Active Recall!

Podcasts, videos, and iPad art

22: We Can’t Make This Up

October 11, 2017

  • Send your questions in on Twitter
  • Weekly fitness update: my weight isn’t great! But I’ve started going Simple & Sinister. Trying to do a daily workout. The approach is that it’s moderate exertion instead of some programs where failure is pretty much the goal for each workout.
  • Wally has some mimosas at a bridal shower

Laughing at the hardship

From I Can’t Make This Up:

“In life, you can choose to cry about the bullshit that happens to you or you can choose to laugh about it. I choose laughter.”

Have you ever been bullied or have you been the bully? Kevin Hart says he was bullied as a kid but knew that it was important to stand up for himself. Even once. Take the beating and then move on. They’d rather find someone who won’t put up a fight at all.

We’ve both been bullied. I talk about when I was sort of bullied. Wally talks about when he was definitely bullied.

Bully by association. There was a time that I was sort of the bully, but not really.

Take action!

  • Try to laugh at it. It won’t work for everything. But think back to the hardships you’ve been through in the past that you laugh about now. You can find strength in that. Hopefully it gives you some perspective
  • Stand up to that bully. If you’re one of our very young listeners and you’re being bullied, remember to stand up for yourself. Now that I think about it, it’d be better if I didn’t give this kind of advice. Talk to your parents about this.
  • If you’re the bully… grab the other kid’s bag and throw it over the fence. Just like Wally’s bully did. It sounds like a very strong move.

Our parents were right

From I Can’t Make This Up:

“It turns out that the things I hated most as a child are the same things that serve me the most as an adult.”

Keep a schedule. Kevin Hart says that his mom would maintain a very strict schedule to make sure that he was in the right places at the right time. She would rather take the bus 2 hours than ask for a ride. Hart learned how valuable this mindset was.

Find a group of people who you meet with regularly. It doesn’t have to be church, like me and Wally went to growing up. 

Take action!

  • Be like my dad: run, sit in the sauna, eat beef broth. I’m slowly turning into my dad, as we all are. My dad was in the Navy so he established the habit and can’t really go a day without working out. He loves that routine. I started using the sauna to relax after hearing Joe Rogan and Tim Ferriss mention it more than a few times. I should’ve just listened to my dad.

Kevin Hart is persistent

From I Can’t Make This Up:

Persistence: More than anything, my willingness to be persistent is responsible for the success I’ve had. My mindset is: It’s okay to fail, but it’s not okay to quit. Struggle, rejection, failure, and doubt break most people. Your goal is to learn from these challenges without letting them diminish your motivation. The secret to accomplishing this is simple: Let yourself be driven by your will to succeed rather than your fear of not succeeding.

We talked a lot about persistence in our Grit episode. This book is great because you get to see how many obstacles he runs into and how he overcomes them. Wildly successful people make it seem easy. It never is as easy as it seems. Hart knows he’s lucky. He also knows he works very hard to keep a lot of irons in the fire.

Take action!

  • Remember that the answer to ‘Luck vs. Skill’ doesn’t matter. Kevin Hart says he got lucky. He also says he worked hard to get lucky. If you’re frustrated when comparing yourself to other people’s success, remind yourself that it takes luck. If your head has become humongous because of your success, remind yourself that you got lucky. In either case, go work hard again.
  • Remember that this moment builds into the next moment. Hart gives a lot of insight into the television industry. He talks about his experience with TV pilots. He started learning that auditions matter even when you know you won’t get the part. Because there’s a chance that someone watching you will see you again. If you can make a good impression the first time it can help down the road.