Full Transcript: MOTM #573: The Connection Conundrum

[Transcript starts at 1:27]

Hello, hello, hello, my podcast people. And thank you for joining me for yet another episode of my favorite podcast. If you are joining us on the day that it drops, it is Monday, April 22nd. My goodness, the month has gone by quickly. It always does. But it really is though, right? Like, let's agree on that. Uh, so today I'm talking about what I'm calling the connection conundrum.

And I learned that I have no idea how to spell conundrum. So, thank you, Spellcheck. This is something that I've been thinking about since the Threads episode I did. I don't know how many episodes ago that was. Courtney, thank you. Thank you for linking that. Um, but I've been thinking about it since that episode and definitely just thinking about it in general.

I spend a lot of time on social media and I also binged, Lex and I binged the Netflix show, Unlocked. It's Unlocked: A Prison Experiment. That, that is a good show. It hits you, it hits you and it gets you. And I'm like, fuck. But, um, that show big time speaks to today's topic, [00:01:00] which is the desire for, or the importance of, um, connection, right?

We are a social species. We are hardwired for this and I think that that is at the heart of a lot of what we're seeing on social media. So some quick life updates and then we'll hop on into the episode. 

First thing Lex's parents are coming this week. Uh, so I will update y'all after, you know, I recorded the past, put it out in the future.

So I'll let you know how that goes. I think it's going to be great. The weather's supposed to agree. It's been cold. I'm not gonna lie. It's been cold, windy and raining. Um, but our internet hasn't been working, right? So we know when it rains, sometimes the internet wasn't working, but it's all fixed seemingly.

So. That's good. Um, next update, I returned the BenQ monitor. That part of that episode, whatever episode that was, where I talked about it, did not age well. No. Uh, the issue for me was fuzzy text. So, I did some, some searching and it's a pretty common issue, actually. The video was fine. Like, looking at video, kind of editing video, um, was fine.

But the issue is that I do a whole lot more, you know, [00:02:00] Word document stuff than I do video editing. And so, you know, it's funny. I'm watching all the reviews before I got it. And they're talking about the color matching and color grading, whatever stuff that I honestly don't care about. Like I do editing, but it's like very basic.

I'm not doing some like, you know, feature length films or really anything with the coloring, the color, except for if I'm like, I don't like it, I can change that. But. Uh, doing like color matching and things like that. So I'm out here like, you know, feeling like a basic bitch being like, but can it do word processing?

The answer is no, it really couldn't. Uh, I learned a ton about monitors in the process. Namely, let's go into this. We're going to nerd out a little bit cause I'm actually really excited about it. So one of the things I learned 4k, 5k, 6k, 8k, that refers to the amount of pixels, horizontally. And it's actually not that exact number.

It's like rounded. So it's about 4k, about 4, 000, about 5, 000, about 6, 000 pixels. Uh, 1440, because we've heard that number, perhaps, that refers to the pixels vertically, which is actually is like a 2k monitor, 2, 000 pixel monitor. Um, but I guess when you go to sell it, it doesn't sound as good to say 2k when everything's like 4k, 5k.

So they say 1440. Um, [00:03:00] but the long and short of it is that Mac OS, right, I'm all Mac all the time. I got a Mac studio for the, actual computer. Um, Mac OS, the operating system from Mac prefers a, what we call a PPI or what they call a PPI, so that's a pixels per inch or so a PPI density of about 218 pixels.

Otherwise it has to scale things and shit gets blurry. That's literally what happens. And your performance can be impacted because, because of how it has to scale and kind of magnify things. In order to calculate pixels per square inch, you simply divide the resolution number, so if it's 5k, that's 5120, right?

I told you it rounds, uh, by the width of the monitor. We know when we look at widths of, uh, we look at, um, sizes of monitors or screens, that measures diagonally. So a 27 inch monitor is a 27 inch diagonally. The way that this marketing is, is so dumb to me, but All right, so a 27 inch monitor, which is what I got, and it was 4k.

I'm thinking, oh, it's gonna be great. It's a 4k monitor. That means 4, 000 pixels, around 4, 000 pixels across. I'm It's actually [00:04:00] 3840 and then 27 inches diagonally, which is about 23 and a half inches width wise. So a 5k monitor, which is what an Apple monitor would be, and this is why the resolution is so high.

Now we learn, all right, a 5k monitor has about 5120 pixels across. The 27 inch monitor is going to be 23 and a half inches across. So if we do 5120 divided by 23. 5, that gives you a number about 218, which is Exactly what Mac OS loves, right? The operating system for Mac loves it. 218 pixels per inch. I got a 4k monitor.

I was like, Oh, it's going to be great. 4k, all the reviews are great. If we do some simple math here, which I didn't know to do. And I've found very few videos about this. Uh, but if you do some simple math here. A 4k monitor has about 3840, 3840 pixels going across. We divide that by 23. 5, right? That's the number of inches and we get pixels per inch.

That is [00:05:00] 163 pixels per inch, which means it's blurry as fuck. It's, it's fine with the, we can do some scaling and it actually didn't bother me for watching videos and editing videos, but for the text, fuck, it was blurry and very noticeable for me, especially someone, you know, I had been using a Mac since 2016, so I'm just used to that kind of clarity and that sharpness.

So the solution there becomes to get a 5k monitor, right? 5, 000 pixels is 51, 20 pixels and a 27 inch. Or if you want a 6k monitor, excuse me, a 32 inch monitor, then you need 6k resolution. The price point on this thing is going to be about 1, 100 from a base perspective. And then you have to get, uh, they called speakers anyway.

So to get a non Mac monitor, that's 27 inches, and good clear resolution, and plays nicely with Mac OS, it's got to be 5k. I got a 4k monitor. That's an 1, 100 [00:06:00] base point, you know, price point. That's not including tax and the monitor, the, uh, speakers you have to get, which means just get the fucking Apple monitor.

So I returned the BenQ. It was through Amazon. I kept the box and everything. So I just took it back. The UPS stores around the corner. And then I went to the Mac store, which is like two miles away. It's very close and just got the, the Apple display. Uh, what is it called? The Apple Studio Display. It ended up being about 2, 000 with AppleCare and, um, tax, but my shit isn't blurry, so, yeah.

That is my tech uh, recommendation for those of you that are like, I want to stay all Mac, go get the Mac monitor. Just do it. Bite the bullet. If it lasts me as long as my other, I'm pointing to the side, you all can't see it, but if you're listening, you definitely can't see it, but my other computers over there, my old iMac is over there, which, uh, probably Forrest is going to kind of get to turn back on and worst case scenario doesn't turn back on. Um, best case scenario I'll, I probably won't sell it. I'll probably use it as a second monitor. So I already [00:07:00] have a second monitor, but I'll, this way I'll have two Mac displays. So we'll see. Um, but the lesson here, folks, the lesson, there's so much value in troubleshooting.

I learned so much. I love this stuff. And now I know what to look for. But from a content creation or sharing a showing up perspective, don't assume that folks know cause they don't, literally like no one, there were so few videos on this. I'm like blurry text. Why? What's going on? Found one amazing video and he links to this, um, like a, like a, like a blog post and I was like, wow, this is super helpful and I wish that more people would know this, uh, so don't assume that folks know shit, but also share your own shit, things that you learned and why it matters to you, right?

Because people were sharing their, their reviews, but they were sharing based on what matters to them, which is the colors and things like that. And I was like, that's actually not what really matters to me. For me, it is the word processing. And also I'm, I'm sitting today, but when I walk on the treadmill, it, it does bother my eyes if the text is blurry.

So, you know, for, you know, what it's worth, if [00:08:00] you are coming from a Mac background, or you're going to a Mac background, or going to a, looking to get another Mac, and you don't want it to be blurry, I recommend just staying with Mac, staying with Apple. They take you all your money. They got us. It is what it is.

But from the content creation perspective, share why things matter to you. Share the things that you learn. Don't assume that other people know stuff. 

All right. Final life update and then, uh, we'll hop into the episode. It is, don't forget about Boss Up 2024, right? It is the live event for health and fitness pros who want to do business differently and want to level up their online business in moving into 2025.

It's two days. All the dopeness. We got guest speakers. It's gonna be in, fingers crossed, sunny SoCal. Fingers crossed because hopefully it's gonna be sunny, but it's definitely gonna be in SoCal. Uh, it's this October 10th and 11th. It's at the Shade Hotel in Redondo Beach, where I live. I don't live at the hotel, but I live in Redondo Beach.

Um, at the time of this recording, we only have 8 VIP spots left, so who knows how many we'll have when this drops, but you can still check. [00:09:00] Um, and we have entered into early bird pricing. We were in super early bird pricing. So the price goes up the longer that you wait. So make moves and save money. Yes, this is somewhat far away, because it's not until October, but planning is helpful and typically required, because you have to travel and things like that.

Um, and I actually attended a conference once. It was called Inbound. I don't recommend it. It wasn't very good. Uh, but they did like zero podcast editing. Uh, excuse me. Podcast promotion about it and then I had to pay like a million dollars because I didn't know about it the event until like right before and I was like, well, I do want to go I want to check it out and then it was a million fucking dollars.

So I don't want that for you so I'm gonna stay talking about it. I'm also really stoked about it and i'd love to have you there. So, please if the spirit moves you, come experience the magic of being in the room. Great segue there. This idea, this concept of magic of being in the room, the inspiration you get from being in the room, the people that you get to surround yourself with when you're in the room.

Connection. That's what it's all about. And today's episode, we're talking about the connection conundrum. So definition of [00:10:00] conundrum is a difficult and confusing problem or question. I'm not sure if conundrum is the perfect word for what I'm talking about, but the alliteration was nice. So I'm sticking with it.

This to me is somewhat in line with what I've heard referred to as the narcissist's mistake. I heard, I heard about that concept. Um, and when I was in James Olivia's, uh, Skills Intensive, but the long the short of it is that you're basically shooting yourself in the foot. You kind of putting the stick in your own bicycle wheel as you're pedaling.

So what I have seen as the result of this quote unquote connection conundrum is the horrendousness on social media, right? Or what I see as the result of the connection conundrum is the horrendousness on social media, just the dumpster fire that is the comment section, right? To me, the conundrum here is that folks want to be seen, they want connection, [00:11:00] and instead of finding that with kindness and gratitude or just fucking scrolling by if the shit ain't for them, they take to the comment section with the “What about me? You don't know me. My experience is different! See me! Hear me! Validate me!”

And I get it but It feels like a conundrum here, right? It feels to me like in doing so and showing up that way, they may find connection in other people who feel the same way, but they're definitely not going to get connection with that content creator, that person that's putting things out there who genuinely may want to connect with them and genuinely may want to help them.

I am seeing this, yes, a ton in the perimenopause menopause space right now. I will probably bring someone on just to talk about because it's so fucking hot right now and it is objectively hot. I was at dinner last night with Jill and we're talking about this and she's like, is it actually hot? And I'm like, yes.

Like, it's not just like we're pretending we think we're seeing more like kind of like a Bader Meinhof effect where you think you're just noticing it more because you're looking for it more. It's there. And it's likely because, you know, the folks that are in, myself [00:12:00] included, like in this age range, right, for perimenopause and menopause, we're on social media, and for the first time, like, these generations are, use social media. They have money, they've been, you know, spending money on staying skinny their whole fucking life, right? They're the perfect prey for this kind of messaging and so now it's, it's like how, what's the next beauty thing that we can impose on women and it's this, you know, perimenopause and menopausal marketing stuff. But, uh, what I'm seeing within this and kind of the example here is the fitness person who says, you know, keep doing the foundational things.

You're going to experience these changes, and here's my suggestion. It's, it's not, it's not comprehensive, but like you, you do need to continue to do the foundational things, which is prioritize protein, get sleep, lift heavy, and then the comment section is full of people being like, You don't know me! Stop gaslighting me!

You're being condescending! And I get it. It's a product of, you know, [00:13:00] having been dismissed by health professionals and by fucking everyone forever. And so I'm not here to say if it's right or wrong or that it's right or wrong or good or bad. Of note, because what's coming next is a lesson, so maybe we're going to preface it with a lesson.

If you have a podcast or you're thinking about starting a podcast, you don't need profound lessons in each episode. Like I could theoretically end the episode here and just be like, these are my thoughts and what I've been experiencing. You don't need to be super teachy in them. I'm thinking about, I was just chatting about this with Nicole Sciacca.

I was on her podcast. I'm stoked for that episode to come out. She's just fucking awesome. I was telling her, because she just started her podcast, like, if you have a community of any sort, you're looking to build a community. Like, yes, these people, they, they, they love you. They trust you. And so they want to hear from you.

They want to learn from you, but they just want to hear from you. Right. At the, at the heart of it, they just want to hear from you. They want the connection. So you don't have to teach in every episode and, and, you know, largely when I first started this podcast, it was just me talking. I didn't have notes.

I didn't have an outline. I'm just like, hop on, share my thoughts. And I moved away from that just because I have so [00:14:00] many fucking episodes and like, it's just kind of, you go through phases and you're like, cool, I want to like teach. And also when I started doing video podcasts, I wanted an outline so that I wouldn't go off on tangents and then have to stop things and edit things. Like I record this thing in one shot. It's one take Jake, right? We're done. But the little lesson there before the lesson that you don't have to give, is that you don't have to give a lesson in your episodes, right? People do just want to hear from you.

So make sure that, you know, soft suggestion to include that in your podcast episode.

So, without being too teachy, The lesson that I see in this connection conundrum is actually a few. One, understand that it's at the heart of people's wild connect, wild comments. I almost said wild connections now. It's at the heart of people's wild comments.

And so, you know, when I go in this comment section, it can be triggering. It can be just be like, it can be disheartening too. You're just like, damn, like, can we get along? Can we just like, ah, but I think that's at the heart of it. It's like people want to be seen. And so that's, that's what they're doing.

Two, being seen and heard is what people desire. So [00:15:00] if the spirit moves you, use that information as you will, right? Look to do that perhaps with your people, your community, how you show up. Number three, how we show up for others starts out with how we show up for ourselves, right? So some resources there, a book that I just got finished reading, and I'm about to start rereading. By reading I mean, listening to, cause y'all know, I don't really like reading the physical, like, reading the book there. Um, Daring Greatly, Brené Brown. Y'all know, I sound, I feel like, I feel very basic, like, recommending it, but I also don't give a fuck. But, um, many of you, I'm guessing, have, the majority of you have listened to it, read it a million times already.

Maybe bring it back, or don't. Um, if you haven't listened to it, read it yet, and you're interested in, in something new, um, some, you know, self work, self improvement kind of stuff, that's a great book. And also, my dope homie, James Olivia. Um, I've had them on a bunch of times. And we can link that, uh, that account.

That is, their account is, what is it? [00:16:00] I'm totally blanking.. Inquisitive underscore human. I like totally had a brain fart there. I'm like Instagram, no inquisitive underscore human. Um, so we'll link all of that, but this episode, like I said, in the little intro, I think it's more, perhaps more questions than solutions.

Um, even though I give you some resources there, but I spend a lot of time on social media and I think that this episode, as I was putting together, it's just my attempt at making it better. Right. I see a problem there. I see unhappiness there. And I'm just like, what can we do? I'm always solution oriented.

What can we do? I'd love to hear from you as to what you think we can do. So, um, I'm going to wrap it up here. Don't forget BossUp tickets are live. So use that link in the show notes, check out the event, get your ticket. Um, if you got any questions, comments, concerns, find the DM, shoot me a text, we'd love to hear from you.

I got one more call to action today, and I don't think I've asked for this, maybe ever, but definitely not in a long time. Um, and I would love to hear from you some suggestions. If you want to submit any life questions that you may [00:17:00] have that could serve as podcast episode topics. I love talking about online business and things like that and getting, you know, in the weeds with it.

But you all know at the heart of it is behavior change and habit implementation, and I love chatting about that stuff. So would love to hear from you if you have any questions, you know, I did an episode not too long ago about, um, kind of my journey and, you know, struggling and is struggling required for success.

And I'd love to talk more about things like that. I'd love for it to be helpful for you. And the one way that I know that it can quote unquote know that it'll be helpful for you is if it's a question that you ask. So if you got any life questions, um of any kind, alright, anything, send them to me. You can shoot me a DM @themovementmaestro.

You can shoot me a text. 3 1 0 7 3 7 2 3 4 5. Would love to hear from you. Alright, gonna wrap it up here as always, endlessly, endlessly. Endlessly appreciative for every [00:18:00] single one of you. Until next time friends, Maestro out.

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MOTM #569: WTF Is Up With Threads?!
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