Hundred percent.

All right. We are so happy there's only one of them here. It's the one we prefer. Joining us from bussing with the boys, it is Will Compton, everybody. Let them hear it. Bring it in loud and clear. Why didn't your co hosts join you?

Kindergarten graduation.

Kindergarten graduation.

He's going back to school.

It popped up on the schedule. I know you.

No one got that joke.

Sorry.

He's going back to school, getting his education.

He's making a run. So, yeah, kindergarten graduation.

That's a big one. One of the things I remember the most looking back on my life was the impact of graduating kindergarten and the fact that my parents were there and that we celebrated. There were gifts. There were pancakes after. It's a big deal. I could see why.

I'm so sick of you fucking rich dads showing up and killing it as dads. It sucks so bad.

You. You're sick of you guys trying to be good dad.

No, no, no, no. You guys are like. You guys are like General MacArthur sitting in the boardroom going, that's right. Send them to the shore. Like I'm the. I was the foot soldier as a dad, broke as fuck. And I'm watching all these dads kill it, and I did not kill it. Do you know what? If I had kindergarten graduation and you offered me to be on some of the boys?

Yeah.

You know how quick I would have been on that?

I would, like, fuck her.

I would fuck her.

You wouldn't have said, fuck her.

I would have said, fuck her. I would have said, fuck them.

He would have said, sweetheart, I don't know if I can. What do you think I should do?

He would have just said, I got to go to do this thing.

Yeah.

Yeah. You guys kill it. And it fucking frustrates me.

Now.

Thanks. Sounds like a compliment, but you're.

It is like, Tom, like, is always like, I gotta get home and see my kids. He's always like, they're gonna fucking be there forever.

Yeah.

Family's a higher priority for Tom. You know what I mean?

Is it, though?

Maybe that's. That's. That's only. That's. Only Tom can answer that. But some people prioritize.

Let's prioritize it. Okay. Would you. Would you enjoy playing one more season in the NFL? Would you enjoy that?

Yeah.

Okay. You get the call tomorrow from Robert Kraft. Here's a deal. We got a hole in the. In the Patriots organization. It's. It's $20 million. It's one. I don't know what they get paid. In the NFL, it's 20 million. I've got paid minimum, so it'd be $150,000, probably 1.21.2. Wow. Just to put pads on a sit.

Yeast.

Well, you just said there's a big.

Hole in the team. I'm assuming I'm playing.

You're okay. That's why I said okay. 7 million. 7 million. 7 million.

Okay. Seven.

But we need you. We need you, station, and we're gonna need you. Do you leave the family and just focus on sports one more time?

Not now. No, no. It's over now.

But wait. At this point, let's say you're. Yeah. You're physically Kate, but what if you. Would you have the conversation with your wife of, like, should we move to, let's say, in this scenario, New England for a season to do this?

Yeah.

You would have that conversation.

Yeah. Yeah. Like, let's say I was in the middle of my career and this situation popped up. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you would. You. Yeah. You'd move the family to wherever it was.

Yeah.

For whatever you're doing, especially if it.

Was, like, a great opportunity.

Absolutely. Now that I. Now that we have little o rue. Two years old. She just turned two in April. Now that. Because I had. I see it as, like, I'm, like, grateful that I had kids after my career, because now that I have ru and I know how invested and, like, obsessed I am with her, I don't see how guys do it and they're gone so much and have to commit so much to something elsewhere.

Yeah. Especially these, like. Well, to. In your scenario, I know a couple guys who. It's like, they have their home base, they have their schools, they, like, they have their community, and then, you know, they get whatever the fucking rams call them and they have to go. They have to go to LA. But they, like, having their family in Nashville or whatever, and it's like. It's a. It really disrupts the whole family dynamic.

Yeah. Vets who have families that would be in otas, like, otas Monday through Thursday. Every Thursday, they'd be on the earliest flight out that they could after practice to go spend the weekend at home.

Yeah.

And then they fly back.

That's a lot taxing on you, too, for sure.

Yeah. Yeah, it's a. Dude, it's a lot.

Don't you, like, right now, we're in otas right now. Do you feel like, man, it's so nice to not be doing that. Yes, of course. Right?

Yes. What's Ota's Otas? Offseason wait, optional. Organized team activities. Organized team activities.

Paintball and stuff.

And it's, it's.

Yeah, guys, position groups will go do fun.

Voluntary?

Yeah, yeah, it's voluntary. Um, and basically it's like Monday through Thursday, there's different phases. So you have phase one where you're just training and then doing, like, install, like, meetings. And then you get to the next couple weeks is where you're out on the field with your coaches. No pads, no physical activity, even though they find edges around it. And then the last few weeks will be like, you'll have a, you know, you'll have actual practices with helmets on, and then you'll get to do like a three day mini camp.

But it's kind of nice, I think, with the way, because there's pluses and minuses to the way things have evolved. I think it's kind of nice for you guys, for players active right now that it's evolved to kind of reduce the amount of impact that you guys take.

Right.

That's kind of nice.

Yeah, you'll go, it'll be like eight in the morning until noon. You only get 4 hours, really. It's in the later part of the weeks or Otas, where I think it ramps up to, like 6 hours. Okay, but you'll go once you're done at noon, you're like, you know, you'll be on the golf course at like 132 o'clock with the boys. Kind of nice, you know, Thursday, some guys were, like, host. We'd have, like, backyard games. Corey Lichtensteiger. Shout out the boy. He would always host people Thursdays over at his house, backyard. He'd have a volleyball court set up, spike ball, ping pong, pizza coming in, so everybody be hanging out.

Do you miss it the way I, like, I miss my fraternity.

How do you miss your fraternity?

Like, I just missed the, I missed the, like, a bunch of people that knew me.

The camaraderie.

Yeah, the camaraderie. You'd show up and you'd bust balls at, like, on Friday at noon, and on Thursday, someone would be like, yo, let's go. Let's go get mushrooms. And you'd be like, fuck, yeah. Like, or like. Or like, someone be like, hey, skip cast, let's go drink. And you'd be like, that energy, I'll never get it back. I'll never live in another world like that. I don't know if I want it in my life again, per se, but I do look back and I go, I think that's what the NFL would.

Have been same, same, same, same, same. It's the. I mean, it is. Everybody says that they miss a locker room, they miss the camaraderie, and you just miss, like, I don't know how to explain it. Like, you miss. You miss embracing that suck with the boys. And now we all have families and everything else. Stuff comes in the most perspective the older we get. So it's like, that part of, like, you miss it, but also, you don't know if you could go through it again. But these kids, these athletes have no clue. Like, this small window to take advantage of and, like, fully go all in and commit yourself to something for in our game, in our sport, that's for the betterment of the team and everything else for, like, you know, I fortunately got to play for nine, you know, practice squad, year.

That counts?

Yeah, it counts.

It counts.

Dude, I got to play for nine. But even in college, man, like, you do, you embrace. You know, we reflect on stories. We reminisce, tell, you know, sit by the fireside and tell stories, and you miss that shit.

I think the only thing I said before, I think the only thing an amateur athlete has really in common with a professional athlete is the, like, the camaraderie aspect. In other words, like, if you only played high school sports, you still get to go, like, hey, the best part was the same thing. Like, practice, hanging out, riding the bus. Like, that's a locker room. That's what you reflect on, right? And then you talk to pros, and theirs is just. It's the same thing just at a higher level.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just money gets involved, but it's all. It's literally all the same stuff. Like, once you, like, step on a turf field and it's sunny out and it's mid nineties, and you smell that turf, the me, you step on it, like, all. Man, though. All the memories of, like, oh, we had some good times out here, but I'm thankful I'm not doing that shit anymore. But you also. It's like, man, these kids have no clue, you know, what they get to do right now. Like, all the shit that goes on. You could be working construction, you could be working all these miserable jobs, but you get an opportunity to come out here and, like, play football, play.

I still can't believe when I go, when I'm in Florida and it's August as a grown man, and you're walking around, it's like 100% humidity, you're like, how did. We used to put on helmets and pads and run around in this?

Yes, man.

Brutal.

I was at Nebraska's practice a few weeks ago, and just hearing the pads pop and everything else, I'm thinking, how in the hell was I out there doing that? Like, is that kind of hurt seeing these dudes hit each other right now? I was just like, jesus Christ.

What percentage of the time did you get on the field and feel 100% at practice? Cause I remember baseball practice, and I was in the best shape I'd ever been in my life, always being like, oh, fuck, I don't want to run now. I go, I wish I could run like that.

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Yeah.

Like, are you saying, like, how often did I step on the field and feel fully healthy?

No, like, did you. I did you show up to practice the way everyone shows up to the gym? Like, fuck.

Oh, yeah, bro. Really putting the helmet on, especially. You don't have a sweat going on yet. You just gotta, like, muscle it on your head. You got the pads on. You're just thinking your ankles are banged up, your knees, you feel something in your upper hamstring. Let's go. Go. You're thinking to yourself, oh, you got one on ones today. I'm gonna have to cover a running back out of the black. The backfield. Like, good. I mean, it's. You don't know.

Did you almost say out of the blackfield? I get it.

They're definitely all black guys. Usually, unless you got Rex Birkhead or a couple of, you know, the great white hopes that are out there. There's a McCaffrey.

Unbelievable.

We just had somebody drafted at cornerback.

How many white guys? Like, I know a white corner. The first in a generation.

Yes. He almost slipped in the first round, too.

When there's, like, when there's great white athletes, do you still think there's old. I always think there's older guys, especially, who watch, like, Luca play ball, and they're like, we still got it. Like, they get, like, teared up.

Like, there's no doubt that when you have the huddle around you and you're giving the call and you are the only white guy in the huddle, it's an amazing feeling. And one of your boys, like, one of the d line was like, hey, comp, you know, you're the only white guy out here. Like, that is respect.

Oh, it's the. It's the ult. Okay. Here's how I was just having this. The tears. There's tears of black compliments, right? And they. They all feel great. There's nothing like a black compliment. So the first thing, he's right.

What year? Cause I'm listening to a documentary on Martin Luther King right now. What year do you think black compliments became a thing?

Oh, well, that's interesting.

Like, in the sixties, you couldn't, like, as a black guy, you couldn't, like, dap up a dude at a hardware store.

Well, actually, like, where the white guys in the home be like, hey, you're the only black guy out here.

Yeah, that's pretty. That's pretty cool.

What year did a black guy say to a white guy, I like those shoes. And the white guy was like, ah.

Yeah, that definitely was probably not the sixties. Not the sixties, but okay. I think shoes are like, if you go right now, shoes are always. If a black guy is like, this is fresh kicks, you're like, it's the.

Only compliment you need.

You're like, this is gonna be a great day, right?

Ten white guys could shit on you, and you won't get.

You don't care. You're fit. That's another one. If black eyes compliment your fit, that's definitely one. When black eyes tell you you're funny, like, when black people after a show, it's unbelievable.

It's not funny. It's stupid.

Yeah, you stupid.

Come.

You're stupid.

Are you funny, motherfucker. And the food falling out of his mouth, you're like, all right, cool.

You know what I get from black comics? You a rock star.

Oh, that's good.

I like that.

That's nice.

I got that from Cat Williams.

Yeah, that's good.

That's a bad one. I was like, f shirt's coming off in five.

And him after the Shannon sharp episode, that's the compliment from the certain guy you need.

Oh, dude, the fact that. Yeah, like, that is right, man. Like, like, compliments from black comics. Mike Epps. I ran into my caps and he was like. I was like. I remember going like. And I partied with Mike. I knew Mike, but I was like, you know who I am.

Yeah.

Like, that was like, a big thing.

It's a big deal. Yeah, but the. Okay, then your music choices. That's another incredible compliment.

Yeah. You're very vulnerable. If you grab the aux.

Yeah.

And you're showing up that first song, it's like, fuck am I about to?

But the ultimate, I've always thought the ultimate black eye compliment, if you're a white guy, is athletic prowess. So if somebody that's like, the top tier, I think, oh, yeah. So if you're playing and you're in a huddle. And they're like, you're the only white guy here.

Sole patrol.

Yeah. Yeah, that's the great.

I mean, that's. It's. It's peak.

It's peak. I remember my high school. My high school head coach for a couple of years played linebacker at East Carolina, and we saw his team photo. He was the only white guy on the defense. And he had a shaved head and a fu Manchu, and he looked like a fucking lunatic. And we were like, dude, you almost.

Embrace your white side even more around the brothers when they're hyping you up, being like a crazy white dude.

You're the crazy white guy.

Say, oh, I'm gonna shave my head now. Yeah, this one's gonna sound weird, but another compliment I got, and this is just for the audience out there. This one's gonna sound weird, but I weirdly enjoyed the compliment. Walking around the locker room, towel on after shower. No, not nice. That's a nice piece. But, yeah, comp, yo, comp, you got ass.

Oh, I kind of like that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

There was always a part of me that's like, nice.

Yeah, for sure.

Boys got ass. Cause usually white guys, it's like, you know, flat ass. I'm sure you guys are kind of flat asses.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually, you know, you guys, I'm.

Just a crack in a hole.

Pro athletes are very comfortable talking about physiques. Cause, like, your physique is your tool. It's your instrument.

For what?

And so, like, I've had other guys look at me and be like, you got no ass, man. Like, other football players have said to me. And I'm like, what? Cause no one ever really says that to you. But you guys observe that shit it every day, bro.

Shout out to the bucks. This is what I'm willing to do. Okay.

I'm sorry.

The.

The. I guess the best compliment is you got a great dick from a black guy.

No doubt.

No doubt.

As I started telling the story, I was like, it'd be much better. Just be like, yo, comp, you got a fucking tool on you. But, no, it was. Hey, hey, Khan, you got some ass on you.

I want to do a video where it's almost like. Like the soul train line, but in the bucks locker room, all the brothers and I walked down buck naked, and. And they just fucking roast me. And just the cameras from behind, and all you see is their faces. And me walking down naked like, what the fuck is that?

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And that's the best type of vibe, too. When all. When all the brothers are going and you're getting roasted, it's like you can say something as small as like, yo, you're built like that trash can in the locker room, and everybody just losing their mind, even if it makes sense, you're just like, I'm getting destroyed right now. But it's still the most fun times.

Yeah, those are fun times.

Was there a feeling. I can only really relate to being in the NFL through hard, hard knocks. But was there a feeling when you saw the dude come in with the big contract and you knew he wasn't getting cut, and there were guys that were like, fuck, am I going to make the squad this year? Was there an uneasiness in that? And did you look at other players? God damn it. He doesn't have to worry about anything. This training camp?

Yeah, 100%. I mean, being undrafted, you're wanting to make the team. So it's. It's all. You're just. You're always. We're all comparing ourselves. It's like, when I'm trying to make the team, I just want to make the team. So when I'm at the bottom of every depth chart, four team on fucking punt, that's when you know you're in a bad spot. My, my number. I wore practice jersey number 46. That was the same number as Alfred Morris, the running back for Washington who just had a Pro bowl season. So the writing almost feels like it's on the wall that you're not gonna be around. Yeah, because you're wearing the same number as a super, the superstar on the team. And so when you're trying to make the team, like, you just want to make practice squad, I'm thinking, man, $100,000 a year, that would change my life. Like, when you're in college hearing, you know, pros either bitch about being on practice or whatever you're thinking with your $800 scholarship check, you're like, bro, give me $100,000, I'll go practice. Like, why is this guy bitching? Then when you're on the practice squad, you're comparing yourself to guys who are on the roster.

It's like, yo, why is. I feel like I have more to offer than this dude. Like, why is he on the roster? Like, man, it must be nice being on the roster because they have access to the benefits, all the retirement programs and stuff. It's like, man, that shit would be awesome. Then when you're on the, when you're on the team, you're trying, you're on the fringe. You're just trying to crack the starting lineup. So then it's like, man, it must be nice being a starter. Then when you're a starter, you want the second contract. So when you're starting and playing a lot and you're up for a deal, you're hoping you can negotiate something awesome with the team, thinking that they're going to appreciate the grind that's been put in. Like, the growth and everything else. Like, it's going to be honored. And then you realize, like, the teeth of the business then to where it's like, man, I might not. I don't think I'm going to get to be one of those second contract guys. So when the boy Taylor, first year we met, he signed. He signed the biggest deal in NFL history for offensive lineman.

It was like five years for like $85 million. He came in with like, who's that dude off a dukes of hazard with the white suit?

Oh, boss hog.

Boss hog. He came with the whole boss hog fit, cigar in his mouth, signed big, went to the presser just fucking, you know, being the man. And it's one of those things you're sitting there in the locker room, like, in my selfish world of Jif, being like, man, I bet that is so fucking cool. This dude doesn't have to worry about shit. Like, I'm. I'm trying to grind and, you know, make the team, hopefully become a starter on this team. But, yeah, there's always. You're always comparing yourself. Then I'm assuming if you're the rich, if you're the highest paid guy in the NFL or the highest paid at your position, you're probably looking at Forbes magazines. On seeing which athletes stack up business wise on the outside, it's like, okay, I don't want to just be on the sports Forbes. I want to be on the actual Forbes.

Yeah.

Then those guys compared to me, it's. Yeah, it's endless.

As it shows you, too, that the chase really isn't where it's at, though, cuz, like, you. You wanting to be on the next list isn't gonna. It's never gonna be fulfilling, is my point. You just look at the next list.

What is it, man? I read it in a psychology of money. And it's like your ego sits. Your ego sits right below, like, you know, the next dollar or, you know, the dollar above whatever salary you want. Yeah, your ego sits right below that. I butchered that quote. But, yeah, man, it's never ending. If you're in the rat race, it's like this past year from myself and you, you'd appreciate this. I saw you sitting with Ryan holiday on his podcast. He's a big stoic. I love.

Fantastic.

Yeah. I don't get it, dude.

You need to get. Sounds like you need to get some in your life.

I don't get it. I don't get it.

But it's like, just the power of know that all the opportunities we have all around us to amass and do as much as possible, make as much money as possible. Like, okay, we do one show a week. What if we went to two? What if we build this asset? What if we go out this tour, that tour, do all these things and build up for our next contract, all the stuff, and then having ru and realizing, like, oh, man, you know, I'm kind of moving around a lot. Like, the power of no, like, saying no to things because you're saying yes to the weekend with the.

That's a great one.

Yeah. Like, you're saying no to stuff means you're saying yes to the priorities you have, that you have structured out.

Yeah, that's a. I mean, here's my problem with stoicism. And that whole thing is like, buckle.

Up in there, boys. Bert's philosophy's coming well, it's not.

Look, I could be a stoic, too. I could read the books and tell you what they say.

It's putting it into practice.

Whatever.

Well, that's. That is so putting in the practice is something to roll your eyes at.

Yeah.

Why?

I don't know. Whatever.

Whatever.

I don't get it.

Let's talk about it.

I don't get it. I don't.

I truly. I love these conversations, by the way. Not that I'm saying there's a right wrong. I feel like no matter.

What do you not get?

Yeah. What do you not understand about it?

I don't know. The whole Marcus Aurelius said, it's like, okay, cool.

That's your take on it?

That's stoicism. It's like, no, there's like, five books. I read them all. And then you need to just. Because this emperor back in the fucking 13 hundreds said it, then I'm gonna live like that. The power of no sounds really sexy, but everyone listening to this doesn't live in a world where they get to say no, for sure. And so, like, it sounds like a luxury to me, like, when it goes back to the. Being a great dad. I didn't have the luxury of being a great dad. Like, I had. I had to. Like, I never. I've never said no in my fucking life because I always had to say yes. I had to say yes, and then they would tell me no at times. And so, like, I don't get. I. Like, I just feel like the average person is like, yeah, I'd love to tell my boss to go fuck himself, but I should have to show up. Like, E. Shit. Cash checks was my whole mentality in life. And I feel like you would get that in the NFL where, like, you're like, yeah, it would be cool to, like, sit out training camp and negotiate a higher salary.

Goddamn right, bro.

It would be cool. But I'm not that guy.

But you got to know. You got to know. Yeah, but I'm just. For me, it's like just knowing where I'm at. Like, if I don't. If I don't check my ego and some of this stuff, like, ultimately I'm just going to be chasing my ambitions all the time and sacrificing whatever it is that might be. Hey, I might be hurting this area of my life. I might be hurting that one. Because you're right. It's like, what was it? Cash checks each? Cash check.

Shit. Cash check.

Yeah. Not everybody's in the. In the luxury of it. But it's like being in the spot that I'm in now, and you get to kind of look at the scope of it all. Like, hey, who do I want to be? How do I want to move?

Yeah.

What actually, what amount of money? Can I define it? So that way, I'm not saying yes.

Everything has to be yes.

Yeah, kind of.

Why?

Because I'm very lucky. So, like, if I. If I.

Do you feel like you're taking advantage if you're not?

Yeah. Like, and I also feel like I'm losing opportunities. I'll tell you, the first time I watch people say no, I'm gonna use real names, and I'm gonna apologize to those people. ICM showcase 1820 years ago. ICM showcase. Earthquake goes second. Earthquakes. Fucking monster. And everyone walks away from that showcase. Nick sportsman walked out. I think Reno Collier walked out. Dane Cook walked out. Like, all these guys. Just like, I'm not following earthquake. No one must follow him. I was not in a position where I got to pick where I wanted to be in a lineup, but I saw that as an opportunity, and I said, fuck it, I'll do it. And I went after earthquake, and I fucking killed, and I got a development deal. I think people that go, I'm gonna pick my shots. They miss all those shots. Like, I feel like putting yourself in the arena to do things gives yourself an opportunity. You know that there's a lot of people that said no to the Tom Brady roast. That at that, when they got done, we're like, fuck, I should have done that. Whereas, you know, when we got offer, I was like, fuck, yeah, I'm in.

I'm in. I didn't even ask the money. I didn't ask. I didn't even ask what we were doing. I said, I'm in. Tom's in, too. And then Tom's like, hold on. And Tom was like, a hard note. We had a long phone call with them, and Tom spoke the whole time.

And he was like, no.

Yeah, because they wanted us to do something different. Tom's like, you know, it's a roast. And they were like, well, this is what we're looking for. And we're like, we can. I'm. The whole time I'm like, we can do that. We can definitely do that. But, like, I look at everything as an opportunity. Give me a stoic, meant idea, and I'll. And I'll pick it apart.

Tom, help me out.

Well, call up Ryan. Ryan Holly. He's got a bookstore here, right? Yeah, he's a cool dude. He's a cool dude, and I think it's awesome that he's into stoicism, but stoicism's, like, cold, plunging. It's like something that everyone's into right now. And it's like, I'm just not gonna. I already did it.

But to say that you'll tear it apart, it's almost like stoicism is ultimately, that shit is gonna happen to you, and it's all about how you deal with it. It's not like, just the power of saying no. Like, you seeing things as an opportunity and blocking out any noise that goes involved.

Like, that's part of the no thing isn't. Like, it actually has real value. If you, if you look at it this way, what it. What it's saying is, if somebody, if he goes, hang on.

Here's a great power of no. You say you're a hard in on something. Here's the power of saying no.

Here we go.

Tom, Tom, I have a great example. Power of saying no, because I'm learning it, too. Look, we're not all the best schedulers in the world. We all struggle as grown men with calendars and everything else. And my wife, like, hey, if we just put in the calendar, sweetheart, I don't care if you go and do these things. It's just finding out a day or two. And, of course, kind of, if it's planned out, then you're good to go. I just need to know what I'm getting myself into. Very fair. So, power of saying no. You commit to something. And not only that, but you're on camera saying, I'm a hard in and recruit other people to be a hard in with. And that date happens to be, let's just say, hypothetically in this situation, it's June 25, and it's the beer games championships of the world. So you're committed to that. The power of saying no. Now, any opportunity that comes your way. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't do it, because my priority to the boys, to the bears, to the cave, is invested in this. Yes. That I made. That's the power of saying no.

Example, not no. I'm not going to chase an opportunity.

You're confusing the power of saying no with the regret of saying no that I had no power in that.

No, there's stoicism in that.

Why? Because I am devastated that I will not be there. And you know that it's killing me that I'm not there, because I have my specials the next week, and Leanne's like, you're gonna go. You're gonna get drunk as fuck. You're gonna be yelling all day. You're gonna lose your fucking voice, and you'll have no voice for your special. And I have a show that night in Ohio, and I tried everything. I tried everything anyone on my team knows. I was like, I am in the beer olympics. I am. I've committed to them. But what I should have done at the very beginning, and this is who you're talking about. If it was Ryan holiday, he would have said. He would have said. He would have said, no, no, I'm.

Not to say, like, when you project anger, it's ultimately something that you hate about yourself.

I'm not projecting anger on you.

You roll the eyes, I go stoicism. Ryan Holiday, there's got to be. You worked hard for your life. You should be proud of it.

Yeah. Wait, is that a stoic thought? No, I just. You know, that there's got to be a theory of thought that picks apart stoicism. If there was one genius that Marcus Aurelius was a genius, there had to be another dude on the other side that was also wanted to fuck Cleopatra, who was like, yo, this guy's full of shit.

Yeah.

You know, and so I'm not on that guy's team.

But why, though? Why are you so mad at. Why you so mad at Ryan Holiday?

Not Ryan Holiday. He comes up in my feed, and I want to fucking buy it. I want to buy it, but I just don't. I just can't. I can't buy it. Buy into it. Stoicism. Give me a stoic thought.

Let's just pull this book. The biggest ones, okay?

You were. You were practicing stoicism when you went on your. How many days sober and working out?

Three months. Three months wasn't enjoyable.

You didn't enjoy it?

I drunk yesterday morning, and I loved it. I loved it. I'm that guy. I'm the fucking. Roll the dice.

Let him fucking seven different kinds of smoke.

Yeah.

You need those guys.

Yeah. Give me a stoic thought, Tom.

I'm pulling it up.

You are a complete stoic.

No, I'm not a complete.

100%.

Okay.

Tom's wife.

You bought books at his bookstore.

I know. Okay?

And you read them.

There's nothing.

Okay.

You're so lame.

Here's one. Happiness isn't found in things, but in virtue alone. It's all about what we value and the choices we make. So let's see. I'm trying to find. I'm trying to set that apart.

No, no. Just let's sit with that one.

Say it again. It's gonna take a second. I gotta put my brain to work.

Happiness isn't found in things, in virtue.

Bullshit. I just bought my wife a new car. She loves it. She loves it. Makes her feel young.

That new car smells gonna wear off.

It's a convertible.

It's gonna wear off. She's gonna want that new one in a few years.

No, no, no. Cause she grew up poor. A stoic, I think.

Okay, hold on.

Keep going. Tell them. Let me take away all your cars.

No, no, no.

And let's see how happy you are.

I got something better for us.

Okay.

Oh, we getting them on? Yeah.

Hey, Ryan.

Ah, come on.

Hey, what up?

Hey, I'm here with Will Compton and Burt Kreischer. And Burt is shitting all over stoicism and says that it's stupid and it's a dumb way to live. And he thinks it's just, you know.

Like, they're paraphrasing Ryan, but they're real close.

But they're. But we're close. So I was like, oh, then why? He's like, yeah, I see this stuff come up on my feed, and it's like, fucking, whatever. You know, it's just whatever. Marcus Aurelius. Whatever.

So he said how the power of saying no is so stupid. You say yes, stupid.

I just say yes to everything.

He just answered the phone with a hard yes. Right? He should have said, send a voicemail. He's a stoic.

Ryan, can you just, like, do you mind just giving a, like, maybe a basic principle of stoicism that we can, you know, like, hopefully show Burt why this is a value, that he's angry.

At the wrong thing?

Yeah, I'm here. I'm like a Scientologist. I'm ready to be converted.

All right. Sorry, my head. My headphones keep dropping out. Okay, so the basic idea of stoicism is that we don't control what happens in the world or around us, but we control how we respond to the world around us. It's pretty basic, I think it's pretty difficult to argue with. The idea is that instead of spending time stressing about what other people do, you focus on what you do. Instead of focusing on the mistakes you've made, you focus on how you're going to do better next time. And it's this idea that you try to go through the world around these sort of four main attributes, the sort of virtues of stoicism, again, I think, are pretty hard to argue with it's courage, self discipline, justice and wisdom. So that's the philosophy that has existed for 2000 plus years. Some of the greatest, most powerful people in history have ascribed to it. And then all sorts of people who went through, you know, horrendous ordeals, whether they were prisoners of war, thrown in prison for, you know, crimes they didn't commit or dealt with, exile and death and, you know, all the shit that life can throw at a person, they sort of turned to this philosophy.

So it's not these abstract ideas that you would, you know, studying this boring college class. It's a. It's supposed to be a framework for dealing with the difficulty of life.

Okay, okay, but what is your.

What's the opposite? I'm the opposite of that.

What is your main issue, like, against. Why. Why are you rolling your eyes at Marcus Aurelius? Like, what is that supposed to be?

Like? Okay, so, like, just the name is.

Your familiarity with Marcus Aurelius, Bert. That he's the old guy that dies at the beginning of gladiator.

No, no, no, no, no.

He thinks there's just another guy somewhere in that world that he was full.

Of shit, like Caesar's kid or something.

No, he was the emperor of Rome.

Yeah, yeah. Same, same. Nepo, baby.

Okay, okay, okay.

So I'm the opposite. Just the name Stoic is not how I live my life. Like, I'm not stoic. I'm the guy that if you put a sour patch candy in front of, I go, oh, I haven't had sour in forever. I feel like a stoic goes, no.

Okay, so the word stoic, lowercase stoic, has a somewhat different meaning than uppercase stoic. The philosophy that is stoicism. Stoa means porch in ancient Greek. There's just a philosophy that originated on this porch. In the athenian agora, it comes to mean, in English, the word stoic, lowercase means sort of emotionless, joyless, etcetera, in the same way that Epicurean means, like, a lover of pleasure or hedonism. These are sort of shortcuts that the actual philosophy is not about.

Can I ask you one thing here? Because of the Marcus Aurelius mention, what is something that Marcus Aurelius said that maybe Burt could wrap his head around and go, oh, that does make sense.

Yeah. Give me something where I connect with Marcus Aurelius.

Well, let's see. What are you. What are you dealing with these days?

Yeah, that's a good question.

Here, let me talk to him.

Okay.

Is how much of my life is performative? That is my biggest thing I'm dealing with. I had a girl fall during the five k. I'm telling you a secret. I know everyone's going to light me up for this. A girl fell, blew out her knee, hit her head. And I was. She was right in front of me. And I stopped down and I comfort her first, honestly comforted her for about 13 seconds. And then this voice in my head said, is there a camera catching this? And it bothered me. It bothered me that that was a thought that went through my head in a moment where I was like, I'm doing the right thing. Does anyone notice? Help me.

Okay, so, first off, I think Marcus Tirulius would very much relate to this idea of sort of your public self and your private self, because he's the most powerful man in the world. There's statues of him everywhere. He's cheered and clapped for everywhere he goes. But he's really worried about the sort of toxic effect that this would have as a person. He writes in meditations about not wanting to be Caesar ified, or he says, stained purple, because the emperor wears this purple cloak. And so he's talking about how, you know, and actually, Jerry Seinfeld just talked about this on some podcasts because he's been reading meditations. But he was talking about how one of the things that Marcus talks about in meditations is that, like, how worthless to be clapped for actually is. He says, you know, this is just the clacking of tongues and the smashing of hands. He's trying to remind himself that this thing that you can become very addicted to or that you can have inflate your sense of worth, is not to be proud. I mean, there is in Rome to this day, a 150 foot column that is carved in marble of Marcus Aurelius accomplishments.

So he's not just famous, but, like, truly a great man.

Okay, okay, okay.

He would have known how amazing he was.

Okay, hold on.

Just listen, Bert.

I know, I know, but I'm trying to get it because I know what you're saying. I had this conversation with Will's wife the other day. They asked. We were bringing them on stage, and Taylor and Will's wife said, how are you supposed to react when Taylor. Yeah. They said, how are you supposed to react when they applaud for you? And now I'm the opposite of Marc Surrealius. And that I say, allow it. Allow it, feel it. Let it vibrate inside you. It's joy. They're giving you joy. Appreciate that. Not everyone gets that. And when you get it, let yourself feel it. And then. But also, isn't there a tad bit of something performative in the fact that you are a guy who strives to become the emperor, but you're, like, kind of pretending like, I don't want to be. Like, I want to be the, you know, I got to be humble. Like, that part. Like, that's where I. That's where I. Because I have dealt with a lot of these things you're talking about. But I go, is it performative if I'm like, hold on. I'm just a, you know, hey, you know, like.

Or I go, it's happening. I asked for this. I wanted this. I strove for this. Now it's happening. What part of that is, am I being disingenuous? Being, going, like, don't put up huge statues of me? Well, if I didn't want huge statues, why did I do it in the first place? Do you know what I mean?

Well, I totally do. I think about that in my own life. Like, obviously, you know that, like, what actually matters is the work. But then you still want it to do well. You still want the tickets to sell. You still want people to clap at the end. So it's. It's attention, but you have to ultimately, I think, value your own opinion of what's good, and you have to value the work that you put in more than the external stuff, because more often than not, or throughout history, lots of great work and great artists who are ahead of their time, for instance, did not get appreciated. So if they let the thumbs up or the thumbs down of the crowd determine their self worth, they're going to be devastated. Right. So I think it's. It's a. It's. It's a balance. What's interesting about Marcus is he doesn't want to be emperor. He's just chosen for this. His father was not emperor. He's chosen as a young man, as this guy with potential that they think could do the job. So he has this kind of distance from it that I think he's. I think he struggles with.

But it's better to be thinking about these things than not thinking about these things and just being like, I'm the fucking best. Everyone loves me. Because that rots your soul and your mind.

Okay, I'm. Okay. I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm gonna give this stoicism a shot. What's the book, what's the audiobook I can get for the flight today? Because I bet if I'm drinking, I'd connect with it.

I think audiobooks on the stoics are hard because obviously they didn't record any.

Wait, Marcus Aurelius doesn't have an awe. Hello? Are you recording us all? All right, Ryan, I'm giving it a shot. I'll tell you. I'll tell you my other thing. My other thing that drives me nuts is I hate when, like, stupid people tell me stuff. So, like, I know Tom's not that smart. And then when he goes, here's the thing with stoicism. I go, stop. That's not your idea. You just heard Ryan Holiday say it.

That's an unnecessary shot. That's an unnecessary shot.

I'm talking to a dick joke comic and a fucking pro athlete about stoicism. But you. You make some solid points, Ryan Holiday.

All right, I'll take it.

All right, Ryan, thank you for answering the phone and dealing with my special friend.

Anytime. Big fan.

Yeah, it's just like talking to one of the kids. All right, talk to you later, man.

It's like, so many.

Can I say something?

Yeah, please.

I love that.

What?

I love just Ryan being on the phone, talking through that.

What's it. My issue a little bit is, like, go back to the NFL. Okay.

Okay.

The stoic is the guy. Amazing, amazingly talented. Big deal holds out. And that's Marcus Aurelius. He's. He didn't want to be emperor. Some of these kids are so talented. They're like, man, they forget the gift they're given. You are the opposite. You are the guy sitting next to Marcus Aurelius going, dude, I'm busting my ass just to be on the council. Like, he, like, that's how I feel. I've always been the guy busting his ass. Just get on the council. And so when I look at a stoic who goes, I am emperor. But I need to, like, keep my ego in check. And I'm sitting there going like, dude, whatever the fuck, dude. He's kept me on the council. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah. I think to that, it's almost like just using it from my football experience, getting caught up in comments. It's like, after a game, I would search my name on Twitter, only to end up disappointed. Even when I was like, oh, boy. Play pretty well today. Like, let's go see if people notice. And then it's like the whole what he was saying, it's like, live for the cheers, die by the booze. It's like, if I'm going to fill myself with, like, other people being like, oh, will's a great player and everything else. Yes, I do love that. But then when I get let down and I'm way, I'm putting all my value into someone else's opinion. Yeah, someone else's opinion. When really it's just, let's watch film. Let's see what my coach says. Like, he's not reading all the comments, but now I'm sitting here thinking like, oh, I wonder if everybody knows. Like, I did miss that tackle right there and everything else. It's like a Thanksgiving game happened. We were playing the Cowboys. I missed two tackles in a row on Ezekiel Elliott, and I found myself sitting on the bench after the first drive wondering what was being said about me on the Internet.

Really?

And it's like that right there. Like, as far as, like, practicing stoicism, because another thing you said, like, I'm talking to Ryan about stoicism, but these two dumbasses trying to tell me about it, it's not a thing of, like, you know what the answers are, but you just know these things that really can grab ahold of your mind if there aren't some practical, fundamental things that I can, like, lean on to be like, okay, why? Why do I care so fucking much to where now I'm at a point, I'm blocking out what coach is telling me on those tackles, and I'm thinking, what, you know, username 457 said on. On Twitter. And that's what I know. I had allowed the audience to consume my mind too much. Yeah, you almost have to, like, you have to practice, like, intentionally practice, like, not doing that, which is extremely fucking hard. And that's like trying to lean into those virtues or values or those core things of, like, why am I playing the game? It's because I was a little kid in the front yard with my old man pretending to be the nineties Cowboys with Emmett Smith, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman throwing the ball around.

And I absolutely love this fucking game. And my dad would tell me, he would show me Walter Payton stuff on. He would run hills until he puked. And even his old man, like, if he came home at night and the dishes weren't done, he'd get. He'd get woken up out of bed to do the dishes. And just like, the discipline and the things that, like, you grow up loving about the sport finds itself trickling away. Because now I'm starting to think about your next contract. What people are saying, do I think I'm as good as I think I am? Based on what Burt and Tom think when they're watching these games. You know what I mean? You kind of like, you kind of, like, lose that foundation of why you're doing it in the first place.

With comedy, it's even worse because I.

Think with every profession, it's like, it's, it's. I mean, even with fucking podcasting, you, you try to, you get caught up or you can worry about certain things.

I would not have had if this was two years ago. Whenever we moved into our new house, I went through what you're talking about, and it was. I was actually reading comments then, and I'd read, I never read Reddit, but I'd read negative things about myself. And then I started to believe them, and I started to lose. Started to second guess myself on things I would say, because I was like, and I was like, well, that's not who I am. I'm, like, even having a conversation, negating stoicism, I realized now that we say this, I'm going to get destroyed in the comments. This is why I fucking hate Bert. But I'm not going to change who I am and start pretending because I watch. We know people on podcasts who just speak to the worst people so that they don't get lit up.

Yeah.

They just talk to the, they appease the trolls.

And it's very, it's very methodical.

It's very methodical.

Calculated.

Yes.

And it's. And it's. And it is the opposite of art. The opposite of art is when you allow those negative comments to dictate who you are. And so I had to. I had to. At that point, I was pretty bad. It was when I was in pretty aggressive therapy, and I was like, yo, what is like? And you can't do that. You got to be that pure thing to be the thing. I can only imagine in sports where it's a physical thing when it comes to comedy, it's all like, oh, I'll just change my act. I'll just become a different person so I don't have to deal with negative comments. I'll say certain things, certain buzzwords that I know that troll.

Celebrate.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like leaking onto the practice field. You, you approach a tackle, and whether you tag off or not, in your mind, you're thinking, would I have made that tackle? And the way I kind of got outside of my body or now the coach is thinking like, oh, man, I don't know if he can, if he can make that play. And that's just my own insecurity coming alive based on what I'm filling my mind with in those moments. And then you're approaching practice. Like, you got to find those places where maybe you can go pick the ball off or make a play in the backfield. And you're not thinking about the fundamental things of lining up correctly, seeing the formation, just being immersed in the craft and the process of all, because you start getting caught up in all these things. Because at the end of the day, bird, it's like only you lay your head on the pillow at night with whatever stresses are in your mind. Your wife doesn't share it. The person laying next to you doesn't share those things with you. They try to support. They try to talk to you.

They are your rock. They help give you perspective. But even when they give you great perspective, well, you're still laying on the pill. Whatever's keeping you up is what's keeping you up. And to me, I've always loved writing stuff down. I try to gravitate towards things. Stoicism was one Ryan holiday in particular to where it's like, man, these are things that I can. Like, I can practically get behind because I know when I show up for practice tomorrow or I show up for the pod the next week or the boys the next day or whatever, it is, like, I have to have not my wits about me, but just my sense of, like, self and authenticity versus trying to do something that's outside of me, if that makes sense.

No, that makes. That makes more sense. You think? I, like, I connect with that 100% and the. I connect with that a ton. I mean, it means if that's what, you know, the other thing I have is, like, it's watching, you know, this. There's a thing that happened in this world where it's like, I think with podcast, and I'm really guilty of it. I just told you guys Martin Luther King was five seven, right?

Yeah.

I didn't.

That's a big. It was a big revelation today.

I didn't know that. I thought he was like, six two.

He does. Yeah.

I mean, he's like.

He's a big cat.

Yeah.

He's dressed like his legacy is big.

They used to call him Tweed.

Yeah.

Fucking slick dresser. And. But, like, even I am at a place where I regurgitating information I've learned seems inauthentic, meaning so many people. Like, I remember when we early, back when we used to do Rogan. I remember there. We'd go in. We still go in with zero fucking information to talk about. But there would be people that would have, like, notes and they'd repeat things they heard somewhere else. And I was like, yo, I remember we got into that. I remember it was the base of two bears early on. As I'm done with tired thoughts, I want original thoughts. I want someone to bring me original fucking thoughts. I remember the guy from epic mealtime. You remember that guy Harley? Yeah, I remember he was like, two toothbrushes do the top and the bottom at the same time. And I was like, God, that's a fucking. Way more original thought than talking about AIDS research on Rogan. You know what I mean? Like, I was like, but there's this thing where people regurgitate things they've heard and then all of a sudden they're no longer their authentic self. They're just being a vessel of regurgitation.

You don't think that some of that's just to prompt conversation, though? Like, it's just like maybe, hey, I heard this thing, I read this thing, I share it, see if it generates, like, hey, Martin Luther King was five seven. Like, you know what I mean? Like, oh, really? How tall was Malcolm X?

You know, like, was like five four.

Okay.

It's like, what are you. What are you supposed to. Do? Not continue.

I think I'm growing. I got. I gotta tell you that I think I'm growing in height. Yeah.

No, yeah.

For real.

He believes it.

Yeah.

Why do you think so?

Cuz I just. I feel. I think I'm getting taller. I keep meeting taller people and I'm like, you're not that tall. So I think I'm. I'm. I think I'm growing in high.

I think gravity ends up winning against us. Like, your vertebrae might be deteriorating.

I'm getting up there, dude. I have. I think I've grown at least an inch and a half in the last.

Are you sleeping longer?

Are you, like, doing pull ups? Are you hanging upside down sometimes decompressing your spine?

Yeah, I think I'm. I think I'll be six four by the end of the year. I'm serious.

What are you now?

Six two and a half? I don't know. Easily.

You're not taller than me, are you?

I don't know, man. I mean, maybe by the end of the podcast I will be.

You might have grown.

Yeah.

Ti 66162. Ti's.

How tall are you?

Six one and a half.

Is that like official measurement?

Official measurement. Feet standing in a v against the wall. I'm just six one.

Okay.

But you know, shoes, everything else, six two, right.

With shoes on?

Yeah.

I mean, let's stand next to each other real quick.

Yeah.

Cause you're gonna be, like, back to back. Let's just say, like, you're probably gonna be like, oh, you've been growing good.

Can somebody tell us?

I can't see. Oh, you're much taller than him.

Much taller than him.

Yeah. Still. Yeah.

By the way, I can feel your ass is nice.

You got ass on you, bro. No, bro.

It's weird to say, but, like. And I don't think I've said this before, but you got a beautiful ass, man.

I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

So, wait, how much taller?

He's a solid, like, inch, maybe an inch and a half.

You might be six foot.

He's 510.

Yeah. Oh, he's 510.

Yeah.

You might be growing.

Hey, I'm not 510. I'm probably, like, six one. You'd been shrinking. I think me a little bit.

No, I'm taller now.

No.

Yeah, but I'm always barefoot. That's why you think I'm always in flip flops. No, no, no.

You guys want to go back to back? I'll measure it. I'll be the judge.

No.

Why not?

Because I'm not gonna do it. I already know. I think Marcus Aurelius would probably say no. You're talking. Be comfortable with being power, saying no.

Yeah, dude, even with. Even. I forget. I was thinking about something. When you were in the middle of talking about feeling, like, inauthentic or when people regurgitate information, then many of you started talking about the power. No, I'm just thinking, like, I mean, fuck, I kind of felt like that imposter of, like, I am just, like, trying to, like, practice something or regurgitate something, and it's like, why do I end up getting there? Because we were kind of talking about fatherhood and everything else, and I feel like I get to these points, you know, Ryan, he's got. I know this is just a podcast shouting out Ryan holiday, but he's got, like, the daily dad. And this morning, the one was like, how do you want your kids to talk about you when you're older or long and gone? Right? And it's like, if you sit with that, what words would they say right now? And what words would you want them to say? You know what I mean?

What do you think they would say?

Oh, not good.

No.

Yeah. I mean, I think they. I don't think they'd be like, he was fun as fuck. That's it.

That's it.

Yeah. I loved him. He was fun as fuck. Yeah. And here's I'm not a dad. Like. Like, during the Black Lives matters things. Make sure that I said, absolutely not. You're not getting into those. I'm not getting you into those protest things. Crazy shit happens. You're my daughter. She was like, dad, I want to protest. I want to be out there in the streets. And I was like, baby, you don't know. Like, I'm. But that's was also who my dad was. Don't get out there. Crazy shit happens.

Yeah.

You know, you get arrested, get a felony, you'll never travel out of the country.

You were also like, blue lives matter. You should go do that one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He posted the blue square on Instagram.

Yeah, he did.

I really.

But, like, I think there's a cowardice to me of, like, I don't. Like, I don't talk about politics. I never talk about politics. I don't do it just. Cuz, like, I go, I don't want to alienate anyone, but, like, a brave Marcus Aurelius would be like, talk about your fucking politics.

Maybe. But that's all right that you don't want to.

Yeah.

So I don't think my daughters. I think my daughters would be a little more proud of me if I maybe I stood my ground and st. I don't know. I don't know.

Guess what? Stoicism. Sometimes not having an opinion at all is the right opinion to have.

That's true.

I have very few opinions.

Yeah, that's. I don't know that you have very few opinions. I think you have very loud opinions.

You're so fucking exhausting.

I am.

Because you know me so well that I can't just casually lie to someone. It's like being with Leanne where that never happened.

Yeah. I also don't think you're giving yourself enough credit with your kids. You work extremely hard.

It's like, there's a lot of dads who. A lot of dads would do, don't get out there. It's dangerous. That's not. You're not an unusual guy for that.

But, like, there's a thing. Maybe I'm not articulating this correctly, but, like, I I. Maybe I connect more with the dad, the poor dad, than the rich dad. You know what I mean? And I'm not saying you guys are rich, but I'm saying, like, great you guys, but, like, you guys are. There's a. There's a benefit when I. You know, when I talked to. I talked to a dad one time, and he was. And it was like, I was like, yeah, Leanne's out of town. And he was like, whoa, what are you doing? Shouldn't be working, man. You need to be home with kids. And I was like, that's not real. Like, I have to work. I have to work just like other dad's having. Oh, no, no, no. My wife's done. When she's out, I am a hundred. I cancel everything. And I remember casually saying, like, wow, no nannies. He's like, no, we have the nannies. And you're like, well, then that's not real.

Yeah.

And. But I think it's cool. I envy. I said it to John Mulaney the other day. I saw him. I envy because he was like, yeah, I got to get on a flight and go see the Malcolm or whatever. And. And I was like, I mean, I envy that. I envy the opportunity to be able to be a present dad. I couldn't be present. I couldn't. As a dad, I would go to read a book and think I'm failing them as a father because I'm not working. Like, I would be like, God damn it, man. I got a hustle. I got to figure out a way to make money. And even when I started making money, I was like. And I pretty much regret it because I don't totally regret it, but, like, it was the last few years of them in college or in high school, and I was like, I have an opportunity. My money. I'm on the road every fucking week. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna burn so I can make money for them. And I wish maybe I'd been like, you know what? I don't know. I don't have that self awareness.

Maybe.

I don't think. I think everybody. Every parent tries. Every parent wants to make money for their kids and work hard, and them go through the suck, so that way, their kids don't have to go through the suck. But then, even then, you're thinking, well, how do I make sure they kind of have the same kind of makeup the right way if they're not going through hard times? Like, I think it's a constant battle at all times. And that's also why I don't think you see it now. And maybe your kids don't see it now. Like, you're not giving yourself enough credit because you. Everybody thinks that way. Everybody wants to bust their ass for their kids, and in due time, in one day, when they have kids of their own and everything else, they're gonna understand the protective side of everything they're gonna understand why dad worked a lot and tried to put food on the table. And maybe there are things that if they resented with you or that they don't wanna do or don't wanna see, they'll add that in. But it's not that. It's not that. It's like, oh, I hated that about my dad.

Like, me, I love my old man.

I.

My dad, he's probably watching this. I love my dad. But he was hard on us. Younger, he worked a lot, commuted. He still commutes an hour to work every day. Commutes in our home. Like, just a middle class working guy. Wouldn't be at dinner. Like, all this stuff. Wouldn't be in our. Wouldn't be at our games. On weekends, he would watch his favorite sports. He'd go to my football games. He'd watch Cody wrestle because he loved wrestling. But when it comes to baseball and anything else, he wouldn't be at those.

Games because those games are not interesting to him.

Yeah, it's not like, yeah, he just.

I like your dad a lot.

He'd come home and he'd go change, and you'd find him out in the garage just drinking beer, just listening to classic rock. Like, wouldn't be in the house all the time. And look, I love my dad. Like, we would. I know how much he loves me and is proud of me, and I know how much I love him and how much he means to me. But also, like, you see examples of, like, okay, I want to be this way with my kid growing up because I knew I didn't necessarily have that from my dad. Like, I think of all this stuff, like, stoicism, everything else, like my mother. And if I get emotional, it'll be normal. But my mother passed away two years ago. Suddenly she got a knee replacement and blood clot right away, and it was sudden. It was brutal. I was on the road. We were about to play the Cleveland Browns, and I was on Vegas. This was my last year. Versace sends me home and stuff. But when I was thinking about that question with Ryan Holiday, and I'm thinking about, all right, the best way to do this versus, like, what do I want my kids to say about me is, how would I speak?

What does parenthood look like to me? And to me, I think of the example of my mother. I think of, like, a resilient, fierce, protective, like, very much had an opinion, but had the humility enough to have an open mind and somebody who was strong, somebody who worked hard, somebody who was the homemaker career woman, worked multiple jobs, did things to where we could go to our camps. I was the kid on my traveling baseball team to where I probably stayed with each of my teammates family in a hotel on the road because our family wouldn't be able to afford to do it. But I know my mom is doing these things, and my dad, too, are doing these things, so that way, I could go and chase my sport ambitions, and I wouldn't be able to articulate that back when I'm growing up, because I'm just a young kid, I'm chasing my own ambitions. I'm wondering when I'm going to get my next nut. I'm wondering which house, which buddy's house we can stay up all night at. Like, I'm doing my own thing, and she'll let us know, like, once we get out of line and bitch about, why can't we do this?

And all the juggling that goes on. But it's like, my mom was an accountant who went back to school to get her degree in teaching because she realized she wanted to be a teacher and work with kids. And then when she becomes a teacher, she's getting her master's degree at nighttime, taking night classes with jobs, picking up summer jobs to help put, like, food on the table with my old man. My mom was the one who would change a belt in a car. There wasn't a job around the house that she couldn't do. She looked after my finances and everything when I first entered the NFL, up until she passed. And she did all of these things, and I wouldn't be able to actually sit with myself and articulate that, going through it at the time. But now that she's passed right before Ru was born, and now that I'm a. Now that I'm a. This is where it'll get a little emotional. But now that I'm a father, I'm able to think about those things on how she impacted me that goes beyond her, that I didn't necessarily know at the time, but I understand now.

And so it helps my intention with being a father and really all of it, right? Like, being a leader for bussing, being a good teammate, being a great friend, being a husband, being a dad. Like, all that stuff matters because I'm able to now articulate from the framework of, like, you know, my mom did this. And again, dad, you know, I love you, and he knows I feel all the same stuff, but those are the things I pull from when I'm finding frameworks or I'm finding things that like, okay, I don't want to be on the rat race or chasing ambitions all the time. It's very much a part of me. I'm a success driven cat. But I know I have to keep myself in check with, you know, it's like when I learned about the power of no, it's like, oh, wow. This is a framework that's sitting with resonating with me. With resonating with me. Well, how do I put that into practice? Not to ultimately say, hey, work on the power of no, whatever you're doing is not it. You should be doing the power of no. No, not at all. It's just like, those are the things that kind of shape have shaped.

And what I sit with and think about when I'm laying my head on the pillow and being like, why am I bothered by traveling so much? Or, why am I bothered by being home for multiple weeks in a row? Like, what do I need to do to scratch the edge here, here, and here. How do I prioritize? So that's where all that stuff comes from.

Wow. And that must make you also think about, like, how much of a disappointment it is that burt's not gonna be.

At the beer all the way. Call back around you letting us down.

It's a huge thing.

It hurts.

Yeah.

Once again, you've let them down.

And honestly, I think why I get so frustrated about it is not because of you, because I know I've done that before. I know I've done things that, like, I'm like, yeah, I can see why that person was frustrated that I didn't RSVP to the wedding until I told him right before, hey, I'm not going to make it. Then you go through a wedding yourself and realize, like, it ain't even about you saying, no, we don't give a shit.

We just want to know.

We ordered food, a plate, a set, and everything for you. You're just now telling us, let me.

Ask you this one, because you said this when you were speaking. Because I think everybody. And this very much resonates with comedians, which is, like, when you're home for two weeks in a row, and you're, like, frustrated, and you examine what is it? Have you discovered anything that. Have you come to any realization about, what is it about sitting around that makes you feel, I need to be doing something?

I don't know. I think it's like, it might be expectations of the team. Like, Taylor, he has his own ambitions as well. Like, doing more. Should we do this? Should we do that? And if it just. If I can't define it and I'm in the conversation, I feel more reactive, and I'm not actually having a productive conversation about it. Like, I almost need to figure out what it. I need to actually sit down and try and articulate. Like, what is it I'm feeling? Why am I feeling that? Okay? If I'm feeling that okay, why am I feeling that feeling?

Yeah.

And just continuing to ask myself why? So that way I can get to the root and then ultimately express that. And then sometimes it'll be like, if I get mad at myself, I realize I'll be on my phone too much.

Yeah.

I'll be sitting there on my phone, and I'll be like, what am I fucking doing? Like, I don't want to do this. I hate that I'm sitting here doing this. Why am I continuing to sit here to do it? Why am I trying to find these little edges in the house on when I can go to the bathroom a little bit longer so I can scroll and do all these different things to where I'm consuming shit? And I'm like, okay, I got a. I gotta remind myself of, you know, the problem, my priorities in my life. Like, hey, I'm bummed I can't do this, but also congratulate and be hype for your boy who might be doing x, y, and z, even though I can't be a part of it. I have massive fomo. You know what I mean? It's like, shit like that, bro.

I said it. You don't have to.

Like, you're the worst at this.

Fomo's. Yeah, Fomo's a real thing, bro.

Yeah. He's the ultimate Fomo.

It's killing me, because I remember texting him one morning too, and it was before his wife show. I texted him that morning and was like. I texted him that morning. I was like, hey, truly, all good if you can't make it, we're just, you know, bar Sewell's putting money into this. Like, they're trying to get this thing right, playing it all out. Everything else. I just need to know if you think you'll actually be able to move it or if you're not gonna go.

And truth be told, he could come and then just fly to Ohio later.

Well, he doesn't. He doesn't. Not that he intentionally didn't respond. I don't know if he did, but he didn't respond until then. I see him in the hallway at Zany's before the wife's show. I'm just thinking. I know we're both thinking the same thing. Like, yeah, I'll hit you. You was thinking, what are you so mean? You're thinking, oh, shit. I didn't respond to his text.

The first thing I said, is Taylor here? I can't deal with two of them. Hang on, I have one question. Have you noticed a difference in Taylor now that he's attractive?

Oh, for sure. He knows it because we all know it.

He was like a six his whole life. Yeah, he was a six.

Yeah.

All of a sudden he showed up with an alternative ten. Like, he's got. All of a sudden, the tattoos fit on his body. His fucking mustache and fucking clothes. His shoes look normal. Like when he had. When he wore those shoes as a big guy, that they didn't fit his body. Yeah, he needed like, skis and it like, what is the biggest? I wanted to ask his wife that, cuz she, like, when I've heard her talk about their relationship, I think with Leanne, maybe. And like, she got like six Taylor. And now she's married to ten Taylor.

He's a sex pistol now.

He's fucking hot.

Yeah.

Here's what will piss you off about it, is this man has the audacity to worry about his hair, like, going bald. And his hairline is so crazy fucking good that it's like, I had to tell him. I'm like, hey, Taylor, when you say those things, you're not relating to anybody. You're not being funny, you're not relating to anybody. Those are things that you say because you are so good looking to where it's just like, yo, fuck you, bro.

He's got the best hair, right?

It's incredible. And his old man, like, his old man, they're kind of built the same. He has a great hairline, too. Silver fox.

I mean, look at that picture of the guy up to the right. Oh, my God. Look at the one with the mustache with the. With the hat where he looks at hat right there. Judge Smale's fat son.

Yeah, I mean, any of them.

And then you go to go to.

His instagram, look at him drinking that beer with abs. He's gonna love this part of the episode right there, that headshot in the middle. I mean, look at his smiles fit his body now.

Yeah, yeah, no, he looks. He looks great.

I feel like when you have that face shape and your hair can kind of.

So he's talking about his hair right.

Now to the corners.

His hair is an issue for him right now. Is.

No, it's not an issue. He just. When I say, I get worried about my corners and everything thinning.

Yeah.

He's like, oh, man. I worry about the same stuff. And I'm like, no, no, no. We. We are not the same, bro.

I would love to hear him talk about how much better his dick looks, because when you lose weight, I remember the first time.

That's a lot of weight to lose.

He tried to say, you know, the wider mouth, body armor bottles.

Yeah.

He tried to say on a road trip one time, he's like. He's like. He had to go to the bathroom, so we're, like, peeing this water bottle. He tried saying, I don't know if my. My piece could fit inside of it. We had to stop and just be like, bro, that is fucking. That is a lie. Like, what are you talking about right now?

Lean over.

Being in this bottle like, you did not there. Yeah.

Come on.

He couldn't, like, force it up in the real quick.

Biggest dick you ever saw. The locker room, Amir Abdullah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a real.

It's a real. It's a real hose.

Yeah.

And he's gonna hate. I'm sure I'm gonna be checked in, the group chat.

That's okay.

But, I mean, it's. It's impressive.

Yeah. Shout out to Amir Abdullah and your huge black dick.

And.

Dude, this was a fucking joy having you here. Thank you for coming today.

Thank you, guys.

Awesome. Yeah. Say hi to your friend Taylor for us, too.

I will. Hopefully, you know, we can reschedule something for the boy. You can have us both on. And after the summer, whenever the chaos slows down, that'd be awesome.

And you'll see him June 25, and we'll see you guys soon. Thank you for watching. Thank you for listening. God bless. Marcus Loreel.

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