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After a Mistake This Big, Why Bother Living?

UPDATE April 19, 2011: Michael Kass was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 5 years of parole and 10 years of probation on April 6, 2011. Click here to read more.

What if you walked out the door one morning and the cops surprised you and took you to jail?

Imagine losing everything — your money, home, friendships, your reputation, your sense of pride. Would life still be worth living?

And what’s it like to stare down 20 years of being locked up behind bars?

This episode’s guest Michael Kass screwed up. His mistakes cost him and many others millions of dollars. Money aside, he’s lost almost everything he once valued. He’s even considered suicide.

As he prepares for the possibility of spending 20 years in prison, how does Michael find peace and liberation in the midst of incredible hardship? How does he endure this dark night of the soul? And how can you, the listener benefit?

I also share my own deeply personal experience with suicide.

Listen to this episode now to find out.

In this episode:

• Letting everyone — including yourself — down
• Losing everything — the house, money, career, reputation
• Terror of going to prison
• Shame
• The Dark Night of the Soul
• Life was supposed to be different
• Suicide — is life worth living?
• Playing the victim
• Freedom by taking responsibility
• How to deal with terror, anxiety and shame
• Spiritual bypassing

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John Wesley of Porcupine Tree: The Rock Star / Single Dad

Do you think being a rockstar and performing in front of thousands every night is the dream life?

Is life on the road like an exotic vacation or groundhog day?

And what’s it like to become friends with and perform in front of your musical heroes?

This week we’re talking with John Wesley of the prog rock band Porcupine Tree. We’ll find out what it’s really like to be a rockstar AND learn how a single dad stuck to his guns to live an extraordinary life.

In this episode:

• Being in the prog-rock band Porcupine Tree
• Prepping for a tour
• Life on the road — sleeping, eating and constantly moving
• Being paid to play
• Being a single dad and a rockstar
• Why not just get a “real” job?
• Why luck has nothing to do with success
• Keys to a long and successful creative career
• Why preparation is everything
• Debunking rockstar myths
• What jobs to take, which ones to leave
• Spinal Tap moments
• What can you learn from a rockstar?
• Motorcycling with Neil Peart of Rush
• Playing for Alex Lifeson of Rush

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Clay Collins, The Interactive Offer & How to Quit Your Day Job Without Losing Your Ass

Are you stuck in a job but too afraid to risk starting your own gig?

Do you think entrepreneurs have brass balls and are somehow immune to risk?

And do you think that before you can bring your idea to the world, you’ve got to spend years honing it in isolation until its absolutely perfect?

Clay Collins is back on The New Man (here’s his first interview). We’re talking about how a guy like you can finally bust out of that crap job to create a better life for yourself without having to put it all on the line.

In this episode:

• What is the Interactive Offer?
• Why most businesses are dead before they see the light of day
• Why your excuses for staying stuck are fantasies
• How your friends help you stay stuck
• Are entrepreneurs adrenaline junkies?
• Do you need to be a superhero before you can do your own thing?
• What if you don’t have a good idea or direction?
• What if you don’t know if your idea will sell?
• How a badass Taoist general is going to help you live an amazing life

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