226 Ed Latimore, Writer, Physicist, and Professional Heavyweight Boxer!?!

Ed Latimore is a man of diverse talents and interests. When he is not training for a fight or challenging your sensibilities on Twitter, he is thinking deeply about culture and philosophy.

Latimore is also a patriot, having served as a radio technician specialist in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and an AmeriCorps volunteer. He is currently working to complete a degree in Physics and Electrical Engineering at Duquesne University.

When he is not strengthening his body for boxing, Latimore exercises his mind to stay sharp inside the ring by playing chess. Additionally, he is also a prolific writer having self-published several books and blogs regularly.

Ed’s Challenge; Do something you’re afraid of.

Ed’s Book
Not Caring What Other People Think Is A Superpower: Insights From a Heavyweight Boxer by Ed Latimore 

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If you liked this interview, check out episode 66 with Zak Slayback where we discuss.


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Ed Latimore
Aaron Watson: I actually had like a really well-written question to kick things off, but our conversation before we started actually kind of got my wheels spinning in another direction. Which is teaching on a subjective topic like English. You do some tutoring and it's often in hard science and maths, but the real way, I mean, personally that I've found to improve my writing, improve my speaking has been just kind of self-directed reading more or less. You do a lot of writing, some, some really good stuff that we're going to link to in the show notes so people can check out. But I'm curious, given you have this interest in hard science or studying physics, how you've gone about cultivating your writing skills and how you improve that process.
Ed Latimore: You know, it's funny. One of, I don't know if it's our common link, but definitely a common link between me and Zach is a woman named Beth Phillips and she asks a similar question and he goes, "I'm really surprised that you're writing because you're a hard science person in generally speaking, those don't overlap." Which I wasn't aware of because maybe it's the other sciences, but physics to discuss it properly, to answer questions and to teach slash learn involves a lot of precise language. 
Like we don't think about the difference between speed and velocity, but you better believe when it comes to a physical problem, even though they measure the same thing, one has the direction component, the other simply a scaler. So are them just using that as an example, but I'm using that as, as an example, to make the point that to describe the water around you in a way that other people can, you have to come up with a language and you have to learn that language. And then you have to communicate clearly in that language. And on top of that, and this was, I really hated lab science for a long time. In fact, it was probably one of the things that kept me from pursuing my degree that I was like, man, I really just don't want to do these labs. Like, can I take a test? 
But one of the benefits of the lab is you get to explain your process for a scientific event. A thing that had an objective outcome that you could measure. That you, more or less, knew it was going to happen. You get to talk through and describe what went on. So another person can look at it. The whole goal of any lab is for a person to pick it up, look at it and go, I will do this experiment the way you wrote it. And that requires communication. So I'm in a lot of ways to do well in science. And even in mathematics, writing proofs, for example, you need to have a very strong, not so much vocabulary, but you need to be able to put things together in a way that communicates an idea clearly. If you cannot do that, you will not succeed in science or life. And that's all it really is, is taking your thoughts, having a point that you want to make with those thoughts, organizing them in a way that people go, "I see what you're saying. I may or may not disagree." But if a person can't come away with your argument, or at least the, you know, the crux are the, just of your argument and this by, by reading and writing, then you haven't organized your thoughts well enough.
So that is where that comes from. The science training forced you to be a good writer. And in general, I like, just one, I'm always writing. It's very natural for me to think. Okay. Here's the point I want to make. Here's the idea I want to express. Here's what I want to get across. Let me put this clearly for people to read and understand.
Aaron Watson: Gotcha. You, you mentioned not liking the labs and you kind of use the past tense is it sounds like that's changed or just in general, where did that interest start to stir and become something that you deemed worthy of study? 
Ed Latimore: When I, when I became a physics student. Because my, like my background briefly to make, you know, give this answer some context is. I went to school originally, like everyone outside of the  time was supposed to, right out of high school. Wasn't ready, dropped out to a long time before I went back. Finally went back. When I originally went back, I thought I was going to go from mathematics. And then some training in the military, I was like, oh, I'm going to go for electrical engineering.
And then I took the first physics class you have to take for, for all engineer - all engineers have to take two sequences of physics and I'm like, no, this is what I want to do. Right. And the thing that drew me to it. I remember the day, clearly we were doing a lab. There we go. We're doing a lab about projectile motion and using the kinematic equations to predict where a projectile would land.
And when the projectile landed exactly where my formula set at what I was like, wow, I just use magic. This is what I want to study. So. What - what change really for me, and maybe it was a maturity thing, or maybe it was finally like seeing a real example of something that like I could use is seeing that you can't learn by a book.
I mean, you can, you can put facts, you can put facts in your head, by a book, but as not to do a thing, can you learn a thing. And that was my first experience, really going, I really get how this works, but I get it because I seen it work. And I was, I linked the equations and the light bulb went off and I was like, "I don't mind labs at all." Now I look forward to them because this will help me understand and from that point on in the chemistries and the physics labs, I really looked forward to doing the lab work because it helped me understand things. 

Aaron Watson: I see. With making that type of decision, or just in general, the writing that you do, you, you talked about, you know, being able to use this precise language and really select the right, the right words and communicate that effectively.
What I think, maybe doesn't always get acknowledged. It goes unsaid with that and something, I don't know if you take this for granted or not, is self-confidence. The, the willingness to put your name next to an idea, or to really put your viewpoint out there? I'm I'm, going to speculate here for a second and you can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that interlude between the first time you were in school and the second time, you were doing boxing and you were serving in the military. I associate both of those experiences with confidence building primarily, especially for men in a security around being able to handle yourself. 
Ed Latimore: All right. 
Aaron Watson: In a wide variety of high stress situations. How much of the confidence that you bring to your writing and other endeavors do you attribute to those experiences? 
Ed Latimore: You said something really, really key. High stress environments. I always tell people, right. They, they ask there's. I don't know if it's an urban legend. There's some truth to it. I guess. That a boxer can't have a fight with a regular person on the street cause they would kill him and then be charged with assault, with a deadly. Who knows? I don't know if that's true or not. What I do know is that the one advantage you really have? I mean, it's not, not punching is not being in better shape than we're talking about street fights. The one advantage you really have is the ability to manage your adrenaline and get a thing done under duress.
I learned that. In boxing and I had been boxing before I joined the military. So it made getting through training even easier. Like I remember I had a direct plan. I'm like, I'm on a list and I know exactly what I'm going to get out from basic training. I'm going to start class. And everything was going fine until week four basic training. When we had qualification for shooting. I am an awful, I'm not an awful shot, but I needed four tries to pass. You're only supposed to get three, right. But I got a fourth one cause we had a few really good shots and it was leftover ammo and time. And being able to stay calm and not panic in the face of that stressful situation allowed me to not get recycled. Because when you get recycled, they, they say you can't shoot. Time to start basic training all over again. A sovereign one, the basic turning from the beginning that throws my whole timeline off. 
So where does that tie into writing. At some point, when you put your name on things, when you put what you think, what you feel, how you see the water out there. It doesn't matter how well you articulate it, how well you explain it, how much logic, reasoning, or even what kind of person you are, someone will disagree. And a lot of people want to disagree, really. When you think about it, even if only 1% of the people read it who have 1% of a, of your following disagrees, for me, I mean, that's 150 people, right?
That's that's not us and that's, and then they're going to share it and talk about how they don't like it. And then it's going to, it's going to grow and you're going to get a lot of feedback and a lot of hate that doesn't - that a lot of people aren't ready for, aren't interested in. And even though it's only digital, a person can tell the difference between that- that's the same way that the simulations where people would talk about, oh, it's just digital.
Right. You should realize that intellectually. Emotionally, your body still kind of responds to the same. And. Once you can manage your, your stress under a situation of duress in reality. We can port that skill to just the, the horrible abuse. You get sometimes from people who don't like your writing at all, what you tweet or don't like a picture or whatever. Yeah, you'll be fine, but that's where I take that from that I wouldn't even call it confidence. Cause a lot of, I mean, not a lot, most times I really do finish a piece of writing. I go, all right, well, I edited it. I feel good about the argument, but there is no way people are gonna dig this. And you know, and they do some don't.
The point is still going through with it. I'm not going through with the thinking that I'm going to make it, any more than I enter a fight, and I think I'm going to come out of this unscathed. I just know that I've worked on controlling my stress and keeping my mind cool and collected so I can get through and solve the problem or deal with the abuse and come out on the other side in a position to learn from it. 
Aaron Watson: When was the first time you really felt like you started to have a handle on that management of your adrenaline reactions? Was it, I mean, you've had 14 fights now is it? I'm sure it wasn't the first one. 
Ed Latimore: 15 profiles plus in the amateurs? My answer is what I have 50 something fights, maybe 50, 60, a few MMA fights. Well, two MMA fights and some jujitsu matches. So, but I remember very clearly the first time I was like, "huh. I behave differently in distress." I was in a movie, and I cannot remember the movie and I cannot remember where I was with it, but this is when I remember. And it was a one of those surprise BOO scenes and, and I just sat there and everyone else jumped and it's not, it's not like I was ready for it. I just went. And that's when I realized somebody described this once. And I can't remember. I know it was a fighter. He described it as turning the noise down because the noise and the stress of a fight is so high and so loud, their regular, everyday normal stuff is his kind of muted in a relative to what you experienced on a daily basis, training, sparring and fighting. And, and I remember that everyone was jumping around. I went, I was like, huh. Wow. There's that? So some of our ability to be startled is ruined and it's not ruined. I mean, I can still be startled, but, but it takes significantly more.
And it allows me to think. Way more calmly under annoying situation. And I don't remember any specific time for this, but a person may be says or does something that untrained me. I can't speak for every other human, but untrained me perhaps has a reaction to escalate the situation, trained me hears it, and kind of steps outside of himself and looks at it and goes, "Okay. Well he said this, he thought this, well, we can do this and this will go this way. Or we can go to this and this. Okay. This way we want a more favorable outcome. Plus, we got tickets to a movie later. We're just going to ignore this." I do remember this, this incident, this clearly wasn't the first one, but, but this, this whole thought process, I'll never forget.
It was, I think it was last summer. Near the end. I was going into Lowe's or Best Buy. I was in The Waterfront and I walked by some, some black kid with his girl and he went - and the girl was dressed kind of scandalously and I guess he thought I was looking, maybe I was maybe I wasn't. And he responded, "Yo the -- f*** you looking at!" And I thought about it.
I was like, "Okay, I'm a lot bigger than this guy. But if he's crazy enough to say that to me, he might have a gun," and it really just felt like it slowed down in time for me. And what do I get really, if I respond to him? Well, you know, I can say I did this and I maybe talk about it on social media, but if he has a gun, it doesn't matter because I'm probably going to get shot. Okay. We'll just let this one slide. I just walked on and that's what it's like. It's like everything slowed and then it just, it just kept going. All right after, but then that's how I respond to a lot of of duress or stressful situations. 
Aaron Watson: I think that a lot of people desire that they want that coolness, but maybe there, so there's obviously one area where there's not even a self-awareness of, I'm a short fuse I just blow. Some, some people don't even reach that point, but I feel like there's an, I actually quite frankly think I might be a little bit in that area where I, I can get temporary. I can get riled up, even though I know after the fact, like why, why did that, why did I let that get so under my skin. So let's say hypothetically, I don't, I don't think I'm going to go into boxing, or maybe necessarily serve in the military. What other avenues can people pursue to maybe better handle their emotions or kind of find that comparability to turn the noise down?
Ed Latimore: Well, right now, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Or rather anything specific. What I can say are a list of criteria. Okay. I just thought of one or two, right. A list of criteria that it should meet if you want to learn to deal with. Your emotions that you got to remember some, all that your emotions, they are not, it's not the same realm of a rational thought.
Rational thought is deliberate. And a lot of cases proactive you plan for the future, right? This is why we have crimes of passion as a thing, because a person is reactive to the moment with their emotions. So what you want to do, you're not going to be able to change how that works. Anyone who says they can, they're lying to you.
What you can do is use your ability to, to proactively plan and put yourself in moderately stressful situations intentionally. You know, this is, this is exactly how, how vaccines and the whole inoculation process works. And public speaking for example is a great way to do this. You think deliberately, I'm going to put myself in this uncomfortable situation.
And even if the audience is polite, you're going to, you're creating most of the stress in your mind. So you're going to be learning to deal with it, man, is these little subtle things you never even thought about that contribute to why your emotions might be off the handle. For, for example, you know, a lot of the slight that people feel like they're responding to is nothing more than how they hear a thing filtered through their own insecure voice. Right? 
So if you can learn how to listen to that voice and go, "We're in charge here and not you," you gain a level. And a great way to gain that level is public speaking. Right? Another thing you have to be able to do is you have to, you got to kind of take a detached look at things. I don't want to say you shouldn't care that you'll die or get hurt, but at the same time, you have to realize that ultimately that's the end result.
I mean, one day we are going to be none of our memories. And if you remember that, and you can carry that with you more often than not kind of put it closer to your conscious thought process, and your subconscious driving over your, over your actions, right? Then you're, then you're going to be a little more detached from the moment.
And I think a great way to do that is any kind of meditation. Anything that makes you sit and still your mind, separate from the things going around, you makes you appreciate your, your, the finiteness of your body, right? Because as long as you're always being distracted and pulled in different directions by life, you never really get a chance to sit and think about yourself.
And that's why I say sicknesses is really good for you. Sometimes it's like an old, like an old joke or a sickness it great for you. Cause it forces you to stop moving. Force you to stop force you to sit and contemplate and think about your body and how weak it really is. A lot of people don't do that.
And then they're shocked when they're sick and they're like, oh, I can't do a thing. Well, obviously you can't, but if you can put yourself in that position, then you realize the frailty of your mind, the frailty of your body, or the very least you realize that you can step away from everything going on and listen to it.
So those are the, those are the two specific things I thought of public speaking and meditation and the criteria you can think of anything else to fit those criteria that force you to encounter your inner voice, force you to listen to yourself, forces you to think and plan -  roller coasters are great!
Actually, I just thought about that. 
Aaron Watson: I hate roller coasters.
Ed Latimore: You know, I, it's funny, man. I found really the perfect person for me. Like, I mean, I'm sure there's like other people out there who I would work just as well with, but I don't have time to find them and I don't want to live like I'm with their 50 years, I got like maybe 10 where I look like this thing ain't going to happen again.
And it's so funny because we're very similar up here about how we approach things in this deliberate, emotionally controlled type of response to life. And I don't mind roller coasters. I'm not like a roller coaster junkie, but I don't mind them. That's the, she's one in blood. She was, she won't touch anything. Risk, risk taking-ish. 
I'm gonna cut. Cause I won't either. I argue with you. You're not gonna see me bungee jumping or no on the back of the motorcycles. Shy diving. High hang-gliding. I might zip line. I'm still not sure about it. I haven't heard anything crazy going on with zip lines and I can see how it works.
It's not that very, there are fewer elements of chance in a zip line then I feel like there are in a sky dive. Maybe I'm wrong, but hey, people fear flying. So, so who knows, but back that you hate roller coasters, right? That's almost certainly why. But you can use that to your advantage. You can go.
Okay. I really don't like this feeling. What don't you like about it? Do you not like the feeling, do you not like, are you anxious about the fact that you might die? Who knows, but either way you get to encounter something very uncomfortable and deliberately put yourself there. You actually get to do one better, depending on when you go.
You get to be confronted with the dread by standing in line, because I find it, you know, how I got up over my favorite roller coasters. I remember this clearly, oddly enough, I was six at Geauga Lake and there was a roller coaster that went, did the whole, like 360 loop. And before then I remember when I was a kid, I was afraid of them, but there was no line for this roller coaster.
So I didn't have a chance to wait and let my fear bail me out. I just went. Hopped on. Only one of us going up the thing that I was like, "Oh my goodness, what did I get myself into?" And I remember this clearly when I was only six, a lot of people there in the line for the thing. And we're like, huh? And then as the line moves along next to the coast, you could see it going up and you hear people yelling at you like, honey, your imagination starts going, "Wow. This thing ain't broke down all summer or the summer before that, but why just going to go off the tracks when I get on. I just know it." So you really get a chance to play with that, that fear element, how your mind immediately goes through worst case scenario and you get to kind of control it and bring it back.
Aaron Watson: I guess, some of my insecurity or doubt. It's not always like the design, like the physics, the intellectual side of, you know, this is well built and tested and they have all these safety precautions in place. Mine is more in the mind of like human error at the end of the day. There's a human operating this machine or I'm sure you heard about that -
Ed Latimore: And a human that is not well-paid either. So - 
Aaron Watson: Exactly. It's not some, you know, top flight engineer or something. It's some kid work in their summer job. And then there's also the one, I don't know if you heard about the, the person who like lost their hats, they climbed over like three different fences. And then someone came by and like kicked them in the head.
And, you know, I guess I feel bad for the person who not really like following the person went and got their hat. That's just kind of Darwin's rules taking care of themselves, but the person who like broke their leg because some idiot went after that. Like, I want to be that person. 
Ed Latimore: There was a video, there was a story floating around. Some, some guy at Cedar Point, I mean, it was flown around cause it happened. It's not like it was a myth. It was, it was trying to take a selfie and went over the edge. You know, the Darwinism man, now you got to go chase Darwinism. Before, that's how easy life is before Darwinism found you. Now, now, now you got to go find it. And people, people were still, you know, Hey. 
Aaron Watson: So I think that's why people get so into the bungee jumping and all this other stuff. It's it's people are bored. They don't have that sense of like, I have to figure out a way to survive. So they're going in and seeking it out because everything's so easy.
Ed Latimore: Man, forget that. Everything is not, and maybe that's like part of my upbringing. I don't know, but my girl was raised differently and I'd imagine you're raised differently than me. And we got the same kind of mentality about this. But at least for me, Life is already scary enough, man. Like I grew up in the projects.
You ever come home at night and the projects I guarantee you do that a few times. You'll never need to jump bungee jump again. You know that that's real, that's a real, real fear. You can grow up next to crack dealers and hear gunshots popping off who needs throw, who needs to whitewater raft after that, right?
Aaron Watson: Yeah. 
Ed Latimore: Just stay up long enough to hear people wake up and you'll hear you see stuff that's life. But I, the throw seeking behavior, but you're right. I mean, people, I feel like people don't feel alive when it comes down to. I read this somewhere and I wish I could find the exact wording so I would not have find it again.
I suppose that we all have different levels of dopamine sensitivity. And those of us who are. Very sensitive to dopamine, we don't, we don't need to go rush and jump off things because, you know, life is already rewarding enough. Those of us who are dopamine resistant, however, we don't, they don't, they don't get the same reward from living that the rest of us do. So they got to push the envelope because the dopamine resistance. Now obviously, if anyone was listening to this who is a neurochemist or neurobiologists, feel free to, to write me and correct me on this theory, or point me in the direction of this research, because I have seen this enough, and enough, you know, quoting enough different ways to know it has to be based on something.
Apparently it's like in the same regard, I can't do gambling. Like I remember the last time I gambled, I will just living in LA. It was when the Giants made it, this is how clear it is in my memory. I don't even watch football that much anymore. It was on the Giants were in the second round of the NFC divisional playoffs against the Falcons, not the Falcons, the 49ers and the game was going back and forth.
And I bet $20, $20 on the Falcons. That's it? I mean, on the Falcons, the 49ers $20. And I broke, I mean, and it wasn't, it was 20 I could lose. It was nothing. And I really had a heart attack watching a game. I'm not built for these things like that. They make - they bring a rush to you that you can't control.
Aaron Watson: Yeah. I mean, I get kind of a similar notion of going into casinos and that feeling of artificiality. And you're like, I know that there's stuff in here that is like working on my brain, that I'm not even aware of.
Ed Latimore: Right
Aaron Watson: That they're purely playing on my subconscious. 
Ed Latimore: Ain't no natural light. They pump oxygen in. There's always sound. I mean, these are all because I'm trying to think, I'm trying to think. Of my, all my pro fights. I think only two of them haven't been in casinos of some sort or maybe three. So some intimately familiar with casinos, and, and I'm really and the psychology of a casino fascinates me because here's the thing set up to keep you entertained and take your money, take money from you.
And I always wonder how could someone be so bored that they sit there and press a button, press a button, press a button. Cause it was really all it is. I mean, listen, now we're not talking about car games. That's a different story. I enjoy poker and to for a purely mathematical reason blackjack. But, but the rest of the games, press the button, press the button, press the button.
And you realize that, yeah, you may have had like you may have had a leaning towards the gambler once you get in there, man, the whole system set up to just keep you there and keep sucking your money, right from you. Now they let you take money directly off your card as it's really a monster. 
Aaron Watson: Yeah. I love that you shared that a little bit about having to walk home late in the projects, and there's a good friend of mine and a former guest, Adam Harrington. We talk about the idea that there's a kind of, extended childhood for many. And culturally, if you look at kind of the history of humans and small tribes in different ways, society has been arranged. There was often a rite of passage or a coming-of-age that, you know, you see that ceremonially in like a bar or bat mitzvah or these other things, but there's less of the actual maybe real ripping or, or, or extreme movement from one phase of your life to another. 
And I'm curious, cause, cause you do talk sometimes about masculinity and these other topics, whether that's on Twitter and elsewhere first, what your, if you feel like there was a specific experience or maybe just growing up that you were pushed in that direction more quickly and if you agree with that notion that in that same way that people are kind of looking to feel alive and looking to chase those thrills, if there's also a similar idea going on with people struggling with that transition from childhood to adulthood. 
Ed Latimore: Well, well, for me personally. I remember, I remember clearly when I realized that when I at least realized, okay, "I'm the most mature human being in this household." And it's going to be up to me, to fend for myself and figure this out because if I leave my development up to, cause I lived with my mom, I didn't live with my dad. My dad lived in Philadelphia. And my mom lives here in Pittsburgh, but I remember clearly. I was like, "This is not going to go well for me, if I don't make decisions for myself." 
I was 11 years old. My mom got drunk and got into a fight with some lady in the street and okay, I get it. Like, even as an adult, like you drink, you go do dumb stuff. Whatever. What well, why the incident stands out to me is when I remember holding her back and trying to keep it from going and to, you know, she went and did it anyway.
And so in my mind I'm like, "Wow, this is where we're at." Like, I - and looking back into, you know, I have clarity now at 32, that I didn't have it 11. By 11 I would definitely be like, yeah, we're not. And from that point, I mean, I'm pretty sure, like when I got, when I got to high school, I spent. So much time away with my friends and I didn't, I didn't, I think I woke, I think I spent maybe 2 holidays fully at home, but most times I either wake up at a friend's house or I'd go over there man. I just wasn't interested in being home. I didn't feel like that was going to nurture and develop me. I felt like where I was where other things where. They were developing me a a different structure, a better structure for family. So, for me, I mean, I think that's a little early, like, and not just literally, I mean, it's way early. 
But there was definitely a transition from you cause it's a naivety that was gone, right? You, we, we need to grow up thinking that our parents take care of us and that the world is kind of a nice place. Even if it isn't. We gotta, we have to believe that so we don't transition too early before we have the emotional maturity to cope with some of the things that we see and what have to do to protect ourselves. 
While I was not afforded that luxury, and so, there, was a quick shift over. And I think I handled it all right. I'm certainly okay now, but this is like years. I mean, this is this 20 years ago, 20 years, and certainly many, many mistakes along the way in terms of how I dealt with myself and the world around me. But it has to start somewhere. As far as other people and relating this, relating other people and they're like lack of some type of rich war, or event to make them transition compared to mine and how I feel. I think what most people are missing back to that Darwin as a modern day, society is really too easy. It's too easy, and because there is not a difficult external challenge, there is no reason to move from this stage completely. When you're a child to when you are a fully functional, capable adult.
Somebody asked a question on, on Twitter. I are chomping and gave my two cents. Like "When is a boy considered a man?" And I thought about it and I thought about it. And I was like, "I know when. A boy's considered a man, when he has his first major catastrophe, whether it's financial, physical, motional, whatever. And he recovers from it without his parents, even knowing that it had happened in the first place. At that point, he has embraced the world and has embraced the ugliness that is the world. And has survived and come back from it and didn't rely on his parents for any type of support," because that's what they're there for.
I mean, none of us, none of us wrote a letter, and when, you know, "Dear - dear mom and dad, it would be great if you guys, you know, fertilize and had me. P.S. Nine months, right?" No. They made a decision and you're here as a result. So it's, I think it's the parent's job to rear you up to a certain point. But at some point you gotta, you gotta bounce, right?
Aaron Watson: Yeah. 
Ed Latimore: And what we lack is a bouncing event because societies, it's just too easy. It's just too easy. What a lot of, you know, and let society can change all at once too. This is where people get upset about. Really, you know, this is kinda like what, what I take it a different way. Cause I see it a different way.
But generally speaking, right? This is what a lot of, red pilling red pill ideas are when it comes down to society is too easy. Our society thinks a certain way. Human biology drives you another way. And all our problems we have is when we have the class, but don't consider how to best mitigate it or direct people to a certain course of behavior.
What - I saying that because the issue of men, right. If we say there's an issue. When men mature in development. Human nature is going to want us to chill out and seek pleasure or minimize discomfort. Okay. That's - that's acceptable. Human nature is also going to want us to have an attractive woman around and have means to have great things. 
But, society. Has nothing to force us to develop anymore. We're not going to develop on our own. We want to avoid the pain, remember that. But society has taken away all the things that make people grow and develop. You know, what they called the, the generation after world war II, the greatest generation ever. And what did you have to survive? The Great Depression, World War Two, right? And these are just regular people. We're not, we're not talking about anyone that survived the Reconstruction of the South. The - these are hard events and a hard life, that make hard, harder human beings that really value our process and really value life. 
And it's not, it's not that it well, it wasn't the Netflix and Chill generation. It wasn't the Tinder generation. It wasn't the selfie go - people were just happy to have a job and make things happen. And, you know, I saw things side by side and it really summed it up. It, it was, it was some, some girl in a signup that goes "I have. I have my, my, my degree in gender studies. Hire me." And it was a sign from my guy during the depression. And he goes, "I speak three languages and served in a war and I can't find a job. Will work for anything." And it was like, this is the thing. There's nothing to force people to develop. That's why people can get away with a major and stuff like gender studies, because I can tell you 'till I'm blue in the face, go be an electrical engineer.
You're going to look at your surroundings and go, "What the hell should I do that for? That's very, very difficult. I don't want to do that, difficulty. Everyone around me is drinking and partying at school. I really want to do that. That seems easier." and then you got, you got people who came from that generation. It's not that their advice is bad. It just no longer applause, which is it doesn't matter what you major in and just get a degree. Right. They tell you that. And so they support a lot of dumb decisions. So you get this whole generation of people who do not have anything, forcing them to embrace pain. So they move away from it.
And I always say, if you, you can, you're going to be in pain, no matter what. Or you're going to be in pain because you were going after something, or you're going to be in pain because you're running away from something. Either way, it's going to burn your legs. Right? What are you going to hurt for? 
And no one's hurting to get better. Everyone is - everyone's trying to, trying to stay a certain way. And then all of a sudden they're 35 and they're like, "What the hell happened?" Right? And, but, but what I think is there's going to be a whole generation like man babies. I got, I got no other word for like - I mean - a whole generation of people who, who are freaking... I remember when I worked at Starbucks, I was 21. When, when this, when the internet first started, and that'll be even worse I think. But Bunch of people. I think I was the only one. There was one other girl, but everyone else there had bachelor's and master's degrees. And I was like, "What the hell happened?" Like what, how many wrong choices do you have to make to take out they master's degree and ended up working at - as a barista for like what were you making? Like nine an hour, maybe, plus tips?
How many bad choices do you have to make? Well, a better question is how many hard choices did you get to avoid? And when you look at, when you start looking at things like that, then it all makes sense. I'm a lot more things will make sense instead of looking at what you did wrong, look at the hard things you had to avoid.
Aaron Watson: Yeah, one of the, I've just picked this up really recently. It's I love that you said that because it's coming back to me, but every morning I'm trying to say, "I'm going to do the simple things that are hard." Because all these choices, whether that's, you know, you did your deadlifts and rose this morning, I did my pushups.
Whether that's, you know, I'm going to eat vegetables and not processed foods -
Ed Latimore: Right
Aaron Watson: or all these things are simple. The, the idea that we don't know what we're supposed to be doing, or that we don't know what the things that lead to success are, is a fallacy, but making the hard decision to not just do it once, but do it over and over and over and over again is hard.
That, that, that is not an easy thing to do for most people. So really trying to hone in on what simple things that are hard. Can I do every single day? That that to me is the number one kind of idea I'm trying to latch onto.
Ed Latimore:  Right. Because man, I really, over the past year, I really old past six months, half the years past, I really started to learn how to make money online. And then put it out in general, is this understanding money, right?
And it's not complicated. You don't need a finance degree. You know what? You, you, you know, the simplest thing you have to understand, this is what money, right? And I think many things in life involve money, the simplest thing you have to understand is, if you give people something valuable, they'll pay you for it.
That's it. Right. You get rid of that joke. Like, oh man, if I can get it, if I can get a million people to give me $1, I'd have a million dollars. What would you - it probably be a lot easier if you created something that people were like, "Ah! $15 is a steal, I'm going to buy that and then go learn, you know, the nuts and bolts of marketing, whatever.
But the, the... I wish you could have seen my first website when I first started out online with anything, it was just an, I mean, it was ugly. There was no other word for it. Now it's beautiful. It's beautiful and it's SEO optimized and I have a lot of people that support and like to read and like the writing. But you just got to start.
And I wrote, I don't, I don't write as much then. I don't worry as much now as I did then, but that's only because I'm working on other projects to build and, and continue to increase value. Because you can do any, you can do a lot of things wrong. Believe me, I've done a lot of things wrong. They probably left some dollars on the table, whatever.
Right. But the one thing I have not done wrong, which is why I, I think I continue to attract opportunities and meet cool people is I give value. And it's just a simple idea, super simple. You know, if you get that, you didn't mess up anything else. I, you literally can mess up anything else. I mean, here's how much we're saying you can mess up. For a long time, I didn't know my mailing link was broken. Traffic was cool, right. Didn't know that I was broke. What else was wrong? Oh, man. I, I, you know, you put out some bad articles, whatever, and people go, that's not gonna fly, but you, you put out value. But when we take that, I did anything else. Same with dieting, right?
Eating right and health. Man, people will put together a whole books and go for them because it looks valuable and it is valued. But the, the super easiest way to be healthy. I tell people three things for, if you want to be optional and live like me, but three things avoid sugar. Cook your own meals and don't consume calories.
You do those three things when you live forever, we're not living you'll at the very least you'll you'll eliminate most of what's going to break you down. And then the fourth optional thing, I don't drink alcohol, but like, you know, that's neither here nor there, but, but, but the three things, for sure, it's so super simple, Ain't no counting calories. Ain't no macro or micronutrients. Don't worry about cutting or fasting. Just do those 3 things.You'll be all good. You ain't even really got to go to the gym for real. I mean, but you can. 
Aaron Watson: Yeah, I just feel like when I work out or go to the gym, it makes it easier for me to make that decision to eat well. Cause like I did this workout, like I'm a little sore. I'm not gonna ruin that by throwing Cheetos in my mouth. 
Ed Latimore: Stacking good habits. Start with one habit. It's easier to stack another one on another one. And before you know, it. Before, you know, it, you got no tolerance for people with bad habits, you know, and then you get to that. And all of a sudden you're the bad guy, but...
Aaron Watson: I did it. We're gonna start wrapping up here before asked the last two questions. I have to ask you when you might find a little bit annoying,Mayweather - McGregor. I don't know anything about boxing. 
Ed Latimore: And you certainly aren't going to learn anything from this. The Mayweather - McGregor thing, man. Look. I really are applaud and I looked at it from all angles. So first let me say the positives. I think it is a great business move because I can only imagine like, like when you hear something like that, you would like to think, man, that's a great idea. Maybe I would have done the same thing. I'm not going to lie and I don't think anyone else will lie. There is no way. If we weren't, if I was in the room and I was part of Mayweather's team and somebody said, yo, man, you know what sounds like a good idea. We should have him fight Connor McGregor.I'd be like, "Man, sit your ass down."
Like this. There's no way anyone thought that. I would think that's a good idea, but, but someone raised their hand in a meeting in real life and said, you know what? I think will be a good idea. And they went, oh, we'll run with it. And I really think. Somehow he'll make more money probably from that fight when he fought Pacquiao. Oh, we'll se the the numbers. Businesses - great. Let's talk about the bad now. Here's a guy who toats himself as the best ever. Whatever, right. And this is just a boxing pet peeve. Toats himself as the best ever, you know, wants to put himself in that conversation. Has enough money. So it doesn't need to do it for money.
So when I go fight, there are any number of gods that you can fight that, that, you know, the people would care about. And we're not just talking about the Les fan. I mean, people will care about names that are up and coming. But maybe they beat you. Maybe they don't. But the point is we, you do this and I don't think it's, it's the bet already said.
The best thing that I already said, one of the worst things that happened to boxing was when they finally decided to fight Pacquiao. Past Pacqiao's prime, and the fight just wasn't and then it was doubled, you know, price and it wasn't a good fight. I think this is probably even worse for boxing. But this is just how I feel about it. 
There was boxing too, right? Let's put this in perspective. Here's a guy that won a gold medal. That means he probably had about 200 amateur fights, maybe 3. 49 professional fights. I've been doing this his whole life. Yeah. How many boxing matches has Conor McGregor had? 
Aaron Watson: You say? 
Ed Latimore: None man. None. I'd be, you know, now, now they had a clause, don't worry. Mayweather goes to the cage. I would be interested in that. Like I would actually watch the boxing match and then like, they, they had a clause, six months later, it goes to the cage. I'd be interested in that. Right. But I'm not interested in this. I mean, I don't even know date is I apparently it's signed or whatever, but we got, we got Triple G versus Alvarez.
We got It's another good fight coming up. I can't even remember. They were just talking about awhile. Oh, Ward and Kovalev. Possibly a unification battle. A heavyweight with Joshua and Walter, or we get Joseph Parker to fight one of those, and there's just, there's just too many good fights. And somehow this is what people care about.
So. Good, good, great, great business move in terms of, for the sport. Not interested. I remember I don't even want to care to fight. I know the caliber of the opponents he's fought. This fight should not last very long. 
Aaron Watson: Yeah. It's going to be interesting. And they are doing an amazing job of marketing it and getting eyeballs and people to care about it.
Ed Latimore: Way better than I thought they was. Put like that.
Man, somebody is really, somebody deserves a gold star because that that's a great idea. It's going to be great. I mean, it's going to be huge. I'm not going to. Yeah. 
Aaron Watson: Well, if, if people have liked all this perspective that you've shared in today's interview, I really want to encourage them to connect with you and the digital world. You are, I I'd say like in a select tier must follows in my opinion on Twitter. 
Ed Latimore: Oh, thanks man.
Aaron Watson: But if people want to connect with you in the digital world you're on Twitter at EdLatimore, where else can people check out your writing and the other stuff you're working on? 
Ed Latimore: EdLatimore Twitter, right? And the website is www.edlatimore.com. Every now and then I put little snippets on Facebook. On my, on my fan page is EdLatimoreBoxer, but also send those to my mailing list as well. Do a lot of writings, keep the mind sharp man writing, writing, writing. So, so you had a main page though, Twitter and Facebook. To or, Twitter or my website and Facebook. 
Aaron Watson: Awesome. Well, we'll be sure to link to that in the show notes at goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast.
This will be episode 226. Once again, you can check that out at goingdeepthereand.com/podcast. But ed, as we do at the end of every episode, I like it when my guests can issue an actionable personal challenge to leave them at the end of the interview with some to go do. So I gonna give you the mic one final time to challenge the audience. 
Ed Latimore: Do something you're afraid of.
There's not going to, you know, obviously don't go jump off a building or something stupid like that. Do something that you're afraid of to get your blood pumping. You think people care about the outcome, but they don't really care. Man. Go talk to some girl you've been, been worried about or whatever or go apply to some job, or tell, or apologize to a friend, give forgiven, do something that's going to make you uncomfortable as heck.
And then realize you're fine afterwards and that's where it starts. You realize the world doesn't end the world doesn't care, and then you really get power. 
Aaron Watson: And it translates across all those different areas. You do it in one area and those other consecutive areas are going to get easier.
Ed Latimore: Absolutely. 
Aaron Watson: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming here and sharing your time with us and your perspective. We just went deep with ed Latimore. Hope you've been out there has a fantastic day.