February 7, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode, Karol Markowicz is joined by Shane Schleger, a poker player and writer, who shares his journey into poker, the evolution of the game, and its strategic elements. They reminisce about their friendship and discuss the broader life lessons from poker. The episode concludes with reflections on gratitude, connection, and the importance of self-awareness in relationships. The Karol Markowicz Show is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Wednesday & Friday.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Marko Wooz Show on iHeartRadio.
I saw this tweet yesterday from a guy posting what
his friend put in their group chat. The tweet is
one of my friends, drew eight figure net worth, mid thirties, handsome,
sharing his feelings in the group chat tonight. Trying to
reel him back in, but he's got some good points thoughts.
(00:29):
And then this is the text in the group chat.
The friend writes, I hate talking about TV shows. I
hate getting a drink. I hate waiting for them to arrive.
I hate getting canceled on. I hate thinking maybe she's different.
I hate wanting to be nice knowing she's banged a
guy who treats her like shit. I hate pretending she
has something she can teach me. I hate holding in
(00:50):
my parts when she's over. I hate listening to her
political feelings, not her thoughts. I hate having to make
every single move or decision while being judged by someone
who has nothing to offer me. Okay, A lot of
the comments to this said that it sounded like the
guy just hates women, and maybe that's true. I want
to give him the benefit of the doubt and say
(01:11):
it sounds like he's dating the absolute wrong women for himself,
just the idea that she has nothing to teach him
and nothing to offer him. If that's true, it's really
on him because he's dating the completely wrong type of
woman For men. They get hung up on looks, but
not just always she pretty. She has to be beyond pretty.
(01:34):
She has to be extremely beautiful, an eight or above,
even if the guy is not an eight himself. So
there are going to be sacrifices, and the sacrifice for
a lot of men is they end up dating these
dimmer women who, yes, maybe have nothing to teach them. Again,
this is all giving him the benefit of the doubt
that he's not just a raging narcissist. But looks are
(01:58):
not the same as attraction, and what this guy is
discovering is that while he may like the way these
women look, he ultimately does not find them attractive. That's
the main takeaway. Men should have treat looks as part
of a package. Attraction is the main thing in a relationship.
I think it's so important. It's what separates friendship from
(02:21):
something more. So ask yourself if you're really attracted to
this woman or you just like how she looks on
your arm, or how jealous your friends are, or how
much better looking you feel when you're with her. They're
not the same thing. That's not attraction. The other issue
is the preoccupation with the woman's past. This whole she
(02:41):
slept with men who treat her badly, therefore what you
should get to treat her badly. There's a sense that
nice guys finish last, and women only settle for these
nice guys after they've been run through with all the
bad boys. I'm not condoning any of that, but what
I see in real life is women meeting men they
(03:01):
think are good, that they hope to have a future with,
and finding out along the way that they're not. They're
already hurt from that experience, and now the so called
nice guy also wants to hold it against them. It's wrong.
The real saving grace for this guy is that he's
in a group chat. That means he has friends, and
so he has people who can tell him the truth
(03:23):
about what his problem is or what he's attracting. That
isn't working. The fact that one of those people refers
to him by his net worth and posts the chat
on the internet not the best, but it's a starting point.
People who have trouble meeting other people have to turn
to the ones they trust in their life and ask.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Them, what am I doing wrong? Why am I.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Choosing these people that don't work for me? It might
just be bad luck. I really believe in that. I
think a lot of the things we think is skill
is actually just luck. I'll say I've never dated a
bad boy. I've never had someone treat me bad, and
I don't think it's because I'm super skillful. I think
it was just my luck. And it could be that
(04:07):
you're picking the same kind of person over and over again.
It's not luck. You're trying to fulfill something in yourself.
Ask your friends, then work on changing that. Thanks for listening.
If you think I got something wrong, or if you
have a question of your own, email me at Carolmarkowitz
Show at gmail dot com. I love getting your emails.
(04:27):
I love all your questions, so send me a line.
Carol Maarkowitzshow at gmail dot com. Coming up next and
interview with Change Lager. Join us after the break.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
My guest today is Change Lager. Shane was born in
New York City in nineteen seventy seven and living in
California in two thousand and five. He has been writing
semi professionally since age seventeen, playing poker professionally from age
twenty eight. And that is how we met. Hi, Shane,
Hi Carol. How are you so nice to have you on?
(05:00):
You are one of my best friends? And well, yeah,
I know you get to get told that on air,
and I'm so happy you're doing this because you're awesome,
and I think this conversation is gonna be great.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Thank you, Carol. It is, I mean, sincerely, a blessing
to have known you all these years, and you know
I got nothing but love for you and your family
and happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
One of my favorite stories about you is that I
first saw you. I knew who you were like as
a poker player, but I refer to you as my
last independently made male friend that I saw you tam. Yeah,
platonic male friend, right, They're all platonic, so.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
As the definition of friend Schubert.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
So, I saw you commenting on a poker forum and
I thought you were really funny, and I direct messaged
you something that you know, as an old married lady,
I could never do ever again and we became friends
from there, and you know, it's been a long and
excellent journey.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think we actually share that sort of I don't know,
knack or talent. Like there have been a few people
in my life that whether I like their radio show,
let's say, or even like this great reggae singer I
knew from a song who I wound up meeting Judask
and Artafarai. I feel like there's a similar vibe there
where it's just like you reach out to someone who's
(06:29):
work or presence you're aware of, and then you become friends.
And that's that's definitely one of the blessings in my
life to have met some people through the airwaves and
brought them into real life. So I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I feel like people do it less because there's, like
I don't know, maybe a stigma attached to being the
person who like contacts somebody and says, I just love
your work. Can we like be friends? But I've made
a lot of friends that way. I've made a lot
of friends who have contacted me or who I've contacted.
I think that's not a bad way to be see
somebody's work online and think that they're cool and send
(07:04):
them a note.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, for sure, and I mean it. You know, people
might be surprised how eager the other side is to
sort of interact and get things going. And yeah, with us,
it's just been like I remember what I think is
the first day we met in Vegas and you know
I met your brother. Yeah, yeah, so totally. But I
(07:27):
think you're actually, yeah, you're kind of like a queen,
a queen pin of the of that of that art.
Like you just you just have a sort of very
you have an ease of meeting people throughout the world.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So how did they get into poker? What's the what's
the Shane Poker origin story?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Well, when I was very when I was quite young,
probably just twenty one or so, like I visited my
oldest childhood friend from New York City. He was living
in Albuquerque, and there were there was a casino. There
was still a tent at the time called Sandia Casino,
and uh, I played like the lowest stakes seven card
(08:08):
stud that you could imagine, and played it terribly. It
was just a gambler and sort of remained that way
for you know, like about five six years. Hit a
streak when I would like actually before proker. I was
playing black jack a lotco in Atlantic City, not not advantage,
you know, and then a couple of things happened. I
(08:30):
met a guy out here at the tennis courts, uh
who introduced me basically to the New York City like underground,
underground ish poker scene. And this was all sort of
the rounders that already happened, and online poker was just
about to happen. It was right. It was right before
Moneymaker wound up winning the World Series of Poker, and
(08:53):
like I wound up going to know.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
An amateur named Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker,
that's his real name, and kicked off this huge poker boom.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So yeah, there was a you know, a confluence of
things that contributed to the poker boom money Maker. You know,
the heavy coverage on ESPN, the whole card cams where
you could finally you know, see every hand that every
player was playing. And then you know, meanwhile in New
York City there was a very active semi underground card scene,
(09:25):
especially this place called PlayStation, which was like on Fourteenth Street,
on the second floor. That's why I say underground sort of.
It was on the second floor it wasn't underground, but
I had some early knack for poker tournaments. Turned out,
I was like, you know, before I really knew what
I was doing, I was pretty good at poker tournaments.
(09:47):
They would run like two poker tournaments a week, forty
dollars buy and plus thirty dollars add ons. You could
walk away with like two three thousand dollars. You know.
I remember going to like the Virgin megastore with like
a big handful of like small small bills of buying
some DVDs. And then I met really some chess players,
you know, like Greg Shahati and Yakov Hirsh a few
(10:12):
guys who were basically like very confidently making a transition
into professional poker. And so that kind of became a
revelation like, oh wow, you can actually, you know, turn
this into a profession. And they they had a big
edge early on because they had the chess background and
they just they sort of approached things with the strategic
(10:32):
and you know, ev expected value minded approach, and so
it was it was they who opened up you know,
that awareness to me. And then I started playing on
Poker Stars, and one thing led to another, and you know,
at two thousand and five, I had one or chopped
a pretty decent sized tournament at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.
(10:54):
Actually it was it's kind of a crazy story. I
was in the middle of a poker tournament and met
my future wife and we wound up moving to LA
in two thousand and five. Honestly, it's all a little
bit of a blur. I would have to actually like
look at the like the Hendon mile record to tell you.
But by two thousand and five, I had.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
To meet somebody in the middle of a porker tournament.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
So I was playing an eleven dollars rebuy and poker stars.
This was back when. Yeah, it was like I don't
remember what time it started, maybe eight pm like, so
it started really late and probably went to like four am.
It was like eight hour tournament, and I, uh, you know,
usually I would like order some food from the diner
in Park Slope, and I decided to, like, you know what,
(11:40):
I want to go out and like have some good food.
I went to Blue Ribbon, where I was still working.
I was basically about to quit Blue Ribbon and go
full time poker. To answer your question, I had my
friend take over that poker tournament, which subsequently would maybe
be considered like an ethically ethically dubious Not really though,
(12:02):
I mean not really, but it's it's the story as
it happened. I had my friend, I said, listen, can
you play this tournament for me? Can you log in
for me?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I got to go meet my wife.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I got I gotta go get some food and Blue Ribbon.
But like you know, I put on like a nice
shirt and went to Blue Ribbon and just ordered some
food to go. And then there was a woman sitting
at the bar and I was just like, is this
seat taken? And YadA, YadA, YadA. I call my friend back.
I was like, you're gonna have to finish this poker
chairs for And that's how that went.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
That's such a great story. And I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Met like that, really, I never told you that one.
So yeah, that was around December. It was December tenth,
two thousand and four, and by the following August or so,
we were living in Los Angeles. And yeah, it's honestly odd.
I can't quite like, I can't remember where we were
living when I made my first World Series of Poker
(12:58):
final table, but that pretty sure it was two thousand
and five, so we were actually probably not quite in
LA and I don't remember when the commerce win was.
I want to say that was also two thousand and five,
but I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Bill. Do you still love poker?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
That's a good question. I think I do. You know,
right right now, I haven't played in a few months
because I've had a whole handful of whole slate of
personal family things going on, which we can get into
or whatever. I do love poker, especially for the people
(13:36):
I've met, the lifestyle it affords us, the mentality. Poker
has become a much more sophisticated game, and so I
struggle with some of the love that it takes to
succeed nowadays. Like it's it seems like there's like you know,
with game theory and other like very advanced strategic elements
(13:59):
coming into like there's there's there's a there's a league
of players who are very enthusiastic about that and really
like find the love in dissecting the strategy. Me I'm
more just like trying to keep up. And again I'm
more like I love the zoom the zoomed out parts.
You know, I'm not that guy who's like, I just
(14:20):
love the competition, you know, I love this and that
it's you know, I think I still got it, and
I think I can like adapt low enough to beat
tournaments even in twenty twenty five, and I'm eager to
continue to improve my game. But so it's you know, yes,
I I do love it. I love the community. I
love the experiences and you know, basically the the free
(14:45):
thinking nature of poker players and the sort of unconventional
thing that you have to get with to succeed at
the game.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Do you think it's more mainstream now or was it
more mainstream in the Chris money Maker years, Because I
feel like everybody plays poker now, like a lot of
people that you wouldn't necessarily.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Think back then it was a huge fad, but now
it's more just omnipresent. It's you know, I think the
World Series of Poker nowadays seems more fun and more vibrant,
or as vibrant as it ever was. Yeah, since since
they moved, this was my impression, you know, since they
(15:23):
moved to the strip, and you know, look, Chris Moneymaker
is still crushing, which is pretty cool. It's like you say,
as an amateur who helped lost the boom. Well he was,
he would know he is, but but just just to
bring your you know, he's now he's crushing at some
of the highest levels, so.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
He's a full on professional now. But I recall like
there was, you know, just that first World series where
you're watching him play and he doesn't know it's his turn,
and he's like just very much amateur. But it was
very endearing, and it was it was kind of nice
to watch somebody who knew how to play but really.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Did not have that much practice, you know, and everyone
was a bit unpracticed by then, you know, we were
all in the sort of wild West. But keep in mind,
you know, for Chris Moneymaker, just to get into that tournament,
he had to win another poker tournament, right, so he
had some natural skills. And I think actually it speaks
to the possibility that, you know, he's kind of a
(16:21):
naturally great poker player because he's still crushing poker tournaments
over twenty years later and at a much higher level,
Like he plays like some of the highest high rollers. Yeah,
and like he's a guy that doesn't necessarily probably need
a poker tournament to secure his income. He's got endorsements.
He's got his own poker tour anyway, props to Chris Moneymaker,
(16:44):
but you can get him on the podcastle he doesn't
need a pr for me. He's got a luck. He's
got a whole machine going. He's got his own poker tour.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
So one of the things that you and I always
kind of went back and forth on. I was a
very pro New York New Yorker. I loved the city,
and obviously three years ago we left, we moved to Florida.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Very publicly.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I have my my my deep issues with New York now,
and you were always this la guy California all the way.
You had like a whole defense of San Francisco. At
one point in our friendship that I.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
First surely, Oh, I love choosing.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
It wasn't that recent. It was like, I don't know,
a bunch.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Of years ago there, No, it was three or four
years ago when I move, you know, I thought.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It was just this wonderful place, and I was like,
what about the human poop? And you were like, I
don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Oh well, it's like, go ahead, ask me about the
immigrants in New York City right now? Like you know what,
you know, what they mostly are looking for. It's like
a five star rating on Uber. You know. It's like,
you know, there are parts of San Francisco that resemble
New York in the eighties. Yeah, but we were here
in the eighties, like, you know, even as a chuch,
(17:51):
Like look around the corner from where I am right now,
there were very you know, Fifteenth Street and Seventh Avenue
were hookers and fish nets. I remember that from my childhood,
you know. I think I think actually Trump was is
credited with sort of cleaning up the block when he
started building in the area. San Francisco, you can absolutely
(18:13):
walk around and see the most horrifying sort of like
elements so of human condition, you know, people shooting up
drugs in front of the State, in front of like
a Staples. But like it's also a magnificent city. No
city combines. We'll get to New York in a second,
but as far as San Francisco, there's no city that
quite integrates like urban everything is in with like beautiful nature.
(18:38):
And I think Golden eight Park is almost like objectively
like just way better than Central Park. And I love
Central Park. Wow. As far as the New York goes look,
I had the irrational devotion and like a city kid
sort of pride thing, and uh. And then I moved
to La I'd always dreamed about that. I didn't have
a driver's license. You know. My wife was my then
(18:59):
girlfriend eventual wife, who's from California. She would be driving
me to poker tournaments, you know, in Bell Gardens or whatever.
And I think at that point I developed some bristoliness,
some caustic sort of feeling towards New York, like what
are we doing in that jammed up city? And I
(19:23):
do think there's also like a provincial element, especially to
kids who grew up in Manhattan where we hardly even
know what goes on across the Bridge of Brooklyn, you
know that famous New Yorker cartoon where it's like Outson
River and then like West Coast, like we don't know
what's going on. But then it was more like, look,
there's an easier way to do this. It's called Sunshine
(19:45):
State or the Golden State, or you know, there's an
easier way to do this. And at the time you're like, now, no, Shane,
I'm New York for life in the New York till
I of course you've caught up and now I'm here
having actually a great New York City run.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
So you know, you've warmed to New York somehow.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
In the in the coldest winter I've ever experienced. Uh yeah,
it's a I'm enjoying like the best New York City
run I've had maybe ever, you know, with the benefit
of maturity and and still knowing really well how to
get around the city like I was. I was a
messenger for a long time, a bike messenger. I'm having
(20:28):
a lot of fun, you know, knowing how to access
all the things I need to and and I really
have to say, New York feels more peaceful, more tame, more.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
You know, this is a very unpopular opinion.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right Uh you know, I'm not here to be contrary.
And I'm telling you like, like, because I've been here several.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Times controversial takes change.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
This is not a controversial this is actual, like you know,
empirical sort of sample, because I was here several times
during COVID when there was a sense of like malaise
or chaos or you know, and I don't know, I
don't know what has changed. And of course I understand
that people are you know, occasionally getting lit on fire
(21:17):
on the subway. Sad. Look, that's been going on forever.
This is a city with millions of people. But really,
like even the driving is passive now, like it used
to be. Just to like across the street as a
teenager was a death sport, like you versus the cabs
that was, like everyone drives very passively. There's a you know,
(21:38):
and even like you know, the bike lanes, people have
figured out how to use them finally. And but I
was here during COVID when it was you know, it
felt like really gnarly. It felt like will the city
kind of collapsed into chaos or you know, or like
there's a sense of menace. There was a sense of
menace that right, and you just don't feel that right.
I don't feel that right now at all. And I'm
(21:59):
not confined to one neighborhood I am. I've been everywhere
from Chinatown to you know, Morning Side Heights since November
when I came here to help out my dad. And yeah,
I just have to say I think whatever enforcement levels,
I think the city is in a good place right
(22:21):
now as far as yeah, as far as liveability and
walk around ability, and like I'm the craziest guy for
blocks around most nights. You know, it's like I'm walking
down the street like singing it crossing the street. There's
no one on the street. It's like in other words,
I'm walking home on like sixty third and ninth Avenue
(22:42):
at you know, eleven pm. I'm singing, I'm dancing. There's
just no one around. But even when there are people around, yeah,
I'm the one there. I'm the one there they're concerned about.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
What do you worries?
Speaker 2 (23:02):
What do I worry about? As far as like, uh
could be anything, you know, I worry about the human soul,
you know, the survival of the soul. There's a few
like let's I worry about let's say the White Walkers
whatever the White Walkers represented from Game of Thrones or
(23:25):
this is one of my favorite movies, Dark City, where
an alien race called the Strangers come to basically inhabit
our planet and try to mine our soul. And I
you know, so like and in Game of Thrones it's
like there's all these internacy conflicts between kingdoms and peoples
(23:47):
and families, but really there's yeah, there's really an existential
threat that threatens all of it. And so whatever that is,
it might be the phones or AI or whatever it is,
that threat the fabric of our human existence is what
I worry about. But you know, I have the serenity
to accept things that are out of my control. But yeah,
(24:10):
so you know, you gave me a little chance to
prepare that question so that.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Your answer sounds vaguely religious.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Uh, you know, I'm not. I'm not a religious so
I know, well, but I don't know about that. It's
it's it's more about the human condition, I guess, And
just yeah, just sort of like escaping the matrix is
what I worry about, or like not not letting the matrix,
(24:41):
you know, drag you down, and just just yeah, getting
along well with with people. And you know, I'm not
worried about it on a regular basis. But yeah, if
I had to, like, if I had to cite my
one existential concern, it's along those lines.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
What advice would you give sixteen year old shine?
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I have some prepared for this too. Of course, I
will quote nas from the song in between Us. He says,
I try to give someone advice, shoot dice, do plenty
of shit, because in this life, how many you get?
And I mean I would correlate that to if I
was talking to sixteen year old me, I would say,
you know, take risks, be bold even if you know,
(25:21):
like there are things that I wish I had gone
harder on even though we're risky. I think I would
also tell my sixteen year old self, like, you know,
manage your hubris. Like the sooner you realize that you
don't know anything, it's like the closer you'll get to
eventual happiness or eventual like understanding of what you do
(25:41):
know and understanding of yourself. And I would also say, listen,
just relax, like eventually you'll find a woman, just like
work on yourself. It's totally possible to find a nice
partner and to still be attracted to her twenty years later,
which I feel like is something that we didn't grow
up with that attitude. It's like, you know, you're you know,
(26:03):
you're necessarily going to get tired of your part you know,
but no, yeah, I catered that one to you could
have started that with. But yeah, but it's sincere. You know,
like my wife and I was kind of like love
at first sight, and twenty years later, I'm honestly more
attracted to her, And that's.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Just right, that's so beautiful.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Marriage is complicated, We've gone through lots of different things,
but that what I stated is true.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I love that. So one of the questions I used
to ask all of my guests last season of the show,
which made fun of me for NonStop because you listened
to the show, which I.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Really appreciate, longtime listener, first time calling.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
But I used to ask all of my guests what
do they think that they've made it? And you would
just mock me, mercy, see if you'd ask if you're
so amazing? What problem with that question?
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yet not? It's almost like an anachronistic kind of like format,
like like what does it even mean?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Well, I could mean anything to anyone. So now I'm
gonna make you answer it. Shane, you made it?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Have have you? I mean you? I think you feel
like I have. I feel like you have.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I feel amazing about you know where where I am
career wise, I feel amazing when where family wise. But
beyond all of that, and I know this is going
to be cheesy, but I you know, being an American
was such a lucky break for me that I think
all of this is gravy, like it could have all
been so much worse. And yeah, I've made I made
it really early on.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Well. So first of all, before I answer your question,
let me say I'm truly proud of you because I
saw you grind this up. I mean, without without at
all changing your personality or really doing anything different. I've
just seen you work and work and work and like
steadily rise to where like you know, you just know
yourself so well. And to what you're saying about being
(28:00):
an American, I made it in the sense that I
made it to this earth like I'm here. I mean,
I'm here, I get to experience it. I have not
made it whatsoever to where I'm going. I mean, you know,
something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the
non static nature of success. Because I could I could
definitely say I've had successes, but I could also just
(28:23):
as honestly say, like I'm a net failure because I
haven't achieved what I want to. I've definitely not made it.
But I'm here, so in a way, I've made it here.
I just haven't made it where I'm going here yet,
and that's fine. I kind of look at life, you know,
just to keep referencing fictional movies that reveal the meaning
of life. It's groundhog Day, you know. It's like until
(28:45):
you get every single thing right, you can't make it
to the next day. You know, like until you figure
out exactly how to like master your own sort of program,
you're not even going to like make it to the
next day, much less it. So that's where I'm att.
I mean, I love that.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I think that that's a great answer, and you fully
understood the questions.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yuh So, I don't know if I had.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
To be so, you know, meeture, I'm playing playing you
could just tease me and it was funny, you know. Well, Shane,
I love you. You're one of my absolute favorite people.
I think you're so funny and wise and just awesome.
And us here with your best tip from my listeners
on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
My best advice on that is going to be vague
and a little hokey, but just tell somebody you love
them today. You know that's fine. Find the love in
your in your life on a daily basis, find the
and find the gratitude. You know, recently, when our house
(29:50):
was in serious jeopardy in California, I had to come
to terms with like an extraordinary amount of gratitude in
real time to where yeah, I could cry about it.
You know, there's a picture of the helicopters that really
barely saved our house from the fires, recent fires in
southern California, And as that was going on in real time,
(30:14):
I had to come to terms with actual gratitude where like,
you know, if we lose it all, there are some
things I don't want to lose, including like the roof
over my head, but I would still be grateful that
my wife was safe, that my dog was safe. Then
I got to live where I lived before it burned down,
if it was to have burned down, that I got
(30:35):
to experience the beautiful view of the trees across the
creek from where we live, which are now charred. And
I'm still grateful for that charred view. So really, I guess,
I guess the answer to your question is find the love,
find the gratitude, and inhabit it, and that will help you.
(30:58):
You know, that will help you overcome almost anything. I think,
you know, if you can really carry love and gratitude
as you go forward and live.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I love that, I really love I love that so much.
Thank you, Shane, Thanks so much for coming on.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
He is Shane Schlager.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Follow his amazing poker career. He's such a wonderful writer.
To beat him anywhere can Thanks.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Thanks, Carol, I love you, love your family and see
us soon.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Thanks so much for joining us on the Carol Markwartz Show.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Marko Wooz Show on iHeartRadio.
I saw this tweet yesterday from a guy posting what
his friend put in their group chat. The tweet is
one of my friends, drew eight figure net worth, mid thirties, handsome,
sharing his feelings in the group chat tonight. Trying to
reel him back in, but he's got some good points thoughts.
(00:29):
And then this is the text in the group chat.
The friend writes, I hate talking about TV shows. I
hate getting a drink. I hate waiting for them to arrive.
I hate getting canceled on. I hate thinking maybe she's different.
I hate wanting to be nice knowing she's banged a
guy who treats her like shit. I hate pretending she
has something she can teach me. I hate holding in
(00:50):
my parts when she's over. I hate listening to her
political feelings, not her thoughts. I hate having to make
every single move or decision while being judged by someone
who has nothing to offer me. Okay, A lot of
the comments to this said that it sounded like the
guy just hates women, and maybe that's true. I want
to give him the benefit of the doubt and say
(01:11):
it sounds like he's dating the absolute wrong women for himself,
just the idea that she has nothing to teach him
and nothing to offer him. If that's true, it's really
on him because he's dating the completely wrong type of
woman For men. They get hung up on looks, but
not just always she pretty. She has to be beyond pretty.
(01:34):
She has to be extremely beautiful, an eight or above,
even if the guy is not an eight himself. So
there are going to be sacrifices, and the sacrifice for
a lot of men is they end up dating these
dimmer women who, yes, maybe have nothing to teach them. Again,
this is all giving him the benefit of the doubt
that he's not just a raging narcissist. But looks are
(01:58):
not the same as attraction, and what this guy is
discovering is that while he may like the way these
women look, he ultimately does not find them attractive. That's
the main takeaway. Men should have treat looks as part
of a package. Attraction is the main thing in a relationship.
I think it's so important. It's what separates friendship from
(02:21):
something more. So ask yourself if you're really attracted to
this woman or you just like how she looks on
your arm, or how jealous your friends are, or how
much better looking you feel when you're with her. They're
not the same thing. That's not attraction. The other issue
is the preoccupation with the woman's past. This whole she
(02:41):
slept with men who treat her badly, therefore what you
should get to treat her badly. There's a sense that
nice guys finish last, and women only settle for these
nice guys after they've been run through with all the
bad boys. I'm not condoning any of that, but what
I see in real life is women meeting men they
(03:01):
think are good, that they hope to have a future with,
and finding out along the way that they're not. They're
already hurt from that experience, and now the so called
nice guy also wants to hold it against them. It's wrong.
The real saving grace for this guy is that he's
in a group chat. That means he has friends, and
so he has people who can tell him the truth
(03:23):
about what his problem is or what he's attracting. That
isn't working. The fact that one of those people refers
to him by his net worth and posts the chat
on the internet not the best, but it's a starting point.
People who have trouble meeting other people have to turn
to the ones they trust in their life and ask.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Them, what am I doing wrong? Why am I.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Choosing these people that don't work for me? It might
just be bad luck. I really believe in that. I
think a lot of the things we think is skill
is actually just luck. I'll say I've never dated a
bad boy. I've never had someone treat me bad, and
I don't think it's because I'm super skillful. I think
it was just my luck. And it could be that
(04:07):
you're picking the same kind of person over and over again.
It's not luck. You're trying to fulfill something in yourself.
Ask your friends, then work on changing that. Thanks for listening.
If you think I got something wrong, or if you
have a question of your own, email me at Carolmarkowitz
Show at gmail dot com. I love getting your emails.
(04:27):
I love all your questions, so send me a line.
Carol Maarkowitzshow at gmail dot com. Coming up next and
interview with Change Lager. Join us after the break.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
My guest today is Change Lager. Shane was born in
New York City in nineteen seventy seven and living in
California in two thousand and five. He has been writing
semi professionally since age seventeen, playing poker professionally from age
twenty eight. And that is how we met. Hi, Shane,
Hi Carol. How are you so nice to have you on?
(05:00):
You are one of my best friends? And well, yeah,
I know you get to get told that on air,
and I'm so happy you're doing this because you're awesome,
and I think this conversation is gonna be great.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Thank you, Carol. It is, I mean, sincerely, a blessing
to have known you all these years, and you know
I got nothing but love for you and your family
and happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
One of my favorite stories about you is that I
first saw you. I knew who you were like as
a poker player, but I refer to you as my
last independently made male friend that I saw you tam. Yeah,
platonic male friend, right, They're all platonic, so.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
As the definition of friend Schubert.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
So, I saw you commenting on a poker forum and
I thought you were really funny, and I direct messaged
you something that you know, as an old married lady,
I could never do ever again and we became friends
from there, and you know, it's been a long and
excellent journey.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think we actually share that sort of I don't know,
knack or talent. Like there have been a few people
in my life that whether I like their radio show,
let's say, or even like this great reggae singer I
knew from a song who I wound up meeting Judask
and Artafarai. I feel like there's a similar vibe there
where it's just like you reach out to someone who's
(06:29):
work or presence you're aware of, and then you become friends.
And that's that's definitely one of the blessings in my
life to have met some people through the airwaves and
brought them into real life. So I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I feel like people do it less because there's, like
I don't know, maybe a stigma attached to being the
person who like contacts somebody and says, I just love
your work. Can we like be friends? But I've made
a lot of friends that way. I've made a lot
of friends who have contacted me or who I've contacted.
I think that's not a bad way to be see
somebody's work online and think that they're cool and send
(07:04):
them a note.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, for sure, and I mean it. You know, people
might be surprised how eager the other side is to
sort of interact and get things going. And yeah, with us,
it's just been like I remember what I think is
the first day we met in Vegas and you know
I met your brother. Yeah, yeah, so totally. But I
(07:27):
think you're actually, yeah, you're kind of like a queen,
a queen pin of the of that of that art.
Like you just you just have a sort of very
you have an ease of meeting people throughout the world.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So how did they get into poker? What's the what's
the Shane Poker origin story?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Well, when I was very when I was quite young,
probably just twenty one or so, like I visited my
oldest childhood friend from New York City. He was living
in Albuquerque, and there were there was a casino. There
was still a tent at the time called Sandia Casino,
and uh, I played like the lowest stakes seven card
(08:08):
stud that you could imagine, and played it terribly. It
was just a gambler and sort of remained that way
for you know, like about five six years. Hit a
streak when I would like actually before proker. I was
playing black jack a lotco in Atlantic City, not not advantage,
you know, and then a couple of things happened. I
(08:30):
met a guy out here at the tennis courts, uh
who introduced me basically to the New York City like underground,
underground ish poker scene. And this was all sort of
the rounders that already happened, and online poker was just
about to happen. It was right. It was right before
Moneymaker wound up winning the World Series of Poker, and
(08:53):
like I wound up going to know.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
An amateur named Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker,
that's his real name, and kicked off this huge poker boom.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So yeah, there was a you know, a confluence of
things that contributed to the poker boom money Maker. You know,
the heavy coverage on ESPN, the whole card cams where
you could finally you know, see every hand that every
player was playing. And then you know, meanwhile in New
York City there was a very active semi underground card scene,
(09:25):
especially this place called PlayStation, which was like on Fourteenth Street,
on the second floor. That's why I say underground sort of.
It was on the second floor it wasn't underground, but
I had some early knack for poker tournaments. Turned out,
I was like, you know, before I really knew what
I was doing, I was pretty good at poker tournaments.
(09:47):
They would run like two poker tournaments a week, forty
dollars buy and plus thirty dollars add ons. You could
walk away with like two three thousand dollars. You know.
I remember going to like the Virgin megastore with like
a big handful of like small small bills of buying
some DVDs. And then I met really some chess players,
you know, like Greg Shahati and Yakov Hirsh a few
(10:12):
guys who were basically like very confidently making a transition
into professional poker. And so that kind of became a
revelation like, oh wow, you can actually, you know, turn
this into a profession. And they they had a big
edge early on because they had the chess background and
they just they sort of approached things with the strategic
(10:32):
and you know, ev expected value minded approach, and so
it was it was they who opened up you know,
that awareness to me. And then I started playing on
Poker Stars, and one thing led to another, and you know,
at two thousand and five, I had one or chopped
a pretty decent sized tournament at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.
(10:54):
Actually it was it's kind of a crazy story. I
was in the middle of a poker tournament and met
my future wife and we wound up moving to LA
in two thousand and five. Honestly, it's all a little
bit of a blur. I would have to actually like
look at the like the Hendon mile record to tell you.
But by two thousand and five, I had.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
To meet somebody in the middle of a porker tournament.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
So I was playing an eleven dollars rebuy and poker stars.
This was back when. Yeah, it was like I don't
remember what time it started, maybe eight pm like, so
it started really late and probably went to like four am.
It was like eight hour tournament, and I, uh, you know,
usually I would like order some food from the diner
in Park Slope, and I decided to, like, you know what,
(11:40):
I want to go out and like have some good food.
I went to Blue Ribbon, where I was still working.
I was basically about to quit Blue Ribbon and go
full time poker. To answer your question, I had my
friend take over that poker tournament, which subsequently would maybe
be considered like an ethically ethically dubious Not really though,
(12:02):
I mean not really, but it's it's the story as
it happened. I had my friend, I said, listen, can
you play this tournament for me? Can you log in
for me?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I got to go meet my wife.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I got I gotta go get some food and Blue Ribbon.
But like you know, I put on like a nice
shirt and went to Blue Ribbon and just ordered some
food to go. And then there was a woman sitting
at the bar and I was just like, is this
seat taken? And YadA, YadA, YadA. I call my friend back.
I was like, you're gonna have to finish this poker
chairs for And that's how that went.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
That's such a great story. And I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Met like that, really, I never told you that one.
So yeah, that was around December. It was December tenth,
two thousand and four, and by the following August or so,
we were living in Los Angeles. And yeah, it's honestly odd.
I can't quite like, I can't remember where we were
living when I made my first World Series of Poker
(12:58):
final table, but that pretty sure it was two thousand
and five, so we were actually probably not quite in
LA and I don't remember when the commerce win was.
I want to say that was also two thousand and five,
but I can't remember.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Bill. Do you still love poker?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
That's a good question. I think I do. You know,
right right now, I haven't played in a few months
because I've had a whole handful of whole slate of
personal family things going on, which we can get into
or whatever. I do love poker, especially for the people
(13:36):
I've met, the lifestyle it affords us, the mentality. Poker
has become a much more sophisticated game, and so I
struggle with some of the love that it takes to
succeed nowadays. Like it's it seems like there's like you know,
with game theory and other like very advanced strategic elements
(13:59):
coming into like there's there's there's a there's a league
of players who are very enthusiastic about that and really
like find the love in dissecting the strategy. Me I'm
more just like trying to keep up. And again I'm
more like I love the zoom the zoomed out parts.
You know, I'm not that guy who's like, I just
(14:20):
love the competition, you know, I love this and that
it's you know, I think I still got it, and
I think I can like adapt low enough to beat
tournaments even in twenty twenty five, and I'm eager to
continue to improve my game. But so it's you know, yes,
I I do love it. I love the community. I
love the experiences and you know, basically the the free
(14:45):
thinking nature of poker players and the sort of unconventional
thing that you have to get with to succeed at
the game.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Do you think it's more mainstream now or was it
more mainstream in the Chris money Maker years, Because I
feel like everybody plays poker now, like a lot of
people that you wouldn't necessarily.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Think back then it was a huge fad, but now
it's more just omnipresent. It's you know, I think the
World Series of Poker nowadays seems more fun and more vibrant,
or as vibrant as it ever was. Yeah, since since
they moved, this was my impression, you know, since they
(15:23):
moved to the strip, and you know, look, Chris Moneymaker
is still crushing, which is pretty cool. It's like you say,
as an amateur who helped lost the boom. Well he was,
he would know he is, but but just just to
bring your you know, he's now he's crushing at some
of the highest levels, so.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
He's a full on professional now. But I recall like
there was, you know, just that first World series where
you're watching him play and he doesn't know it's his turn,
and he's like just very much amateur. But it was
very endearing, and it was it was kind of nice
to watch somebody who knew how to play but really.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Did not have that much practice, you know, and everyone
was a bit unpracticed by then, you know, we were
all in the sort of wild West. But keep in mind,
you know, for Chris Moneymaker, just to get into that tournament,
he had to win another poker tournament, right, so he
had some natural skills. And I think actually it speaks
to the possibility that, you know, he's kind of a
(16:21):
naturally great poker player because he's still crushing poker tournaments
over twenty years later and at a much higher level,
Like he plays like some of the highest high rollers. Yeah,
and like he's a guy that doesn't necessarily probably need
a poker tournament to secure his income. He's got endorsements.
He's got his own poker tour anyway, props to Chris Moneymaker,
(16:44):
but you can get him on the podcastle he doesn't
need a pr for me. He's got a luck. He's
got a whole machine going. He's got his own poker tour.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
So one of the things that you and I always
kind of went back and forth on. I was a
very pro New York New Yorker. I loved the city,
and obviously three years ago we left, we moved to Florida.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Very publicly.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I have my my my deep issues with New York now,
and you were always this la guy California all the way.
You had like a whole defense of San Francisco. At
one point in our friendship that I.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
First surely, Oh, I love choosing.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
It wasn't that recent. It was like, I don't know,
a bunch.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Of years ago there, No, it was three or four
years ago when I move, you know, I thought.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It was just this wonderful place, and I was like,
what about the human poop? And you were like, I
don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Oh well, it's like, go ahead, ask me about the
immigrants in New York City right now? Like you know what,
you know, what they mostly are looking for. It's like
a five star rating on Uber. You know. It's like,
you know, there are parts of San Francisco that resemble
New York in the eighties. Yeah, but we were here
in the eighties, like, you know, even as a chuch,
(17:51):
Like look around the corner from where I am right now,
there were very you know, Fifteenth Street and Seventh Avenue
were hookers and fish nets. I remember that from my childhood,
you know. I think I think actually Trump was is
credited with sort of cleaning up the block when he
started building in the area. San Francisco, you can absolutely
(18:13):
walk around and see the most horrifying sort of like
elements so of human condition, you know, people shooting up
drugs in front of the State, in front of like
a Staples. But like it's also a magnificent city. No
city combines. We'll get to New York in a second,
but as far as San Francisco, there's no city that
quite integrates like urban everything is in with like beautiful nature.
(18:38):
And I think Golden eight Park is almost like objectively
like just way better than Central Park. And I love
Central Park. Wow. As far as the New York goes look,
I had the irrational devotion and like a city kid
sort of pride thing, and uh. And then I moved
to La I'd always dreamed about that. I didn't have
a driver's license. You know. My wife was my then
(18:59):
girlfriend eventual wife, who's from California. She would be driving
me to poker tournaments, you know, in Bell Gardens or whatever.
And I think at that point I developed some bristoliness,
some caustic sort of feeling towards New York, like what
are we doing in that jammed up city? And I
(19:23):
do think there's also like a provincial element, especially to
kids who grew up in Manhattan where we hardly even
know what goes on across the Bridge of Brooklyn, you
know that famous New Yorker cartoon where it's like Outson
River and then like West Coast, like we don't know
what's going on. But then it was more like, look,
there's an easier way to do this. It's called Sunshine
(19:45):
State or the Golden State, or you know, there's an
easier way to do this. And at the time you're like, now, no, Shane,
I'm New York for life in the New York till
I of course you've caught up and now I'm here
having actually a great New York City run.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
So you know, you've warmed to New York somehow.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
In the in the coldest winter I've ever experienced. Uh yeah,
it's a I'm enjoying like the best New York City
run I've had maybe ever, you know, with the benefit
of maturity and and still knowing really well how to
get around the city like I was. I was a
messenger for a long time, a bike messenger. I'm having
(20:28):
a lot of fun, you know, knowing how to access
all the things I need to and and I really
have to say, New York feels more peaceful, more tame, more.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
You know, this is a very unpopular opinion.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right Uh you know, I'm not here to be contrary.
And I'm telling you like, like, because I've been here several.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Times controversial takes change.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
This is not a controversial this is actual, like you know,
empirical sort of sample, because I was here several times
during COVID when there was a sense of like malaise
or chaos or you know, and I don't know, I
don't know what has changed. And of course I understand
that people are you know, occasionally getting lit on fire
(21:17):
on the subway. Sad. Look, that's been going on forever.
This is a city with millions of people. But really,
like even the driving is passive now, like it used
to be. Just to like across the street as a
teenager was a death sport, like you versus the cabs
that was, like everyone drives very passively. There's a you know,
(21:38):
and even like you know, the bike lanes, people have
figured out how to use them finally. And but I
was here during COVID when it was you know, it
felt like really gnarly. It felt like will the city
kind of collapsed into chaos or you know, or like
there's a sense of menace. There was a sense of
menace that right, and you just don't feel that right.
I don't feel that right now at all. And I'm
(21:59):
not confined to one neighborhood I am. I've been everywhere
from Chinatown to you know, Morning Side Heights since November
when I came here to help out my dad. And yeah,
I just have to say I think whatever enforcement levels,
I think the city is in a good place right
(22:21):
now as far as yeah, as far as liveability and
walk around ability, and like I'm the craziest guy for
blocks around most nights. You know, it's like I'm walking
down the street like singing it crossing the street. There's
no one on the street. It's like in other words,
I'm walking home on like sixty third and ninth Avenue
(22:42):
at you know, eleven pm. I'm singing, I'm dancing. There's
just no one around. But even when there are people around, yeah,
I'm the one there. I'm the one there they're concerned about.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
What do you worries?
Speaker 2 (23:02):
What do I worry about? As far as like, uh
could be anything, you know, I worry about the human soul,
you know, the survival of the soul. There's a few
like let's I worry about let's say the White Walkers
whatever the White Walkers represented from Game of Thrones or
(23:25):
this is one of my favorite movies, Dark City, where
an alien race called the Strangers come to basically inhabit
our planet and try to mine our soul. And I
you know, so like and in Game of Thrones it's
like there's all these internacy conflicts between kingdoms and peoples
(23:47):
and families, but really there's yeah, there's really an existential
threat that threatens all of it. And so whatever that is,
it might be the phones or AI or whatever it is,
that threat the fabric of our human existence is what
I worry about. But you know, I have the serenity
to accept things that are out of my control. But yeah,
(24:10):
so you know, you gave me a little chance to
prepare that question so that.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Your answer sounds vaguely religious.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Uh, you know, I'm not. I'm not a religious so
I know, well, but I don't know about that. It's
it's it's more about the human condition, I guess, And
just yeah, just sort of like escaping the matrix is
what I worry about, or like not not letting the matrix,
(24:41):
you know, drag you down, and just just yeah, getting
along well with with people. And you know, I'm not
worried about it on a regular basis. But yeah, if
I had to, like, if I had to cite my
one existential concern, it's along those lines.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
What advice would you give sixteen year old shine?
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I have some prepared for this too. Of course, I
will quote nas from the song in between Us. He says,
I try to give someone advice, shoot dice, do plenty
of shit, because in this life, how many you get?
And I mean I would correlate that to if I
was talking to sixteen year old me, I would say,
you know, take risks, be bold even if you know,
(25:21):
like there are things that I wish I had gone
harder on even though we're risky. I think I would
also tell my sixteen year old self, like, you know,
manage your hubris. Like the sooner you realize that you
don't know anything, it's like the closer you'll get to
eventual happiness or eventual like understanding of what you do
(25:41):
know and understanding of yourself. And I would also say, listen,
just relax, like eventually you'll find a woman, just like
work on yourself. It's totally possible to find a nice
partner and to still be attracted to her twenty years later,
which I feel like is something that we didn't grow
up with that attitude. It's like, you know, you're you know,
(26:03):
you're necessarily going to get tired of your part you know,
but no, yeah, I catered that one to you could
have started that with. But yeah, but it's sincere. You know,
like my wife and I was kind of like love
at first sight, and twenty years later, I'm honestly more
attracted to her, And that's.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Just right, that's so beautiful.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Marriage is complicated, We've gone through lots of different things,
but that what I stated is true.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I love that. So one of the questions I used
to ask all of my guests last season of the show,
which made fun of me for NonStop because you listened
to the show, which I.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Really appreciate, longtime listener, first time calling.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
But I used to ask all of my guests what
do they think that they've made it? And you would
just mock me, mercy, see if you'd ask if you're
so amazing? What problem with that question?
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yet not? It's almost like an anachronistic kind of like format,
like like what does it even mean?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Well, I could mean anything to anyone. So now I'm
gonna make you answer it. Shane, you made it?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Have have you? I mean you? I think you feel
like I have. I feel like you have.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I feel amazing about you know where where I am
career wise, I feel amazing when where family wise. But
beyond all of that, and I know this is going
to be cheesy, but I you know, being an American
was such a lucky break for me that I think
all of this is gravy, like it could have all
been so much worse. And yeah, I've made I made
it really early on.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Well. So first of all, before I answer your question,
let me say I'm truly proud of you because I
saw you grind this up. I mean, without without at
all changing your personality or really doing anything different. I've
just seen you work and work and work and like
steadily rise to where like you know, you just know
yourself so well. And to what you're saying about being
(28:00):
an American, I made it in the sense that I
made it to this earth like I'm here. I mean,
I'm here, I get to experience it. I have not
made it whatsoever to where I'm going. I mean, you know,
something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the
non static nature of success. Because I could I could
definitely say I've had successes, but I could also just
(28:23):
as honestly say, like I'm a net failure because I
haven't achieved what I want to. I've definitely not made it.
But I'm here, so in a way, I've made it here.
I just haven't made it where I'm going here yet,
and that's fine. I kind of look at life, you know,
just to keep referencing fictional movies that reveal the meaning
of life. It's groundhog Day, you know. It's like until
(28:45):
you get every single thing right, you can't make it
to the next day. You know, like until you figure
out exactly how to like master your own sort of program,
you're not even going to like make it to the
next day, much less it. So that's where I'm att.
I mean, I love that.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I think that that's a great answer, and you fully
understood the questions.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yuh So, I don't know if I had.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
To be so, you know, meeture, I'm playing playing you
could just tease me and it was funny, you know. Well, Shane,
I love you. You're one of my absolute favorite people.
I think you're so funny and wise and just awesome.
And us here with your best tip from my listeners
on how they can improve their lives.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
My best advice on that is going to be vague
and a little hokey, but just tell somebody you love
them today. You know that's fine. Find the love in
your in your life on a daily basis, find the
and find the gratitude. You know, recently, when our house
(29:50):
was in serious jeopardy in California, I had to come
to terms with like an extraordinary amount of gratitude in
real time to where yeah, I could cry about it.
You know, there's a picture of the helicopters that really
barely saved our house from the fires, recent fires in
southern California, And as that was going on in real time,
(30:14):
I had to come to terms with actual gratitude where like,
you know, if we lose it all, there are some
things I don't want to lose, including like the roof
over my head, but I would still be grateful that
my wife was safe, that my dog was safe. Then
I got to live where I lived before it burned down,
if it was to have burned down, that I got
(30:35):
to experience the beautiful view of the trees across the
creek from where we live, which are now charred. And
I'm still grateful for that charred view. So really, I guess,
I guess the answer to your question is find the love,
find the gratitude, and inhabit it, and that will help you.
(30:58):
You know, that will help you overcome almost anything. I think,
you know, if you can really carry love and gratitude
as you go forward and live.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I love that, I really love I love that so much.
Thank you, Shane, Thanks so much for coming on.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
He is Shane Schlager.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Follow his amazing poker career. He's such a wonderful writer.
To beat him anywhere can Thanks.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Thanks, Carol, I love you, love your family and see
us soon.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Thanks so much for joining us on the Carol Markwartz Show.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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