Episode 64 features Matt Lady, who dabbling in many directions professionally and is personally working towards something as you’ll soon discover.
We discuss side projects, entrepreneurship, timing, celebrating others, spending time with ourselves, and much much more.
Throughout the conversation, we discuss:
- Side Projects
- Lorem Dripsum
- Entrepreneurship
- Basketball
- Timing is everything
- Streaming
- Don’t put me in a box
- Podcasting
- Platform selection
- Decisions and money
- Klay Thompson
- Success isn’t just being the star
- Room for everyone
- Being authentic
- Spending real time with yourself
- Being your own best teammate
- And much more
Music created and provided by Henno Heitur of Monkey Tongue Productions.
–End Show Notes Transmission–
–Begin Transcription–
00:00:00:07 – 00:00:26:04
Agent Palmer
Previously on Agent Palmer RT.com. Souvenir of Canada is not to be left untouched on a shelf. Quincy perfectly celebrates the living legacy of Quincy Jones, and I can confirm that at least a few times since last episode, Janae and I have geeked out about the same exact thing. This is The Palmer Files episode 64 with Matt Lady, who is dabbling in many directions professionally and personally working towards something, as you’ll soon discover.
00:00:26:17 – 00:00:46:31
Agent Palmer
We discuss side projects, entrepreneurship, timing, celebrating others, spending time with ourselves, and much, much more. Are you ready? Let’s do the show.
00:00:46:36 – 00:01:06:16
Agent Palmer
With.
00:01:06:21 – 00:01:25:28
Agent Palmer
Hello, and welcome to the Palmer Files. I’m your host, Jason Stershic, also known as Agent Palmer. And on this 64th episode is Matt Lady. Matt is many things, and he is evolving. He has an agency, a coffee brand, which we’ll get to soon enough, and he has his eye on streaming and creating content in the future. We discuss all of that.
00:01:25:28 – 00:02:03:28
Agent Palmer
Plus, does he really think he’s prepared for being live on the internet? How would he define himself? How we get along with ourselves being authentic, not being put in a box. And I may or may not get on a soapbox or two. All of this and much more is headed your way shortly. But first, remember, if you want to discuss this episode as you listen or afterwards, you can tweet me at Agent Palmer, my guest Matt, Lady at Matt lady, that’s Matt lady or at high Key Geek underscore for information on his streaming and this show at The Palmer Files, you can find Matt’s former podcast relatively vulnerable.
00:02:03:28 – 00:02:22:49
Agent Palmer
Wherever good podcasts can be found. Don’t forget, you can see all of my writings and rantings on Agent palmer.com. And of course, email can be sent to the Palmer files at gmail.com. So without further ado, let’s get it down. The court.
00:02:22:53 – 00:02:55:33
Agent Palmer
Matt, you came to my attention on Twitter because you established that you were a part of a coffee thing called Lorem ipsum. But what really spoke to me, aside from the name, is that that you called that a side project. And I started a blog ten years ago. That was a side project. I started a podcast. These are things that I would consider side projects, a coffee brand is not nearly anywhere near my brain for a side project.
00:02:55:42 – 00:03:18:03
Matt Lady
Yes, it, it definitely. I understand where you’re coming from and like, at first glance, I can definitely see why you’re feeling that way. Okay, same here for me. I kind of got lucky and was kind of just an itch I wanted to scratch because I found this really interesting service, and I’m just going to give myself up because it doesn’t matter.
00:03:18:07 – 00:03:40:14
Matt Lady
It’s called drip shipper. It’s premium dropshipping coffee. Okay. It’s a Shopify app that you just plug in and you can make a brand, you can make coffee, make your website, and they’ll take care of the orders. And you can I picked up my flavors and all that. So in this case, a coffee brand can be a side project, a full on original roasted.
00:03:40:14 – 00:04:04:24
Matt Lady
I’m making this stuff myself. I’m like all that. Yeah, totally. That’s a tough side project. That that. Yeah. But in my case, where it’s essentially print on demand for coffee, that’s, it’s a little more flexible and a little more easy going. So I just have to worry about the traffic to the site and the messaging and taking care of the customers, but.
00:04:04:24 – 00:04:10:24
Agent Palmer
Okay. All right. And and I’m going to take a leap here. The name came first.
00:04:10:29 – 00:04:24:59
Matt Lady
Oh, yeah. All right. I, I, I. I thought it was so funny. I came up with it and I was like, hey, this is, like, so dumb. No one else is going to do this. I’m going to. I have to do.
00:04:24:59 – 00:04:49:22
Agent Palmer
It like I love it. I think like I’ve, I’ve told I don’t know if the people I’ve told are necessarily coffee drinkers, but every developer I’ve ever met since I came across it, I’m like, you got to check this out because you did the site up so well with if You’re Not. I feel like if you’re not in marketing or development, there are jokes on that site that get lost on you.
00:04:49:27 – 00:05:01:21
Agent Palmer
But having been kind of in that world, I loved that site. Like it was just there were Easter eggs beyond the coffee. There was just like, this is I found my people.
00:05:01:26 – 00:05:22:18
Matt Lady
No. That’s awesome. And that’s really what I wanted to do. It was I was not trying to make a coffee brand for everyone. I was just trying to find my other fellow weirdo nerds, geeks, funny people that are like, I, what what we’re talking about on my site, for example, is one of the header headlines is like, insert catchy headline here.
00:05:22:23 – 00:05:41:09
Matt Lady
And I was I had a dozen people reach out to me, message, text, reply and comment saying, hey, I think your website isn’t done yet. You didn’t change it or like push the change or and then I had a couple people, like I typed out a whole message and then it dawned on me, you did that on purpose because it’s Matt.
00:05:41:14 – 00:06:03:03
Matt Lady
So, the people who knew me got it, and then the people who came across it, were a little more like, what’s this guy doing? But, it made a few hundred bucks and orders without, like, a couple social posts, and it’s, it’s something I’ll keep going back to here and there. It’s not something that’s top of mind for me right now, but I’m glad that I got it started.
00:06:03:03 – 00:06:07:40
Matt Lady
And and it brought a few smiles and brought me a smile, so it was worth it.
00:06:07:40 – 00:06:11:49
Agent Palmer
So would you consider yourself an entrepreneur?
00:06:11:53 – 00:06:42:08
Matt Lady
Yeah, and I hesitate and I say it like with a side because, I don’t think I’m the stereotypical traditional entrepreneur that like society. And a lot of people would envision. I’m pretty mild mannered, pretty soft spoken. I like keeping to myself. I can come out and be the life of a party and the center of attention and be, like middle of a dance circle and like, you know, all of that stuff, too.
00:06:42:08 – 00:07:11:08
Matt Lady
Like, I have that side of me too, but it’s just, Yeah, I just like doing the. I like trying to do what I want to do every day. And if that’s entrepreneur, if that’s what’s called entrepreneurship, if that’s called freelancing, if that’s called, part time, whatever. Like, I don’t really mind what it’s called so that, yeah, I’m an entrepreneur, I, I have a few I have an agency I, I co-own and start, having a little media company and then the coffee brand and then the, other e-commerce brands.
00:07:11:08 – 00:07:32:22
Matt Lady
So it’s like a little small holding company. And so, yeah, if I have a holding company, then, yeah, I guess I’m an entrepreneur. But it’s just like all new to me. And, I wasn’t brought up with that. Like, my dad just, just worked 9 to 5 and worked his face off. And my brother has a job and he’s he’s been dabbling in it the last couple of years, too.
00:07:32:34 – 00:07:47:57
Matt Lady
But I was the only one around me and my friends and immediate family. Two of like, the first entrepreneur. So that’s why it’s like this foreign thing to me. And it doesn’t even feel like I’m an entrepreneur. I didn’t set out and like, that’s my dream to go do that.
00:07:48:04 – 00:07:49:38
Agent Palmer
But what was the dream then?
00:07:49:43 – 00:07:57:59
Matt Lady
Okay, in order and, I’m coming. I’m coming back to dream number two soon. So which is which is exciting. Number one NBA player.
00:07:58:10 – 00:07:59:13
Agent Palmer
Okay, all right.
00:07:59:18 – 00:08:18:04
Matt Lady
I played basketball through high school. I was the sport I like the most, not the sport I was best at. I was way better at baseball. Like, uncomfortably better at baseball. Okay. And then I didn’t like it, so I just stopped it. And then I kept going to basketball. And then I grew five more inches and I’m six four, so that helps.
00:08:18:09 – 00:08:41:01
Matt Lady
Yeah, it was fun. So that basketball NBA. But that didn’t work out. But I probably really, could have dabbled into either sports reporting, sports announcing. Okay, coaching, that sort of thing. I’m really analytical and strategic and, like, I was leading film sessions in high school and for the rest of the team, short like, okay, like, I’m, I’m with the remote.
00:08:41:01 – 00:08:51:09
Matt Lady
Like, coach went out the locker room and went to his office. And I would sit there, look the remote and tell the team, like over a film session, like, let’s look, you know, that was just me as a high school kid.
00:08:51:11 – 00:08:53:20
Agent Palmer
Well, that’s still on the table. I’ll say that.
00:08:53:31 – 00:09:17:21
Matt Lady
It still is. It’s still. That’s true. Yeah, it’s still on the table. That part of it, not NBA player, but, maybe basketball related still for sure. It’s okay. Yeah. It’s it’s it’s my first passion. It’s the first thing I really was drawn to. The whole sport. And so after I stopped playing, like, officially for school and just played it casually in college, it just wasn’t quite the same.
00:09:17:21 – 00:09:36:03
Matt Lady
And then I stopped watching it as much because I was a huge fan. I grew up in the Bay area, so I was I was a fan of the Warriors before they got amazingly good. I suffered through many a, slow season, but we got really good tickets for really cheap for quite a while. Okay, so I’m lucky for that.
00:09:36:08 – 00:10:00:18
Matt Lady
So that’s dream number one is NBA player and then NBA adjacent with like reporting coaching etc.. Okay. Now dream number two which again I’m revisiting really soon is being a professional or like content creator in terms of with like streaming for Twitch. Okay. So my game is League of Legends and I’ve been playing that game for like ten years now.
00:10:00:23 – 00:10:19:25
Matt Lady
Like it’s a, it’s a game where you if you’re if you or anyone else isn’t familiar, it’s a game where you control a single character for about 30 to 60 minutes. You go, you you have four teammates, you fight five other enemies, you battle, you level up, you get items, you get old, you try to kill them, you kill their base.
00:10:19:30 – 00:10:51:49
Matt Lady
And it’s one of the most popular games in the world. And there’s national and international tournaments and it’s like legitimately a multi-million, almost billion dollar industry that happened like right after I stopped, my peak of interest in playing and like, my skill level at one point in time, I was so into the game and sort of getting so good at it, and it was kind of early, but I was in the top 0.08% of ranked players.
00:10:51:49 – 00:10:54:59
Matt Lady
I was like, some look like at all of the country, right?
00:10:55:01 – 00:11:18:40
Agent Palmer
Look, timing is everything, right? Like because I look back and, you know, my blog turned ten last year. But at the same token, if I had started it just like five years earlier, I would be that much larger now. And, you know, the podcast is more than two years old, and I had been dabbling around it, but had I started years, you know, like it’s just that timing element.
00:11:18:40 – 00:11:38:52
Agent Palmer
But it, you know, sappy as it is. And I kind of keep coming back to this like, but you’re here now, right. Like because I didn’t start the then and because you stopped when you did, like here you are now and I think it’s because that’s all I’ve got left. Like, what else is there? Like, this is where I’m at.
00:11:38:52 – 00:12:00:39
Agent Palmer
Like, I can’t I can’t go back and change any of that. You know, I, I, I have a hard time adapting to new games. The newest game I’ve picked up is Minecraft, right? Like that’s the newest game I’ve picked up in the last couple of years. But before then, I was still playing like the original Diablo and like the original Warcraft two.
00:12:00:41 – 00:12:29:58
Agent Palmer
Like know I, the original quake like, and I say the original because like, I grew up with that and I kept it, I didn’t I didn’t evolve right. Like I have the, the quake anthology. I can play one, two, three, or four. I always play one like I it’s not like they’re not available. Right? Like, and even online, like you can get all these games I this is where I am.
00:12:29:58 – 00:12:59:28
Agent Palmer
This is my space. I’m comfortable here. It’s cool. But I enjoy playing those games by myself. I, I watch Twitch, I watch streamers more power to them. I don’t know that I would be able to focus on an audience and the game like I, you know, you and I are having this conversation and it’s going to get edited.
00:12:59:33 – 00:13:20:55
Agent Palmer
So I only have to talk to you. And I, you know, you are my audience. You are also the other half of this conversation that that overlap is very nice and easy. I don’t know if I could do this live and then have a chat, right? Like even if it was live to the internet, like, do you have experience with this or are you just jumping in like, here we go.
00:13:21:05 – 00:13:42:26
Matt Lady
Good. Very good question. I have adjacent experience okay. And few different areas that I feel like has uniquely prepared me for the criticism and vulnerability of putting myself out on the internet. Like, much like I’m about to now. Yeah, I was a basketball ref in high school.
00:13:42:31 – 00:14:09:46
Agent Palmer
And I need to apologize right now because I you you were the first person, that I’ve come. I’m. I’m much older than I was in high school. Right. But I was, I was in the pep band. Okay. And I was in the band as a fan of sports and a band geek. Not just as a band geek.
00:14:09:51 – 00:14:45:04
Agent Palmer
So I would pay attention to the game a little more closely than, say, other members of the pep band. I would be the one during a timeout. Still yelling at you, the referee, for like, that foul. That wasn’t the thing. So I need to apologize because there was, at a certain point, one particular year, I had a running bet for $10 with members of the actual varsity basketball team that I would get a technical from from the stands, not the bench from the stands.
00:14:45:04 – 00:15:15:33
Agent Palmer
Right. And I got close like I got spoken to by the superintendent and the principal, never by the referees. Like never by their like they I got a look. Once was the most I ever got right like the those guys were saints for like ignoring me. Right. I mean I used to get on the other team, the opponents too, like, because they’re a little bit easier, but like, I need you because none of my behavior then was especially looking back.
00:15:15:33 – 00:15:30:40
Agent Palmer
I go, what was I thinking? So first of all, more power. And I feel I feel like if if anyone like me was ever at one of your games, like you are more than prepared for the internet.
00:15:30:44 – 00:15:53:26
Matt Lady
Yes. And I was. Yes, at. That’s so funny. If I was who I am now, back in high school, I would be more like, you know, right from, like, from the stands, like, versus just being a player for the bench. So I can relate there. I was going on to say you were a basketball ref in a, in Pleasanton, and that’s in the Bay area in California.
00:15:53:31 – 00:16:22:43
Matt Lady
And for a while it was the the richest mid-size town in America or something. Right. It’s so like it’s super like bougie and like the all these people with money and like, take their son and daughter sports way too seriously. And, and I learned from a very early age, you cannot please everyone. I can make the rate correct 100% clear as they call, and at least 50% of the gym is going to complain anyway.
00:16:22:44 – 00:16:24:11
Agent Palmer
Yes, yes.
00:16:24:16 – 00:16:49:25
Matt Lady
So I learned that from an early age. Both as a player and then as a ref, I saw it, I get it. And so I think that is going to help, prepare me for it no matter what I say. What I do. Yeah, 100%. Someone’s going to haters. People that are just trolling. People that feel like we mean whatever, criticizing whatever.
00:16:49:25 – 00:17:23:04
Matt Lady
So that’s the first experience that helped me, I think start to get ready looking back. And then the second one would probably, I don’t need to go into the whole story. But is I was dancing in a suit at a nightclub for a work event and in front of, like, 100 people. And I was in the middle of the dance floor and all eyes were on me.
00:17:23:04 – 00:17:35:16
Matt Lady
And then bouncer, like, called me out and, like, people were, like, cheering and having a good old time and, like, came up after me and like, wow. After the song was over, like, wow, that was so good.
00:17:35:16 – 00:17:36:14
Agent Palmer
That was so fun.
00:17:36:14 – 00:17:54:39
Matt Lady
Like, I’m like, I don’t know, man. I’m just like, I just had a bunch of drinks and was having a good time. And, so I don’t mind being the center of attention. Entertaining. Okay. I like, I don’t mind, and I like putting myself down or like, being vulnerable and open and being like, hey, it’s okay, guys.
00:17:54:39 – 00:18:05:29
Matt Lady
Like, it’s okay. Like, I suck at dancing. But I still had a blast. Yeah. And so just like I’m going to be playing, I may not be the best, but I’m still going to have a good time.
00:18:05:34 – 00:18:26:19
Agent Palmer
And so. And am I to just make an assumption here, like you enjoy being able to turn it on and off, right. Like, I mean, because earlier you said, like, yeah, I’m not I don’t need to be the center of attention. So you like the you like that, that, that like little dichotomy of like, all right, it’s time to perform and then let’s turn off the light.
00:18:26:24 – 00:18:27:09
Agent Palmer
Time to go home.
00:18:27:09 – 00:18:50:31
Matt Lady
Yes, I, I think you nailed it. And I think that’s a great way to put it is I like being in control of the light switch. Okay, I do not I do not like being told what to do, when to do it by when this do it this way. This is why. Like if I can control the light switch and have more of that control and more of that autonomy and freedom, I thrive.
00:18:50:31 – 00:19:08:23
Matt Lady
I do a lot better. I can be myself. If you try to put me in a box, you guys are going to make me shrink. And that’s really hard to make. Someone who’s 64 and used to compete in powerlifting competitions to be smaller and shrink and fit in your box, you’re not going to get the best, Matt that way.
00:19:08:36 – 00:19:14:50
Matt Lady
Yeah, or I’m going to eventually bust out of the box and move on. So yeah, I.
00:19:14:55 – 00:19:54:21
Agent Palmer
I think personally like it goes, but I think it depends on who’s doing it. Right. Like I, I have no problem with one of my former bosses used to manipulate me in that kind of a way, like, you can’t do this or like, you know, you’re, you know, the whole point down to prove me wrong thing. Right? But if you don’t know me, like, if you don’t know what you’re doing, because if you push me the wrong way, like I’m either going to come through and accomplish the thing that you said couldn’t be done, or I’m just going to completely explode and I’m not going to implode where it’s just me.
00:19:54:23 – 00:20:20:31
Agent Palmer
No, I’m taking you out with me like it is you. There is going to be no safe space. So you have to know what you’re doing, right? And I I’m I’m there. So you want. And if you’re going to challenge me. Okay. And and at least on Twitch, like you have that power, right. Like you’ve got mods that can keep after for you.
00:20:20:31 – 00:20:27:03
Agent Palmer
You can do it, you know, just and you set the boundaries and you create the community. So it’s a little bit, you know.
00:20:27:09 – 00:20:27:47
Matt Lady
Yeah.
00:20:27:52 – 00:20:28:36
Agent Palmer
All right.
00:20:28:40 – 00:20:52:14
Matt Lady
And I’ve last, last but not least, I have, I’m sure there’s other stuff, but I think these are three just major ones that came to mind immediately as I’ve started and hosted and co-hosted and been guest on dozen 20 podcasts. And so I’ve started and stopped a few different shows myself, personal, business related, whatever.
00:20:52:19 – 00:21:16:22
Matt Lady
Now, launching a media network of sorts. It’s going to be small, to start. And so other people are going to produce and edit and stuff, and I’m more like either a talent for the show or as we add shows, I’m just helping form the premise of the show, helping, like, you know, the strategy to help grow the shows, to help co-host out.
00:21:16:27 – 00:21:38:55
Matt Lady
You know, empower them, educate them, give them what they need to succeed. So I think just podcasting. And one of them was called, the and I think I, I want to bring it back, but, it’s called the Relatively Vulnerable podcast. Okay. And I had about 15 or 20 episodes, first time ever doing it, just doing it myself.
00:21:38:55 – 00:22:06:36
Matt Lady
No help outside and really just winging it because I had no idea. But it was the premise was a candid, open, casual conversation of someone opening up about something, some insecurity, some thing that happened to them in the past, a topic that is a health condition that they deal with that is, as is lesser known, people who are recovering from abuse and trauma.
00:22:06:40 – 00:22:26:06
Matt Lady
There’s so many different kinds of stories that people wanted to come on and share. Yeah. So I was, I they wanted to come on and share and I was just like letting them like talk and like, yeah, I would ask questions and guide and, you know, and be empathetic. And like, I had tears in my eyes half the time, like, like, but it was great and it was fun.
00:22:26:06 – 00:22:45:56
Matt Lady
And I ended up doing like, I don’t know, a thousand downloads. And like, this is like when I mini small audience and like, whatever. So I was like, that’s impressive. That’s cool. But the messages I get from people that I haven’t talked to in years that still follow me on Instagram and stuff, they were like, dude, this this show is so unique.
00:22:45:56 – 00:23:14:29
Matt Lady
It’s really cool. I’m glad. So glad you’re doing it. And that was like right before the pandemic started. And then I kind of got distracted and like, you know, other stuff and freelancing and making money and, you know, whatever. So I think it was really cool. And I really like that because I did it because I wanted to better own my insecurities and open up about my own mental health and my depression, anxiety and all this sort of stuff.
00:23:14:33 – 00:23:34:27
Matt Lady
So it was really cool to see that come together. So those, those things, the basketball rapping, the dancing in front of everyone and podcasting and just opening up to people, random people on the internet, I feel like I’m primed and ready to go and like a former athlete. Right. Basketball and powerlifting, like, I’m used to having people watch me.
00:23:34:40 – 00:24:11:04
Agent Palmer
So I guess the question I have listening to all of this is you have different platforms, right? Like you could have I could just stick with podcasting, which it sounds like you’ll be in and around at some point. You’re going to go live on Twitch, but like YouTube’s out there as just straight video, like not live video. And I’ve always found it fascinating watching people that stream on Twitch and do YouTube content separate or people that only do one or only do the other.
00:24:11:08 – 00:24:34:08
Agent Palmer
Was there a big discussion or were you like, no, I want the interaction because to me, right. Like the difference between a YouTube video and a podcast is very little like I. Granted, it’s audio and video, but there’s very little difference. Twitch. You’re getting an interaction which you don’t have in the other places. So for you, was it just a matter of like, oh, I want that live feed back?
00:24:34:13 – 00:24:53:13
Agent Palmer
I want that because, yeah, we perform for the camera, we perform for the microphone. It’s not the same. Right? Like I can edit this. You have that final control at the end, right? When your live on Twitch. Yeah. I mean, you could take down the video, but like the people who were there and watching you like you, you’re that’s it.
00:24:53:13 – 00:25:01:21
Agent Palmer
You’re performing. You’re on like we said, the switch is turned on. Is that part of why you want the live aspect?
00:25:01:26 – 00:25:32:02
Matt Lady
You know, I hadn’t considered it that way. Too much for me. It was a natural thing to just twitch gaming. That’s where gamers go. That’s where I watch. I’ve watched that like countless hours of League of Legends. That’s where you go to build a new base that’s like my new home base is like for my gaming side, my live stream for league is going to be on Twitch, and then I can continue to point people whichever which way.
00:25:32:16 – 00:26:06:21
Matt Lady
Yeah. Go to my check out my podcast, check out my newsletter, check out my this brand. Check out this my at my agency. Check out this. Whatever. It’s just another tent like pillar, I guess. Sure. And I think I want and and I’m not solo doing all of this. By the way, I have a couple, before everyone anyone thinks of, like, psycho, which I still am a little bit psycho, but, like, there’s I have a few people that have, like, contracted with and freelancers and this sort of thing to help behind the scenes on some of these things.
00:26:06:26 – 00:26:30:50
Matt Lady
So it’s not a huge team, it’s a couple people part time. But YouTube is on the on the horizon too. But, not all Twitch and YouTube will be like the gaming mat. Okay. And that like that brand and then YouTube Matt lady will be like other philosophical thinking content blog, personal stuff.
00:26:30:50 – 00:26:31:11
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:26:31:11 – 00:26:51:29
Matt Lady
All right. So that’s what. Yeah, that’s kind of what’s coming and what’s really my focus on 2022 is, is that is that personal what I want that fulfilling. Not just like what’s the best highest ROI leverage move. Yeah. Like doing this like just and this is not anything against you doing this podcast. If I was trying to squeeze out every single dollar this year.
00:26:51:31 – 00:26:55:01
Matt Lady
Yeah. During this podcast is not smart, dude. I’ll two and a half, you know,
00:26:55:15 – 00:27:15:20
Agent Palmer
I’ll tell you what, I, I have yet to make a decision based on money, and I’ve been happier for it. Right. Like, I know that you and I having a conversation where I’m not trying to get you to reveal something, where I’m not trying to be sensational, like, are you right? Or are you left, you know, like, well, no.
00:27:15:20 – 00:27:37:52
Agent Palmer
What do you feel about this one hot button topic? Like, is science real? Is truth truth? Like, I’m not going to go there, right? And these are things that I could get the clickbaity headlines and then, you know, I can I can then turn that into, if I wanted to a clickbaity blog. And now I’ve got more traffic on my blog and more like, yeah, no, but you know what?
00:27:37:56 – 00:27:57:30
Agent Palmer
I want to be able to sleep at night knowing, like I created a good piece of content. Like I didn’t make any money, didn’t make any money, but I generally had fun. I have something that I want to share with people that will make their day better. Like, yeah, not everybody’s going to find this because I’m not spent, you know, I’m not being clickbaity.
00:27:57:30 – 00:28:18:21
Agent Palmer
But the people that do, the people that are listening, it’ll make their day a little bit better, though. They’ll be a little bit happier. They’ll have a smile like, and I, I’ve been talking about a little bit more of like, I haven’t spent the time to write a negative review since the one I put on my blog oh, so long ago, but it’s because I don’t.
00:28:18:25 – 00:28:37:15
Agent Palmer
Nobody needs like, look, nobody needs. I don’t need to share that I, I, I want to put out positivity at this point. And it’s not like a way of life. I still get down. I still get sad. I still get depressed. Like these things happen. We’re all human. But like, I don’t have to share that with you, right?
00:28:37:15 – 00:29:00:58
Agent Palmer
Like, Matt, you’re here. I’m happy. This is fun. And I don’t need to share that. I got you to cry because I’m picking up, you know what I mean? Like I’m not that person anymore. And I think you you grow into it. And the other thing is, I’ve tried to, like, curate my consuming to be positive as well.
00:29:01:02 – 00:29:30:00
Agent Palmer
I don’t need people yelling into a void. That’s no fun. I know that it makes people money because people are curious, but, like, the best thing you can do for yourself is just unplug. Like, just turn off, tune out like it’s fine. And some of it is tuning into the right thing, right? Like, if you find a wholesome streamer, wholesome podcast.
00:29:30:05 – 00:29:48:56
Agent Palmer
And I’m not saying language wise like I, I would consider this podcast wholesome in that, like, I’m not trying to trick you. I, I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I’m not, you know, like, none of that is happening here. So this could be considered your tune out for the day. You’re our you’re our 15, whatever this ends up being.
00:29:48:56 – 00:30:19:03
Agent Palmer
And that’s great. But, like, we need more people putting that kind of stuff out in the world. If everybody’s putting out, like, hey, that guy’s an asshole, you’re wrong. Think that’s not. No, like that’s not good. And last year, one of the few actual sports programs I still watch turn 25 and that’s PTI, right. And they did a massive retrospective on Pardon the Interruption, which I if if anybody gets a chance there’s a one hour special.
00:30:19:03 – 00:30:45:40
Agent Palmer
They did that. Then Pablo Torres turned into an actual like mini series podcast for ESPN The Podcast. But one of the things that I found myself relating to, like, I’ve watched Pardon the Interruption since it started way back when I was in college. And you don’t think about why this show endures until they sit down with the hosts and go like, what?
00:30:45:54 – 00:31:09:52
Agent Palmer
Why are you still doing this? Why is this working? And well, because there’s two people on the screen that yell at each other with love, right? Like those two hosts care about each other. I try to do like I try to host this show in the same way. Like, I don’t know you, but I care about you. You were willing to take the time.
00:31:09:57 – 00:31:31:44
Agent Palmer
I yell at you with love. If I’m going to yell at you at all, I’m. I don’t need to be like, Will the warriors suck? Like that’s that? No, like nobody needs to hear that. Especially now. Because as we record this, Clay came back and the entire league gave him love, right? Like this. And this was a story that was about felt bigger than sport.
00:31:31:49 – 00:31:52:21
Agent Palmer
And it’s one of the reasons that while it’s cliche to say it’s bigger than sport, it’s not right. Like that’s perseverance defined almost a thousand days away from the one thing you want to do. Take a microphone away from me for a thousand days. I will go insane. I will start something else. It’s not going to happen, right?
00:31:52:21 – 00:32:19:25
Agent Palmer
Like I can’t not write for a thousand days, right? It’s just unfathomable. And yet, Klay Thompson found a way to come back with authority and made it about something bigger than himself as well. He didn’t he didn’t come back and be like me, me, me like, that’s not the way it went. And we need more of that in the world, right?
00:32:19:25 – 00:32:31:21
Agent Palmer
Like, and we should celebrate that when we find people who aren’t me, me, me or that guy’s wrong. Like, no, we there’s room for everybody.
00:32:31:26 – 00:33:01:04
Matt Lady
Yeah, there’s so much room for everyone. And touching on that, Clay’s return all all of his teammates, War Klay Thompson jerseys. Yeah. Like how are you going to get an entire team of what is there. And this is my team I’m speaking about them like overly egotistical big adult babies who complain to the refs every play and are like, this and that and like theatrical and make trillions of dollars a year.
00:33:01:17 – 00:33:25:55
Matt Lady
Like, they put their egos aside and like, they didn’t wear their suits or whatever fashion statement they wanted to make that night. Like they showed up for their teammate. Yeah, they put a another grown man’s jersey on and said, I’m with 11. And everyone did that. And even Curry, even Draymond, the stars, the people that are it’s that’s the culture.
00:33:25:55 – 00:33:44:44
Matt Lady
That’s a that’s what family really looks like. Not the workplace or a family. So we all work 20 hours a day and get drunk together. And we’re family and we never leave us. Like not that kind of family like that. Like that. Yeah. Like showing that love for him. They knew how much it meant to him. Like that’s insane.
00:33:44:46 – 00:33:46:46
Matt Lady
Is is really cool and heartwarming.
00:33:46:55 – 00:34:12:02
Agent Palmer
I, I, I had like it was weird like, you know it like I my Twitter feed is not sports related. I can find the sports stuff I’m looking for if I want it. That’s not. But but when my feed starts creeping in with sports things, I know it’s transcended sport. Like, that’s just how it works. And it it was blown up.
00:34:12:02 – 00:34:44:18
Agent Palmer
I was very impressed. And I look and I felt bad because, he was such a great teammate. Like, I feel like it’ll be when Klay Thompson eventually retires and writes his autobiography, which he’s gotta do. Like, if if nobody’s in his ear saying, like, you got to write about this, you have to write about this. Because not only did he recover after a thousand, almost a thousand days away from the game, but it’s not like he went away like he was on the bench.
00:34:44:23 – 00:35:11:50
Agent Palmer
He was there watching other people compete for him, essentially because he was still on the team. And that’s not easy. I the only thing I’ve got close to it right now is ESPN plus has the Tom Brady man in the arena and it’s the most authentic, honest sports program I think I’ve ever seen. Because like in episode one, Drew Bledsoe is 100% honest.
00:35:11:50 – 00:35:34:17
Agent Palmer
Being like, yeah, I wanted I didn’t want him to succeed. Like I wanted to get back out there after my knee was good, but the team was winning. And so you swallow it and that’s fine. And at the time, Drew Bledsoe, the consummate teammate, swallowed his pride and he helped him from the sideline. And then he signed a big contract with Buffalo and got out of town.
00:35:34:22 – 00:35:59:31
Agent Palmer
But for that moment he was the teammate right. And we don’t prop up these people enough. Like in in a world where TMZ sport exists. So there’s somebody, you know, if you go back to that season that’s going to be like, so drew, like, you really want you really want Tom to screw up, right? And drew said all the right things at that time.
00:35:59:31 – 00:36:28:49
Agent Palmer
Like he can say that he hated it. Now. Now it’s decades on. That’s fine. And Clay can say it hurt a lot to watch his team out there without him. Later. But those two guys in the moment did the right thing. We don’t see that. Watch the news. Period. The end. Even if you’re right or you’re left and tell me that there are people out there that are just in it for themselves, saying whatever they need to to keep the spotlight on them.
00:36:28:49 – 00:36:48:15
Agent Palmer
They never want the spotlight to dim. Yeah, we don’t highlight the people that fall out of their own accord because they’re supposed to. And we need to, like that cannot be understated. We need to celebrate these people more.
00:36:48:20 – 00:37:15:40
Matt Lady
I think we absolutely should celebrate weight and power, raise awareness, highlight all of these sidekicks, all of these supporters, these teammates. Yeah. The the Robin to the Batman and the Alfred to the Batman. All the supporting cast, all the VP’s, the assistants, the the significant others of these huge business leaders and moguls and, yeah, tech giants. Like, they’re behind the scenes.
00:37:15:40 – 00:37:43:53
Matt Lady
They’re the ones oftentimes, I think it’s inevitable when someone is great and I’m talking to the top at top of business, sport, performing whatever something is lacking on the other end. Yeah, something has to give if you are the best at something, and that falls not just on that person. It usually comes around on the their family, their friends, their coworkers, their loved ones around them.
00:37:43:57 – 00:37:52:57
Matt Lady
And they like supporting them, dealing with it, like being there for them, whatever. Those are the stories I want to I want to learn more about.
00:37:53:10 – 00:38:25:51
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I, I, we it’s interesting. I’ve been reading a lot of biographies of late and, the real the ones I really like are the ones where they talk about the hard times because it’s easy to write about the good times, like, you know, I mean, like, if I were to write a book, the easiest thing in the world for me to do would be to take the last two and a half years where I was unemployed and go, well, I was unemployed for two and a half years during a pandemic period.
00:38:26:00 – 00:38:53:27
Agent Palmer
On to the next chapter, right? Like it’s easy to just gloss over that. No, like I was depressed. I was manic. Some days I would be happy and some days I wouldn’t be right. Like, you know, there are things in there that if you’re not paying attention or you don’t take the time to look back, you go, I didn’t learn anything from that.
00:38:53:35 – 00:39:14:26
Agent Palmer
Hell, no. I learned that shit ton from that. Right? Like I was bored. Which is the one thing I hate in this world. And when I’m bored, I think about things. And when you think about things, you think about where you are and how you got there and why you’re not somewhere else. And living with your own thoughts is never like I.
00:39:14:26 – 00:39:49:11
Agent Palmer
I live as a functioning, anxiety ridden person. I, I understand what my limitations are and I occasionally I try and push them and occasionally it works and occasionally it doesn’t. I have not lived with anxiety my entire life. There was one moment where I had it, and I’ve lived with it ever since. It’s just happened, right? Like, there were probably like two anxiety attacks and then the big one and after that, I’ve lived with anxiety ever since.
00:39:49:16 – 00:40:13:47
Agent Palmer
You can be a person that goes, I want it to be like before, but it’s not right. Like, and I’m, you know, I’ve got a lot of friends who are like, you should go to the doctor, you should get some drugs. You should, you know, work it out. And I’m not saying if you can find medicine that helps you, that’s fine.
00:40:13:47 – 00:40:38:22
Agent Palmer
And I implore you to seek help where you can. But I’ve been unemployed, so I haven’t had medical, you know, benefits. So it’s not like I can just go do so a lot of that’s out of pocket. And the other thing is, as somebody who lives with anxiety, my brain is all I have. And I know that sounds like whatever, but like, I’m a writer, I’m a creator.
00:40:38:27 – 00:41:05:32
Agent Palmer
I don’t want a drug that might have a side effect that takes any of that away from me. I will sludge through the anxiety to keep the sharpness of what I’ve got now, because I know it won’t last forever. I’m never going to be as prolific as I was yesterday or maybe I will, but at a certain point that that that that’s not you.
00:41:05:41 – 00:41:31:48
Agent Palmer
Like, that’s not a thing that stays forever. You got to strike while the iron is hot and the iron doesn’t stay hot forever. And so I live with it. And, you know, I, I should probably do more to talk about it. It doesn’t come up. I don’t shy away from it when it does. But, you know, in closed circles, I talk about it a lot.
00:41:31:53 – 00:41:56:35
Agent Palmer
Maybe publicly. I feel like part of it is people don’t want to hear it, right. It’s somebody else’s problem. I understand that, but I also feel like the other side of that coin is maybe it’s your problem and you’re not talking about it, right? Like maybe that’s the key. And so when your live on a Twitch stream, you can talk to somebody in chat who’s like, oh, you know, I’ve dealt with depression.
00:41:56:35 – 00:42:18:17
Agent Palmer
Well, like, let’s be real. Given the events of the last few years, we’ve all been depressed at some point or another. I think more people are talking about it now than ever before. I don’t actually believe more people have it now. I think more people are willing to admit they’ve got it now, right? Like, oh, I had a hard time.
00:42:18:22 – 00:42:30:43
Agent Palmer
You were probably having a hard time before, right? Like the ability to go out to the bar every night was a distraction. It didn’t mean you were happy or.
00:42:30:48 – 00:43:01:26
Matt Lady
Yeah. That is that is, excellent point, man. I think it’s man, it really. It the whole pandemic is a whole big thing and a whole can of worms, and we don’t need to get into all of those details and politicize it and all that. But it really exposed me to me. It it. Yeah. And this is like when I first heard about it, I was like, okay, cool.
00:43:01:26 – 00:43:20:32
Matt Lady
Like, it’s not that big of a deal. Like, we’ll go lockdown for two weeks and, you know, it’ll blow over like, yeah, oh, two, two weeks. You want me to stay inside and play video games with my friends online? Okay. Yeah. I’ll stay inside for the good of the country. Good of my people. Right. Like, I got you guys.
00:43:20:37 – 00:43:48:16
Matt Lady
But then it just kept going and going and extending and that can’t do this. Can’t do that. Don’t want us to do that. And it like, it just really owes a lot more alone time than I’d had before. And I was I like my own company. I like my alone time. And I’m more introverted and like to recharge, and I like I like being life of the party.
00:43:48:16 – 00:44:06:46
Matt Lady
And then I like going and hanging out by myself the whole next day and relaxing and chilling out by myself and some cats and a dog or whatever. But like, luckily I was able to just keep working from home, and I started freelancing before the pandemic, so I just lucked out well.
00:44:06:46 – 00:44:32:32
Agent Palmer
But part of that is just a distraction, right? Because you can only work for so much. You’re not working. 24 see, you still have all this time with yourself that I got because I was unemployed before the pandemic. Right. So like everybody who’s like, I, I’ve got some problems. Yeah. No. Like I was there a few months ahead of you by just sheer, happenstance.
00:44:32:32 – 00:45:19:29
Agent Palmer
But like, you spend enough time with yourself, you can’t ignore everything. And I think that’s a thing where a lot of us used our busy lives as an excuse to, ignore our own self. Almost like, you know. And if if nothing else, I think universally we must have all learned not to ignore ourselves. I mean, there are some people that are still trying to do it and still trying to actively avoid their own feelings, but like, let’s, you know, this focus on remote work or work life balance is not necessarily because of the pandemic.
00:45:19:34 – 00:45:39:33
Agent Palmer
I think it’s because people have realized, like I was using work as a coping mechanism to avoid everything. And then I’d go to the gym, and then I’d cook dinner, and then I’d watch Netflix, and I never. And then I went to bed and I woke up. I did it again. And I never was alone with my I never like I had issues and I kept pushing them.
00:45:39:39 – 00:46:07:57
Agent Palmer
Right. And I think one of the enduring things and lasting things of this period in time is that there are going to be people that come out of it stronger because they dealt with themselves, not issues yourself. Right. And there are going to be other people who remained in denial of whatever they may have found that they didn’t want to.
00:46:08:01 – 00:46:40:50
Agent Palmer
It it’s not good. We we we need to you know, we talk about Klay Thompson being the consummate teammate. Right. Always there even though he can’t help be a teammate to your fucking self. Right. Like help yourself if you need to cry. Fucking cry like it’s okay. If you need a moment, take a moment like, I don’t understand where we like.
00:46:40:50 – 00:47:10:58
Agent Palmer
I grew up looking up to the unreachable Mark, right? Like I was a Baltimore Orioles fan. Cal Ripken was my guy. Yeah, I know that. I can show up for work every day, and I’m probably still going to miss a day. It’s fine. Right, Riley? Even Cal towards the end missed a day. It’s fine. And if I can look at the Iron Man and go, it’s okay.
00:47:11:03 – 00:47:34:53
Agent Palmer
It’s. You can miss a day. The world will continue to spin. If I can do that, you can. Like everybody should be able to do that. And we don’t. And I don’t know why. Because it’s not like, look, the movies that are coming out now are a little more real. Like the the books I’m reading now are a little more real.
00:47:34:53 – 00:47:59:12
Agent Palmer
Like everything seems a little bit more less fairy tale. And even those aren’t rosy. So like, I don’t know what world people are living in, but like, spend some time with yourself. I. Yeah. Anyway, so question for you back to, something else. Are you only going to be streaming League of Legends?
00:47:59:16 – 00:48:02:34
Matt Lady
Okay. Sorry, I, I’m sorry. I need a second to,
00:48:02:43 – 00:48:05:36
Agent Palmer
Yeah, that was quite I, you know, that was whiplash from that.
00:48:05:50 – 00:48:11:07
Matt Lady
Yeah. Yeah. Because I was like, oh, man, this sound like it’s tough. I’m going to respond. And then.
00:48:11:12 – 00:48:14:00
Agent Palmer
You still can. I just I’m trying to.
00:48:14:05 – 00:48:40:07
Matt Lady
Yeah, yeah. No, I got you. I, I felt like I’ve always been self-aware where I’ve always been in tune with myself. Okay. But I’ve never had a positive, and optimistic self esteem and self love for myself. I’ve exuded and been the best cheerleader and the best Robin to everyone else is Batman. Yeah, but I’ve never yet been able to do that for myself.
00:48:40:13 – 00:48:40:53
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:48:40:58 – 00:49:04:23
Matt Lady
For an extended period of time, there are spurts where I focus on myself and holy shit, does my life change for that period of time and I’m on top of the world. My my mind is right. It’s clear on focus. I’m. I’m having fun. I’m fit, I’m healthy, I’m wealthy. It’s amazing. And then something happens, and then I get off, and then I go cater to the rest of the world.
00:49:04:27 – 00:49:35:00
Matt Lady
And then I then the last few years, I’m like, fuck. Like what? Where does that go? And it’s again, like you said, not going back to that. I can’t go back to pre-pandemic. Matt. Yeah, it’s how can I bring that essence, bring that focus inward to myself? How can I take care of myself? What can I do for me that’s going to let me be happy, fulfilled, and love myself, and which in turn, which is what I want to do and give and help and serve others.
00:49:35:00 – 00:49:49:30
Matt Lady
Yeah, that’s what makes that’s my I, that’s my higher purpose and vision. Right. Like that’s what lights me up. But if I can’t take care of myself, I can’t pour my cup. It’s empty. I can’t give any to anyone else. Well, and it goes this is like super highlight of that.
00:49:49:45 – 00:50:30:20
Agent Palmer
I, I, I haven’t flown on a plane in a long time, but I’m pretty sure they still tell you to put your oxygen mask on before you can help the person beside you, right? Like, and that’s because you can’t help the person beside you if you ain’t around no more. Like, it’s just that simple and, like, I, I feel like we almost need to tell people like, take, take some time and, you know, I, I want to because there are occasions where I know that this show has a slightly international audience, and I know it’s not a wholly American thing.
00:50:30:25 – 00:51:05:09
Agent Palmer
And it’s not even a wholly Western thing, like there are just people that need a break from, from whatever life, the job, the you know what? And and that’s not a problem. Like look to a sports is the easy analogy for all of it, right. Like look at marathon runners. They do stop in between marathons, right. Like they train but they stop in between marathon even.
00:51:05:14 – 00:51:39:57
Agent Palmer
Okay, let’s take formula one, NASCAR, Indy. They stop. They have pit stops for a reason. Right? Like if the wheels come off the car, they won’t finish the race. If they run out of gas, they won’t finish the race. Like all of these are easy analogies to make. And yet on LinkedIn I will log in some days and see yelling competitions on the professional social media of well, I worked 75 hours this week.
00:51:39:57 – 00:52:10:49
Agent Palmer
Well, I worked 82. That’s the competition that that. No, no. Hey, look, you worked 82 hours and made 12 cookies. I worked 12 hours and made 12 cookies. No one gives a fuck that. We each made 12 cookies. Like, come on. Like, I just we we need to normalize a lot of things, and we’re not. We are not, not.
00:52:10:54 – 00:52:37:52
Matt Lady
We’re just not. And part of that is it’s hard to be the one that goes the other way when everyone’s walking that way. Yeah. It’s, And I’m increasingly convinced in many situations I’m not little guppy. That’s fucking sugar. I swim upstream and everyone’s just flying down the river. Yeah, and if if not me, then who? And that’s not to say.
00:52:37:52 – 00:52:59:42
Matt Lady
And and I’ve had to grapple with this in my, in my mind of. That’s not to say I need to save the world. I need to solve world hunger. I need to do all these things. I’m not putting that pressure and stress and guilt all on my shoulders. I have enough stress and anxiety as it is with my small my my my world as it’s so.
00:52:59:47 – 00:53:32:11
Matt Lady
It’s something that I’m aiming for and it’s aspirational and it’s something for me to think about as I keep taking care of myself at some point. I think that higher vision, that really ambitious, let’s save the world type shit. Like, why not? Like why not me? And, that’s not to say that that’s a passion. I just. Or like, I want the fame and fortune like, if people want to know me and because I help them and I give them whatever.
00:53:32:23 – 00:54:00:08
Matt Lady
Cool. That’s that’s great, but I’m not doing it. It’s it’s more of why not me? And, like, who else is going to do it? Yeah. And because as we see like and again, our systems and culture in society is like crumbling, like our medical, our medical systems going down. No. Like we had one little check for the or to like, little like, stimulus stuff like, oh, like do this, oh, no.
00:54:00:08 – 00:54:25:23
Matt Lady
Test this and all these changing policies and it’s just a mess. And like, it’s been ongoing and there’s no end in sight. Like, why should I keep trusting? Yeah. These people who are still, like, wealthier and profitable, more profitable than ever because they’re these, like, the 1% top elite people like taking, not taking advantage, exposing everyone.
00:54:25:23 – 00:54:28:40
Matt Lady
But don’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole. So no.
00:54:28:40 – 00:54:40:42
Agent Palmer
But but at the same time, like if, if if you’re waiting for someone else to change your life, you’ll be waiting until your life is over. Like, that’s just.
00:54:40:47 – 00:54:41:18
Matt Lady
Yep.
00:54:41:23 – 00:55:14:41
Agent Palmer
That’s just that’s always. And so I’m with you. Like, you need to do something. I think we all need to do something. And, neither Matt nor I are telling you to completely change your life and become vegans and, you know, live off the grid in a tent somewhere. But, like, maybe go for a walk for 15 minutes with music on instead of checking your email or list or on a, you know, just a little change of something for yourself.
00:55:14:46 – 00:55:36:51
Matt Lady
Yes, that just that. Start small, start doing something. Figure out. Talk to yourself. Listen to yourself. Like I don’t know if like some people don’t have a voice in their head or ongoing conversation and thoughts nonstop. I don’t know what that’s like, but I don’t either. So for me, I’m, I, I’ve, I’ve talked to myself more than I’ve talked to anyone else in the world.
00:55:37:00 – 00:55:58:45
Matt Lady
And so throughout my life so far so and I think that will change. And I think that’s true for many. So why not enjoy and love yourself, love the time with yourself and like your thoughts and how you feel and what you’re thinking about, what you do, how you move, how you present yourself, how you communicate, how you choose, how you make other people feel.
00:55:58:49 – 00:56:17:21
Matt Lady
You can’t choose the reaction. But if. But if I give you a present, I can choose to I give you. I try to give you happiness, show you love, and if you don’t like it and flip out because I got the wrong flavor, then I try. But then I’m sorry, but, I think there’s a lot more choice.
00:56:17:21 – 00:56:45:50
Matt Lady
And it’s on the smaller, molecular like microscopic levels of actions and feelings and control in life that, that add up to actually, like, way bigger, outcomes than we think, like winning the lottery would be. Because that’s the easy that’s a cop out. That’s the easy way. If only I had more money. Then I would be happier and I would start that job or do that business and travel the world, and then I’ll be happy.
00:56:45:54 – 00:57:10:26
Matt Lady
That’s that’s bullshit, I think. But I think that would ruin more people than even help. But, including myself, in some cases, like, I don’t know, I think I might, I might botch that somehow. So I think if these small like these smaller things, these walks, meditations go to fucking therapy if you like. I don’t care if you don’t think you’re depressed or anxious or whatever, like go talk to someone about yourself.
00:57:10:31 – 00:57:40:00
Matt Lady
You. We go. You follow all these random people who don’t know you, and you take life advice from strangers on the internet that are cookie cutter like fortune cookie cutter type shit, like, walk like a lion, not like a sheep, and, like, get like, everyone goes crazy over on Twitter and it’s like, okay, great. But like, I’m like, no, go talk to a medical professional who is there to not be, hopefully not be judgmental.
00:57:40:07 – 00:58:07:48
Matt Lady
Yeah. Listen, except your thoughts and your emotions and your actions is not right or wrong. That is good or bad, but not black and white. We’re fucking human. It’s a spectrum. There’s a wide range of good and bad in black and white and gray. Most of life is gray, and I think we focus way too much on black and white.
00:58:07:52 – 00:58:30:07
Agent Palmer
There is a lot to unpack from this episode, but it is what happened in the time since Matt and I had our chat to this release that I want to focus on just a few days ago from release. Anyway, Matt announced on Twitter that he was taking some time off because, quote, I’ve neglected my own time, my own space to heal, recover, grow and be me, unquote.
00:58:30:16 – 00:59:05:35
Agent Palmer
Which is some of what you heard during this episode. I also feel that Matt taking this time for himself will be of a greater benefit to him and his endeavors going forward. It’s why you should watch the Twitter high key geek underscore for what he’ll be doing next when he’s ready, and that’s key when he is ready. I’ll link to the full Twitter thread, because while it does mirror some of what he and I discussed, it’s a very personal admission and affirmation that many could learn from because not enough people are making time for themselves.
00:59:05:39 – 00:59:28:44
Agent Palmer
This goes beyond knowing yourself or dealing with your own problems. This is about taking time to relax or genuinely taking time off. We don’t do enough of that, and I’m no exception. Recently, I started cutting back the amount of work, even passion project work that I do on evenings and weekends. I still do it because it’s still fulfilling in a way that nothing else is.
00:59:28:44 – 00:59:52:28
Agent Palmer
But I also make sure there’s enough downtime at night and during those weekends to actually and factually recharge my body and my mind. I know some will say that such time off is a luxury, but arguably it is more of a necessity. As I said in the episode Pit stops, timeouts, half time, there are plenty of not doing a thing.
00:59:52:28 – 01:00:13:30
Agent Palmer
Metaphors in sports and in life in general. Don’t just keep running. At least not if you want to finish the race. So are you taking time for yourself? Matt is, and so am I, and I hope that you are too. It could be that you need a month like Matt because you’ve reached your tipping point. Where could be that?
01:00:13:30 – 01:00:36:08
Agent Palmer
Like me, you’re just looking for a little more balance. Whatever it is, do it and let me know what you’re doing with that time. I’m reading and catching up on some great content that you’ll always find scattered to the wind across all of the platforms. Good luck and please be good to yourself. Thanks for listening to The Palmer Files episode 64.
01:00:36:19 – 01:00:58:19
Agent Palmer
As a reminder, all links are available in the show notes. And now for the official business. The Palmer Files releases every two weeks on Tuesdays. If you’re still listening, I encourage you to join the discussion. You can tweet me at Agent Palmer, my guest Matt, lady at Matt lady, that’s Matt Ladd, or at High Key Geek Underscore for information on his streaming futures.
01:00:58:19 – 01:01:33:52
Agent Palmer
And of course, you can tweet this show at the Palmer Files. You can find Matt’s former podcast Relatively Vulnerable wherever good podcasts can be found, as well as Matt’s other podcast, Conversational Commerce. And you can get yourself some of Matt’s coffee at Lorem ipsum.com. Email can be sent to this show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com. And remember, you’re home for all things Agent Palmer is Agent palmer.com.
01:01:33:57 – 01:01:41:58
Unknown
And you?
01:01:42:02 – 01:01:49:27
Unknown
See?
01:01:49:32 – 01:02:04:26
Unknown
Me.
01:02:04:31 – 01:02:09:50
Unknown
See?
01:02:09:55 – 01:02:12:23
Agent Palmer
All right. Matt, do you have one final question for me?
01:02:12:28 – 01:02:18:17
Matt Lady
The final question of the day is, do you believe in New Year’s resolutions?
01:02:18:22 – 01:02:19:24
Agent Palmer
I don’t.
01:02:19:28 – 01:02:20:32
Matt Lady
And why is that?
01:02:20:37 – 01:02:42:19
Agent Palmer
Because I don’t like waiting. Like, if I want to. If I want to do something, I’m going to do it right. Like, you know, as we record this New Year’s is a month away or a couple weeks away. So if I think of a new resolution, I have to wait another 11 months, right? Like, or whatever it is, I’m.
01:02:42:29 – 01:03:02:47
Agent Palmer
I’m also not one on big a big on weekly shit either. Like, if you want to start, why not now? You know, I, I play musical instruments. I would very much love to give myself a schedule because I bought myself an electric drum kit. I’ve been learning to play the drums again. I have a bass.
01:03:02:47 – 01:03:32:16
Agent Palmer
I have guitars. Every once in a while, I go like, you know, I haven’t picked up my bass in months. And I go, all right, well, tomorrow and it’s tomorrow, right? It’s not all right. Next month, I’ll, you know, bass on Mondays and drums on Tuesdays like no tomorrow. And for me, part of it’s impatience. But the other part of it is if you don’t start it, like with it in your head, like, why am I doing?
01:03:32:16 – 01:03:49:09
Agent Palmer
I’m doing this because I miss playing the bass by the time I get around to next week, next month, next year, I’ll forget why I wanted to do it. It’ll be like I got this piece of paper here, or this note on my phone that says play the bass. But like, I don’t really feel like doing that right now.
01:03:49:10 – 01:04:15:35
Agent Palmer
No, I felt like doing it. It’s, you know, 11:00 at night. I can’t do it now. I’ll do it tomorrow, and that’s fine. Like, and I feel that I have a very horrible ability to be able to talk myself in or out of anything. So if I give myself the time and space to wait for next week, next month, next year, nothing will ever get done.
01:04:15:40 – 01:04:37:09
Agent Palmer
Like do it. I’m very much in a place where, like, I try to do the thing now. It’s not always possible. But then next available moment. Right? I turned myself into a reader by reading every night. I didn’t do that as a New Year’s resolution. It was just like, I’ve decided I want to read. Here’s a book I’m going to start reading today, right?
01:04:37:09 – 01:05:05:16
Agent Palmer
Like, I and I don’t, I usually or I used to, I used to make fun of people that did like the whole NaNoWriMo, the 1000 words a day in November, because it’s like, well, the but why don’t you just do that? It’s July. Like, why are you saving that idea right now? Like you would have even if you did every third day?
01:05:05:30 – 01:05:25:50
Agent Palmer
By the time we got to November, you’d have a full novel written, like, why wait? And so, it’s like, I would love to tell you, like, oh, I read a book. It changed my life. No, I just I just got impatient. Like, I’m generally impatient anyway. But I also know that I am horrible to myself at times.
01:05:26:04 – 01:05:48:18
Agent Palmer
So tomorrow I will hopefully work out. And if I don’t, maybe the next day it’s cold. Okay, I’m in the northeast. I don’t like going out in the cold, so it’s all inside stuff until it hits 70 and then I’ll go for a run. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do something. And why wait? It really just boils down to why wait?
01:05:48:18 – 01:06:14:00
Agent Palmer
Like I understand New Year’s resolutions work for some people, but to those people I ask, if you fail at your resolution, do you wait until like if you if you make it till April and then give up on that diet, do you wait until January again or do you start back up in May? Like, what are you doing?
01:06:14:05 – 01:06:34:08
Agent Palmer
And I feel like if you do that enough. Right, like where you just I didn’t that didn’t work out. I’m going to try something new tomorrow. Then resolutions become like New Year’s resolutions become less and less of a thing because you’re just always trying something. And whether you’re failing or being successful is completely irrelevant. Like it’s time to go.
01:06:34:13 – 01:07:05:18
Agent Palmer
Tomorrow’s a new day. And it sounds like hippie dippy shit, but really, you’re being lazy in my estimation. If you wait like. All right, well, I didn’t quit smoking this year, and it’s February, so you’re going to be a smoker for another nine. Like, what are you doing? That’s not how this should work. And, so or, you know, I gave up drinking and I had a drink, like, then start again tomorrow.
01:07:05:29 – 01:07:30:29
Agent Palmer
Like, we all fail. I mean, I guess that’s, you know, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t all trying. Don’t don’t just let it be right. Like I have. I have a few friends right now that are trying daily tasks. I’m sure they’re going to mess up. I’m sure they’re going to miss one. I’m hopeful that they miss one and keep going.
01:07:30:34 – 01:07:54:54
Agent Palmer
Right. Like you, you hit 15 in a row. You missed one. Go for another 15. It’s fine. We all need breaks, whatever or whatever. But like, yeah, I’m not I’m not for new resolution New Year’s resolutions because it’s just, an end to kind of piggyback on what we talked about in the episode. People. People try the big thing, right?
01:07:54:59 – 01:08:22:54
Agent Palmer
I once, for an internship, I did it, doing marketing at a hospital, wrote some papers on, smoking cessation, quitting smoking. And one of the things I learned from that, and we had some alcoholism ones as well. Is that the best thing you can do to stop drinking or smoking or whatever? Overeating is? Do less of it tomorrow, right?
01:08:22:59 – 01:08:43:39
Agent Palmer
Don’t wait until December 31st and be like, I’m quitting smoking tomorrow. No, in October, let’s pretend it’s October. Go. You know what? I’m going to smoke less tomorrow, you know. Or this week I’m going to buy one carton instead of two and make it last. And then the next week you go, I’m going to buy one pack and make it last.
01:08:43:47 – 01:09:08:21
Agent Palmer
And then by the time you get to that point, you go, all right, I’m going to stop now. Right? Like and we, we don’t do a good job with or I should say we do such a monumental overkill on you quit smoking that we’re not celebrating the people that went and are smoking less, or are drinking less, or are eating less.
01:09:08:36 – 01:09:32:58
Agent Palmer
And those little victories mean a lot to those people. And when we don’t celebrate them as a culture or as a friend, they’re just like, well, because I didn’t quit whatever it was, I’ll just go back to it because nobody cares that I’m, you know, not drinking as much or that I’m only, you know, eating one candy bar a day instead of five.
01:09:32:58 – 01:09:55:34
Agent Palmer
Five. Right? Like, whatever the vices, little things, man. Bite size, like bite size. Your goals. I think that’s my other problem with New Year’s resolution. They’re always so grandiose, and they’re usually not something that can be done in a day. Yeah, I just. It frustrates me.
01:09:55:39 – 01:10:22:53
Matt Lady
I can tell. Yeah. I’m not a huge fan of them either. I’m a, I’m, I’m more into annual goal setting and planning as a this is the time constraint of the year. What can I get done during this period for my business, for myself. Like, like that’s that is more my speed than what am I going to resolve and chew and like, not like just cold turkey stuff and all that.
01:10:22:53 – 01:10:25:17
Matt Lady
So, I’m with you on that, I think.
01:10:25:28 – 01:10:46:27
Agent Palmer
I think the other thing that helps me here is that I’m Jewish, and we have two New Years, and we don’t talk about resolutions for the Jewish New Year. And so, like, if I really wanted to play that game come the fall, I could pick a resolution. And if it fails before December 31st, I can pick it up again, right?
01:10:46:27 – 01:11:03:32
Agent Palmer
And just have a built in like mood tester. But no. Well, why wait? I’m just too impatient. And why wait? And if you have the momentum, if you have the inspiration to do the thing, do the thing or don’t do the thing, depending on what it is, right? Like just why wait?
01:11:03:37 – 01:11:04:17
Matt Lady
Why wait?
01:11:04:20 – 01:11:07:47
Agent Palmer
Life’s too short. Life’s too short.
–End Transcription–
This transcription was processed by PalmerTech 3.1 and may contain errors for HUMINT (human intelligence).