Q&A: Becoming A Dad, Favourite Peptides & Red Rising

Self-Improvement Fatigue [00:00:00]

• A growing sentiment of fatigue within the self-improvement space is observed, possibly due to uncertain futures, AI, and geopolitical instability.
• Content that emphasizes "fuck your feelings, just work harder" can feel like a burden, leading to overwhelm.
• The speaker aims to balance self-improvement with more relaxed formats, like roundtable discussions, to avoid making it feel like another task.

  "There is this like self-improvement fatigue that a lot of people are dealing with and also very grind sloppy content of fuck your feelings, just work harder."

Financial Shifts [00:01:30]

• A notable shift in financial interests from slow investment strategies (401k, dollar cost averaging) to "get rich quick" schemes (Calci Poly market, vibe betting) has occurred over the last 12 months.
• This short-termist trend might be contributing to a broader desire to avoid long-term thinking, even in self-improvement.

  "And this year, over the last 12 months, the biggest financial niches have all been get rich quick, make money in no time, Calci Poly market, like vibe betting your way to a quick million dollars."

Relationship Loneliness [00:03:00]

• Feeling lonely 90% of the time in a relationship is a significant issue, regardless of whether the partner is intentionally distant or just busy chasing dreams.
• Trying to convince oneself that the situation is okay by focusing on the partner's positive attributes (e.g., work ethic) while feeling lonely is counterproductive.

  "I don't think that you should be trying to use your brain to convince your heart and your gut and your body and your emotions that you feel a different way to the way that you feel."

Breaking Up [00:04:30]

• A happy relationship should not involve feeling lonely 90% of the time.
• Loving the potential of someone rather than who they actually are can lead to misery.
• A direct conversation with the partner is advised, stating the feeling of loneliness and the need for change.

  "And if that's the case, you need to choose one or the other. I deserve to feel better than this."

Achilles Rupture [00:07:00]

• The speaker fully detached his Achilles tendon playing cricket in mid-2020.
• While a severe injury, doing it during a pandemic minimized the feeling of missing out on life's activities.
• A diligent one-hour morning routine focused on rehabilitation was key to regaining full capacity, mobility, and strength.

  "The only reason that I have full capacity in my Achilles now, full mobility and full strength, is because I was so diligent with it."

Physical Atrophy [00:09:00]

• After rupturing his Achilles, the speaker experienced significant muscle atrophy in his leg within two weeks.
• His quad and lower leg muscles had disintegrated due to the inability to put weight on the leg.
• Seeing the drastic difference between his injured and healthy leg was terrifying.

  "It is mad. You know when you see people in wheelchairs and you go, wow, like their legs look so skinny."

Mental Recovery Resources [00:10:00]

• Reading "The Obstacle Is the Way" by Ryan Holiday and "The Art of Resilience" by Ross Edgley helped during recovery.
• Watching the documentary "Resurfaced" about Andy Murray's hip replacement also provided inspiration.
• These resources were suggested by friends who had experienced similar injuries.

  "All of these were suggested by friends who'd been through other horrendous injuries and come back from it."

Podcast Setup During Injury [00:11:30]

• A special podcast recording setup was created with the foot elevated above the heart.
• The laptop was placed on the crotch, creating a "full blowjob angle" for recording.
• This allowed the speaker to continue producing content despite the injury.

  "I made a special podcast recording setup where my foot was elevated above my heart and I put the laptop down on my crotch."

AI Debate Episode [00:13:00]

• The next debate episode will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Participants will include Zach Kass (pro-AI), Liv Burry (moderately skeptical), and Arik from 80,000 Hours (quite skeptical).
• The aim is to bridge the gap between entry-level and highly technical discussions on AI.

  "I'm going to see if these guys can bridge that gap so that no matter where you're at on the AI pilled understanding debate, you can get a really good insight in a single episode."

Tour and Live Shows [00:15:00]

• Tickets for the UK and Ireland tour are available, with many dates sold out, including Dublin.
• The new show is called "Mostly Wise" and includes Q&A and meet-and-greets.
• The speaker encourages submitting stories, first dates, or life hacks via chriswilliamson.live/stories for potential on-stage discussion.

  "Dublin's sold out so congratulations Max for getting tickets but chriswilliamson.live all of the tickets are available on there as they are limited."

Hair Growth [00:16:30]

• The speaker's hair changes because "hair grows."
• He describes his hair as having the "follicular constitution of a golden doodle."
• He humorously notes he has only two hairstyles: very short or curly.

  "I had long hair at the start of the year I shaved it off I've got long hair again long for me ah I haven't subjected you to the afro yet."

Beliefs: Caution vs. Risk [00:18:00]

• A belief in "err on the side of caution" once protected the speaker but now confines him.
• This led to scrutinizing decisions, moving slowly, and avoiding rash life changes.
• The speaker now aims to move with more gut feeling than head, accepting that this may lead to more mistakes.

  "But I read this line from Sasha Chapin earlier on today and he talks about how it's an intolerance for risk and what people call planning a lot of the time is just catastrophe fantasization."

Chronic Illness and Mold [00:21:00]

• The speaker is still dealing with mold issues, which are difficult to eradicate.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) at 104 degrees Fahrenheit felt like a significant step change.
• Chronic complex illnesses require slow detox, binders, saunas, HBOT, sleep, and consistent effort.

  "It is slow detox over time it's hundreds and hundreds of saunas using binders it's hbot sessions it's morning walks it's getting enough sleep and it's just like putting pennies in the jar over and over."

Health Struggles and Shame [00:23:00]

• The speaker has kept his health struggles private due to feeling embarrassed, worried, or ashamed about being perceived as someone always complaining.
• He doesn't want to be a "shit hang" or make his health problems his entire personality.
• Running "Modern Wisdom" and fixing his health are both full-time jobs.

  "I kind of got I kind of started to feel a bit embarrassed or maybe worried or ashamed about being the guy the guy that's always got a health problem going on and is always whining always complaining about it."

Ambition and Little Moments [00:37:00]

• The speaker advises against taming limitless ambition, suggesting it's a phase that will pass.
• He advocates for embracing ambition and enjoying the ride, rather than being in conflict with it.
• The difficulty in enjoying little moments stems from always looking ahead or comparing oneself to an ideal, creating a gap.

  "Just let it climb inside of you and wear you like a fucking parasite like a skin suit just what if you didn't have to push back against it."

Originality of Ideas [00:42:00]

• The speaker believes originality is "undetected plagiarism" as all ideas are influenced by experiences and prior knowledge.
• He sees himself as an aggregator and curator of thoughts and insights, filtering them through his own perspective.
• Learning from the mistakes of others is preferred over learning from one's own mistakes.

  "Originality is just undetected plagiarism because everybody is inspired by their experiences."

Ambition vs. Insecurity [00:45:00]

• The outcome of actions is what truly matters, regardless of whether ambition is genuine or driven by insecurity.
• Genuine ambition stems from loving the work, while insecurity-driven ambition comes from a fear of inadequacy.
• The speaker identifies his own biggest indication as running away from something versus running towards something.

  "I get it, it doesn't feel the same from the inside but so many people have more pain than they do pleasure especially in early life."

Advice Not Taken [00:48:30]

• The speaker admits to giving advice he doesn't always take himself, such as "shit is probably not going to go anywhere near as wrong as you think it is."
• Worrying is a "horribly useless way to spend your mental energy."
• He acknowledges needing reminders and suggests that telling others the advice can serve as a personal reminder.

  "And worrying is a horribly useless way to spend your mental energy and no amount of anxiety is going to make any difference to anything that happens."

Future Role and Fatherhood [00:50:00]

• The speaker anticipates his role evolving towards fatherhood, with a desire for "golden life and dad life."
• He aims to build a "couple of golden retrievers and three kids" as a significant win.
• He is excited about the "unrelenting father content" he will produce, focusing on healthy and toxin-free products for children.

  "I want to become a dad I can't wait to become a dad like I've got full on preparatory dad brain."

Manosphere and Andrew Tate [00:52:00]

• The speaker denies being solely a "manosphere type guy," noting that online algorithms categorize him variously.
• He views extradition to the UK for Andrew Tate as a serious matter, given a potential case waiting there.
• He humorously compares Trump's "best guys, wonderful guys" phrasing to legal team introductions.

  "I'm either the middle of the manosphere or a gateway drug to dangerous ideas or a blue pilled cuck feminist and it literally just depends on which algorithm on Twitter that you're looking at."

Hairline and Genetics [00:53:30]

• The speaker asserts his hairline is holding strong due to genetics, referencing "James Smith's haircut" as purely genetic.
• He humorously states that one person in his company has to have a good hairline, and it's not him.

  "I'm like William Wallace it's not going anywhere I'm afraid much to James Smith's chagrin it's not going anywhere."

Peptides and Health [00:54:30]

• The speaker uses peptides like BPC-157, TB-500, Thymosin Alpha, and SS31, primarily for health recovery and immune support.
• He notes that TB-500 and BPC-157 were helpful after his Achilles rupture.
• He warns about the prevalence of counterfeit products in the grey market and advises caution.

  "BPC 157 TB 500 thymosin alpha and SS31 so recovery and gut more recovery because I had a tooth extraction a little while ago and I'm trying to regrow a bone in my face."

Book Recommendations [00:56:00]

• The speaker has two reading lists at chriswillx.com/books and chriswillx.com/morebooks, totaling 200 books.
• "Red Rising" is a top recommendation, along with "Dungeon Crawler Carl" and "The Precipice" by Toby Ord.

  "There's fucking 200 there so chriswillx.com/books and chriswillx.com/morebooks."

Protein Shakes [00:57:00]

• He uses Momentus whey protein, sourced from grass-fed, non-GMO European cows.
• For ready-to-drink options, he recommends Pioneer Pastures RTDs, made from A2 milk.

  "Momentus their way is money grass fed non-GMO European cows healthy NSF certified like Olympians can use it really great really clean."

Modern Stressors [00:58:00]

• Modern life is more stressful due to a nervous system designed for predators now being concerned with social isolation and smaller issues.
• Ancient survival threats (bears, cold, crop failure) are absent, making smaller anxieties (group chat exclusion, ghosting) feel disproportionately large.
• The lack of ancestral stabilizers like strong families and communities in a meritocracy exacerbates these feelings.

  "I think the problem is that we have a nervous system that was designed for bears and is now concerned with isolation socially and it's it's not updated."

Podcast Growth and Focus [01:01:00]

• The speaker emphasizes maintaining his own focus on idea generation, guest selection, and conversation topics as the podcast grows.
• He believes outsourcing these core elements can signal the decline of a show.
• While reading time has been squeezed, he finds that even short articles can spark great ideas.

  "Keeping myself in touch with coming up with ideas choosing the guests and working out what I want to talk to the guests about that really is the core of what I do."

Meditation Retreat Takeaways [01:05:00]

• Jhana meditation, distinct from mindfulness, involves inviting emotions in rather than pushing them away.
• Goals can be seen as "contracts to self-criticize until we succeed," leading to misery if success is delayed.
• Forgiveness is "choosing to no longer suffer the things that you cannot change," including self-forgiveness.

  "Goals are contracts to self criticize until we succeed like running away from a monster that never gets tired."

Decision Making and Wounds [01:08:00]

• Best decisions often come from the heart, with the head executing them, not the other way around.
• Suppression is not the same as strength; wounds may require ongoing work, not just aging.
• Experiencing a period of not knowing if things will get better can foster humility and empathy.

  "Your best decision making does not come from your head for most of the important decisions in life your heart decides and then your head makes it happen."

Transitioning Out of Loneliness [01:11:00]

• Be gentle with yourself if socially inept after a period of isolation; it takes time to find like-minded people.
• Don't judge too quickly; a refined palate (or discernment) means fewer options, which is not a sign of failure.
• Celebrate reaching a new stage after making significant changes, as growth often requires repeating this process.

  "If you're coming out of it presumably that means that you've started to feel some reintegration with people that are like the person you're becoming or you have become."

Becoming a Man [01:14:00]

• There's no need to "speed run" becoming a man; the 18-24 period is for exploration with fewer responsibilities.
• A good man is defined as someone who knows where he's going, is having fun, and is comfortable in his own skin.
• This definition should be filtered through wisdom, ensuring goals are not achieved exploitatively.

  "I don't think you need to speed run becoming a man dude I think we spend most of our childhood unable to wait to become a grown-up and most of our adult years trying to become a child again."

SIbo Treatment [01:16:30]

• SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) is a common gut malady, often treated with antibiotic protocols.
• The breath test determines if it's hydrogen or ethanol-based, guiding the treatment.
• SIBO is considered relatively easier to treat than H. pylori and Candida.

  "SIBO for the people that don't know small intestinal bacterial overgrowth it's one of the most common gut maladies."

Confidence and Silence [01:18:30]

• The speaker has gained confidence in speaking with guests, contrasting his early nervousness with current comfort.
• He highlights the ability to sit with silence in conversations as crucial for allowing guests time to think and for creating a better dialogue.
• Nodding silently, rather than speaking during pauses, is a learned skill that improves conversational flow.

  "And just the reps of sitting down in a room I'm speaking to Elon at the moment I'm back on Rogan at some point soon and sure that'll those will give I call Rogan the final boss of my social anxiety."

Inner Work vs. Outer World [01:13:00]

• The mismatch between inner work and the outer world catching up is painful because external validation is sought for the hard internal work.
• Faith is needed during this period, and celebrating milestones externally can help make inner work feel more real.
• The difficulty and uncertainty are part of the process, the "entry price" for achieving dreams.

  "The reason that it's painful is that you're constantly looking to the outer world for reassurance that the work you're doing is worth it."

Role Evolution in 5 Years [01:19:30]

• The speaker anticipates a significant shift towards fatherhood, aiming for "golden life and dad life."
• He hopes to build a "couple of golden retrievers and three kids" and expand his company, New Tonic.
• He values the podcast's ability to foster deep conversations and bring people together.

  "I want to become a dad I can't wait to become a dad like I've got full on preparatory dad brain."