0:00 - Introduction
0:31 - Political Talk and Bitcoin Views
1:41 - Travel as a Status Symbol
2:49 - Elon Musk's Parenting and Workaholism
3:42 - Christians and Olympics Stand
3:53 - Encouraging Children to Choose Partners
4:05 - Fair Elections and Definitions
5:04 - Spiritual Warfare in Christianity
6:24 - Relationship Talk and Regrets
8:03 - Discussion on Travel Culture
9:40 - Envy and Travel Experiences
10:21 - Seeking Admiration vs. Conscience
11:03 - Relationship Advice and Communication
13:00 - Standards of Honesty and Care
13:46 - Dealing with Financial Struggles
15:19 - Critique on Traveling Culture
16:21 - Children and Cell Phone Usage
17:15 - Experiencing Different Cultures
18:15 - Financial Realities and Independence
20:00 - Conservative Government Actions
22:11 - Affording a Family and Independence
23:52 - Coping with Financial Struggles
27:00 - Social Awareness and Empathy
29:00 - Financial Struggles After College
32:24 - Meetup Considerations and Challenges
36:54 - Humor as Defense Mechanism
41:06 - Navigating Bad Economies
43:12 - Meetup Viability and Costs
43:19 - Meetup Promotion and Notifications
45:23 - Appreciation and Encouragement
The episode delves into a variety of topics, from current events to personal anecdotes. The host talks about their experiences with difficult times, financial struggles, and job hunting after college during a recession. They also touch on the challenges of organizing a meetup, the disappointment of low sign-ups, and the financial risks involved. The host addresses the importance of humor, how it can be used positively or as a defense mechanism. They share personal stories and insights, emphasizing the impact of listeners' support and donations on the show's success and their future projects. The episode wraps up with gratitude for the audience's engagement and a reminder to visit freedomain.com for further support.
[0:00] So, we are supporters only. If you have any questions or comments or spicy stuff, this is donor only. Yes, yes, yes. We are now off the grid. It's now just us. The Jazz Club has turned private. This has been closed for a private event. And if you have any questions or comments, I am certainly happy to hear.
[0:27] And I don't think we can take any of that, right?
[0:31] Now you don't sorry i didn't realize political questions reserved for download you can ask whatever you want you can ask anything that you want i mean it's my choice as to whether or whether to answer or not it's my choice as to whether to answer or not what did you think of the bitcoin talk yesterday staff um i didn't watch it i just saw that uh trump said that he was going to fire that gary guy or whatever and got a big cheer it's really really sad i mean it's really sad that the bitcoiners have to you know just hope and pray that someone gets elected who's not so someone gets into power who's not following the elizabeth warren model so and the fact the largely free market guy gets it and the uh woman who claimed to be native in order to get dei hirings didn't didn't get it i mean that's always the opposite or the fact that you know men men get Bitcoin, women not so much, right? So, but yeah, I don't, you know, because I'm not following politics, I don't really, but it was really, I don't really follow politics because I'm not really talking about it. And so I don't do anything about it. And therefore I try not to spend too much time learning about it, if that makes sense. So, you know, just what I see as I scroll past.
[1:42] Pretty fascinating though, how the Trump assassination is just completely vanished, right like the j6ers it's going on year after year after year after year and the george floyd thing year after year after year after year and like within a week or two the whole trump assassination thing gone just gone the whole speech is worth a listen he promised to pick a panel from among them to make policies within 100 days and to have a national stockpile for strategic national security and that bitcoin would run parallel with money not instead of yeah great yeah good good stream as always hopefully this helps thank you lee i appreciate that, So, now they're saying that Trump is a coward because he doesn't want to debate Kamala Harris?
[2:34] Yeah. Yeah, Tommy Robinson did get arrested, right? For terrorism? I don't know what the story is behind that, but I mean, I generally assume it's quite unjust. What do you think of Elon Musk saying the woke mind virus took his firstborn?
[2:49] Also, why do you think he has so many baby mamas? Yeah you know it's a tough thing right it's a tough thing so elon musk basically said that he was conned into giving puberty blockers to his son and so on and.
[3:09] That's a tough call man i mean obviously a very smart guy very passionate guy good morals in a lot of ways but i mean he's got a lot of kids and it seems like he's a complete workaholic so i'm I'm not sure how much parenting he can actually do. So it's kind of funny, and maybe I've missed this or misinterpreted this, but he's running like three companies and isn't he also like maxing and bossing out in Diablo 4 and Elden Ring? Like that's a lot of that's a lot of time not parenting. That's a lot of time not parenting.
[3:42] Why don't Christians seem to stand up for themselves like with the Olympics case? Well, Christians are commanded to love their enemies. Right?
[3:54] Christians are commanded to love their enemies, All right What's the best way to encourage my children To choose a good partner in the future? Well, to have a good partner To have raised them with a good partner, right?
[4:05] Of course, sorry to be annoying But to have raised them with a good partner, Stef, do you think the USA will have a fair election? You'll need to define what you mean by the word fair.
[4:16] I don't know what you mean by fair Is it a fair election if, let's say, Biden says, I'm going to forgive half a trillion dollars in student debt? Is that a fair election? I don't know. I mean, if you say to people, if you vote me in, I'm going to tax the rich and give you the proceeds, is that a fair election? I mean, if you can't bribe the electorate, right, then what is the story?
[5:05] Christians fight a spiritual war. Tough love correction is part of love, too. But Christians, in many ways, though, Christians also... It's a friend of mine whose Christian said that Christians also are at their best when they are being persecuted. I haven't read Jason Lowry's concept of Bitcoin. No, I haven't, sorry. i honestly i don't i don't follow bitcoin that much either i don't uh i've i'm doing pure philosophy i'm doing parenting i'm doing call-in shows and i'm just resting from this massive labor of the peaceful parenting book a little bit so um if i'm going to do a show on bitcoin for some reason then i will research it but i don't follow bitcoin i mean i'll check the price whatever right But I don't follow Bitcoin on any particular basis, on a daily basis. I got to read up this, read up that. I mean, I've made the case for Bitcoin like 12 years ago. And so I don't really need to follow it. It's still got a great case and so on, right?
[6:25] I take the love your enemies in a different way than how it's generally thought about it love your enemies to me means to be grateful that they show you how much more virtuous you are well could be tommy showed the film the courts banned him from showing during the march yesterday, well I mean I my sympathies but I you know it's not a world I'm part of right, all right Stef I don't have a lot of time today to talk but at some point can I ask you something I dated a girl pre-philosophy and lived with her for four years and we broke up I'm 27 it's been three years now and I feel terrible that we aren't together to sum it up I feel a lot of regret and confusion on the breakup I was wondering if at some point we could maybe have a talk about it, Sure, sure, sure. I mean, why not just call her up and say, I miss you, get back together? Wouldn't that be the most honest thing you could say? Now, if she's with another guy, I get that's kind of awkward and you probably don't want to do that in some ways, but why wouldn't you just call her up? I mean, is she a mess? Is she like, was not a good person to date or whatever, right? We don't fight physically when God promises to show justice. Right. Right.
[7:52] Pretty tough love here equals Paul scribed 1 Corinthians 5.5 King James Version to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
[8:04] Let the world be destroyed their own, in other words. well isn't it wild so when I was younger, the predators were better camouflaged the corrupt and the predacious were better camouflaged now I mean honestly anybody who falls into this pit is doing so with every conceivable indication that what they're doing is bad or wrong everybody, it's so obvious and so clear and so on one right all right Stef why do you think some people who want to travel say things like i just need to get away and change it up is that they're not happy with themselves have a bad conscience or what again get away from bad people around them so travel is the modern fetish right it is it is travel is this thing that people do rather than think or be good.
[9:01] So travel is a status symbol now that people wave around rather than being good or being honest or being courageous. I've been to Bali, you know. Well, first of all, for women, it's saying that they're sexy enough that guys pay for them to travel. That generally is the way that they're talking about, right?
[9:25] And it's a way to appear interesting without having to think or be good. And travel is not something you earn, right? I mean, particularly for women, right, who are often paid for this, right?
[9:41] Guys will take them on trips or, you know, fly them out or whatever because they want to have sex, right? So it's not always the case, but it's often the case. And travel is what people do instead of growing morally or intellectually. They just move so that they don't have to put down any deep roots in virtue. And they think that they're interesting. And of course, travel has become quite a fetish now because you can generate a lot of envy by posting your travel pictures on Instagram or other places, right? So it has become a real status symbol.
[10:21] So in general, they are looking for admiration from others rather than a good relationship with their own conscience. And this sort of is a devilish deal, right? To be admired by others is to sell them your conscience, for the most part. And, you know, some people, I mean, if you're doing the right thing, hopefully I'm doing the right thing, maybe get a bit of admiration here and there for that. At least that's what people say. But, so I think I'm admired for some of my virtues. issues, but to be in search of other people's admiration, you have to appeal to their shallowest instincts and therefore Bugatti, right? And therefore you have a very shallow life yourself.
[11:04] All right. Don't call her up. That's a desperate move. Pauline, Pauline, Pauline. Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear pauline we don't do moves here just so you know i'm afraid that's a bit of a female way of looking at this a chess move uh if she's still single and it was a mistake to break up with her, then you call her and you say, I miss you. If she's still single and maybe it was, a good thing to break up with her, you can call her and tell her that you really, really miss her. And that way she knows that she didn't just vanish from your mind and your heart. She says, I find it sad and pitiful when my exes try to hit me up again. End right so bit of a female thing you are trying to judge the world according to your own experiences rather than objective principles right this is a bit of a chick thing to be perfectly honest with you right.
[12:20] So, my guess is that in the breaking up from the girl, he pretended she was less important to him than she was. And this was a first marriage. And I think he's unable to open his heart up because he hasn't told the truth to the girl about how much she meant to him. Even if they're not going to be together, she needs to hear the truth from him about how much she means to him. Because otherwise, he's probably crippled her self-esteem if he kind of wandered off without telling her how much she meant. and still does, right? It's a first marriage. It's a first marriage.
[13:00] So a desperate move is not the standard, right? A desperate move is not the standard. What is the standard is being honest. That is the standard. The standard is to be honest. Now, honest in an appropriate context, right? So if you're tortured about your ex and she's married with kids, you have to keep it to yourself because you don't want to destabilize her marriage, right? Because it's not fair to his kids, right? So the fact that you find it sad and pitiful when your exes try to hit me up again, you're now thinking that that is the experience of every woman because that was your experience. And that's a little bit solipsistic if you don't mind me saying so.
[13:46] Somebody says I lived in eight or so countries I went with my best friends And we built two businesses Over a couple of years Right out of college I found travel is mostly vapid In the way druggies are vapid But think they're deep Yeah, the constant travel Is really sad, If someone travels Outside of tourist zones It does help to see How different cultures live But those aren't Usually Instagram posts No, it doesn't No, it doesn't, What are you talking about? Are you saying that they'd go off the beaten path in Morocco? Like, I remember in Morocco, I was there for Y2K. I went with a friend of mine. I went straight from doing business for a couple of weeks in China to traveling in Morocco for 10 days. I didn't see English for well over a month. And when I did that, I remember once I climbed a hill in the desert and looked and there was a village kind of far off. I walked towards it and I observed everyone in the village in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the desert, way off the beaten path. What did I know? I don't speak Arabic. I don't know much about Islam. I don't know the culture. I mean, I'm just looking at it. but what do you get to learn about another culture by looking at it and not speaking the language or knowing much of the history or interacting with the people?
[15:07] It's like thinking you're Charles Darwin because you went to the zoo. Doesn't make any sense. You don't really get to see much about other cultures.
[15:19] I mean, there's some exotic stuff and interesting stuff and all of that, but does it really matter?
[15:26] Don't call her. Move on like a man. Pauline, come on. No. Don't do that. Don't do that. That's wrong. That's wrong. Don't do that, Pauline, at all. You don't get to define what a man is. And calling him unmanly for not doing what you want is really negative. And don't do that. Don't do that kind of stuff. A real man would, like, honestly, any quality man, if you say, move on like a man, I'm gonna, I'm a woman and I'm projecting my own experiences onto you and I get to define to you what masculinity is, it's like, no, you don't. You don't get to define what masculinity is. You're a woman. I won't define femininity for you. You don't define masculinity for men. That is a terrible way of communicating, and it's really nasty. Honestly, don't do it.
[16:21] What age do you think children should get a cell phone, if at all? I mean.
[16:29] It depends on the kid. It depends on the circumstances. senses. If you have a bunch of neighborhood kids and they're all planning their get-togethers on phones, then you can get a cell phone, right? You just get a cheap cell phone, maybe just text only or whatever, right? But I think the question isn't, yes, and are they allowed to just have their own cell phone and do whatever they want and search for whatever they want, right? I mean, you know, put your protection and child-proofing stuff on as best you can, but I think mid-teens maybe, Maybe mid-teens.
[17:15] Yes, it does to experience different government styles. I'm not sure that you experience different government styles by visiting a country. Unless you're having to go through the regulations and pay the taxes. And like, I don't know. Do you have free speech? Like, I don't know. I interact with locals when I travel. Okay. Good for you. That's nice to hear. That's nice to hear.
[17:42] Yeah, I'm so cultured and developed because I've been here and there. I've seen this amazing thing and that, yeah. And traveling is passive. You're just looking at what other people are doing. It's like saying you're alive because you're watching a movie. You're acting because you're going to an art gallery. There's nothing wrong with consuming the work of others, but traveling is, what are you doing? Are you creating the planes? Nope. Are you designing the ships? Nope. Are you building the roads? Nope. Are you selling anything in the bazaar? are you creating? I mean, you're not creating anything. You're just wandering around looking at stuff. It's incredibly passive.
[18:16] That's just why the people who do it are so boring. Didn't you learn about New Zealand? I'm not sure what you mean. I don't understand what that means. Did you learn about New Zealand? Oh, is this the false dichotomy stuff? When I'm saying you can't learn much about a culture by just passing through, Are you saying, well, didn't you learn anything about New Zealand?
[18:47] Oh, that's funny. The people who turn bell curves into binaries are really tragic. They're really tragic. They're really tragic. A real man would date a single mom. Oh, yeah, like that small penis energy women. I'm not saying this is true of this listener, but didn't you learn about New Zealand? Yeah, but would I say I truly understand Kiwi culture? No. All I learned from New Zealand was that the media is dishonest and the government is pretty aggressive, that's all. What do you think of the government there now? I will tell you very honestly that I do not spend a lot of time following the politics of New Zealand. I kind of wrote off the place when I had to half-fight my way out of the airport. I like backpacking Backpacking up into the mountains And sleeping like a hobo The sense of accomplishment And also the peace of being up in nature Kind of lonely at times though Yeah, so before the show today I went for a nice hour long walk through the woods And talked about my life It was really nice.
[20:01] Conservative government trying to balance the books right now. They're undoing some cultural heritage department stuff, yeah. Some government styles make you grateful for your own preferred government style. But all governments, most governments have pluses and minuses, right?
[20:26] Let me ask you this. would you be interested in a deep dive into the collapsing birth rates, just out of curiosity would you be would you be interested in that i find it quite interesting, because either it's so what i hear is i hear either well it's a complex mishmash of this that and the other which doesn't really make much sense to me or i hear uh it's one thing And one thing only, and I'm sure it's not quite that as well. Okay, it's good. Maybe I'll work on that. I find the, because it really is wild. I mean, isn't it amazing that in North Korea and South Korea, birth rates are collapsing. You have a relatively free market society, and you have an absolute hellscape totalitarian human prison society. And, you know, I mean, very much the same demographics. It's not a multicultural society, so that variable is removed. And so both in North Korea and in South Korea, you have collapsing birth rates. Isn't that wild? Isn't that wild?
[21:45] So, okay, maybe I'll put that on the list. Yeah, it's a wild situation. It's a pretty wild scenario.
[22:11] All right. It's to the point in this country it's hard to afford a family. No, I don't believe that. I don't believe that. Oh, no. Okay, here you get your donor rant.
[22:31] Frack off when it's so hard to afford a family. No, no, that's not the case. Case what is the case is that children have grown up in relative luxury a lot of y'all grew up in, condos or small homes or medium homes or maybe even large homes you grew up in the suburbs you grew up with a car or two and you grew up with a nice you grew up in a nice environment with positive things and then what happens is when you get out into the world and you say oh my gosh Gosh, rent is very expensive. Yes, rent is very expensive. I get that. I get that. But you are comparing what you can make and earn and do and achieve in your early 20s with what your parents were providing to you in their mid to late 40s. So guess what? When you move out from your middle class parents' homes, you're going to be poor. I don't know why that's hard to figure out. Your parents were poor at your age, and you're poor at your age. So once you get off mommy and daddy's infinity middle-class suburban titties, you've got to make your own milk, and that's kind of tough. Oh, my gosh.
[23:53] So, I mean, I know some people, their kids are moving out, and it's like, well, what do you mean I have to have a roommate? It's like, well, because you have roommates when you're in your 20s, early 20s, because you're broke, because you're just starting out your career. So you're going to be broke. So I asked, but living in the city is so expensive. It's like, yes, yes, living in the city is very expensive. But now you can get remote work, and you can live in the country. And I don't know why you would choose a job that requires you to live in the city because that's just a way of paying crazy rents and mortgages, right? So you would aim towards a career which has some mobility where you get to work outside the city, and maybe you come in once or twice a week if you have to, but you can do some laptop stuff. But yeah, you grew up in comfort, and you then have to be broke, and that feels like, oh my God, I can't afford anything, thing and it's like well welcome to your parents life at that age too look all these young people and say i can't afford to rent an apartment on my own and i'm 22 years old it's like yes that's true, that is what that's what it is to be 22 years old you're broke, oh my gosh, i mean i lived i lived for a year in one room with another guy i didn't just have roommates like we We shared an apartment. I had room. It's like we shared a room.
[25:22] Couple of socks on the door from time to time. But we shared a room. Did I sit there and say, oh, my God, I'm so broke. I'm so poor. I'm never going to be able to afford a family. No, you're broke. Just as your parents are broke at that age. And their parents are broke. And everybody's broke in their 20s.
[25:44] Man. I'm never going to be able to afford a house. Okay. Well, not in the city. I get that. So then move out the city. I get that. Oh my gosh. Yeah, most of my friends were broke. A guy I was friends with, I actually had dinner with him a week or two ago. He's the guy I lived in the same room with. A guy lived in an abandoned school bus for a year. Yeah, he was broke. I get that. So is it deeply shocking that when you move out of your middle-class parents' household and start making your own life that you're broke? I don't understand. I mean, I do understand. So for me, you know, I grew up poor. So for me, I didn't particularly mind being broke because that's how I grew up. Like every dollar I made went into the family and all that, except for the computer I bought, which was actually kind of important for my career as a whole. But yeah, you're broke. Yeah, I get it. I get it.
[27:00] Pauline says, pardon me, Lee, sorry, rude of me, I literally have no saying in your situation. I hope you and Stef figure out a good outcome to your struggles, yeah. Could it be that North and South Korea are both promoting depopulation? No, no, the leader of North Korea is begging his children, his people to have more children, as is South Korea, so. No, the housing bubble will be averted through, the housing bubble bursting will be averted through immigration, right? I grew up with rich parents and was very lonely. Was envious of my best friend who grew up with lots of siblings and they were poor. The money is good, the quality time is five times better. Oh yeah, no, I've known a lot of people. I've known a lot of people who grew up in rich households and one of the things that's quite common with rich households is the parents are workaholics, so they're not home a lot. Live outside. Even small towns have surface jobs to pay for schooling. Somebody says, oh, James says, I shared a room with a guy for a year after college. I rented a room from a family member for a year or two, and then I was able to move out on my own in my mid-twenties. Yeah. Were you, quote, friends? Sorry, are you saying that because I shared a room with a guy, we were gay? Is that... I don't understand. Is that a... I'm not sure if that's a joke or not.
[28:21] Um... It was a three-bedroom apartment, five people. but one guy slept in our shared computer room. Yeah, for sure. For sure. The independence was the trade-off of being poor for a while. Oh, yeah. I'd much rather have moved out, right? So the problem is, so the people who have the really comfortable households have a tough time moving out. So they have better childhoods and worse 20s. The people who have crappy households have a much better time moving out, so they have worse childhoods and better 20s. I mean, everything. I'm not saying it all balances out, but...
[29:00] How old were you, Stef, when you started working and all your pay went to your family? That's so rough. I mean, I didn't keep my own money. For the most part, my pay went to my family. I was 10 years old when I got my first job. Joke. I don't understand the joke. Like, if you're so poor that you have to share a room with a guy, why would you pile on somebody going through those difficulties by also saying, were you gay? That's... Isn't that strange?
[29:33] Do you know what i mean like it wouldn't you not say that might be just a little bit of a smidge of a lack of empathy i was so broke i had to share a room with a guy, gay you know what i mean like that's not particularly compassionate i just wanted to mention that um so it's not particularly funny uh if that makes any sense how is the meetup looking uh not great yeah it's not great so this is part of what i was saying in the public extreme about how people are very enthusiastic and then so people were very enthusiastic about the idea of a meetup and then i quoted a price for the meetup that was kind of break even um i think it was 295 and half price for kids um and that's kind of a break-even price uh it's not a money maker it's kind of a break-even price and um we're not we're just not getting the kind of sign-ups that make it worth the financial risk. So it probably isn't going to happen, but we'll see. We'll see. Sorry, Stef, quoting an Ewan McGregor thing. I don't really understand that.
[30:51] Whether you're quoting an Ewan McGregor thing or not, whatever that is, it's still not particularly compassionate.
[30:59] People don't put their money where their mouth is. Well, you know, whatever, right? I mean, it is what it is. And, you know, there's pluses and minuses, right? There's pluses and minuses to it all. And I understand it, right? I mean, you know, even if it's like $2.95, which is not, because, you know, I'll be providing all the food and entertainment and, yeah, we'd have a tent and all kinds of cool stuff. And so I'm not like doing some big moneymaker. But I think if people say, well, if they got to travel and maybe three or four members of the family and then you got a hotel and all of that. So YouTube thing, you would not have seen it. Okay. Okay, so you quoted an Ewan McGregor thing about being gay, and you knew that I wouldn't have seen it, so why would you quote it? Again, just curious, right? I'm just curious why you would quote something when I'm talking about a difficult time in my life where I was so broke that I had to share a room with a guy for a year. And if you knew that i wouldn't have seen it i again you're still not providing any particular compassion right i mean you don't have to say anything or you can say wow that's tough you know it's tough to be that broke right uh where would the meetup be uh florida it was in florida central florida.
[32:24] Yeah, and you know, these things in life, it's very rarely obvious how you should proceed. It's very rarely obvious, right? I mean, it was with my wife and all of that, but it's often not really obvious how you should proceed. So, for instance, it's not like we got no signups, and it's not like we got enough that it was a no-brainer. So, it's kind of an edge case, right? It's right there in the middle where, you know, if people do sign up and we get some more, then it could be good, but yeah. It rattled around in my mind and I spat it out. I did not think ahead. Right. So I'm just pointing out that that's an interesting habit to examine in yourself. Right. Do you think about the effects of what you're doing on others before you do it? Or do you just blurt and then what? Right. Because it's a little careless, right? I mean, you should be careful to some degree. I'm not saying paranoid, but you should be careful about what you say. Especially if it's not even your own words. I think you should be careful about what you say. And if somebody is expressing a grave difficulty in their life, making a vaguely insulting joke from a reference they've never heard of is just odd, right?
[33:31] We could get a hotel block, maybe make it more affordable. Yeah, I know, I get that. I get that. But that's just more work and more risk, right? right so um and i was you know i i like i like the uh meetups and all of that but the reality is that, let's see here usually i am, okay.
[34:05] Stef, were you still broke after finishing college? Why do you think you couldn't get a job? Did you graduate into a bad economy? Any tips to navigate bad economies? Oh, yeah. No, it was brutal, man. I graduated in, I guess, 1990 or something. It was a huge, catastrophic recession. Like, there was no jobs. There were no jobs at all. Oh, I mean, well, see, I mean, I had lots of waitering experience. People weren't even taking resumes. The waitering, the restaurants were doing so badly. People weren't even doing resumes. They weren't even taking resumes. And I got a job weeding people's, I used to go to the job board, right? That'd be a job board. And I would go there. I got a job weeding someone's garden for a couple of days. I got a job, somebody's grandmother was visiting and they had no time to take her around. So they paid me to take her around to various places. And I did that. I washed people's cars. I did a whole bunch of stuff, right? So yeah, it was brutal. It was brutal. It's one of the reasons why I went to go back and do my master's, which was a wonderful time in my life. I really looked, I was totally broke. I was living in a room with five other, I was living in a house with five other people. But so one of the reasons I went back to do my master's was the economy. It was just in the crapper.
[35:29] So, any tips to navigate bad economies? I mean, have some savings so you don't have to make absolutely desperate decisions. Thank you. I appreciate that tip. I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you so much. So we'll close off in a few minutes. If there's anything that anybody else wants to ask, I'm certainly happy and thrilled and overjoyed and eager to get there, to get your answers. You guys are the supporters. You are the donors. You mean the world to me. And whatever I can do to make your lives better, I am eager and keen to do. And don't forget freedomain.com slash call to help out the show. Okay, I assume people understand the same jokes and memes that I have experienced. But why are you doing jokes and memes when someone's talking about a difficult time in their life? A, and B, you already said that I wouldn't get the reference.
[36:35] So, listen, if you've made a bit of a social faux pas, and we do it, like I do it, Lord knows. I mean, my entire career is built on social faux pas. So, if you made a bit of a social faux pas and you made an obscure joke that was vaguely insulting to someone who was talking about a difficult time in their life, it's not the end of the world. But, you know, I'm not going to, oh my God, you're bad, you know, it's anything like that.
[36:55] I'm just trying to say that um it's important to look at the habit and say okay when i was upset how did people deal with me right so how you deal with others is how people dealt with you in the past usually like until you get over uh childhood stuff right so um the question is when you were growing up and you talked about difficult times or you had difficult times did people just make jokes and not care and and so on or like so that's that's the issue right that's the issue i didn't think that far ahead right the issue is not that you made a particular joke the issue is why make a joke about something that was difficult and unpleasant for someone that's my question.
[37:48] Is insulting someone and putting a smiley face at the end of the message a bad habit oh yeah yeah if you insult don't insult people just just don't be with them if they're that bad right, incidentally i did have the same thing leveled at me when i was at school yeah for sure and i but that's why i don't take it personally i just wanted to point it out, i'm so bummed that i first heard of the meetup as it was canceled it would have been pretty cool but to be honest I could not guarantee I could go right now manufacturers yeah for sure, 91-92 I was in grade 9-10 but old enough to see my parents friends devastated by it the dad worked, as an accountant for an agricultural company forced retirement just before his pension fully paid in his mid-40s they had run a dollar store yeah it was brutal it was brutal yeah the early 90s was rough man, they had three kids two teens and a near teen child yeah Yeah.
[38:47] I'm sorry. Somebody had a tip and a question. My apologies. If I missed something. I've not read the book, None Dare Call It Conspiracy. I've heard of it. I've just never read it. If that's your, if it was that your question, how can you figure out when someone is using humor as a weapon or a defense mechanism, as opposed to using it in a positive way. So the way that you figure out when somebody is using humor in a positive way is it makes you feel better. Right? So there's a famous scene in the movie with Sally Fields, where the daughter dies, Julia Roberts, gosh, what was it called? Not fried green tomatoes, something else. But in that, Sally Field has sort of a famous monologue, which is worth watching. The movie is worth watching, where she's really outraged and upset and angry, and then her friend makes her laugh. And she genuinely laughs, right? Steel Magnolias. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've seen it in the movie theater. I saw a play done by... Actually, it's funny. I saw the play done by teenagers, and they did a fantastic job.
[40:00] So... The way that you know that people are using humor in a positive way is it's positive for you, right? It's positive for you. Now, what happens, of course, and I'm not saying this is true with the listener here, but what happens a lot of times is people are, you're talking about something difficult. People make a joke that's negative and then you say that's negative for me and then they say you can't make you can't take a joke learn to laugh have a sense of humor about yourself why so serious blah blah blah blah right so um i think we're going to decide today and uh it's not they're not looking good unless there's been let me just see here i don't think there's been any new signups. No. So, um, yeah, I don't, I don't think it's, uh, I don't think it's going to happen. Helmet hair. That's all I remember from that movie.
[41:07] Yeah. Don't buy any tickets. it so um i so it's only when i and and nobody like i have not said it's absolutely happening as i've been gathering information that's where we want to want to have it go so all right, 9-11 happened the day before my master's thesis was due i had to ignore it and work through, uh what would you calculate as the total cost to put on the meetup um probably about 25 thou $25,000 to $30,000. The movie is Room with a View. The movie's called Room with a View where the big challenge was authenticity and honesty.
[41:58] How many do you need to make it viable? Oh, I'd have to check my spreadsheet and all of that. But the problem is, is that people will commit. Some people will drop out. Some people will not pay, right? So what I do is I look at, just so you know how, because I planned a bunch of conferences before, both in the business world and for FDR. So what you do is, US, so what you do is you say, how many people are interested? That's the first cut. And then how many people are committed? And then how many people will actually pay, right? So we've got the first level, and there's been a drop-off from how many people are interested to how many people are committed. There's been a drop-off, significant. And then there's another drop-off from how many people will actually pay. So you kind of have to just work those numbers, right? Because otherwise, it's pretty tough. And honestly, enthusiasm is really important for me. So if, for whatever reason, there were a bunch of cancellations and we didn't have a big meetup, it would be tough to be positive and enthusiastic about that. So you need around 1,000 people signed up? No, no, not that high. I don't know where your math is going. I'm not sure what your math is doing. So no, not 1,000. All right.
[43:13] So. And, of course, I am sort of aware, too. It is sort of, it's for the community, right?
[43:20] So the problem with meetups as well just by the by the problem with meetups is that people spend a lot of money on meetups and therefore there's less they're less available to donate because the meetup is not a donation because it would be mostly a break break even right but uh so the problem is as well people spend and it's totally understandable it's not anything negative to the audience but people spend a lot of money on the meetups in terms of flying out and hotel rooms and renting cars and stuff so there's just less available for donations so it would have to be something that would be really a certain and positive thing and you know nobody likes to fight enthusiasm and is it working and are enough people oh dear another person canceled is it going to be okay oh no now we're losing money and blah blah blah and all of that did you send out any emails about it i don't remember seeing that uh yes we sent out to the newsletter we sent out to subscribe star uh i posted here i i just uh uh i put out on locals uh and with email notifications.
[44:13] And so uh it's mostly been for donors um but um yeah and i've talked about it on live streams and and we've got a url set up and all of that so um i haven't gone you know full bore publicity on it but i wanted to see if we could populate it mostly with donors first and so on right so for i think obvious reasons so yeah i mean if you if you have notifications turned off then you're not going to get notifications right sorry i mean that's just uh Just the reality. Yeah, we've put out a whole bunch of announcements on the various platforms for donors and you're all donors. So if you're not signed up for email notifications or instant notifications, then you won't get them. And I understand that. We all have to manage our notifications, right?
[44:58] All right. Well, listen, guys, thank you so much for a great chat today. I really, really do appreciate it. I love you guys for your support. I really, really appreciate it. And I hope that the feedback that I give to you is never with hostility or contempt or negativity. It's always designed to be encouraging. And if it's any consolation to you, I know it can be a little bit of a sting to get a correction, but I do it to myself as well. I do it to myself as well.
[45:24] I hope you give it at least a couple more days before you call it off. Well, The problem is, though, that if we're not getting more sign-ups, there's really not much point. Thank you, Joe. I appreciate the support. I appreciate the tips. And I will try to figure out my next project. I have some ideas, some ideas, but we'll work on it from here. All right. Lots of love, everyone. Thank you a millionfold if you're listening to this later. Of course, freedomain.com slash donate. Freedomain.com slash donate to help out the show. Super appreciated. I will talk to you soon. Bye. Thank you.
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