June 20, 2023 • 21 mins
Join us, Maury Sterling (Homeland, Coherence) and Craig Diamond (Master's in Psychology, Creator of the theme song) as we talk to the "Everyday Masters" of the world. Hopefully we can learn a thing or two, and so can you.
People have been asking what is the point of this podcast. Good question and not sure if we have the answer yet. But if you're curious why we set out to do this podcast, and to get to know us a bit, give this overview a listen.
Important note...as you'll discover if you listen to this episode it was never intended to really be an episode, and in fact, we were just chatting as a way of practicing and figuring things out on the fly. But many listeners told us that this chat actually helps set the stage a bit. So that's really why it's here. Enjoy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to Everyday Masters, theshow where we seek to understand
mastery.
People who have it, people whotry for it, people who struggle
with it, and how we allmanifested in our own lives.
Welcome to Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday, everyday masters.
video1811292005 (00:28):
Check it.
Check it, check it.
Check, check, check.
You check it.
You checking it.
Checking your checking.
It.
Check, check, mic, check.
I didn't mic check.
I didn't get my fancy mic.
I forgot, but I got this mic.
That's kind of neat.
It's a mic on your phone.
You just plug it in your phone.
Phone mic.
(00:49):
Kind of Awesome.
How's mine sound?
Does mine sound good?
Mic check.
Yeah, your sounds great.
No, it sounds great.
Got it.
So I'm done.
Alright.
Check tech, tech mic check.
Meeting done.
Click.
See you next week.
Cause you're just in your garagespace, right?
Why do you gotta point that out?
(01:09):
Yeah.
No, that's awesome.
That's a compliment.
Chill out.
So, Maury this is very exciting.
I, I think before we kick offand do this for world domination
what are we doing?
Like what, what, why, what didyou have this idea for Start at
the beginning for our twolisteners, our moms and what are
(01:30):
we doing here?
It'll be one listener, cuz Idon't think my mom will be able
to, I love my mom, like I lovemy mom so much.
She's really.
Given me so much, but she won'tbe able to figure out the
technology to actually listen.
So it's just gonna just talk tomy mom.
Okay.
So my mom will figure it out.
So yeah.
One day my, my wife had an idea,she's, Allie was like, why don't
you do a podcast?
(01:50):
And you know, why don't you dothe thing you love to do?
Which is to talk to people abouttheir lives.
And in particular, it startedoff as, as masters in their
field.
I mean, one of the greatestthings about my job as an actor
has been getting to meet theconsultants.
You know, the people they bringon set who have the answers, and
(02:11):
you get to go to these peopleand say, okay, how would I walk?
How would I talk?
How would I.
Hold this gun.
How would I hold thisinstrument?
Would I say this or would I saythat this feels, and they give
you answers cuz they know, cuzthey spent their lives like
mastering their craft and that'swhy they're there.
So Allie's idea was why don'tyou do a podcast of talking to
those people?
And I was like, that is geniuscuz now I get to do what I love
(02:33):
to do.
What it evolved then into wasthe sort of everyday masters as
really.
It's the people I'm drawn to,but it's also, I don't know for
all of us, what's that thingmaybe that we're really good at
and maybe we don't even knowwe're really good at?
Or, or how do we achieve thatfor the everyday person?
So if I can just jump in herecuz I've known you for a long
time and you love.
(02:56):
You love, like the Navy seal,the military badass, the martial
artist.
so what is it about that masterythat kind of hits you so deep?
Why is that mastery so cool?
I think it, I think in thatdepartment it's like competency.
It's this idea of I will be ableto handle any situation with,
(03:18):
you know, the smallest to thelargest means necessary to,
dominate the situation.
Right.
Wait, wait.
So dominating a situation.
Does it come from your place ofthinking You couldn't dominate
and so to meet somebody?
It's a badass that can dominate.
You're like, I wanna figure outwhat that guy's doing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's from, and you and I havebeen talking about this for
(03:39):
years.
Like it's what you did yourthesis in of it comes from this
belief of, I don't know how thatI would be a quivering pillar of
jelly right in the face of.
Whatever these made up scenariosare.
So I think yeah, that's wherethat sort of came from.
I also just love that stuff inmy own right.
Practices of stuff.
So, but I think that was thedeal.
(04:00):
This personal sense of Right.
I have no idea how to do this,any of it.
Right.
And, and I mean, and that's whatyou and I, we laugh about it, I
think you and I have a bit ofthe imposter syndrome, which I
think people can relate to,which is, all right, you've done
a lot, and I've done a lot in myown right, and you and I both
(04:21):
still think like we're endlesslyon the JV team, like mm-hmm.
Like we are not on the varsity.
There's a clear idea for both ofus that there is a varsity.
We have tried out for it.
We are on JV and we areperpetually on jv.
Right, right, right.
And I think there's this idea,if we could interview enough
masters maybe we can crack thecode or maybe listeners could
(04:41):
crack the code.
Or how do you get from beinglike really, really good at
something to being a master?
And then to your point, Maybewe're all actually masters in
something and we don't reallyknow, or we're close and does it
even fucking matter?
I mean, that, that's the otherpart of the whole thing.
You know, do we covet masteryand we're actually doing pretty
(05:04):
damn good in lots of things,right?
And we don't know, right?
I think when we were talkingabout this, we don't know where
the hell this is actually going,but we want to interview some
interesting people.
So I wanna talk about you withmastery.
So my, my buddy Mory here.
Is the only human being I'veever met in my life.
And I grew up in Los Angelesthat wanted to be an actor and
then was an actor.
(05:24):
Now, I could say this about himcuz I love him and I know him.
The guy's been in major movies,major television shows.
And here's what I know aboutMorrie.
He always thinks that like he'sthe guy that like is actually
not in the show, but he'sactually in the show.
Okay, so here we are, we'regonna do everyday masters.
(05:46):
And my buddy Morrie, like hewants to talk to people who are
masters.
And here's a guy who is clearlya master.
So Morrie, are you a master inacting?
No.
Okay.
Why can you say that so quickly?
I mean, because I, I mean, I'monly in the, I am in the
business of improvingconstantly.
I always try and be better atanything I do.
(06:08):
I think for me the idea ofmastery is you are in constant
improvement, but be careful thatyou don't stop to acknowledge
the steps of growth.
You know, like you gotta giveyourself those pats on the back
to acknowledge hey, that's awin.
That's different because that, Ithink is a part of mastery, is
the, it's not just the drive tobe better, to be better cuz,
but, so I don't think I ambecause I, I still think there's
(06:28):
something I'm seeking.
Which may be part of mastery.
Okay.
Then we need to make sure weasked Masters that we think are
Masters are, do they, do theythink they've arrived?
Is mastery a destination?
Right.
Right.
Now, I know we're getting intolike a esoteric, deep thought,
but I guess we're trying tofigure out are these people that
are different from us or are wecloser than we think?
(06:49):
Yeah.
Well, and that's a question Iwant to ask.
I mean, there may be a harshreality too, in life that we all
have to accept maybe noteverybody's meant to be, a
master.
There's so much pressure,especially in our culture, at
least that's a cliche of beingalpha, you know, being the
quarterback, being the, beingthe guy, being the star, being
the best, being number one.
(07:11):
What's wrong with beta?
And, and truthfully we may findout like, actually it's smarter
to be beta.
Like, who knows what theadvantages are of being
comfortable and that itself mayalso be a form of mastery.
And that's why I think this showin terms of what I really
started to get at, cuz I'vespent time with a lot of elite
A-list people.
And mastery is gonna be a partof that, drive and talent.
(07:32):
But also like, just for, for theeveryday person, like what are
we all working on?
What are these, all these thingsmaybe we can talk about and find
some peace in our own lives oflike, Hey, I really am winning
here and maybe it's a hobby,maybe it's not all this other
stuff.
And I've had this diseased,terrible perspective that says
the more money somebody has andthe more accolades and
(07:57):
recognition and fame orcelebrity they have, the better
they are as people.
Now, I know in my head that'snot true, but you know, I've
done years and years and yearsof work to.
Just to amplify what you justsaid, if a small segment of the
population are alpha, right, areare the obvious winners or
(08:18):
whatever we want to call'em,alright?
There's a huge percentage of allof us, or all of me, I should
say, that fall into this othergroup.
Does that mean we should alljust jump off a cliff?
Or does that mean there's a lifeto be lived?
Right?
Yeah.
You know, it's like if you're,in the group two through 25 and
not number one.
(08:39):
How do you live?
Then, you know, what are you inpursuit of?
Right?
And what's fascinating for me,which might be the counter punch
to your punch, is.
As I'm getting older and, andI'm gonna reveal that Maureen
and I are both in our fifties,we're in our early fifties.
It's true, he is shaking hishead, but it's true and I know
it.
And is that the simpler myapproach to life, the more my
(09:01):
life is about chop the wood,carry the water, do be the best
Craig I can be in my moments, Ifeel I'm stronger, more
powerful, and, and in my brainsomehow.
That flies in the face of, of myidea of mastery.
Mastery to me means likesomebody that knows everything
about something.
And, in many respects, I'm notreally sure what I know or don't
(09:23):
know anymore.
And being your dear friend.
And, and I do wanna apologizeto, to our one listener, because
a lot of this was just me andCraig wanting to hang out with
each other.
Absolutely.
And, and you know, it's afriendship that has changed both
our lives, so I think.
There is a selfish, very selfishaspect, but all of that may also
fall into this kind of thingwe're talking about.
(09:45):
That's what I like this worldabout like community and
friendship and how that affectsthis big question of stuff.
But, for our one listener too,like Craig is the same.
He, he did play varsity soccerat Berkeley.
He is an un, he's incrediblytalented musician.
I mean, I've been talking aboutdoing this podcast for over at
least a year and a half, and Ilike, you know, the, the, I move
(10:08):
at a snail's pace and he's like,okay, here's a jingle.
And maybe what we're gonna tryto do, by the way, uh, mom, one
listener, one of the things Ithink we may do as we interview
people is try to see if we cancome out of it with how we would
define mastery, right?
Because I think that's gonna betrickier than we think.
Some people will beuncomfortable.
when I ask you if you're amaster and you're an actor who's
(10:28):
been an actor a long time,you're very quick to say, no.
You ask me if I'm a master, Isay no.
So I'm just wondering when webump into somebody's like, yeah,
I think I really am.
Or, or will nobody say that, isevery master gonna be.
Like still in a pursuit ofsomething, which would be
interesting.
So I think what we wanted you toknow in this overview is we
don't exactly know what's gonnacome out of the oven.
(10:49):
We're trying to throw someingredients in there, put some,
add some heat, right?
And see where this takes us.
Around.
The idea that Maureen and I areseekers, we are constantly
trying to improve ourselves.
We are constantly happy andunhappy.
High tide, low tide.
And we still feel like there'ssome secret and we're, and we're
(11:10):
gonna find it by talking to realmasters cuz we're clearly not
them.
Right.
So how's that sound?
Is this kind of what we'reafter?
I think this sounds awesome.
So it was funny, I didn't knowMa had an idea for a podcast, I,
and I started falling in lovewith some podcasts and there's
famous people with celebritiesand doing this and doing that.
(11:31):
I called them up.
I'm like, is there any reason weshouldn't try this?
Now, mind you, huge criticinside me, oh, what's the point?
And everybody's done it.
And another podcast and da daand every, they're so famous
and.
What the fuck do I have to say?
And only my mom will listen andit's gotta suck.
All, all those things are true.
(11:52):
So far.
I'm not, you haven't saidanything that isn't untrue,
right?
So after I got through all thetruths about this, I just
thought, fuck it.
And I called Mor.
But the idea is like we all gotarick, right?
It's funny, I've been thinkingabout it a lot.
alright, if we had a hundredmillion listeners and, these
things happened, what would itbe?
Any more or less fun to probablytalk to you?
(12:13):
It probably won't changeanything.
It'll probably be the same,which will be really bizarre.
And then I think why do we evenwant to get there?
What, what's the point of there?
You know?
Probably just get morecomplicated or, so anyhow, the
whole thing in and of itself isa bit of a journey and I'm
having to fight through thisidea of like, what's the fucking
point there?
They're way funnier peoplealready doing this, so why us?
(12:36):
This is fucking stupid.
That's my critic.
Yeah, you're pretty funny.
And, and let's face it, like ifwe get a hundred million
followers, you just get thatmuch more hate mail, so, right.
Maybe you don't, again, likemaybe, right.
And I can't handle that.
I really can't handle that.
I think what's evolving out ofthis is a conversation I love
and in a way have been justobsessed by my whole life of
(12:56):
like, how do you actuallyimprove the needle?
And, that's why I'm drawn by,people who are high level
performance and like doing thosethings and I guess ultimately, I
guess in a way, and maybe thisis conceited, but it's may
maybe, like you said, maybe ifwe talk to enough people and
kind of all walks of life thatwe're gonna see something evolve
(13:18):
out of it of these themes thatare not new, right?
Of enjoy the moment and when areyou gonna start being like, make
a decision that today's the dayyou're gonna be like, you know
what?
I'm just so appreciative to bealive.
I mean of gratitude and allthese things here and now and so
I, think that's gonna be reallyinteresting in terms of, some of
(13:39):
these questions, like how do youdeal with boredom?
Do you get bored?
People who are at these highlevel stuff, what do you do in
those situations?
How do you tackleprocrastination and all these
things.
But I think, yeah, I guess in away it is, and I don't mean to,
but sorry to interrupt, but likewe started with No I was done
(13:59):
with that., Like we start withthe obvious one knowing you,
which is like the Navy Seal thatlike ripped out four guy's
throats, with his hands andlived, eating earth worms for 47
days, which I know is your guy.
I know he is coming somewhereand I will be very respectful to
that guy cuz he could rip mythroat out.
That makes you better.
Yeah, right?
Do we think eventually we'llinvite my wife, who's a makeup
(14:21):
artist?
Cuz there's a part of me thatfeels like mastery's all around
us.
They're really, and maybe it'snot sexy or entertaining to
hear, I don't know, but.
I'm not sure.
I think we totally do that.
And that's the title, and thatis, that's the Everyday Master's
bit.
Most, many high performancefields, you have to achieve a
certain level of competence tobe there.
That's just, you have to, there,there is a, but at the same
(14:43):
time, sorry, jumping in.
So again, we, I think we gottabe keeping a note of this.
Is it, is there a top ofeverything?
There's a top sector.
And then when you, when you getyourself into that sector, are,
is that what we want to callmastery, at least for today?
Like you, you're paid for thething, or, or Well, that's at
(15:07):
the top of the game.
Yeah.
And is are those, but I don't,no, because some of the guys I
know too, who I would say aremasters, like hands down, they
might even wanna be on the showbecause they're gonna be like, I
don't really want to talk aboutit.
I don't wanna be public, likenobody knows about them.
Hmm.
Because they, so it's not aboutfame, it's not about, it's not
necessarily about fame.
(15:28):
It can be, but you know, is itthe 10 thou 10,000 hours thing?
Craig and I are laughing, sortof talking about putting the
podcast together.
Like I, put a lot of time intobad habits.
Like, I'm really good atprocrastinating in certain areas
of my life.
I'm a master procrastinator.
I absolutely, you're, you arefucking great at that.
(15:49):
I think this is a terrible idea.
I think we should probably notdo the show.
I think this is No, no, no.
We should do it tomorrow.
I'm not comfortable that weshould start tomorrow.
I think I wanna think about itand then maybe like a month from
now, we'll, But is it the 10,000hours thing?
You know, so what?
What are these marks of, becauseyou may find out wait, I've put
10,000 hours into.
(16:11):
I don't know, something you doin your life, a hobby that you
might realize oh, wait a second,I am a master of this, if that's
the criteria.
So by the way, I have our firstguest.
my first guest that'll be comingon And it was interesting when I
was talking to him about it, hewas like, what if it's like
about mastering life?
Maybe there's a recipe aroundwhat to do or what not to do to
(16:38):
find yourself to mastery.
Right.
And your, and the thing the NavySeal knows are granted, he could
rip your, rip your throat outwith his hands.
Maybe it was more about practiceand dedication or going to the
gym or perseverance or exerciseor like stuff that basically we
all have to deal with.
(16:59):
ours may not be rippingsomebody's throat out, but it
would be whatever our version ofthat is that we have to deal
with.
And not to pick on the NavySeals, but there may be plenty
of people too who are like, Idon't like to pick.
Don't, please don't pick.
By the way, for the record,we're not picking on Navy Seals.
That was other people.
Other people might go that's notmastery to me.
(17:21):
Maybe that thi too.
So I, I think that's, there'sthis piece of perception of, I,
I'm beginning to think, for meit's a way of being.
It's, and it is maybe more thatthing like you're our first
guest.
Is it mastering life, masteringthe criteria of your own life
and exactly what's on your platetoday?
The way I often summed it up asmy grandfather when he was about
(17:42):
93, who, who was a master ofcraftsman.
He was built wooden boats byhand and he knew detail in line
and angle and he got it right.
And whenever he built anything,he always did it.
He did it well and then he didit extra well.
It was just, He, but the line heused when he was 93 and Oh good.
We were hanging this boat overour heads, this heavy wooden
boat, and we're like franticallytying it and wrapping lines on
(18:04):
and all this.
And he's, he barely stand up andhe's kind of swaying, holding on
his cane.
And I just hear him mumble.
He says, too many is not betterthan too few.
And that was it.
Because what I think a masterknows is how many mm-hmm.
They don't overdo it.
They don't underdo it.
Right.
So how do you get there?
(18:25):
Whether it's athletics, acting,horsemanship, marriage,
parenting, golf, I don't know,painting art, like how do you
know that spot?
And you're just, you refineyourself enough that that's,
you're just closer to it everytime, you know?
(18:46):
And I think that's probably howI would start to define it.
And this is why I hate thispodcast already because I come
from the idea that I don't know,aside from if you qualified for
the Masters golf tournament thatsays master.
If you aside from that, that'sthe only one I can think of
right now.
Isn't all this other stuff, ajourney or no.
(19:08):
If you made it into the topsports leagues, cuz there is a
league and if you get there, wecould say you're at the top if
you win an Academy award, right?
I guess.
Mm-hmm.
I don't know.
Mm-hmm.
If you get a certain belt in amartial arts, if you win in a
word, if you're recognized byyour peers, Other than those
things, isn't it all subjective,isn't it all one step at a time
(19:32):
trying to practice, improve,refine.
Yeah, just be in pursuit of thething you're interested in.
Yeah.
Right.
Confetti doesn't drop from theceiling.
When you become a master atbeing in a relationship with,
with your wife, Confetti doesn'tdrop from the ceiling when you
(19:53):
become a really great friend orsomething.
And is, does that shit notmatter then because you don't,
because, yeah, it doesn'tmatter, does it?
Well, I think that maybe, isthat a dog or a seal?
What is that?
Do you have a pet seal?
Oh, it's a dog.
Sorry.
I mean, that wouldn't make sensethat you have a seal in your
house, but I, we tried it.
It was hard.
(20:14):
Right, the sardines cause of theno, cuz the no water.
So we wanted you to know when westart this whole thing, this is
where we're at.
I think it's gonna be fun.
Yeah.
So I think we're good.
and I think, you know, for ourlisteners, listeners you know,
it's probably a dangerous thingto do, but in a way, if once
(20:34):
this gets up and running andyou, you have somebody who
you're inspired by, you know,let us know and maybe we'll be
able to reach out and talk topeople.
Okay, we're gonna sign off fromthe overview here.
Thanks everyone for tuning intothe overview of Everyday
Masters.
We know this is gonna be anincredible journey together.
(20:56):
We do.
Thank you.
And, and we won't play thisepisode until like year two.
Right.
So it'd be like there's no,there's no, oh, yeah.
I mean, this is, this is superfun and a great lead in, but
there's no way we're playingthis for a while.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Okay.
I'll talk to you in a littlebit.
Bye.
Bye everybody.
Everyday Masters.
(21:18):
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday.
Welcome to Everyday Masters, theshow where we seek to understand
mastery.
People who have it, people whotry for it, people who struggle
with it, and how we allmanifested in our own lives.
Welcome to Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday, everyday masters.
video1811292005 (00:28):
Check it.
Check it, check it.
Check, check, check.
You check it.
You checking it.
Checking your checking.
It.
Check, check, mic, check.
I didn't mic check.
I didn't get my fancy mic.
I forgot, but I got this mic.
That's kind of neat.
It's a mic on your phone.
You just plug it in your phone.
Phone mic.
(00:49):
Kind of Awesome.
How's mine sound?
Does mine sound good?
Mic check.
Yeah, your sounds great.
No, it sounds great.
Got it.
So I'm done.
Alright.
Check tech, tech mic check.
Meeting done.
Click.
See you next week.
Cause you're just in your garagespace, right?
Why do you gotta point that out?
(01:09):
Yeah.
No, that's awesome.
That's a compliment.
Chill out.
So, Maury this is very exciting.
I, I think before we kick offand do this for world domination
what are we doing?
Like what, what, why, what didyou have this idea for Start at
the beginning for our twolisteners, our moms and what are
(01:30):
we doing here?
It'll be one listener, cuz Idon't think my mom will be able
to, I love my mom, like I lovemy mom so much.
She's really.
Given me so much, but she won'tbe able to figure out the
technology to actually listen.
So it's just gonna just talk tomy mom.
Okay.
So my mom will figure it out.
So yeah.
One day my, my wife had an idea,she's, Allie was like, why don't
you do a podcast?
(01:50):
And you know, why don't you dothe thing you love to do?
Which is to talk to people abouttheir lives.
And in particular, it startedoff as, as masters in their
field.
I mean, one of the greatestthings about my job as an actor
has been getting to meet theconsultants.
You know, the people they bringon set who have the answers, and
(02:11):
you get to go to these peopleand say, okay, how would I walk?
How would I talk?
How would I.
Hold this gun.
How would I hold thisinstrument?
Would I say this or would I saythat this feels, and they give
you answers cuz they know, cuzthey spent their lives like
mastering their craft and that'swhy they're there.
So Allie's idea was why don'tyou do a podcast of talking to
those people?
And I was like, that is geniuscuz now I get to do what I love
(02:33):
to do.
What it evolved then into wasthe sort of everyday masters as
really.
It's the people I'm drawn to,but it's also, I don't know for
all of us, what's that thingmaybe that we're really good at
and maybe we don't even knowwe're really good at?
Or, or how do we achieve thatfor the everyday person?
So if I can just jump in herecuz I've known you for a long
time and you love.
(02:56):
You love, like the Navy seal,the military badass, the martial
artist.
so what is it about that masterythat kind of hits you so deep?
Why is that mastery so cool?
I think it, I think in thatdepartment it's like competency.
It's this idea of I will be ableto handle any situation with,
(03:18):
you know, the smallest to thelargest means necessary to,
dominate the situation.
Right.
Wait, wait.
So dominating a situation.
Does it come from your place ofthinking You couldn't dominate
and so to meet somebody?
It's a badass that can dominate.
You're like, I wanna figure outwhat that guy's doing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's from, and you and I havebeen talking about this for
(03:39):
years.
Like it's what you did yourthesis in of it comes from this
belief of, I don't know how thatI would be a quivering pillar of
jelly right in the face of.
Whatever these made up scenariosare.
So I think yeah, that's wherethat sort of came from.
I also just love that stuff inmy own right.
Practices of stuff.
So, but I think that was thedeal.
(04:00):
This personal sense of Right.
I have no idea how to do this,any of it.
Right.
And, and I mean, and that's whatyou and I, we laugh about it, I
think you and I have a bit ofthe imposter syndrome, which I
think people can relate to,which is, all right, you've done
a lot, and I've done a lot in myown right, and you and I both
(04:21):
still think like we're endlesslyon the JV team, like mm-hmm.
Like we are not on the varsity.
There's a clear idea for both ofus that there is a varsity.
We have tried out for it.
We are on JV and we areperpetually on jv.
Right, right, right.
And I think there's this idea,if we could interview enough
masters maybe we can crack thecode or maybe listeners could
(04:41):
crack the code.
Or how do you get from beinglike really, really good at
something to being a master?
And then to your point, Maybewe're all actually masters in
something and we don't reallyknow, or we're close and does it
even fucking matter?
I mean, that, that's the otherpart of the whole thing.
You know, do we covet masteryand we're actually doing pretty
(05:04):
damn good in lots of things,right?
And we don't know, right?
I think when we were talkingabout this, we don't know where
the hell this is actually going,but we want to interview some
interesting people.
So I wanna talk about you withmastery.
So my, my buddy Mory here.
Is the only human being I'veever met in my life.
And I grew up in Los Angelesthat wanted to be an actor and
then was an actor.
(05:24):
Now, I could say this about himcuz I love him and I know him.
The guy's been in major movies,major television shows.
And here's what I know aboutMorrie.
He always thinks that like he'sthe guy that like is actually
not in the show, but he'sactually in the show.
Okay, so here we are, we'regonna do everyday masters.
(05:46):
And my buddy Morrie, like hewants to talk to people who are
masters.
And here's a guy who is clearlya master.
So Morrie, are you a master inacting?
No.
Okay.
Why can you say that so quickly?
I mean, because I, I mean, I'monly in the, I am in the
business of improvingconstantly.
I always try and be better atanything I do.
(06:08):
I think for me the idea ofmastery is you are in constant
improvement, but be careful thatyou don't stop to acknowledge
the steps of growth.
You know, like you gotta giveyourself those pats on the back
to acknowledge hey, that's awin.
That's different because that, Ithink is a part of mastery, is
the, it's not just the drive tobe better, to be better cuz,
but, so I don't think I ambecause I, I still think there's
(06:28):
something I'm seeking.
Which may be part of mastery.
Okay.
Then we need to make sure weasked Masters that we think are
Masters are, do they, do theythink they've arrived?
Is mastery a destination?
Right.
Right.
Now, I know we're getting intolike a esoteric, deep thought,
but I guess we're trying tofigure out are these people that
are different from us or are wecloser than we think?
(06:49):
Yeah.
Well, and that's a question Iwant to ask.
I mean, there may be a harshreality too, in life that we all
have to accept maybe noteverybody's meant to be, a
master.
There's so much pressure,especially in our culture, at
least that's a cliche of beingalpha, you know, being the
quarterback, being the, beingthe guy, being the star, being
the best, being number one.
(07:11):
What's wrong with beta?
And, and truthfully we may findout like, actually it's smarter
to be beta.
Like, who knows what theadvantages are of being
comfortable and that itself mayalso be a form of mastery.
And that's why I think this showin terms of what I really
started to get at, cuz I'vespent time with a lot of elite
A-list people.
And mastery is gonna be a partof that, drive and talent.
(07:32):
But also like, just for, for theeveryday person, like what are
we all working on?
What are these, all these thingsmaybe we can talk about and find
some peace in our own lives oflike, Hey, I really am winning
here and maybe it's a hobby,maybe it's not all this other
stuff.
And I've had this diseased,terrible perspective that says
the more money somebody has andthe more accolades and
(07:57):
recognition and fame orcelebrity they have, the better
they are as people.
Now, I know in my head that'snot true, but you know, I've
done years and years and yearsof work to.
Just to amplify what you justsaid, if a small segment of the
population are alpha, right, areare the obvious winners or
(08:18):
whatever we want to call'em,alright?
There's a huge percentage of allof us, or all of me, I should
say, that fall into this othergroup.
Does that mean we should alljust jump off a cliff?
Or does that mean there's a lifeto be lived?
Right?
Yeah.
You know, it's like if you're,in the group two through 25 and
not number one.
(08:39):
How do you live?
Then, you know, what are you inpursuit of?
Right?
And what's fascinating for me,which might be the counter punch
to your punch, is.
As I'm getting older and, andI'm gonna reveal that Maureen
and I are both in our fifties,we're in our early fifties.
It's true, he is shaking hishead, but it's true and I know
it.
And is that the simpler myapproach to life, the more my
(09:01):
life is about chop the wood,carry the water, do be the best
Craig I can be in my moments, Ifeel I'm stronger, more
powerful, and, and in my brainsomehow.
That flies in the face of, of myidea of mastery.
Mastery to me means likesomebody that knows everything
about something.
And, in many respects, I'm notreally sure what I know or don't
(09:23):
know anymore.
And being your dear friend.
And, and I do wanna apologizeto, to our one listener, because
a lot of this was just me andCraig wanting to hang out with
each other.
Absolutely.
And, and you know, it's afriendship that has changed both
our lives, so I think.
There is a selfish, very selfishaspect, but all of that may also
fall into this kind of thingwe're talking about.
(09:45):
That's what I like this worldabout like community and
friendship and how that affectsthis big question of stuff.
But, for our one listener too,like Craig is the same.
He, he did play varsity soccerat Berkeley.
He is an un, he's incrediblytalented musician.
I mean, I've been talking aboutdoing this podcast for over at
least a year and a half, and Ilike, you know, the, the, I move
(10:08):
at a snail's pace and he's like,okay, here's a jingle.
And maybe what we're gonna tryto do, by the way, uh, mom, one
listener, one of the things Ithink we may do as we interview
people is try to see if we cancome out of it with how we would
define mastery, right?
Because I think that's gonna betrickier than we think.
Some people will beuncomfortable.
when I ask you if you're amaster and you're an actor who's
(10:28):
been an actor a long time,you're very quick to say, no.
You ask me if I'm a master, Isay no.
So I'm just wondering when webump into somebody's like, yeah,
I think I really am.
Or, or will nobody say that, isevery master gonna be.
Like still in a pursuit ofsomething, which would be
interesting.
So I think what we wanted you toknow in this overview is we
don't exactly know what's gonnacome out of the oven.
(10:49):
We're trying to throw someingredients in there, put some,
add some heat, right?
And see where this takes us.
Around.
The idea that Maureen and I areseekers, we are constantly
trying to improve ourselves.
We are constantly happy andunhappy.
High tide, low tide.
And we still feel like there'ssome secret and we're, and we're
(11:10):
gonna find it by talking to realmasters cuz we're clearly not
them.
Right.
So how's that sound?
Is this kind of what we'reafter?
I think this sounds awesome.
So it was funny, I didn't knowMa had an idea for a podcast, I,
and I started falling in lovewith some podcasts and there's
famous people with celebritiesand doing this and doing that.
(11:31):
I called them up.
I'm like, is there any reason weshouldn't try this?
Now, mind you, huge criticinside me, oh, what's the point?
And everybody's done it.
And another podcast and da daand every, they're so famous
and.
What the fuck do I have to say?
And only my mom will listen andit's gotta suck.
All, all those things are true.
(11:52):
So far.
I'm not, you haven't saidanything that isn't untrue,
right?
So after I got through all thetruths about this, I just
thought, fuck it.
And I called Mor.
But the idea is like we all gotarick, right?
It's funny, I've been thinkingabout it a lot.
alright, if we had a hundredmillion listeners and, these
things happened, what would itbe?
Any more or less fun to probablytalk to you?
(12:13):
It probably won't changeanything.
It'll probably be the same,which will be really bizarre.
And then I think why do we evenwant to get there?
What, what's the point of there?
You know?
Probably just get morecomplicated or, so anyhow, the
whole thing in and of itself isa bit of a journey and I'm
having to fight through thisidea of like, what's the fucking
point there?
They're way funnier peoplealready doing this, so why us?
(12:36):
This is fucking stupid.
That's my critic.
Yeah, you're pretty funny.
And, and let's face it, like ifwe get a hundred million
followers, you just get thatmuch more hate mail, so, right.
Maybe you don't, again, likemaybe, right.
And I can't handle that.
I really can't handle that.
I think what's evolving out ofthis is a conversation I love
and in a way have been justobsessed by my whole life of
(12:56):
like, how do you actuallyimprove the needle?
And, that's why I'm drawn by,people who are high level
performance and like doing thosethings and I guess ultimately, I
guess in a way, and maybe thisis conceited, but it's may
maybe, like you said, maybe ifwe talk to enough people and
kind of all walks of life thatwe're gonna see something evolve
(13:18):
out of it of these themes thatare not new, right?
Of enjoy the moment and when areyou gonna start being like, make
a decision that today's the dayyou're gonna be like, you know
what?
I'm just so appreciative to bealive.
I mean of gratitude and allthese things here and now and so
I, think that's gonna be reallyinteresting in terms of, some of
(13:39):
these questions, like how do youdeal with boredom?
Do you get bored?
People who are at these highlevel stuff, what do you do in
those situations?
How do you tackleprocrastination and all these
things.
But I think, yeah, I guess in away it is, and I don't mean to,
but sorry to interrupt, but likewe started with No I was done
(13:59):
with that., Like we start withthe obvious one knowing you,
which is like the Navy Seal thatlike ripped out four guy's
throats, with his hands andlived, eating earth worms for 47
days, which I know is your guy.
I know he is coming somewhereand I will be very respectful to
that guy cuz he could rip mythroat out.
That makes you better.
Yeah, right?
Do we think eventually we'llinvite my wife, who's a makeup
(14:21):
artist?
Cuz there's a part of me thatfeels like mastery's all around
us.
They're really, and maybe it'snot sexy or entertaining to
hear, I don't know, but.
I'm not sure.
I think we totally do that.
And that's the title, and thatis, that's the Everyday Master's
bit.
Most, many high performancefields, you have to achieve a
certain level of competence tobe there.
That's just, you have to, there,there is a, but at the same
(14:43):
time, sorry, jumping in.
So again, we, I think we gottabe keeping a note of this.
Is it, is there a top ofeverything?
There's a top sector.
And then when you, when you getyourself into that sector, are,
is that what we want to callmastery, at least for today?
Like you, you're paid for thething, or, or Well, that's at
(15:07):
the top of the game.
Yeah.
And is are those, but I don't,no, because some of the guys I
know too, who I would say aremasters, like hands down, they
might even wanna be on the showbecause they're gonna be like, I
don't really want to talk aboutit.
I don't wanna be public, likenobody knows about them.
Hmm.
Because they, so it's not aboutfame, it's not about, it's not
necessarily about fame.
(15:28):
It can be, but you know, is itthe 10 thou 10,000 hours thing?
Craig and I are laughing, sortof talking about putting the
podcast together.
Like I, put a lot of time intobad habits.
Like, I'm really good atprocrastinating in certain areas
of my life.
I'm a master procrastinator.
I absolutely, you're, you arefucking great at that.
(15:49):
I think this is a terrible idea.
I think we should probably notdo the show.
I think this is No, no, no.
We should do it tomorrow.
I'm not comfortable that weshould start tomorrow.
I think I wanna think about itand then maybe like a month from
now, we'll, But is it the 10,000hours thing?
You know, so what?
What are these marks of, becauseyou may find out wait, I've put
10,000 hours into.
(16:11):
I don't know, something you doin your life, a hobby that you
might realize oh, wait a second,I am a master of this, if that's
the criteria.
So by the way, I have our firstguest.
my first guest that'll be comingon And it was interesting when I
was talking to him about it, hewas like, what if it's like
about mastering life?
Maybe there's a recipe aroundwhat to do or what not to do to
(16:38):
find yourself to mastery.
Right.
And your, and the thing the NavySeal knows are granted, he could
rip your, rip your throat outwith his hands.
Maybe it was more about practiceand dedication or going to the
gym or perseverance or exerciseor like stuff that basically we
all have to deal with.
(16:59):
ours may not be rippingsomebody's throat out, but it
would be whatever our version ofthat is that we have to deal
with.
And not to pick on the NavySeals, but there may be plenty
of people too who are like, Idon't like to pick.
Don't, please don't pick.
By the way, for the record,we're not picking on Navy Seals.
That was other people.
Other people might go that's notmastery to me.
(17:21):
Maybe that thi too.
So I, I think that's, there'sthis piece of perception of, I,
I'm beginning to think, for meit's a way of being.
It's, and it is maybe more thatthing like you're our first
guest.
Is it mastering life, masteringthe criteria of your own life
and exactly what's on your platetoday?
The way I often summed it up asmy grandfather when he was about
(17:42):
93, who, who was a master ofcraftsman.
He was built wooden boats byhand and he knew detail in line
and angle and he got it right.
And whenever he built anything,he always did it.
He did it well and then he didit extra well.
It was just, He, but the line heused when he was 93 and Oh good.
We were hanging this boat overour heads, this heavy wooden
boat, and we're like franticallytying it and wrapping lines on
(18:04):
and all this.
And he's, he barely stand up andhe's kind of swaying, holding on
his cane.
And I just hear him mumble.
He says, too many is not betterthan too few.
And that was it.
Because what I think a masterknows is how many mm-hmm.
They don't overdo it.
They don't underdo it.
Right.
So how do you get there?
(18:25):
Whether it's athletics, acting,horsemanship, marriage,
parenting, golf, I don't know,painting art, like how do you
know that spot?
And you're just, you refineyourself enough that that's,
you're just closer to it everytime, you know?
(18:46):
And I think that's probably howI would start to define it.
And this is why I hate thispodcast already because I come
from the idea that I don't know,aside from if you qualified for
the Masters golf tournament thatsays master.
If you aside from that, that'sthe only one I can think of
right now.
Isn't all this other stuff, ajourney or no.
(19:08):
If you made it into the topsports leagues, cuz there is a
league and if you get there, wecould say you're at the top if
you win an Academy award, right?
I guess.
Mm-hmm.
I don't know.
Mm-hmm.
If you get a certain belt in amartial arts, if you win in a
word, if you're recognized byyour peers, Other than those
things, isn't it all subjective,isn't it all one step at a time
(19:32):
trying to practice, improve,refine.
Yeah, just be in pursuit of thething you're interested in.
Yeah.
Right.
Confetti doesn't drop from theceiling.
When you become a master atbeing in a relationship with,
with your wife, Confetti doesn'tdrop from the ceiling when you
(19:53):
become a really great friend orsomething.
And is, does that shit notmatter then because you don't,
because, yeah, it doesn'tmatter, does it?
Well, I think that maybe, isthat a dog or a seal?
What is that?
Do you have a pet seal?
Oh, it's a dog.
Sorry.
I mean, that wouldn't make sensethat you have a seal in your
house, but I, we tried it.
It was hard.
(20:14):
Right, the sardines cause of theno, cuz the no water.
So we wanted you to know when westart this whole thing, this is
where we're at.
I think it's gonna be fun.
Yeah.
So I think we're good.
and I think, you know, for ourlisteners, listeners you know,
it's probably a dangerous thingto do, but in a way, if once
(20:34):
this gets up and running andyou, you have somebody who
you're inspired by, you know,let us know and maybe we'll be
able to reach out and talk topeople.
Okay, we're gonna sign off fromthe overview here.
Thanks everyone for tuning intothe overview of Everyday
Masters.
We know this is gonna be anincredible journey together.
(20:56):
We do.
Thank you.
And, and we won't play thisepisode until like year two.
Right.
So it'd be like there's no,there's no, oh, yeah.
I mean, this is, this is superfun and a great lead in, but
there's no way we're playingthis for a while.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Okay.
I'll talk to you in a littlebit.
Bye.
Bye everybody.
Everyday Masters.
(21:18):
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday Masters.
Everyday.
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