The Athletic Philosopher Podcast

Episode 52: Interrogated on Sports by The Great 'DecafQuest'

In this episode, I hand over my hosting job to the fabulous online philosopher Mahmoud Rasmi (AKA Decafquest @decafquest) to interrogate my philosophical ideas on the role and value of sport. 
It's a live exhibition into a philosophical debate but also one where I'm put on the defensive and forced to present and then defend my views, similar to how an athlete subjects themselves to the rigor and outcome of the contest.
We talk about Happy Gilmore and becoming, the ideal of virtue, what is goodness, how can experience shape perception, and many other interesting philosophical topics that has us both wanting to explore more without necessarily coming to any solid conclusions. Perfect illustration of how to properly 'do' philosophy.
If you're interested in checking out some of the coaching that I discuss in this episode, namely how to create a fitness routine based on spiritual understanding and internal knowing send an email to drjordanbgoldstein@phyaacademy.com with the subject COACH and let's connect.
Please check out Mahmoud's excellent book and philosophical opportunities in the links below:
Philosophy For Business Leaders: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8409559501?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_3FVKS3PCE991GTJ9ABMC&starsLeft=1&skipTwisterOG=1&language=en-US
DecafQuest: https://decafquest.com/

Episode 51: No man ever runs the same trail twice

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
This famous quote from the Ancient Greek Philosopher Heraclitus sets the stage for a deep reflective dive into my recent experiences running trails back in Canada. I became a trail runner out of deep love of the activity and have missed the rugged forest trails since moving to the North Shore of Chicago 8 months ago.
I discuss where my love of trail running came from, how the ideas of 'change and permanence' can be understood through athletic training, and how a few recent trail runs on the old tracks help me best understand and live this ancient wisdom. 
Big takeaway for you on how playing from the heart gives us an incredible vantage point to know ourselves, discover ourselves, and improve ourselves. This is sport aimed from the spirit.  

Episode 50: Does playing sports make you holy?

Episode 50! Wow team, we made it.
In this episode I dive deep into the spiritual nature of athletic training by synthesizing the classical Greek ideal of 'virtue' with the ancient Hebrew ideal of 'holiness.'
I make my argument that practicing sports towards this nature can indeed make one holy and provide historical, philosophical, and theological evidence.
This ideal forms the basis of how I practice sports, to become more righteous, to gain moral courage, and to then actualize my values through creative and truthful endeavors (the training and competing)
Listen, learn, open your heart, and apply the wisdom of thousands of years becoming alive in your body, mind, and spirit. 

Episode 49: The Creativity Podcast

This is another direct response episode where I answer a question directed at me by coaching clients, teammates, or mutuals on social media. Two of my teammates mentioned how they wanted to know my process for creating and putting together a book I have planned for a 2027 release. Perfect opportunity to describe how I'm thinking about creative output and process in 2025 and how it maps up to my successful training philosophy over the past 12 years.
I discuss how fun/enjoyment and frequency are the primary motives powering what I choose to create, how I create it, and my ability to publish and share that creative output that I learned from training from the heart. 
There's so much connection between athletic training and creativity that I will return to this subject frequently, but this is a great start and gives you an inside look into how I think about creativity and the role physical training can play in helping you become a consistently excellent creator.
To get into contact with me follow me on X (@JB_Goldstein) or find me on Substack (https://jordanbgoldstein.substack.com/). Let's keep winning together Team! 

Episode 48: Rituals Beat Routines Every Time in Fitness

Episode 48 is another direct response to a question I got on social media, this time asking for my 'professor's' take on the difference between rituals and routines.
I love this topic as it let's me talk about the importance of intention and aim when it comes to fitness, especially making it a consistent part of your life for both physical and spiritual health. 
Take a listen and think about ways you can transform fitness from just a routine into a powerful ritual of self knowing, self discovery, and self mastery on the way towards your true potential.
Sports philosophy is really cool when we get to apply the wisdom directly into living the good life through sports and this episode gets right to the heart of the matter. 

Episode 47: Bending Time and Space Through Physical Effort (The Deep Philosophy Episode)

This is the one where I go deep into the nature of sport and it's ability to define and reshape reality. 
After a good prompt from my own coach and a fellow philosopher, both of whom I'll be racing with later this summer, I needed to hit record and let my stream of consciousness flow forth freely. 
I have deep ideas on the purpose of sport and one of the 'wilder' theories I have is it as the best interface with reality and consciousness because of its simultaneous ability to generate objective and subjective truths .
In this episode I explore how intentional acts of physical courage, whether through sport or other types of exertion (or abstention), shape and reshape the nature of reality from an ontological (what is the nature of reality?) perspective. 
This goes well with episode 46 where I ended off suggesting I wanted to start sharing more of my ideas like this, perfect time to get started! 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast: Episode 46 The Olive Wreath Wilts in a Day - The True Meaning of Sport

This episode goes deep into my philosophical and historical take on the recent Scottie Scheffler press conference where he seemingly dismissed the outcomes of sport as meaningful. 
After two tribal athletes I coach pinged me for my take I knew I had to hit record and let fly. 
Perfect timing because I've been meditating on core concepts from the ancient greeks and also the importance of internal motivation reading 'The Game' by Ken Dryden. I attempt to create strong Gnterpretive threads to explain the depth of Scheffler's remarks and how they synch to the original ideal of sport as a spiritual quest to build character and gain virtue.
The ending teases a larger grand view of my overall philosophy, something I will attempt to nail down in written form sooner rather than later. 
Thanks for listening and supporting a wild dive into the ideas that lay behind the motive power of sport. 
BONUS LINKS
Scottie Scheffler Press Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVhG50KAPIE

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 45 Stacking small wins and training from the heart for consistent fitness

In this episode I peel back the curtain and discuss my practice of stacking small wins in fitness over a long time span that lead to incredible growth over that time period. I share how I've gone about staying consistent over the past 12 years that has me in the best fitness of my life as I aim at turning 40 next year. 
My methods are more intuitive and feel based but are backed by expert trainers and the philosophies they've used to train the some of the world's best athletes. The aim is not to boast about myself, but use my path as an example for people looking to find consistency in fitness but haven't been able to crack the code for themselves. 
I give 3 important pillars to build this type of foundation for yourself and aim you out from the heart in order to make it stick, when so often fitness has been elusive at best. This is an inside look into how I build fitness routines and lifestyles for my coaching clients and athletes which then launches self growth, personal development, and living a life of values. 
Happy training team and let's keep winning together! 
 
 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 44 What I Think About When I'm Running

Episode 44 is my response to a question I get all the time from people when they find out I'm an endurance athlete who likes to run long distance "What do you think about?"
I detail the 3 main categories of thought that I oscillate between on runs to describe my beliefs on the meditative aspect of running without external distraction or stimulus. I then use those  3 categories to provide you 3 ways you can begin to use running to find that inner signal that meditation affords the consistent practitioner.
Part explanation, part coaching, part exploration, I hope you enjoy the way my mind operates while running miles and miles undisturbed and inspires you to unplug and allow the mind to wander while the body moves with purpose. 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 43 How I Made My Way in Online Business

Episode 43 takes a bit of a different turn but it's all part of the same long winding path of using athletic training to mine the depth of truth in our lives. This episode is a direct response to a fellow academic traveller I met during the free speech wars of 2017-18 when I was a university professor making enemies in the administration that likely led to me parting ways with the Ivory Tower a few years later. This friend asked me about my experiences in business after leaving my prof job. This episode is my direct response. 
I talk about my journey by discussing why I chose online business, why an open mindset was my secret weapon, things I'd do a bit differently, and advice to anyone who is curious about taking a run at the online business world. One of my key secrets is the training and I make sure to highlight how important physical training is to helping you as an entrepreneur in the digital space. 
At the end, it's all about not quitting when things are tough and not going your way, and the virtues of courage and fortitude you get from the training help immensely in your mindset and actions in the business world. That's what I've learned about the synthesis between the two in my 5 years of creating space for myself in the digital landscape. 
Lots of good advice in here about making it your way, on your own terms, and living life by your design that I hope inspires someone to take the first step on their own heroic journey!