Jon has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of content views a month. I can't understand why so few of us seem to be interested in this fascinating delve into the mind and memories of the man behind it all. I would be sorry to see you guys abandon the project, so I hope you continue with it.
It's no surprise that Jon is brutally honest about his bullying tactics at school and the emotional distance he developed to protect himself. His no-BS attitude underpins everything he does. I suspect if he hadn't developed a thick skin at school, he wouldn't have had the tenacity and self-possession to succeed as an adult.
He gives us a rare glimpse into the mind of a bully. I've been on the receiving end of bullying, both at school and in relationships. Jon's account has given me a new perspective on those who have made my life difficult in the past.
I am now dealing with metastatic breast cancer – incurable, in other words. It has gifted me with courage and determination to defiantly live and achieve in a way that I haven't before.
I look forward to learning how Jon found the resourcefulness and resilience to build his million dollar business.
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I also think that if anyone proves that nothing is for-sure and that there's always a way through, it's Jon. So I'm glad you're here.
I was a little surprised by the small reaction so far as well, but I think a lot of it has to do with media transfer: Jon's people are mostly readers, not listeners. Most of the listens have been here in the browser, and that tells me that listeners to this podcast so far are "people who don't normally listen to podcasts" (because regular podcast listeners never listen in browsers, but instead on platforms like Apple or Google Podcasts). So this is probably about asking folks who normally read posts to instead sit down and listen to an hour-long recording in front of their computers. I wouldn't make that transition easily either.
But for now, we're going to keep recording. At least a few more episodes. People ARE downloading, and listening on other platforms, and it's more than it looks like from the comments, but it's still not as many as I'd think. Jon's going to keep telling people about the new episodes, though, so in time we should weaken more people's resolve. :)
Thank you Johnny, that's an incredibly useful point you've raised about people who prefer to read. I hate feeling "trapped" by a video or podcast. So many of them meander and waffle and I get very impatient. If there's a transcript, I go for that, no matter how badly its done. One can always skim.
What's different here is that neither of you say "um", "you know" or "like" every other word, or waffle off the point. In fact, I'm astonished by how quickly Jon answers your questions and how very succinct he is. As he is in his writing, of course. I suspect you've done quite a bit of prep together and it shows. If not, big dibs to both of you!
Hahaha! I fooled you! The original calls are FULL of everything you just complimented us on not doing. It was several hours of meticulous editing that turned it into the polished recording you're hearing here. Thanks for justifying the time I've spent - this right here proves it's worth doing! :)
I'm with Sue on this. I prefer transcripts to both audio or video but this was impeccably produced so I was riveted. I started with episode 2 and will go back and catch up. I was my older brother's bullying target. We had no understanding of each other or ourselves in our emotionless home. So this series is adding welcome insight on my own journey into EQ and what I can contribute to its growth in the world. Please keep going!
Thanks for the vote of confidence and praise, Michelle! We're not getting a huge response relative to the audience (probably because of that "reading vs listening" thing you mentioned), but people are definitely paying attention. We'll do at least a few more, and see how it goes!
And right there, you prove the truth that professional human production triumphs over the growing tsunami of sloppy, AI-assisted dross. Yes, it takes more time, but what a difference it makes.
I went through something similar to this. I was experiencing abuse at home and alienation at school. I don’t really know if I was being bullied as I really give a sh*t about the people I was going to school with. I don’t even really remember if I relationships during my time in high school, which was brief. Certainly not any long lasting friendships.
There was one boy in my science class who had that very typical “nerd” vibe. I’m not going to breakdown his appearance or behaviours, but if you were to look up “nerd” in the dictionary, it would be this guy.
He was super nice and I would frequently think to myself how difficult his high school experience must have been. There wasn’t anyone who I could necessarily remember bullying him in science class and I made sure to put special effort into engaging him in conversation and put special effort into being kind to him.
I knew what his life was like as soon as he stepped out of that classroom. My brother had a very similar experience.
There was one day when I had an especially bad day at home and so I had been walking around all of that day with a pretty short fuse. This kid had the bad luck of being being annoying that day and I snapped at him. I didn’t finish at telling him that he was being annoying, I made fun of him and all the ways that a sh*tty high school kid would identify him as deficient.
Jon has been rightly been labeled a superhero. My super power has always been my capacity of kindness that have carried with me throughout my life, in spite of what I was being subjected to at home. To this day, I will go FAR out of my way to be helpful to people and my community at large. It is the positive that came out of a brutal upbringing.
What I had said to this person years prior literally came to mind at least one week. It hurt me deeply because I was so aware that it had hurt him even deeper.
There was one day when I was visiting my home town and I came across this kid in a kind of odd and random spot. I knew it was him from far and away and I immediately started to wonder if he would recognize me. Would he stop? Should I stop? Would he want to talk to me after what I had done?
I decided to wait and see if he recognized me and if he didn’t I would stop him. Would we chat and catch up on our lives since high school? Or would I deliver the apology that I had been constructing in my head since the very second I had finished my tirade years ago. Would that be selfish?
Gah!! It was a lot to be thinking about in the space of about a minute and I felt like I was going to throw up.
After I got his attention we stood face to face and I just started pouring into my very hectic apology. I had been to anxious to put much thought into my intro and so I just slapped him in the face with my convoluted apology.
I started by acknowledging that I had a very clear memory of what I had said and asked if he remembered if he did as well. He did and replied with a simple and perhaps nervous “yes”. I immediately began to bawl.
I told him what I had gone through that morning and how angry and frustrated and trapped I had been in my head. I had been so evil to him as a release. I told him that that was no excuse and how my words had been at the front of my mind for all those years and how desperately sorry I was.
Maybe my apology was more concise than I thought. He began crying as well and I asked if I could give him a hug. We stood at the side of a very busy street in a very healing embrace for probably ten minutes. He was whispering “thank you” into my ear over and over again.
I still think of this person frequently (even though I can’t remember his freaking name! How awful) and acknowledging the gift I had been given to run into that day in the most unlikely of places.
I carry this whole experience with me as a cautionary tale with the knowledge that my opportunity to apologize had happened against all odds.
Kindness is my superpower (and my FU to the people who had hurt me) but now I also know the consequences if I go against it.
Jon, I really you allowing me indulging this lengthy, “look at me, look at me”, vent session and I want to remind you how deeply you touch and impact so many people’s lives.
I would also like to echo Sue’s suggestion regarding the transcripts for your podcast. I’m one of the last people on this planet who prefer reading over audio.
Yes, another "browser" listener and long-time follower of Jon. Who wouldn't want to know how Jon became the super hero he is today? To hear the back-story in all its raw intensity is a rare gift of insight. I applaud Jon for opening up, and also applaud you Johnny for the approach and frank questions. Keep this coming! This story has many facets that many people will identify with.
Jon has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of content views a month. I can't understand why so few of us seem to be interested in this fascinating delve into the mind and memories of the man behind it all. I would be sorry to see you guys abandon the project, so I hope you continue with it.
It's no surprise that Jon is brutally honest about his bullying tactics at school and the emotional distance he developed to protect himself. His no-BS attitude underpins everything he does. I suspect if he hadn't developed a thick skin at school, he wouldn't have had the tenacity and self-possession to succeed as an adult.
He gives us a rare glimpse into the mind of a bully. I've been on the receiving end of bullying, both at school and in relationships. Jon's account has given me a new perspective on those who have made my life difficult in the past.
I am now dealing with metastatic breast cancer – incurable, in other words. It has gifted me with courage and determination to defiantly live and achieve in a way that I haven't before.
I look forward to learning how Jon found the resourcefulness and resilience to build his million dollar business.
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I also think that if anyone proves that nothing is for-sure and that there's always a way through, it's Jon. So I'm glad you're here.
I was a little surprised by the small reaction so far as well, but I think a lot of it has to do with media transfer: Jon's people are mostly readers, not listeners. Most of the listens have been here in the browser, and that tells me that listeners to this podcast so far are "people who don't normally listen to podcasts" (because regular podcast listeners never listen in browsers, but instead on platforms like Apple or Google Podcasts). So this is probably about asking folks who normally read posts to instead sit down and listen to an hour-long recording in front of their computers. I wouldn't make that transition easily either.
But for now, we're going to keep recording. At least a few more episodes. People ARE downloading, and listening on other platforms, and it's more than it looks like from the comments, but it's still not as many as I'd think. Jon's going to keep telling people about the new episodes, though, so in time we should weaken more people's resolve. :)
Thank you Johnny, that's an incredibly useful point you've raised about people who prefer to read. I hate feeling "trapped" by a video or podcast. So many of them meander and waffle and I get very impatient. If there's a transcript, I go for that, no matter how badly its done. One can always skim.
What's different here is that neither of you say "um", "you know" or "like" every other word, or waffle off the point. In fact, I'm astonished by how quickly Jon answers your questions and how very succinct he is. As he is in his writing, of course. I suspect you've done quite a bit of prep together and it shows. If not, big dibs to both of you!
Hahaha! I fooled you! The original calls are FULL of everything you just complimented us on not doing. It was several hours of meticulous editing that turned it into the polished recording you're hearing here. Thanks for justifying the time I've spent - this right here proves it's worth doing! :)
I'm with Sue on this. I prefer transcripts to both audio or video but this was impeccably produced so I was riveted. I started with episode 2 and will go back and catch up. I was my older brother's bullying target. We had no understanding of each other or ourselves in our emotionless home. So this series is adding welcome insight on my own journey into EQ and what I can contribute to its growth in the world. Please keep going!
Thanks for the vote of confidence and praise, Michelle! We're not getting a huge response relative to the audience (probably because of that "reading vs listening" thing you mentioned), but people are definitely paying attention. We'll do at least a few more, and see how it goes!
And right there, you prove the truth that professional human production triumphs over the growing tsunami of sloppy, AI-assisted dross. Yes, it takes more time, but what a difference it makes.
I went through something similar to this. I was experiencing abuse at home and alienation at school. I don’t really know if I was being bullied as I really give a sh*t about the people I was going to school with. I don’t even really remember if I relationships during my time in high school, which was brief. Certainly not any long lasting friendships.
There was one boy in my science class who had that very typical “nerd” vibe. I’m not going to breakdown his appearance or behaviours, but if you were to look up “nerd” in the dictionary, it would be this guy.
He was super nice and I would frequently think to myself how difficult his high school experience must have been. There wasn’t anyone who I could necessarily remember bullying him in science class and I made sure to put special effort into engaging him in conversation and put special effort into being kind to him.
I knew what his life was like as soon as he stepped out of that classroom. My brother had a very similar experience.
There was one day when I had an especially bad day at home and so I had been walking around all of that day with a pretty short fuse. This kid had the bad luck of being being annoying that day and I snapped at him. I didn’t finish at telling him that he was being annoying, I made fun of him and all the ways that a sh*tty high school kid would identify him as deficient.
Jon has been rightly been labeled a superhero. My super power has always been my capacity of kindness that have carried with me throughout my life, in spite of what I was being subjected to at home. To this day, I will go FAR out of my way to be helpful to people and my community at large. It is the positive that came out of a brutal upbringing.
What I had said to this person years prior literally came to mind at least one week. It hurt me deeply because I was so aware that it had hurt him even deeper.
There was one day when I was visiting my home town and I came across this kid in a kind of odd and random spot. I knew it was him from far and away and I immediately started to wonder if he would recognize me. Would he stop? Should I stop? Would he want to talk to me after what I had done?
I decided to wait and see if he recognized me and if he didn’t I would stop him. Would we chat and catch up on our lives since high school? Or would I deliver the apology that I had been constructing in my head since the very second I had finished my tirade years ago. Would that be selfish?
Gah!! It was a lot to be thinking about in the space of about a minute and I felt like I was going to throw up.
After I got his attention we stood face to face and I just started pouring into my very hectic apology. I had been to anxious to put much thought into my intro and so I just slapped him in the face with my convoluted apology.
I started by acknowledging that I had a very clear memory of what I had said and asked if he remembered if he did as well. He did and replied with a simple and perhaps nervous “yes”. I immediately began to bawl.
I told him what I had gone through that morning and how angry and frustrated and trapped I had been in my head. I had been so evil to him as a release. I told him that that was no excuse and how my words had been at the front of my mind for all those years and how desperately sorry I was.
Maybe my apology was more concise than I thought. He began crying as well and I asked if I could give him a hug. We stood at the side of a very busy street in a very healing embrace for probably ten minutes. He was whispering “thank you” into my ear over and over again.
I still think of this person frequently (even though I can’t remember his freaking name! How awful) and acknowledging the gift I had been given to run into that day in the most unlikely of places.
I carry this whole experience with me as a cautionary tale with the knowledge that my opportunity to apologize had happened against all odds.
Kindness is my superpower (and my FU to the people who had hurt me) but now I also know the consequences if I go against it.
Jon, I really you allowing me indulging this lengthy, “look at me, look at me”, vent session and I want to remind you how deeply you touch and impact so many people’s lives.
I would also like to echo Sue’s suggestion regarding the transcripts for your podcast. I’m one of the last people on this planet who prefer reading over audio.
AXO
This is quite a story to say the least. Thank you for sharing it!
Yes, another "browser" listener and long-time follower of Jon. Who wouldn't want to know how Jon became the super hero he is today? To hear the back-story in all its raw intensity is a rare gift of insight. I applaud Jon for opening up, and also applaud you Johnny for the approach and frank questions. Keep this coming! This story has many facets that many people will identify with.
You should HEAR where the story goes, too! This is tip of the iceberg. Definitely stick around for Episode 3. I continue to be blown away.