[00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of One Thousand Gurus with me your host J.R. Yonocruz Today's episode features John Cho. John has been in the Army National Guard for the last 10 years. He is a hybrid athlete, struggling Christian, and currently working for California's counter drug task force drug demand reduction outreach.

J.R.: So I was excited for this recording as it was another catchup episode with a friend of mine from college.

We used to dance and party a lot back in the day, but I never really knew his military career and how it turned out post-college. And that part of the conversation was fascinating to me.

We go into all the different career paths for someone going into the military, his advice on training for an endurance sport like marathons. Spoiler, it's getting your heart broken. And we end with some of my favorite topics like discipline, mindset, motivation, consistency, and changing your mental scripts.

It's always so rejuvenating to talk with someone like John, who you can't help but admire because of his grit, discipline and the focus he puts into his goals.

So without further ado, hope you enjoy this episode with John Cho.

[00:01:00] Hello everyone, and welcome back to One Thousand Gurus. Please welcome my guest, John Cho,

audience to Die Down. Thanks for being here, John. I really appreciate it. 

John: Oh, it's an honor. For those who don't know, I highly look up to this gentleman here. His work ethic, his drive, his constant hustle, and it's admirable and respectable. So it's a, it's absolute honor. 

J.R.: Thanks, man. I appreciate that.

Yeah, I'm happy to have you on the show. I am. I think we kind of talked about this, but I'm going through the list of all of my friends from college who had an impact on me and I had spent a lot of time with. So like my Kaba modern friends, my URMO friends. So it was nice to have you on.

Definitely thought of you as likewise. I think I echo that, like you're, you've always been a hard worker, very disciplined, and we'll go into your journey a little bit here, which I think would be a great story for the audience. Let me just start off with how I know you. So we met on the dance team [00:02:00] imo, and like I think we started to hang out a lot more.

Third gen. You were, you were not on second Gen, right? Not on second Gen, yeah. But we had, I think we had known each other because we both did KASA dance off, which is like a, at our school, UCI, there's like this competition, well, I went with, with Jessica's episode, but so yeah, I had did it the year before you, and then we met when you were a first year and then we eventually danced on URMO and then projects like Dreams legacy and yeah, KASA and yeah, we hung out a lot.

That was back in the day when URMO was, well, okay, this earlier years of was very. Very post KASA, like a lot of party, like my first, my first drinks were with Casa, right? And so that's just the, they drank a lot and like we parted a lot. And so a lot of that culture went to URMO. And so the first few gens at URMO were very like, yeah, let's go hang out.

Stuff like that.But regardless of that aside John has always been good to dance with. He's a really chill dude. And like I said, a lot of fun. We have a lot of good vibes. And we haven't really caught it caught up or talked in a while, so that's kind of [00:03:00] like why I'd like to have you on the show. Any life updates, what are you up to? Any clarifications? 

John: If anything, my first memory of you was KASA Danceoff.

Mm-hmm. You were collabing and doing a piece got oh, 21. It was a hit song that year with Saaya. Yeah. Saaya Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they scratched it. It was, it was what was gonna put us on first place Yeah. For that competition. And they scratched it. And it was such a disappointment because you brought that energy, I mean, your skill level in terms of the other choreographers that taught.

It was night and day difference. So it was really disappointing when they did scratch it. So then when I did run into you on URMO, I was like, oh my God, who is this guy? I need to get to know him. So other than that yeah, I've been busy too. I wanna say the past 10 years, I've, I've been in the military the whole time.

10 years. Still going. Bought a house recently. Mm, yeah. Congrats. Found you a homeowner. [00:04:00] And I've kind of been on orders. The orders changed ever since. Well, being part of the Army National Guard. React to natural disasters or emergencies. So COVID protests. And as of late I've been working with the counter drug task force in California.

It's the War on Drugs, and I've been a part of that past year. 

J.R.: Nice. Yeah. Sorry, I just take a step back. We've known each other for like, what, at least 12 years, right? 12 years at least. Plus 2011. 2011, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Whatever that math is. 14 ish. Yeah, it's a new year. Right. But I want to go into, as we normally do, is like your origin story, main influences and life aspirations.

But since you just mentioned you said National Guard. Mm-hmm. So what is that like? Is that a full-time thing? Is that part-time or what is the, and then you said like your different roles and on orders. Mm-hmm. Could you walk us through that? 

John: Yeah. So if you think of the military, you're like, oh, you're either in or you're out.

I break it down into your active duty, you're [00:05:00] reserve, and then there's National Guard. So active duty is a full-time job. You're on orders Monday through even Sunday. Right. But really Monday through Friday, they try to give you the weekends off. But your missions can vary whether you're in state or overseas.

Reserve means you just drill one weekend a month you're a soldier, but one week in a month. Right. Same thing with the National Guard. However, the National Guard, every state has one, but they will react to any emergencies, state emergencies. Or there's countries that do need help, like let's say Mexico or Japan.

Lots of earthquakes or tsunamis we send soldiers. Same thing with the Capitol riots. That happened in 20 20 20. Mm-hmm. 2020. I got sent there for about three months. All the National guards from all over the country went over. Mm-hmm. They had like 30,000 National Guard soldiers. 

J.R.: Feeling out there.

Okay, so then you said active in reserve, but then, so you said National Guard itself. [00:06:00] What is the, that commitment level? I don't know. 

John: The commitment level is similar to the reserves. Okay. However, because there's so many opportunities to, let's say, other missions, you can hop on kind of whatever missions you want, but that also is dictated by the type of MOS job title or how much you wanna commit to it.

So it gives you the option to have a civilian life, but if you want a full-time gig or something sounds interesting. You can say, Hey, I want to be on these orders. And those orders transition you to being an active duty service member. 

J.R.: Okay. So it's like a flexible, almost in between. Very flexible. So then you decide your hours for the most part you decide it, but yeah, 

John: state, emergency, natural.

Gotcha. Yeah. 

J.R.: Okay. You can, so then if so as reserve, it's kind of like as needed flexible basis, but if they're like, okay, we need all hands on deck for X amount of time, they'll call you up. Okay. You're called. Okay. So you're kind of like on call, committed on call. Gotcha. Interesting. So then what is your, like full do you do other things outside, like full-time [00:07:00] career?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I know again, maybe it's hard because like you said it can vary, but it 

John: definitely varied. It pays well for the time that you do get activated, especially compared to, let's say right after college. Like no one's getting hired. You're working a server job. So when you have a consistent stability and a constant check coming in, it's good pay.

Right. My initial job is a 35 mic, which is human intelligence. Mm-hmm. Pretty much I'm an interrogator. Right. But I can't necessarily do that job here in the States because we don't interrogate civilians, us US citizens, like, you know, on. That's not my job. That's the FBI. Gotcha. And detectives police officers, that's their job 

J.R.: that we know 

John: of.

Yeah. My job is to do it. Yeah. Overseas. Yeah, 

J.R.: overseas. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. 

John: But I realized that was a very dangerous job at the same time, because essentially my job is to get information from people, whether it's they're gonna provide it [00:08:00] to me or I have to incentivize them to give it to me, right?

Mm-hmm. Through legal methods. Mm-hmm. Right. Disclaimer, thanks man. I know we went under a lot of scrutiny because. Yeah, there's different techniques to go on it which is definitely frowned upon and now illegal of course. Right. So yeah, that job was very difficult and dangerous. So I said, Hey, I need to kind of switch it up.

But then a lot of opportunities did come in stateside, like right out in Los Alamitos. There's a base there and they had full-time orders working with drones. Drones that are being blown all over the world. But I am in the states, it's like really cool. I can't go into that much detail. Sure, sure, sure.

Yeah, yeah, of course. I did that for about two years and then I said, that's not gonna take me anywhere either. I need to progress, I need to do a career change. I'm looking at different intel positions. Then a buddy of mine reached out and say, Hey, do you [00:09:00] want be a part of the counter drug task force?

And I said, okay. I've heard of it. It sounds like a fallback gig. I would initially be doing more analytical work, which is build a targeting packet against high value targets for, I'd say it's usually cartel members or gang leaders. Mm-hmm. And then build a packet, submit it, and then we sometimes get to hop in because it's a task force combined with D-E-A-F-B-I local law enforcement border patrol.

We all work together because working individually it's not a, I say I say this carefully, but you know, it's just, it's easier to work together, share information. 

J.R.: Yeah. Oh, that's, that's fascinating. I didn't expect to talk about this. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Yeah. And if, and if we need to cut any of this, just let me know.

But because, so like my last year in school mm-hmm. I took a couple intelligence classes mm-hmm. And I thought it was fascinating. I'm like, oh, that'd be super cool to work in intelligence and [00:10:00] work with like international relations or in the government or something like that. And I also took several gangs, classes.

Mm-hmm. Like international gangs, international Gang International and stuff like that. Like, I thought those were so fascinating classes. So now that you're saying all this, I'm like, it's bringing me back. Yeah. These classes are super, super interesting.

I wanted to ask like, how did you fall into these?

So you're saying that if I'm getting this correctly, that some of these could be full-time orders and then you could kind of change around and see what's available. Mm-hmm. And you kind of just do that as like, it's its own company sort of speak pretty much, and you can like, move jobs. Mm-hmm. But then I wonder how did you get into that initially?

Was it like you were interested in those fields or was it you fell into it? Or how did that progress? 

John: I think it started off. I didn't know what to do during college. Mm-hmm. I started off as a civil engineer was doing KASA. Mm-hmm. Was also dancing. Yeah. Dancing. Yeah. And also part of the ROTC program.

Mm-hmm. 

But taking on all three kind of [00:11:00] aspirations. Yeah. I pretty much failed my freshman year. All my classes all fails. Second year all fails. They kept me on third year. Yeah. And I still, I didn't prioritize my life at the time because I said I wanna do it all. I think I could do it all.

So believe it or not, I was a super senior for like a couple extra years.

My goal was to graduate as an officer with a degree and still do all the things I want dancing at the time. But I ended up having to say, hold up. I'm messing up everything right now because the routine would be go to classes. All right, what's that? Night practice. And hell weeks can take you out to the morning.

All right. It's 5:00 AM I gotta go work out. I remember this. Yeah, those are terrible. 

J.R.: You're like, yeah, I gotta work workout tomorrow. Or do some sort of thing like RCC thing, where we're like, dang man, John, you're crazy. 

John: Yeah. So, kind of hit a bump on the road [00:12:00] for a couple years. That's where kind of the army kind I joined on the enlisted side. So officers have a degree. Enlisted, you don't need a degree, and you can join the military. Then they kind of work in tandem. Every officer has like a right hand man. That right hand man is usually the enlisted office. Enlisted sergeant. Mm. Yeah. 

J.R.: Okay. So then at that point you didn't know what you wanted to do, super senior, and you were kind of, you joined as enlisted.

Mm-hmm. So then could you connect the dots between that point into like, I know human intelligence Yeah. Stuff. Yeah. Yeah. 

John: I finished my degree. Yeah. And I still said I am, I love the military. I wanted to always be a part of something bigger. My whole life was still shaped around the military because grandfather, he was a rock commander, his Korean pretty much forces, special forces.

My father was in the military. My brother was military whole, like life. [00:13:00] That structure, it's kind of really easy. Fall in place or taking orders is easy. Yeah, right. But then military intelligence just kind of stood out. 'cause the recruiter was like, Hey, the listed a bunch of different jobs. And I said, I want that one.

Seems like they have the coolest gig. Seems like they're the most high in demand and it, it still is. 

J.R.: What do you think, like, about you, your personality or what you're good at, how your brain is wired, do you think, fit with that career trajectory? 

John: Hmm. 

J.R.: Possibly. 

John: I mean, based on how my career started I dunno, I think it was just intriguing to have different perceptions of yourself and, 'cause I've always cared about my perception of how people view me, right?

But then, oh yeah, John's always always going out. He's always seems like he's got his composure. I've never catched this guy drunk, like, and he's drinking a [00:14:00] ton, like, what's going on? So being able to kind of have different faces and different identities, that was always intriguing. And you do need that in the intelligence world where especially when you're working with different sources.

You have a different cover story, you have a different identity, and 

J.R.: it's always intriguing to me. Mm, I see. I think that makes sense because since I've known you when we're in college, you were always that guy that kind of, well, social, obviously likable people like you and that sort of having your stuff together.

Right. Whether or not you think so internally or externally. Mm-hmm. I feel like your reputation or my perception of you is like, oh yeah, he's, he's a cool deal. He's reliable, he has stuff together. He has like this sort of career trajectory. Even if in college we don't always know what we're doing. Right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But so I can see that. I wanted to ask about like you, well, you kind of mentioned it, but if you had anything to add on to going into college, what your aspirations were, and then I guess we already kind of went over a after college, but going into college, you mentioned your [00:15:00] family was all military.

You kind of had that structure and idea. Mm-hmm.

Was it always like that or is there, was there a pivot or turning point? 

John: I think it was always like that. Okay. I think my whole life I've benefited off the fruits of my parents' labor. Mm-hmm. Not my own. Mm-hmm. Right. They are the they're the ones that sent me through afterschool programs.

They're the ones that said, Hey, study. They're the ones that said, like, they gave me a real structure in my life. Mm-hmm. I wasn't the one that got the straight A's during high school or like middle school, high school. Right. School was easy because they're the ones that disciplined me and put those good values into my life.

The moment where college came into the picture where you actually have to study, learn the material, those weren't things that were rooted because of myself, my parents. So then I went in with the mentality that I could do it all. Everything's easy. Oh, okay. Yeah. I wanna do this, I wanna do that, I wanna do the other.

But then [00:16:00] I had a, I misplaced. Kind of what kind of what I can actually handle. Right. And essentially my ego got in the way saying, no, I could still do it all. And especially when everybody's also kind of feeding into it, it's like, ah, you can't do it. Mm. I want to keep up that perception. 

J.R.: Of course.

John: And because of my ego getting in the way, I didn't, it took too long to reevaluate where I can actually handle. And by then it was kind of too late. 

J.R.: Mm-hmm. Okay. The last two things, or I guess wherever we wanna take this is you're kind of already mentioning challenges. 'cause I wanted to ask you like, what were some challenges of your career path?

Mm-hmm.

That, that you wanna go into. And then the last thing to top that off is advice for others who wanna follow in the same sort of career trajectory or journey? 

John: Mm-hmm. So, two career paths, I guess when I was in the military. If I have the chance, get your degree. Mm. It doesn't matter. And what, it really doesn't matter.

[00:17:00] Get a degree but then become an officer. You just get paid more. You get management experience because you are in, as an officer, you're in charge of platoon, right. Which is like 30 or more people, sometimes more. So you're getting management experience. You have a degree. And you're getting job experience too because you're in in the military.

So as soon as you get out or want to pursue a different path, you already have years of experience that they're gonna just hire you for over somebody who has a degree, but no real world experience. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

J.R.: Of course. That's always the, as I talk with college students and go to these sort of career fairs where you give advice.

Mm-hmm. The number one thing is always that they're worried about getting a job after college, which is understandable. Makes sense. We all have the same fear, but it's the whole catch 22 of. To apply to this entry level job, you need 10 years of experience. Mm-hmm. And so how do you get your experience?

You either you make it yourself or whatever, but there's other ways to do it. And like you said, the military, [00:18:00] like you get the job experience, work experience to, and you get paid, I mean, it's like a career, but like you're saying, get your degree first. Mm-hmm. Because that will I'm assuming it put you a step up that you might as well get that'll benefit you long run.

Right? 

John: Yeah, definitely. I think there's also just long-term payouts to be an officer mm-hmm. Rather than being going the enlisted route. Mm-hmm. Both by all means, you can be very successful, but just from a financial standpoint, an officer will make three times more 

J.R.: than method. I mean, three times is a pretty good incentive, I would say.

Yeah. Right. Just get your degree, whatever, like you said. Mm-hmm. Any other last challenges or lessons or takeaways that you wanna give before you switch topics? Oh 

John: yeah. I mean, I learned this the hard way, right. But the way you, you want to make sure you aligned. Two ideas. The way you perceive yourself and the way others perceive you.

Right. And each one has its own consequences or kind of, effects, but you wanna make sure they align. [00:19:00] And I think that's a very hard thing to do because some people don't even know. They think I'm a good dancer. Of course. Yeah. And everybody's giving their own sec. You're like, oh, are you? Right? So making sure those two perceptions line up.

Mm-hmm. If they do line up, I think you have a good idea of your strength and weaknesses and you can make the adjustments quickly from 

J.R.: there. I like that. But how do you make them align right. Because I feel like it's easy for them to not align. Mm-hmm. So do you have any thoughts on that? 

John: I think there's many ways to go about it.

I know that's a terrible answer. One is trial and error, right? One is talking, having someone to talk to, like. Honest opinion. Mm. Tell no shit. Get yourself out of your bubble. Cus can I cus Yeah. Yeah. Go for it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No shit. Like, tell me, tell me the truth. No hard feelings. Right. Being able to have that conversation.

It does take a little bit of courage to do that, but I [00:20:00] feel like for most people, they have a friend that they can rely on. So I have that on this conversation. Hmm. Okay. 

J.R.: So what I'm getting at is outside feedback and having, and also having the intention of trying to get those things aligned. For sure.

'cause sometimes we don't have the intention, we're not mm-hmm. At a starting point. But you're saying that as long as you have the intention and you try to get feedback, you'll be fine. 100.

Cool. Alright, let's switch over to physical and mental discipline. I think this is fascinating. I think you're a great person to talk about with this, and I love this topic.

Easy question, like how did you get into endurance sports or marathons? 

John: I've always loved working out, did sports in high school again, military. Past 10 years, 

J.R.: 5:00 AM runs after a long practice. After sunrise practice. After a party. Yes, exactly. We were 

John: drinking and changed. Went to go and work out.

Yeah. I loved it. It's always fun to stay in shape, but over C-O-V-I-D-I can't. I was in a good relationship. Same bro, same. I was in a good relationship. And COVID You got the, [00:21:00] what is it? California checks. 

J.R.: Oh yeah. Like the supplemental checks. Supplemental checks, 

John: yeah. Yeah. Everybody's doing good at that time.

Pretty easy, right? Everything's easy. So I rapidly gained about, I went from one 60 for most of my college years mm-hmm. To 210 pounds. Damn. Yeah. Big weight. It's like 50 

J.R.: pounds ish. 

John: Yeah. 

Pretty high.

J.R.: Bulking season man. 2 20, 220, 0 60. Oh, that's right. Dang. Bulking season, man. Bulking season. What are you eating?

I was eating, 

John: drinking, and playing games. 

J.R.: Gotcha, gotcha. 

John: And also when you're in a good relationship, like of course, complacent. Yeah. You're like, well, I don't need work for anything. I think because that complacency also had its own downfall, which is I didn't put back into the relationship. Right. I didn't focus on what I needed to fix.

Mm-hmm. And one thing after another, it just kind of fell apart. So right after that I kind of wanted to got broke up, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Once to get my villain arc going because of that [00:22:00] breakup. Mm-hmm. And then wait, why, why is it a villain arc? I'm 

J.R.: curious. 

John: Okay. So I like 

J.R.: the phrasing, but what does that mean?

John: It means I'm gonna, I'm gonna show this person what they, gotcha. 

J.R.: Okay. It's not a hero's arc, it's a, I'm gonna villain 

John: prove someone wrong. Prove someone. 

J.R.: Mm-hmm.

John: Yeah I still wanted to get back into that relationship, but what happened was, I know there's still so many toxic things about it, but really it was just getting back at the person. Mm-hmm. And then I was still in contact with their friends who were doing a marathon. I said, go on. I said, that kind of triggered something and said, I'm not giving up on this.

Mm-hmm. And if I were to ever give anybody advice on true motivation is fall in love, fall in love Stay for a good year or two, and then have them break your heart. And for sure that will fuel you till like the change that you want. And that marathon, that first marathon, I lost 40 pounds. Damn. 

J.R.: Yeah.

That's crazy. Okay. So many things I wanna ask, but what was the first off, what was the, [00:23:00] like training regimen for a marathon? Mm-hmm. I always wanted to ask someone who doesn't during sports. Mm-hmm. Like, how does someone train for a marathon? 

John: Oh. Anticipate to run anywhere from 40 to 70 miles a week.

J.R.: Damn. So is that, like, how do you space that out? Like what's the recovery is it like, is it 30 in one day and then you break and then 10 Or like what is 

John: I think it starts off easy. Right? Because if I told anybody to run 10 miles right now Yeah. They'd probably be broken for the next three, four days.

Right. Right. So that's not effective or that's not efficient. So I would say, Hey, your goal this week is to run 10 miles this week, however you break it up, that's up to you. And I don't care about speed. I don't care if you stack five, five, and that's it. Mm-hmm. Two, two runs a week. Mm-hmm. I don't care how you do it, just 10 miles your own pace.

And it should be conversational. Like you and I should be able to have a conversation while running if I Oh, you mean 

J.R.: like intensity wise? [00:24:00] Intensity wise. Gotcha. Gotcha. We 

John: can have a conversation. I'm not heavy breathing. Yeah. And I'm finishing it. Is 

J.R.: that like zone two or something like that? Do you know?

Zone one, zone two. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. 

John: That's the conversational pace, right? Zone one might be like you're going on a brisk walk. 

J.R.: Gotcha. Okay. 

John: Zone two. And it's just telling your body, like get comfortable with this. Mm. And then each week as a progression, adding maybe a mile two miles, but this is where I learned that you actually have to plan for about four to five months.

Let's say you have, you wanna run a marathon. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You should be planning four to five months out. 

J.R.: Mm. Okay. So, so get the volume in no matter how you do it, and then each week or whatever you're mm-hmm. Progressively overloading with that volume. Mm-hmm. And you said four to five months. Is there like a target goal by the end of that four to five months of like how much you can run for the week?

Like is that 60 the target? 

John: Yeah. So let's say the first month. Mm-hmm. 10 to 20 miles. Okay. And eventually that would increase to in the [00:25:00] 30, 40 range. Yeah. The two to three months after that first month is where you're hitting 40 to 70 miles. It changes per person and kind of what your target goal is because some people are trying to get record breaking time, right.

Like time speed. Right. And when it comes to a marathon, for those that don't know, it's 26.1 miles. Right? That takes a, doesn't matter how much of an expert you are at marathons, it always takes a toll on your body no matter how athletic you are. So the careful approach is letting your body get accustomed to it and keeping that heart rate very, very low.

So that's why I don't care about your speed. I care more about can you get through it? And I say to most people, if you could spend a day at Disneyland mm-hmm. Walking around, you can do a marathon. That's kind of the analogy I get. If you can do that. Why keep your heart 

J.R.: rate low? 

John: What does that mean? If you have a high heart rate, you're burning more [00:26:00] fuel, more calories.

Oh, I see. So you're 

J.R.: being more trying to 

John: be more efficient 

J.R.: with your fuel. Very efficient. 

John: Gotcha. If I slam on that brake or slam on that gas pedal you're gonna see that gas meter go down, right? You want cruise as much as you can. What's that? Optimal speed where you're getting the most miles per gallon, 

J.R.: I think.

Mm. I never thought about that. That's, it's fascinating. What about recovery? 

Mm. 

Tips or things on recovery? 'cause that's another thing I'm thinking about. Obviously if you guys don't know, like the other half of any sort of performance is the recovery. Mm-hmm. And I'm assuming that's important with this training.

So any thoughts? 

John: I think one of the hardest things is, especially in our generation, it's what do you call it? Pain is weakness, leaving the body. Okay. Right. We hear that often and I say, Hey, just push it. Power 

J.R.: through. 

John: Yeah. Yeah. Power through. No. If you feel pain, that's your body's giving you a literal signal.

Stop, right? Recover, rest. What? Do what you need to do. Things should be done carefully. But also [00:27:00] sleep a lot. 

J.R.: Mm. 

John: I think people do sleep a lot, but it's inconsistent, right? They crash on the weekends, but the weekdays, they're pushing anywhere from like five to six hours. I'd rather have you have a consistent seven hours every day.

Some people say eight, nine, but seven hours consistently so that your body is in a routine and it goes under a routine. 

J.R.: It's like a regular routine. I sleep. Okay, so sleep. Sorry. Take it easy. Taking easy. 

John: Believe it or not, you can eat whatever you want if you start running. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because you're, you're 

J.R.: going through your fuel fast, like consistently. What do you mean? So I wanna touch on pain. Mm-hmm. And I know there's different types of pain. Sure. There's like acute and then there's soreness, pain. Mm-hmm. Does that matter? Or like, what do you mean by like, do you wanna get I guess so, 

John: Soreness, pain is okay.

But soreness doesn't equate to like progress. Progress, right. It's just you haven't used your body. Right. Lactic acid, whatever. Yeah. You're just sore. So soreness is okay, but as soon as oh, let's say there's my [00:28:00] ankle's hurting, knees hurting, that's your body telling you you're weak, gets somewhere.

Right. So definitely rest. But there's two things. I say. Motion is lotion. So we used to have this old saying, which is rice. Rice raise ice. Compress, elevate. Yeah. Right. It's a normal first aid technique. Whenever you sprain an ankle or something. Mm. It's actually outdated. Very outdated. Okay. It's you can't ice it to lower the inflammation, but actually motion is lotion.

Mm. As soon as you start swelling up from a sprain wrist or an ankle, you actually want to do your best to get blood flow back into it. Mm-hmm. Or recover. And it'll start reducing the inflammation because blood is coming back into it. And then secondly is strengthening. There's a guy I follow knees over toes.

Guy, I dunno if you've heard of him. Mm. He's ha gone through multiple knee surgeries, multiple injuries. Doctors told him you're not gonna be able to play sports again, don't jump, et cetera. [00:29:00] He kind of re reverse engineered of how we thought, which is, I dunno, hard to go into it, but he focuses more on he working on the areas we don't think about.

So when we work out, we think of running forward, pushing things. When we squat, we're lifting things. But what about the opposite movement? Running backwards, walking backwards, lifting our legs up. What machine do you know that you put weight and you lift your leg up? 

J.R.: Mm. 

John: So like the neglected motions. And neglected motions?

Yeah. So he's saying, Hey, the reason you can't do a split isn't because you're not mobile. It's because the muscles that support that, that, and inner thighs is so weak. Mm-hmm. It goes into a shock mode and it freezes and says, I see you can't, it doesn't feel safe in that range. It doesn't feel safe. Gotcha.

Yeah. So about strengthening the areas that you're weak on. So when you have pain, don't think, oh, something's wrong. [00:30:00] Think of some something in my body saying I'm weak at this. How do I strengthen it? So 

J.R.: I like that. So you mentioned knees over toes. Mm-hmm. I'm selfishly curious about. We get the volume and the training, sports and marathon.

Mm-hmm. Do you have any and recovery, but the strengthening part is what I'm curious about because I imagine as someone who wants to go into endurance sports and then like, oh no, I'm gonna start feeling the pain in certain areas. And I know there are accounts and creators who, who talk about a lot about like health and mobility and to help with like those sort of sports of, you know, you need to focus on hip strength or mm-hmm.

Or, or range of motion or knee strength and stuff like that. Right. Do you have any resources or tips on how to prepare to get your body ready for those sort of things? Mm-hmm.

John: I'm very careful when I try to give advice. Mm-hmm. Because just 'cause it worked for me Sure. Doesn't mean it's gonna work for you. Right. And there's also so much content out there. Mm-hmm. It's like, where do I begin? Yeah. Start, I focus more on [00:31:00] just get started and be consistent. There's a quote I live by, right.

Dreams without goals are just dreams and ultimately they fuel disappointment. 

Mm. Mm-hmm. 

But on the way to achieving your dreams, you must apply discipline, but more importantly, consistency. Because without commitment you'll never start. But without consistency. Mm-hmm. You'll never finish. A lot of people are motivated, they make the decision, I could do this, but then give it two weeks, they stop.

Yeah. So I care more about your consistency. Right. So just get to the gym, keep it consistent, or make sure you're running three times a week for about a month. Mm-hmm. Right. Three months. Trust me, you're gonna figure ways out on how to improve it. Mm-hmm. But most people don't even get to that part yet.

That's my, I guess one tip. 

J.R.: Yeah, no, I like that you're saying like it's 80 20. Mm-hmm. If you get started, be consistent. You're [00:32:00] pretty much, most of the way there, you'll find the resources that get you to that next level because you're already in motion. I get that. So thank you.

Alright. If you don't have nothing else on that topic, I wanna switch to now motivation, integrity, prioritization, et cetera.

So could you explain what motivation means to you and how does one achieve motivation without emotion? 

John: Hmm. So I kind of tapped into it, right? Yeah. Everybody can be committed. Oh man, right? Go through a heartbreak. I'm a do things different, right? Something traumatic happens in your life and you say, I'm gonna do things different.

It's, most people's motivation is emotional. In the moment I'm gonna make a change, but for the most part, most of our emotions are very fleeting or they fluctuate, right? One day you're mad at your significant other. Next day you're madly in love. Mm-hmm. Right? So I don't think it should be grounded on emotion, even though it could be a good driving factor 

J.R.: or like a catalyst.

John: Catalyst, right? I think it has to be rooted more on [00:33:00] consistency, right? Think of not a one month plan. What is my one year plan? What is my five year plan? What does it take to get there?

J.R.: How does one get to okay, emotion. Cool. Let's move on to that. Let's do like consistent action, habit, whatever. How does one get to that? Do you have any thoughts on that? What's worked for you? Besides multiple heartbreaks? I don't know. Multiple, I'm just kidding. Consistent. Every week, get a heartbreak and you'll keep going.

John: I think the easiest one for me is have a friend. Have a friend who's doing better than you. Because they're gonna be your driving, they're gonna keep you accountable going with a significant other or, I think even changing the rhetoric this kind of has to do with how I function in life right now too.

It was my mentor who taught me how to change my rhetoric. So a lot of people say, I'm trying, you know, I'm trying to eat healthy. No. Say I am eating healthy. Ah, I'm trying to work out. No, I am working out. You're shifting [00:34:00] or recalibrating your mindset to line up again saying, I am doing this, and guarantee your mind muscle connection will actually somehow flip a switch.

You'll get on track. 

J.R.: Mm-hmm. It's kind of like speaking into the present tense rather than the maybe future tense. And you're saying, yeah, I'm currently doing this. And it's identity change too, right? Like what you're saying is I'm not someone who's trying to work out. I'm a gym rat. I go consistently. I here to made a decision.

It, what you're saying reminds me of this podcast I listened to last week at the gym. Mm-hmm. Which was Jay Shetty on purpose with Tony Robbins. Mm-hmm. And he's a, they're both huge inspirations for me. But what Tony Robbins says is like three parts to any sort of life change mm-hmm.

Is step one is decision, which is like you're saying, emotion, heartbreak, whatever. Sure. I made the decision, but that's not where it ends. Second is the commitment. Mm-hmm. So now you're putting in the accountability, the structure in place where you're saying, I'm going to do these things. Mm-hmm. And the third part is resolve is you already know in your brain that it's done.

Mm-hmm. 

[00:35:00] And therefore there's no decision. There's no. There's no not going to the gym, there's no whatever. It's like, it's already decided that I'm going to be in shape. Mm-hmm. And there's no going back to it. So at that point, for me in my brain, it's easier because now I don't have to think about willpower of going to the gym.

Like, no, it's already done. Like, it's in my schedule, it's in my commitment. I'm a person who goes to the gym. Yeah. So everything is aligned.

I know it's easier said than done for people who are thinking like, okay, yeah, John, like what's the work? And like J.R., like, you'll go to the gym all the time. But I think like you're saying, the rhetoric change the flipping your internal script.

Mm-hmm. If you think, if you approach it in that sense of, try to get to the point where you can be resolved of like, no, this is where I'm going. Mm-hmm. That is at least a good start in that direction. 

John: 'Cause on the flip side of it, you say, I am doing this, I'm eating healthy. And when you go home and you're not, you're wrestling with 

J.R.: Yeah.

The cognitive dissonance of like, these two things don't align. Yeah. Yeah. So I think it's a good start. Yeah. I love that. Let's see.

What are some important examples of practicing what you preach and how can we apply this in our lives? 

John: Mm-hmm. [00:36:00] Same thing that I said before. I don't like giving advice, just I might have good intentions behind it, but just again, because it worked for me, it doesn't mean it's gonna work for somebody else.

So I'm never gonna tell somebody to do something that I would not do myself. I learned this very easily in the military too because a lot of bad leaders out there and they say, do this, do that. It's like, why would I give respect to a person that doesn't seem like they would get my back or have their best my best intentions in mind, right?

So, and 

J.R.: not leading by example. Not leading by example. 

John: So, I'm gonna tell you to run 10 miles. That means I really mean it. And I'm gonna run those 10 miles with you. If you want to really run a marathon, I tell every one of my friends, I will build you a workout plan. No problem. I just need you to stay committed 'cause I will help you stay committed.

I guess I'm gonna stand by it. So I think it's just, just be careful. A lot of [00:37:00] people give out good advice, but don't think about the consequences behind it. Yeah. 

J.R.: I like that. I think the same way in the sense of, and maybe it's a little bit on the toxic edge of, I, I try to be a person who listens to feedback, know, respect the sources of where it's coming from.

But in my head there's also this filter of, if I look at the person and they're, let's say they're giving me advice on, let's say, working out. Mm-hmm. And let's say they've never been to a gym ever before. Right. Of course my brain is gonna turn off and be like, okay, thanks for their advice, but like, why? My brain is like, why would I listen to you?

Mm-hmm. You don't practice anything that you preach. And so that's how I filter out those sources. Again, this whole podcast is about you have something to learn from somebody. Sure. Right. And it's everyone's own experience. But I totally agree with, you're saying is try to listen to the right advice and lead by example, especially if it's just in your own life.

Mm-hmm. 

Maybe you don't give advice, but if you show with your actions of what you do, people would be more influenced by that than just like, for sure. Empty words. Right. Definitely.

What do you think people get wrong about [00:38:00] prioritization and how can one more effectively prioritize? 

John: Ooh, this one's a tough one for me.

I learned it the hard way as well. I'm totally OCD. There's a quote, right? Pro paralysis by analysis. Right? I do such a good job of trying to create the most perfect, optimized plan that I spend more time planning than actually doing the task. Right. That works out right. Sometimes it does. Yeah. I get it right, especially when you're at your desk, you have tons of work room's, a little messy, and you still have other things to do for the rest of the day.

So I spend 20 minutes cleaning up my desk. Mm. Getting the right, right, conditions. Right. But I spend so much time just trying to get into the perfect condition, but instead. And I feel accomplished too. I did this, I did something. Yeah. It's done now. And then I say, I'm gonna take a five minute YouTube break.

You, you, you deserve it. You deserve, not deserve this. Right? So, so many people are good at trying to find the most optimized plan [00:39:00] instead of just doing so. When it comes to prioritizations, a good plan is for sure it has its own benefits, but sometimes you just need to start with what's in front of you.

Tackle one thing at a time rather than trying to streamline it. Mm. 

J.R.: Okay. Okay. So that makes sense for getting something done. Mm-hmm. But now how do you prioritize meaning? Like what is important to start on? Yeah. 

John: Again, when you're got list of one through a hundred. Just pick one. Doesn't matter. Okay, so you're saying parts, just, just do something.

Just do something that, that's one avenue. In terms of how do I say what's more important than the other? I think you just take a step back and think about where are you trying to get in life. For me, especially when it comes to, oh man, I'm trying to be a good boyfriend you know, future husband, I'm trying to get the right career.

I'm trying to buy a house, which I did. Right. Just focus [00:40:00] on one thing in particular, whether it's the thing you love or it's the most important thing to you, right? Everything else will naturally, I believe, will fall in place because the the discipline you put into one will have a trickling effect on everything else, right?

So you stay committed. For me, it was marathon running at the time. I'm gonna wake up, have to wake up. Running 40, 50 miles a week, you're putting in two hours, three hours, sometimes in a day, just running. Mm-hmm. So I have to wake up earlier, waking up at four or 5:00 AM every day to go run. Mm-hmm. Now I'm fresh awake, I can, I'm at 7:00 AM I can review what I need to by my emails, et cetera.

Everything else just fell into place because I was so concentrated on a one task. Make sense? Mm-hmm. So, pick one that you're passionate about or whether that's the most important thing to you, I think everything else will fall into place. [00:41:00] Mm-hmm. Okay. 

J.R.: I like that. So it's forward momentum. Mm-hmm. And it's getting something done and making progress.

And that will, a rising tide that lifts all ships. It'll get you in the right direction for other things as well. 'cause at least now you're a person who gets stuff done, who progresses, who grows. Mm-hmm. And what you're saying of prioritization. If you take a step back and look at what's important to you in your life mm-hmm.

If you have an idea of those like main pillars of, okay, this is what's important to me. Mm-hmm. Then it's easier to orient your compass in the right direction. Yeah. 

John: Because again, I, this is just for me, learning from my past mistakes. I wanted to do it all. Mm-hmm. Right? And you end up creating a list of things to do for each avenue of life.

Then you just get nothing done. You get stuck. So instead, pick one, do the best in it, guarantee the other aspects will fall. Fall in place. 

J.R.: Mm. I like that. It's very simple. It's like, hey, I know there's a lot of ways you can be effective and efficient, but what John is saying is like, just pick one, do it. You'll be fine. Yeah. Which I totally agree with. Don't overthink it. Yeah, [00:42:00] don't overthink too much.

Okay. My last question in this topic, and then we can circle back on anything, any other thoughts you have left over, but. Quotes that you live by. I know we kind of touched on that. You gave a lot of really good quotes.

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you even know which one I'm talking about, but do you have a quote that you 

John: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, definitely. I throw out quotes. Those were two ones were pretty important to me. I think one quote I definitely do live by is,

J.R.: God punishes you by giving you everything you ever wanted and just watches to see how you'll handle it. Right. That's just one. 

Yeah, I like that. Do you have an example of like, in the real world, like, can you give, can you give us like, some sort of context? 

John: It's hard. I think it's individualistic, but, you know, gives me the right opportunity. Maybe let's say the right girl. Right. Financial security right. Gives you everything, but a couple things that can happen. One, you. Don't do right. By what was given to you by the person, or you don't spend that money wisely. Mm-hmm. It was handed to [00:43:00] you and now you kind of ruined it. Right. So I think God really. Sidebar, but God really does want you to have the happiest life.

I think that's his truest intention. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. But one of the things as a Christian, I believe, is that God wants to be at the center of it. And as we get older, or as I get older, I realize life becomes more and more empty without God in it. Mm-hmm. 

J.R.: It reminds me of that parable, and I'm not good at quoting the Bible.

Mm-hmm. But that one story of the talons or something where it was like that. That employer master, whatever, gave like these, his servants like gold talents or something. And then one of them, like put in the ground, one of them wasted and one of 'em reinvested or something like that. Right? Yeah.

Yeah. And it, the parable was to emphasize the points of like, what God gives you and what you do with it is very important. Like if you just waste your squander, your own personal talents [00:44:00] that people give you or that God gives you and your abilities, there's no fruit that comes from that. But when you invest it and you really cultivate what you've been given, you know, you get more out of it.

John: And he rewards you for it. Of course. Yeah. Rewards you even more. Mm-hmm. Hmm. 

J.R.: Was there another quote? Sorry. 

John: There's another quote. A lot of people wait for the perfect conditions to start, but don't realize that starting is the perfect condition. Mm-hmm.

And same thing, this kind of common theme of this podcast today, but just start. A lot of people get stuck trying to make the perfect plan. Oh, I'm gonna wait till I feel good. I'm gonna wait till get my job first. Like, no. Start now. 

J.R.: I like that because it's, the emotion follows action.

When people think it's the reverse, people think action follows emotion. And it's kind of like that saying of you can act into an emotion, but you can't emotion into an action. Mm-hmm. Sort of. Well, I mean you can, but you know what I mean. Like, it's more effective to just do the thing that you feel like until you feel like doing [00:45:00] it.

Because if you only ran when you felt like running, you probably would never run. You would never run. Exactly.

The other quote that now reminds me of you after talking to you is that whole you don't rise to the level of your aspirations, but you fall to the level of your training. Mm-hmm. Right. I'm probably butchering it, but you know, that one, it's where it's, I totally agree with that.

It's like the systems and the structures in place that make more sense than like, oh, I aspire to do all these sort of things. Like just do it and put the systems in place.

Alright, so did we leave anything out or are you ready to go to rapid fire questions? We might circle back on some of them, but. 

John: We had a lot for sure. But let's move on. 

J.R.: Yeah, I was, the last thing I wanted to say was like the whole villain arc and like, you know, those memes of the best motivational not workout, but what was it? Maybe it was a list, like a how to get into shape and it was like, you know, go to sleep early, have a routine, get heartbroken.

Yeah. And it's like a whole video of like you getting heartbroken, like, damn, it's so hard. I think anyone can relate to that. 

John: But no, even that one, that's where I learned where emotions [00:46:00] or motivation based on emotions, it's fleeting. I started off just with so much hatred, so much anger. Mm-hmm. That would, I don't need a pre-workout. I don't need coffee. I'm at the gym. Because I'm so angry at this person. But then two months in of doing that, I wasn't doing that for that. I was doing it like really impressed of how I was feeling. My clothes fit better. My, I felt better. My routine was on perfect schedule. So the mo motivation changed.

And it became a part of you, your routine, your habit.

J.R.: I have a gym buddy who I go to work out with, and he's a, he's kind of sporadic, right? Sometimes he feels like sometimes he doesn't. And I'm like, I'm always gonna go, so if you want to come, I, my schedule's consistent. But he's like, yeah, I feel like really, you know, I had a rough week this week, so now I'm gonna work out.

And I'm like, dude, I have no emotion when I go to the gym. Yeah. This is just what I do. And he's a great friend, you know, I love him.

But it's more of like, I was trying to tell him the whole thing you're saying which is that try to get to the point where it's not emotion because you [00:47:00] can't rely on emotion to get to the gym.

But if you have a routine and like you don't feel like you need to prove anything, it's more sustainable fuel.

John: A hundred percent.

J.R.: All right. Let's go into rapid fire then.

First question, billboard question. If you can put up a sign for millions of people to see non-commercial metaphorical. What would it say?

John: Yeah, I think same thing about that quote I live by right. A lot of people wait for the perfect conditions, but don't realize that the perfect conditions is a starting. Right. I live by it. Love it. Preach it, breathe it, live it.

J.R.: Quick tangent. Do you like, what's your personality type? Are you more of the analytical sort of type or very analytical?

Yeah. I mean, I'm making an assumption, but you know, 'cause some people are like the go but never finish. Right. They're like excited by new things. Mm-hmm. But some of us, like I myself, am more of the analytical. I need to get kicked in the ass in order to start. Mm-hmm. But you say that.

John: I've always been analytical okay. 

J.R.: Yeah. 

John: But I learned that I sometimes would waste too much time just trying to figure out what the right method or plan is. [00:48:00] So it's a mix of both. I think it's a fine balance of both, but a hundred percent I. Paralysis by analysis. Yeah. My girlfriend would say, Hey, you want to go on this trip? Let's go to Hawaii or something.

I'll look up five different itineraries, look up all the like reviews of every restaurant and so on and so forth. Try to build the perfect itinerary. But sometimes just get the plane ticket. Pick one restaurant. Everything else will fall into place. 

J.R.: Also now you can just type into ai, be like, Hey, just plan out a trip.

Yeah. It's so easy. We'll adjust it. Yeah.

What is one of the hardest challenges you faced in your life and what did you learn from it? 

John: I think it was that ego check when I was in college thinking I could do it all. And everybody else at that time essentially was graduating, getting a job, getting married, and here I am, still working a server job, trying to pay off the debt that I incurred because I dropped outta my classes.

Definitely regret that. [00:49:00] I also, at the same time, I learned a lot from it, right? I said, Hey, yeah, the world moves on, but you can do something about it. It's not the end. I've definitely had, this is the end thoughts, but same thing. Don't let those things discourage you own up to it, right? Those are your own faults and you had to learn it the hard way.

I hope that you don't have to learn it the hard way. I hope that everybody can have a journal or be able to assess themselves to make those quick changes that they need to, but sometimes you just gotta learn it the hard way.

J.R.: I've learned talking to so many people is sometimes you have to touch the hot stove, unfortunately.

'Cause our parents, our friends will always say, Hey, don't touch that stove. And you're like, yeah, sure. And then you touch it like, okay, now I know what you mean. Like that sucked.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be? I know we've touched on a lot of things. Mm-hmm. You've gave a lot of good insights, but anything else we haven't touched on that you'd give your younger self advice?[00:50:00] 

John: Invest in Bitcoin?

I don't know. I think it would be learn to enjoy even the most mundane things in life because every year so many things are changing. Your views, your aspirations are always changing. Mm-hmm. And because they fly by so quickly, you just don't get the chance to really value that precious moment. It's lost.

Our twenties are gone. Mm-hmm. Our thirties. Oh man. They're going, they're going. Yeah. To enjoy even the smallest things. Even though it seems so difficult at the time, you can, I think you can find the joy out of everything.

J.R.: Do you have any examples of some of the small things?

John: I can't think of one right now, but. I think, oh, just talking to your parents. I can't speak for everyone because I know everyone has different levels of kind of relationships. Right. But I, it was in [00:51:00] my last relationship where we went out for New Year's great party. And you know, next day you call up all your family friends, happy New Year's.

She gets a call saying that her dad passed away. And in that moment it was just like, oh my goodness. I don't call my mom and dad enough to say I just love them. Thank you for everything they did. 'cause right now, if I call my mom, she'd be like, what are you doing? I don't wanna talk to you right now. Yeah, yeah.

No, enjoy this. Those moments. The ticking, you know, clock. Take that call. Listen to your mom. Mm-hmm. 

Say what's up.

J.R.: I love that. I feel like if there's any sort of takeaway for you guys listening is that sort of thing because I did a year, I do a yearly review on my blog every year and I look back on all the highlights of my year just to kind of recap like, oh, what was the highlights of 2025?

And a lot of the points that I mentioned were my favorite were the ones where I'm like [00:52:00] literally just sitting around a room mm-hmm. Talking with my family or my parents. Mm-hmm. And I'm like I went home to visit a family in NorCal. Mm-hmm. And then also East coast, like my mom's side of the family. And I was like literally my favorite parts of the trip when we're just sitting around in the living room just talking.

Because as we live on our own and we don't see our parents or our family a lot, those moments I'm like, yeah, these are like the moments where they're mundane ish or they don't seem important. But I'm like, no, actually this was most the most fun. Mm-hmm. Especially when you cut out the noise of work and friends and all that stuff.

It's something to not be taken for granted. So thank you for that.

In the last few years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has improved your life?

John: This one kind of pisses me off. Yeah. Current relationship right now. Extremely happy, the happiest I could ever be. But she kind of gave me a reality check and she's like, all right. She wants to live this kind of lifestyle.

Okay, all right. Then I'll make 150 K. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Six, still six figure a little bit higher. She's like, oh, that's broke thoughts. Aren't you [00:53:00] going for 300? Okay, 500 k. Aren't you going for 800 K Mill? And I said, you know, there's a moment where it's like, well, let's be realistic. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wait, why am I putting those restrictions on myself?

Why am I not doing more? If I can really think about what I did this past month, I definitely could do more. It's always just, why am I putting limits on myself? Yes, have a reality check, but don't put those restraints and I'm glad she's in my life that you can say not you. I believe in you and what you can do, you can do better.

Mm. 

J.R.: I love that. It's like the magic of thinking big. It's a book reference, but yeah. Totally. I love that.

Favorite hot take or something you think most people won't agree with?

John: I think, Hot Take, a lot more people are more conservative, but they just don't call it that. 

J.R.: Mm. What do you mean by that? 

John: I don't wanna take that political view of like, this is my identity. Oh, you're a conservative, I'm a liberal.

No, I think there's certain values [00:54:00] that they don't realize how important it's to them. And then, wow, it's actually a very conservative, my view.

And I think about family freedom and let's say the things you built.

When we're in our younger teens and we don't own anything and our parents are there to mainly provide everything for us, all we have is our freedom of thought and freedom of to do whatever we want, especially living in Southern California.

So of course, like, ah, f the government whatever. But as soon as I say, as soon as you own property, as soon as you have a kid. As soon as you build a business, suddenly stability, safe environment, safe schools. Stability becomes a key factor and you start valuing things outside of yourself.

Again, I think maybe it's just for the people that are older, but yeah, more people are [00:55:00] conservative. 

J.R.: Yeah. No, I love that a lot. And we did talk about this on Rani's episode, the episode right before this one. I'll link it.

But conservative versus like progressive and maybe this isn't necessarily political, maybe it is. But it's I have the belief that the older we get, our brains are more wired to be conservative.

And not in the extreme political sense, but more of like we understand patterns. Mm-hmm. We're more. Traditional or conservative, because that's how we go through life in our 30 plus years of, okay, this is how the world works, and now my brain is now solidifying towards that. Mm-hmm. And so when there's a deviation in that, it doesn't feel right to us.

Mm-hmm. 

And so biologically, I think that we generally get more conservative as we get older. And that's not a bad thing. Like it's my grandparents are super conservative and that's why there's, there is a clear age gap divide between like in politics, I guess. Mm-hmm. Progressive versus conservative.

Like obviously it's like, why is it a lot of young people versus a lot of old people? But it's, I would say it, you can't discount the fact that it is a biological thing. Mm-hmm. And that what Rani said, what you're saying, what I'm saying like, I agree too, like, yeah, [00:56:00] I think the older I get, the more money I make, the more stuff I have, the more I have responsibility. And if my family grows and stuff. Yeah, I probably am more quote unquote conservative in that sense.

John: I hate to think of it as an identity in the first place. Of course. Why limit yourself to that? Mm, there are good views on both sides. Of course, there are bad views on both sides. Right. Of course, you have extremists on both ends.

I think the best identity to have is trying to, what's the best of both worlds? How do we meet in the middle? Have that conversation. 

J.R.: Favorite recent purchase in the 50 to a hundred dollars range that has impacted your life the most in the last six months? Cheap purchase. 

John: This is, I guess a caveat 'cause it's, I'm wearing this right now, it's the Oura ring. Mm. I'm not, I'm not sponsored. 

J.R.: One of my guests, he worked for Oura for a long time, and so he's a, he was a big proponent of, or he's like, yeah, I know how it works and it's health tech. Yeah. So, yeah.

John: It's definitely not under 50 or a hundred. Right, right, right. But if you have, or if you can afford the Amex platinum. Yeah. They have a promo where they give you $200 off.

So they'll do also [00:57:00] seasonal promos on the website itself. $150 off. Or like Christmas, that's when I got it. Plus the $200 off.

I essentially got this for 50 bucks. 

J.R.: Oh, okay. So is the price range like a few hundred? Say three, 300. Yeah. 

John: And it could go higher based on like Rose model or whatever. Yeah. Titanium. 

J.R.: What do you like about Oura Ring? 

John: I didn't really believe in stats. Like tracking your health metrics. Tracking your health.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. It didn't make sense. Like you should just feel what your body feels. I learned it more when I was running and keeping track of what my heart rate is and what my mileage was. I didn't realize how much factoring goes into it to make the adjustments.

And Oura ring, one of the things it does is the text, also your stress levels and how well you sleep. It'll give you those numbers.

And you get to hone in on the range, the time range at from two to 3:00 PM you're pretty stressed. Mm. Having [00:58:00] at two to 3:00 PM Yeah. And it makes you look back.

Like, oh, this person or this situation. Yeah. Stress me out. And maybe it's the way I handle it. Why didn't I speak about it? What did I do about it? Right? So it hones in on the specific time and place. I think that's a good way.

J.R.: Do you know how they track stress? Like what is that, what does that metric for? That your heart rate just goes up? 

John: It's the heart rate mainly. Okay. And then, I dunno if it's the oxygen levels, but, 

J.R.: but like, isn't workout stress or no, 

John: I think it's a, just a different metric.

Again, I'm not a extra expert. 

J.R.: You're gonna talk to Sure, sure. Yeah, we can ask about that. 

John: But you as, for me, it's just the time and place. Gotcha. And why was my sleep more efficient or why was I more rested this night compared to the other night? It makes you kind of look back, what was the food I ate or what was the dreams I were having, what was happening in the day?

So it kind of just helps you become more efficient, more streamlined with, how am I getting the most optimal recovery? Mm. I think [00:59:00] that's what it is. 

J.R.: Gotcha. Optimal recovery. I like that. Okay. Well, I mean, I'm more sold on it now. Yeah. So thank you.

Alright, we'll wind to a close if you don't have any other final thoughts.

But for ending questions, we always start with gratitude. Shout out to my mom.

What are you grateful for, John? 

John: I am grateful for the friends that try to maintain a connection. And what I mean by that is you just have so limited time. You're already dealing with so much, even the gesture of, Hey, how you doing?

And you don't talk for like three months. Hey, we're staying connected. So the friends that do try to maintain that relationship, I appreciate.

Friends, family, and my girl, of course.

J.R.: I love it.

Where can we find you if people wanna see what you're up to or connect or check out? Or if not, that's totally fine, but where can they find you if they wanna see it? 

John: My handle should be up there. I do more stories than posts because I don't have the time and energy to put it into it because I realized [01:00:00] there's other things, again, I prioritize at the moment.

And trying to share to the world what I'm doing is not important right now. 

J.R.: Yeah. Cool. Nice. Well, we'll link that. His stuff is linked. Anyways alright, Harold, John thanks for being here. I really appreciate it. I enjoyed this, I enjoyed this conversation. Absolute honor.

Yeah, I rejuvenated my soul and I love hearing like other I see you as like a high performer because of your journey and what you do. So I respect you as well. And so, this is definitely a favorite episode of mine, so I appreciate that.

And so let me go into my final sign off for the audience.

So thank you guys for being here. I really appreciate it. Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, all that fun stuff. Leave John Love in the comments below. He'll probably see it. And reminder to always be kind to other people, especially yourself. And remember that you can always learn something from someone if you take the time to listen.

So thank you guys for being here.

Thank you.