Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership If there's a comedy Mount Rushmore, our guest today probably belongs on it, and yet he'll tell you flat out that he still doesn't feel he's gotten the respect he deserves — and used to walk around with an index card of his achievements in his pocket to remind himself he wasn't a piece of sh*t. This is an unusually candid, funny, and dark conversation about creative work, self-doubt, and a somewhat extreme path out. Neal Brennan co-created the legendary Chappelle's Show, has three-and-a-half Netflix stand-up specials (Blocks, 3 Mics, Crazy Good, and Comedians of the World), and hosts his own podcast, also called Blocks. In this episode: – The opening bit where Neal roasts Dan for not booking him earlier ("conspiracy depression") – The famous index card of achievements Neal carried around after the Chappelle's Show implosion – Dan's parallel story: being cut out of the "core eight" photo at ABC News – The moment at a Netflix party where Chris Rock called out "and Neal Brennan" (and why that felt like getting a Picasso from Picasso) – Why Neal is known as a writer but not a performer, and where that math breaks down – ~20 ayahuasca ceremonies, bufo (5-MeO-DMT), and MDMA — the harrowing arc that changed him – The "rickety shaman" ceremony four — outer space, vomit, three days sleeping with the lights on – Why the floorboards of his mood got firmer AFTER the worst experience – 5-MeO-DMT and hearing the phrase "God's not here yet" – The three-day bufo reactivation — derealization on 6th and Bleecker – The Linda Ronstadt documentary as a coping strategy – "You wanna meet God or not?" — Neal's blunt take on why he did any of this – Getting 10 to 15% funnier as a side effect (the Tommy John surgery analogy) – "Loyal to the wound" — the myth that you have to be miserable to be funny – Vulnerability as a genre in the podcast era – The Knicks fan on the sidewalk who yelled "tell Dave Chappelle that" – The greyhound chasing the decoy — Neal's frame for why external validation stopped working – "What if a person were as ambitious about decency as they were about their career?" – Dan's 11-year-old asking the meaning of life (and Dan's corny but earnest answer) Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: https://www.youtube.com/tenpercenthappier Follow Dan Harris on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/danharris/ https://www.tiktok.com/@danbharris https://www.facebook.com/DanHarrisABC https://twitter.com/danbharris https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harris-91ba5716b/ 0:00:00 Neal is mad he wasn't on the podcast sooner ("conspiracy depression") 0:03:00 The Chappelle's Show implosion and the index card of achievements 0:07:00 Dan's parallel: not being in the "core eight" at ABC 0:10:00 The Ted Sarandos "and Neal Brennan" moment 0:12:00 Ayahuasca, DMT, MDMA — the harrowing psychedelic arc 0:14:00 The rickety shaman incident and the outer space nightmare 0:16:00 Why the "floorboards" of mood got firmer after the worst experience 0:22:00 5-MeO-DMT and "God's not here yet" 0:24:00 The bufo reactivation on 6th and Bleecker 0:28:00 "You wanna meet God or not?" 0:30:00 Getting 10% funnier — the Tommy John surgery analogy 0:32:00 "Loyal to the wound" — you don't need to be miserable to be funny 0:44:00 The greyhound chasing the decoy 0:47:00 What is a life? Purpose vs. cortisol 0:50:00 Being ambitious about decency #10PercentHappier #NealBrennan #Blocks