The Art of Manliness

When many people hear the word "networking" images of hotel conference rooms filled with strangers pressing flesh and handing out business cards while giving one minute elevator pitches come to mind. It's like a white collar purgatory. But according to my podcast guest, networking doesn't have to be like that. In fact, it can actually be pleasant and even fun. In today's show I talk to attorney, networking expert, and AoM contributor John Cororan about how to network like a pro.

We all are familiar with Adam Smith's book, The Wealth of Nations. It gave us the "invisible hand" and basically created the field of economics. But did you know he wrote a book before the Wealth of Nations on how to live a virtuous and good life? It's called the Theory of Moral Sentiments and the insights Smith makes in it can change your life for the better. I talk to economist Russ Roberts, author of the book, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life, about what we can learn from the Father of Economics on living the "good life." We discuss what Smith thinks we need to do to be truly happy, how the "impartial observers" in all of us can guide to us be better, why fame isn't all that great, and why we continue to buy new iPhones even though we know the excitement of owning it will wear off in about week.

I talk to famous motivational speaker Tony Robbins about his new book "Money: Master the Game." Tony and I talk about what he learned after interviewing the world's most successful investors and how average Joes can apply it in their own life. We discuss the myths that are preventing people from saving enough from retirement, why you should avoid actively managed mutual funds, why NOT losing money is one of the most important investment strategies, and how to create a portfolio that can withstand the sometimes violent ebbs and flows of the stock market.

I talk with Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha about his military career, what Vietnam was like, the intense love he has for his fellow soldiers, and what it's like to receive the citation for the Medal of Honor. A fascinating discussion with a fascinating man.

Dr. Tim Wilson, author of Redirect, discusses the power of story editing for lasting personal growth. They explore CSID and its ineffectiveness, positive narratives, overcontrolling parenting, and implementing story editing to change perception.

I talk to boyhood psychology expert, Dr. Michael Gurian about his book, The Wonder of Boys. We discuss how biological differences between boys and girls affect the neurology and consequently the psychology of boys as well as how schools and therapists have overlooked these differences to the detriment of boys. Gurian provides insights into what boys need in order to grow into strong, mentally and emotionally healthy men, and what parents can do to provide that environment to boys. If you're a dad, this is a definite must-listen. Lots of great actionable information here to help your son to become a good, strong man.

Why are men (generally) more violent then women? Why are men (generally) drawn to competition? Is the idea that masculinity means having courage and strength just a complete cultural construct or is their a biological underpinning to it? Well, our guest today makes the case that we can look to our closest animal relatives, the great apes, to find answers to these questions. His name is Dr. Richard Wrangham and he is a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University. He's the co-author of the book, Demonic Males: Apes and Origins of Human Violence. In today's podcast, Dr. Wrangham and I look at what we can learn about human masculinity from chimpanzees and other apes. We discuss the biological underpinnings of masculinity as well as patriarchy and what insights we can gleam from that. It's a super fascinating show.

The Marine Combat Hunter Program was developed during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to give soldiers tools on how to detect threats before they happen. The goal is to make Marines as situationally aware as possible so they can not just survive, but also win lethal encounters. In Left of Bang, Patrick Van Horne presents the skills and mindsets that are taught in the Marine Combat Hunter program for a civilian audience. We talk about situational awareness and how these skills can be used beyond the battlefield.

Maneesh Sethi is the creator of Pavlok. It's a wearable device that connects to your smartphone and helps you make and break habits. One of the things Pavlok does is shock you if you do something you're not supposed to be doing, like visiting a time wasting site like Facebook, or when you don't do what you should be doing, like going to the gym. I talk to Maneesh about habits and the power of punishment in getting us to do what we should be doing. We also discuss the ways men and women differ in forming habits. Lots of great, practical info in this podcast. If you're looking for more info about Pavlok visit aom.is/pavlok.

In this episode I talk to writer J. C. Herz about her book, Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about CrossFit. I'll admit that before I read Learning to Breathe Fire, I had just a vague idea of how CrossFit worked, and was honestly pretty skeptical of it. My only interaction with the program has been giving the CrossFitters (or "fire breathers" as they sometimes call themselves) at my gym the stink eye for taking all the barbells from the squat racks so they could do their hang cleans. So it was interesting to read a book that goes into the history, philosophy, and even anthropology of CrossFit, and why it has become so popular so quickly. While the book didn't turn me into a full-on convert, it did really broaden my perspective of the program, and I even tried my first CrossFit workout after reading it.