The person that has influenced me the most in my life, THAT I have never met is.....

The person that has most influenced my life, I have never met is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Nah, it is really UFC commentator, podcast host, and stand-up comedian Joe Rogan.  
Around 2006 I started listening to podcasts. At the time I was resigned to living on automatic mode. Wake up, get pissed off, go to work, get high, watch a movie, sleep and repeat. This went on for years. If I was not able to learn new stuff and listen to others points of view while working a job I hated, life would have stayed stagnant for me and I would not have taken the risk to work at becoming happy. 

The older I got, the smaller my bubble became. I grew apart from friends and was surrounded by people that did not share the same interest. Art was not as important in my life, my imagination lacked stimulation, and my body needed activity. My world view shrunk, as well as my open mind. I had become the old, but practical, angry man that was happy waving my cane at kids and bitching about the weather. Listening to The Joe Rogan Experience re-opened doors in my mind, that had been closed for too long. A huge catalyst toward me changing the way of my existence was The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.
                                                                      

Powerful Joe Rogan, powerful.

The Joe Rogan Experience is a show driven by conversation. Rogan interviews fighters, celebrities, and fellow comedians. A lot of times he will track down someone that specializes in something he is interested in, to gain perspective, or a different opinion on the subject. Joe Rogan’s interviews seem honest, and organic. Some shows sound like a bunch of friends talking, while others are more traditional interviews. Sometimes the show  breaks out in debate, it has a lot of stories of how guests have made it to where they are, it can be offensive, hilarious and dead serious at times. Joe Rogan encourages his guests and listeners to be the best Earthlings they can be.    

 

Bert Kreischer                                                   

                                                                                                                     

  One of my recent Favorite episodes of TJRE. 

 

 Mr. Rogan, through his podcast, inspired me to change my life drastically. First I felt more comfortable in the world, knowing that others out there thought deep about topics that society does not always take seriously. Marijuana, privatized prisons, conspiracy theories, movies and religion are a few of the topics I refer to. Sometimes I do not agree with the views of  Rogan or his guest, but his show got me listening to others beliefs. Rather than be ignorant of what I condemn, I try to listen to all sides of a topic. I am a more tolerant person.                                                        

  
Joe Rogan promotes creativity and art. I started to paint again, and this forced my broke down imagination train to start rolling again. I started I also joined a couple of horror movie groups online, which gave me an outlet to express what I felt of others art. Hell, I write fiction in my free time now. I am an artist.

Fetalskull by James Hogan

Probably the biggest role Joe Rogan has played in my life is he inspired me, at 36 years old, to walk into a gym and sign up for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes. At the time, I weighed 250lbs. Within six months I was down to 200lbs. I trained hardcore for three years and stopped because of work hours. So, I quit that job, came to school, and now, at 41 years old, I have started training again. One of the most important lessons BJJ, and Rogan have taught me is not to be distracted by failure, it is how we learn. I am a martial artist.

I would like to thank Joe Rogan. for inspiring me to live life with a positive mental attitude.