SSP 015: Marco Rodrigues – Inner Engineering, The Lifestyle Habits For Deeper “Self” Connection

Stage shifters podcast episode 15 with Marco Rodrigues.

Welcome to the State Shifters Podcast.

I'm Jordan Kanlish and back for another episode on the Stage Shifters podcast. Thank you for joining me. It's always a pleasure. And today I've got a super exciting episode. It was recorded from Cascar in Portugal and that was actually the last leg on my four week Europe trip. And during this trip I got to reunite with some close friends of mine from back in Australia that I hadn't seen in over 10 months because I've been living in Canada. And for the last leg of the trip, I was in Portugal for five days and I was with a very close friend of mine who I've known since I think we were grade three when we met. And we've literally been best mates ever since and gone through so much of our teenage years together. Early, early stage, school life, growing up together, some big transitions in life we got to share and grow alongside each other. So I wanted to bring him onto the podcast because he has embarked on his own journey and he has a lot of, a lot of cool information that I want to share with you guys. So Marco and I discussed some of the habits or rituals and routines that we've implemented around our workday or work schedule. So Marco's working full time at the moment in an engineering firm or company back in Perth, Western Australia. And he started to implement some high level habits, things such as meditation and journaling and a lot of diet changes around his workday. And he's starting to feel the difference. And it's through continuous iteration and self optimization where we start to create, I would say, a deeper connection with ourselves and we touch on, touch on a lot of these things throughout this episode and the ways that we are able to structure our workday or these habits around our workday. Particularly for me, when I was back in my previous job, these habits were able to then create the space within, to hear my own inner voice, to allow whatever my highest calling was to emerge through me. And Marco is very much in the process of enabling this emergence to occur. And I wanted to bring him onto the show to give people a bit of an insight onto how this process kind of looks from the inside out. Because it's an inward journey first. The outward journey is secondary. It's something I speak about a lot, is the primary purpose is to be here, being how. And it's an inward journey to start off with. And Marco's got a lot to share and I'm super excited for you too, for you guys to, to Take note and implement some of these habits that he's working for him. So I'm super excited about this one, and I know there's gonna be so much value to share, so enjoy the episode. Welcome to the State Shifters podcast. I'm here with Marco Rodrigues, and we are in Casc. How do you pronounce where we are right now, Marco?

Casc. And this particular spot that we're at, Ponto de Gonch.

Ponto du Gonch. And we are looking at an amazing view of the Portuguese coastline. We've just had a quick swim. The water was absolutely freezing.

Yeah.

And we've got ourselves a nice double espresso, and we're going to sit down and have a chat. Marco, welcome to the podcast, man.

Thank you very much. It's a pleasure, pleasure, pleasure to be on. And it's a. It's a. It's a great spot to. To be doing it as well, and a good time as well. Right at the end of our. Our trip together.

Exactly. This is my last day of my Europe trip. I've been traveling for four weeks around Europe, and we're finishing up here in Portugal. I've got to spend five days with you, with your family, and we went down to Lagos. It was absolutely beautiful.

Yeah. Amazing time.

Yeah. So for people who have just tuned into the podcast, their first time listening, I like to interview people who have been a big part of my life or have impacted me, and I like to just discuss the things that mean something and help me grow and develop over the years and hopefully share that wisdom with other people. And you've been someone who has definitely taken to the whole personal growth, inner work, self development. And I wanted to bring you on to give people a bit of an insight into your life and how you've incorporated your own practices and your own habits, routines and rituals around your workday. That helps you be the best version of you. So I guess we could rewind a little. We met back in primary school. You moved over from South Africa.

Yes, yes, I did.

And we met through football. Mutual interest. Playing soccer together.

Yeah. Yeah. We went to school together, but it was only really when we started playing football together did we actually sort of start hanging out at school. So. Yeah.

And then since, what grade? Like three or four?

Yeah.

We've been mates ever since.

Yeah.

And we've kind of shared a lot of our journey and life together, really.

Like, been through the ups, through the downs, through. Through the girlfriends, through the. The. The holidays. You name it, it's. Yeah.

Been through it all Yeah, I guess it's brought us to this moment where like last year I had to. I moved to Canada and it was obviously hard saying goodbye to my good mates and my family and now we've got to reconvene here in Portugal and catching up. It's been really good, man. Yeah, it's been hearing about each other's lives and especially for me, I've noticed in you that so much growth and development has happened. Not necessarily on an external level or both, both levels actually, but more on your inner work because you're always successful. You've studied engineering, you've been working full time in the field of engineering, but it's more recently that you've started to work on yourself and start to incorporate some. We could call it biohacking, but I like to call it more self optimization to improve yourself so you're performing better and I guess maybe can you give us a background about how that started? How did you start to tune into your inner world and start working on yourself?

Yeah, so I guess, well, firstly it's, it's a pleasure to be here and I guess it's, it's kind of cool to, to share this with you because I think obviously you know very well that both yourselves and our close friends have, have been such a. I mean we influence each other so much. So a lot of the, the things that I have done have actually stemmed like. Or that I've, you know, know the journey that I've gone on has stemmed from inspiration from yourself, partly. So yeah, it's good to come, to come on, to come on here and share that. But I guess how I got started on sort of, you know, getting, you know, working on myself like that in a. Inner work, I guess finished school and went to study engineering. To be honest, I guess at that age, in my honest opinion, I don't believe we are, you know, we have. We don't know enough about ourselves to make a decision as to what we're going to do for the rest of our lives. So I did what I thought was, you know, a good career, something is going to earn me like and give me a good, good standard of living, bringing good income and what I thought would make me happy. And I chased engineering partly because, you know, I enjoyed cars and you know, the engines and that kind of stuff and I thought that was something I was interested in and partly because my dad was an engineer, so there was that influence as well, which, you know, a young boy always looking up to his dad. I think it's. Yeah, you Always look at your dad as your superhero and, you know, you want to make him proud. And I guess that's in my mind at that time, that's what I thought would make him proud. And it certainly has. You know, graduating engineering, I know he had a tear in his eye, but yeah, I guess now that I've started working in the field and you start asking yourself the question, you start picturing yourself like five, ten years down the track and you go, like, is this, like, is this, is this what I want to do? Is this is my daily grind? Like, am I getting up and am I energized to go and do what I'm about to do? And to be honest, I have, I have given that a lot of thought and I don't believe that longer term doing the current role I'm doing or, you know, being an engineer is gonna be something that is gonna keep me fulfilled for my life and it's gonna bring me that happiness that I seek. And I guess that's really where it stemmed from. Where it stemmed from where, you know, I started putting a lot of work into myself and investing a lot of time into, you know, meditation and working my body and all the things that are gonna to, you know, get me, get me to a place where I'm healthy, wealthy and, and hopefully wise.

Yeah, man, well said. Yeah, I think especially this podcast in particular, mainly a lot of people who will listen to this are going to be people who are probably in that phase of life where, you know, either they're picking a decision, a career path at university, they're coming out of university with a degree, they're still, there's that phase of life where I think we're slowly starting to figure out, but definitely from like 18 to 24 at least.

Yeah.

You're still trying to figure out, oh, what the hell, what path you want to take in the world.

And a lot of people even longer, I think so.

100. Yeah. That's such a great point. You said where we're kind of, when you finish high school, you're kind of forced in a way to pick a direction when we're not really when I don't think anyone's ready at that point to be like, okay, this is what I, this is the direction I want to take for the rest of my life. This is going to be my full time job. So that's certainly a challenge. We all had. We all chose university degrees based on what my current state we're in, in that moment.

Correct.

And I know for myself I was Nowhere in a place where I could be like this. This is what my. What my heart wants. Or tuned in enough to know that this is what my heart wants. So we all kind of made choices based on other influences from other people, whether it be parents, friends, society. So I guess moving up to now, both of us, I guess, have taken this path. Now we've started to look within to find out what it is we actually want to do for the rest of our lives. What impact do we want to make? You mentioned meditation and other exercises. I know you journal a fair bit. I know you started incorporating healthy eating into your lifestyle as well. I guess. So for you, what would you say has been the biggest impact or what's impacted you the most? That's really helped you start to dig a little deeper and to find out and listen to the inner voice.

So I'm a, I'm a believer that, you know, very often you hear people of influence saying, you know, they've read this book or they've done this thing and it's changed their life. I'm not a big believer in, you know, like a one size fits all or a one approach fixes all problems. So I'm a firm believer that it's the cumulative, like it's the sum of all your small tasks or small habits that you develop that ultimately, you know, get you to where you want to be or get you to that, to that end goal. So for me, I can't. I mean, there's. I will give you a few that I think are probably the most that have had the biggest impact on me. But I think I'll just start by saying, I think it's the continuous, like, continuous, like path of optimization. You continuously trying to improve and look for ways to improve. I think that's, that's ultimately in all areas of your life. I think for me it really comes down to. I think the biggest impact is the most important thing is ritual, habit. Creating a routine I think is super important. And probably the most important thing is making time to do, you know, your inner work, your journaling, like, put it into your schedule on a daily, on a daily basis. So for me it's every morning it's. I wake up, I meditate and I journal. Like, so it's crucial. I'm making that. That time's blocked out in the morning for that. I get that done every morning and it's. You find that you're never going to sit down the first time and you're going to have all the answers. You know, it takes it takes, it's like persistence and it takes time. So I think for me the, probably the biggest impact is, yeah, you know, doing the meditation every morning that really quietens my mind down and then doing my journaling and even I like to, you know, set aside longer periods of time while I journal for extended periods of time or even just sit and meditate on a particular, you know, issue I'm having. But I think probably the biggest impact is really making like scheduling the time for it. You know, you make time for like what's in your, what's in your plan. If you don't plan, you're never going to, you're never going to get to it. It's always going to be something you'd like to do.

Yeah, well said. I think fitting it around your workday. For me, when I was at Deloitte, it was getting that routine down pat where I made sure I made time for the things that were going to help me become the best version of me at work outside of work. And it's like you said, planning to these your non negotiables. Each morning I get up, I do my meditation, I do my journaling and it's ritual and routine. It's a bit of discipline as well. So that's a great place to start for people who maybe are still unsure about their direction in life and they, they want to start doing this inner work, but they don't know how to start. Start there, start with the little routines, the little habits and build on that.

Exactly. And soon you'll find, you know, you've been doing one thing for a few weeks and it, and it basically becomes habit. And I guess that's the goal. Like, you know, pick up one little habit, carry it through until it's become a part of your routine now and then you don't even think about that anymore and then place your focus elsewhere. And I think, yeah, like you said, I personally felt that that was a good, good place to start.

Yeah, definitely. Also for you especially, I would say since I left for Canada, we all started incorporating healthy diet into we, we ate relatively healthy, we never ate unhealthy. But it wasn't until recently that I guess I think the bulletproof protocol, really, especially for me and you, we really have adopted that fully. And that for me resulted in some massive changes on a more of a mental level, I was able to think a lot sharper. You know, we experiment with ketosis and the keto diet. For you, how much of an impact has diet had on the way you perform and how you think and how you feel.

Oh, like it, it's, yeah, astronomical. Like, I think that's, that's something too often people, yeah, just, just put down in the, you know, just put down in the dumps and it's, it's secondary. Like as long as they're sort of eating, they're fine. But yeah, as you, as you sort of alluded to, I've, I've, you know, the same as you adopted the bulletproof sort of diet and, and ketosis. And that has, yeah, that's had, I've had a massive change there because I've just slowly started dialing in on the foods that sort of don't sit well with me and I don't digest well. And when you're able to sort of get to that level where you really have a detailed understanding of what exactly your ideal diet is, the effects it has on your overall energy performance in every aspect. Yeah, it's hard to put into words until you feel it because so often you're, you know, you'll be eating a certain way or you'll be in certain types of food and you think you're eating healthy, but it's just, it may be something you're intolerant to or, you know, but for me, ketosis works extremely well. Like because of my, my blood group, it really, really works well. So for me, for so long, you know, I had this brain fog that I didn't even realize. And so you think you're, you're operating at your 100%. But then when I adopted a new way of eating, namely ketosis, and you know that fasting in the morning and then coffee in the morning.

If someone doesn't know what ketosis is, do you mind explaining to them?

Yep. So ketosis is essentially where you adopt, you're adopting a high fat diet, essentially. So high fat and very low carb. So you want to be consuming roughly 70 to 80%. 70. 80% fats, 10 to 20 carbs. No, no, I'm confused. I've confused myself. Proteins and 5%, 5% carbs. So very low carbs and, and very high fats. And basically what that does is that changes the, your body's source of energy from consuming carbohydrates to consuming fat for energy. And then after, you know, a few days or it varies and it depends how hard you go to get into ketosis. But once your body sort of makes that transition, your kidney starts secreting ketones, which, that ketones is what your brain consumes instantaneously for Energy. So immediately you feel like so much more clear. You've got so much more mental clarity and a lot more energy. The only thing with ketosis is I find like sometimes you do have like as an example in the gym, you have slightly less power, but you've got far more endurance. For our type of work, you know, for desk jobs, I feel like it's perfect. Like, yeah, you know, change the game for me. Yeah, it's completely different. And I mean the bulletproof protocol that we've been following for a long time sort of adopted a small version of ketosis. It gets you into like a mini state of ketosis because you have sort of the fast, your last meal, sort of 8pm the night before and your, the next meal, the next day is roughly 2pm the next day with a high fat coffee in the morning, which sort of puts you into ketosis. It's very similar. But obviously ketosis is like the sustained, that feeling sustained for longer.

Most definitely. And it all ties back into ways or habits or lifestyle that you build around so that you can better dial into yourself. Because when you're thinking clearly, when you're feeling sharp, when you're eating right, you're more dialed in, you're tuned into yourself and that's when you're able to make better decisions. You're able to get clear on the directions you want to take. And for me, connecting through diet, diet was probably where I started and it all kind of built on that. The minute I got cleared out, that brain fog got rid of the inflammation, was feeling really, really sharp. I was able to dial in and everything, everything just builds on that.

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

100 diet is very important. So you incorporated a healthy diet and we, we've, alongside that we've, we've always trained together, exercise together. How important do you think exercise is for establishing, you know, a good self optimization routine? But also how has exercise changed for you probably over the last couple of years when you've gone from training for. We probably trained for that just to look good.

Yeah.

And now we've trained to feel good and to tune into ourselves.

Yeah, well, I think, I mean, to be honest, I think in fairness, I'd actually say we probably started with exercise because we didn't have diet down pack at first. But we always felt like we were, you know, relatively healthy because we, you know, we, we made gym or gym or you know, playing football or any other kind of physical activity a priority. You know, we knew that if we didn't, you know, we weren't training at least like, you know, four, five, six times a week. We weren't going to be feeling good. So but we, we may not have had initially the foods to. And I say we, but I think you're probably far more advanced than me at this. But we didn't have that, that food. You know, the nutrition debt side as. As well dialed in. So I think it's a. Definitely a great place to start because I mean before, even before meditation and as well, you know, sometimes, you know, when you weren't quite all with it or weren't feeling your 100, 100 yourself very often. I mean, I know you at one point were training twice a day for that exact reason. You know, I mean, and it made you feel good. Like you, you felt good, you look good, you, you know, be. And so yeah, I think exercises is, is, is crucial. The, you know, the, the, the chemicals it releases in your brain, dopamine and serotonin is like. Yeah, it's crucial. It's, it's, it's crucial for your, for your overall, your mood and your well being. So now to your question regarding like training for, for the look and training, you know, for, for overall health. Yeah, that's an interesting one because obviously I think most, a lot of people do start initially just training for, you know, for the look, you know, especially when you're younger, you want to, you want to look a certain way to impress the opposite sex.

Yeah, it's just starting to drizzle a little bit now. We'll continue on. If it gets any heavier, we can pause.

Okay. So. Oh yeah, so initially, you know, that was our thought. We were just training a certain way to look a certain way and that was it. That was our goal. But I think you slowly, I think also you know, comes with having a girlfriend and stuff, you, you place a bit of a, like a smaller priority in looking a certain way. And it's. I guess it's also once we had the, the training dialed in and the, the nutrition dialed in, it made you feel a certain way and once you felt a certain way, that was what you chased as opposed to, to looking a certain way. It brought I think once you, you dialed into that feeling and, and you, you really, you know, you're, you look good. That's more addictive than, you know, chasing a certain look for me. Yeah. And I think, and I think, and I think you're the, you're the same on that, on that front.

Definitely. Definitely. And what I realized was you don't actually have to train a lot of People over train. Yeah, I overtrained. You don't. Especially with exercises. Often you don't need as much as you think to just get to tune into yourself. It's just moving the body in any sort of way, really, like you said, releases endorphins and dopamine, serotonin in the brain. Even for me, yoga was just a great way to incorporate movement, which yoga is complete opposite of working out, lifting weights, because one is to build muscle for appearance, one was to just dial in and tune into the body. And yeah, I found just as much benefit from yoga for feeling good, definitely. So, yeah, I reckon a holistic approach to exercise as well is different types of training can have such a massive impact on your mental, physical and emotional world. So I know you're the same as me.

Yeah, definitely. And I mean, as an example on that, like, you know, you don't need to overtrain our close friend, Alex Casciela. He's, you know, he's. He's a busy man. So I know he tries to get down to gym as often as he possibly can and I know, you know, there's been periods where he's gone to gym, sometimes two or three times a week only. But he trains very hard, you know, it's very effective and, you know, he's, you know, healthy and he looks very good. Like, you know, he's in. Is in a really, really good condition. So he's like a prime example, someone who has, you know, if it was his choice, I'm sure he would have trained more. But I know he's, you know, he. He was just effective at what he did in the gym and. Yeah, probably one of the.

Yeah, great example. Yeah, that's the key. Quality, not quantity.

Exactly. Yeah.

So I want to go back a little bit because I think you've always been a great leader at school. You're one of our class. It was a prefect. Prefect. You always considered a leadership. You always had leadership traits, you were always the captain of the soccer team, you're captain of the school team. And I guess a lot of people look up to you for guidance, especially younger kids at school. From memory, I remember my younger brother always took great advice from you. So I guess if you could give advice for people coming out of high school, people looking to choose a course at uni, maybe people who are studying a course right now that they're still unsure of if that's what they want to do, or even if someone's finished their course. Sort of where you're at now, you've Started working and now you're starting to think, is this actually the path I want to take in life? I took my direction, which was I chose to leave my job and pursue a different direction. You're just staying in your job, different path, but I think same destination. What advice would you give to someone who may be in a similar situation?

To be honest, this advice is actually gonna come from books I've read and, you know, other influential people. But I think you gotta, you gotta drown out the noise. You gotta, you gotta put out what your parents are wanting you to do, because inherently there is something your parents are wanting you to do. Inherently there is, you know, something your friends have sort of, or maybe a mental picture your friends have boxed you into as to what the way they think you're gonna go. And, you know, maybe I wouldn't say they're pushing in that direction, but, you know, the way they talk, etcetera, they, you know, influencing you to go certain, certain path. But you really need to sit down and have a think about what is it that you're going to want to do. Like back in the old days, the goal was survival. So the old philosophy was you do as well as you possibly can in school, you do as well as you possibly can in university or whatever else it is you're doing, and you make as much money as possible to put food on the table. That was the goal, right? You try and that, that, that was it. Survival is no longer, I don't believe, is no longer isn't the goal anymore. You know, we can survive, like with. Especially in the countries we live in. Survival's not, Survival's not the goal. I believe the goal is now chasing that thing or chasing whatever it is that is going to give you that feeling of fulfillment and happiness in life. Ultimately, that's what we all want. So the earlier you are able to dial into that and really figure that out, the better it's going to be for you. So don't make a decision based on what your family, what your friends, what anyone else thinks you should do, do what you feel in your heart you should do. And is that going to be right the first time? Probably not. I think it's very few people that sort of hit the nail on the head first time. I mean, as an example, someone I follow, and I know you follow avidly as well, is Tom Boo. He created two absolutely monstrous companies. The first one, you know, made millions of dollars and just didn't resonate with him, you know, but he gave it a crack and he Followed what he thought was right. Then he created another, you know, like a billion dollar company literally as a unicorn startup. And again he pulled away from that and now he's, he's, I think now he's probably found what he really wants to do, the impact he wants to have in the world. But you know, it's constant iteration and you've got to, you got to constantly chase that thing that I think is, yeah. Is going to get you that feeling you want to have that's going to make you satisfied and fulfilled in life. So that, that's certainly what I'd say. The second thing I'd say is probably a trap I've fallen into is don't put pressure on yourself to find that at the same time because that just creates stress and anxiety and then you feel like, you know, you're falling behind your peers or there's, there's no rush. Do you know what I mean? There's absolutely no rush. Some of the most successful people find their passion so late in life. Do you know what I mean? It's never too late. And yeah, just don't put your pressure on yourself because the effect that that stress has on your body can undo everything else that you're doing. You know, your healthy habits, your, you know, your good eating, your good training practices, everything I can undo that in like that. So, yeah, just be present in the moment and you know it'll come to you. Don't put pressure on yourself.

Amazing answer. I think that's nailed it, man. Hit the nail on the head there, I think because for me that was the same. I put myself while I was working in this corporate job. I knew I wasn't on the right direction, but I didn't know what the right direction was and that I started putting pressure on myself because I don't know what I want to do. And you just nailed it there. Because the minute you can tune in to this moment and just focus on what does my heart want to do right now, and oftentimes the only thing we can do is get up and keep doing what we're doing. But it's changing, not changing what we do, it's changing how we do it.

Yeah.

And that was big for me. Yeah, it was just changing how I did what I did each day.

And I think probably for you as well, when you're putting yourself under immense pressure, you weren't getting the answers you were seeking. But the minute you sort of stopped putting yourself under that pressure and started like quietening everything down, you found the answer. You know what I mean? And that's why I think, like, inherently we know, we know what we want to do. And I'm not talking from a place where I've figured that out yet, but I know that deep down I know what it is. And I guess my goal at the moment is to try and quieten everything else down so I'm able to access that.

And you're living it right now because now you've tuned back into, you're getting your routine down, and it's really, really easy to see that you're literally doing what you need to do in this present moment. And from that, that's when the secondary purpose, as I say Eckhart Tolle says, primary purpose, be here, be now. Connect with the present moment. And then once you do that, the secondary purpose, which is what you do on the external level, that will figure itself out.

Yeah, yeah.

And you're doing that now. And that's why I think is a lot of people should incorporate. Don't look, don't think too far ahead. What am I going to do? Yeah, I know my passion is, I know how I'm going to make money. Focus on live life now, Be here, be now, do everything with presence. And from that a different, different dimensional path will open up.

And I think. Sorry, I'm just going to go on a slight sidetrack here because I think it's important for your, your viewers, but something that you actively promote and I think you live very, very well is, is understand the feel. You know, you've got your goals at the end of the day, and you want to be a certain place, you may want to have certain material things you may want to give back to the, to the, to the community or to the world in a certain way, but at the end of the day, all of that comes down to a certain feeling you're chasing. So when you do your goal setting, understand, like, you know, for me, the way I look at it is the experiences I want to have, the areas I want to grow in, and the contribution I want to have back. And then at the end of all of those, you go, you know, maybe an experience I want to have is I want to travel the world, you know, but what is the feeling that I'm looking for by traveling? And once understand that feeling, it's understanding that feeling and then cultivating that feeling. And I think that's something you do really well. And I think it's really important for, for your, for your listeners, because at the end of the day, a material thing A job, a certain amount of money, a certain experience is not going to make you happy. It's cultivating that feeling that is, you know, gonna, essentially it's gonna be make you happy because that's the feeling we're chasing. So, so that's why sometimes, like, you know, putting yourself under pressure is just completely unnecessary because you, You've, you've ducked away from you, from your, your, you know, your job with Deloitte. And. But, you know, there's, that's not the only path to take. There's, there's also people can, can remain in the job. And for me right now, I'm, I'm remaining in the job that I, I don't think is for me long term, but I know the feeling that I want, the feeling that I'm chasing by my end goals. So. And I guess that's what I'm trying to cultivate and I think through that, you know, things will emerge. That's completely unaware to me at the moment.

Yeah, that's. I guess we've just simplified it right there succinctly. Find the feeling that you want here and now. Regardless of what job you do, what you do, where, what external circumstances you are, find the feeling that you want when, after you achieve your dream job or your dream travel destination. If you can find that now, then, then you've made. Then you can make the decision, will I stay in my job or will I go? Because that's what I found, the feeling. While I, Deloitte, I was able to find the gratitude, the appreciation, the joy for each day. Even though I wasn't doing the job that I wanted to do, I found the feeling that I wanted.

Yeah.

Then it was easy to leave because I knew, I knew where the feeling was coming from. It was inside. So you don't have to leave your job.

No, no, no, no.

You can still stay.

And to be honest, I think the place you were in just before you left is the same place you're in now. So you could have. I think you finally hit that point where you could have stayed there and you would have, you would have thought the fulfillment in the things you do outside of work. You know what I mean? Definitely. I certainly believe you would have been more effective in your job because, you know, you were. You knew that there was. You sort of had a bit more of a purpose, but obviously, you know, there's a different path for you and that's. I think that's something that a lot of people can take. Yeah, a lot, A lot from.

Yeah, agreed. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's fine if the purpose unravels from when you start to work with passion and you start to work with gratitude for the work that you do. And, yeah, it just unfolds naturally, I think.

I think so too.

I wanted to touch on something that we were speaking about the other day and might be a little bit of a touchy subject for some people, because not everyone will necessarily resonate with what we're about to talk about, but we, like, we smoke marijuana sometimes instantly, some people might think, oh, that's, that's not good. You guys are taking drugs or smoking. Smoking drugs. I'm. I'm a believer that marijuana is a tool. I'm a believer that psychedelics are a tool. Yeah. To be used responsibly in safe environments. And we've had some experiences in the past where we have used marijuana as tools for inner growth, tools for self inquiry. And I want to talk about how powerful they can be in times where you're looking to go a little deeper, to uncover more of what your heart's trying to tell you. Yeah. But I want to also want to get clear on why it's important that people understand that these are tools and that they should be used respectfully and responsibly, because I know, I think a lot of people, too many people smoke too much or they don't use them in the right context or frame of mind.

Yeah.

And a good example of that was we just came from Amsterdam before this, and they weren't. We didn't use them as a tool. We smoked to have. Have fun.

Yeah. As everyone does.

As everyone does. Yeah. Yeah. So we did have fun. And we were talking about afterwards how much it was a different experience compared to us smoking at home in a safe context as a. Primarily as a tool. And the main difference was it was just. It was more erratic and more. There was less control over the experience. And can you describe to me how you use marijuana as a tool and would you recommend it for everyone?

Okay, I'll just start by a caveat here, just in case this podcast lands in people's hands. I think, firstly, you got to be super responsible with it. So in my line of work, I only consume it in the right times because, you know, of safety, safety regulations in, in Australia. So firstly, that's something you have to be, don't, don't, don't around with the, with. With the rules.

Yeah. Because it will.

It will end badly. That's. That's the caveat. And I think for me, so so how, how I use it, I, I do like to, I mean I'm not regular again because of my work, but from time to time I do, you know, like to use it and just be by myself and just reflect, you know. And very often that takes form in meditation, it takes form in journaling. I feel like it just helps you access deeper levels quicker. It helps you have insights that I wouldn't say are not accessible in a sober state. But I feel like, yeah, I don't know, maybe. No, I don't believe that. I don't believe that they're inaccessible, but I feel like it's just easier to access. Easier to access.

And particularly with other psychedelics as well. Yeah, a lot of, you know, I guess big influences are starting to speak up now about how they use psychedelics as a way for maybe in moderation, say once a month they'll take psilocybin or small micro doses to really re recenter themselves I guess and figure out if they are still.

Well, I mean it's, it's, the evidence is clear. The vast majority of like, you know, a lot of these influences have, and people, you know, like visionaries have taken these things. It's, it's just, I think it's more in modern day times where there is less of the stigma surrounding these substances that people are talking about them because before you talk about taking, you know, smoking marijuana or any of these psychedelics and there's this massive stigma around it. Instantaneously people put you in this box but now people are becoming more educated on it and realizing that, you know, very often the governments are putting in these certain regulations because at the end of the day it lines their back pocket better. You know, in the day it's convenient for them to tax alcohol the way they do. But you know. Yeah, and they're making money out of that. But certain things are going to pigeonhole because it's, you know, there's no, it's not convenient for them essentially. So. Yeah, but back to, back to what you're saying, is it for everyone? I don't think so. I mean, I think we've got a lot of friends who, some of our close friends don't do it at all because you know, they have done it before and they had a, a bad, a bad response to it sometimes. I think that was also because of the environment they were in. I don't know. But I guess for us probably the best times we ever took it, we were in a safe environment where we're at, you know, other at Your house or my house or something. We were just, you know, parents away and we had no. Nothing to stress about. So it's a completely different experience. So I think it's. Yeah, in my opinion, I think it's for people who want to go there, take it in a safe environment for the first time and take it for the right reasons. Don't be taking it to escape from your problems or issues you're facing in life. Yeah, I think take it with the right intention, which I think is for me, I like to take it to look inwards and sometimes take it for relaxation with mates, which a lot of us do.

I guess for me, I use it the times where. Want to take a day, sometimes I need to take a weekend where I dedicate a full day to reconnecting with myself, journaling, meditating, getting clear on why I'm doing what I'm doing. And sometimes that might involve, yeah, smoking a bit of marijuana. I like to go out in nature and just sit and reconnect with myself. And when you do that, I think it's important to take. You don't have to smoke to do.

No, absolutely.

I don't. Don't do that all the time, but. Because sometimes we can get easily caught up on the. On the doing and definitely looking to the next moment, ticking off to do lists and we lose track of why we're actually doing what we're doing. Sometimes I think it can really help. And marijuana can assist in getting clear on definitely your own inner workings. Definitely.

Yeah. No, I think that in moderation. Yeah, of course, of course. I think that's definitely a. Definitely a big thing. I think understanding why you do everything you do at the end of the day, you know, you're going to work, you're putting yourself through, you know, certain regimes and stuff and, and it's for a reason. And I think the quicker you get clear on why that is, like why it is. You're. You're doing everything you're doing is very important. And I think. Yeah, I think you summed it up quite well. Why we do, you know, take these substances is sometimes it helps you connect to become a bit clearer with that.

Yeah, well said. Ties all back into the feeling. Yeah, we're all doing something to feel a certain way and get clear on the feeling that you're trying to chase. It can be then a lot easier to figure out. I actually have access to this feeling. Right.

Yeah, definitely.

Just changing your perspective, appreciating little things. Yeah. And yeah, it's. It all. It all Ties back in to the present moment.

Yeah, absolutely.

So, man, it's, it's been a really, really good chat so far. The rain's actually held off on us just enough. I think I might ask one more question before we sign off and I guess it tunes around to you and what it means to you to live a life that's well lived. What does it mean to live an impactful life? And I guess that answer that question is different for everyone. But what does a life well live mean to you?

I think a life well lived to me is, you know, put yourself. I think at the end of the day, a life well lived is you get to essentially on your last leg and you look back on your life and you look back on everything with no regrets. And you know in your heart that you lived in every moment. You lived every moment to the fullest. I can't say I think for everyone that's going to. Gonna be different, but I think for me it's gonna be knowing that I have impacted other people's life in a positive manner. I think probably similar for you. That's the whole reason you do this podcast. But. And how that's. That that takes form. I guess I'm still to figure out, but I guess to know that I've. That I've lived every moment doing what I thought was right in my heart and contributing back to people, people, family and friends in the wider community particularly, I think that's, that's, that's what it's all about for me.

Amazing answer. And it's kind of just that we say that as we're sitting here in a beautiful Portugal where your family's from and, you know, we. To me, this is, this is what life's all about. Like, you travel, you have great experiences with your friends and you create memories that, you know, we're never gonna regret doing stuff like this.

No, never.

Yeah, I think. Well said. That's a really great answer. So where can people find you online? You're on Instagram?

Yeah, I am on Instagram, Facebook, etc, but I wouldn't say I've got a massive presence. I don't place too much time and effort into, into the social media. But yeah, you know, give him a follow, if any.

Reach out to Marco and ask him a few questions. I'm sure he'd be happy to respond.

Yeah, absolutely. More than happy.

Been an absolute pleasure having you on the podcast and thank you very much for having me. Unfortunately, we, we part ways from here, but I'm sure I'll be back in Australia and we'll stay in contact.

Yeah.

And hopefully maybe do a round two and definitely in time, so.

Absolutely, mate. You say the word and I'll be on the mic.

Thank you, mate. Thanks for joining. Bye. There we have it. Another episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thoroughly enjoyed that one with my good friend Marco. If you took value away from that, feel free to share that with a friend or family member. I know for me, it's all about just spreading the love. If someone can take value from this kind of information, they need to hear it because it's going to help them on their journey. And last of all, if you jump on the itunes page and leave a rating and review, that would really help a lot in growing this podcast. So thanks so much. Until next time.