboats, facing extreme conditions such as starvation, dehydration, and cannibalism. Philbrick uses accounts from the ship's crew, including those of first mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, to provide a detailed and gripping narrative. The book also explores the broader context of Nantucket's whaling community and the impact of the Essex tragedy on American literature, notably inspiring Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick.'
The Wager by David Grann tells the gripping story of the HMS Wager, a British warship that met its tragic end during the War of Jenkins' Ear. The book delves into the harrowing experiences of the survivors who endured months of isolation on a desolate island, facing hunger, illness, and interactions with indigenous inhabitants. After constructing a makeshift vessel, the survivors embarked on a perilous journey to Brazil and Chile, only to return to England with conflicting stories of mutiny, treachery, and murder. Grann's narrative explores the nature of truth and the power of stories, using firsthand accounts to recreate the events and their historical significance. The book also examines the broader context of British imperialism and the moral compromises made by the crew and the empire[1][3][5].
This book chronicles the epic 1803-06 journey of Lewis and Clark across the continent and back, highlighting the roles of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark. It combines high adventure, politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy, providing a vivid backdrop of the expedition through previously unknown information about weather, terrain, and medical knowledge of the time. The narrative includes the interactions with Native American tribes, the scientific discoveries, and the personal tragedies that marked the journey. Ambrose's work brings alive the colorful characters and the historical context, making this scholarly work as engaging as a novel[1][3][4].
In 'The Psychology of Totalitarianism,' Mattias Desmet analyzes how people willingly give up their freedom and how the masses can rise to form totalitarian regimes. He identifies 'mass formation' as a type of collective hypnosis that destroys individuals' ethical self-awareness and critical thinking. The book is divided into three parts: the first part examines the mechanistic-materialist view of the world and its psychological effects; the second part details the process of mass formation and its relationship to totalitarianism; and the third part explores ways to transcend the current mechanistic worldview to prevent totalitarianism. Desmet argues that the Enlightenment's commitment to a mechanistic worldview has led to anxiety and social pathologies, and he advocates for a more balanced understanding that includes an immaterial realm beyond the physical[1][3][4].
Originally published in 1975, 'Life After Life' is a qualitative study where Dr. Raymond Moody interviewed 150 people who had undergone near-death experiences (NDEs). The book details common elements in NDEs, such as an overwhelming feeling of peace, being located outside one's physical body, floating through darkness or a tunnel, encountering a 'being of light,' and experiencing a rapid succession of visual images of one's past. Moody's work neither rejects these experiences on scientific grounds nor sensationalizes them, offering a balanced and insightful look into the phenomenon of NDEs. The book has sold over 13 million copies and has been translated into a dozen foreign languages, making it an international bestseller and a seminal work in the field of NDE studies.
Episode 485: Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) talks with Laird Hamilton (https://lairdhamilton.com) about his well-rounded approach to life, the story behind launching Laird Superfood, why he’s such a viscous competitor, what vices he’s struggled with in the past, his thoughts on Bryan Johnson’s longevity protocol, and much more.
Want to see more MFM? Subscribe to the MFM YouTube channel here.
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Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com/
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
• Try Shepherd Out - https://www.supportshepherd.com/
• Shaan's Personal Assistant System - http://shaanpuri.com/remoteassistant
• Power Writing Course - https://maven.com/generalist/writing
• Small Boy Newsletter: https://smallboy.co/
• Daily Newsletter - https://www.shaanpuri.com/
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Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(3:00) How Laird describes himself
(5:30) How Laird got into entrepreneurship
(10:20) Laird’s revenue streams
(11:30) Reaction to Laird’s Superfood stock plummeting
(21:15) Other business ideas Laird considered pursuing
(29:00) Laird’s epic house & training regimen
(36:15) Most impressive athlete Laird’s trained with
(39:20) Being a viscous competitor
(43:00) Laird’s vices
(48:30) Thoughts on Bryan Johnson
(54:15) Laird's relationship with technology
(56:25) How Laird tracks his personal finances
(1:03:40) Laird’s 2023 goals
(1:06:45) Laird’s book recommendations
(1:12:25) Why the world’s so soft right now
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Links:
• XPTLife - http://xptlife.com/
• Life After Life - https://tinyurl.com/35w8227v
• Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World - https://tinyurl.com/yckeyysm
• The Psychology of Totalitarianism - https://tinyurl.com/2mksfrds
• The Trap - https://tinyurl.com/y77bsj53
• The Wager - https://tinyurl.com/pvu9drrb
• The Heart of the Sea -
• Undaunted Courage - https://tinyurl.com/ya6zkw6k
• Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.
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Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.
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Other episodes you might enjoy:
• #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits
• #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future
• #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto
• #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett
• #218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates
• Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More
• How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More