Snapshot · The Shawn Ryan Show
Clark began training in martial arts in Okinawa as physical therapy for his combat wounds and has now practiced for over 50 years, earning 8th Dan Grandmaster in Taekwondo.
Where this was said
At 6:15 · chapter starts 3:17
After a warm exchange about the podcast's Patreon community, Ryan delivers a full introduction covering Clark's Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, nine books, and five decades of Taekwondo. Clark then answers a subscriber's question about memoir writing with a story that immediately establishes his character: returning veterans were pelted with tomatoes and eggs at El Toro air base, a bar near the base refused to serve Marines, and within 11 hours of landing on American soil, Clark was arrested for punching a protester who spit on his shoes [1] — Johnnie Clark "Returning Vietnam veterans were pelted with tomatoes and eggs by protesters at El Toro air base. Within hours of landing on American soil, …" 07:01 . Two Marine MPs recognized the 5th Marines insignia on his uniform and released him rather than book him. His advice to aspiring writers: write like you talk, take creative writing courses, and write for your family first — not for publication.
Johnnie Clark was wounded three separate times in Vietnam — by a mortar, a grenade, and a gunshot — and was awarded three Purple Hearts.
Returning Vietnam veterans were pelted with tomatoes and eggs by protesters at El Toro air base. Within hours of landing on American soil, Clark was denied entry to a bar because of his uniform — and was arrested at a bus station after decking a protester who spit on his shoes. Two Marine MPs recognized the 5th Marines pogie rope on his uniform, uncuffed him, and put him on a bus. That was his homecoming.
Spencer Greenberg and Jeremy Stevenson analyzed almost 500 self-improvement techniques and found they all reduce to just 12 underlying psychological drivers.
Cold exposure has good short-term alertness benefits but the evidence base for long-term health benefits is much weaker than popularly believed.
In a randomized study of 20 habit-formation techniques run on hundreds of people, almost none of the techniques produced statistically meaningful results.
People given a tiny-habit fallback option (e.g. 10 squats instead of gym) were actually MORE successful at completing the full habit, not less.
The most effective habit-formation technique was 'habit reflection' — recalling a past successful habit, writing down what helped, then applying those lessons to a new habit.
A study found that simply scheduling enjoyable activities was as effective as standard cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, leading to its own therapy called behavioral activation.
The 'worry time' technique — deferring all worries to a designated time of day — helps people realize they have more control over worry than they thought and reveals it is less useful than it feels.
A study found that participants told to try to stay awake while in bed fell asleep faster than participants told to try to sleep — illustrating the paradox of direct effort.
Spencer Greenberg reduced his severe social anxiety dramatically in roughly 6 months through a structured exposure therapy hierarchy, culminating in asking strangers for hugs.
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