Freemasons, Skull and Bones, Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, 5 Hertford Street, the Bohemian Club, and more, are all so-called secret societies. Not so much because no one knows about them, but more so the question as to what do they do, who belongs to them, and how do you join? Is membership in the Soho House the modern day variant of such societies? What’s the psychology behind their creation and their intrigue? 

Well, Michael F. Schein, author, and CEO of MicroFame Media, knows a lot about that, and in fact, he’s created his own secret society that we’ll be discussing in this episode. 

He was the former co-host of the “Access to Anyone” podcast and his writing has appeared in Fortune, Forbes, Inc., Psychology Today, and the Huffington Post, and he has been a speaker for audiences spanning from the northeastern United States to the southeastern coast of China. Michael is the author of the popular The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers, published by McGraw Hill last year. 

So, it seems a little paradoxical that we’re publicly discussing “secret” groups, right? But by definition Michael explains how a secret society gets hyped in spite of it then no longer being “secret.”

Michael helps us understand how to know something is not a scam or cult. As well as the crossroad of hype and NFTs, Web3, crypto, and journalists covering rises and flameouts and phenomena like the Bored Monkey Yacht Club. 

Michael is whip-smart and New York shrewd. He helps us all better know how to separate the wheat from the chaff in better understanding hype from value so we can better live our lives in full.

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The Ever Erudite Michael F. Schein on Secret Societies (and Why You Should Start One)

“Living a Life in Full” podcast is the conversation you always wanted to have with that person who gave an amazing TED talk, or the author of one your favorite books, or that inspirational Olympian you always wanted to know more about.

This show is for the intellectually curious. You want to not just know more about the interesting and the innovative, but also what makes them tick, and maybe even what makes them laugh. It’s graduate-level conversations with those making a difference in the world and the lives of others.

This show brings you new ideas and approaches so you can live a life in full.

The show is equal parts information and inspiration, but without the aphorisms and pablum. We cover a wide range of topics in an engaging way—from Burning Man to The Renaissance Weekend, from the United Nations to top universities, Nobel Laureates to astronauts—we have an amazing Rolodex.

Interviewees are a who’s who of high performance athletes, bestselling authors, high-caliber leaders, world changing humanitarians, innovative researchers, amazing start-up founders, clever life-hackers, paradigm busting thought-leaders and global innovators.

To learn more, listen to episodes, and see show notes and other goodies, please stop in: http://www.alifeinfull.org/podcast.html

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