Artisionary

Jonathan Goodman, creator of the Personal Training Development Center and author of the upcoming book, "The Obvious Choice," (out January 14th, 2025) is a fitness industry pioneer who transformed his early passion at the YMCA into multiple successful businesses. He lives by the philosophy of doing fewer things better and making strategic choices that lead to extraordinary results. In this conversation, we delve into the fundamentals of fitness, the power of optimistic ignorance, building successful businesses through aligned incentives, finding your unique edge in a crowded market, and how to make strategic decisions that create lasting impact. Timestamps: 0:01 Introduction to Jonathan Goodman 0:32 Early fitness journey and YMCA experience 1:03 Competitive sports background 2:07 Transition to weightlifting focus 3:06 Core principles of fitness and nutrition 4:01 Progressive overload principles 5:08 The optional vs foundational nature of fitness 6:08 The divide between active and inactive lifestyles 7:54 Impact of fitness on daily life 9:23 Making fitness convenient and building habits 11:35 Importance of habit stacking 14:21 Cancer diagnosis as a turning point 16:36 Business restructuring lessons 19:31 Evolution of business model 21:24 Compensation structure changes 24:38 Value of A+ players in business 26:31 Journey as an author 28:04 Book writing process 30:53 Traditional vs self-publishing 34:22 Deep research methodology 37:55 Finding unique stories 40:37 Content creation strategy 43:40 Pricing strategy insights 46:07 Free vs premium offerings 49:38 Building trust in business 53:03 Market saturation myths 55:24 Finding your unique factor 58:43 Advice for young entrepreneurs 1:02:14 Closing thoughts and book promotion Follow Jonathan: Order His Book: https://www.amazon.com/Obvious-Choice-Timeless-Lessons-Success/dp/1400249139?sr=8-1&linkId=5e383baf094911e431b7053c27ec3ffe&language=en_US Twitter: https://x.com/itscoachgoodman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itscoachgoodman/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCKt_rWty06ukHErS3ffkAMw Follow Me: X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu Website: https://www.jestonlu.com Writing: https://jestonlu.substack.com/

Jack Moses is a vessel for God, his mission to open minds and hearts to elevate the collective consciousness of humanity. He writes: "It's hard to define who I am or what I do. But this is where the world is heading - back to our natural state, as limitless beings not meant to be put in a box. (;" In this conversation, we talk about our soul's mission, creating from the heart, living more authentically, being in the present moment, operating from a place of unconditional love, breaking the conditioning of society, and much more. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:38 Brief journey into Jack's college years 3:47 Why Jack will be going back to college 6:00 Jack's experience with ayahuasca in Peru 7:54 The human condition and death 9:20 What is our soul's mission? 10:21 What does spirituality actually mean? 12:49 Human beings are mirrors to each other 14:59 How can we live more authentically? 17:44 What do you worship? 18:51 Worshipping the present moment 20:55 Going from chaos back to order 22:16 Everything is happening at divine timing 23:05 Times are changing, here's why 25:45 Why your childhood self leaves clues 28:19 Finding means of expression 29:17 How Jack and I got into podcasting in college 31:52 How podcasting can unlock new opportunities 33:09 The scripts around money & work 35:47 Jack's tattoo - "It's all play" 36:24 How to break down the conditioning of society 37:55 Personality tests are little maps to guide you 40:37 We're made up of the cosmos 41:07 Our default state is unconditional love 43:14 How to find your tribe that are aligned with you 45:50 Why consistency makes you "lucky" 48:12 You're dreaming in the first place 51:06 Why you should create from your heart 53:10 Find out if your desires are truly yours 55:28 How to spend quiet time with yourself 56:45 What Jack is working on right now Follow Jack: X: https://twitter.com/jackmoses0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackmoses0/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackmoses0/ Website: https://jackmoses.co/ Follow Jeston: X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu Website: https://www.jestonlu.com Writing: https://jestonlu.substack.com/ Musinary Media: Conversations with visionaries who blend art and business into their life and work. Musinary Media is under the greater Musinary ecosystem ("music" + "visionary").

Dan Ahn is a former tech salesperson now quarter life coach. He's also solo biked across America and recently completed his first 100 mile ultramarathon. In this conversation, we talk about completing a 100-mile ultramarathon, biking solo across America, growing up in a Korean immigrant family, finding purpose through faith, turning burnout into breakthrough, lessons from sales and life coaching, why solitude might be the key to living life fully. and much more. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon 3:52 Differences between ultramarathons and marathons 5:54 The hardest parts of an running an ultra 7:19 You don't run 26.2 miles without inclination to suffering 8:07 Why running can change your life 10:07 Advice for someone wanting to get into running 12:02 Growing up into a Korean immigrant family 14:10 Breaking out of the scripts from growing up 15:59 Dan's relationship with God and faith 19:25 Finding Truth in life and beyond 21:56 Deciding to solo bike across America 24:52 The itinerary of the bike ride 27:08 Why Dan decided to travel to South America 29:06 Golden advice on living life to the fullest 31:53 Tim Ferriss's fear setting exercise for risk-taking 34:03 Lessons learned from working with a startup at NYC 36:31 Dan's advice to his younger self 40:49 What Dan learned from being a life coach 41:45 Knowing how to best serve your clients 45:13 Why you should spend more time in solitude 47:01 What should you do if you're burnt out? 49:07 How to deal with feeling misalignment 50:43 Charging what you believe you're worth 52:39 Lessons from a career in sales 54:01 What does success mean to Dan? 56:36 Dan's vision of "Love God, others, and myself." 57:48 Advice to ambitious young people looking to do cool things 59:00 Where can people find Dan? Follow Dan: X: https://twitter.com/DanTAhn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dantahn/ Website: https://www.dantahn.com/ Follow Jeston: X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu Website: https://www.jestonlu.com Writing: https://jestonlu.substack.com/ Musinary Media: Conversations with visionaries who blend art and business into their life and work. Musinary Media is under the greater Musinary ecosystem ("music" + "visionary"). Musinary's mission is to create musical spaces for artists and entrepreneurs around the world.

Nat Eliason is the author of "Crypto Confidential: Winning and Losing Millions in the New Frontier of Finance," online writer with a newsletter of 45,000+ subscribers, and currently working on his next sci-fi novel. In this conversation, we talk about how the education system is scuffed, what it took to write Nat's book, "Crypto Confidential," underrated advice to win in your 20s, and much more. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Why Nat Eliason started "Nat Chat" in 2016 4:00 Why the education system today is broken 9:07 What to do if you're feeling "stuck" in college 11:27 The best way to spend your college years 13:50 Why writing a book is so hard these days 18:36 How writing fiction differs from writing nonfiction 21:20 Creating a world through writing 22:16 The tremendous power of tracking your word count 24:39 The #1 way to get better at anything 27:01 Secrets to editing your writing more effectively 30:59 Why "Crypto Confidential" is such a good read 34:30 Why Nat decided to go all in on writing 36:02 A dangerous trap to avoid in your 20s 40:13 The best way to meet other interesting people 42:19 Known costs, unknowable benefits 46:26 Why it's so important to take on hard things 49:16 Why you must be the best at what you do 51:05 How to find the thing you're meant to do 51:53 Watch out for this trap when trying new things 53:45 Advice to an ambitious 20 y/o wanting to do great things 55:49 Where to find Nat Follow Nat: X: https://twitter.com/nateliason Writing: https://blog.nateliason.com/ Follow Jeston: Website: https://www.jestonlu.com X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu Writing: https://jestonlu.substack.com/ The Jeston Lu Podcast: Hosting deep conversations with creatives & founders pursuing unconventional paths. This podcast is part of Musinary Media, under the greater Musinary ecosystem ("music" + "visionary"). Musinary's mission is to bring creatives & founders in a musical, nature-like setting around the world.

Kevon Cheung is the founder of Small School, an online school for creator educators. In this conversation, we talk about building in public, the media landscape, balancing business with family, underrated and overrated pieces of advice for life, taking the pathless path, and much more. 0:00 Introduction 0:49 Kevon's childhood backstory 2:32 Differences between living in America vs. Asia 4:13 Studying business at Babson College 6:29 Getting into the tech world 9:03 Being employed vs. being an entrepreneur 11:09 Getting into online business in 2020 15:24 Steps to building an online business 19:52 Figuring things out as you go 20:28 Mistakes when building on X 22:04 Changes in the media landscape 23:45 Build something for yourself 28:13 How to make the most in college 30:30 Being an introvert online 31:47 Becoming a father 36:01 Balancing business with family 36:35 Kevon's day-to-day routine/lifestyle 38:43 Be receptive to opportunities around you 40:47 There's more than just the 'default path' 41:37 Consistency is overrated 43:38 Providing free value is underrated 45:19 Consistency has to be strategic 46:10 Next chapter for Kevon 48:31 Piece of advice for 18 y/o self Follow Kevon: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MeetKevon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevon/ Small School: https://www.smallschool.is/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations to discover your inner artist. 🤍

Jay Yang is Head of Content to Noah Kagan, content strategist to Z Fellows, former intern at Beehiiv, and entrepreneur of his own 6-figure agency business. In this conversation, we talk about college, collecting great questions, going to the gym, building a personal brand, finding your North Star, and much more. 0:00 Introduction 0:26 What Jay's been up to 1:01 Thoughts on college so far 2:12 Taking ownership of your learning 3:00 Looking back on high school 3:50 Making high-quality friendships 6:26 Building self-awareness 9:38 Jay's collection of questions 11:45 How to process good questions 12:45 Values and principles to live by 14:30 How going to the gym can save your life 16:05 Jay's obsessions in life 17:12 Practical steps to build an online business 19:49 Breaking down some of Jay's tweets 22:05 Permissionless apprenticeship 24:30 Principles of building a personal brand 28:00 Building an email newsletter 29:25 Working at Beehiiv 30:49 Trading money for time - delegation 32:39 Buying back time 34:10 Jay's daily routine 35:44 Quitting to level up in life 36:35 Seeing life as a video game 37:28 Being patient and slowing down 39:35 The most important things in life 40:17 Advice to high school freshmen Follow Jay: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Jayyanginspires Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayyanginspires/ Newsletter: https://jayyanginspires.beehiiv.com/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations to discover your inner artist. 🤍

Danny Miranda is a coach, creator of the men's retreat in Austin, and podcast host of the famous Danny Miranda Podcast. In this conversation, we talk about consciousness, living in truth, finding God, becoming free, holding space for ourselves and others, emotional guidance, being vulnerable, and much more. 0:00 Introduction 0:30 Danny's blog at 13 years old 2:15 Feeling different growing up 4:05 What is consciousness? 4:56 The circle of consciousness 7:02 How do you reach the light? 8:06 How Danny defines death 11:22 Who and what is God? 12:40 How God and love are connected 13:32 What does Danny worship now? 14:18 What does "living in truth" mean? 15:32 Living in 2024 is a special time 17:07 Austin is the living experiment of consciousness 18:50 Making money and what makes us feel alive 19:58 Living in misalignment 22:23 Finding fulfillment is easier than you think 25:11 How Danny found God 26:57 Intellectualizing our way to truth 27:55 Finding my way to God 29:11 How to become free 29:42 Danny's gift to the world 30:40 Man and emotional vulnerability 32:01 How do you hold space to others? 33:44 Being a host vs a guest on a podcast 34:44 How to be receptive listener 36:09 Why we hold harshness to ourselves 37:39 How to release judgement onto others and ourselves 40:53 We have the power to create our own realities 43:20 Wayne Dyer and meeting a photographer 44:40 Allowing yourself to live freely 45:08 Why childhood is such a special moment 47:15 What it means to be a human 49:23 What does Danny challenge more people to do? 49:54 Walking each other home Follow Danny: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/heydannymiranda YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/dannymiranda Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heydannymiranda/ 75 Hard Community: https://mydailycommitment.ck.page/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6zteH1pAiF07ArhYYNhSfb?si=623156b6415e41d1 Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations to discover your inner artist. 🤍

Parker Worth is a former janitor now multi 6-figure entrepreneur and writer on storytelling. In this conversation, we talk about storytelling, a problem/solution approach to business, idea generation, monetization, traveling, reading, and much more. 0:00 Storytelling + its applicability 2:02 Basic principles of storytelling 6:52 How to inject emotions into stories 10:20 How to generate ideas on the fly 12:48 How to start out online 14:22 Email is the best way to monetize 16:32 Email vs. social media platforms 17:12 Underrated strategies to grow online 19:40 Meeting your heroes on the Internet 20:58 How to create and launch an offer 24:50 Finding problem solution fit 26:23 Start with free volunteering 27:55 Shoutout to Jay Yang 29:41 Be relentless in solving problems 30:28 How to figure out what you want 32:32 How to know which skills to learn 34:30 Living in Brazil 36:05 Benefits of traveling 39:08 The ever-changing reality 41:27 Remaining humble and a student of life 43:24 Finding clients to work with 45:07 Being transparent and creating free work 48:10 The power of reading 49:50 What Parker is reading right now 51:17 Piece of advice to your 18 y/o Follow Parker: Website: https://parkerworth.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/worth_parker Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations to discover your inner artist. 🤍

Talia Jacqueline is a communications expert, TEDx speaker, and CEO of Visceral. In this conversation, we talk about the 3 Ps of communication, communicating from the heart, living up to your values, the courage to do the inner work, Talia's story, and much more. 0:00 The power of anger 3:34 The 3 Ps of communication 5:55 How to communicate more from the heart 9:16 Being a rebel and anti-authority 11:04 Learn to connect in-person 15:20 How to own up your own values 17:27 Talia's leap of faith 20:14 Changing views on money and life 22:43 How to find high-quality friendships 24:52 Moving to Austin, TX 26:36 How can you live more in truth? 29:29 Finding the courage to lean into our inner selves 31:42 A continual process of uncovering 32:52 A lesson Talia is learning right now 35:23 How to create an offer from your skills 36:55 Using the 3 Ps to craft a message 39:13 Going from 0 to 1 with communication 41:45 Advice for your 18 y/o self 43:01 Where to find Talia Follow Talia: Twitter: https://twitter.com/heytaliaj Visceral: https://visceralco.com/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations to discover your inner artist. 🤍

Tyger (Tyler) Cho is a podcaster, writer, and gym streaker. He was formerly a financial analyst at Goldman and a graduate of Stanford. In this conversation, we talk about leveraging the power of the Internet, playing infinite-sum games, reading, the power of podcasting, moving to South Korea, faith, and more. 0:00 Tyler's 900-day fitness streak 3:25 Regaining control over life 5:50 Forming high-quality friendships 8:06 What are learning sprints? 11:49 The power of reading books 13:24 René Girard and social games 16:13 Playing your own game 16:56 Cultivating a greater sense of self-awareness 20:38 Reaching guests for a podcast 23:36 The difficulty of doing a podcast 26:43 Differences in being a host vs. a guest 30:00 Podcasting is more fun with experience 32:16 Framing a question is just as important as the substance 35:31 Learning on a subconscious level 38:11 Books vs. podcasts 40:46 The locker analogy 44:20 Knowledge explained vs. possessed 45:20 Moving to South Korea 48:25 Freedom of time to experiment 49:28 Making the leap of faith 52:22 Adopting a pragmatist view on faith 55:33 Following what you believe is truth 59:29 Modern day version of smoking 1:00:35 Advice for your 18 y/o self Follow Tyler: Website: https://www.tygercho.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/TheTylerCho Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylercho.daily/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-i-cho/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations for the artistic ones. 🤍

Ryan Ward is on a journey to create 1 video for 365 days straight on YouTube. In this conversation, he shares his journey building an online personal brand. We talk about experimentation, content creation skills, social media, authenticity, balancing a 9-to-5 with side hustles, and much more. 0:00 Moving to New York City 2:33 Ryan's backstory 6:02 How to build consistency 9:06 Doing content creation full time? 9:54 Core principles of content creation 11:08 Challenges of building a personal brand 14:49 Experimentation is key 16:13 What media platforms should I be on? 17:39 The power of YouTube 20:20 The benefits of joining community groups 21:54 Sharing online leads to unexpected outcomes 23:53 Important skills for content creation 26:46 Favorite videos Ryan posted 28:59 Noah's content system 30:49 The importance of title + thumbnails for YouTube 31:41 Balancing authenticity with views 34:29 How do you balance your 9-to-5 and side hustles 36:25 Eating the frog first thing in the morning 38:26 Building an email newsletter 40:04 What does "traffic" mean 41:49 Why you should read more fiction books 45:30 David Perell's "How I Write" podcast 47:18 People in the online space worth following 48:45 If you had unlimited $, what would you invest it in? 51:26 Something unconventional Ryan did that led to outsized returns 53:30 How to maximize learning in college 55:52 Advice that is overrated + underrated? 59:14 One message to your 18 y/o self 1:00:38 Where can people find Ryan Follow Ryan: Twitter: https://x.com/iamryanward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamryanward/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UClsibmQB1AW3rJJOoJ2uo8A Kajabi: https://ryan-ward.mykajabi.com/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu The Jeston Lu Podcast: Deep conversations for the artistic ones. 🤍

Noah Zender is a product manager at Paradox, research assistant at Contrary Research, and writer at Pioneer Project. In this conversation, we talk about the importance of curating a healthy information diet, growing a personal brand, practical mental models for life, underrated strategies for networking, and much more. 0:00 Noah's physical knowledge system 2:54 Benefits of a physical note-taking system 4:29 How to curate a healthy information diet 7:37 The best information exists in the hyperlinks 8:27 Balaji's idea of signal and repeaters 9:28 Study the foundations 11:21 Connecting ideas when writing 12:41 Noah's favorite frameworks 17:17 A brief look into Noah's day-to-day life 18:11 Noah's mission to write about pioneers 21:24 Why SEO is prime digital real estate 24:09 How to get started with creating content 26:46 Strategies to growing on Twitter/X 28:40 The value of building an email newsletter 32:31 Why you should begin sharing online 36:18 How permissionless apprenticeship works 39:32 Shoot your shot when you're starting out 42:55 How to make the most of college 43:53 How to write a good cold DM/email 49:30 How moving to Arizona changed Noah's life 52:30 The importance of setting non-negotiables 55:23 Book recommendations 59:32 Advice to Noah's 18 y/o self Follow Noah: Twitter: https://x.com/noahzender Website: https://www.noahzender.com Writing: https://pioneersproject.com/subscribe Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlupodcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu

One of the greatest conversations I've ever had. This is my friend, Chloe Lam. She's a first-year student at the Université Catholique de Lille in France and is currently doing an internship in Chile. In this conversation, we talk about our past lives, travel, friendship, letting go and forging our identity, language learning, bucket list items, and much more. FYI: This conversation was originally ~3 hours long, but the file between 5 and 48 minutes got corrupted :(. 0:00 Reflections from Finishing High School 5:23 Chloe's Trip to Europe, My Trip to Asia 8:36 How the Story of Music Films Started 11:05 Spicy Takes on Southern California 14:01 Reflections of Summer 2023 15:41 Future Bucket List Items Together 16:25 How We View Friendships 18:30 Starting a New Life in France 23:54 Experience Living in Chile 29:04 Sharing Chloe's Photos of Chile 36:10 Sharing My Photos of Last Year 2023 41:30 The Chances of Meeting a Great Friend 42:18 Travel Advice From a Well-Seasoned Traveler 49:23 Chloe Speaking FLUENT French 50:42 Navigating Identity Being a "Global Citizen" 56:05 Learning More About Yourself Through Travel 59:29 Letting Go and Creating a New Identity 1:02:51 Identity Goes Through Seasons 1:05:15 Expert Travel Tips in Europe 1:06:14 How We've Changed Throughout the Years 1:09:48 The Idea of Starting a Podcast 1:10:24 How to Find Freedom in Your Life 1:14:10 How Money Can Generate Freedom 1:17:49 Great Education = Root of a Great Nation 1:19:29 Why Chloe Doesn't Use Social Media 1:25:08 The Pervasiveness of Social Media 1:27:50 The Power of Documenting Your Life and Journaling 1:32:10 My Secrets of Music Journaling 1:35:07 Pursuing Treadmill Friends Over Sofa Friends 1:36:34 The Quirks of the Running World 1:36:56 The United States vs the Rest of the World 1:38:55 Navigating Friendships as Introverts 1:40:10 Doing a 2nd Podcast Episode Together In-Person 1:41:18 Our Love for Boba and Asian Food 1:44:59 Growing Up in the Bay Area 1:47:45 Healthy vs. Unhealthy Ambition 1:53:01 Our Friendship with Our High School French Teacher 1:54:50 Chloe's Future Bucket Lists and Plans 1:59:30 My Future Bucket Lists and Plans 2:01:45 Creating a Global Network of Friends 2:03:03 Topics to Bring Up Next Episode 2:04:20 Conclusion Follow Chloe: Nope :). Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📝 Writing: https://jestonlu.substack.com 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@pursuitoflightpod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact. Interviewing people from all walks of life who embody the pursuit of light — creatives, entrepreneurs, students, authors, thought leaders, and more.

Mitchell Earl is the CEO of Praxis and a mentor to young adults seeking to take agency over their lives. In this conversation, we talk about the relevance/irrelevance of college, living intentionally, tactics to kickstart your career, the importance of developing high-leverage skills, and more. 0:00 Introduction 0:28 Mitchell's College and Career Experience 9:58 Best Ways to Learn 14:02 The Tremendous Benefits of Apprenticeship 15:04 The Need for More Interest-Led Learning 16:16 Why Aren't More People Following Their Curiosity? 20:54 How Nihilism is Pervading Our Nation 27:57 Why Intentional Life Design is So Important 31:20 Questions to Reflect on Designing the Life of Your Dreams 33:11 Essential Career Skills to Develop in Your 20s 37:13 Career Paths Should Not Be Linear 41:17 Why You Should Stop Optimizing for Credentials 44:24 The Secret to Landing Your Dream Job 46:36 How Mitchell Became the CEO of Praxis 52:13 What is Praxis? Success Stories? 56:33 The Case For or Against College 1:00:26 A Piece of Advice to an 18 y/o Self Follow Mitchell Website: https://mitchellearl.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/mitchell_earl Discover Praxis: https://discoverpraxis.com/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@pursuitoflightpod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact. Interviewing people from all walks of life who embody the pursuit of light — creatives, entrepreneurs, students, authors, thought leaders, and more.

Matt Yao is a coach, writer, and apprentice for Steven Schlafman's Downshift decelerator program. In this conversation, we talk about quitting your job, taking sabbaticals, intentional living, the benefits of apprenticeship, and shifting perspectives about money. 0:00 Introduction 0:27 Matt's Notion Dashboard to Quitting Your Job 2:15 Matt's Story from Early Life to Quitting His Job 5:15 The Pivot Away From the Rat Race 7:30 Advice for College Students 10:25 The Impact of Paul Millerd's Book, "The Pathless Path" 11:51 What Happened After Matt Quit His Job 14:20 Benefits from Unoptimizing Your Life 16:03 Are Sabbaticals Sustainable for the Long Term? 18:21 How Coaching Changed Matt's Life 21:18 Matt's Experience as an Apprentice 24:30 Apprenticeship in the Modern Age and Its Benefits 28:50 How to Find/Create Your Own Apprenticeship 31:09 Have a Proof of Work Online & Do the Work Upfront 32:15 Relationship with Money 37:10 Stepping Off of the Hedonic Treadmill 40:39 Focusing on What Actually Matters 41:14 Financial Privilege & Resources 44:17 Moving Around vs. Staying Put 46:50 Knowing Where to Live 48:47 Something You've Grown Up Believing that Turned Out to Be False? 51:20 Experience the Full Spectrum 52:47 Advice that is Underrated / Overrated? 55:11 Where to Find Matt Follow Matt: Website: https://mattyao.co/ Essays: https://blog.mattyao.co/ Twitter: https://x.com/matt__yao Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@pursuitoflightpod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu/ About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact. Interviewing people from all walks of life who embody the pursuit of light — creatives, entrepreneurs, students, authors, thought leaders, and more.

Cameron Hogan is a writer, entrepreneur, and leader of the Men's Circle in Austin, Texas. In this conversation, we talk about following your intuition, shifting perspective in life, holding space for negative emotions, operating with vulnerability & authenticity, and much more. 0:00 Introduction 1:52 The Pinnacle of Personal Development 4:26 Cameron's Origin Story 7:25 What it Feels Like to Live in Joy 9:10 How Can One Live in Joy? 14:17 Why Society Puts Us in Lower States of Consciousness 16:52 The Map of Consciousness Explained 19:25 How the Map of Consciousness Impacted My Life 20:04 Seeing Life Differently With Love 24:40 Why We Must Embrace Negative Emotions 27:56 Letting Go of Our Bottled-Up Emotions 30:39 We Crave Authenticity 32:11 Why Vulnerability is Men's Greatest Asset 36:01 Bringing Men Together 38:08 Living in Austin Changed Cameron's Life 41:02 Friendship and Change 45:02 Finding God, Image of God 47:53 Can Heaven be on Earth? 52:07 Our Perception is Powerful 53:40 Money and Fear 56:32 Have an Open Hand to Receive and Take 59:33 Where Cameron's Life Is Heading 1:01:12 Advice to Your 18 y/o Self Follow Cameron: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/cameronhogan Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecameronhogan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecameronhogan/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@pursuitoflightpod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu/ 📝 Substack: https://jestonlu.substack.com/ About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact. Interviewing people from all walks of life who embody the pursuit of light — creatives, entrepreneurs, students, authors, thought leaders, and more.

Steve Dang is a cancer survivor, church pastor, and chief ministry officer at Valley Christian Schools. In this conversation, we talk about being the light to others, building community, finding God, turning hardship into impact, the underpinnings of Christianity, and much more. 0:00 Introduction 1:59 Radiating Joy and Love 4:53 Serving Teenagers and Students 7:34 Advice to a Younger Person Who's Struggling 9:57 Crafting Our Life Stories 11:38 Meeting High School Alumni 13:12 Steve's Journey of Faith and Finding God 17:55 Serendipitous Nature of Life 19:28 How Do You Find/Discern God's Voice 23:22 God Takes Us to Unexpected Places 24:19 The Intellect vs. the Spiritual in Christianity 28:40 Taking the Spiritual Leap of Faith 30:00 Why Can't God Eradicate Evil? 34:02 Dealing with Mortality 35:27 Steve's Story of Overcoming Cancer 40:40 God Turning Hardship to Impact 42:30 Steve's Journey with Sports 45:02 Biking 100 Miles in One Day 47:15 Living Life to the Fullest 49:14 How to Become a Better Communicator 52:33 How to Find Your Calling 55:48 What's Steve's Central Mission in Life? 57:16 Relationship with Death 1:00:48 Advice to 18 y/o Self Follow Steve: Website: https://dangsteve.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dangsteve/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/myasianfriend Sermons: https://www.youtube.com/c/CalvaryChurchLosGatos Follow Me: 🌐 Website: https://www.jestonlu.com 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pursuitoflightpod 🎥 Music YT: https://www.youtube.com/@jestonlu 💬 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jestonlu/ 📝 Substack: https://jestonlu.substack.com/ About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact.

Ivan Utomo is a teacher, pianist, and co-author of the book, "Walking With Grace." In this conversation, we discuss his journey of navigating his wife's accident, putting faith & trust in God, mortality, and discovering purpose. 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Ivan's Life Journey 6:35 His Wife's Accident 8:39 Unexpected Turning Point in Life 11:00 How to Navigate the Dark and Find the Light 17:58 Ivan's Journey in Faith & God Pt. 1 18:44 What is the Gospel All About? 20:37 Ivan's Journey in Faith & God Pt. 2 23:52 Grounding Yourself in God 28:49 Conceptualizing the Intangible 34:30 Thoughts on Life & Death 38:00 Reflecting on What Matters in Life 41:16 How to Find Our Purpose 46:40 College Advice - Finding Your Ikigai 48:05 How Ivan Got Into Music 52:15 How to Create Career Success 53:45 What Makes a Good Teacher? 57:30 Teaching as a Way of Connecting 1:00:42 Two Verses That Have Impacted Ivan's Life 1:02:56 One Piece of Advice for 18 y/o Self Follow Ivan: Website: www.walkingwithgraceweb.com/ Check Out the Book: www.amazon.com/Walking-Grace-Embracing-Goodness-Trauma/dp/1633423115 Follow Me: 🌐 Website: jestonlu.com 🎥 YouTube: www.youtube.com/pursuitoflightpod 🎥 Music YT: www.youtube.com/jestonlu 💬 Twitter: www.twitter.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/jestonlu 📝 Substack: www.jestonlu.substack.com/ About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & impact.

Kate Wexell moved to San Francisco to work on her 501(c)(3) educational non-profit and finish her undergraduate degree in 2 years. In this conversation, we discuss Kate's education journey, living in San Francisco, urban planning in the U.S, creative work, defining success, and more. 0:00 Introduction & Short Message 1:27 Kate's Educational Journey 7:25 Redefining Education 10:42 Traditional College Feels Like a Bubble 11:07 How to Make the Most of College? 13:20 The College Application Process is a Systematic Formula 15:21 Lessons From Studying Abroad 16:52 Incorporating Community Building into America 20:46 How America Can Have Better Urban Planning 24:45 Why U.S Cities are Terribly Designed 26:33 Thoughts on Creative Pursuits 28:40 The Pitfalls of Making Your Creative Dream a Career 30:14 When to Say "Yes" or "No" 31:29 Diverge, Then Converge 32:08 Kate's 501(c)(3) Educational Non-Profit 35:28 Why Work in Non-Profits? 37:08 Kate's Central Mission in Life 38:08 Making a World a Better Place 41:02 Buddhism, Karma, & Enlightenment 42:17 Misbeliefs About Finances 44:48 Dismantling the Scripts About Life 46:20 Living in San Francisco vs. Back Home 49:10 Simplicity of Life, Fulfillment, & Success 50:30 Define Success for Yourself 53:26 Role Models 53:48 Advice to High School Freshmen Follow Kate: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katewexell/ Instagram: instagram.com/kate.h.wexell/ Compass Online: thecompass.online/ Follow Me: 🌐 Website: jestonlu.com 🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/jestonlu 📝 Substack: jestonlu.substack.com/ 💬 Twitter: twitter.com/jestonlu About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & clarity.

Emma Zhang is a writer, publisher of 8 books, and a current college freshman at Minerva University. In this conversation, we discuss the pursuit of happiness, cultivating self-awareness, redefining formal and higher education, becoming a better writer, and more. 0:00 Introduction 1:46 What is Minerva University? 5:19 Why Did You Choose Minerva? 7:34 Love Learning, But Hate School 8:10 Alternatives to Higher Education 9:42 What'd You Learn Out of Your Favorite Class? 13:24 Minerva's Teaching Approach 18:11 Why Foundational Knowledge is Critical 19:30 Why More People Should Study Philosophy 20:52 Becoming More Self-Aware 23:37 Your Life is Driven By Network Effects 25:10 Making the Decision to Take an Unconventional Path 28:40 Don't Play it Safe if You're Young 29:08 The Dichotomy of Approaching Life 30:36 Insights from Uni Campus Tour Visits 32:26 Why Do You Feel Happier than Most? 33:43 How Do You Define Happiness? 37:00 What is an Important Truth Very Few People Agree With You on? 38:24 Beware of Arrival Fallacy 41:46 Breaking Free of Society's Expectations 44:04 Epiphany From Writing 47:15 How Do You Write with Clarity? 49:15 Overcoming Writer's Block 52:29 Tips on Building Habits That Last 53:49 Differences in Writing Between Argumentative and Fiction 55:56 What Drives You Every Day? 58:30 From Optimization to Unoptimization 59:55 Advice to High School Freshmen Follow Emma: Website: emmavictoriawrites.com Instagram: instagram.com/emmavictoriawrites Follow Me: 🌐 Website: jestonlu.com 🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/jestonlu 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/jestonlu 💬 Twitter: twitter.com/jestonlu About The Pursuit of Light Podcast: Conversations toward the pursuit of light, empowering the young generation to live a life of alignment, purpose, & clarity.