Dai Manuel's 2% Solution Podcast: Embracing Vulnerability and Authenticity

Josh (00:00:02) - We got five minutes on the clock. What's your name and what is your podcast show?

Dai (00:00:07) - Oh, nice to be here, Josh. Well, first of all, my name is Dai. I know people are going to be like, what the hell is that all about? And last names, man. Well, it's a Welsh first name. Portuguese last name. But as I told you earlier, Josh, I'm just a Canadian, so don't worry about it. And, uh, I'm the host of the 2% Solution podcast.

Josh (00:00:23) - What the heck is the 2% Solution podcast? Because before you were talking about authenticity and where does 2% and all this mix in? Tell us about it.

Josh (00:00:32) - Yeah.

Dai (00:00:32) - You know, gosh, you'd be almost 15 years ago, I made a decision based on a question my wife asked me. You know, she challenged me one morning when I woke up extremely hungover. And this is par for the course. You know, I was very good at never asking for permission, but always begging for forgiveness.

Dai (00:00:48) - And. And I had a real struggle with alcohol. You know, it's 32 at the time. And, uh, at the end of this conversation where we were exploring what life was going to be like to co-parent our kids versus being committed as parents living together. Um, you know, she asked me a question. She said, why are you being the type of man that you would want to marry your daughters? And it was just instant. Josh. It was like immediately I was I had this sense of overwhelm that, my goodness, I am that role model. I am that mentor. I am the measuring stick for my daughters about what is a great man. You know, and I really knew I was falling short of that. And so I made a commitment then to stop drinking and and really focus on all the yeses that I've been avoiding them in my life and really reprioritizing my health and well-being. But I also understood that I didn't know how to ask for help. Yeah. And so I had to learn to get vulnerable and ask for help.

Dai (00:01:41) - You know, as someone that I'm a male who identifies as a man, and I'll tell you how I've grown up, there's been very few men that mentor and model vulnerability in a strong way. You know, a way that I could get behind. And what I mean by that is just connection, right? Camaraderie, being able to do that. And so the 2% solution is really based on some of this journey I've gone through, but also this invitation to people to prioritize 2% of every 24 hours. For those that are really good at math, it's 28.4 minutes, but I just call it 30 minutes. I've had one guy reach out and obviously he's got a big brain because he had to correct me. It's not 30 minutes a day, it's 28.4 and I'm like, whatever. All right. And uh, and so yeah, the 2% solution just gives people a lot of tips, tricks, strategies. And I bring on some amazing guests that really they know way more than me. But, uh, and I tell everybody I'll be the probably not anywhere close to the smartest guy in the room, but I'm going to become friends with the guys that are.

Dai (00:02:34) - And I like to bring them in and really highlight them and where they can add value to people's lives. So, uh, yeah, that's sort of it. In a very quick, quick story arc.

Josh (00:02:44) - Yeah, I love it, man. I think it's such a great story. Are you the kind of man you want your daughters to marry? Man, that's such a I got two daughters and that's going to that's going to force me to, to rethink some of the decisions I make on a day to day basis. Uh, let me ask you a question. When it comes to launching, uh, becoming more authentic and transparent, what was the hardest thing about becoming authentic that you face? Because being behind a microphone, it's scary. Yeah.

Dai (00:03:12) - Oh, gosh. Yeah, totally. Well, I guess the thing is, is just trying to remember the people that are out there listening. They're people too, man. We're all just humans and we are emotional humans. We're not humans being emotional.

Dai (00:03:23) - And I think we have to understand the one predicates the other. You know, we are feeling people. We're sentient beings. And as such we learn. And we've passed on through generations, literally the millennia through storytelling. And what are the stories that we most remember, all the ones that moved us emotionally, the ones that we can say, oh my gosh, that is me. I see myself in that story. I've had that experience because this brings us all closer together. And and it's one of those things I don't think you can fake vulnerability. You know, I really don't like I think we see this in the world that we live with filtered images and filtered personas and, and just everything's very ego driven a lot of the time in our social world. And we have to wonder what's the motivation to being vulnerable? Is it for clicks? Is it for vanity metrics, or is it to make a difference, make an impact, and really relate to somebody that might be struggling to say, hey, I've been there too, you're not alone.

Dai (00:04:15) - And here's what worked for me, you know?

Josh (00:04:18) - Yeah.

Josh (00:04:19) - Man, that's so good. I really appreciate you. You sharing part of that story, man. Uh, I know we talk a lot about podcasting and, you know, diving into that for for people who want to learn more about you and your podcasts. Where's the good place for people to do that?

Dai (00:04:33) - Yeah. You know, I, I love Instagram. I mean, I'm most active on that social platform. Plus having a really unique name makes me really easy to find as long as you spell it right. So it's di man u l. So just that diamond. Well, even if you butcher the name, they've gotten so used to the autocorrect now they'll put me in there. But I share every episode there, at least a little audiogram and it links to my main sites. But you can hear the podcast on any platform that distributes, uh, podcasts. Cool.

Josh (00:05:00) - I hope you guys enjoyed these five minute chats with other podcasters.

Josh (00:05:04) - We'll see you all on the next one.