166 - Justin Timberlake and False Summits

How do you know when you’ve reached the peak? The peak of your career? The peak of mastery? The peak of your relationship…?

In this episode we take a look at the fascinating world of Disney's Mickey Mouse Club of the 90s: a brutal bootcamp of childhood talent that began by weeding out 10,000 tiny performers, and ended with the transformation of 20 teens into future pop stars through inhuman training. Grueling schedules, rapid-track schoolwork, acting lessons, dance choreography, and public speaking, all to mold children who wouldn’t crack under the pressure of constant public scrutiny. It’s no wonder the 90’s Mickey Mouse Club produced half a dozen mega-stars in the world of pop…and why its success will never be repeated.

Further, we delve into the psychological impact of early fame in life, and the overall concept of false summits. How do early relationships, early jobs, and early successes shape our standards of winning and losing? If you’re the star quarterback growing up, or the head cheerleader, do you plant your flag on that early peak and never climb higher? Or does it prime you to be a go-getter and a climber? Are there ways to determine if your relationship can get any better? And what are the lessons from the lives of child stars that we can apply to our own journey of success?

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g7oit6Asgc&t=4s&ab_channel=Let%27sTalkPop

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/lance-bass-was-kicked-off-a-russian-spaceflight-two-decades-ago-now-hes-back/

https://time.com/6325780/britney-spears-justin-timberlake-relationship-timeline/

https://nypost.com/2023/08/30/employees-feel-dissatisfied-after-this-long-in-the-same-role-poll/

https://www.gottman.com/blog/marriage-not-big-thing-million-little-things/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-new-resilience/201107/does-imagining-goal-make-you-less-likely-achieve-it

Music Links:

“2010 Pop Song” during the intro narrative was written and recorded by Akira Sora https://freemusicarchive.org/music/akira-sora/single/2010-pop/

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Episode 29 - Mr Rogers & Being Nice

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Episode 28 - Max Gendelman & Making Friends