Mind Castle

In this episode, we discuss a simple tactic to break any skill down into a manageable to-do list with something called the Law of Inversion. It uses our natural bent towards the negative to solve our problems, instead of restricting and limiting us. After all, if something can be learned, it's a skill, and if it's a skill, it can be taught. Whether you're teaching yourself or someone else, this episode gives you a useful tool for progress.⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

Austin tells a few of the lessons he learned from living in Mexico, learning Spanish. Learning a language is perhaps one of the highest bars of learning and is not for the faint of heart. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

We finally wrap up the book Essentialism, ending in part 4 which holds many important things to consider. This part is about execution, specifically, the essential parts of life that we have defined. ⁠⁠⁠Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

We continue our deep dive of the book Essentialism, specifically how to say no and eliminate what is not important in our lives. It's essential to learn this skill, without it we will never fully commit to what matters most. ⁠⁠Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less⁠⁠ ⁠Sugar coated lies⁠ - (Mind Castle podcast) ⁠⁠⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

This is part 2 of our deep dive through the book Essentialism, specifically how to explore and discern what matters most in life. This concept comes from the belief that we must determine the vital few and eliminate the rest. ⁠Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less⁠ Quitting caffeine cold turkey - (video on Austin's channel) Austin quits caffeine... and nearly goes blind - (Mind Castle podcast) Sugar coated lies - (Mind Castle podcast) ⁠⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

What does it means to live a life as an "essentialist"? What is essentialism and how can it impact our lives? There's a lot to break down on this topic, and the next few episodes will continue exploring this concept. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives ⁠Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

Habits have the potential to change your life, and there's a formula that helped me understand this. In the words of Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do…excellence, therefore, isn't an act, but a habit." This is a short little update episode about why we haven't been creating new podcasts, and why Austin is in Mexico right now. The Compound Effect (book) Austin's Newsletter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Reagan's Website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's Website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Austin's YouTube⁠⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Austin and Reagan take a deep dive into how we can become better listeners. Without a doubt, being a good listener is one of the most effective tools we can use, and a much needed skill. A few of the concepts discussed in this episode are the indirect approach, active listening, and listening for the words a person isn't saying. The Art of Possibility Never Split the Difference Extreme Ownership Jock Willink: The Indirect Approach Austin's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠ ⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠ ⁠Reagan's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Austin's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's YouTube⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Austin and Reagan talk about the core of what makes good communication. The art of simple, clear, concise communication is not easy but will create huge results in your life. Below are the resources mentioned in the episode. Tony Robbins Communication Jordan Peterson - How to have a conversation Never Split the Difference Andrew Huberman (example of a good communicator) Talk Like Ted Ted Talks Extreme Ownership Austin's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠ ⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠ ⁠Reagan's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Austin's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's YouTube⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, we discuss some of our many curiosities. Bouncing off of a previous episode where we discussed the benefits of being curious, here we explore what that looks like. This episode is a wild ride, discussing Dutch colonialism, ego, Freud, alchemy, the foundations of science, and rocket engineering. It all makes sense, we promise. Mind Castle YouTube Channel Free Notion Templates The Obstacle is the Way Ego is the Enemy My Little Prince Rich Dad Poor Dad Austin's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Reagan's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Scribd (one month free)⁠ ⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠ ⁠Reagan's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Austin Website⁠ ⁠Austin's YouTube⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, the Mind Castle Podcast discusses how one man's life can have a profound impact on the rest of the world. How our choices do matter and how to make the best choices we can. This episode comes to terms with the harsh reality that our choices affect the world around us, for good or for bad, and how we should respond to that. Links to references in the podcast: Austin's Newsletter Reagan's Newsletter James Jani - exposing myths and scams in our world Ordinary Men The Gulag Archipelago The Rape of Nanking Scribd (one month free)⁠ ⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠ ⁠Reagan's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Austin Website⁠ ⁠Austin's YouTube⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

What do skydiving, polar plunges, and learning Spanish have in common? In this episode, Austin and Reagan discuss expanding of frameworks of reality and how to see the world differently. We look at why it's so important to intentionally put ourselves in experiences that reshape our view of reality. Austin's Newsletter Reagan's Newsletter Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

Austin and Reagan discuss what curiosity is and how pulling on the thread of curiosity is essential for a vibrant life. Many of us have heard sayings like "curiosity killed the cat" but what is that really telling us? Is it good advice? What is curiosity and how does it change our lives? Links to references in the podcast: Austin's Newsletter Reagan's Newsletter Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday Johnny Harris' YouTube Channel Mind Castle YouTube Channel Scribd (one month free)⁠ ⁠Reagan's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Reagan's YouTube⁠ ⁠Reagan's Website⁠ ⁠Austin's Goodreads⁠ ⁠Austin Website⁠ ⁠Austin's YouTube⁠ Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Austin and Reagan discuss what has been their recent interests and endeavors in life, what's happened in the last 6 months, and what's going down in the future. Johnny Harris' YouTube Channel Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin talk about time and how we relate to it. For example, when you think of "now" what do you think of? Over the years the world concept of "now" or the present moment, has shrunk from a few hundred years to a few minutes. The main theme here is that we are incredibly shortsighted. It's a call to look forward and build something that lasts, something that goes beyond ourselves. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Austin talks about how he did something most 22-year-olds probably don't do, and Reagan explains why the number 4,000 will change your life. We discuss how life is finite and how thinking about death can be one of the most important things you can do for your life. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin dive into a prolific author of the 1800s, Victor Hugo, and learn powerful lessons from his life. One of these skills called a Commitment Devise, allowed him to write one of his most successful books in less than 4 months. Commitment Devise Video Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Mind Castle does a quick release of a defining moment in Austin's life. In just under two weeks one of Austin's videos got over 1 million views, and this podcast being recorded within a day of this achievement. His subscriber count went from 1,600 to 13,000 and is still climbing. In this episode, Austin shares what it's like to have his channel finally blow up after two years of intense work. How does this affect Austin's life? What's it like to go from making no money to having the potential to turn this into a full-time job? The video that changed Austin's life Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode Austin and Reagan discuss what they classify as the most undervalued resource. The episode covers a few other aspects, but mostly dialogs about mentors, staying curious, and learning to ask the "dumb" questions. Also, Tai Lopez. And Tim Ferris. We promise all these things are connected and make sense in this episode. Tribe of Mentors Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

We built a ridiculous treehouse, and it just kept getting bigger. Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin unpack what a typical week looks like. A thread of this episode is pulling apart the "perfect" internet presence because in reality that is just a highlights reel. Our lives on the internet can look so interesting and dynamic, but in reality a typical week is actually quite boring. We break down why that's good, and how living a boring life is one of the keys to achieving meaningful life goals. Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes when we get around to it.

Reagan and Austin follow up on a previous episode, where we set reading goals they for this year (listen to that episode here). Reagan set off to read 80 books this year and Austin is working on 60. We discuss some of the interesting highlights of books we've read so far, which led to some very random rabbit trails about things like the anti-aging movement, psychedelics and religion, technology that changes the brain, and much more. Also, why G. K Chesterton is relevant to this whole conversation. Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

We've been teasing it for a while, and it finally happened! Reagan took Austin skydiving for the first time. Austin had never experienced falling for an entire mile through the sky, and since skydiving is a wonderful lesson in overcoming our fears, I (Reagan) couldn't pass up the opportunity. This episode starts with our thoughts before the skydive, and how Austin is feeling after he lands safely again on terra firma. Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube

Practically, how do we build good mental models and find first principles to apply to our lives? We continue our discussion of Naval Ravikant, and dive deep into the concept of first principles and using them in daily decision-making. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

We dive into some physics, and Austin gets his mind blown learning how the 2nd law of thermodynamics applies to daily life. This is the 3rd episode in our discussion of Naval Ravikant, examining his views on building mental models and life wisdom. A vital factor is understanding the fundamental laws of our world and how our lives fall under those laws, even without realizing it. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, they review a book that compiles many of his sayings. Naval takes many of the lessons he has learned from making money and applies them to living a meaningful life. They take an in-depth look at how someone this successful thinks on a daily level. What can be learned? The Almanack of Naval Ravikant Mind Castle Twitter (quotes and excerpts from episodes) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, they review a book that compiles many of his sayings. Naval takes many of the lessons he has learned from making money and applies them to living a meaningful life. They take a specific look at one of the key points Naval talks about. Specific knowledge. A skill set that you cannot be trained for. It is unique to you. It cannot be outsourced or automated. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant Mind Castle Twitter (quotes and excerpts from episodes) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

In this video, Reagan and Austin discuss travel and the mindset behind it. Specifically, what gives them such an urge to do it. Austin draws a picture of his latest travel to Belize, a few days prior. Your patience is appreciated, as Austin is VERY sleep-deprived in this episode! Rome Vlogs Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

Churchill lived one of the most productive and extraordinary lives of the last century. How was Churchill able to do this and become one of the greatest historical figures of the 20th century? With the amount of work and stress on his life, how did this man continually break the glass ceiling? What can be learned from the way he lived his life? Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

Ever wonder how many creatives think of good ideas? When someone's income relies on being creative, how do they not run out of ideas? In this episode, we discuss a famous writer named Lee Zlotoff, who was the writer for the famous TV show Macgyver. Lee Zlotoff didn't have time to get stuck, so he developed a very unusual method for always coming up with good ideas. The Macgyver Method Stillness is the Key Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

Nausea, dizziness, and extreme fatigue were all experienced by Austin after quitting caffeine. Why would anyone do this? Is it to prove a point? Some test of strength? Or just stupidity? In this episode Austin and Reagan attempt to answer these questions to the satisfaction of their listeners. Use code SCHROCK10 on checkout and get 10% off anything on www.originmaine.com Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop their optimal selves, be productive, and discuss the lessons they're learning from what they're reading. New episodes as time allows.

Human brains are good at thinking of things, but not the best at remembering them. Ever since this whole internet thing, it has been pure brain overload, with no possible way of remembering everything (probably a good thing). But how many times do you see something that you decide is important, then 7 minutes later you have completely forgotten? A second brain is a way to quickly capture anything from a name, phone number, idea, etc, and store it before it goes away. Organized, quick, and labeled in a specific way so you can actually find the stuff you store, and the ability to store all major forms of information. Preferably it would accessible everywhere so you can access it from anywhere. Human brains are a superhighway of information that is flowing all the time. It should all be in one place and scale for the rest of your life so it needs to be built well. So it needs to be able to scale, but it needs to be quick capture, easily usable, and long-term storage. Almost an in-between place, where you grab the information, then come back and sort it to the appropriate places. It's important to be intentional with this, in the long run, it will actually end up saving you time, helping to prevent endless searching for the long-lost ideas. This is about capturing snapshots of your life. If you don't capture them, no one will. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

In this episode of Mind Castle, Reagan and Austin take a look at an idea that Austin recently did in a YouTube video called "The simple idea that changed my life." This episode flushes the idea about how we approach goals and view ourselves. The main thrust is that when approaching a goal, you look beyond just the outcome, but deeper into who you must become to achieve that goal. You must become a person who is capable of achieving the goal. The idea of this came from a book called "Think Like a Monk" by Jay Shetty. Jay lays this idea out very well with a fantastic story that is given at the beginning of the episode. We should be more worried about our current trajectory and the systems in place than simply the outcome. Reagan brings into the discussion a segment from Atomic Habits, where he discusses how goals are good because they give us a target, but systems are what are used to accomplish those goals. He also talks about how our lives are made up of small improvements over long periods of time. One of the main benefits of this idea of becoming a better person is when approaching hardship. Trials, while unpleasant and painful, are an opportunity to grow and be stretched. Austin gives his opinion on how he can be optimistic even in hard times because he knows it is helping him become a stronger person. Later they discuss how to adopt this worldview and how it isn't for everything that is hard. Some things will break you and have nonreversible consequences. that isn't what they are discussing, they are talking about the things that stretch and require movement outside of the comfort zone. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

When it comes to learning information, there is a lot of noise. If you don't believe that, just open Twitter. How do you cut through the noise and get what you want to get? What is the maple syrup principle? That's what Reagan and Austin discuss in this episode, how to find that distilled knowledge without wasting your time in all the noise. A large part of this is going directly to the source of the knowledge. Figure out how to get information by going directly to the source. Go to the distilled refined places for your information. This allows you to be more efficient with your research, while at the same time learning more information. To make maple syrup, you have to boil 40 gallons of syrup to make one gallon of the good stuff. When it comes to knowledge it would be exhausting if that's the approach needed. Much better to go to the core for the diamond while the rest chip on the lump of coal. Experts are amazing at filtering information. A large part of doing this is learning what the core principles of your life are. What drives you? What is most important to you? What are your values? When that is learned it makes filtering information and tasks so much easier. Also discussed in this episode is applying the 80/20 rule to our information diet. You don't put maple sap on your pancakes. The stuff you are ingesting needs to be well worth your brain. We need a rich information diet, not a noisy diet. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

This episode finishes building on the previous episode, discussing first principles and how to choose what is most important to you. Finding baseline reality is important and living in a dreamland won't help you accomplish your dreams. So, while it's vital to be a cook and build your own recipe, be aware of the fundamental reality of the world. Without that baseline, you will live a very confused and frustrated life. From there it goes deep into the literal way Reagan and Austin choose the books they read in the flood of recommendations that never seem to slow down. The other side of this is true as well; how do you begin reading when you are interested in reading but don't know where to start. A book is a serious investment of time. How do you filter out what's worth your time? Two of the main ways to do this are with the apps listed below, Scribd and Goodreads. Both of these are wonderful for researching books and finding what your friends are reading and enjoying. Austin says how he refuses to read a book until he has searched and read some of the reviews on Goodreads. Another way that Austin began to read outside of the box, was by asking close friends, "If you could recommend any book to me and you knew that I would actually read it, which book would you recommend?" Out of this comes the "reading ratio" which is essential for healthy reading. Austin explains how this is works; basically, for every 2,3,4 (or however many you choose) books you read that are within your normal scope, you read one book that is beyond your normal comfort level of reading. Something outside the norm. This helps prevent the common trap of reading only what you are comfortable with. Later they transition into discussing the lists of books they have bought already this year that they plan on reading. Austin's YouTube video Reading a book in one sitting Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and Austin discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

There is a lot to learn from Elon Musk. In this episode, Reagan and Austin dive into one of the fundamental things that sets Elon apart. This is his ability to be a chef in a world of cooks. The difference between a cook and a chef is a chef makes his own recipe, while the cook is bound to follow the book. Without the book, the cook is lost, incapable of making something profound except by accident. Elon is a chef. When he decides he wants to do something he doesn't look for the standard way others do it. He builds a new way. This is exactly what made SpaceX possible along with the Tesla program. The challenge to take from this episode is, how will you approach life? Will you only tackle what others have done before you? Will you only follow other people's recipes? Or will you be an innovator and make your own recipes? A large part of this is basing decisions on core principles in life. Not every way Elon thinks should be replicated, but this is one valuable piece we all can learn from. Being willing to step forward into the unknown can be dangerous, but it can also be very fulfilling and rewarding.  Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's YouTube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's YouTube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

Hustle culture, toxic productivity. What are they, and are they healthy for a meaningful life? Is it the only way to win in life? In this episode, Reagan and Austin dig into the drawbacks to what the "big winners" of hustle culture preach. Like most things that are unhealthy, it began as something good but got taken to an extreme. We are so busy optimizing our calenders or finding the newest productivity app, that we never stop to ask, to what end? What is the goal? Even worse, the temptation is to look at others who aren't working as hard by our standards and assume we are better than them. If you want to work 90 hour work weeks, that's fine. Just don't push that on others or claim it's the only way. There is one critical flaw with hustle culture. Winners and losers have the same goals. For all the Grant Cardone's and Dayne Johnson's who succeed, there are just as many who failed, left with nothing. But we don't see those examples because they don't have a voice. You only see the ones of those who have made it. Just because you work harder than everyone else, doesn't mean you will be more fulfilled and successful. Too many people have set an arbitrary bar of success, that if you just do such and such you will eventually win. While this may be true to an extent, to assume it's universal is bending the paper a little far. Productivity is about getting work done in less time so that you can carve out more time for the things that are truly important. Productivity is not about what you do, it's about what you accomplish. Doing more and being busy all the time doesn't mean you are accomplishing more. You may be working harder but not smarter. There are YouTubers with more than 1,000 daily vlogs and still had less than 200 subscribers. Doing more doesn't equal more outcomes. If you cram your life too full you'll miss the big picture. There's a difference between being lazy and being bored. Lazy is lounging on a couch with potato chips watching Netflix. Bored is allowing yourself to get immersed in a menial task that allows your mind to wander and be creative. Take time to be bored. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

Why would someone endure such pain and abnormality of behavior by taking a cold shower?? In this episode, we discuss a very specific way Austin chooses to be intentional; cold showers. The way this got started was one day Austin was feeling extra unmotivated and undisciplined and thought; "What's the most disciplined thing I could do right now?" He decided that a cold shower would be the most disciplined thing he could do. So he did. It's a real-life test every day that shows whether or not you're in control of doing hard things. Physiology it's grueling, which is the point. You are being attacked by a thousand droplets of icy death. Your body goes into full freakout mode and you basically feel like your going to die for the first few seconds. Of course, you don't, but it's the thought that counts. Your vision may blur a little and you'll probably lose your breath. It physically hurts your body. Of course, there are many health benefits to doing this, but as discussed in this episode, the health benefits aren't the reason. WHAT?! Nope. So what's the reason then? Hopefully, we can all agree that a large part of bettering ourselves is expanding the level of experiences we allow into our lives. If we shrink away from doing hard things our worlds will slowly close in on us, shrinking our experiences and hindering growth. We all experience something called "The Flinch" when we come upon doing something that makes us uncomfortable. It's the moment right before, where we freeze up or question ourselves. We can either choose to embrace that challenge and push through or shrink away and live a life of avoidance. It's not about the cold showers and it never was. It's about deliberately placing hard things in our lives and embracing "The Flinch." This can be done in many, many ways, cold showers are simply one way of doing it. Life is like a river. We all go down it and at some time or another hard experiences will come toward us. We can either choose to jump out on the bank and avoid it, or we can face it head-on and become better people for it. The choice is yours. However, it is much easier to grow when you do it on purpose, instead of being forced. Jonny Harris - Cold Exposure Documentary on Wim Hof (Yes Theory) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin Schrock discuss the importance and absolute need for intentionality in maintaining a healthy mind. We open with an excerpt from the book Discipline Equals Freedom, by JOCKO Willink called, Sugar Coated Lies. How do we stay focused on every moment of our day-to-day lives? So much of our lives are pulled by distractions. One thing we covered in this episode is something called "The Tyranny of the Urgent." It says that we spend all our time doing the things that are urgent, but not really important. That text, email, notification, you name it. All the things that scream for our attention yet don't take us closer to our end goal. If we do this we will spend our time reacting to other people's agendas, and not being proactive in our own lives. A part of maintaining intentionality and focus is the ability to function outside of when we have to. Too many people rely on external sources to push them outside their comfort zones. When we step into hard things of our own will, we learn to function outside crisis of mode. Then when a real crisis does come we can be focused and respond correctly. The main thing is to be intentional about what brings meaning to your life. It's not about being the next productivity guru or getting tons of stuff done. It's like you have a blank slate, and mark the 3 things in your life that make your life meaningful and those become priority for your time. Being intentional is maintaining focus on what's important to us so we can optimize our lives for happiness. Subscribe so Austin has to go skydiving! Why you are starving on urgency | The tyranny of the urgent - YouTube Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss the books we have read in 2021. We narrow it down to our favorite books (a hard task) and then discuss why we liked them and some of what we have learned. If you follow this podcast, you know that we try our best to expand our minds and maintain peak performance in our lives. The majority of how we do this is by filtering what we take into our minds, aka, reading well. In this episode, we give a picture of the information we allow in our minds. If you'd like to know more of what we read check out our Good Reads down below. In the end, we spent a good amount of time talking about some really dark books looking at humanity in the past. While many of us try to read books we think we will enjoy, it is also important to read books that are hard. Books that are heavy and that expand our worldview. For example, it is essential to know how we got here; reading history is one of the best ways of doing this. Reading about history is very interesting, yet it can be hard to get through sometimes. Some really messed up people had their way and it's not all roses and ice cream cones. History affected real people just like you and me. It can be easy when reading books like that to try to extract information or learn lessons; don't do either. Simply look at it for what it was. Austin's Favorite Books 1. Goals - Brian Tracy 2. Elephant in the Brain - Kevin Simler 3. Think Like a Monk - Jay Shetty 4. The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli 5. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - Donald Miller Reagan's Favorite Books 1. The Productivity Project - Chris Bailey 2. 12 Rules for Life - Jordan Peterson 3. Living Forward - Michael Hyatt 4. Atomic Habits - James Clear 5. Jesus and John Wayne - Kristin Kobes Du Mez 6. Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink 7. Deep Work - Cal Newport 8. The 4 Hour Workweek - Timothy Ferriss 9. Unlimited Memory - Kevin Horsley 10. Simply Christian - N.T. Wright 11. The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them.

How are legends made? A common belief is that people are born with talent, or get hit with a lightning bolt of ability that rockets them to greatness. But as we discover in this episode, there is no such thing as innate talent. Masters are not born, they are made. How you choose to act and communicate to yourself is the map you are drawing for your achievements. Talk is cheap; consistent, dedicated, hard work, and hours of putting in the time is how you will achieve greatness. In this episode, we discuss a professor who puts this concept to the test with, get this, his own children! The results that came from his family are truly astonishing. The key lesson to come away with is, what you immerse yourself in will dramatically increase your ability. Whatever habits are normal in your culture will be among the most attractive behaviors you'll find. As we go through life what are the most important things to you? What direction are you going in? What are you becoming through your actions each and every day? You are going somewhere, so make sure it's the place you want to be going. If you want to change the state of mind you are in, remember the three things needed. 1. Change your physiology 2. Change your language (verbal and nonverbal) 3. Change your focus/belief. Remember, whether you say you can or cannot do something, you are right. What you focus on, you feel. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :)

What's the difference between people who love reading, and people who don't? What strategy does one person use that enables them to enjoy reading while others get exhausted by it? In this episode, Reagan and I (Austin) jump into our practical tips and tricks of how we read and actually enjoy it. Reading is a skill, so let's sharpen it. We answer some of the questions like "Where do I start if I don't read very much?" or "What do I do if I hate reading?" We are not experts here, but we have patterns and strategies that allow us to read and enrich our lives and we want to pass that on to others. Below is a speed reading course that dramatically helped me several years ago. This is speed reading that actually works! You can also find a link below for Scribd, the best-known audiobook platform we've ever found. You will get 1 month for free, so why not? What should we read next? Speed Reading Course Why You Hate Reading Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :)

Between Reagan and I (Austin) we read close to 150 books a year (Reagan reads more than I do...). What drives Reagan to read close to 100 books a year? Why did I make a goal of reading 50 books this year? This is the topic of this episode where we discuss what drives this desire. We discuss a wide variety of books and authors of where to start. We discuss some of the best minds in history and what they offer us. I like what Reagan says in the next episode about reading. He says: "I literally can't afford to NOT read." I think that is very true! Not only does reading literally create and carve new pathways within the brain, but it also is like sitting down with an author and being tutored by them. Imagine someone taking decades to learn a skill, then putting it in something you can consume in 8 hours. It's a buffet of information that we can tap into at any point we desire. We are standing on the shoulders of giants. It is our responsibility to stand on the edge of knowledge, holding the light a little farther. But to do that we need to know what the ones before us teach and how we apply that to our lives. Below are both of our good reads accounts where you can see what we read and possibly the ratings we give them. What should we read next? Story of Philosophy Why You Hate Reading Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube

What's your superpower? In this episode, Reagan and I (Austin) discuss one of the unique skill sets we each have and how we use it. Both of our's involve sleep and as the podcast goes we discuss in depth the benefits and advantages of sleep. We are passionate about having a sharp healthy mind and sleep is one of the best ways to do that. One of the interesting facts we discuss is the recent research surfacing about exercise and IQ. No research has shown that anyone's IQ can increase, but it turns out that it can go down. Naturally, we would want to slow that process down. It turns out that exercise is the only known activity that prevents a person's IQ from dropping as they get older. Why We Sleep Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Austin's Youtube - https://bit.ly/3nyAaUs Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :)

In today's episode, we are discussing and contemplating the importance of documenting the lives that we live. Between the two of us, we have a combined of at least a year of days documented. The ability to capture and create digital memories has been critical for adding many memories. There isn't a right or wrong way to document your life, there are only effective and ineffective ways. One of the least effective ways is by trying to capture everything within the mind. When we bring that out of the mind and being to put it done on paper, video, or photo we build a "second brain" as it were. Those memories and moments are forever captured in that words or images. We live in an incredible time. We have an abundance of ways to capture and remember the highlights of our lives, so let's use it! Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :)

Today we dive into a book called "Deep Work" by Cal Newport (link below) and discuss how many have fallen into the trap of doing lots of "stuff" in an invisible manner and calling it productivity. We also bring in what may be a radical idea for some; Idleness is the key to productivity. For a world that never seems to slow down, this may catch many off guard. Yet we believe it is essential for maintaining a healthy and consistent workflow in day-to-day life.  Deep Work - https://amzn.to/39bEB0P Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :)

What is the Mind Castle? In this first episode, Austin and Reagan outline what we're passionate about, and discuss how the mind is the most valuable thing each of us can invest in. "Unlimited Memory" book: https://amzn.to/3kvGbzI Mind Castle is about discussing what we're learning and reading, stories from our travels, and how we can become the optimal versions of ourselves. Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's Youtube Reagan's Website Austin's Goodreads Austin Website Austin's Youtube Mind Castle is where Reagan and I (Austin) discuss how to develop our optimal selves, be productive, and the lessons we're learning from what we're reading. Plus, the occasional story from our many travels. New episodes as we have time to make them. :) Episode analytics