 Oy, mate, 40 here. So I've been I've been looking for a job in Australia and there are lots of jobs for tradies and There aren't any jobs for gurus. It doesn't seem like Doesn't seem like hardly anyone here in Australia has a guru. So why are gurus so big in America, but not Big in Australia. Like what is it about American character that makes Americans so Desirous of gurus and what is it about the Australian character that makes People not particularly interested in guru. So gurus just really aren't part of the psyche here in Australia And I think it has to do with in part the individualist nature of Americans versus the more collectivist nature of Australia. So in Australia you've got mateship so you have your mates you have your friends and individually standing out is not as a Bigger value in Australia. So in Australia we got to a poppy syndrome where if people stand out Then people around them, you know, want to Cut them down a bit. There's an irreverence to Australian culture and kind of a suspicion of people who want to stand out like a normal Normal bloke just wants to be with his mates So I think Americans are particularly susceptible to gurus because of individualist driving There's much more of an ethos of now anyone can be you can be president of the United States You can accomplish anything you want. You can you can go for your dreams. You can start that business You can you know invent something that will change the world. You can lead a social justice movement. You can You can accomplish anything the sky's the limit, you know, you go for it and in Australia the attitude is much more you fit in with your mates and You don't want to appear as though you're striving to be better than than anybody else. So There's this great podcast that I love decoding the gurus. It's a couple of academics. So one bloke's One bloke is Australian. All right. He's a psychologist at the University of Central Queensland which is they've got they've got campus, you know 30 minutes drive from here and other campuses in Central Queensland and Then there's another bloke who's an Irishman who's an academic in Japan. He's a Anthropologist and and psychologist and they do this great podcast decoding the gurus About people like Jordan Peterson Sam Harris Michaela Peterson Jordan's daughter who's into the wonderful world of meat and they interview people like Stuart Ritchie Who deke helps to decode gurus? Covid skeptics they do a lot of a lot of stuff on the covert skeptics Jordan Hall Superficial pitter-patter on the neocortex. They've interviewed Sam Harris. So anyway, all these gurus are big in America And they have a much smaller following in, you know, kingdom and Australia. So You don't hear in Australia people saying oh my pastor says my therapist says my yoga teacher says Like I'm asking around people can't even think of anyone who joins a cult So why Americans so much more susceptible to joining a cult and Australia's not so I think it has to do with the individualist versus collectivist attitude so Australia's not as collectivist as Japan, but it's more collectivist and cohesive more group oriented more community oriented than America so in America's individualist outlook, I think a lot of people get disconnected and And if you get disconnected from family and get disconnected from community and friends then then you can have a desperate need for meaning So a normal person doesn't have a desperate thirst for meaning, but if you Don't have normal level of human connection You're gonna have a desperate first for meaning and that's gonna leave you wide open for cults For conspiracy theories for superstition for all sorts of nonsense and a desperate need for a guru And this is not something that I'm I'm above and beyond like I have felt At times in my life, you know a desperate yearning to join a community, which you could call a cult I'm a convert to orthodox Judaism and many people would regard orthodox Judaism as a cult and I did Kundalini yoga for two years It was it was a wonderful loving community So that that intense love and and bonding and human connection that you get from joining a cult I am not immune from that. I find it very attractive as well So when people don't have normal human connection, they thirst for connection They'll find it through cults then if they can't find it through connecting with people or concrete community They'll find it in you know making sense out of life They'll start reading meaning into all sorts of things where meaning is not there and so Hewanon exists in Australia, but I think it's much less intense than in America because I think Australians have less of a need for Ultimate meaning because they have mates right most Australians are part of a community and That they have more connections and stronger connections So one thing I love about being in Australia is the quick bonds that you form with people the human connection the the mateship circle and Life is not lonely if you're a normal person in Australia And so when you have your mates when you have family and friends and community You don't have that desperate need to read meaning into all sorts of events where objectively meaning is not there And so your normal person your life revolves around your family your work your community Your mates your hobbies and you don't need to get into grand conspiracy theories So one thing that struck me about Australia is the need total lack of gurus to the extent that Australians follow any gurus It's in that kind of self-deprecating You know not too serious It's like oh, you know I heard Jordan Peterson say or I heard Sam Harris say or I had you know past the Tim Keller say But it's not nearly as serious because I don't think Australians generally speaking compared to many Americans have that desperate need For connection to a guru They don't have that desperate need to make sense of the universe. They don't have that desperate need to read Meaning into you know, political or business in Los Angeles You want to stay inside due to unknown criminals and madness and bad temper and all the homeless and the the drug addicts Yeah, so I'm here in Tannum Sands Australia and No help wanted ads for gurus here a lot of help wanted ads for tradies But don't see anyone with that that desperate need for meaning that there's something about being in Australia that just kind of I noticed it kind of comes down my Desperate need for attention seeking and connection So when I'm connected, I don't need as desperately to get attention because I've got my mates But when I'm disconnected from people then my more bizarre extreme attention seeking behavior comes out because it's coming from a place of desperation And whenever you're desperate whether you're desperate for for meaning desperate for attention desperate for connection You're gonna make a lot of really bad judgments And so in Australia you got your mates and you got community and you feel at ease with the people around you generally speaking There are lots of opportunities to connect in groups clubs sporting clubs life-saving clubs and So I just don't see that same Need for gurus like self-help there's self-help in Australia and particularly if you're in sales You want to go to seminars, but it's not as intense. You should do outback spiritual walkabouts Yeah, I'll start my own walk about So I mean Australians read self-help and listen to self-help, but I'd estimate my guess is is maybe one quarter one-third as intense as the states Maybe Australians aren't as entrepreneurial as Americans So they're you know less likely to take the Tony Robbins seminar I mean if you're in sales in Australia, then you'll read that so you know I have people close to me who got into sales for a few years in real estate and they read things like Dale Carnegie's how to win friends and influence people That's a very American book like there are Australians who read it But that sort of book primarily comes out of America like who is that bloke Benjamin Franklin who wrote you know One of the first self-help books back in the 18th century So you'll notice that almost all the self-help gurus come out of America Is there a big fishing industry there there is a big fishing industry there and so let's have a look at the beautiful ocean out There so yeah a lot of fishing and there are like fishing campouts here Party fishing boats yeah, so you want to do some fishing then central Queensland's your place So I find fishing absolutely Insufferable like I just can't get into it I feel very squeamish about killing the fish you know hauling the fish in and then I feel rather bored by just sitting In a boat waiting for the fish so fishing is not for me But people there are people close to me who just absolutely love fishing so I think the more things you can get passionate about in life The better so yeah, absolutely lots of lots of fishing here and you got to check out the sign Yeah, so you got to watch out for the crocodiles. We've got the Boine River nearby and so we got some crocodiles not many sharks Here but there are boys you might be able to see the boys There's a boy about half a mile offshore. I used to swim out to the boys and They're like packs of sharks that you know swim by but they usually don't eat too much human flesh So yeah, watch out for the crocodiles Cheers, mate