According to Ryan Holiday- Ego is the Enemy. In this clip, he's talking about how successful leaders know that there is always something to learn, and they don't think they know everything already. On his Genghis Khan, who Ryan says conquered all of Asia and Europe- he gave his people the ability to absorb technologies from these places into the Empire. When you start "thinking that you're genius" or that you know it all, it's time to stop, reevaluate and refocus from learning.

In the book ego is the enemy, Ryan Holiday talks about how most people have an idea of who they are or what they want to be but don't follow through with it. So often we fall in love with the idea of success rather than focus on the actions that we're trying to do and the actual impact of said actions. This is where the big question of to be or to do? comes into play. Do you just want success or do you want to pursue something bigger than yourself to help people and the world? Once you answer that question everything becomes easier and more difficult at the same time. 

So, what is habit-forming? It's not the action you're trying to perform, but instead it is your perception of who you are. What habit-forming really means is that you're trying to choose a new identity for yourself. You're trying to cast votes in your own brain that reinforces your idea of who you are. If you want to be able to eat healthy and go to the gym everyday, think about the healthy person you want to become. Would that person skip the gym even though it's not their rest day? No! They would go because that is part of their identity as a healthy person. So if you want to be someone who starts a business and do well in it, do things that entrepreneurs do... like working ridiculous hours, doing whatever it takes and refusing to give up. If you want to be someone who doesn't skip workouts, make going to the gym an integral part of who you are and make it easy by making your workout clothes something fashionable so you don't have an excuse not to go!

I've been listening to the audiobook "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. This book is definitely a must read but in chapter 3 he brings up the difference between motion vs action and how most of the time he settle with motion even though it doesn't bring actual results but we do it because we don't have to deal with failure. on the flip side, action means putting actual work and reps with a clear chance of failing and making mistakes but from those failures and mistakes we can learn and improve. I hope this episode can be of value and bring some new insight to dealing with difficult talks. 

In this episode I'm taking the podcast a whole different route from travel photography and videography to self-improvement due to the current situation I'm going through. Here I go a little bit into my scenario but mainly i try to hit on the lessons I've learned and the things that have helped me so hopefully I can help someone else.  

The first episode of BEHIND THE FRAME by M Benjamin Valerio. What lens should I get as a beginner photographer/ videographer? Is a very common questioned asked to me. Here are some points that I hope shine light to your decision like: what are you using it for? Photography, videography, or both? Are you doing landscapes, portraits, streets, cars, etc? Third party or not? Focal lengths, f stops,  and even my recommendations at the end. Hope you enjoy and you find it useful. Don’t hesitate to hit me up on IG @mbenjaminvalerio to give me ideas to improve. Thank you and have a great day!