Episode 01: Welcome to The Great Unlearn | Cal

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My intention with this episode is to introduce myself — formally Jon Callahan, but known to most as Cal — and share the capital-W Why behind starting The Great Unlearn.

I originally wrote a script for this, but as I was reading it, I just wasn’t sure if that was the right way to introduce the real me. So I asked some friends for their advice — shout out to Carrie Doll and Dave Regula for the assist —  and they came through big time. 

And that’s really a big part of what I want people to get out of this show: we’ve been taught that high achievers should buckle down, muscle through, and try to do everything alone, but that’s BS advice. The people who really accomplish a lot, the people who really change lives, know when to ask for help — and I want my show to be a source for advice and stories that will help us all on this journey to becoming the best versions of ourselves. 

More than that, the people who really live fulfilling lives don’t do what they were told they should do. They dive deep, interrogate themselves, and figure that shit out themselves. I’m still early in this journey, but I hope you’ll walk it alongside me. There will be tears (there might already be a few in this episode) but I know that we’ll be able to walk farther together.

I Discuss:

  • 00:05:30 - The catalyst for my awakening: the mass shooting on October 1st, 2017

  • 00:10:50 - Asking yourself, for the first time, “Why the fuck am I here?”

  • 00:11:45 - Unlearning the lies and unspoken agreements that were drilled into us as kids, from our parents and society as a whole

  • 00:18:00 - The Great Unlearn isn’t about throwing away everything we learned — it’s about questioning them, maybe for the first time, and deciding whether or not those agreements serve us

  • 00:20:00 - The idea of “Working In” (as opposed to Working Out)

  • 00:22:00 - Why I chose The Great Unlearn as the title for this show

  • 00:25:30 - Maximization Vs. Optimization

  • 00:34:40 - My favorite quote: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

  • 00:48:50 - A text from a friend that rocks me to my core (in a good way) every time I read it

  • 00:54:30 - Only speaking from direct experience

  • 00:59:05 - “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

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Episode 02: Don’t Just Do It, Be It | Kyle Kingsbury
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Episode 00: Introduction to The Great Unlearn | Podcast Trailer