<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Modern Day Pirates: Sanctum]]></title><description><![CDATA[Letters to Santum. You deserve a tight circle of people who support you and love you.]]></description><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/s/sanctum-2</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b_L1!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe78c4e61-1611-4fa4-9292-3505dbedaed5_1280x1280.png</url><title>Modern Day Pirates: Sanctum</title><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/s/sanctum-2</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:08:32 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[geoff@spherebuilder.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[geoff@spherebuilder.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[geoff@spherebuilder.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[geoff@spherebuilder.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[The Big Juicy Lie That YOU Must Stop Believing]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nothing is more important than blood, this is not true]]></description><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/the-big-juicy-lie-that-you-must-stop</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/the-big-juicy-lie-that-you-must-stop</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 03 May 2025 22:38:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ec2c5efb-d973-43fe-8625-ff45d9a66d91_2366x1658.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s a BIG, FAT, JUICY, SHITTY, LIE, this crazy notion that YOU CANNOT CHOOSE your own family...</p><p>You can and you must...</p><p>If you don&#8217;t, you may drown in a pool of someone else&#8217;s pity...</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/the-big-juicy-lie-that-you-must-stop?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/the-big-juicy-lie-that-you-must-stop?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>There is an important distinction...</p><p>You cannot choose your own blood, BUT you absolutely can decide who is family to you!</p><p>This is an imperative.</p><p>Don&#8217;t shackle yourself to peop&#8230;</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[3 Strategies to Deal With Toxic People]]></title><description><![CDATA[[Bonus Short Video] - You can overcome every challenge]]></description><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/3-strategies-to-deal-with-toxic-people</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/3-strategies-to-deal-with-toxic-people</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:53:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/153239252/f29a94ed7c9f8475e777ffb156ff4417.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>To achieve your goals in 2025 you are going to have to deal with toxic people and mitigate their impact on your life. </p><p>It&#8217;s a guaranteed challenge that you will face in this climate.</p><p>Please watch this video and if it is helpful then share it on social so we can keep growing.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/3-strategies-to-deal-with-toxic-people?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/3-strategies-to-deal-with-toxic-people?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><h3>Shownotes (Brief Overview)</h3><p>Your life is your most valued possession, no person as the right to diminish you, squash your dreams or take your time in 2025. You must not permit it.</p><p>There are 3 healthy ways (discussed in the video) of dealing with toxic people.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Cut them out of your life</strong> (not always possible) - 1 Minute: 43 seconds</p></li><li><p><strong>Transform the relationship into a healthy one</strong> - 3:53</p></li><li><p><strong>Dilute their toxicity</strong> - 6:05</p></li></ul><p>I hope this video is helpful. I just rolled camera and shot it in the car. Share it and become a paid supporter if you want to support our work here at Sphere.</p><p>Grateful for all of you.</p><p>Geoff x</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[You've sat on my head and squashed my dreams]]></title><description><![CDATA[To my fat-bottomed toxic fiend]]></description><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/youve-sat-on-my-head-and-squashed</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/youve-sat-on-my-head-and-squashed</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:02:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/99459bca-2c0c-4aeb-b79d-101dd7a5311e_2912x2040.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>To my fat-bottomed toxic fiend,</p><p>For far too long you&#8217;ve sat on my head and squashed my dreams.  </p><p>Enough.</p><p>You&#8217;ve sucked the oxygen out of the room and turned all of the attention onto you. It felt like there was never any space for me.</p><p>No breath. No time. Energy given out and none returned.</p><p>Painful stuff. A toxic relationship.</p><p>An untimely realization that hit me at 4am this morning. </p><p>All of this is my fault. </p><p>My poor choices. </p><p>My enabling. </p><p>I guess I did not know any better at the time and yet I know better now. </p><p>So much so, I&#8217;ve created a little diagram below to explain it all to you&#8230; If for once in your god-damned life you care to listen.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png" width="724" height="607.1456043956044" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1221,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:724,&quot;bytes&quot;:492292,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nJsn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a42bd6b-a7e5-4c39-8405-8b70acf624b5_2115x1773.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h6><strong>Figure 1: The Gap Between You and Your Dreams</strong></h6><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/youve-sat-on-my-head-and-squashed?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/youve-sat-on-my-head-and-squashed?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><h3>The Land Of Dreams</h3><p>Every person has dreams. Every single one.</p><p>Some dreams sleep way down deep but they are buried down there somewhere. </p><p>You have your dreams also. Hidden below at the furtherest reaches of your soul; underneath a thick layer of shit and despondency.</p><p><strong>Every person on earth wants:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Health</p></li><li><p>Love</p></li><li><p>Respect</p></li><li><p>Connection</p></li><li><p>Wealth</p></li><li><p>Fun</p></li></ul><p>And yet in normal life our dreams can feel so very far away. Impossible even.</p><p>I&#8217;ve felt like this for the longest time. </p><p>I reach for my dreams but I cannot quite lift up my arms. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot get there&#8230; They are always just at the edge of my fingertips.</p><p>For the longest time I thought the problem was me.</p><p>That I wasn&#8217;t smart enough, strong enough, creative enough or good-looking enough. Lately I started believing the greatest lie of all&#8230; that my time for dreaming had passed. That I am too old.</p><p>It&#8217;s not true though - The time for dreaming big is always now.</p><p>And recently, I&#8217;ve found the true solution to the problem of these very draining and toxic relationships.</p><p>Toxic fiend, this is the actual reason for me sitting down at my desk and writing you this letter; to let you know that I&#8217;ve found a concrete way that guarantees I reach all of my dreams.</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Boy Starts to Become Man]]></title><description><![CDATA[Excerpts from a letter I wrote to my now 13 year old today]]></description><link>https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/from-a-father-to-a-son-1272024</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.moderndaypiratesguild.com/p/from-a-father-to-a-son-1272024</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Geoff Talbot]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Dec 2024 17:54:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3bcd435d-4ba2-42d7-8732-cdf2c6fa5c55_2912x2040.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic" width="568" height="454.47802197802196" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1165,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:568,&quot;bytes&quot;:1368365,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TgGq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bf246de-88d7-477e-a02d-f60f5de9794d_3417x2733.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><p><em>Dear Son,</em></p><p><em>I wanted to write you a letter my friend and my son. I am proud of who you are and who you have become.</em></p><p><em>You are 13? Wow! It seems like only just yesterday, I held you in my hands for the very first time and exclaimed, &#8220;Oh my God, it&#8217;s a boy, and he is perfect.&#8221;</em></p><p><em>I wanted to write you a letter that you could always keep and often read throughout yo&#8230;</em></p>
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