we always think the world is ending and
it turns out everybody has a different
[ __ ] perspective on this like nobody
seems to agree the world we knew is
crumbling is dying the system as we know
it does no longer work
welcome back to the latest episode of
the world is ending have you seen the
news lately it seems like it's one
crisis after another now before we get
totally lost in hysteria here's a crazy
idea what if the bad things that
happened to us weren't so bad of course
there's Nuance to this I'm not trying to
romanticize the struggles that people
face contacts matters it always matters
I'm simply playing with the
nietzsche-esque idea that what tests and
challenges you can help you grow and
become more and I know that idea is a
little bit out there so let me explain
myself for those of you watching far
into the future we just lived through a
pandemic a lot of things that we totally
took for granted suddenly disappeared
now you might ask what could possibly be
positive about that and to that I say
our generation was forced to confront
certain realities at an earlier age than
most why are we seeing for example the
great resignation millions of people
quitting their jobs in search of better
work or just changing the relationship
with work entirely maybe this is what
happens when you're locked in your home
for a while and you have an extended
period of time to think about what you
want out of life in a weird way this bad
thing was an opportunity for us to think
about what we really care about maybe
that's not so bad call me a wide-eyed
Optimist but I think our generation has
a massive opportunity for me at least
the last couple of years have been felt
like the equivalent of getting slapped
in the face on an existential level and
I've really reconsidered what my own
priorities were so that was the last two
years looking forward I can't predict
what the future holds but I have a
feeling that uncertain times are coming
I don't mean to be the bearer of bad
news but I think many of us can already
feel it right the stock market's
crashing inflation is super high there
are geopolitical tensions around the
world I can't see into the future I'm
not going to pretend to have all the
answers but interestingly though when
you look back in history you realize
that humans are no strangers to Hard
Times I think I have a plan for these
uncertain times but to explain how I got
there we first have to go to Vienna
[Music]
okay bro how do you feel good super
pumped it's bright it's bright in
Austria
in recent times I've become obsessed
with salons the centuries-old tradition
in Paris where artists and intellectuals
come together and they talk about their
art and ideas coming together and
sharing ideas is a powerful way of
navigating change and uncertainty by
finding Clarity and connection and it
turns out that Paris wasn't the only
place where this would happen Viennese
coffee houses have a history and a
culture that goes back hundreds of years
centuries that saw a ridiculous amount
of Art and creation and the sharing of
ideas and so much more in general the
Viennese who lived in tiny crowded Flats
like in many big cities saw these
elegant coffee houses as their extended
living rooms over time artists and
writers would meet in these spaces
they have this total old world charm I
mean there are so much beautiful detail
you know these chairs look at this this
is beautiful like I feel like there's
such a a unique look and feel here and
you have people from all walks of life I
wanted to come here because the
austrians elevated this culture to an
attitude for life and I wanted to better
see it and experience it for myself
maybe that's my personal reaction to not
having that possibility over the last
couple of years inspired by this
incredible Rich history I thought why
not recreate the same thing I have
organized a gathering in one of these
historical coffee houses to try to see
you know what kind of conversations are
going to come about to test this method
of gaining clarity
foreign
it feels like we're living in very kind
of Uncertain quickly Changing Times I
kind of feel like that's actually all
the time but we think like right now is
always the most scary crazy moment
instead of just falling into despair
because there's a lot of negative media
there are always negative things
happening I'm curious about finding
answers and solutions and how people
culturally cope with this sort of thing
and it turns out everybody has a
different [ __ ] perspective on this
like nobody seems to agree it's
interesting that we go to like the world
is ending and this is not new this has
been happening for centuries
in a way I feel like we're living in a
interesting time where the world we knew
is crumbling is dying the system as we
know it is not does no longer work so
we're kind of like clinging into what we
know but as far as we link to fear we
are attached to what was but sometimes
the problems want us to change and until
we don't change the problems don't go
away but probably they are there as our
best Masters I think the pain is one of
my great teachers in life pain can be
humbling and in my view there are two
kinds of pain good pain and bad pain
having the right amount of good pain can
lead to growth but bad pain is different
bad pain is a sign that something is not
right and that a change must take place
both of these kinds of pain are valuable
and learning to listen to them is really
just the skill of navigating life
I think especially in uncertain times
like there's this thing that people
always say about Austria that is like a
very reserved country it's hard to get
to them but when you get to them like
we're the best friends that you can have
yeah it's just very hard to get in and I
think in uncertain times what people do
is like they return to things that they
know yeah that they trust I left because
I feel like everyone in Austria was like
so close-minded and I couldn't stand it
anymore and I I hated that here I went
away for two years now and I just came
back we appreciate the things that you
didn't appreciate before like it always
is it seems to me that in all times good
and bad but especially bad it is
important to know who you can trust this
is common knowledge but how do you go
about knowing who you can trust I think
one possible answer is once again pain
it's when [ __ ] hits the fan that you see
who people really are so let me tell you
about how pain is helping me find the
people that I can trust what's your name
this is Lucas he's one of my best
friends and he's really involved with me
in shooting and editing these stories
you think you'll be fluent in German
after this week I think you are you're
doing a very good job with your how did
you call the the trained lady before two
guys uh
thank you
you like his German so far it's it's
good
I call her guys
he came with me to Vienna to make this
video a reality and he's Austrian
himself from a little Mountain Village
and as a Mountain Village Austrian man
he likes to do Mountain Village Austrian
things he loves cold exposure think Wim
Hof and he suggested we go swim in our
underwear in the famous Danube we can go
swimming oh like the next couple days
because swimming where in the venue the
Blue Danube as if they were like red
venue I thought it was a brilliant idea
and joining us were several people we
met in the coffee house
I personally do it because it's just I
go in there and I'm just like this is
what I need to focus on right now
there's nothing else that is more
important I literally need to survive
when you go in there you set an
intention you want to do that I think
one thing that's really amazing
about difficult experiences is that it
really bonds you you know you go through
a difficult thing with somebody else
you have this thing now in common that
connects you and I think that's amazing
as well have you ever done this before
no I mean I grew up in the cold I grew
up in the mountains but never like in
the water we have all the struggles we
think about all along all these little
micro problems that add up and then
create like that overall oh I'm not
feeling so good today I'm not like I am
feeling down the last couple of weeks
it's a reset on a physiological level
but you also there's nothing else you
can focus on when do we actually need to
survive properly I really value those
moments because it's so easy to forget
that and get just too comfortable and
like
stuck in your head so I love that it's
just it's like such a slap in the face
all right okay yeah cool yeah no
pressure
people give Vienna [ __ ] for being the
sea that's just never changing it's like
always the same I don't really agree I
just came back uh after being in Canada
for three years and it's just like it's
the same in so many ways but it's still
fresh to me it's a mix of meeting a lot
of the same people from before like my
old friends from back in the day and
meeting new people yeah
um so I like get a lot of this like view
of like what has changed and what hasn't
changed like my life has been stuck and
now I'm finally getting going after the
pandemic and so many people have had a
completely different experience they're
like oh I've had all of this going on
and like and now I'm stuck and I'm like
I'm in a different totally different
point I'm like I've been stuck for two
years and now I'm really getting going
and I feel like everybody's in totally
different places and totally different
times in these especially the last two
years right correct me if I'm wrong or
if you have a different perspective but
it seems like we all go through Cycles
in a sense I'm in a stage right now
where I need to leave so you're in the
stage of the cycle where you need
unfamiliar and then you'll be at a
different stage later on in life where
you need the familiar which is like
returning and it's the same with Order
and Chaos or you know I need discomfort
or Comfort like it's like these cycles
that we're all in and what I think I'm
trying to look for is like a clean piece
of advice like here this is what you
need actually though it really depends
on where you're at like and what you're
looking for because good advice at a
certain stage of life is bad advice uh
at a different stage of Life the
relationship with Austria it's like I
need to leave because maybe you're at a
stage where you need something different
and you need chaos and you need
discomfort and you need a lack of
familiarity or you end up coming here
and what's beautiful about this place is
you know what's here and there's all
your friends and family and whatnot
waiting here
Lucas told me about a cultural Concept
in Austria that I find really beautiful
it's an Austrian word Gowdy Gowdy means
fun and it's an activity you have a
Gowdy to have a Gowdy is to make time
and space with people for the sole
purpose of having some fun yes
foreign
[Music]
maker I love wine
do you love Vienna is my home City I'm
born in vain like [ __ ] was Cleveland
schools
I love what that man said because in
truth everything in life has multiple
meanings life itself has many different
meanings it isn't the same for any two
people out there it isn't the same for
you and me we're all on our own paths
converging and diverging as we all
slowly tried to make sense of things
okay I think annetta is joining us is
your energy up yeah yes I'm super high
I think it's actually so incredible what
you said about how this is what helped
you fight a winter Blues it's like you
would think this is the last thing but
you actually oftentimes have to go
exactly towards the thing you're running
away from
so in the moments in my life which have
been like more fearful things got more
stuck they were much more effort much
more struggle things didn't flow didn't
move forward
oh [ __ ] yeah that's cold Sun comes out
for us
okay let's go three two one
I can't change all of these things like
I can actually change very little in in
this whole big context but I can change
a whole lot of things for the people
that is close to me and the things that
happen around me perhaps a lot is like
focusing around the things that are
really around you like really in your
realm that you can influence
foreign
[Music]
is gathering groups and I go alone on my
seats and it's a little bit you feel a
little bit socially awkward in the
beginning
right because we opened up our soul in
the in the table I think what you're
talking about is just like openness and
interest in a certain depth of
conversation and exchange the power that
you have to bring such people that can
be friends within two minutes talking
like if you go to a tennis club I can I
can play with a partner and have nothing
in common with it at all like you can
work I don't know a completely different
job have completely different life
completely different thoughts what's
whatever I come here and I suddenly
vibrate with these people somehow so it
really made me think this is only
possible with people that are also
creative and curious and open and
wanting to have these sorts of
interactions I feel like or have these
thoughts you come from this Village in a
totally different part of the world and
and you had the same thought as me
that's like crazy
this place kind of Feels Like Home to me
because even though we don't have that
kind of Vineyard where I grew up justice
mentality this Pride but still his
openness towards things there's just a
different way in how people from the
countryside even though we're in Vienna
it still feels like Countryside it's
just a different kind of way in how we
talk Vienna is is wine and coffee right
do you go to the coffee houses or no
[Laughter]
and this kind of interaction just makes
me feel very comfortable in a way
[Music]
foreign
I don't know man I always go back to
this thought I don't know what's coming
and I'll never be able to predict the
future I am as clueless as the next guy
it's humbling to me that everyone has
their own insights to the question of
what we're all doing here all I can say
is that I'm committed to being a student
of the world around me through all of
the pain and pleasure
you feel overwhelmed I want you to know
that you're not alone we are all trying
to figure out this wild mystery
house and here we are
about those five seconds just like say
[ __ ] it and then you just go in there
even though you're scared as [ __ ] he's
just like
I'm gonna do it I was unsure I never
done it before but actually like
there's no reason why I wouldn't do it
like no valid reason for me not going in
so
yeah
foreign
this video was made possible thanks to
the Vienna tourism board who I really
enjoyed working with they gave me
complete free reign to explore and
showcase the city how I wanted which in
retrospect feels like kind of a risky
decision but I think it worked out I'm
sure many of you guys have noticed that
I have something of a Unique Travel
style in that I don't really care about
doing touristy things and instead I much
more prefer to focus all my energy on
getting to know people and immersing
myself you know getting to know the way
of life in a particular place if you're
interested in doing the same the tourism
board has created an App exactly for
this called Ivy which you can use to
tailor your trip to Vienna it basically
asks you what you're interested in and
it's really beautiful really well done
it has walks guides and a large amount
of information about the city so I think
it's definitely worth checking out if
you're considering going to Vienna now
or if you were already considering
before even watching this video I'll
leave a link in the description below if
you want to download it for yourself
totally free a big thank you to the
Vienna tourism board for making this
video a reality and of course all of you
for watching and for all your support
I'd love to hear your thoughts
especially on if you've ever organized a
sort of coffee house or salon-esque
gathering of your own and how that's
gone all right much love and I'll see
all of you very soon