Carlo van Lienden - How to Embrace the Suck, Fight the Fake, and Prepare for a Mixed Reality

I am once again in Amsterdam on this endless quest for wisdom to talk to you about a little history and little future with one of my great friends, Carlo van Lienden. Before we begin, consider watching this podcast on YouTube instead (or as well). It heavily complements the experience with additional photos and footage. Link is below.

When I wrote Solve for Happy, my agent told me to write an evergreen,  not a big hit that quickly burns away. That has been achieved successfully by all accounts, with the book selling more copies each year than the year prior. There were two major media appearances that kicked things off. The first was my Channel 4 interview in the UK, which went viral. The second was my appearance on RTL Late Night in the Netherlands. Behind the camera of the latter was Carlo, who discovered me and brought me to the public eye in a country that has embraced me and the One Billion Happy mission without parallel.

Possessing a phenomenal work ethic and having worked in media through many pivots, Carlo can best be described in one phrase: a spotter of the truth.

Listen as we discuss:

• How Carlo played a major role in jumpstarting our mission.
• Carlo's former life as a cyclist for the National Team and a resulting eating disorder.
• How he became a cameraman instead, and why it was a very fair trade.
• The real reason why I think I became Chief Business Officer at Google X.
• Stoicism, and revisiting my talk with Donald Robertson (Slo Mo episodes 67 & 68)
• How a sports psychiatrist changed his life.
• The sheer bliss of altitude training in the Sierra Nevada and the effects on the ego.
• Stress + Rest = Growth
• "Embrace the suck."
• Why Slo Mo hasn't been very slow lately.
• The impending merge of the virtual and real worlds.
• How do we know what's real and what's fake anymore?
• Can we even handle the truth anymore?
• Whatever comes our way, we need to find our place at the top of the mountain.

YouTube: @mogawdatofficial  (link to this episode: youtu.be/vcx3lOrzajM)
Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
Twitter: @mgawdat
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
Website: mogawdat.com

Connect with Carlo van Lienden on Instagram @carlo_van_lienden

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Sunday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

YouTube: @mogawdatofficial
Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
Tiktok: @mogawdat
X: @mgawdat
Website: mogawdat.com

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy