E112 - Become Mentally Strong & Train Your Mind To Overcome Anything | Cory Richards

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Cory Richards, National Geographic photographer and professional climber for 25 years, walked away from both careers at 40 after his nervous system broke from constantly visualising his own death on mountains. After realising his value had become tied to proximity to mortality, he faced a truth: the "fuck you, watch me" energy driving his achievements stemmed from believing something was fundamentally wrong with him since his bipolar diagnosis at 14.

You'll hear his single-word framework for defining purpose, why he believes all love is self-sourced rather than received from others, and why mental health diagnoses describe behaviour patterns rather than fundamental deficits.

00:00 Introduction 01:30 Why Cory left the mountains to start over in Venice 04:17 Contrasting freedom in LA with safety in Dubai 10:20 Reducing news and social media to protect happiness 13:00 Changing your life starts with changing your story 15:06 The Everest Snapchat that sparked public vulnerability 17:02 What bipolar disorder actually is and why labels matter 20:19 Learning to manage depressive waves with self-compassion 23:20 Social isolation vs pushing yourself into connections 27:15 Confronting mortality while climbing Everest 30:53 Consciousness, nature, and the idea of energy 34:20 Psychedelics as a hard reset and mental health tool 41:02 Finding purpose and fulfilment through service 49:24 Why compassion, not performance, is Cory’s core value 54:05 Money as freedom units, not status signifiers 55:32 Replacing risky climbs with entrepreneurial adventure 58:49 Navigating authority, expectations and independence 01:00:42 Generational tension between safety and freedom 01:04:09 Online role models, influence, and bad advice 01:11:06 Cultivating a strong heart and filtering your circle 01:14:15 Heartbreak, resilience, and learning from pain 01:19:54 Is love self-sourced or something we find? 01:28:41 Cory’s career with NatGeo and letting it all go 01:33:02 Capturing moments vs being trapped in the shot 01:35:48 Tech, suicide rates, and the illusion of connection

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