Joel & Yerasimos Hold the Vision

(0:00 - 0:41) You are now listening to the Here for the Truth podcast, hosted by Joel Rafiti and Yerasimos. What's up everybody, welcome to Here for the Truth podcast. I am Joel Rafiti, I'm my co-host Yerasimos with me as always, saying my name again for the 285th time to launch this podcast. Man. I mean, I don't know if it's 285 because I think I've maybe introduced three or four of them, so I think it's like 281. Sorry, I just spilled hot tea on myself. (0:41 - 0:59) For anyone watching the video actually, you would have laughed. It's actually more than that because there's side chats that aren't included in that. We used to do side chats as well. Yeah, true. I was wondering if I should have peed before this episode, but I think I'm okay. I think I'm good. Cool, bro. Cool, bro. It's good to know. (1:00 - 4:27) It's interesting, man. Here we are, currently Monday the 23rd of Feb, 2026. We've just had some major shifts through a bunch of different systems. You know, people are talking about obviously the Chinese New Year, Firehorse Year, we moved into Pisces, we had a little eclipse. What are you sensing and feeling, bro, in terms of what's shifting for you? What's your take on the pulse? It's one of those things where it's like, if I didn't know about the Firehorse Year at all, what would I be noticing? It's one of those things where it's like, oh, you decide to purchase a red car and then you see the red car everywhere. Oh, I know it's the Firehorse Year, so am I looking at the world through that lens? Anyways, that said, I definitely feel a new level of momentum and excitement and movement about life in general, about what we're doing, what we're building. Even me and my wife on our home front, there are projects that I feel like are pushing forward, things that need to be cleaned out and reorganized. We recently cleaned out our garage and reorganized our garage, and then I'm moving into another area. I just feel like there's like, yeah, there's just like, okay, let's go. It's like, let's fucking go and do our thing. That's what I'm feeling. I feel like I've never seen so much content about a Chinese New Year as I have this year, which is interesting as well. But I remember, when I moved into this current house that I'm in, San Miguel de Allende in 2024, by the way, I'm born in 1990, which was a horse year. I believe I'm a wood horse. When I moved into this house that I currently live in, in September 2024, I came by myself first to check it out without my family. I walked in the house and I walked upstairs. Upstairs in the main living area, there is a massive J on the wall that lights up and underneath the J, there's a portrait of a beautiful horse, and then next to it, there's this blue statue of a horse. I saw it. I was like, J, Joel, horse, born in a horse year. I'm like, this is my place and I need to be here at least through 2026. It's curious, man, how these signposts arrive and things of that nature. There is no doubt that through my personal dreams, through the kind of education that I'm currently finding myself more drawn towards, it aligns with what I felt would be experienced this year, two years ago when I moved into this house. Also, what's currently shifting and what's happening. We talk about often through the human design system, we're moving into the new cross of the Sleeping Phoenix come 2027 with a greater focus on individual authority as well. These are things that we've been prepping and speaking about and setting the foundation of since we launched in 2021. It's just this game, man, of being human. You have to, in my opinion, just be constantly educating yourself. (4:27 - 5:02) You know, they say that knowledge is power, but I don't really agree with that completely. If knowledge was power, then every librarian would be killing it, so to speak, but ultimately they're not. Do all librarians read all the books? Or are they just like, I'll pass them out? Knowledge is one thing, but then organizing that knowledge in an intelligent and organized fashion towards a decisive goal that one has for themselves, that is what the power is. (5:02 - 6:10) Some might say applied knowledge. I think I've heard you say that before. I probably stole it from someone. Yeah. Yeah. I observe the books and the authors and the information that comes into my life at certain times. It's just always what's needed. That deeper intuitive sense of what am I drawn towards, what's coming into my field, what's repeating itself, and then trusting yourself to dive in and then have that experience. I think I told you before, all of the mind-blowing wow moments that I've had when it's come to knowledge has just come from self-study, from a random book that I picked up or I heard someone speak about and there was a slight intuitive hit that might be a thing and I'd dive into it. I love those revelatory moments so much, bro. The idea that education is something that can be finished? No, dude. This is constantly nurturing yourself, is this commitment and this higher level relationship to self-education. (6:13 - 6:19) I think that's all we need to say. I think this is a very short podcast. I agree with you, man. (6:19 - 7:23) My incarnation cross in human design is the left-angle cross of education. It always has been something near and dear to my heart, just this idea that education is our birthright, that we can learn, that we can move beyond fixed limitations internally, externally. How amazing is that? Whether you work with a teacher, whether you pick up a book, I agree with you right there. My life has been this journey of, oh, what's the next thing that I'm excited by, that I'm drawn to, that lights me up? It's pretty amazing to witness. Yeah, man. I get it. I get that a lot of people are in this place of stagnancy or cloudiness. You ask people, what do you really want? Most people are like, I don't know what I want. You know? But that relationship to wanting, the more that I sit with that and contemplate my own journey with one thing, to me, man, that is where God speaks to me. (7:24 - 8:36) That is where God is saying to me, Joel, I want you to be a vessel for this mission. This mission is going to be communicated to you through your wants, because through what you genuinely want is where you're going to have the most interest, is where you're going to be most committed. And so if I did have a mission that God was communicating to me, isn't it going to be in the things that I find myself interested, curious, and wanting for myself? What do I want? Well, man, I want to be fully self-reliant through creating a business and an organization where I get to disseminate knowledge that helps other people uplift and enhance their lives, to feel more free, to feel more authentic, and to have a more powerful relationship with what they personally want. And I'm on that path, and we're on that path, and we're building that, and we're working towards that. And every single day, it's exciting to get to nurture and work towards that in a greater capacity. And you mentioned before, your incarnation cross is the left-angle cross of education. (8:37 - 9:01) That's one factor in which you know yourself. We know that mine is the left-angle cross of uncertainty, which really has a lot to do with ambition and resources and prosperity and things of that nature. Okay. So we read these things about ourselves once upon a time, five, 10 years ago, maybe longer for you. Okay. And so we got this download of self-knowledge. (9:01 - 9:04) And in the beginning, it might've been a bit of a vague thing. Oh, okay. That's interesting. (9:05 - 12:24) Someone might go read their human design incarnation cross today and feel completely disconnected from it. But you sit with it. You contemplate it. You turn it over in your mind. Then all of a sudden, it's like, look at the path that we're on. Look at the path that we're building. It's literally an educational platform, which is driving us towards more prosperity, more purpose, more service to others to spread and disseminate this message as well. It is the perfect manifestation of our crosses combined. Well, crosses combined. Then you think about things as being, well, generators, but then from the card system, you're a Jack, I'm a King of Clubs. It's all about generation. It's about knowledge. It's all about value in that regards as well. And yeah, it's really interesting, man. I, uh, also, uh, what I was just thinking about was earlier when you were talking about paying attention. Yep. I know some people think this book is simple and corny, but like the alchemist, like I read that book at a time in my life, I read actually four times at four different parts of my life for whatever reason. And I love the simplicity of like going on an adventure and following the signs, you know, the omens, and you have enough capacity to pay attention and to take things in that are being presented to you externally and also within yourself. And I find that's like a skill. Obviously intuition is wrapped up into that. It's like, you're like living your life and then something comes up and like, do you keep pulling at that thread? Do you go and have that conversation with that person that you feel like you need to have a conversation with? Do you send that email out that you feel like you need to send the email out? You know, there's just so many choice points in a single day that allow you to kind of connect more deeply with this element of yourself. Also, I also want to bring more nuance to this. We talked about, Oh, what do I want? Well, you know, you know, Gurdjieff, cause you know, Joel and I love getting into the architecture of psyche and parts work. Gurdjieff has the simple quote. It's like the human eye is not a single permanent entity, but rather a plurality of constantly changing, often contradictory small eyes. So this is where the work lies. Like what aspects of you, which small eyes within you, what do they want? And how do you as the conductor of your own inner orchestra go, okay, well, a part of me wants to sit on fucking my ass all day for the next four days watching Netflix. Okay. But then another part of me wants to take action on my goals or take care of my health. And so it's up to you to have the capacity within yourself to really manage yourself. We'd talk about self responsibility and that's part of it. Self agency. That's part of it to understand that there are contradictory aspects within us, but do we know what our highest values are? Do we understand that? Do we have this idea, this vision for who we want to be, how we want to move forward in the world? And then do we make decisions based on that? Do we honor those parts of us as opposed to the parts of us that want to keep us stuck, keep us stagnant, keep us small, living in fear and not stirring the pot. And then 20, 30 years go by and it's like, where'd my life go? Yeah. Yeah, man. I can speak directly into that. (12:24 - 12:53) You know, it's like each morning, you know, when I open my eyes for the first time in the morning, I like to go for a 25 minute walk, listen to something inspiring on that walk, get to the gym, have a workout and walk back, you know, continuing to listen to something inspiring. But sometimes it's just silence or sometimes it's just classical music. But I open my eyes for the first time and there's the part that's present and it's like, just stay in bed this morning, man. Just, you know, just chill. Just give into it. You got an extra couple of hours here before the kids wake up. (12:53 - 16:06) And then the other part comes in. It's like, Joel, you know, you know that 100% of the time that you commit to this morning activity, your day is better. You feel better. You are more inspired, more lit up. You're able to feed your highest values of continuing to grow this organization and be there for your family in a more inspired way when you do this. And so, that part ultimately most of the time wins out because the deeper values that I've organized for myself give more energy to that part. And so, that part instructs me to get up. I get up, brush my teeth, I get dressed, make my coffee and I go on my walk, you know. And it's but without one, self-knowledge, two, understanding these deeper values once and definite desires that you have for yourself, those parts have less of a chance to become primary and to become optimized and become the ones that are mainly in charge of the steering wheel that is your life. And so, without that, without values, without objectives, without clear self-knowledge, we become drifters, which is kind of the worst way that you can possibly live your life. And as a drifter, you're just going to be commanded by all these other parts that want you to give in to these baser ways of being. Well, it becomes this inner war. And so, we talk about knowledge and education, even understanding this multiplicity within, even understanding the architecture of yourself in a certain way, then allows you to self-reflect, then allows you to kind of understand yourself in a much more nuanced way. Let's bring up even the nervous system. Oh, wow, nervous system. Oh, wow, trauma. Okay. But do you understand the mechanisms of your nervous system? Do you understand what's happening more specifically on a somatic level? So then as you go through your day, because you have a baseline of knowledge, you can then look at life and look at your experiences through that lens of knowing, oh, wow, I'm sensing something within myself. Oh, I'm in this state, because you learned about the fact that there are different states within your nervous system. And so, this is why knowledge is foundational to understanding yourself on a whole nother level and understanding others and allowing you to have compassion for others. I mean, ultimately, at the end of the day, the more you know yourself, the more you understand yourself and all its glory, all its complexity, all its nuance, is that you can witness it in others and actually have more compassion and project less and go about your life doing the things that are important to you instead of getting so caught up and sucked into this psychological war that occurs from every angle, wherever we pick up our computer or we pick up our phone. We're just coming at things from a more grounded place and a more contained place where we're like, I'm going to do my thing. I'm going to live my life. I'm not just going to be blown around like a feather in the wind because I don't have that base knowledge and understanding. (16:07 - 16:26) Yeah, man, exactly, dude. And so many people, I feel like just pay lip service to this idea of self-knowledge, know thyself, et cetera. But I think what we're trying to convey in this conversation that we've had thus far is actually the power of self-knowledge in a real world way. (16:26 - 20:19) The more that you know yourself, whether through these different systems or just through real world feedback, you begin to refine and define exactly who you are, what you're really interested in, because you don't want to be interested in everything, and as a result, what you really want and where you want to go. And once you have that definitiveness of purpose to some degree, this is where change can really come into action. Because the level of growth that's possible for you, in my personal opinion, is actually limitless. And so when you have this, even your imagination becomes more focused. Like, wow, this is what's possible. This is what I can create. These are all the people that I can impact. This is where I can do my thing, exert my will. And what is will? Because this is a higher faculty that humans possess, these faculties of will, of imagination, et cetera. Will, as far as I understand it, is the ability to hold one idea as the focus of your mind to the exception, at the exception of all other ideas, right? This is what concentrated will is. And when you can hold a single idea at the forefront of your imagination, despite distractions, despite other things happening around you, this is where reality creation becomes really tangible and really malleable. I can see it. I can feel it. I'm moving towards it. You turn this over in your mind. You move it from the conscious forefront into the subconscious background of your psyche, of your being. And all of a sudden, your actions become more so automatically prioritized towards executing this, and your reality morphs into this vision. These are all the things, self-knowledge, self-esteem, when we say becoming who you were born to be, this is what we mean. It's about a fundamental shift to your own paradigm, to your self-concept, where you realize this gift that we all have of imagination. You can see it, and you can bring it, and then you can feel it. And then you start acting in a way, which just brings that about in the most beautiful and miraculous ways. Yeah. Well said, man. And the thing about imagination too is, your imagination is limited to the degree that you're armored, to the degree that you're repressed. The more parts that you have access to, the more your imagination can expand, the more possibilities that are available to you. You know what I mean? If you're a hardcore people pleaser, and that part of you drives the wheel primarily, you're only going to see the world through that lens. But if you then go, oh, this is just a part of me, it doesn't have to be all of me, you can take it for its gifts, and then go, well, what's on the other side? Another part of me that cares about my self-growth, cares about what I want, where I'm moving in the world, my needs. And then it's like, well, when you have access to that, what's your imagination capable of from there? The same thing if a person leans more towards melancholy and depression, and that part of them is kind of driving the wheel. Your thoughts, what you're putting out there is going to be different than, oh, wow, I actually have the capacity within my psyche, within my body, to experience joy and optimism and excitement. Well, okay, from that place, where does your imagination take you? Your imagination is going to take you to a much different place than if you are just in the dark cloud all the time. (20:19 - 20:58) So it's not about repressing one for the other, it's about just having access to as much of our humanity as possible, because different situations call for different levels and types of imagination that's going to allow your life to manifest into what, hopefully, this deep part of you wants it to be. So it's interesting how it plays out that way. And when we talk about reality creation, it has to be embodied. It has to be full body. It can't be just this simple idea that is disconnected from your being, from your blood, from your bone. From your emotions. (20:59 - 22:22) From your emotional life. It can't just be, oh, I read this book, and I'm just going to sit there and think about it. Meanwhile, you haven't dealt with any of your shit. You're highly repressed. You're looking at the world from a limited imagination, from the spiritual self, let's just say, because that part has hijacked many, many people, and we just see it all around the world. So this is what we mean by inner work. It's like this level of nuance, this level of introspection, this level of self-understanding, and this is why you have to carve out the time for yourself. Sure, some people are privileged with more free time, but if you're not, you have to make the time. There are 24 hours in a day, and I guarantee you, and I could admit this to myself, how are you spending those 24 hours? It's very unlikely that all those 24 hours are just filled up with things that you just have to do. I'm sure there's some time that's wasted. I'm sure there's time that isn't being used as best as possible, so it's up to you. You have to be responsible and take a look in the mirror and go, this is my life. Okay, right now I'm working two jobs because I have to. Okay, do what you have to do, and in the time when you're not working those two jobs, are you moving the needle forward however you can? Yep, for sure, Brian. I say this line often, and it's not to be condescending, but there's truth to it. (22:23 - 22:56) The proof is in the pudding. What is the state of your life? When you look in the mirror, how do you feel? What is the state of your relationships? What is the state of your purpose and what you're doing in the world? If it's not at a place, if you're not feeling fulfilled and content about this, something has to change. The thing is, you have to change it, not your mom, not your dad, not your partner, not your best friend, not AI, not even a coach. (22:56 - 25:32) They can support you and they can guide you, but you have to do it. You have to have the conversations with yourself. You have to make the shifts and the changes. You have to go, you know what? This isn't working for me. Why am I at this dead-end job? I don't like this. Why am I not speaking the truth of who I am to the people closest to me? Yeah, I mean, the desire is a fundamental ingredient. If the desire is not there, then you're not going to change. Also, it's like, who do you admire? Whose path inspires you? I've been really into these certain Netflix documentaries lately. First, I watched the Arnold Schwarzenegger series. Then I watched the Sylvester Stallone documentary on his life and how he made it. I'm currently watching the Eddie Murphy one. All three of them, they share something very, very, very common, man. At an early age, they saw someone that they wanted to emulate, that felt right for themselves. That just manifested into this vision of what they ultimately became. They had a singular focus. There was literally, bro, as you hear all three of them talk, zero doubt as to what was going to happen in their life. Arnie, before he became world champion bodybuilder, his walls were surrounded by bodybuilder posters. He talked about imagining himself as a 15-year-old. He could hear the applause before the actual applause in reality happened. Eddie Murphy, he copied Richard Pryor, was his inspiration. He's like, I want to be famous by 19 years old. There's a zero doubt about it. Then at 19, he got his SNL gig and he changed the entire industry for Black actors. Sylvester Stallone got rejected from so many Hollywood studios, etc. He wrote the Rocky script. They loved the Rocky script. They didn't want him to be in it. He's like, no, this is mine. I'm the actor. He sold his dog, too. He sold his dog, bro. To have some money. That's how the story goes. I'm assuming it's true. No, he did. He did. He did. But to have that conviction at that point, to be so poor and broke, and someone at that time offering you, let's say, $25,000 for the script, and he's like, no, this is my story. I want to be part of it. That level of conviction. Yeah, man. He filmed and directed and produced and acted in Rocky 1 with a relatively zero budget. (25:32 - 28:12) Low budget. From all these studios. He changed sports in cinema. He changed that completely in terms of the paradigm. It's like, none of these people had perfect upbringings. I'm using baseline examples. I'm not talking about entire characters and how ethical and moral and integral they are on all fronts. I'm using examples here. These people didn't have perfect upbringings. They didn't have perfect paradigms growing up. Sylvester Stallone, he grew up in a very, very rough area of the Bronx in New York and had a very brutal upbringing, very brutal relationship with his father, etc. But for whatever reason, these people were able to cling to a vision, to use their will to hold one idea as the concentrated focus at the exception of all other ideas and just move towards it. This combination of desire, will, imagination. These are the higher faculties that we've all been gifted with, yet we just overlook them and we become despondent about ourselves and our lives because we're not educated to utilize them appropriately. But it's on you. It's on you now. You're here, you're listening to this podcast. How does it apply to you? Anything that you can hold in your imagination that you sincerely want to bring into fruition, I believe it's possible for you. Yeah, and especially when it's rooted in a deep knowing of what your gifts are, what your talents are, what you could bring into the world. Because there's a lot of delusional thinking out there. I'm not going to sit here now and be like, I know I played basketball when I was younger, but I'm 45. I can still make the NBA. I'm just going to hold the vision that I'm playing basketball, that I'm shooting the game-winning shot over LeBron James, and I'm going to be an NBA champion. That'd be delusional. But let's just rewind a couple of days. You got the Hughes brothers on the USA Olympic team against Canada. And the way I think Quinn, the younger, older brother, I think, said about his brother, the night before they were up, they couldn't really sleep. And he's like, hey, what are you doing? And he's just like, I've just been imagining. I've just been thinking about hitting, getting the game-winning shot in overtime. So he's there like two nights before. I mean, I'm sure a lot of people have that vision. It doesn't always happen. But again, it's that magic where skill and like you said, will and imagination come together and something awesome occurs. (28:12 - 28:39) Yeah. And I hear you. Obviously, there's a level of ridiculousness, but I do advocate for a level of delusion as well. It's like, how many people would have called the Wright brothers delusional? Like, oh yeah, you're going to get this plane in the sky. All right, guys. But that's different. That's different. Delusional as if that's still possible. But to them, no one thought it was possible. Sure. And I agree with you. I completely agree with you, by the way. (28:39 - 30:46) I'm not going to be in the NBA. There's no chance I could be in the NBA. I agree with you. And no one thought flying that plane by these two brothers who were just into experimenting, that was out of the realm of possibility. So what is logic? Because before the Wright brothers, it would have been considered illogical to think that you're going to fly a machine of that size. So like, is logic the barometer? You know what I mean? Because we don't know what is possible, really. No, we don't. But again, is that logic? Because if they're sitting there and they understand whatever thermodynamics and physics in a way that's different than other people, it's logical to them. It's just illogical to the people that haven't risen up to a certain level of understanding. That's my thoughts. I doubt they just like strapped together some wings and then were like, let's just throw this off a fucking cliff. You know, there was deep intention and logic and trial and error in terms of like measurements and behind it. It's just people couldn't see it at that time because they were at a different level. They were trusting intuition and they had belief and they had vision. Yeah, totally. But the perception of the world around them would have been that you guys are crazy and insane. And this is important because when you hold a vision for yourself, like the people around you, the herd, the crabs in the crab bucket, more than likely, they're going to tell you that you're being delusional, that that's not possible, that who do you think you are? Yeah, I agree. I mean, I've definitely been told that before in my life, you know, when I was living in a friend's closet in New York City, you know, after leaving my like suit and tie, like corporate hotel job, you know, because I was like, oh, I'm not into that anymore. I really want to start pursuing an acting career. I'm really into learning. And this is this is more of my path. This is close to my path. So I get that on that level. It's just I think there's different levels of delusion and like what's like true from oneself versus what's being projected on by others. (30:46 - 31:15) Yeah, I mean, it's true. And like the stories that you hear, like they're like insane, you know, like the things you can't limit yourself. I don't think in terms of what's possible, like if you can genuinely hold a vision in your mind and it's able to move to a place that's internalized and feels real, like your life can turn around in unbelievable ways. (31:16 - 32:11) Perfect example, two episodes ago, we interviewed Danny Wrench. I read his book, Dark Squares, How Chess Changed My Life. He grew up in a cult. He was anointed as chess was your purpose. And so from a young age, as he started learning about chess and even, you know, how the chess world was, he had this strong belief and vision that he was going to be the savior of chess, that I will save chess and I will bring chess into a more modern world and provide opportunities for good chess players to make a living as opposed to these brilliant genius chess players historically that are like couch surfing and just playing in tournaments for peanuts and like alcoholics. Like he was like chess can be something. It doesn't have to be what it was. And he's played a role in doing that. And so, again, it's so interesting to see people that have had a vision at a young age. I get it. Not everyone is anointed at age six and goes, I'm going to be a rocket scientist. I'm going to be an NBA player. (32:11 - 33:28) There are many people out there that are like, well, I have lots of interests. I don't know if I'm singular, singular focused. So your journey may look a little different than someone who got this spark at a very young age. So it's not about being these people. It's about getting inspiration from them and then seeing how does it apply to my life? Where can I bring a dose of that into my life, a dose of that obsession and focus and love and desire and see how it impacts me? You can take that as, you know what? I want to literally be the best mother that I can be. How can I hold a vision for having healthy, well-adjusted, dynamic, curious children? How can I learn? How can I set my game up? How can I heal my nervous system so I'm not impacting my children's lives through that process? So it's like you can apply this stuff however you want. Oh, you know what? I have a garden. How can I put all my time and energy that I have for this thing that I'm into to learn, to grow, to nurture the land, to add inputs in and take away that and see what happens? And then all of a sudden, wow, I just have all this abundance around me. So again, it's like we get lost in this. (33:28 - 33:37) Oh, it has to be this specific thing. I have to become a CEO or a celebrity or an athlete. And it's like, no, these are foundational principles that you can apply into your life. (33:37 - 35:04) Even if you start doing jujitsu at 60 years old and you're like, you know what? I became a black belt at 80. You know what I mean? Whatever that is, but it starts with a foundation of self knowing and really being curious about who you are or what makes you tick and what you're lit up by and what you're excited by and paying attention to yourself, paying attention to what you react to. Oh, that's interesting. Why did I react to that? Oh, I read this book. I'm so excited by this. Okay. Well, keep following that. See where it leads. For sure, man. And the reason the self-esteem piece is so important is because it requires perseverance. It requires you to remain committed and devoted to a mission despite things around you, not necessarily giving you the direct feedback. Oh yeah, this is unfolding super quickly and perfectly aligned and all the rest of it. It allows you to move through failures and setbacks and to get back on the wheel and to persevere in the process of living this life and of executing a vision. I think the story is like Colonel Sanders at his age and then he went on to build, even like Henry Ford, man, I think went bankrupt twice, failed multiple times. He essentially created the middle class in America, ultimately. (35:06 - 38:04) And I just- It's just, yeah. Story after story, man. We all have that seed. We all have that seed. And I just want to remind whoever's listening that that same seed also exists within you. You weren't born without purpose and you weren't born without a vision. And so be as curious and sincere about what you want. That's the starting point. That is the starting. You can listen to as many podcasts, read as many books, whatever it might be. But unless you know what you want, how are you going to move? Yeah. And again, being realistic to go, wow, I had so much pressure from my mom and my dad. I had so much conditioning from culture, from society. This might be some extra work I need to do to peel away those layers to really kind of tune in and hear that deeper voice within. And then from that place to then go, now, wow, I have to honor that. Which honoring that often means I might have to disappoint the people closest to me that have this idea and this projection of who I am and how I need to keep living my life. But then at some point, you stand up for yourself and go, no, I'm no longer continuing on that path. I'm no longer going to be that kind of person. I'm going to be the kind of person that honors oneself. I'm going to be the kind of person that speaks what's true to me. I'm going to be the kind of person that goes towards the things I'm interested in and I'm excited about, even if people think I'm delusional or silly or crazy to some degree. You know? 100%. I mean, that's the authentic path. That's the road, less travel. That is, it's classic. It's so classic. And it's- You go. Go. Now, as I say, I just have a memory of my own life. I finished college. I was fortunate that I made a decision to travel, which was really important for me because I traveled and I had time to read and reflect. But then I went out afterwards and I worked for two months in the hotel industry, thought that was going to initially be my path. I was going to rise a corporate ladder, be a hotelier or whatever. But then I decided not to, and I decided that I wanted to because I loved cinema, I loved storytelling and expression, I wanted to pursue an acting career. So I remember I went to tell my mom. I told her this, that I wanted to leave my job and blah, blah, blah. And she goes, what? You want to be an actor? You're so cute. You want to be an actor? She thought I was insane. Interestingly enough, when I went to tell my dad, I went to his restaurant to let him know that I was leaving the hotel business. (38:05 - 39:11) I don't know if it was then I was going to Greece for a bit, but whatever. I told him, and I was actually surprised for my dad. He goes, whether I agree or not agree with you, I support you. Which was amazing to get that from my dad. Fast forward some years later, my dad thought I was crazy and my mom was supportive. She's like, oh yeah, just do your thing. So it's just funny how things shifted even with them. But ultimately, they trusted me, but I had to trust myself first. And that's where it starts. And people aren't going to agree with you. But you have to have that conviction of that self knowing of like, this is the thing I want to do next. I didn't become a famous actor. I didn't. But that thing led me to the next thing. Yeah, exactly. When I look at myself now sitting here talking to you, and I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. Every choice point led to the next thing, to the next thing, to the next thing. Because it was like, well, I need to honor something deeper within me. (39:11 - 39:46) I need to make a shift or a change or take that course or leave or travel or whatever. Live in someone's closet and be made fun of. You keep talking about this closet story, Brian. Is this a literal closet that you lived in? Give us more detail about this closet, please. My dear friend had an apartment. He was going to law school. And he had a little alcove, like a little indentation in the wall where you would put like a small little dining room table. And he built a wall in there because he wanted me to live with him because we were close. Yeah. (39:46 - 41:10) And there was literally space. I put an egg crate pad on the floor. There was a little desk that Nintendo on it. We would play Nintendo against each other. But I put an egg crate pad on the floor and I slept on the egg crate pad. And I lived in New York City. And I went through the savings that I saved from my hotel job. And I was taking acting classes. And I was going to Central Park and reading books. And again, had time to self-reflect, to really be curious. And meanwhile, I had friends of mine from college. I went to Boston University. There were people that graduated there in New York, pursuing commercial real estate or moving towards being a doctor or a lawyer or whatever. And here I am living in the closet, have all this leisure time and then, quote unquote, pursuing an acting career. So it's like total black sheep. And it's like, what the fuck are you doing? You totally had a good career path set for you. But I don't care what I'm going to sit there feeling unsatisfied, not being lit up, not being excited, and just kind of accept my lot. Like, I guess this is the thing I have to keep doing. I guess I'll just keep doing the same thing, even though I wake up being like, what the fuck am I doing? Yeah. And how long did this closet phase last for? I like where you're going with this. No, like how long did you live in the closet for? Like Harry Potter. (41:11 - 41:40) Yeah, it was at least a year, year and a half. Wow. And then he ended up moving in with his, well, now wife on the east side. And so then I took over his whole apartment at a good rate just for another year. And then I think he sold or something. And then I moved to the lower east side, I think, before I left in 2008 to travel. Anyways, there's so much more to our life story. But yeah, it was about a year and a half. That's when you came out of the closet. (41:41 - 42:09) Yeah, that was so predictable. So predictable. Look at this, look at the little smile on his face. I wish for anyone who's just listening to this right now to go to hereforthetube.com and to watch the video version and fast forward to wherever we are right now. Just to see the setup, like the gears working in Joel's mind as he was trying, even though I called him out, I knew what he was doing. And then he still followed through with it. He still followed through. It was multi-progged. I did want more details of the closet because I've heard this story a lot. (42:10 - 42:52) And I thought I'd leave you there. Yeah, dude. I mean, that's the thing. This is the problem, bro. It's like the conventional educational system has failed. First and foremost, please understand and realize that fact. Because the reason that all of us, or not all of us, so many individuals settle for a life that feels eh is because we don't understand these foundational ideas, concepts. And we think that, oh yeah, this is good enough. This'll do. (42:52 - 46:17) Yeah, life's meant to feel a little bit eh. Even though I continue to wake up and just not really enjoy my life, enjoy my work, enjoy my relationships, this is just my lot. Like, fuck that. Yeah, fuck that. If that's where you're at and that's what you're experiencing, please, fuck that. Well, yeah. But then those are the moments when you betray yourself over and over and over and again. When you don't listen to that inner voice that's inside of you that's like, your life, what are you doing? What are you doing? That's the time where a lot of people lean towards substances to numb themselves because the pressure to live a more authentic, aligned life is so great and yet it's hard for someone to honor it. So it's like, I have to drink it down. I need to smoke a lot of weed to keep this stuff down. I need to distract myself in all these other ways. It's like, pain is a teacher if you allow it to be. But if you're constantly distracting the pain away, self-medicating the pain away, it's hard for it to be that teacher that it needs to be. Yeah. Module one, rise above the herd. You think these are random signals that you're receiving? Just random signals of, oh yeah, pain here, oh yeah, numb there, guilt here, fear there. You think- Anxiety there. None of that shit is random. But again, just the importance of education. You understand a basic level of psychology and you see yourself diverting to these escapist tendencies. For what reason? Again, curiosity is required at all times. I can't even imagine if in 2021, I just continued to push the boulder up the hill within the family business, within the dynamic that felt off, that wasn't working. And I remember, I've got a story similar to yours. I love my dad. I've got a great relationship with my dad as well. But as I walked out of that factory in 2021, the last thing he said to me was, you are never going to make any money without me. It was like, how do you take that? How do you receive that? For me, it was a little bit of Michael Jordan. I took that shit personally. You've got to use it. You've got to use everything. Because as you make these decisions to become more aligned, to become more authentic, to walk your own path, there are going to be forces around you that want to drag you back in, so to speak. And there's going to be forces that support you along this process. But fortune favors the bold. The more committed you are, the clearer you are, the more devoted you are. These benevolent forces conspire to show you that, yeah, this is the way. This is the path. There is energy flowing in this direction. Can you stay on the horse long enough to see the fruit of your will, of your perseverance, of your vision? Do you want education? Guys, I'm going to repeat it until the cows come home. But be clear about what you want. Be clear about your vision. Write it down. Get specific about it. (46:18 - 46:47) Immerse yourself in it. Have the discipline to read it daily, to go over it, to evoke emotions connected to this place. Again, people just pay lip service to these ideas that, oh, time is an illusion, etc., etc. You know what? On some level, it is. Because all the potentialities exist. If you can feel it, if you can see it, it can be made manifest. (46:47 - 47:41) But you need to have the discipline to execute the higher functions of your humanity. How many people are reading self-help books or reality creation books and then at every single day in, day out, have the discipline to sit with the vision, to execute actions alongside the vision, to turn the vision over and over and over and over and over in their minds, to let it sink into the deeper aspects of your subconscious and your being? Without that, nothing is going to shift. Nothing is going to change. This requires a fundamental shift at the level of self-concept and of paradigm. But you're here for a fucking reason. Like we always say, the life of your deepest possible dreams, where you feel fully expressed, where you feel lit up, where you feel on purpose, that is the birthright of every single one of us. (47:42 - 49:16) Do not abandon that birthright. For me, that is the greatest blasphemy that exists. Can you imagine if you didn't message me on Instagram? No, I can't. But imagine I didn't listen to that Unslaved episode. I don't even know, I don't even understand how many feeds... Well, imagine I didn't respond. Who's this fucking random person messaging me on Instagram? I went to your page. I was like, oh, there's something in this. I like who this person is. I like what he's about. Let's have another conversation. Yeah. But again, this is another testament towards this idea of the importance of perseverance. Because as Steve Jobs would say, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So things aren't going to make perfect sense as you're going through this journey of living the authentic life, of walking the authentic path, of bringing an authentic vision manifest into reality. Things aren't going to make sense. They don't need to make sense looking forward. It's like, just follow God's will, which in my opinion, is what are you authentically interested in? What is your deeper desire? Yeah. Or even just from a personal standpoint, I even think about what happened in 2020, and how my wife and I chose to live our life. And especially the things that I was saying online and connecting with other people. You speak your truth and you meet other people. (49:16 - 50:05) Then my wife and I are realizing that where we lived at that time, something fell off. We had been thinking about it for a while, like where's our next place? And then you honor that intuitive hit. And then you take the next step. And again, I've shared personally before, we ended up finding this really incredible locational astrologer that I recommended to tons of people. And then that provided some insight, or even let's just be more specific, affirmed something deep within me already. And then you make a decision. And then from that decision, something else opens up. And then it's like, oh, wow, now we can bring people together, something I've always wanted to do. But it wasn't just, oh, let's start hosting gatherings, but then not do it. It was like, well, let's actually do it. And then from that place, what happens from there? So it's again, it's like the vision combined with doing. And that's where the magic happens. (50:05 - 50:36) Yep. That's right. The doing cannot be understated. Because each time you do the thing, you strengthen this ability, you strengthen this function, you strengthen this intuitive faculty. Each time you get the vision, get the hit, and then ignore the doing part of it, you weaken it and you stunt it. Yeah. Well, you get instant feedback. You get instant feedback. Oh, wow, this is working. I'm digging this. I'm enjoying this. I like who I am in this process. I like what I'm feeling during this process. And you keep doing the thing. Yeah. (50:36 - 53:03) And so like social relationships and how that impacts one's life is extremely important to me. It's extremely important to me. And I've realized that through that process, many blessings have come into my life because I understand my value in that regards. And I take action in order to bring that more into my life. And I invest in relationships. I invest in giving towards others. It's not just take, take, take, take, take. How can I be of service? What can I provide? How can I give value to others? Because it's in alignment with who I am. Sure, I'm not sacrificing myself. I have a very clear line of what I'm willing to do or not. But there's a deep value within me that enjoys connecting with others, enjoys bringing different types of people together, people, bringing people together that share their values. And then here we are five years later. And it's like kind of incredible if I zoom out and see the different connections and the relationships and the friendships and the lives changed because of decisions that I made, decisions that my wife and I made together. And I'm not sitting here saying that to like, oh, look at me. Because again, it's like the Steve Jobs quote. I'm just looking about it in reverse. I wasn't like, oh, let's have gatherings so then people will like us. And then five years down the road, they're going to thank us and I'm going to feel special. I don't give a... I did it for selfish reasons, to be honest, initially as well. I want amazing people around me. I want to connect with people that share my values. And so it's really interesting just to see how that plays out. Yeah. And I mean... You have to answer the call. You have to answer that inner call. And it is a selfish pursuit. It is absolutely a selfish pursuit. Again, something that we talk about very often and we go very deep in, inside Rise Above the Herd. It's like we need a homeopathic dose of selfishness. We need a reframe of what selfishness actually means. Because this idea that being selfish and pursuing one's interests selfishly is a negative thing really is just, like I've said often, like an electric fence that is preventing you from living a life that's truly yours. And it's just deep and subtle programming. Well, not so subtle, but also very, very subtle. (53:03 - 53:39) Because you hear it. You can observe people. You hear it in their language and you go, where does this come from? Does it come from society? Does it come from schooling? Does it come from culture? But when you really honor yourself, honoring the self, the great Nathaniel Brandon book, what can occur from that? Now, you honor yourself rationally. You honor yourself healthfully, not let me be selfish and be a complete dickhead and asshole to other people where I just run all over people and step on them. No, that's different. Live an inspired life and inspire others to uplift their own life in the same way. (53:39 - 53:49) Let your life be a living philosophy. Let your life be a living testament to what is possible for the human being. That's what I think. (53:51 - 54:13) I agree. So before we wrap this one up, we want to share an announcement, a short notice announcement with you all. So I guess if you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you know, we're not kind of here for surface level takes or surface level conversations. (54:14 - 54:44) You know that we have a 10 week program called Rise Above the Herd, which helps you in the capacity of everything we've kind of discussed here today. But I want to now introduce you to Wrath Academy, something that is built in that same spirit. So Wrath Academy is a six-month live coaching container with myself, Erasmus, and the great Dr. Sophie Fletcher, PhD, Erasmus' wife and absolutely incredible nervous system educator. (54:45 - 57:12) Inside Wrath Academy is six months of weekly calls, real accountability, and a tight community of people doing genuine work on themselves. And at the core, we're talking about changing your paradigm at a fundamental level, upgrading your self-concept so you stop unconsciously capping what you believe is possible for your life. And you actually move towards becoming the kind of person with the capacity to hold something bigger. Now, who is this open to? Well, as of now, this is open to everyone, whether you've been through Rise Above the Herd or not. And the investment sits well below what a six-month container like this would normally command. So there's 12 spots remaining. We kick off March 1. If you resonate with this conversation, if you're able to hold a higher vision for yourself, then in the show notes, you're going to find the link to book a 20-minute call with myself and Erasmus. And all that is, is an honest conversation about where you are and whether Wrath Academy is the right next step. So we'll put that link in the show notes. We love you all. We hope you resonated with this conversation. We hope you got value from it. We hope that whether you take any further step within the Here for the Truth world or not, that from this conversation, you feel more equipped to go and execute a higher vision for yourself and to at least be curious about what you really want. Do you have any final words? No, I don't. Just keep doing your thing. Trust yourself. Listen to the inner wisdom, the calls that are coming at you. When you're alone at night in your bed, what's coming to you? What thoughts are presenting themselves? Pay attention. There's wisdom in that. Yeah. All right, y'all. Take care. Hey, guys, just a quick disclaimer regarding Wrath Academy. I mentioned it's a March 1 kickoff, but the first call isn't until the following week, and we are going to be enrolling in the week of March 1 as well. So if you feel the call, if you're hearing this episode at a later date, feel free to schedule a call the entire week. So click the link, check out the availability, and we'd love to connect with you.