73. The Journey of Self Discovery, Through Ice Baths, Meditation and a Shaman

He's coming and he's like shaking you. He's like. And there's people screaming and there's people crying and like, it's just like, it is intense. It's full on. And then it gets, it gets faster. He's like, go deeper. Like it's going. And he's like bashing his drum is like, breathe. And it's like, everyone's like, welcome back to another episode of the Benedberg show with your favorite NBA and high school dropout talking everything, crypto, business and personal growth. And today we're talking all personal growth. Off the back of my week and a half retreat in Bali, a hundred founders and entrepreneurs embarked upon and a retreat in Bali, all from Melbourne. And it was phenomenal. Bergs. The first retreat, we did two retreats, one with a smaller group with me and my closest sort of, you know, business owner friends, and the second one was with the full Melbourne crew. And it was just really eye opening, man. So I'm really excited to share these lessons. It's going to help everyone. Like, you know, if you're stuck in the weeds right now, you're trying to build something or just need some clarity. Just going to really share some, some lessons that I learned over the course of the retreat and hopefully to get some takeaways. But mate, good to see you.

Good to see you, man. And I'm keen to go through this one because just on the other end of this, you going into this, you were working very, very hard. You were almost frantic in the things you were doing, quite scattered. And then I just received this magical phone call from you where you're relaxed and focused and you're like, I know exactly what we need to do and I just need to know the things you did to get to that state. And I think this is going to help a lot of people out there.

It was, it was really eye opening in a sense of like, you know, we're pushing so fast for a startup. We've got targets we need to meet. You know, we're going, going, going, going, going. But what I realized is what I was doing is I would rather than going deeper on what is already working, I was going wider, trying to start new stuff that hasn't worked in the past. So rather than going, you know, a mile deep, I was going a mile wide and just going an inch deep. And what this retreat really opened up to me was some areas that we're focusing on that probably shouldn't be a focus in an area of great opportunity that we're not tapping into. And the only way I got to that was really getting out of the weeds and getting like this clarity and stepping out of the dirt and just going into the sky for a little bit and looking down upon what was going on. So landed in Bali, had a night to myself and then we, we, we kicked off our what's called.

Forum Retreat. So I'm a part of a group called the Entrepreneurs Organization Hundred. I think it's 250 founders and entrepreneurs in, in Melbourne. Bergs is a part of the Perth one and we've spoken about in the past. It's just amazing. It's just a awesome personal growth, you know, group where you can get together and learn from and come together and once a year you do a retreat and, and I'm a part of a smaller group which is called a forum. So a group of six of us or seven of us and we catch up every month and go through our business challenges, opportunities, things like that. And our retreat this year was in Bali. So we, we hired out this massive villa. It was like six different bedrooms, but the bedrooms were in different buildings surrounded by, sorry, surrounding a massive kitchen, a lounge room area with a private pool, private chef, maids, gardeners, the whole thing. It was inside security. It was just ridiculous. So we were there for four days and we got in guest speakers and we did deep dives and we did, went into activities. You know, we did quad biking, I learned surfing, we did yoga, we did semantic breath work, we did, you know, you name it, we did everything. And we just got to sit down and go through what everyone was going through in their businesses and we had to do a case study so we had to present in front of the rest of the group how, what, what does the next level look like for our business? How are we going to get to the next level? So we presented it and got feedback around our strategies and plans. And you know, the biggest takeaways for me was again, like we have been trying to do, you know, 10 different things at once. Two or three channels are really working, but rather than doubling down on those two or three, we're still trying to push the seven to 10. So you know, for me the real clarity was closing the doors on opportunities. We were a startup, we have limited resources. What doors are we going to close to continue building upon the other doors? And that was a big key takeaway for me. So, you know, I got to work and built out a strategy and have pretty much got the next sort of two or three months locked in in terms of what I need to do what our company needs to do and I'm just really buzzing to get cracking into it, mate.

That's so good to hear. And let's say a month ago I would not be able to convince you to kill those other seven things. You're like, no, we've got to do it all. We have to try, mate. We've got to get this revenue, we've got to get these customers, we need to do all these things. And even if I say no, you'll run off and do it anyway.

And just to be able to get that clarity is just phenomenal. And especially for the other people in the business because it focuses them and they know what they need to execute on.

Yeah, spot on. And the personal growth. So I just take that step away and like, I was still working but, you know, it was a, it was a time in Bali with some of my closest friends doing, you know, fun stuff and just chatting about business and life. It was just really good to get out of the, you know, going crazy in the sort of weeds and just take that step back. But one of the other real things that happened, we did. So we had, we, we tried what's called shamantic, sorry, shamanic breath, breath work, which is like this 70 minute deep breath work session where we had a facilitator come in while in. And it was just really eye opening. It was just, it was fascinating what that experience was like and I'm going to absolutely butcher trying to explain what's going on. So if you want to know what it is, you can try and Google it. But it was next level. Just got really clear on some areas of me personally that I've been sort of fostering in areas where I needed to step up in and just really got clear on some areas that I need to work on. And also, yeah, just some things that have been hanging up, you know, hanging around that I just, you know, was able to, you know, get through.

What was that experience like? Because you described it to me on the phone. Was it in like a room and there was smoke and what was, what was happening?

It was intense, man. It was like a room, you know, there were six of us on like lying down on towels and there was really loud music. Like it was like tribal music. It's going to sound like, you know, we did some crazy thing like there was no, no, no drugs involved. It was fewer breath work, right? There was like tribal music and everyone's breathing. We've got something over our eyes. So it's completely dark and there's that he's lighting these, these, you know, these incense or something.

Yeah.

Intense. And he's running around with a big drum and he's bashing this drum and he's talking to us. And like, you gotta do this breathing exercise when you're like really sucking in, breathing out, but you take no gaps. Was like for 70 minutes and you just go, go. And then he's coming and he's like shaking you. He's like. And there's people screaming and there's people crying. And like it's just like. It is intense. It's full, full on. And then it gets, it gets faster. He's like, go deeper. Like it's gone. And he's like bashing his drum. It's like breathe. And it's like everyone's like, that is right.

So you're basically hyperventilating for 70 minutes, breathing in incense.

Yeah.

Madman banging a drum and screaming at you.

Yep. With loud music out.

It's like. It's insane. And then like. And it comes to. It comes to a peaks and then it just all calms down. And then you just go on this weird like meditation. And then. And then like you get up and you haven't seen because you've been completely back for like 60, 70 minutes. You look around and six or six of my closest like business friends like bawling their eyes out. Like everyone's just crying. Like it's just like this whole. And then we had to like draw what our experience was and share it. And then we went through and shared what our experiences were and everyone just bawling their eyes out. Like everyone's just bringing up all this that's going on in their lives. It's like it was like the most intense experience that just was like bonding. Everyone came together, was just like. We came in hugged, there I was just for the rest of the day. Was so emotionally tired. One of the guys really said he like literally changed his life. Like he's just like completely reshaped. Everything was like one of those things is so hard to explain what on earth just happened. But it was. Was amazing.

A lot of people say this when they take like DMT or ayahuasca, something like that, where it tends to get all of the bullshit and surface level thoughts out of the way and you really get to interact with those deeper thoughts. And it's either like, you know, a beautiful experience or you might have some regret because you've been doing the wrong thing and really you should have been doing something else. And that Was there the whole time. But now, you know, and it sounds transformational.

I think this one was. Was. I think for everyone. It was like. It wasn't like, you know, it wasn't like this thing where we just suddenly realized that this thing that happened sort of like nine years ago is still sort of hanging out. Was more like it was. It was there for everyone. But something around what was going on with the music and the basic hyperventilating for that long and just the focus just brought up those things really top of mind. And then that's where it just all came out. Like, you know, for me, I got super angry. I was just. I was mad. I was like. So everyone was like super, like, you know, emotional and crying. It was. And I was just. I was yelling in the cushion for like 20 minutes. I was just like, he's screaming into a pillow. Yeah, man. I was just gone. I was, you know, I was just going bananas, like, just so mad. Like, I was just so angry. And for me, it was just like, you know, not. Not seeing myself as who I need to be. Like, I've been holding myself back and I'm like, I'm always worried about what people think of me. And like, you know, all this sort of. And it just really came to the forefront and I got angry because I was like. It was like, why the am I doing that? But he's like, everyone's opinions, like, you know, screw that. Like, I'm who I am, you all, I'm gonna live my life. And that was like, just me being angry. And I came out of it so calm and so zen and journaled all out. And I've got it in my book just to review back. And I was like, wow, that was. That was. And then the next day we did the business stuff. That's when I called you. I was like, right, this is what we got to do. That's so good.

And I wonder if they do it in a specific order because of that, where they deal with all the crap you got first, mate. When you say you were angry, were you angry at the situation, angry at yourself, angry at other people?

I was angry at me. I was angry at other people. I was, you know, you know, I was angry at. I don't even know. I was just angry. And I was just like, there's just, you know, but really what came forward was just like I was living in a world of sort of self doubt and not really like, you know, and still working. It's not like, click the light no more better. But it's like coming from a place of, like, confident within myself. I was relying on the opinions of other people to give me that strength rather than just that strength coming from within. And that's what I was angry about. I was like, why the, why am I living on what other people are saying about me or thinking about me versus just me living the way I want to live? And that was, that was what came out of it for me. So that's where I was like, you know what?

This, that's incredible. So you did that early on and then you had the business part as well. Mate, I want to get into the ice baths. You have to walk me through this because you posted on Twitter. I saw the photo. Conveniently, you were not in the ice bar. So I don't actually believe you went in. But you know, you're, you're a tech bro. This is part of it. Even Jordy said he's got one at his gym. Walk us through this experience because this looked like the biggest ice bath I've ever seen in my life.

It was just 100 tech bros in Bali putting together an ice bath. So I finished that six person retreat, then went on to the 100 person Melbourne retreat. And that was awesome. I had a bunch of awesome speakers. Some AI guys, some, some big CEOs of ASX company companies came in. It was awesome. And then we did the ice bath. So we, what we did is we started out, Waleed, the guy that did the same session, did it for the full group. So we started with. He did a presentation and then we, then he brought us into the pool and explained what was going on. Meanwhile, they're building this massive pool of ice in the beach. On the beach in Bali. Massive. They bought 600 bags of ice.

It was like, imagine going to the survey, mate, go, yeah, now, mate, I just have 600 bags of. I say chuck in the back of you for us.

And it's hot, right? It's hot in Bali. So they, they relied on the local guys that were working there, like bartenders to sort this thing out. And they had to bring the ice up from the ground, but it'd take like 10 minutes to fill the ice bucket and bring it up. So about 10, 15 bags of ice at a time. 600 they had to load up, taking 10 minutes each time. And you had to carry it from the top of the hill all the way down to the beach. And what they did is they, they filtered the, they filled the pool of water and the pool is in the sun, so the water's hot. So what they do, they carry the bag down, feel the pool up of ice. They go up, it takes it. By the time they come back, all the ice is melted and it's just warm as it was before. So they're just like basically just losing ice. It's so good.

It's so good.

We had to go and like, help out. And we went up and just did. Carried it and put in the shade and we all put in the ice at once. Anyway, so what we started with, we went to the beach. 100 people on the beach on towels. And we did Wim Hof breathing on the beach.

Yeah.

Now I've never done it before and this was intense because this is the opposite of hyperventilating. This is holding your breath for like minute, two minutes, three minutes. This was like really tough.

That was kind of a weird experience because it was like 100 people on the, on the beach was 30, the girls were hot and everyone just like trying to like you know, not breathe, but it was like really energizing. Everyone's buzzed up. And then we did some stretching. We were ready to go. So we went into ice bath. And the first time I did an ice bath, 24 people at a time, two minute rounds and you just go for it. So you jump in the ice bath and you're just basically locked in. Everyone's just like in there together. And I, in my head, I'm just like, like, I'm for sure getting out. But like, once you're in there, you're like, I can't leave. I'm like, I can't. You know, there's everyone else here. I'm not going to be the first one that leaves you. Like, it's, it's, it's always competition, right? Like, you can't leave. So we're in there, two minutes go by. Get out. Everyone went in again. So there's three, three rounds and then coming into a second round, two minutes and the final round, seven minutes. And that was optional. And I was like, no, I'm not doing seven minutes. Like two minutes. I was just like, it was tough to get to two minutes for me. And yeah, some guys in there did their seven minutes and I was just like, well done. Like, it is painful, man. Like, and he talks about ego. He talks about your ego gets in the way. Your mind is telling you to get out. It's like, why do you need to do. You don't need to do this. You're better than this. Like, why do you, why is it not. It's your ego, but it's like pushing beyond that and the science of like, there's something in your, sort of hit the front of your head that, you know, it's your persistent, it's, it's, it's, it's tied in with your persistence. And it's like that, that pushing the boundaries and just making it happen. And by pushing through those boundaries of sitting in this ice and it's painfully cold, your brain going, get the hell out. And you're pushing through. It develops the brain sort of, I'm going to cook this. But like it develops that area within your brain that, that helps you fight tough problems. Because if you can go through that and you can just keep pushing through it, it helps you in the rest of your sort of day to day life. So.

All right, let's, let's dive in. Let's dive in. So, yeah, this is what Buddhist monks do as well. Where I never understood this when I was younger and I saw it, I think it was just on tv where they'll literally have a big stick and a monk will just be kind of on his knees bent over and they'll just be beating him with a stick. And the guy is saying, this guy is like, please beat my ego out of me because in what, on what planet would you let someone beat you up? But then if your ego listen, you don't have to fight back and you can go through that level of pain. It's just pain, you know, it's not going to kill you. You know, it's not super bad. How does that affect your ego? And then what will that do for your life? And it's a very similar thing like this. And it's also similar to what they do where they train Navy seals, when they go through buds, they go through Hell Week. It's all of this. It's with, with your peers and you have to survive and they, they make you drown. Proof. You know, they chuck you in the ocean when it's cold and you're all linking arms. They deprive you of sleep. But once you've been through all of that, it's like David Goggins says, you just keep reaching into the cookie jar for another memory. Like, I've done stuff tougher than this. You know, it's not like this time. It's not like that. And you've just got more and more reserves to be able to push through and achieve the walls.

I was reading this one. It's like pushing through the walls and the barriers and if you can Think about you breaking through walls. It's just as you said, building that, that the, the, the padding, you know, like, you know, if you can do this, you can do other things.

Isn't it fascinating our self limiting beliefs. And when you push through, you realize it was just a mental thing you put on yourself. There was no physical thing, no danger, no nothing. But you needed to break through. It's like an incredible moment when you realize that.

And it's hard because, you know, on my own this morning at the vice bath, I was like in the eye. So. And I was like, this is painful. What the am I doing? Get the hell out. Like, you don't have to do this.

This is a, this is a pain. See, this is a problem I have where I gravitate towards comfort because I've reached a level in my life where I could just be comfortable. Right. And that'll be fine. But it's the whole thing where you need to look for discomfort and shake it up. That's what the human body likes. That's how you become robust or even antifragile in some cases. And I need to do that more. So I've, yeah, for probably last couple of months been like straight cold showers and now it's getting cold and it is, it's probably about like 8, 9 degrees in the morning, maybe even less. And it hits you, you're like, holy. So the first couple of seconds, but I just do breathing techniques while I'm in the shower. And within 30 seconds you just get through it and then you just feel amazing after it. Did they teach you breathing stuff for while you're in the ice?

Yeah. So it's about like. He talks about the square method. So you breathe in, you hold for like a couple of seconds, you breathe out, hold. And it's like a square. Now that's easier than done because you sit in there, you're like, I'm just like trying to like, you know, calm it down. But the clarity, the clarity I had this morning. Like, you know, I was like, I was on. You know what I mean?

So the, the military one is like four, four, four. So it's like very simple. So you remember it. So it's breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, out for four seconds, in for four seconds, just go around like really, it's a similar thing. And when you're focusing on that, you're focusing on your breathing and your body can do incredible things.

It's fascinating because he was also talking about, and not, not thinking about negative thoughts. Like how long left? Got to get out some, go think about positive things, smile. Thinking about the, the energy and like all this sort of stuff. And I'm sitting there, I'm trying to find motivation. I'm just like 20, 19, 18.

Yeah, I could just do things now like that. It's incredible. I've got to do a nice one. I'll, I'll do it and I'll, I'll report back because you know, I'm talking a big game here. Never done an ice math. Let's see how that is. My mate's never done an ice bath. No, my mate's got one. I've only done like cold showers, stuff like that. But I also need a lot more challenges in my life. Like I haven't done enough challenging things. Like in, I could do a lot of mentally challenging things and like relationship challenging, like business, those kind of things and push myself there. I do some physically challenging things, but nothing extreme. And I'm like, no, I need something in that area.

Give it a crack, man. It's like, yeah, I could only get a minute. I did two one minute lots. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get to two minutes. Yeah, it's not the easiest thing in the world, that's for sure. People do it for like longest.

Yeah, exactly. I find like, okay, so what's the feeling when you get out? So even me, we just. Cold showers in the morning, I just can't help but smile because it's the stupidest thing and it makes me laugh. It's like, it's like when you jump into the ocean, it's really cold, right. You're just happy. And when I get out and I've still got goosebumps, so I dry myself off, I just can't help but be happy. How does it feel after an ice bath? Why would people do this?

So that feeling I had on the weekend when I did two, two minutes, it was like this real rush of energy and excitement and like you're just ready to go to war. That's how I felt like this morning I did one, two, one minute lots and I just felt, I just felt zen. I felt clear, I was calm. I went and did a workout, smashed it, got into work. Started at 7:30 work this morning, like you know, and I'd only had like seven hours sleep. Like it was a five, quarter to six, wake up, gym by six, ice bath, quarter past six, gym for an hour and I started work. 7:30, bang. I was just, I was just on.

It, you know, there's Something about doing an activity where you can only focus on that thing that's happening that brings you so much mental clarity where it's like. You're like. I mean, something really freaking cold. This hurts a lot. I have to focus on this to survive. And all the other shit goes out of your head. And then you get that clarity for your next activity.

It's fascinating. It's really fascinating. I'm going to keep doing it. I want to get two minutes tomorrow. And it's a. It's a battle. I'm competitive now because I feel like I failed this morning. I did 21 minutes. Like, I'm like, you're. You're weak. You soft. Like, get two minutes. So I mean, something soft.

So good, mate. And then you step out in this nice, warm Bali, mate. That is pretty soft. I got to join you in that. It's like you had the cold. No, keep doing it, man. And so out of all the things that you've done on this trip, it just sounds like it was really structured in a beautiful way for you guys to get to that level and unlock those thoughts or experiences that you needed. Because everyone wants to go to a business retreat and come back with something. You're saying it sounds like you came back with a lot. And out of those experiences, are there any that you will carry forward and continue or want to do in the future?

Ice baths? Definitely. And I want to go the step, step further in terms of that sort of personal development and understanding yourself. So, like, Waleed, that ran the shamanic breathwork does, like, global retreats, where you go away, you do ice baths, you do breath work, you know, you do psilocybin, you do. You know, you're doing ayahuasca. So, like, all of that, I'm so keen to try that. So Peru next year in. In April, I'm. I'm looking at it, mate, because we.

Talked about this probably like episode two or three, like, nah, never doing it, don't want to do it. Whatever changes my mind now you're like, sign me up for that.

I did say that, didn't I? Wow, I forgot about that.

I just want to focus on this business. I don't want to change. I don't want to do that crap.

And now you just, like, set me up, mate. I'm going, I'm going. I'll go on the big retreat. Look at that.

It's already in my calendar.

Bennett Berg's listeners, Personal growth, right here. Ben Simpson.

There we go.

Amazing podcast.

That's it.

And you, you did some yoga as well. How was that for you? Yoga in the morning.

Yeah. That was interesting, man. It was like a mix of gym slash meditation because it was tough, like. And I've been doing a lot more stretching in the morning when I go to the gym. So I was a lot more flexible. But just. It's calming. It's real calming. I'm like, I don't know. It's good. I don't think I could get in a routine to do it because I. I don't enjoy it. It's not fun for me. I know it's good, but it's an interesting one. It's. It's boring for me. Like, I'd rather. Yeah. Go to the gym and meditate.

Yeah.

Where? Doing stretching for an hour. Just like, I don't know, I just don't find it fun. That's the only thing.

I don't do it for an hour. I do it for like half an hour. But I just love it. Like after a while it just. Yoga just clicks. And the way that you move and when you breathe with that movement, it is just. It's incredible, man. It's so zen. And I prefer to do that over like static stretching and the stretching routine. I still add my stretches and foam rolling on the end, but that gets me so loose for my workout. I'm doing at least twice a day now, like for the last week and it's been game changing.

Yeah.

Because I got to be like, got a bit crook. Wasn't moving that much. I just got really, really stiff to the point where I felt just crap all day and really fatigue. Started doing that and it's just like next level mobility.

Oh, yeah. I think the benefits. I was unbelievable. Like, to be fair, like the benefits of the just doing that one session, I was like, oh, wow. Like I was stretching areas I hadn't even, you know, hadn't stretched before. Just one of those things. I'm like, fuck, you know, I'm doing meditate, a journal, ice bath, gym.

Yeah.

You know, it's. It's just sort of one of those things. Like I'm probably going to give up something if I want to add it in. And for now, like, even the gym, like, I, I need to go to the gym. I like going to the gym. I don't love the gym.

But I like it more than yoga, if that makes sense.

Exactly. Like, I like going to the gym and I love the gym. I love Krav Maga, which we're going back to. You got another three weeks and Then I'll be back. Can't wait for that. But anyway, back. Back on point when you gave me a call after, you were just completely Zen and you had that clarity. We talked for a while and I was like, holy shit. And then I dropped you a WhatsApp message and I was like, mate, isn't it wild that owning a business is not about business, it's a path of self discovery?

Yeah.

How wild is that? It's about knowing yourself and what you want to do, your capabilities, the limitations you put on yourself. And it's about you and your life and then focusing that and acting it through the business, enacting it, building the.

Business around the lifestyle that you want to live. Like, and that has become really clear to me. I know what I want to. I want to do. I want to build a business that is amazing, that I can create content and help people get into crypto. That is a great business and highly profitable. That allows me to travel and work remote. And I have an amazing team that can also do the same with a amazing product that delivers world class crypto insights. That's like, that's. That's it.

Isn't it interesting how even like last year, and I'm like, well, where do you want to go? What do you want to get to? You're like, I want to raise money. I want a billion dollar business. I want to be here, I want to be there, I want to do that. And we kind of went down a path of discovery. Got a lot of clarity in November when we had our strategy sessions and I flat out asked all the executives, what do you want out of this business? And it turned out what we wanted was not that much compared to this billion dollar crazy idea. And then that's even honed down further for you. And you're like, as long as I can do, like, content, I can do crypto, I can help people and I can travel. That is phenomenal.

I don't know what's happened in the. Well, yeah, I guess it's a. It's a combination of a lot of different things, but time to myself, time to think, meditating, traveling, all those things. I'm like, fuck, this is like, this is what a lot.

I had a lot of these.

Yeah, you've had a lot of experiences and a lot of personal growth, and it's forcing you to, you know, well, experience new things first of all. But then it changes who you are and what you want. And then, you know, the path becomes a bit clearer, so it's easier to decide what you want to do and then form your lifestyle and business around that.

Because that's what entrepreneurship is, right? It's building businesses to fuel the lifestyle that you want to live. That's what that's ideally, that's what it is.

Amazing, mate. That's like the perfect sentence. That was so good.

One episode.

It sounds like an amazing retreat. That was, that was, man, that's awesome.

It was, it was, it was really good. I actually thought one day like, you know, not that it's got really anything to do with crypto, but I think we should, we should host like a, like a crypto retreat one day, you know, like bring in some Eclipse Youth members and do like a two or three days of, you know, bit of personal growth, business and crypto. That'd be awesome.

That'd be huge, man. I'd love that.

That'd be really fun. Okay listeners, if anyone's interested, that sounds cool, let us know. Might be a terrible idea. Could be great. Who knows, a bunch of crypto guys getting together, crying together. Could be fun.

No, I mean it's been awesome.

I mean, I'm sorry you're in the actor.

Thanks everyone for listening. I hope that's been helpful. Valuable as always. If you think this could be helpful to a friend or family member or next door neighbor or a workmate, we'd love for you to send this episode to them. Or one of our episodes is the Way we Grow the Podcast. We've tried a bunch of different stuff, but just word of mouth and referrals is the best way that we can grow the channel. We're up over 200 followers. Thank you everyone for listening. We've got a new Twitter account. You can head over and watch some of our reels over at Ben and Bergs on Twitter. And as you know, we put out three episodes a week. Business, crypto and personal growth. If you like it, we'd love for you to share with a friend and as always, we'll see you next episode. Bergs. Thank you.

Thanks mate. Great episode.