Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations

#848 CyberBay 2026 - Linda Nhon: Science, Policy & Smart Work in a Changing World

• Joey Pinz • Episode 848

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🌍 How do science, technology, and public policy intersect with everyday life?

In this fascinating episode of the Joey Pinz Conversations Podcast, Joey Pinz sits down with researcher Linda Nhon, a scientist turned technology and policy fellow at the University of South Florida Global and National Security Institute. Together they explore the intersection of science, cybersecurity, public policy, and personal growth.

Linda shares her journey from synthetic chemistry research to influencing national policy discussions, revealing how scientists can play a critical role in shaping conversations around emerging technologies like AI and deepfakes.

The discussion moves beyond academia—touching on personal routines, cultural identity, and the powerful difference between working hard and working smart.

From baking homemade sourdough to analyzing federal executive orders, Linda offers a unique perspective on curiosity, structured thinking, and staying intellectually engaged in a rapidly evolving world.

✨ Whether you're interested in technology policy, scientific careers, cybersecurity trends, or personal productivity, this conversation offers thoughtful insights that will challenge how you think about work, learning, and impact.

 

🔑 Top 3 Highlights

🧠 From Chemist to Policy Researcher

How scientists contribute to national technology and security policy conversations.

🤖 The Rise of Deepfakes & AI Ethics

Why emerging technologies raise serious questions about privacy, misinformation, and security.

⚙️ Hard Work vs. Smart Work

Linda shares why networking, strategy, and structure matter as much as effort.

 

 

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Join us for enlightening discussions that spark growth and exploration. 

Hosted by Joey Pinz, this Discipline Conversations Podcast offers insights and inspiration.

 

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SPEAKER_03

Cyber Bay 2026. What a great event this was uh here in March in Tampa of 2026. Uh of course Arnie Bellini heads this great, great initiative for uh Tampa Bay here. But the Cyber Bay uh 2026 event was excellent. Uh lots of great attendees, a great mix of attendees, great keynotes, great re-outs, and of course great vendors. And I was there, had four great conversations, wonderful conversations. Uh Sandy Cronenberg started it off uh when AI can pretend to be you. Very interesting discussion with Sandy on that. Kat, Kat Carol. Very, really, really intriguing uh woman. I really enjoyed our conversation. AI scams are exploding. Are you ready? Very, very uh interesting conversations. And of course, with Linda Nihon of all incredible science, policy, and smart work in a changing world. Do you understand what it means, these policy departments and universities and what they do? I didn't. She sheds great light on it, great insight, wonderful talking to Linda. And then lastly, oh Kendra Siler. Really, really interesting talking with Kendra. How art, AI, and neuroscience shape the human mind. Really great conversation with Kendra. I wish her well and thank you all for your time. And thank you for watching and listening. Hi, I'm Joey Pins. And here's my 45-second introduction. After starting my business in the 90s, I started developing poor habits of eating in my diet because of working way too much. Before you know it, I found myself 340 pounds. The doctor told me if I don't lose the weight, I'm not gonna see my daughter graduate. Took the next seven months, lost 130 pounds. People think there's some secret. Ask me, how'd you lose that weight? Like there's some secret. There is no secret. How'd I lose the weight? Just one word. Discipline. I've had other successes in life, and I attribute them all to discipline. Now I'm not the king of discipline, but I believe that it can help all of us. Friends, colleagues convinced me to start a podcast. The podcast mission: how do we better ourselves and society? I talked to interesting people in health, fitness, sport, wellness, business, technology, science, art and culture. And I eventually asked them how discipline plays a role in their life. Podcast Vision, growth through learning from others. So why bread? Why do you like bread so much?

SPEAKER_01

Why do I like okay? So I used to subscribe to uh a bread. I don't want to call her bread lady because she's amazing. Uh, but it is a family friend, and she's an amazing baker, and she made sourdough bread, and we loved it so much. Like my husband and I were like, let's subscribe to her. So we subscribe to her, meaning like every month we would get three loaves of bread, because my husband loves bread.

SPEAKER_02

Me too.

SPEAKER_01

And he won't eat rice. You know, I'm like, you're married to an Asian woman, you're supposed to eat rice, but it's okay. So we found a compromise, and um it was great for six months, but then uh she had personal issues, so she had to uh cut back on her business. And so I had to learn how to make bread uh because I was like, I can't go back, I can't go to like supermarket bread.

SPEAKER_03

Right, you can't go backwards now, right?

SPEAKER_01

And um at the time also I was unemployed and I didn't have health insurance, and so I was trying to find the most nutritious way to keep my health right without spending a lot of money going to a doctor. And so I I don't know how I stumbled upon uh milling, but I somehow bought a mock mill. It's a it's a small appliance, kind of heavy, and it has two stones and it grinds like this, and um it's imported from Germany, and I started learning about the health benefits of uh milling your own grains. So, like, you know, when you look on the back of a flour, a packet of flour, and you see like, oh, it's enriched with niacin or rival flavor, and you're like, what is this? And you always see like when you buy cookies, it says enriched flour, and it has all these other uh things in it. And I was like, why is it enriched? And it turns out that if you don't uh enrich the flour that you get in the store, then you it it's basically nutritionless. Because the process of milling your own flour means you retain the germ and the brand and everything from the grain. And just the 2% on that outer layer is where all the nutrient is. Wow. And so I got the mill and mill my own flour so I retain all the nutrient and I don't have to have all the extra enrichment from the store by flour.

SPEAKER_03

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SPEAKER_01

Uh yes. Uh actually in uh the US there is this like growing movement of uh small family-owned farms selling their grains. So they used to sell their grains to like um the husbandry sector, so like to animals to eat the grains because it's obviously nutritious, so you want your piggies to get fat and be delicious. Uh but they found that there is a growing uh market of home bakers wanting to gr uh mill their own grains. And so now they're diverting some of their grains that they have in stock to and sell it online. Uh so some of the places that I go to, it's um there it's called Grand Tetone Ancient Grains. Whoa. So uh I get them shipped because I don't think in Florida there's a lot of uh wheat fields.

SPEAKER_03

Right, right. So you get a bunch of grain, you mill it in this machine, and then what?

SPEAKER_01

And then you just use it like flour.

SPEAKER_03

What color is it when it when it's when it's done?

SPEAKER_01

Uh it's like brownish. Like a dirt color? No, no, it's like white. It's not it's like vanilla-ish.

SPEAKER_03

I see.

SPEAKER_01

Vanilla, it's a warmth color and it smells amazing.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01

Like, and it's warm, it's very warm. And it's yeah, it's it's nutty, like it smells nutty. Right.

SPEAKER_03

And then next step is what? Now you have this homemade flour. What's the next step?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, then you just treat it like how you would with regular store-bought flour.

SPEAKER_03

So why so you're making sourdough, you're making multi-grain, you're making Oh, they're all multi-grain.

SPEAKER_01

By default, because it's these grains that you're getting, you're you know, you're working with wheats, you're you can work with ancient grains like spelt, eincorn. Uh if you want to be a bit more like fancy, you can put amaranth in there. Oh. Uh, but they're all multi-grain.

SPEAKER_03

And so you're putting some water, you're putting some yeast?

SPEAKER_01

Um, if if it's sourdough, then you don't need to have yeast. If you don't use starter, for example, then yeah, definitely use yeast. But there's once you just have the flour, then you just follow whatever recipes online.

SPEAKER_03

Hmm. And you always have a sourdough starter going?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, his name is Gar. Uh well, his full name is Vol Gar, but we call him Gar short. And then we just gave my sister-in-law some and we call her uh that one since his gar's offspring garçon.

SPEAKER_03

Oh that makes plenty of sense. So you always have fresh bread at the house?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, always now.

SPEAKER_03

And how long does bread last when it's made this way?

SPEAKER_01

For sourdough bread, um, it will stay good on the tabletop at rim temp for like a week.

SPEAKER_03

A week.

SPEAKER_01

And then you put it in, but if you put it in the fridge, it'll last for like a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_03

Hmm. And so if you're not making sourdough, you're using yeast. Are you getting that yourself?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you can buy yeast like at the supermarket, instant yeast. Uh it just tastes so much better when it's starter than sourdough.

SPEAKER_03

It just does, yeah. I remember one time, Linda, I was making bread, just basic bread, and I and uh I got double zero flour. So what's your favorite? Oh, I know double zero flour for pizza, right? For pizza, yeah, yeah. Um, but anything with when you say enriched or uh or unbleached, this is I mean it's 95% of every every everything you buy here. It's an it's it's terrible.

SPEAKER_01

It's like an ancient rule. Like when back in the day when people used to die from malnutrition and have like vitamin B12 deficiency, but you know, apparently, this is random, but I went to an oceanography symposium and they're like all these oceanographers, not all, but they're a group of people studying the pollutants in the Tampa Bay, and what they found was a uh high concentration of vitamin B12.

SPEAKER_02

Whoa.

SPEAKER_01

Meaning it's coming from the waste stream, human waste. So that means we have an excess of vitamin B12 in our system.

SPEAKER_02

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01

So we really I don't know if I'm getting in trouble for this, but I don't think we actually need to have a mandate to s that says, at least in the United States, and it can't speak for the rest of the world, where you know, malnutrition is still a real thing. But we don't necessarily need to have vitamin B12 in our flowers. There are so many other ways to get vitamin B12 through fruits and vegetables that are available in the US. I don't exactly know what the consequences of having excess vitamin B12 is, but it just seems like it's a little bit unnecessary.

SPEAKER_03

I remember one time I made, and I like to put some different herbs in there and everything, and I put some garlic in and I waited for the for the next morning and it was flat. All the garlic had killed the yeast because it's so strong, it fought against the yeast, and so it was flat. So a little tip. Put the garlic after.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's a good point.

SPEAKER_03

It's so strong, people don't realize.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because you're you have a good point there, because I think uh garlic is antimicrobial, even though it's yeast, but it may have some impact on the yeast too.

SPEAKER_03

I did it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Good tip.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I love I I love bread because there's so many gluten issues now, but it it's not really the bread, it's what they're doing to it, right? The glycophate, glyph, glyc glyphosates.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I I think like the problem with a lot of the digestive issues that people are having, it's it's I think when you're making homemade bread, like what you're talking about, wanting to get to rise, is you need time to give it to rise. And that time is extremely important to help break down any of the like the things that make your stomach upset.

SPEAKER_03

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01

Uh but I think at the industrial or commercial scale, because they're trying to sell as much as many bread as possible, they try to shorten that fermentation time, that rise time. I don't know what they do, but that critical step of time, giving enough time for the bread to get prepared for your digestive tract, that's lost at the commercial scale.

SPEAKER_03

Interesting. We're not I was making a cult uh uh uh uh sourdough culture for a while. The way that bubbles and works, I mean it's wonderful, isn't it? Yeah, and it has a smell.

SPEAKER_01

Like each one is like a speci is like a very special smell. Like you know when you go to somebody's house and like it's been 30 years, but like when you smell something, you're like, that's from your house. It's like everybody's house has their own like pheromone.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Like the auntie one house has one, auntie two house, and it's all distinct. And I feel like that's what it is for your starter.

SPEAKER_03

It sure is, it sure is. Linda, we're here at the big Cyber Bay event. What are some of your goals today and tomorrow?

SPEAKER_01

Uh yeah, so uh at the professional capacity, I am a uh tech and policy research fellow at the University of South Florida Global and National Security Institute. Uh you can think of it as the policy institute arm of the university. Uh, I have amazing colleagues who focus on um military history, on intelligence, on um what's going on with Iran right now in the US. Uh, I have a co-worker who's an expert in that. Um what I specialize in is the tech and policy. Um I do a lot of different things related to anywhere from quantum information science, basic science research, to offshore mining, so seabed mining. Um, and when it comes to cyber bay, uh what we are talking about is looking at uh what citizens, individuals can do in the cybersecurity space. Uh but today, really what I've been doing is sniffing around to see what are people's take on deep fakes.

SPEAKER_03

Deep fakes?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Why? Why are you worrying about that now?

SPEAKER_01

Um maybe I'm not worried, but more of like I'm interested.

SPEAKER_03

Why are you interested?

SPEAKER_01

Um so we're moving into a space where everyone's you have a friend, I have friends who are doing like funny AI generated videos where you take your buddy's face and then you put them in like a Bob Marley like video. And it's like funny. But then there are also cases where it gets can get really nefarious, uh, especially when it comes to uh women's issues. Uh I know like Paris Hilton and AOC have kind of tag teamed and uh worked on this movement. I don't really know the details of it, it's called the Defiance Act. Um, but they are trying to combat all the deep fakes that have come out where uh women and young girls' faces have been put onto um into pornographic scenes. So then there's this aspect of non-consensual news of something that can be used totally in benign ways to nefarious ways. And so it's just a lot of interesting questions that come up with this technology um and the applications of it.

SPEAKER_03

Now when you say policy, are you creating policies for the university? So explain what that means.

SPEAKER_01

So it's policies that are well, right now we focus on national secure uh national type policies. So things that are coming out of the White House, I pay attention to the executive orders, um and even looking at other think tanks, what have they been writing about? It it's more of like uh how do we move the conversation around these technologies um in an impactful way? Uh so sometimes it is like okay, if we don't have much like if the private sector if they're not really thinking too much about deepfakes and its applications or even thinking about like how do we how does the private sector make new like build up security for on the back end for these videos that are being generated? If they don't really think about that, or maybe they don't see a need to think about that, uh should they be thinking about it? Is there even like a profit to be made for that type of new security space? Um there are growing coalitions that are thinking about it uh for businesses. In particular, the news outlet, media outlets, they have also been impacted by deep fakes.

SPEAKER_03

Of course.

SPEAKER_01

Uh where there are videos that very much look like a reporter on the scene in action, and it's completely fake. But the time it takes for that video to be debunked and verified, it may have already reached millions of users and I've already created reactions.

SPEAKER_03

So you're doing more research than really what the term policy is throwing me off. So you're doing more research on policy.

SPEAKER_01

On policy, yes.

SPEAKER_03

I say, I say. And generally at the federal level?

SPEAKER_01

At the federal level, it'd be interesting to move towards the state level as well. Um but right now I focus more on the federal. Um, like for example, during the Biden administration, they came, there was a lot of discussion about AI and safety. And then when the Trump administration came in, they're kind of pushing that rhetoric back. Uh and so it's something that I would do, but I'm not doing is like write a piece on comparing and contrasting that, like what's going on, why is that happening? And and so it's more of like I don't know, like um if you think like back in the day where there's Aristotle or Plato sitting on the rock and everyone's talking philosophically, asking questions, that's kind of why what we do. It's it's get the public engaged as well, get scholars engaged to ask the questions, because I mean part of being a republic is to be informed.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely. When some of these I was gonna say edict, but when it's when some of these executive orders come out and you receive them, are you often surprised? Are you often disappointed?

SPEAKER_01

Um I think if you've been tracking it, then the elements of surprise won't be there. But will you be annoyed? Probably. Will you be happy? Maybe. Um but usually before the executive order comes out, if you're in DC, for example, and you're on uh the think tank corridor, you can already kind of get an idea of the big players that have been in this that have been talking and lobbying. And then sometimes even Congresspeople would uh show up to these events and talk. So you can get an idea of where the executive order is coming or where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_03

What if discipline wasn't about punishment, but about unlocking your best self? I spent two and a half years writing discipline for greatness, because discipline changed my life. And I know it can change yours too. This isn't a theory. Inside you'll find real practical steps you can use immediately to focus better, build stronger habits, reduce stress, accomplish your goals, and bring more balance to your life. Whether you're trying to get healthier, improve your career, or simply feel more control. This book gives you the framework. Start today. Grab your copy of Discipline for Greatness at JoeyPins.com slash book. Thank you. And these these executive orders come out, are they ever are they ever ambiguous where it's true it's hard to really understand what's happening? Are they well written? Are they are they complete generally speaking? I've never read one before.

SPEAKER_01

Um I would say it's kind of clear at times when they designate which agency is going to do the work.

SPEAKER_03

I see.

SPEAKER_01

Uh they usually always have a time frame. If there's a report to come out, it's like 120 days after this executive order has been signed. There's a clear deadline. Uh but usually the ask is vague. And and even for the agency level, like they say, okay, the secretary of the Department of Energy is assigned to that. The Secretary of the Department of Energy is not gonna do the work. Right. So they are gonna have to figure out which offices, which divisions inside the agency will have to do the work. And that in itself will probably take a lot of time and eat up into the 120 days. So then the question is like how good are the assessments or whatever that's being asked of the executive or is gonna like how how good will it actually be?

SPEAKER_03

And then once you do the research, who's the audience now?

SPEAKER_01

That's a great question. It's completely a uh dependent on the topic. Uh if it's a topic that is has relevance to what's being discussed in uh Congress. So with Congress, I like to track like the committee hearings and you get to see like uh based on their agenda, that means that that's what they're prioritizing those topics. If it looks like okay, the last six months they've been talking about this topic, let's try to shoot the policy over to some of the congressional staff in the um for that particular congressperson.

SPEAKER_03

Um so and why is it important for universities to do research like this?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, well, for example, at University of South Florida, with big public universities, there's so many different departments and so many different disciplines. And in order to get a really good policy, especially in science and tech, you want to have those in the different fields to at least have access to talk to them, get their perspective, to build something holistic and and it and it's just that access. And that's why I think universities have an important space to play in public policy. 'Cause it's you know, it's it's a brain. Like a super big brain.

SPEAKER_03

I never knew universities d uh maybe I did know that, but just didn't realize it, but I can see how that's really important.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's a it's a unique position to be in than just being a think tank in this in Capitol Hill or or a think tank row and and it's it's a bubble over there. But and you're in a university, you get not only the local politics, the state politics, but you also get what's going on in the different disciplines that's not always completely dependent on the policy that's coming down. They're they're still just focused on maybe the fundamental science.

SPEAKER_03

Right. What do you like about doing it and what do you dislike about doing it, the research?

SPEAKER_01

So um that's a nice question. Uh because I am a chemist by training, so did my PhD in chemistry, synthetic chemistry.

SPEAKER_02

Whoa.

SPEAKER_01

And um my the normal job trajectory for chemists like me would be to go work at a uh chemical company like Dow, DuPont, uh go into pharmaceuticals, for example, uh, maybe go do a postdoc, go and get tenure track in the chemistry department at university. Um but I chose a more obscure path, uh science and tech, and the only reason why is because at my university there was a uh special program. It's called the Sam Nunn National Security Fellowship. Over the years, unfortunately, it has uh the funding has receded back. But it's been it gives students like myself back then an opportunity to get exposed to like what you can do beyond just synthesizing small molecules for a very niche application, um, like RD type work and how there's still a role for scientists in what seems like a non-STEM field. Uh so my favorite part about my work right now is being able to connect things that I'm comfortable with, the science and the tech, but also things that I'm not as familiar with, but still learning is in the social sciences and the humanities, and because that seems to have more of an interesting, a lot of interesting circle uh questions on like what is the human impact, what is the societal impact. Um, so just merging those two topics together. So topically, those are things I like. Uh but what's hard about the job is actually explaining what the job is. So and getting people to like see, like, oh, so you're a scientist? Oh, so are you an investigative journalist? Or, you know, so I'm still working that out.

SPEAKER_03

Then is there something that you believed in firmly 10 years ago that you no longer believe?

SPEAKER_01

I wouldn't say I don't um I maybe this is more of a message to like Asian Americans in particular. Uh it's this concept of hard work. Uh yeah, I come from an immigrant family where the idea was like you have to keep working hard, hard, hard, hard, hard. And that is true to an extent. And that's also but what the message that doesn't come across is you also have to work smart.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And and build the connections and the the networking. Because uh unfortunately, not everyone's born in the same network, right? Social network. And so, yes, hard work is super important, and I believe that. I still do, uh, but I would say it's hard work plus smart work and and just being able to learn to connect with others, and even if that means like okay, you look a little stupid in the conversation, but maybe you'll make more connections that way. So that's kind of what I uh learned in the past ten years is hard work is not enough. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

There's a story the two lumberjacks where they start at the beginning of the day, they end at the be in the same time, they both cut the same amount of wood. Have you heard this before? No. So yeah, they start at the same time and the same time, they both cut the same amount of wood. But one of the lumberjacks that about halfway through the day disappears for an hour. So the other lumberjack says, after a couple days, how is it possible that we create, you know, produce the same amount of wood, but you disappear for an hour? And he goes, What do you do for that hour? And he says, Well, for that hour I sharpen my blade.

SPEAKER_01

Smart. Yeah, that's that's smart the work smart. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Sure is. Is there a question that you w wish more people would ask you?

SPEAKER_01

I guess I wish some people would ask me more about my Cambodian side.

SPEAKER_03

Explain. I have a good friend from Cambodia.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I because you know, in the moment I say I am Vietnamese and Cambodian, they always start with, oh, I know a very good vi uh pho shop.

SPEAKER_03

Ah, food. Food. Is that insulting?

SPEAKER_01

No, definitely not. I love pho.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_01

Uh my mom makes the best pho. No matter like, you know, don't listen to anybody else what they say. But you know, my mom makes the best pho. Um and it it's uh I I wish people would ask more about that Cambodian side, just because um as I moved up in the higher education space, there's less and less Cambodians.

SPEAKER_03

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01

And um and I get it that people like to have conversation on topics that they're most familiar with. And if they're not familiar, or if they if I'm just happened to be the very first Cambodian that they've met, then there's not much to talk about.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So I guess it's just something like that. But other than that, I I don't know. The question of there that's a that's a good question. I wish I had more time to ponder that.

SPEAKER_03

That's the natural wonder there is that Anwar Bat. The natural wonder in Cambodia.

SPEAKER_01

Anchorwatch.

SPEAKER_03

Anchorwatch, excuse me, yeah. I've only seen pictures. Have you you've seen it?

SPEAKER_01

I've never been there. So I'm actually uh ethnically Cambodian.

SPEAKER_03

I see.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I don't want to get into the politics of that.

SPEAKER_03

Ah, I see, I see, I see, yeah. Yeah, my parents are immigrants too, but Europe.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, which part?

SPEAKER_03

Italy and France.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, very cool. You know what I was watching?

SPEAKER_03

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01

Uh the Count of Monte Cristo.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, yes. Yeah, great, great film. So I started my tech firmlin in the 90s. I'm a little bit older than you, and I was working way too hard, and like you said, not smart, just hard, and 14, 16 hour days, and putting exercise in the backseat and you know, developing bad you know, diet habits. Next thing I know, I'm in front of the doctor, she tells me I'm at 340 pounds.

SPEAKER_01

What?

SPEAKER_03

That's why I gained I knew I was getting big, but I didn't think I was that big. She tells me, if you don't lose this weight, you're not gonna see your daughter graduate. My daughter was just born. Scared the life out of me. Didn't scare me, it angered me. Driving home, punching the steering wheel, you know, I I did this to myself, right? I can abuse myself all I want, Linda, but I have a family now. I have this daughter, you know, it's much bigger than me. Spent the next six, seven months, lost about 120 pounds. Wow! And you can't look at it as a finishing line, right? These are lifelong changes you have to make. So when I tell people this story, they always say, What's your secret? What you do? I said, There's no secret. Discipline, right? Just routine, focus, willpower. How does discipline play a role in your life?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I'm very uh rigid.

SPEAKER_03

Rigid? So you could you could you equate discipline with being rigid? Interesting.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Um, but I think that was a little hard word. So my aunt and uncle, they like to tell this story every now and then. Uh I was, I think, at the at three, my uncle was watching me at the time. And I couldn't tell time or anything, but I knew when my mom was gonna pick me up. And and the way he knew I knew was about 15 minutes before the time she was come, I would start packing my own bag. I like get my diapers, get my clothes, put it in my pink bag, and then I would zip up and sit against the wall to wait.

SPEAKER_03

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

So it's like, you know, you just it's sometimes it's hardwired, but um in my morning routine, for example, and I've done this um since I was a kid, obviously. And I always try to change too. Every year I try to tweak something. So like now my morning routine is like, you know, wake up, have a warm cup of water. The reason why I do that is because I saw a Japanese video. I was like, it was this like this Japanese housewife, and she always starts with her morning with warm water to help her digestion, and her skin looked phenomenal. I was like, yeah, okay, that she probably she's probably up to something.

SPEAKER_03

Some impact.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I start with drinking my warm water in the morning. Uh my husband is a sun worshipper, so I have to go look at the sun in the morning. And then uh breakfast, coffee, and then walk. Always have to walk at least five blocks and back, so 10 total, and then start the day.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

And then I have a timer. So have you heard of the Pomodoro technique?

SPEAKER_03

Pomodoro telling me tomato, but no. But no.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe I'm saying it wrong, but it's a technique where it's like you uh the focus timer. Uh it could be like 45 minutes, 15 minutes, or an hour depending on like your attention span. And then you take a break. You intentionally have to take a break.

SPEAKER_02

I see.

SPEAKER_01

And so I started doing this during 2020 when I was writing my uh dissertation. So I would set a timer for one hour, but I would do it on an oven. So I have to manually get I have to physically get up and turn it off. And so I'll do one hour, turn it off, and then take I'll set another time or 10 minute break to do whatever I need to do that's not computer related, and then come back and do that four times, five times.

SPEAKER_03

Routine.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It's interesting that you equate discipline with uh rigidity and structure. Your life probably doesn't have a lot of structure being a chemist.

SPEAKER_00

If the days are good, yes. I say they're going, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's so annoying when things aren't going as you plan, and then you have to like troubleshoot, and then then you really don't know when the day's gonna end.

SPEAKER_03

Right. Yeah, you don't like you don't like surprises. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Structured people definitely want to show you your love for discipline, inspiration, and the Joey Pins podcast. Now's your chance. Introducing the brand new Joey Pins merch store, where style meets discipline. Choose from premium apparel, cozy hoodies, stylish hats, durable bags, and your new favorite coffee mug, all featuring the iconic Joey Pins. Perfect for podcast fans, discipline enthusiasts, or as unique gifts for friends and family. Every purchase supports the Joey Pins Discipline Conversations Podcast, helping us continue to inspire greatness and promote positive change. Visit JoeyPins.com slash store today and wear your discipline proudly. Joey Pins merch. Wear it, share it, and live it. Don't is there anything in the last month or so you changed your mind on?

SPEAKER_00

We're in March, January, February.

SPEAKER_01

A theme of going from like fixed income to variable income. Um right now it's uh yes, both my husband and I are fixed income, but just looking at where the economy is going and how it's been behaving lately, you know, just ordinary families like myself, it's thinking like, well, how are you going to sustain? And and you also think about like where my family has come from. We we come from Vietnam and Cambodia, and my husband is Lebanese. So you're talking about three countries that have experienced hyperinflation. Yes. We're not saying the US is gonna get to that, but you can't help but think about what to do.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah, over the past couple months, and now given with the conflict in Iran and Israel, you know, these are things that impact immigrant families too here in the US. Is um how do we continue to self-sustain as markets fluctuate?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I so enjoyed talking to you, Linda. And if anybody wants to get in touch with you, what's the best way? Probably LinkedIn?

SPEAKER_01

Uh, LinkedIn. And uh yeah, LinkedIn would be good.

SPEAKER_03

I'll make sure to put it in the show notes. Thank you so time. Absolutely like talking with you today.

SPEAKER_01

All right, so much.

SPEAKER_03

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