Episode #001

Introducing the ikario Podcast: Level Up Your Life, Now in Audio Format



We're starting off the podcast by answering the question: what is the ikario podcast?

And perhaps more importantly: why is the ikario podcast?

In this episode, we discuss why self improvement and personal power are so important, how the ikario approach is different from your typical self development content and what all this has to do with disgraced Instagram millionair Dan Bilzerian.

Plus, we discuss concepts like emotional flexibility and the "everything is practice" mindset.

In this episode...

  • Why we started a personal development focused podcast, despite there already being an abundance of self development content available.
  • If the question is "what is the good life", then Dan Bilzerian has been presenting one answer... an answer that is on the very other end of the spectrum, compared to what the ikario answer looks like.
  • The ikario core value of freedom - what does it mean to be free?
  • The self delusion of "once I have X, I will finally be happy" - many wise people have told us this is a mistake, and yet we have to learn it again and again.
  • How my 10+ years of entrepreneurship led to the ideas that are now my life's mission to develop and share.
  • Why one of our goals is to help our listeners become more powerful. Why personal power - when developed wisely, is a key solution to many of the world's problems.
  • A key to power and freedom: emotional flexiblity (see below).
  • The "magic of conversations" that I've experienced in business & life. And my attempt to now scale this and reach more people with it.
  • How this podcast can help you tap into the power of "the average of the 5 people you spend most of your time with".
  • Why waiting until you're ready is a recipe for procrastination. The approach we use instead is the "everything is practice" mindset (see below).

Here are a few more notes on 2 of the highlights from this episode:

Emotional Flexibility

At ikario, we want to help people become more powerful, and one of the things that gives a person power is having options.

Emotional flexibility means being able to choose the best response to a given situation. Think of this as having a range of dialogue options in a video game, rather than most of them being grayed out.

An absence of emotional flexibility in our lives can make us miserable.

For example, let's say a friend makes fun of you in front of other people but you lack assertiveness and hate confrontation so instead of sticking up for yourself, you go quiet and stewing in your bitterness. 

Your response to the situation isn't something you chose, it's a habitual reaction. Cultivating emotional flexibility would give you the option to assert boundaries with your friend or respond to the situation in a different way.

Everything Is Practice

Many people fail to start a project because they are paralyzed by their own ambitious goals. Absolute perfectionism can prevent you from getting going. 

A great way of overcoming this is to think of everything you do as merely practice.

Starting this podcast is a great example. Neither of us felt particularly ready to begin, but we did it anyway. It doesn't matter how good or bad this particular episode is. It matters that we are getting in the studio and practicing.

You can apply this principle to more or less any area of your life that requires repeated action.

Don't worry about if things are perfect. Just remember, everything is practice.

Over to You

Check out the ikario Podcast on YouTube and the clips channel for short bites from the show.

We hope you enjoyed this episode! Leave us your questions and feedback by leaving a comment below. All feedback is appreciated!

Want to leave us a voice message that may be featured on the show? Click the "+Message" button on this page.


Shane Melaugh

About the author

Shane is a serial entrepreneur with a long-standing obsession for personal development and life optimization. He has a habit of buying more books than he can ever read. During his childhood his worldview was significantly influenced by Jackie Chan movies, the Vorkosigan Saga and the writings of Miyamoto Musashi.

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  • Great objective from a stellar team that I’ve seen grown so much over the years. Thanks Shane and team for your continued high-quality value-add!

    • Shane Melaugh says:

      Thank you, Anil!

  • Do you have an RSS link for the podcast? I don’t use any of the listed apps to listen to podcasts (maybe I’m weird 😛 ). Or do you have a download link? 🙂

    • Shane Melaugh says:

      Oh yeah, forgot to add that. I’ve added the RSS link to the “Subscribe on” drop-down menu below the podcast player.

      • Thanks, Shane, it works!

  • Mark Hundley says:

    Great start Shane! The part about “everything is practice” really impacted me. I have a new web project that I’ve had a hell of a time getting off the ground. After hearing about the practice idea it has freed me up to actually get some stuff done. I’ve been too hung up on it having to be perfect (or my best version of perfect). Thanks so much!

    • Shane Melaugh says:

      Thank you, Mark! I’m happy to hear that this concept is helpful for you too.

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