Every episode of The Upgraded Man ends the same way. There is a journal. The guest reads what the last guest wrote, answers it honestly, then leaves one line for whoever sits in the chair next. They do not get to know who that is.
This week it is Florian Kemmerich, impact investor, author of On Vocation, and co-founder of Human Planet. He is a father of five, a former paratrooper, and a man who has moved close to a billion dollars of capital into places most investors will not go.
The entry waiting for him was from Joel Bein:
"Men need more empathy."
Florian does not hedge. He says empathy is the link between humans because it goes further than tolerance. Tolerance puts up with someone. Empathy tries to understand a man who is different from you. Then he takes it one step past feelings and says the part men actually need to hear. Men who are more empathetic end up more successful.
Chris answers with a line he has been saying all season. Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. A man can be gentle, understanding, and still get things done and still defend what is his. Then he adds the piece almost nobody says. Men need empathy for themselves too, because they are getting hit from every direction with what a man is supposed to be.
Then Florian writes his own entry for the next guest, and it lands on the thing every man is worried about right now.
In this episode:
- Joel Bein's entry, and why empathy is more than tolerance
- Why empathy makes a man more successful, not softer
- Warrior in a garden, and empathy pointed back at yourself
- Florian's new entry on identity, vocation, and the AI economy
- Why the answer is not inside the AI, and what to use the tool for instead
Find Florian at on-vocation.com, human-planet.com, and vocating.ai. The full episode with Florian Kemmerich is out now.
The Upgraded Man is for men who refuse to stay complacent. Full episodes Monday, Best Moments Wednesday, Journal entries Friday.
This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.
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