Get ready for THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 4! With co-hosts Rachel Bellotti (she/her) and Jenell Riesner (she/her), this is a gathering of un-sugar-coated conversations celebrating the untold stories of everyday people fearlessly finding and living their true north. 

In our own search to discover and live from our TRUE NORTH, we continue to meet many interesting, courageous people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of amazing things to live life in their own unique way. Stories from all over the world. Stories with heart. Stories with grit. Stories with plot twists. Stories going untold - until now. This season, we continue to celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.

Today, we talk with David Weiss, an internet connection who reached out to share his story about how he got into Flat Earth. Dave used to be a lifelong atheist who believed that Flat Earth was completely outlandish + silly until he took an honest look at it + to his surprise, it completely turned his life upside down. He quit his job, became an entrepreneur, found divinity, and never looked back. This episode unpacks beliefs + our propensity to simply take information at face value without verifying it or validating it for ourselves, poking holes + asking the hard questions, changing your mind, deception, holding unpopular understandings + how that impacts your interpersonal relationships, disrupting default patterns, NOT forcing people to wake up, and how Flat Earth has changed lives + brought people together into a community of kind + curious folx. We are so appreciative of Dave’s approach to  sharing this provocative + somewhat divisive idea of the earth being flat. His fun, inviting, non-attached passion will draw you in, have you tilting your head,  + taking a beat to consider what you previously thought you knew as truth. Have fun with this one - we did! <3

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• #amplifymelanatedvoices @ascendsun
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @mehcadbrooks
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @televisionblues
• Megalithomania
• 1984
• Deepinside the Rabbithole Podcast
• The Flat Earth Podcast
• The Flat Earth Sun Moon + Zodiac Clock App
• Tataria + the Mud Floods
• Circumnavigation for Dummies
• Flat Earth the Ultimate Litmus Test by Marty Leeds
• Sofia Smallstorm - The Outward Flow of Civilizations talk
• Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. What do you believe? Why do you believe it? Have you verified them? Or have you adopted them from an influence in your life that you decided you could trust without doing your own research? Or maybe you HAVE done your own research, which is awesome. When a new point of view comes along, do you simply defend your perspective or use the new information as a way re-test + reaffirm your existing belief or change your belief? We know as much as we know until we know more + then we need to be willing to adjust if we were wrong. There isn’t anything wrong with changing our minds. There is so much we don’t know, we cannot possibly have it all figured out, which means we will inevitably need to continue to re-prove our POVs or change our minds forever. If we don’t, we run the risk of blindly + rigidly defending outdated concepts + closing the door to connection, growth, + potential innovation.
2. When you stand solidly in your truth, you may lose people in your life who don’t understand or believe. And while this sucks sometimes, you also gain new communities of people who align with your truth. What is more important to you? To be surrounded by people who accept you for something you are not? Or to stand in your truth and know that the people who are around you accept you for exactly who you are? And maybe there’s even a third option where you can stand in your truth + be surrounded by people who accept you whether they agree with you or not. 
3. How do you invite people into a conversation that plants seeds vs forces concepts + ideas down people’s throats? The most sustainable way to gain traction on something is to be passionate, open to questions, + inviting. When we assume we know everything or that we + our way is the one + only “right” way, it is alienating to newcomers. It only creates separation with those who aren’t already with you. And that is no way to build a community because it leaves no room for people to explore + join in because they are genuinely curious + want to learn more for themselves. Letting people feel like they have been empowered to choose for themselves is the best way to influence + gain sustained community + connection. Try it in your life + see what happens if you demand your way vs holding your truth lightly + truly detaching from anyone needing to join you. Notice which attracts more sustained interest.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [0:05] Callout that this episode is helpful to watch, you can watch on Youtube if you want to reference the visuals being discussed. If you cannot view on video, you will still get the gist - ENJOY!
• [2:00] Amateur windsurfing
• [5:00] Globe distances are actually inaccurate + actual flight patterns lend some intrigue around the true shape of the earth 
• [8:10] The shape of the flat earth + Antarctica realities
• [14:46] AD: We created the TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE podcast to make space for us to figure out who we are + WTF it means to be yourself. And now we’re calling you all in to a larger community conversation so you can be a live part of these conversations + share your voices in real time! Join our monthly virtual workshops that navigate different facets of authenticity, held on the first Thursday of every month @7:30pm CST (only $15), +/or our THE COLLECTIVE, our free community conversation on the third Thursday of every month @7:30pm CST. We also have some new podcast series coming up in addition to AMPILFY. Check out UNPACK, our mash-up episodes where we bring on a mix of voices from around the world to unpack + wrestle with a topic of authenticity as a group to bring more voices + perspectives into the mix. Sign-up for the workshops + COLLECTIVE here, + if you’re interested in being on an UNPACK episode, shoot us a DM + we’d love to add you to the next conversation. Looking forward!
• [15:55] Welcome, David!
• [17:08] Beliefs, trust, + lack of verification 
• [21:00] Trading in common sense
• [23:00] Ask the questions that you need to ask - don’t just take data at face value
• [26:30] It’s ok to change your mind as you learn new information
• [28:00] Why the lie?
• [31:00] From the  corporate world to a full on Flat Earth advocate
• [36:30] Signs
• [38:25] What is the Flat Earth community like?
• [45:50] Blind beliefs + challenging your beliefs
• [48:00] Circumnavigation deception
• [52:00] AD: If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know Jenell is pretty obsessed with Whoop, a wearable that tracks your heart rate variability + gives a ton of in-depth data around recovery, strain, sleep. To get your first month of whoop free + a free whoop strap, use this link to sign-up or DM Jenell via IG @jaynelreese!
• [59:20] How interpersonal relationships are impacted when you support non-mainstream ideas
• [1:05:02] Planting seeds 
• [1:06:00] The Flat Earth Sun Moon + Zodiac Clock App
• [1:15:00] An invitation to disrupt your default patterns
• [1:17::20] “How Flat Earth has impacted my life…”
• [1:21:00] Don’t be willfully ignorant
• [1:24:00] How do you live your TRUE NORTH in 1 word?
• [1:25:30] Connect with Dave via flatearthpodcast.com or via IG @theflatearthpodcast