In Which Wolf introduces himself and explains why he's making this podcast.
In Which Wolf introduces himself and explains why he's making this podcast.
Released April 6, 2021
I'm Wolf McNally, and I'm here to challenge your bad thinking. Your life begins with your thoughts, and I want you to raise the bar on the level of your thinking, and ultimately the level at which you live your whole life.
Who am I? I'm a creative technologist, entrepreneur, bodybuilder, husband, and father. I'm also the inventor and publisher of the world's premier software tool for critical thinking: Flying Logic. And, I'm probably one of the least agreeable people you'll ever meet.
Prejudice, ideology, bias, distortion, mindlessness: bad thinking is everywhere. The world needs heroes to lead the way to better, higher, more valuable ways of thinking. These ways are timeless, and never more needed than right now. Some claim that these timeless ways of thinking are now dangerous. To them I reply: BEWARE OF WOLF.
I should probably explain what I mean by that. I mean that I am low in "trait Agreeableness," which is one of the “Big Five” personality traits that psychologists use. Agreeableness is broken down into two aspects: “compassion” and “politeness”. I score moderate on compassion, but extremely low on politeness.
My moderate level of compassion means that I’ll care for you about as much as you care for yourself: if I don’t think you’re doing everything in your power to pick yourself up, then don’t expect me to help carry you.
My extremely low politeness doesn’t mean I’m generally impolite or rude: it means that I value saying what I really think over protecting your feelings. I'm more concerned with living authentically than I am about preserving relationships for their own sake. I am not a “go along to get along” sort of person. I’d rather cut a friendship loose than hold tight to an inauthentic friendship.
Sure, I can hold back to protect someone's feelings if I choose. But one of the ways people low in Agreeability actually express that we care, is by being willing to say the hard things: to let you know what we really think, even if it's not what you want to hear. I have a motto I live by, and everyone who knows me well has heard it: "No skeletons in the closet, no elephants in the room, no sleeping dogs."
Part of what my particular personality has done is to prepare me to invent software like Flying Logic, which is used by Fortune 500 companies, governments and universities, consultants, trainers, and coaches around the world to help them think through some of their toughest challenges. It also has prepared me to make this show for you. So why I am I doing this?
I've been on this planet for 55 years, and in my lifetime I've seen truly bad thinking become more and more prevalent, even openly and proudly paraded in government, academia, business, and the media. Our schools are no longer teaching students how to think, but only what to think. In our complex, global information economy, we're sorely lacking the skills needed to think clearly; to make sense of the times in which we live; and to navigate the turbulent waters of our lives, our society, and the events of our modern world. Here is the hard reality: some ways of thinking are just better than others, and these days it takes a pretty disagreeable person to say that. Some ways of thinking have withstood the test of time, proven their worth, and created more human prosperity and flourishing than at any other time in history.
So much media is made talking about the particular issues of the current 24-hour news cycle. But so much of what constitutes good thinking, elevated mindset, strong character, and mature wisdom is timeless. It's so easy to get bogged down in the fear, uncertainty, and doubt of the times in which we're living, and there are too few touchstones to things that endure. Some time ago I realized that I wanted to make a show that focuses on these timeless ideas. I think you, my listeners, are smart enough to connect these ideas to your life and the world around you in meaningful ways. So in this show I'm rarely going to talk about what to think about events around us, which come and go; I'm going to talk about how to think in ways that will make you a stronger, better person.
And unless you think this show will be all brain and no heart, let me assure you: I'm a man of passions: for life, for love, and for humanity. Beauty is found in many timeless forms in both the arts and sciences, and life should be beautiful. Your life, my life, the lives of those we love and those we meet, in ever expanding circles. Truth and beauty are deeply interwoven concepts that I'm going to explore here, and they often defy rationality. There is a proper place in our lives for every facet of our minds including our emotions, our intuition, our subconscious, and even our Shadow: the side of ourselves we keep hidden from others and even ourselves.
This show is for those of you who want to improve the quality of your thinking, to live your highest values, to deepen your wisdom and understanding, to more deeply appreciate the beautiful, and to change your life and the world for the better. The journey I invite you on is one where I share what I've learned in my own life so far, and the new things I'm learning along the way. I'll be teaching you the keys to better thinking, and showing you how to avoid the pitfalls so many fall into. I'll be exploring the wisdom of the ages from all over the world that is still just as relevant today. And I'll be interviewing people who are inspiring leaders; in business, in personal growth and success, in creativity, and in making sense of the world.
This show is the continuation of a conversation that has been going on long before we were here, and that will hopefully continue long after we are gone. My hope is that most of these episodes will still be relevant decades from now. There is so much of enduring value to talk about, to preserve, to face without fear, to own, and to pass on. I'm truly excited to embark on this journey, and I hope you'll join me.
Learn more about the world's premier critical thinking tool Flying Logic at FlyingLogic.com. Help spread the word by rating and reviewing this show on your favorite podcast platform. Discuss this episode at BewareOfWolf.com. And keep raising the bar, whether the world likes it or not.