Chasing Excellence With Alexander Sandalis

Many people called 2020 the 'worst year of their life' or the 'year from hell'. Consider how that perspective may be aiding in creating the conditions you say you don't want. Maybe we can use the fire of suffering to sharpen our sword so we can fight future battles with more courage and strength. "Within every adversity is an equal or greater benefit. Within every problem is an opportunity. Even in the knocks of life, we can find great gifts."

2020 was one of the best years of my life for the multitude of gifts it gave me in the form of these 30 profound lessons I learnt. Maybe we should all hop off the treadmill of life for a moment and force ourselves to pause and reflect on how the never-ending adversity of life gifts us with many silver linings...we just have to have our eyes open to see them.

The following conversation with Daniel DeBrocke discusses the art and science of mastering and managing habits, the psychology of food and nutrition, dealing with eating disorders and how Daniel plans to achieve ambitious goals like his goal to squat 1000Lb, bench press 600Lb and deadlift 900Lb raw. Daniel DeBrocke (StackedStrength) is a strength coach and competitive powerlifter who holds a 1700lbs raw total. Daniel also writes for several renowned publications such as EliteFTS, Kabuki Strength, T-Nation, Bar Bend, Breaking Muscle, Evil Genius Sport Performance. @stackedstrength

The following conversation centres around Socionomics, the science of history and social prediction which aims to understand how social mood influences the social actions of the individual and a population at large. This conversation is with the Director of Socionomics Institute, Matt Lampert and has many practical implications to how psychology, behaviour, sociology influence the economy and stock market. We dissect how individuals can make more informed profitable decisions in the stock market as a result of understanding the concept of Socionomics.  https://twitter.com/Socionomics http://socionomics.net/

The following conversation is with David Tuck, the Head of Mission for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Australia. Our conversation centres around how the ICRC manages international humanitarian law, humanitarian aid, armed conflicts and the risk and consequences of nuclear war. David leads a team who work closely with government, military, diplomatic and academic stakeholders to promote the ICRC and its activities. David's work fosters a greater understanding of the ICRC’s global operations and encourages dialogue on international humanitarian issues and law. David Tuck holds an LL.M. in International Humanitarian Law from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) and Bachelor of Asian Studies (specialist in Hindi) from the Australian National University.

This conversation is with Col Buz Carpenter, an Air Force pilot most famous for being 1/85 humans in history to fly the fastest operational fighter jet ever made, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird where he executed global reconnaissance missions. Buz also served as a C-141 aircraft commander during Desert Storm and Desert Shield and flew RF-4Cs in the Vietnam War. From 1983-85 he worked at the Pentagon serving as "Black World" programmer handling a $6 billion dollar budget for stealth fighters including F-117, F-22, & the B-2 bomber programs. Currently, Buz serves as a Docent at the Udvar Hazy Center of the National Air & Space Museum at Dulles airport in Washington DC. Getting the opportunity to speak to Buz and reflect over his career is an experience I am extremely humbled and grateful for. I hope you enjoy one of my favourite conversations I've ever had, with Colonel Buz Carpenter.

In the 2nd year of the Peloponnesian War (one of the worlds greatest world wars), 430 BCE, an outbreak of plague erupted in Athens. In 2020 the world is/did experience its own plague of sorts, the purpose of this is to document the severity of one of histories worst plagues in hopes it provides a valuable perspective of a forgotten history for those of us today.

This conversation with Ben LaChance discusses the habits and systems it takes to create and manage a team of high performing athletes in collegiate sport, the habits and principles that underpin a winning culture, how to develop buy-in and trust from people and the physical preparation plan Ben uses in the weight room to get the most of his athletes.  Ben LaChance is a strength & conditioning coach at Queens University of Charlotte, former strength & conditioning coach for the Minnesota Twins Baseball and former strength and conditioning assistant at North Carolina State University.

This conversation is with Andrew Menechian discusses the psychology of changing habits, Andrew's most valuable habits he performs daily, the effect of social media smartphone use on our brain and how Andrew changed his habits around that, lessons learnt through martial arts, harmful foods that people don't realise, developing a healthy relationship with food, balancing work ethic and experiencing joy and his experience with addiction. Andrew Menechian is a personal trainer and coach from Sydney, Australia.  @andrewmenechian

This conversation with Abigail Shrier centres around the recent explosion in gender dysphoria rates in young girls and unpacks the suspected root causes. I did my best to discuss topics and ask questions she has not talked about before to uncover more of the nuance behind these tricky subjects. We extend the conversation to how we can facilitate the growth and development of the younger generations through critical thinking, parenting strategies, education, looking through history and carefully selected books to foster child development. I hope you enjoy this conversation and it shines a new perspective on these topics for you.  Abigail Shrier is an author and Wall Street Journal writer with a bachelor of philosophy from the University of Oxford, a Euretta J. Kellett Fellowship recipient and studied law at Yale Law School. Her new book "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" is available here: https://amzn.to/2FWj3Kw  Books Discussed in This Conversation:  The Idiot

This conversation with Tomer Porat discusses a range of topics on current world events and philsophical obersvations and beleifes from our experiences with fear, the importance of finding meaning in life, how we value our time, finances/economics, social media addictions, evolution adapting to modern life, Neuralink and human suffering/pain. Tomer Porat is an economist, private tutor and comedien with a Bachelor's degree in Economics from University of Amsterdam.

This conversation with Paul Meldrum discusses using software artificial intelligence software Paul is creating to solve health problems, communication strategies for dealing with dogmatic people, the psychology of why you shouldn't have 'cheat meals', useless screening tools we don't need and how to experience a life of joy while working hard to pursue excellence. Paul Meldrum is a Performance/Rehabilitation Coach and owner of Meldrum Performance with over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry. @meldrum_performance_coach

Greg NWMN is an American recording artist, rapper and writer. The following podcast discusses the deep inner symbology, philosophy and psychology of music, how Greg creates music, his roots and how his parents influenced his character, why nature is a pivotal component to Greg's identity/music and much more that can't be encapsulated in words.

Talking Chimps Podcast topics discussed: how I've hacked my productivity, Melbourne now has some of the world's strongest pandemic restrictions, distancing myself from peers, preparing for uncertainty, what I would tell my younger self, conforming to the standards of the norm, sexual transmutation and reacting to the Beirut explosion.

The following podcast discusses history and heritage, black lives matter, what makes a great teacher, genius kids, climate change, diet choices, Australia Day and the challenges of dealing with a serious family illness. Amy Malander is a high school teacher and Australia Rules Football athlete. @amymal22

We discuss the pros and cons of reopening Australia, should athletes go back to return to sport and begin their seasons, the tumultuous relations between Australia and China, what behaviours Matt has changed to become a better coach and Matt's role as an academic. Matthew White is a casual academic teacher and strength and conditioning coach. @_matthewwhite

A short but powerful conversation with one of my favourite humans. Every time I talk to Jordan Potts I come out feeling and being better. We talk about coping strategies for adapting to adversity and misfortune, practising detachment and the techniques and philosophy we use and finish with some live breathing techniques and how breathing is the gateway to managing our chimp minds. Jordan Potts is the founder of Exalto Holistic Hub helping kids develop across the Sunshine Coast of Australia. @yodastrength @exalto_holistichub

Jeremey and I speak on all things related to personal growth and development around the books Jeremey has been reading in these times and what he's been learning. The conversation goes array on all things related to eating crocodiles to the more sobering American riots, agent provocateurs, Jeffrey Epstein and uncovering the nutrition science of gaining muscle and losing fat. Jeremey Borzillo is a strength and conditioning coach and competitive powerlifter, you can follow him here: .instagram.com/jeremy.borzillo

Had a powerful podcast with snowboard cross winter Olympics hopeful Ethan Wilson. We talk a lot of developing a strong mindset, self-talk, meditation, Ethan's experiences through failures and success in snowboard competition and how he nearly got stuck in North America in the middle of the pandemic. Ethan Wilson is a competitive snowboard cross athlete and winter Olympics hopeful. instagram.com/ethanw1lson_

George Bouios is a primary school teacher who had a lung transplant from the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis. George and I speak about how the education system and teachers are adjusting to teaching during the pandemic, his journey living with cystic fibrosis and getting a lung transplant as a result of it.