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SOLVED with Mark Manson

Mark Manson

New episodes every month. Life advice that doesn’t suck by a 3x #1 NYT bestselling author. I’ve spent two decades calling out everything wrong with the self-help world: the bad science, the guru nonsense, and the advice that preys on people's insecurities. This podcast is my no-BS, research-backed answer to all of it.

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  • 102 episodes
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  • Avg 1 hr 29 min
  • English

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  • Mar 20, 2024 · 36 min

    Why Modern Society Makes Us Feel More Lonely

    I came across some mildly terrifying statistics on loneliness and wanted to figure out what was going on. In this episode Drew and I break down three paradoxes we're calling “The Three Paradoxes of Modern Loneliness” and they are as follows: We are more connected than ever, yet loneliness is at an all-time high The more urbanized our lifestyles become, the lonelier we become Despite being more social, young people are becoming lonelier than older people Join us as we dig into the data and discuss why this all might be happening and what we can do about it. Check it out. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 The Loneliness Crisis: Shocking Statistics 00:00:55 Paradox 1: More Connected, More Lonely 00:02:50 The Momentum of Intimacy and Social Sorting 00:06:46 From Social Graph to Interest Graph: The TikTok Shift 00:08:30 Empty Calories: Why Digital Interactions Don't Satisfy 00:10:51 Dating Apps and the Superficiality Problem 00:14:09 The Missing Accountability: Why Everyone's Meaner Online 00:16:17 Paradox 2: Urban Loneliness in Crowded Cities 00:19:13 Social Infrastructure: The Key to Urban Connection 00:20:54 Living Alone: The 400% Increase and What It Means 00:24:00 The Marriage Question: Quality Up, Quantity Down 00:27:13 Paradox 3: Why Gen Z Is the Loneliest Generation 00:29:14 Trading Weed for TikTok: The Teen Mental Health Crisis 00:31:38 Interpersonal Neurobiology: Why Face-to-Face Matters 00:33:48 The Takeaway: We're Failing Our Kids ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Mar 13, 2024 · 1 hr 12 min

    Productivity Expert Explains: How to Accomplish Far More While Working Less (ft. Cal Newport)

    What if there was a way accomplish meaningful work—without the associated relationship breakdowns or stress? What if “making an impact” didn’t require massive amounts of energy or sacrifice? What if you could get more done by doing less? In this episode, I talk to Cal Newport about how knowledge work has got it all wrong. We discuss the subtle dangers of remote/digital work and the key to avoiding burnout, all while still being able to grind on the things you love. If you’re a stressed out, overworked remote worker, this one is for you. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 The Burnout Epidemic: Why Flexibility Isn't Fixing the Problem 00:01:22 Meet Cal Newport: The Professor Who Sold 20 Million Books Without Social Media 00:02:52 What Is Slow Productivity? 00:04:17 The History of Productivity: From Factories to Knowledge Work 00:05:34 Pseudo-Productivity: The Activity Trap That's Killing Knowledge Workers 00:06:52 The Corporate Meeting Nightmare: Why Everything Takes 90 Minutes 00:08:30 Measuring Success on a Decade Scale: The John McPhee Example 00:10:52 Adapting Traditional Knowledge Work Principles to Modern Jobs 00:12:41 Take Longer: Why Doubling Your Timeline Produces Better Work 00:14:23 The Beatles and Sergeant Pepper: Balancing Ambition With Deadlines 00:18:37 Principle One: Do Fewer Things at Once 00:19:20 The Overhead Tax: Why Every Commitment Generates Hidden Work 00:20:55 Specialization Over Jack-of-All-Trades: A Team Management Lesson 00:22:16 Remote Work and the Invisible Overhead Tax 00:23:58 The Friction Paradox: Why Removing Barriers Makes Things Worse 00:26:49 Context Switching: The Productivity Poison 00:29:36 The Remote Work Paradox: Highest Satisfaction, Highest Burnout 00:31:07 Hybrid Work and the Meeting Explosion 00:33:01 Freedom as Anxiety: The Sartre Problem With Endless Options 00:36:44 Making Your Workload Transparent: The Shared Queue Solution 00:39:47 Pull vs. Push: The Manufacturing Lesson Knowledge Work Ignores 00:43:20 Video Production Bottlenecks: Applying Pull Systems to Content Creation 00:44:09 Principle Two: Work at a Natural Pace 00:46:15 The Beatles, Mark Twain, and Picasso: Variability Within Massive Output 00:47:03 Distinguishing Natural Pace From Procrastination 00:16:50 Lin-Manuel Miranda's Seven-Year Journey: Milestones Without Endless Time 00:49:49 The Anti-Productivity Movement vs. Slow Productivity 00:52:59 Principle Three: Obsess Over Quality 00:52:43 Self-Care vs. Self-Indulgence: Where's the Line? 00:55:25 Is Slow Productivity a Privileged Position? 00:58:36 Entry-Level Knowledge Work: Moving Up Through Rare and Valuable Skills 01:02:32 Gen Z: The Attention Span Crisis and Hidden Advantages 01:06:18 From Self-Destruction to Construction: Gen Z's Cultural Shift 01:07:56 Generational Evolution: From Follow Your Passion to Job Engineering 01:10:19 The MIT Theory Group: Where It All Began 01:09:09 Slow Productivity as an Umbrella Framework ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Mar 6, 2024 · 45 min

    6 Things to Stop Doing in 2024 to Change Your Life

    What if the answer isn’t to do more? What if the answer is to want less? I’ve always believed that subtracting from your life can produce better results than trying to add something. Generally, quitting a bad habit, or a bad mindset, or anything distracting, will have a bigger impact on your life than learning more. This episode covers a few things I think we should stop doing to live a better life. Enjoy. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: 6 Things to Stop Doing in 2024 00:00:28 Stop Investing in Emotionally Unavailable People 00:03:01 The Trap of Taking People for Granted 00:03:52 Dating Apps, Addiction, and the EU Lawsuit Against Hinge 00:05:04 Stop Blaming Everyone Else for Your Problems 00:06:34 Algorithms, Social Media, and Human Nature 00:07:46 Social Media's Impact on Teenagers vs. Adults 00:09:36 Stop Comparing Yourself to Others: Instagram and Social Comparison 00:11:49 Healthy vs. Toxic Social Comparison 00:14:31 Social Media Hides the Ambiguity of Real Life 00:15:55 Stop Expecting Other People to Change 00:18:41 Why Changing Others Often Means Avoiding Changing Yourself 00:19:30 The Evolution of Giving Advice: From Arrogance to Humility 00:21:36 Be the Counterargument, Don't Make the Counterargument 00:23:05 Stop Burying Your Emotions: The Intellectualization Trap 00:24:38 Memory Gaps and Suppressed Emotions 00:26:28 The Balance Between Suppressing and Overindulging Emotions 00:28:15 Real Vulnerability vs. TikTok Vulnerability 00:30:46 Vulnerability, Honesty, and Freedom Are Linked 00:31:35 The Mental Health Conversation Problem 00:32:48 Stop Sacrificing Sleep for Productivity or Fun 00:34:30 The Individual Nature of Sleep Flexibility 00:36:30 Stop Drinking: Drew's Two-Year Sobriety Journey 00:38:29 What Sobriety Reveals About Yourself and Your Relationships 00:40:32 When Self-Destructiveness Was Cool 00:42:50 The 90s Rock Culture: A Retrospective 00:44:21 When You Don't Have Real Problems, You Invent Them ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Feb 28, 2024 · 1 hr 7 min

    The Surprising Benefits of Working Weird and Awful Jobs (ft. Derek Sivers)

    Successful people talk a lot about what made them successful. But they're rarely asked about all the things that went wrong. What about all of the things that failed? Or all the times they got fired? Embarrassed themselves? Spent time in jobs that were just plain weird or awful? No one asks this stuff. Until now of course. In this episode, I talk to my friend Derek Sivers about the weird and awful jobs that eventually led him to become a millionaire. From circus ringleader to founder of one the most successful music start-ups of our time, this guy has a story to tell. Derek Sivers is the author of four books, founder of CD Baby which he sold for $22 million (then gave most of it away), and just an all-around badass. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Jobs That Didn't Work Out 00:01:44 The Pig Show That Changed Everything 00:04:53 The Professional Pest: Getting Paid to Annoy College Students 00:08:50 Mark's Investment Banking Disaster 00:13:50 The Metaphorical Time Zone and Corporate Reality 00:17:48 Class Reunions and Working for Dreams, Not Money 00:19:46 Telemarketing and the Art of Not Being Yourself 00:24:30 Identity, Authenticity, and Cultural Differences 00:26:42 Mark's Three-Week Career as a Bouncer 00:30:07 The Value of Weird Jobs and Empathy 00:30:52 Comfort as a Trap and Keeping Your Baseline Low 00:42:22 Home as a Place With No Obstacles 00:34:14 Quitting the Marathon: When Goals Don't Serve You 00:35:25 The Landmark Forum and Life Having No Inherent Meaning 00:38:10 Investing in Skills Over Paychecks 00:31:51 The Horizon Principle: Why Hardship Doesn't Feel Hard 00:39:42 What Cities Whisper: New York, Luxury, and Success 00:48:12 Being Around Greatness: Geography and Ambition 00:44:22 How Derek Became a Japanese Rock Star 00:55:46 Alan Tepper and Creating Your Own Job 00:58:39 Mark's Career as a Men's Dating Coach 01:01:40 Transactional Thinking and Missing Father Figures 01:03:59 The Teacher Learns More Than the Student 01:06:34 Wrap-Up: Failed Jobs That Made Us Who We Are ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Feb 21, 2024 · 46 min

    6 Important Truths No One Likes to Hear

    The most important truths in life are the ones we don’t like to hear. In fact, I managed to make an entire career out of sharing these types of truths because the stuff we don’t like hearing is often what we need to hear the most. In this episode I have a lot of fun going through—one-by-one—six nuggets of wisdom, designed to make us all less awful humans. So saddle up bitches, I’m here to break hearts today. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Important Truths No One Likes to Hear 00:00:32 Truth 1: If You Think You Have a Problem, You Do 00:02:51 The Backwards Law and Gratitude Practices 00:07:55 Why Your Solutions Stop Working Over Time 00:09:44 California Groupthink and Finding Your People 00:12:14 Truth 2: Sexy Results Come From Boring Work 00:15:41 Music School, Practice Rooms, and Perfectionism 00:17:29 Exercise: Consistency Beats Extreme Workouts 00:18:47 Truth 3: Consistency Matters More Than Intensity 00:20:47 Relationships Need Small Gestures, Not Grand Ones 00:22:32 Kevin Kelly's Parenting Advice and High Leverage Moments 00:26:42 Marathon Training: Run Slow to Get Fast 00:26:58 Truth 4: People Feel About You How You Feel About Yourself 00:30:06 Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Setting Your First Boundaries 00:31:39 Truth 5: You'll Look Back on Today's Problems With Nostalgia 00:34:27 Learning to Appreciate Struggle in the Moment 00:37:53 The Bittersweetness of Hard Times 00:39:33 Truth 6: The Only Common Factor in Your Problems Is You 00:40:43 Mark and Fernanda's Community Problem Across Three Cities 00:42:31 Locus of Control and The Responsibility-Fault Fallacy 00:45:29 Recap: Six Truths No One Wants to Hear ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Feb 14, 2024 · 53 min

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Mental Health (ft. Lori Gottlieb)

    Could it be that today’s increased awareness about emotions, and our obsession with mental health issues, are actually causing more mental health issues? More people are doing therapy, but are those people potentially doing it wrong? Therapist, counselor, and author Lori Gottlieb says that a lot of our culture’s approach to mental health is wrong. In today’s podcast, we discuss what it takes to do therapy effectively. We discuss the prevalence of mental health content online and why that may be a bad thing. We talk about how people’s misunderstandings of vulnerability and boundaries can backfire. And we get into the effect social media might be having on this. Enjoy. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: What If We're Getting Therapy Wrong? 00:01:25 How to Actually Do Therapy Well 00:03:25 Idiot Compassion vs. Wise Compassion 00:04:31 The Presenting Problem vs. The Real Problem 00:06:28 The Prisoner Shaking the Bars 00:08:23 Coming to Unknow Yourself 00:09:55 How to Take Advice Well and the Help-Rejecting Complainer 00:13:40 Defense Mechanisms: Why We Cling to What Hurts Us 00:15:40 The Toxic Rescuer Dynamic 00:18:03 The Stages of Change and Why Maintenance Matters Most 00:20:53 The Ripple Effects of Change Nobody Talks About 00:21:59 When Your Partner Doesn't Want You to Change 00:24:09 Small Changes vs. Extreme Overhauls 00:25:27 The Mental Health Crisis Paradox 00:26:43 Why Men Think They're the Only Ones 00:30:00 The Permission to Be Human 00:32:30 The Danger of Trauma Inflation and Concept Creep 00:33:49 Rupture and Repair: The Lost Art of Relationship 00:34:50 The Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis 00:36:51 Performative Vulnerability vs. Real Vulnerability 00:38:30 Choose Your Audience: Vulnerability Isn't for Everyone 00:40:02 Boundaries Are With Yourself, Not Others 00:41:18 The Cut-Off Culture and the Loneliness Epidemic 00:43:28 Flexibility: The Number One Quality in a Partner 00:44:11 Sometimes the Friction Is the Point 00:45:23 When Therapy Becomes the Problem 00:46:28 The Worst Business Model Ever: Knowing When to Leave Therapy 00:48:53 The Human Condition as It Happens 00:50:53 Authenticity Over Credentials 00:51:39 What's Next and the TV Adaptation ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Feb 7, 2024 · 33 min

    3 Questions That Determine 99% of Your Happiness

    We all overestimate how much you have to do to actually be happy. But what if I told you that achieving happiness is much simpler than you think? That’s right, the smallest lifestyle changes can have the most unexpected knock-on effects towards positive change. It’s actually quite incredible once you experience it. In today’s episode of the pod, we delve into the 3 of the most important questions that you can ask yourself in determining your own levels of happiness. These are questions worth asking. Make me happy by liking and reviewing the episode. Make someone else happy by sharing it with them. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Three Questions That Determine Happiness 00:00:39 Question 1: How Well Am I Treating My Body? 00:02:32 The Spiritual Side of Self-Discipline 00:03:02 Mark's Health Journey: From External to Internal Motivation 00:04:04 The Surprising Benefits of Quitting Alcohol 00:07:03 The Knock-On Effects: How Feeling Good Changes Everything 00:08:26 Question 2: Who Am I Spending My Time With and Why? 00:11:03 Don't Take Good Friends for Granted 00:13:16 The Loneliness Epidemic and the Harvard Study 00:15:19 The Hippies Were Right: It's All About Love 00:16:05 Question 3: What Am I Working On and Why? 00:16:55 Cal Newport's Insight: Get Good First, Passion Follows 00:18:43 The Secretary Who Loved Her Job for 60 Years 00:19:54 Why Your Hobby Should Stay a Hobby 00:22:28 Drew's Woodworking: A Case Study in Pure Passion 00:24:47 Mark's Profound Realization: I Love the Business, Not Just Writing 00:27:45 Grading Ourselves on the Three Questions 00:29:36 Mark's Social Life Challenge: Finding Community While Sober 00:31:04 California Sober and LA Party Culture 00:32:02 Wrap-Up and Newsletter Invitation ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Jan 31, 2024 · 31 min

    The Self-Improvement Paradox: When Trying to Get Better Feels Worse

    What do you do when trying to improve your life makes you feel worse? What if trying to be better comes across as ‘try-hard’? What if setting more goals is just your way of avoiding your own bullshit? This is the topic of discussion in today’s episode, “The Self-Improvement Paradox”—or in other words, why sometimes trying to be better makes you feel worse. It turns out improving yourself is nuanced and complicated. Who would have thought? Check it out. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:37 Question #1: When is improving yourself being try-hard? 00:10:35 Question #2: How do you balance improving yourself with accepting yourself? 00:20:14 Question #3: Is too much self-esteem really that big of a problem? ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Jan 24, 2024 · 52 min

    Sex, Drugs, and Money Might Actually Make You Happier (ft. Sonja Lyubomirsky)

    Imagine if you could sit down with one of the world’s leading happiness researchers and ask her, one by one, what actually makes people happier and what doesn’t? Well, that’s basically what I did. In this episode, Sonja and I get deep into the subject of happiness. One by one, we conclude which of life’s simple and not-so-simple pleasures are underrated or overrated. Some of the answers will definitely surprise you. Do yourself a favor—watch, like, and share the happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  • Jan 17, 2024 · 39 min

    5 Life-Changing Lessons From Visiting 75 Countries

    If you’ve ever been stuck working some BS desk job thinking there’s got to be more to life, then you were right. There’s travel. High-quality, intentional travel is one of the most transformational experiences a person can have. Without a doubt, my 10 years living abroad made me more confident, more self-assured, and ultimately more educated about the world and the people in it. It also informed a lot of the philosophy that I've written about over the past 10 years—the counterintuitive approach that so many people have come to love. This episode dives into the key takeaways I got from my years of traveling. I can’t be sure, but I think they might inspire you as much as they have me. Enjoy. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:42 How it all began 00:04:18 Lesson #1: Everything is a trade-off 00:08:48 Lesson #2: Happiness is cheap, dignity is expensive 00:16:52 Lesson #3: Solo travel is great for personal development 00:22:07 Lesson #4: Most people are good 00:28:27 Lesson #5: Some cultures produce better outcomes than others 00:36:32 Mark’s travel tips ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Jan 10, 2024 · 51 min

    Why Everyone's Social Skills Are Getting Worse (ft. David Brooks)

    People are becoming increasingly lonely and are unable to relate to one another. Yet we have more access to more people than ever before. What's going on? Is it technology? Is social media replacing our sense of community with the empty calories of the sweet, sweet For You feed? Or maybe it’s the deterioration of the nuclear family — fewer kids are being born and being raised by fewer parents. Or is it the lack of religion in public life? Or the geographic exodus from small towns and communities towards big anonymous cities? Or the economic inequality and complete loss of work/life balance? These are questions that I, and renowned journalist and author David Brooks, unpack together as we nose dive into the social and emotional disconnect of millions of people.Need lessons on how to talk to the barista making your coffee? Looking to build a better relationship with Gary from across the fence? This episode won’t make you a master of communication overnight, but it’s a fascinating conversation packed with useful insight from beginning to end.Listen to it. David Brooks on Twitter @nytdavidbrooks: https://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooksDavid Brooks’ column: https://www.nytimes.com/column/david-brooksDavid's new book “How to Know a Person:” https://www.amazon.com/How-Know-Person-Seeing-Others/dp/059323006X CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:46 Why we’re in a social crisis 00:05:55 The harsh judgment of social media 00:08:06 The growth of distrust 00:10:57 The decline of the traditional family 00:15:14 On communitarian cultures 00:16:24 Making America more “relationalist” 00:18:19 The Scandinavian and Israeli success 00:20:33 Is this success replicable in a diverse society? 00:23:32 The vice of today’s generation 00:29:19 David’s take on politics 00:32:11 Mark on the evolution of self-help 00:33:57 The recession of religion 00:38:33 Friction is the point 00:39:46 The “second mountain” 00:46:42 What we’re really motivated by 00:49:55 Can we go straight to the “second mountain”? ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Jan 4, 2024 · 40 min

    What Everyone Gets Wrong About Goals

    It’s 2024 and hopefully you haven’t already given up on your goals for the year. Today, we’re going to talk about the best and worst ways to set goals. We’ll talk about the factors that make you more likely to achieve your goals, why you lose motivation by week three, and the most common error everyone makes when deciding to change themselves for the better. We’ll also be sharing some of our personal goal disasters along the way to learn what not to do. We’d also like you to share your goals with us! Details on how to do that are here. Happy New Year. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 | Introduction 00:01:07 | Mistake #1: Aiming too high 00:03:01 | Mistake #2: Doing everything at once 00:09:29 | Mistake #3: Neglecting systems 00:13:26 | Mistake #4: Not making it fun 00:16:19 | Mistake #5: Making it too easy 00:17:13 | Mistake #6: Doing it for others 00:25:12 | Extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation in goal setting 00:30:18 | Mark’s 2024 goal 00:34:43 | Drew’s 2024 goal 00:41:32 | Your 2024 goals ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Dec 27, 2023 · 48 min

    How to Enjoy Doing Hard Things (ft. Ali Abdaal)

    It’s easy to assume that the hustle culture or “the grind” is all about pain and suffering. But as you’ll learn today, this simply isn’t true. In today’s episode, I’m talking to Ali Abdaal, a former medical doctor turned YouTuber and author of the new book, Feel-Good Productivity. Ali has attracted millions of global followers to his ideas on productivity and working because he’s managed to do what others have not: actually make it fun. It turns out that finding ways to make your work fun doesn’t just make you hate your life less, it actually makes you more productive. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 | Introduction 00:03:38 | Our biggest misconception about productivity 00:05:38 | Emotions and productivity 00:08:47 | Mark’s epiphany on book writing 00:10:12 | Compounding returns on productivity 00:12:09 | Should we have zero distractions? 00:14:38 | Skills behind Ali’s success as a doctor and YouTuber 00:18:12 | What happens when you stop having fun 00:19:15 | “It’s all creative work” 00:22:26 | Making fitness fun 00:27:07 | The two types of productivity advice 00:32:55 | Can work-life balance get you to success? 00:35:27 | How to “feel good” in productivity 00:39:21 | The problem with caring too much what others think 00:42:52 | Experimentation as Ali’s way of life ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Dec 20, 2023 · 39 min

    How to Stop Wasting Your Life (ft. Oliver Burkeman)

    Do you worry that you might be wasting your life? That you’re doing things that don’t feel important? Are you constantly anxious about your to-do list? Is your mind blown that it’s 2024 already?!? This week, I’ve enlisted the help of my friend Oliver Burkeman, author of the bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, to help us get a handle on using time wisely. In this episode, we’re going to look at how our perception of time shapes our self-image, how it’s often advantageous to choose to be bad at something, why people-pleasing doesn’t actually please people, and a whole lot more. Oliver Burkeman is a renowned journalist and author, known for his unique ability to seamlessly blend philosophy and psychology to bring a fresh and counterintuitive take to classic self-help subjects. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 | Introduction 00:03:22 | Our relationship with time 00:05:49 | A better way of looking at time 00:07:32 | “Strategic underachievement” 00:11:16 | How to stop people-pleasing 00:14:58 | Being a net positive at social events 00:18:45 | “Don’t try to change the world” 00:21:01 | Our toxic relationship with time and the art of “being present” 00:30:41 | “Effortless action” 00:32:53 | Buddhist influences on Oliver’s work 00:37:51 | Our primary misconception about time management 00:39:01 | Oliver’s final word of wisdom ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Dec 13, 2023 · 36 min

    7 Paradoxes That Will Change How You See Everything

    Some of the most important truths in life are found in paradoxes. Paradoxes seem like opposites on the surface, but once you look deeper beneath what are seeming contradictions, there are real grains of wisdom that emerge. In this episode, I cover some of the most life-changing paradoxes I’ve ever come across, and discuss how they can improve how you approach your life. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 | Introduction 00:00:49 | Paradox #1: The more choices you have, the less happy you will be 00:07:25 | Paradox #2: Hard choices, easy life 00:11:45 | Paradox #3: What you hate in others, you’re avoiding in yourself 00:17:35 | Paradox #4: The more afraid you are of failing, the more likely you are to fail 00:21:48 | Paradox #5: The more something makes you uncomfortable, the more you should do it 00:26:15 | Paradox #6: The more connected we get, the more isolated we feel 00:31:10 | Paradox #7: The more afraid you are of death, the less you will enjoy life ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Dec 7, 2023 · 1 hr 2 min

    How to Give Up Everything to Save Yourself (ft. Matt from Yes Theory)

    In 2021, Matt from Yes Theory, one of YouTube's biggest channels, revealed he was quitting the platform.Despite being an internet celebrity, Matt's story is a common one—about someone who gave away too much of themselves to be liked by others, and now desperately trying to get themselves back. In this episode, Matt and I unpack this familiar dilemma, as well as covering topics like codependence, managing success, dealing with parasocial relationships, determining when vulnerability goes too far, and much more. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:59 Why Matt’s giving up his dream 00:09:00 The challenges fame brings 00:14:14 How to mature in the spotlight 00:17:45 The incredible story of Yes Theory 00:21:53 Losing boundaries in the world of fame 00:26:54 Performing, not living 00:27:58 How much of yourself to share as a creator 00:35:44 Matt’s top tip for being a creator 00:37:29 Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation in creative work 00:43:52 Matt’s biggest takeaway from his career 00:48:06 How Matt went from hating to loving his book 00:51:56 What makes the Yes Theory team work 00:53:54 What’s next for Matt 00:57:28 Fuck, Marry, Kill ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Nov 29, 2023 · 38 min

    7 Life Lessons I Wish I Knew Sooner

    A comprehensive list of lessons you shouldn’t wait too long to learn. In this episode, I’m sharing 7 important lessons I learned far too late in life. I’m doing this so that you don’t have to live through as many clusterfucks as I did to find a bit of peace in life. Some of these lessons you may already know, some may surprise you. But they’re all guaranteed to help you live a better life. This is your one and only chance to not repeat my godawful mistakes. So get into it. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:36 Lesson #1: People respect you only as much as you respect yourself 00:06:02 Lesson #2: You give power to those you blame 00:10:40 Lesson #3: The quality of your relationships dictates the quality of your life 00:17:31 Lesson #4: People aren't thinking about you as much as you think they are 00:23:39 Lesson #5: Nothing meaningful in life is easy 00:28:38 Lesson #6: Love occurs in proportion to your willingness to get hurt 00:34:36 Lesson #7: Be slow to judge. Everyone is doing their best ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Nov 22, 2023 · 1 hr 2 min

    Is Technology Ruining Our Minds? (ft. Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD)

    Do I exist if I’m not on social media? Can I fake it till I make it? What’s the secret to a good life? In this week’s episode, I enlist my old friend and host of the wildly popular The Psychology Podcast, Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD. to dissect our psyche in the social media age. Reflecting on his personal experience and drawing on a wealth of psychological research, Scott asks—and answers—questions that might reveal aspects of yourself you never knew were there, and set you on the path to a better life. We’re going to dive deep and get existential. We’re going to talk neurodiversity, vulnerability, and Batman. What more can you ask for? Exactly. Go get it. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: From Special Ed to the Top 0.05% 00:02:22 Breaking Out: The Teacher Who Changed Everything 00:05:36 The Problem With Standardized Testing and IQ 00:07:54 Neurodivergence: When a Term Loses Its Meaning 00:10:12 The Identity Crisis Generation 00:13:43 Confident Vulnerability vs. Lowercase vulnerability 00:18:57 Social Media and the Anxious Generation 00:20:56 Do You Exist Without a Social Media Presence? 00:24:10 The Legibility Problem: When Status Games Go Public 00:27:16 Scott's Twitter Break and Living Without the Algorithm 00:28:46 Mastery Goals vs. Performance Goals 00:31:58 When Psychological Concepts Get Watered Down 00:34:37 Healthy Authenticity: Four Components That Matter 00:36:13 Fake It Till You Make It: Does It Actually Work? 00:39:18 Behavioral Activation: Act First, Think Later 00:44:28 Just Get in the Arena 00:46:56 The Victimhood Mentality Across All Groups 00:50:28 The Self-Help Industry's Dirty Secret 00:51:49 Fuck, Marry, Kill: Psychology Edition 00:55:25 The Truth About Therapy Effectiveness ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  • Nov 15, 2023 · 39 min

    How to Know When to End a Relationship

    Make up or break up? Knowing when to call it quits. If you’ve ever been through a rough patch, you know this is a painful question to answer. Do you stick it out? Do you cut the cord and run? Do you sacrifice more to make it work? Do you demand your partner give up everything and run away to Fiji and live happily ever after? These are the hard questions we answer in this episode. To help us figure this out, I’m going to be roasting viewers’ relationships with their partners. I’m going to go over five real-world examples sent in from you, fans struggling with relationships, and in the process I’m going to share the three questions we must all ask ourselves to figure out if it’s time to break up. So get your hot sauce ready, because shit’s about to get spicy. Maybe even have your partner join you for this one. It could be fun… or it could ruin your marriage. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Most Painful Question in Any Relationship 00:02:08 Question 1: When Your Partner Won't Take Responsibility 00:03:57 The First Essential Question: Are Both People Putting In Equal Effort? 00:08:40 Question 2: When Personal Growth Disrupts the Relationship 00:10:30 Identity Formation and Growing Apart vs. Growing Together 00:15:34 Question 3: Living Your Partner's Dream Instead of Your Own 00:16:56 What Real Compromise Looks Like: Mitigating Misery, Not Maximizing Happiness 00:22:09 The Second Essential Question: Are Compromises Making Things Better or Worse? 00:23:30 Question 4: The Commitment-Phobe Who Found Someone Perfect 00:25:52 Don't Break Up Over Mirages: The Power of Individual Identity in Relationships 00:29:16 Question 5: Three Breakups in Two Years and the Guilt of Walking Away 00:32:38 Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships: Feelings vs. Behaviors 00:35:27 The Third Essential Question: Are You Compromising Hoping They'll Change? 00:37:32 Final Takeaways: The Three Questions That Determine If You Should Stay or Go ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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  • Nov 8, 2023 · 1 hr 3 min

    What Nobody Tells You About Getting Rich (ft. Morgan Housel)

    Everybody wants to get rich. But is the pursuit of wealth really about the money, or are we actually chasing something much deeper? These are just a couple of the fun ideas I toss around in this episode with Morgan Housel, New York Times Bestselling author of the smash hit, The Psychology of Money, which has sold more than four million copies worldwide. We’ll dig deep to uncover our relationship with money, answer the timeless question “Will getting rich make me happy?” and share some of Morgan’s best investing tips. So put away your spreadsheets, step away from the credit card, and for god’s sake stop trading crypto for five seconds, and settle in for this one. We might just make you filthy fucking rich. CHAPTERS Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Morgan Housel and The Psychology of Money 00:01:34 Why We Attach Moral Value to Wealth 00:02:58 The Relative Nature of Wealth and the Never-Ending Treadmill 00:03:55 Social Media and the Quantification of Status 00:06:49 Sustainability Over Short-Term Wins 00:09:14 Does Money Change You or Expose Who You Already Are? 00:12:11 The Hedonic Treadmill and the Pain of Losing Wealth 00:15:16 Learning to Handle Market Volatility and Panic Selling 00:18:11 Social Media, Meme Stocks, and the Death of Historical Evidence 00:19:57 The Velocity of Modern Markets and Why Individual Trading Fails 00:25:03 The Hidden Costs and Complications of Wealth 00:27:21 Money Doesn't Buy Happiness, It Buys Away Unhappiness 00:29:14 Social Debt: The Hidden Tax on Every Dollar of Wealth 00:30:38 The Quest for the Simple Life and Why Billionaires Divorce 00:36:00 Does Wealth Change Your Politics? 00:36:47 Raising Kids and Money: The Allowance System and Avoiding Spoiled Children 00:41:25 Nature vs. Nurture: Do Some People Just Have the Money Mind? 00:44:14 The Power of a Single Compliment and Finding Your Path 00:49:03 Same as Ever: What Never Changes in Human Behavior 00:52:53 Why Human Connection Will Always Trump AI 00:55:12 The Best and Worst Thing About You Are the Same Thing 00:57:54 Fuck, Marry, Kill: Investment Edition 01:02:02 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Morgan ⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩⁠⁠⁠ ⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at ⁠⁠⁠⁨https://bit.ly/4w46FMH⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW MARK Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠ Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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Showing 81–100 of 102 episodes