Mind Castle
Episodes
Take the Stairs: The Power of the 2% Mindset
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why take the stairs instead of the escalator? Turns out, it's really important, and we unpack how it matters to your life in this episode. Getting...
We Filmed A Documentary in Europe. Here's What We Learned
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Reagan and Austin recently filmed a documentary series across Europe. 3 weeks, 6 countries, all combining into 10 episodes to be released in 2026. Thi...
"You Will Own Nothing and You Will be Happy"
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's an important concept in philosophy called techno-feudalism, which deeply affects all of us in the modern world. As the world moves farther...
Reclaiming Focus in a Overstimulated World
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Austin spent nearly a year working on a special project: creating a physical notebook planner and using it instead of technology. While that seems cou...
The Law of Inversion
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss a simple tactic to break any skill down into a manageable to-do list with something called the Law of Inversion. It uses o...
Austin Lived in Mexico to Learn Spanish
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Austin tells a few of the lessons he learned from living in Mexico, learning Spanish. Learning a language is perhaps one of the highest bars of learni...
This is the Danger of a BUSY Life - Essentialism Part 4
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We finally wrap up the book Essentialism, ending in part 4 which holds many important things to consider. This part is about execution, specifically, ...
How to Eliminate the Unimportant - Essentialism Part 3
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our deep dive of the book Essentialism, specifically how to say no and eliminate what is not important in our lives. It's essential to lea...
How to Explore & Discern What is Most Important in Life - Essentialism Part 2
16 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is part 2 of our deep dive through the book Essentialism, specifically how to explore and discern what matters most in life. This concept comes f...
The revolutionary concept of ESSENTIALISM - Part 1
09 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it means to live a life as an "essentialist"? What is essentialism and how can it impact our lives? There's a lot to break dow...
The Habit Formula
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Habits have the potential to change your life, and there's a formula that helped me understand this. In the words of Aristotle: “We are what we ...
The art of listening
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Austin and Reagan take a deep dive into how we can become better listeners. Without a doubt, being a good listener is one of the most...
The art of good communication (and why it matters)
26 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Austin and Reagan talk about the core of what makes good communication. The art of simple, clear, concise communication is not easy b...
Exploring life's curiosities
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss some of our many curiosities. Bouncing off of a previous episode where we discussed the benefits of being curious, here we...
The man who saved the world (that you never heard of)
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the Mind Castle Podcast discusses how one man's life can have a profound impact on the rest of the world. How our choices do matt...
The mosaic of knowledge: frameworks for understanding the world
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What do skydiving, polar plunges, and learning Spanish have in common? In this episode, Austin and Reagan discuss expanding of frameworks of reality a...
Did curiosity REALLY kill the cat?
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Austin and Reagan discuss what curiosity is and how pulling on the thread of curiosity is essential for a vibrant life. Many of us have heard sayings ...
Why does Mind Castle exists? And what we've been up to...
24 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Austin and Reagan discuss what has been their recent interests and endeavors in life, what's happened in the last 6 months, and what'...
The clock of the long NOW
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin talk about time and how we relate to it. For example, when you think of "now" what do you think of? Over ...
How to know what really matters in life
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Austin talks about how he did something most 22-year-olds probably don't do, and Reagan explains why the number 4,000 will change you...
How Victor Hugo DESTROYED his procrastination
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin dive into a prolific author of the 1800s, Victor Hugo, and learn powerful lessons from his life. One of these skill...
Austin goes viral on YouTube (1 million views in 2 weeks)
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a quick release of a defining moment in Austin's life. In just under two weeks one of Austin's videos got over 1 million views, and this podca...
The most undervalued resources at our fingertips
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Austin and Reagan discuss what they classify as the most undervalued resource. The episode covers a few other aspects, but mostly dial...
The value of childhood novelty
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We built a ridiculous treehouse, and it just kept getting bigger. Speed Reading Course (By Austin) Scribd (one month free) Reagan's Goodreads Reagan's...
What our daily lives look like (it's actually super boring)
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin unpack what a typical week looks like. A thread of this episode is pulling apart the "perfect" internet presence be...
What We've Read this Year, and Why It Matters
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reagan and Austin follow up on a previous episode, where we set reading goals they for this year (listen to that episode here). Reagan set off to read...
What its like to jump out of a plane at 10,750 feet - We FINALLY went skydiving!
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We've been teasing it for a while, and it finally happened! Reagan took Austin skydiving for the first time. Austin had never experienced falling for ...
How do we build mental models? The Ravikant series, pt. 4
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Practically, how do we build good mental models and find first principles to apply to our lives? We continue our discussion of Naval Ravikant, and div...
Austin's brain gets broken by the 2nd law of thermodynamics - The Ravikant series, pt. 3
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We dive into some physics, and Austin gets his mind blown learning how the 2nd law of thermodynamics applies to daily life. This is the 3rd episode in...
Building trust, compounding interest, and providing value - The Ravikant series, pt. 2
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, the...
What is specific knowledge and how does it affect our lives? The Ravikant series, pt. 1
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss Naval Ravikant, one of the most successful investors of his time. While Naval has never written a book, the...
Why choose to travel when home is comfortable?
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this video, Reagan and Austin discuss travel and the mindset behind it. Specifically, what gives them such an urge to do it. Austin draws a picture...
Winston Churchill & the exceptional life
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Churchill lived one of the most productive and extraordinary lives of the last century. How was Churchill able to do this and become one of the greate...
The Macgyver Method - An easy way to solve hard problems
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder how many creatives think of good ideas? When someone's income relies on being creative, how do they not run out of ideas? In this episode,...
Austin quit caffeine...and NEARLY WENT BLIND
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nausea, dizziness, and extreme fatigue were all experienced by Austin after quitting caffeine. Why would anyone do this? Is it to prove a point? Some ...
Why you should build a second brain
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Human brains are good at thinking of things, but not the best at remembering them. Ever since this whole internet thing, it has been pure brain overlo...
What can we learn from how monks think of achievement?
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Mind Castle, Reagan and Austin take a look at an idea that Austin recently did in a YouTube video called "The simple idea that chan...
How to Learn Effectively - The Maple Syrup Principle
25 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to learning information, there is a lot of noise. If you don't believe that, just open Twitter. How do you cut through the noise and get...
How to Decide What to Read in the Oversaturated Information Era
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode finishes building on the previous episode, discussing first principles and how to choose what is most important to you. Finding baseline ...
The Cook and the Chef - Reasoning from First Principles
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a lot to learn from Elon Musk. In this episode, Reagan and Austin dive into one of the fundamental things that sets Elon apart. This is his a...
Hustle Culture. What is it, and Can it Teach Us Anything? - Mind Castle Ep. 11
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hustle culture, toxic productivity. What are they, and are they healthy for a meaningful life? Is it the only way to win in life? In this episode, Rea...
Why Would ANYONE Take COLD SHOWERS??? - Mind Castle Ep. 10
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why would someone endure such pain and abnormality of behavior by taking a cold shower?? In this episode, we discuss a very specific way Austin c...
Inaction is a Slow Death (Sugar Coated Lies) - Mind Castle - Ep. 9
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin Schrock discuss the importance and absolute need for intentionality in maintaining a healthy mind. We open with an ...
MUST READ Books From 2021 | Reading Year Recap - Mind Castle Ep. 8
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Reagan and Austin discuss the books we have read in 2021. We narrow it down to our favorite books (a hard task) and then discuss why ...
How Chess Legends are Made | Mind Masters and Disproving Innate Talent - Mind Castle Ep. 7
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How are legends made? A common belief is that people are born with talent, or get hit with a lightning bolt of ability that rockets them to greatness....
How to read more efficiently - Mind Castle Ep. 6
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's the difference between people who love reading, and people who don't? What strategy does one person use that enables them to enjoy reading whil...
Why we read so many books - Mind Castle Ep. 5
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Between Reagan and I (Austin) we read close to 150 books a year (Reagan reads more than I do...). What drives Reagan to read close to 100 books a year...
We Each Have a Superpower - Mind Castle Ep. 4
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's your superpower? In this episode, Reagan and I (Austin) discuss one of the unique skill sets we each have and how we use it. Both of our's invo...
Why We Document Our Lives - Mind Castle Ep. 3
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we are discussing and contemplating the importance of documenting the lives that we live. Between the two of us, we have a combine...
Busyness as a Proxy for Productivity - Mind Castle Ep. 2
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we dive into a book called "Deep Work" by Cal Newport (link below) and discuss how many have fallen into the trap of doing lots of "stuff" in an...
Who We Are - Mind Castle Ep. 1
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is the Mind Castle? In this first episode, Austin and Reagan outline what we're passionate about, and discuss how the mind is the most valuable t...