Starting something new always comes with that voice in the back of your head. What if this doesn't work? What if nobody buys anything? I remember that feeling well when we launched the Art of Manliness store. You're putting something out there and hoping it connects. One thing that made it easier was using Shopify. We've used it for years now to run the AOM store and it handles everything behind the scenes so we can focus on the actual stuff we do, the content we do in AOM and the

products we sold. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world

and 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. from big brands to smaller operations like ours.

It lets you manage everything in one place, inventory, payments, analytics, without having to

stitch together a bunch of different tools. It also helps you reach customers with built-in email and social media tools,

and that shop pay checkout makes a real difference.

Fewer abandoned carts, more completed purchases.

It's time to turn those what-ifs into success with Shopify today.

Sign up for your $1 per month trial of the day at Shopify.com slash manliness.

Go to Shopify.com slash manliness go to shopify.com slash manliness

that's shopify.com slash manliness brett mackay here and welcome to another edition of the

aOM podcast which since 2008 has featured conversations with the world's best authors

thinkers and leaders that glean their edifying life-improving insights without the fluff and filler. The AOM podcast is just one part of the McKay mission to help individuals practice timeless virtues through thought, word, and deed. Also, be sure to explore our articles in Art of Manlius.com, read the deeper dives we do in our substack newsletter at dyingbreed.net and turn our content into real-world action

by joining the Strenuous Life program at StrenuousLife.com. Now on to the show.

While we often think of life as linear, my guest's own life, along with a decade of research, has taught him that it's anything but.

In his latest book, What to Make of a Life, Jim Collins impacts the cyclical pattern life actually unfolds in and how to navigate it.

He explains how we all go through periods of fog, times of disorientation and uncertainty at least three times, in youth, after a life-changing cliff event and as we move

through midlife into older age. We find our way out of these fogs by what Jim calls coming into frame,

aligning what you're built to do with what you actually do in a way that feels enlivening and meaningful.

And Jim impacts the three elements that help you find and refine this frame over the course of your

life. Along the way, Jim shares case studies of these principles at work, and we explore the role of luck,

the inevitability of drudgery, even in work you love, and how to keep your inner fire lit over the long haul.

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