Actually, some of your greatest power will come to light in groups.

And that's kind of what I learned was like as an individual,

you do have power, but you can only do so much.

When you come into a group that can share a common cause,

woof, sky's the limit, you know, you can really make serious change.

So why is it that so often we need to be brought to our knees in order to wake up and reclaim

what really matters? And does it actually have to be that way?

These are just a few of the questions that we dive into with my guest today, Diego Perez,

who's best known by his virtual moniker, Young Pueblo.

Born in Guy Kill Ecuador, he moved with his family to Boston where he saw his parents work

relentless hours and struggle with poverty. And he turned to activism and advocacy at a young age,

went to Wesleyan where his life then devolved into partying in drugs that really threatened to

become a way of being as he moved into adulthood. But in a moment of profound reckoning that would

awaken him, both through his own need to refocus on mental health and physical well-being,

as well as a different way to live. He re-centered meaning in his work and life, and a quest was

set in motion. One that would eventually lead Diego into a 10-day Vipassana meditation experience

that had a transformational effect and would set him on a path of self-discovery,

and an ever-deepening devotion to a now years-long two hours a day meditation practice,

regular extended retreats, and the pursuit of truth and wisdom. And now a part of that also

involved writing. And what began as a tool to process his own experiences? Well, it eventually

became a public writing practice, and his words landed in a powerful way, a massing a global

audience of millions of people, writing under the pseudonym Young Pueblo, which is both a reminder

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