Start The World

John Sonmez is the man behind @Bulldog Mindset -- a large and growing community of men working to better themselves physically, socially, and financially. John started out as a nerdy software guy, then worked to become a millionaire, retire at 33, and transform himself mentally and physically. Now he spends a lot of his time coaching other men. I met John recently when he spoke at the @21 Studios convention in Orlando, and he's the real deal. We talked for an hour about philosophy and some of the problems men face today, but one part of the conversation that stood out was his story about "becoming a finisher." A lot of guys have great ideas, but end up leaving a trail of unfinished projects behind them.

Mentioned : Seneca's letters to Lucilius

https://bulldogmindset.com

@Bulldog Mindset

Instagram @ bulldogmindset

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Trainer and speaker Alexander Cortes had a wild 2020. He was on vacation in Egypt as the lockdowns started. He ended up flying to Thailand and decided to live there for the rest of the year, where he trained Muay Thai under Sagat. We also talk about Ancient Greek training, training outdoors, and much more.

To purchase AJAC's research into Ancient Athletics, follow this link:

https://gumroad.com/l/UKOld

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Support this podcast, the growing mailing list, and get early access to new content and offers via Patreon.

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Warming up to start recording the audiobook for Fire in the Dark by reading this grim but perhaps uncomfortably relevant poem by Lord Byron.

Darkness

by Lord Byron

I had a dream, which was not all a dream.

The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars

Did wander darkling in the eternal space,

Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth

Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;

Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,

And men forgot their passions in the dread

Of this their desolation; and all hearts

Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:

And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones,

The palaces of crowned kings—the huts,

The habitations of all things which dwell,

Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd,

And men were gather'd round their blazing homes

To look once more into each other's face;

Happy were those who dwelt within the eye

Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch:

A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;

Forests were set on fire—but hour by hour

They fell and faded—and the crackling trunks

Extinguish'd with a crash—and all was black.

The brows of men by the despairing light

Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits

The flashes fell upon them; some lay down

And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest

Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smil'd;

And others hurried to and fro, and fed

Their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up

With mad disquietude on the dull sky,

The pall of a past world; and then again

With curses cast them down upon the dust,

And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds shriek'd

And, terrified, did flutter on the ground,

And flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes

Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd

And twin'd themselves among the multitude,

Hissing, but stingless—they were slain for food.

And War, which for a moment was no more,

Did glut himself again: a meal was bought

With blood, and each sate sullenly apart

Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left;

All earth was but one thought—and that was death

Immediate and inglorious; and the pang

Of famine fed upon all entrails—men

Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh;

The meagre by the meagre were devour'd,

Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one,

And he was faithful to a corse, and kept

The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay,

Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead

Lur'd their lank jaws; himself sought out no food,

But with a piteous and perpetual moan,

And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand

Which answer'd not with a caress—he died.

The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two

Of an enormous city did survive,

And they were enemies: they met beside

The dying embers of an altar-place

Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things

For an unholy usage; they rak'd up,

And shivering scrap'd with their cold skeleton hands

The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath

Blew for a little life, and made a flame

Which was a mockery; then they lifted up

Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld

Each other's aspects—saw, and shriek'd, and died—

Even of their mutual hideousness they died,

Unknowing who he was upon whose brow

Famine had written Fiend. The world was void,

The populous and the powerful was a lump,

Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless—

A lump of death—a chaos of hard clay.

The rivers, lakes and ocean all stood still,

And nothing stirr'd within their silent depths;

Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,

And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd

They slept on the abyss without a surge—

The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,

The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before;

The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,

And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need

Of aid from them—She was the Universe.

I met Elliot Hulse last year at the 21 Convention and was psyched to have him on the show to talk about why he wants to make men strong again. We discussed the importance of strong father figures, myth, and the concept of chaos vs. order in life and in society -- especially relevant now that chaos seems to be running wild in cities across the nation. We also got to talk about current events, and I highly recommend his video "The American Mind Virus" to get an introduction to where his head is at these days.

The American Mind Virus

https://youtu.be/6oUYP6uj3EQ

https://elliotthulse.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/elliottsaidwhat

Instagram: @elliotthulse

Dr. Mathias Nordvig is an Old Norse scholar and author and you can follow his work on YouTube @Mathias Nordvig . I invited him on Start The World to talk about masculinity, heroism and leadership in the Old Norse lore, and he shared a few of his favorite examples from the Hávamál, but we ended upo having a long and wide-ranging discussion about the character of Odin, the nature of Thor, the questionable place of the Vanir in the lore, and how there is no racism or race preservation implied or suggested in the lore, or in heathenry itself.

Web site: https://nordicmythologychannel.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathiasnordvig/