In the 19th century, Cerro Gordo, which sits above Death Valley, was the largest silver mine in America, a place where dreamers came to strike it rich. In the 21st century, Brent Underwood used his life savings to buy what had become an abandoned ghost town, and ended up finding a very different kind of wealth there.
Brent has spent four years living in Cerro Gordo and has documented the details of the mines he’s explored, the artifacts he’s found, and how he’s restoring the town on his popular YouTube channel, Ghost Town Living. Now, in a book by the same name, he takes a wider-view lens on his adventures there and shares the big lessons he’s learned from his experiences and from the original residents of Cerro Gordo. We get into some of those lessons on today’s show. We first talk about how and why Brent bought a ghost town as a way of escaping a typical 9-5 life and finding a deeper longer-term purpose. We then discuss what restoring Cerro Gordo has taught him about the necessity of getting started and taking real action, how learning the context of what you do can add greater meaning to it, the importance of understanding the long-term consequences of short-term thinking, the satisfactions that come with being a high-agency person, and more.
Resources Related to the PodcastThe Most Insightful Personality Test
Why We Fight
Finally Learn to Say No
Set Your Future Self Up for Success
The Fourth Turning — How History's Crisis Period Could Unfold
Here's What It Could Look Like to Put the Trades Back in School
The Science of Getting Psyched Up
Thick Desires, Political Atheism, and Living an Anti-Mimetic Life
Master Microtransitions to Improve the Happiness, Success, and Flow of Your Life
Would You Have Been a Patriot or a Loyalist?
How to Read a Tree
Stop Being a Complainer
Become a Morning Workout Person
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, and Carrying the Fire
How Emerson Can Help You Become a Stoic Nonconformist
The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age of Action Heroes
How to Survive Any Worst Case Scenario
Magician's Secrets for Becoming More Commanding, Convincing, And Charismatic
The Myths and Truths Around Suicide
The Essential Guide to Getting Promoted
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Dan Snow’s History Hit
The Ben Shapiro Show