Today's Good Life Project Roundtable™ features guests-in-residence Susan Piver and Lodro Rinzler. This is session 1 in their three-week residency.Susan is a New York Times bestselling author, teacher, and founder of the international mindfulness community, The Open Heart Project. Working to create a good human world, one breath at a time.Lodro is a teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, the author of five books on meditation, and the founder of M N D F L, a new studio making meditation accessible to all New Yorkers, and the Institute for Compassionate Leadership. They'll be our guests-in-residence for the next three weeks, so buckle up.Our three topics in this episode:When women get emotional, do you secretly think they're crazy?Do we have to love the people we hate?Fame for fame's sake, what gives?It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's conversation features Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome series, three time Webby Award winner, Harvard MBA grad, former Director of Leadership Development at Walmart, and husband, father, son, and brother.He is the author of a new book, The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything, which started as a letter to his unborn child on how to live a happy life, after his wife told him she was pregnant on the flight home from their honeymoon!TIn This episode, You’ll Learn:How Neil divides his time into 3 buckets for optimal happiness (and how they are different from the 3 buckets Jonathan offers).Why wanting can often lead to the exact opposite of happiness.Why he advocates for a 'home contract' as a key to happiness, in addition to a business or employment contract.How action leads to motivation, not the other way around.Why he's loving the word practice these days.Mentioned In This Episode:100 Awesome ThingsThe 3 A's of awesomeThe Institute for Global Happiness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s this unfortunate delusion that’s gaining credibility in the world of entrepreneurship and careers.The road to growth is paved with "content." Write, film, record and produce content and the world will rush to your doorstep.You don’t have to put your “self” out there anymore, just put your content out there.Problem is, it preys on a particular fear, and it’s based on a lie. At least, in part.Content, done right, can be a fantastic mechanism to build an idea into a platform, a brand, a reputation, position, entity, business or organization. But, it’s also a way to hide from the other piece of the launch and growth pie. The side of the equation that is about something else. Something that scares us. Something that, skipped, will still leave you playing a losing game. That's what today's GLP Riff is about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Good Life Project Roundtable™ is the third and final week for our current guests-in-residence Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, MAPP and and Bob Gower.Emiliya is a leading voice in the world of positive psychology and the science of flourishing, and is the founder of the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology program, which is the largest in the world. In a past life she was a party entertainer and knows pretty much every group dance ever invented.Bob is a deep systems-thinker, author of Agile Business, organizational-dynamics consultant to some of the largest companies in the world. He's also an ex-cult member, and that comes out in interesting ways in the conversation.Our three topics in this episode:What's up with the "divine feminine?"Does creative genius demand suffering?Are we trapped by our past actions and statements? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, our in-depth conversation features Cathy Burke, speaker, author, and global change maker has served as CEO of The Hunger Project Australia for nearly two decades, and has traveled extensively across the villages of Africa and South Asia in her work of ending hunger.Cathy has been profoundly changed by what she has experienced. The women and men she has met have given her the most enduring lessons in life and leadership, resilience and the power of the human will.She is the author of the book, Unlikely Leaders: Lessons in leadership from the village classroom, These stories are captivating and moving, providing a roadmap for personal and social change.In This Episode, You'll Learn:How Cathy awakened to both the truth of world hunger and her role in helping to end itWhat her first trip to Ethiopia taught her that she (and her group) never saw comingHow harnessing the power of women to lead is the ultimate catalystHow her work has forever changed herMentioned in This Episode:The Hunger Project Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are times it makes sense to throw money at a problem, and times when that's not only the worst thing you can do, it's also the least effective.When we think about performing better, whether it's at work, in sport, even relationships, we often focus first on the things that are easiest to "tweak."Without fail, those things are less about the "core of the matter" and more about 'optimizing the margins." And, if we can do it by buying our way to better, investing in higher-end gear, apparel, equipment, supplies, materials or technology, we try to replace work with money.Thing is, that's often the least effective way to get where we so desperately want to go.What if, instead of spending all of your time, work and money optimizing the margins, you focused instead on optimizing the core? Not by purchasing your way into it, but by working your way into it?That's what we're talking about in this week's Good Life Project Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Good Life Project Roundtable™ features guests-in-residence Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, MAPP and and Bob Gower.Emiliya is a leading voice in the world of positive psychology and the science of flourishing, and is the founder of the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology program, which is the largest in the world. In a past life, she was a party entertainer and knows pretty much every group dance ever invented.Bob is a deep systems-thinker, author of Agile Business, organizational-dynamics consultant to some of the largest companies in the world. He's also an ex-cult member, and that comes out in interesting ways in the conversation. They'll be our guests-in-residence for the next two weeks, so buckle up.This is week two in their residency, to be followed by their third and final week next week.Our three topics in this episode:Making time for unadulterated joy and play.Is it getting easier to fly your freak flag without being rejected?How can you hack your "best self?"It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest, Eric Zimmer, is the host of the wonderful The One You Feed podcast.Growing up in Ohio, his life took a hard turn and began to spin out of control. He eventually found himself addicted to heroin and alcohol, living in a van and struggling to make sense of the world. After years living in an ever-darkening place, though, he was able to tap into a hidden well of strength, get help, get clean and rebuild his life.But, his journey into addiction was not yet over. Believing he could go from clean and sober to casual use, he found himself spiraling back into that place of despair. But this time realized he'd have to make bigger, longer-lasting change, accept certain truths about who he was and create a way to perpetually "feed his good wolf, not his bad one."Along the way, he rebuilt his life, relationships, and career and found solace and fulfillment in, believe it or not, podcasting. He now hosts and produces the hugely popular, The One You Feed podcast, with his childhood friend, Chris Forbes.In this week's conversation, Eric is incredibly transparent and generous in sharing his journey, both the profound struggles and the great awakenings. He also shares how his quest to take back his life eventually led him to podcasting, back to music, to new relationships and a deep and abiding knowledge of the human condition. And he reveals how that, in turn, led him to develop a set of skills that enabled him to not only help himself, but help others move into better places as an advisor and coach. If you've ever struggled to find your way out of darkness, this is a don't miss conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Good Life Project Riff is a reply to a question from one of our wonderful listeners.You've spent your whole life working at something that pays the bills, something that gives you time to be with family. Life, on the whole, is pretty good. But the thing you're doing to put food on the table and a roof over your head is emptying you out.You'd love to wake up feeling like the way you contribute to the world lights you up. But you have no idea where to start. And, you're not excited about the prospect of disrupting the rest of your life to make it happen.So, what do you do? What's your first step?I've written recently about first working to make things as good as you can get them, before blowing anything up. Whether you decide to eventually leave or even launch something on your own, the starting point is deepening your self-knowledge. Discovering who you really are and what matters. That's what this week's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff is all about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Good Life Project Roundtable™ features guests-in-residence Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, MAPP and and Bob Gower.Emiliya is a leading voice in the world of positive psychology and the science of flourishing, and is the founder of the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology program, which is the largest in the world. In a past life she was a party entertainer and knows pretty much every group dance ever invented.Bob is a deep systems-thinker, author of Agile Business, organizational-dynamics consultant to some of the largest companies in the world. He's also an ex-cult member, and that comes out in interesting ways in the conversation. They'll be our guests-in-residence for the next three weeks, so buckle up.Our three topics in this episode:Is anger always bad or is it all about how you work with it?What's the deal with vibrations and energy, Is it real? Can we feel it? Can we harness it?Warmth and Competence, which matters more and why?It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For most of us, dealing with change is tough. We're wired to avoid wading into the abyss where we don't know how things are going to end.Even tougher, though, is leading others through change. Today's guests, Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez know this. Nancy is the co-founder of her eponymous firm, Duarte, the top presentation design firm in the world. Patti is the Chief Strategy Officer, and a lifelong storyteller and communications savant.Nancy has been on the show before when we filmed a powerful conversation about her "origin story." Today's focus is on the deep collaboration Nancy and Patti have formed, leading the firm through a disruptive, yet transformational reorganization, while simultaneously co-writing a book on leading through change, Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies and Symbols.In today's conversation, we talk about the simultaneously visionary, yet often brutal process of creative destruction in the name of building something better and how to tell the story of what's going on in a way that lets those you're about to disrupt understand why it's necessary and share a believable path to where you're all going together.But, there's a deeper story that also unfolds. It's the story about Nancy and Patti's very personal journey, the dance between the fiercely future-focused visionary and deeply empathic and present-focused storyteller. We also dive into what it's like to write a book on change when you're simultaneously trying to take your company through its own process of transformational change.If you're leading people in any endeavor now, or hope to in the future, this is a conversation you won't want to miss! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a somewhat ironic relationship between willpower and thinking. They don't play nicely with each other.The more you tax your brain with what we'd call a "cognitive load," the more your ability to regulate your behaviors craters.So, if you're working on a complex problem under deadline or trying to innovate or create, there's a good chance that, while you're in that hyper-thinking, innovating, creating mode, you'll be more susceptible to temptation. Big time!And, interestingly, even the slightest increase in demand for thinking and working memory can shut down your willpower plant. As we'll talk about in today's GLP Riff, the difference between having to hold two or seven numbers in your memory can be the difference between making healthy choices or chowing down on cake!Most people deal with this by just trying to "be a better person" and "digging deeper" to resist the siren call of the cookie jar.But, there's another approach that is far more likely to keep you on the right track. It's about altering your environment. That's what we're talking about on today's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is part 3 of our latest experiment, a new show format we're calling Good Life Project Roundtable™.What is it? A new weekly show that won't replace, but will be added to our long-form conversations and short riffs. Two "guests-in-residence" and I will be hanging out for the better part of a month, usually 3 weeks. This really lets you get to know them and benefit from their deep interests and lens on life.In each Roundtable, we'll go deep into three specific topics. And, the thing is, nobody knows what the other person's topics will be until they hit the conversation.My guests-in-residence for today's episode of Good Life Project Roundtable™ are Playing Big author, Tara Mohr and yoga-educator, Erin Moon.Our three topics in this episode:Can you find the good in everything, or are some things just bad?Money, media and bias, what's the deal (and why do you care)?Crazy cons, has it ever happened to you?It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if you could take an idea and turn it into a website with more than 12 million visitors a month and a powerful global community?That's exactly what today’s guest, Jason Wachob, did. He is the founder of Mind Body Green, one the web's top wellness websites, featuring thousands of articles, a growing catalog of courses, contributors that include many of the top voices in medicine, nutrition and movement, and a huge global community.This is the second time Jason has been a guest on Good Life Project. He first appeared on the web-series in October 2013. At that point, he shared his powerful story of leaving a career in finance to reclaim his health and found his company. MindBodyGreen was just starting to break out in a big way. Since then, it has exploded.The team has grown in size, they inhabit new offices and Jason's had the chance to dive deeper into not only what it takes to build a company, but also a culture that walks its own content talk, a community around wellness and a good, vibrant life. He shares his lens on that last question in his new book WELLTH: How I Learned to Build a Life, Not a Resume.In this week's powerful conversation, we explore Jason's unique, culture-focused approach to building not just a company, but a community and a family. We dive into the dance between wanting to do big things and also wanting to be in control of your time, health, relationships and life. We explore the power of love and belief, and what its like to build a life with a partner he also works with. And we talk about his experience growing a venture that exposes him to the top thinkers and practitioners in health, nutrition and fitness and how that's informed his take on the elements of a life well-lived, especially in the context of being a creator, maker, entrepreneur and life-partner.Enjoy the conversation! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I don’t like following, never have.Other peoples' rules and procedures and constraints and processes often don't sit quite right with me.I prefer to take my own path, follow my own rules.It’s why I was the “Lemonade Stand Kid” in my neighborhood—I wanted my own money, own responsibility. It's why I've been an entrepreneur the better part of my adult life. I enjoy figuring things out on my own, then leading rather than being led by others.But what I’ve discovered as I’ve gotten older is there are very real, very important lessons to be learned from being led by others, before you step in to lead yourself.Maybe my biggest awakening to the power of following before you lead came when I was rock climbing with a few partners in Rocky Mountain National Park, and various other destinations in Colorado. As the relative newbie in our group, I spent the entire time following my guide's lead.During the entire weeklong climbing adventure, I never once led a pitch (a ropes length of the climb that was many rope's lengths high). Those days, however, taught me more about how to eventually lead than almost any other experience. And, my classroom came with a 20-mile view and life-and-death terms.That's what we're exploring in today's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is part 2 of our latest experiment, a new show format we're calling Good Life Project Roundtable™.What is it? A new weekly show that won't replace, but will be added to our long-form conversations and short riffs. Two "guests-in-residence" and I will be hanging out for the better part of a month, usually 3 or 4 weeks. This really lets you get to know them and benefit from their deep interests and lens on life.In each Roundtable, we'll go deep into three specific topics. And, the thing is, nobody knows what the other person's topics will be until they hit the conversation.My guests-in-residence for today's episode of Good Life Project Roundtable™ (and next week as well) are Playing Big author, Tara Mohr and yoga-educator, Erin Moon.Our three topics in this episode:The three manifestations of God.The Hero's Journey, through a feminine lens.Can video games help ease pain?It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Originals are the non-conformists who drive creativity and change forward—the ones who help us progress as both independent cultures and a unified species. They're Steve Jobs' "crazy ones."Yet in spite of this, humanity has always had a fascinatingly dysfunctional relationship with originality—we simultaneously venerate and scorn it, particularly in the workplace. Originals may eventually come to be loved, but they’re almost always met with cynicism and resistance first. Because they don't fit in.It’s a fascinating duality, and it’s one of the many things we discuss with today’s guest, Adam Grant—author of two New York Times bestselling books (Originals, Give and Take), and—at 34—the youngest tenured professor in the history of the Wharton School.As Grant shares, thanks to shifts in social and cultural norms, it’s never been easier to be an original, but so many of us still resist the call. In this wide-ranging conversation, we go deep into how originals think and act.We explore how we're often the worst judges of our own good ideas and what do to about it. We debunk the myth of the need to go "all in" and share how the founders of Warby Parker, one of the most innovative companies in the world, kept their days jobs.We talk about our almost inherent willingness to underestimate ourselves and our creative capacities and what to do about it, and the importance of creating a vast volume of work in order to become an original. We dive into what happens when you try to exert power, before you have status and how that effects your ability to create change. And, so much more.Join us as we dive headlong into originality—how it works, how it’s changed the world we live in, and why more of us need to embrace it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every large scale creative endeavor, from writing a book to building a body of work, creating a collection or a company, is made up of dozens, maybe even hundreds or even thousands of smaller scale benchmarks, along with the "pushes" it takes to hit each.Every time you hit a benchmark, it feels great. You get to ease off the push and check a box that takes you one step closer to your ultimate quest.But, then, there's also a potential dark side to hitting these micro-goals. There's a break in the momentum. You have to rally yourself to start the push toward the next one fresh. To write the next chapter, start the next canvas, produce the next song, build the next piece of your entrepreneurial greatness.And, the closer you get to end of the bigger endeavor, the more the voice of internal Resistance, as Steve Pressfield described it in The War of Art, rises up and tries to derail you from your work.I've experienced this while writing books in the past. So, when I was working on my next one, I decided to try a momentum hack that I learned from none other than Ernest Hemingway.Stop when you most want to go.I share the details and the powerful results in today's short and sweet GLP Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is our latest experiment, a new show format we're calling Good Life Project Roundtable™.What is it? A new weekly show that won't replace, but will be added to our long-form conversations and short riffs. Two "guests-in-residence" and I will be hanging out for the better part of a month, usually 3 or 4 weeks. This really lets you get to know them and benefit from their deep interests and lens on life.In each Roundtable, we'll go deep into three specific topics. And, the thing is, nobody knows what the other person's topics will be until they hit the conversation.My guests-in-residence for today's episode of Good Life Project Roundtable™ (and the two weeks to come) are Playing Big author, Tara Mohr and yoga-educator, Erin Moon.Our three topics in this episode:Great leaders - are they always doubting and what's the deal with self-doubt?What's the deal with westerners reaching east for their spirituality?Is mindfulness always a good thing or can it sometimes do harm as well?It's fast-paced, fun, utterly unscripted and at times a bit raw, but always good-natured and very real. Enjoy! And let us know if you like this format, over on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine you're on stage, charged with holding the attention of a thousand people. Knowing that, as soon as you stop talking the free cocktails begin. Your job is to keep the audience rapt for a solid 60-minutes. It's you against the taunt of free partying.That's often the speaker's worst nightmare. But, this week's guest, Jon Acuff, loves those moments. A New York Times bestselling author of 5 books, including his latest Do Over, he relishes the challenge to win over his audience and keep them hanging on his every word.What's so interesting is that he doesn't do it by telling them he has everything figured out, then endowing them with his omniscience. He does it by sharing his own humanity, his vulnerability, his not knowing, and then tying it all together in stories that leave people crying with laughter and inspiration. And, he pretty much does the same with his books. Everything he does comes from a place of truth, humor, humility and craft.In this week's conversation, we go behind the scenes, exploring why Jon left a hugely successful corporate career to take a risk on writing and speaking. We learn how Jon's deep devotion to being honest (but not radically honest), to always working to connect with, rather than separate himself from his readers and listeners, and his devotion to craft and deep study not just of writing and speaking but also of comedy, has become the center of who he is. We explore how he dances with both the maker and the helper in him and reconciles his desire to create with his commitment to serve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here’s a great question from one of our listeners, David: If your work is truly cutting edge, how do you effectively market if people don’t even have the distinctions yet to “get it,” and you need to get their attention AND it takes a longer conversation to really open it up? The art of conveying […]The post Conveying the Cool: How to Sell an Idea That’s Ahead of it’s Time appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine you're an actor. You work your entire life to generate a magic moment. A call, offering you the role that could open the door to your dreams. But, there is a cost.The gig will require you to cancel the trip of a lifetime with the one person in the world who leaves you breathless. And, on a deeper level, it represents a choice you've vowed not to make, picking craft over love.What would you do?That's the choice this week's guest, Erika Napoletano grappled with just days before we sat down to record this week's conversation. And, in many ways, it's a choice she and many of us have been forced to answer many times over the course of our lives.This is actually the second time Erika has been on the show. We first sat down a few years back in Boulder, Colorado, where she was deep into her writing career. Since that time, her world has changed in profound ways. Now in Chicago, with a deep focus on speaking and acting, I was curious about this evolution, so I when I heard she'd be passing through New York, I invited her to take me deeper into her transformation.And, as is her style, Erika got very real, very fast. We explore Erika’s climb from the darkest of depths of suffering and loss to rediscovery joy, returning to her long-held passion for acting, becoming an award-winning author, acclaimed speaker, TedX Editor’s Pick 2012, columnist for both American Express OPEN Forum and Entrepreneur Magazine.We also talk about what it means to live a messy, truthful life, the power of establishing sacred commitments, and why the biggest risk you’ll ever take is simply not taking one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Jonathan shared a GLP Riff about how he prioritizes major projects.He talked about his move away from "batching" tasks and parallel creation to taking a longer view and adopting a Serial Creation approach to getting big projects done better, faster and more humanely.Apparently, that spurred a lot of conversation. And, it led to a lot of questions, one of which was...With between 3 and 10 substantial projects that are calling us at any given time, how do we choose what to work on, and in what order?That made us think. How DO we choose? Turns out, there is a bit of a step-by-step process involved. Whether it's right for you, only you'll know. But, in this week's GLP Riff, Jonathan responds to the question of one awesome listener with some specifics about how he prioritizes what to work on and when.In his answer, he also references the work of productivity savant, Charlie Gilkey, along with the 4 Tendencies developed by The Happiness Project and Better Than Before author, Gretchen Rubin. You should check them both out, tons to be learned from these wizards of optimal living. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest, Elena Brower, dedicated her life to the practice and teaching of yoga nearly 20 years ago. She rose to acclaim, becoming known first as a wonderful teacher on the New York yoga scene, and then a teacher of teachers on a larger stage.But she also had a secret. Actually, not so much a secret as an addiction. And there came a time where she felt she not only had to get sober, but also share the journey in a very public way. With her students, her community of teachers, and her son.It became one of the most empowering journeys of her life. This is just one of the many paths our conversation takes in today's episode.We explore Elena's early years, her career in textile design and what led her to leave it behind and make yoga her "thing." We talk about the path to becoming a teacher, then eventually developing an authentic voice, a treasured lens and emerging as a teacher of teachers. We explore the power of awareness and mindful attention.We also dive into what it's like to run your own studio, to travel the world, speaking and teaching. And, we talk about how becoming a mom has changed her and her world in a profound way.The emergence of digital practice and online yoga classes and education, something Elena has embraced, finds it way into the conversation as well. And we explore Elena’s latest ventures, Teach.Yoga, a global hub of content and inspiration created by yoga teachers, for yoga teachers and her beautiful self-practice guide, The Art of Attention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The process of creation breathes me. Always has, always will. I wake up every day thinking about what I am going to create, from business to art and health to relationships.The bigger challenge for me has never been about having enough ideas, it's been about process. How do I get the most important things done AND pursue my creative quests in a way that both lets me create my best work and feel good along the way?When it comes to completing these projects, I’ve long adhered to the principle of "parallel creation" and "batched" my time. I pursue anywhere from 3-10 major projects at the same time, then segment each day into distinct chunks dedicated to a specific task and projects (three hours to write, two hours to work on web development, one hour for fitness, etc.) and work away accordingly.But after years of doing it this way, I’m starting to think this might not be the best approach.A few months ago, I decided to experiment with a new strategy—serial creation.Unlike parallel creation, serial creation isn't about batching your work during a working day. It's about zooming the lens out to 3 months, looking at what needs to happen with each major project in that window, then apportioning entire days or weeks to focus on one and only one project at a time, during that season.No other projects. No distractions. No excuses.I ran my first experiment like this while finishing the manuscript for my last book. The results were incredible. And, that's what I'm talking about on today's short and sweet GLP Riff.It'll take me the better part of winter and spring to entirely transition from parallel to serial creation. But, it works so much better for me on every level, I'm committed to the goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine a career...no…Imagine a life where you travel the world earning your living by taking jaw-dropping photos of some of the most astounding athletes, action-sports, and breathtaking backdrops the planet has to offer.Sound too good to be true?—it’s not—this is the life of award-winning photographerChase Jarvis...but it almost wasn’t, nor is it where he's resting.Chase started down the beaten path, a scholar-athlete, headed toward med-school. It wasn’t until after taking his MCAT and interviewing with several medical schools that Chase’s took an unexpected turn and walked away from it all.IMoved by the call of the camera his grandfather left him when he passed, Chase stepped out of the path he'd been expected to follow and stepped into a part of him that had laid buried. He claimed his inner-artist and storyteller, and starting shooting images of friends doing what they lit them up. And a lot of that included skateboarding and snowboarding.The result?—entirely self-taught, Chase built a life most people only dream about as one of the top action sports and travel photographers in the world, shooting campaigns for many of the biggest brands, and making films along the way.Still, he wasn't done. Over the years, an even deeper call emerged. To teach. To inspire others and to create a different legacy.So, he co-founded CreativeLIVE, which has now grown into a global online educational venture with millions of students learning both the craft and business of a wide array of creative professions.In today’s conversation, we explore how this visionary photographer, director, fine artist, and entrepreneur learned to find comfort in uncertainty and, through that comfort, defy the external pressures driving him towards a career he never wanted.We’ll discuss why we’re so often compelled to pursue validation from the world, and how that pursuit forcibly pushes us away from our natural, creative passions. And, we dive deep into creativity, mastery and so many of the stories we tell ourselves that stop us from pursuing and experiencing both. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“No.”It’s such a simple word, and yet…massively impactful.Too often we find ourselves standing toe to toe with No—challenging it as an unwarranted slight, or an underserved rejection.My question is—why?No isn’t about passing judgement, it isn’t about demeaning your worth—it’s about communicating “X” is not the best possible fit for the promised outcome of “Y”.At Good Life Project, we use applications for our events to ensure the audience consists of individuals who will get the absolute most out of what we’re doing…It’s not about denying people, it’s about ensuring we can deliver on expectations. Theirs and ours.No is not a personal attack.No is not a critique against the backdrop of your life.No isn't a slam, it's a powerful data-point. Fuel for growth.In today's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff, we share a "Tale of Two No's," exploring how two different people responded to a No profoundly differently, and how each person's response likely informs both the way they move into the rest of their lives AND the way the world rises up to support or seems to war eternally against them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine yourself as a child uprooted from your home, and bouncing from nation to nation as a paperless refugee…Envision the fear of being unexpectedly foreign in lands when the customs are as alien as the language being spoken…What would you do? Would you follow your dreams and thrive, or merely play it safe and survive?These were the questions facing Maria Konnikova, an author and psychologist who landed in the suburbs of Boston by way of Moscow, Vienna, and Rome at the tender age of four.Despite not knowing a word of English upon her arrival in the United States, Maria worked furiously in pursuit of her passion—writing—eventually graduating with a bachelors from Harvard (magna cum laude, by the way) and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.Maria’s first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, was a New York Times bestseller, and her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, California Sunday, Pacific Standard, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, The Boston Globe, The Observer, Scientific American and WIRED. She also writes a regular column focusing on psychology and culture for The New Yorker.In today's conversation, we explore her powerful journey and the family dynamic that gave her the space to create a living and life she truly loves. We also discuss why committing to something you're passionate about is so important.Then, we dive into Maria’s latest book, The Confidence Game, a riveting exploration into the minds of con artists and the people who fall prey to them. You'll discover a world you've very likely fallen under the spell of, without even knowing it. You'll learn how even the smartest people get taken, and sometimes that's a great thing.You'll also see the deeper psychology of persuasion and how it unfolds in nearly every "transaction and conversation" all day long, from the coffee you buy in the morning to the things you eat, buy or try, the conversations you have in the office and outcomes you create in the world.In the end, we come to an unsettling truth. The only real difference between devastating cons, entrepreneurship, marketing and self-help is...well...you'll have to listen to find out!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you ask someone who is working on turning an idea into a business what they call themselves, a likely answer these days is "startup founder."If you'd asked that same question a generation ago, you'd have probably heard "entrepreneur" or "business person."The difference isn't just about semantics or generational change. It's about a profound shift in both the mindset of entrepreneurship, and the acknowledgement and exaltation of a very distinct "discovery" phase that exists between the idea and the viable entity called the startup.This seemingly subtle shift, which is anything but, has created a new wave of permission to take risks and innovate on a level that, not too long ago, many would have been fiercely judged for. And, along with that, it has brought a less catastrophic lens to failure and increased the willingness to put yourself on the line in the name of doing something extraordinary.It has tilled the soil of purposeful experimentation and empowered so many to take a shot at creating something from nothing who, but for the cover provided by the "startup" moniker, would've never even tried. That is a great thing, not only on an individual level, but on a societal level, because it creates possibility. It allows more ingenuity and innovation to see the light of day. In the end, we all benefit from that.This is what we're talking about in today's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff.Tweetable: “We need more people trying to create genius.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nerd. Gamer. Athlete.Three words you rarely hear uttered in the same sentence, let alone to describe any one person (unless you're talking about epic movie battles).But, that "triple-threat" describes founder of the global Nerd Fitness movement and author of Level Up Your Life, Steve Kamb, perfectly.A lifelong gamer and nerd, Steve found himself exposed to the world of fitness later in life. It was like a switch turned on. His life was transformed, and he wanted to find a way to apply what he knew about game-theory and technology to fitness in a quest to help millions of people break out of the fits and starts and finally reclaim their health.So, he created his Nerd Fitness revolution, the members of which call themselves The Rebellion. It seems he struck a chord. Nerd Fitness exploded, growing rapidly into a global community with more than 250,000 members and millions of visits to their online home every month.But, that's not all, Steve also figured out how to literally turn his everyday life into a living, breathing video game he calls his Epic Quest of Awesome. One that has taken him on incredible adventures all over the world, from Croatia to Brazil and Monaco to Munich, all while spending very little money.His new book, Level Up Your Life is essentially the manifesto for the revolution.In this week's conversation, we explore Steve incredible adventure, we dive into how he stumbled upon the "unlock key" for physical transformation in the world of gaming and how he has worked to engineer Nerd Fitness to help people do what seemed impossible before. Oh, and how along the way, he's figured out how to live a deeply adventurous and meaningful life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever try to help someone who had absolutely no interest in being helped?It's one of the most frustrating experiences we can have. Maybe it's a family member or partner. Maybe it's a close friend or colleague. Or even a customer or client.So many times, we end up banging our heads against a wall trying to motivate or force others to care, then impose a solution they never asked for, because we "determined" it was in their best interest.We do this in our personal lives and, not infrequently, in our professional lives, too. But, even if the action we're looking to compel is, in fact, in that other person's best interest, until they care as much as we do, it's game over.Today's short and sweet GLP Riff dives into this phenomenon, shares a story of how Jonathan bumped up against it while looking to build a personal training practice years ago and what he learned.In the end, there's one simple truth. You can motivate action externally for a moment or even a window in time, but the sustained action needed to create real, lasting outcomes can't come from the outside in.The will to change must come from within. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Lee Dumas grew up believing he wasn't the most talented person in the room. But, he also knew the path to success in almost any endeavor was more about work than it was about innate gifts. So, pretty early on, he made a decision that he'd outwork pretty much anyone to get what he wanted.That led to a string of powerful accomplishments, from athletics to business and led him to follow in the footsteps of his dad and grandfather, serving in the military. But, when he came home, dealing with PTSD from combat, the years that followed led him to a series of false starts, from law school to real-estate, in an attempt to meet what he eventually realized were everyone's expectations and desires but his own.For the first time, there wasn't a clear path, and he fell into a depression. Until he found an unlikely spark in a place he wasn't even looking for it...podcasting.John became fascinated with the medium and set out to launch the first-ever daily business podcast, calling it Entrepreneur On Fire (now EO Fire). Everyone told him the daily format was nuts, it'd be impossible to keep up. But he was not to be dissuaded.In short order, the podcast became a phenomenon and he began to build a powerful business around it, adding on sponsorship and educational offerings. He also decided to break another rule, sharing his company's income reports with his community on a monthly basis.Over more than 1,200 interviews with entrepreneurs, Dumas also began to key in on common patterns of success in business. One of the biggest, he found, nearly every single person who achieved any level of success was fiercely focused on achieving a goal. He realized, he was, too. And he wanted to create a tool to share with others to help move them toward the achievement of a single big goal. So, he created his first physical product, calling it the Freedom Journal. He's actually launching it on Kickstarter right now.In today's conversation, we dive deep into John Lee Dumas' journey and how he's landed in a place where his focus is evolving strongly to one word, significance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of every year, business owners and accountants do something we might want to consider also doing in our personal lives.They "close the books."What does that mean? They look back over everything that's happened in the last 12 months, make sure it's as accurate as possible, understand what went into each debit and credit, then ask what makes sense to continue in the year to come, what makes sense to end and what makes sense to change.They look for any areas where the numbers don't seem to match up, where there's some kind of aberration or question or anomaly and try to figure out what actually happened. They reconcile the numbers and, if they can't, they place a note explaining why.Then, when they've learned what they can learn, fixed what they can fix, explained what they need to explain, they close the books. They let it all go and turn their energy to the next 12-month window, opening a new book and penning the first entry.So, here's my question...What if we did this not just in our financial lives, but in our personal lives, too?What if, at the end of every year, we created a deliberate process of:LearningReconcilingLetting go, andRefocusingHow might that allow us to step into the coming year not snuffed out and battle-scarred, but lit up and filled with possibility?That's what this week's Good Life Project Riff is all about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colin Beavan burst into the public consciousness in a huge way with a documentary and international bestselling book called No Impact Man that documented his yearlong experiment to live in the middle of New York City with his family creating zero environmental impact.That experience opened his eyes to the power daily choices can have not only his own life, but the world around him. But, it also did something else. It triggered a deeper interest in exploring many of the big questions in life, the heart of which is not just how to be a good steward of the planet, but how to live a good life along the way.Consumed by the question he spent years diving into research, interviewing people and began to realize that our ability to live good lives is intimately tied to the way we relate to and serve those around us, and the planet that sustains us. It's about moving away from materialism and toward competence, and so much more. Diverging from convention, he shares much of what he's discovered in a wonderful new book, How to Be Alive.We sat down with Colin to record a deeply-personal and passionate conversation, geeking out on stories, eye-opening studies on rarely spoken about human needs and so much more, all in the name of pulling back the curtain on what really matters as we navigate our time on the planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes your creative voice clashes with others' expectations of what's always been done, and what they think you're "supposed" to do.This has happened a few times with this podcast. Ninety-nine percent to the messages and reviews we get about the guests, topics and format are overwhelmingly positive. Every once in a while, though, we get hit with a "take down" comment, a really aggressive attack on either a guest, topic or the conversational format of the show.I understand the rebuttal against certain guests and topics. Sometimes we offer provocative guests, people who've made choices others don't agree with and we talk about topics and ideas that make some people uncomfortable. I get that, not every person or idea or choice is right for everyone.But, the occasional take-down over the conversational format of the show ("I don't want to hear the host, I only care about the interviewee's point of view), I always find fascinating. Because it reflects a point of tension over a creative choice that we've made in producing our media and the evolution of the media itself.What is that decision? Choosing conversation over interview as the format when we host guests on the show. There is a subtle, yet powerful difference in these formats. Until the emergence of "new media," nearly everything that hit the air was interview-driven. This was a standard that emerged from journalism, where the focus was on "eliciting information" in an attempt to break and tell another person's story. For those long-time media consumers who are locked into a traditional, more journalistic TV and radio "interview" paradigm, our choice of a more conversational format can bump up against long-held expectations of what media "has" to be.The media game is changing, though, and the freedom of podcasting and online video has pretty much thrown traditional constraints out the window. The decision to roll with different formats—long-form vs. short-form, conversation vs. interview, broadcast production values vs. street-level production values— makes a huge difference in both how much you enjoy listening and we enjoying creating. New media creators are constantly pushing the envelope with formats and, at the same time, inviting longtime media consumers to let down the shield and become open to the possibility of everything from three-minute videos to three-hour conversations. Jerry Seinfeld's fantastic, conversation-driven, 15-20 minute "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" episodes are a wonderful example of breaking nearly every rule, and making a lot of people happy.For Good Life Project, we've chosen conversation over interview. It was a very intentional choice. In today's Good Life Project Riff, we share the deeper drivers behind that creative choice, exploring the idea of "product-maker fit" and why you might want to apply the same logic in your creative endeavors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sekou Andrews defies every preconceived notion you might have in your head about the voice and role of poetry in business, society and life.In his words, when he "tells people that, before creating a new inspirational speaker category, he was a successful 'full-time poet,' you would think that he had said 'full-time mermaid,' or 'freelance unicorn' based on the reactions he gets."A former elementary school teacher turned musician, national poetry slam champion, Sekou discovered the power of delivering larger ideas, stories, missions and even strategies to audiences not by traditional keynote or slides or visuals, but by meticulously crafted spoken word performances.He calls this "Poetic Voice" and Sekou has now presented to everyone from the world's largest organizations to Barack Obama, Oprah, Maya Angelou, Quincy Jones, Larry King, Hillary Clinton, Norman Lear, Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, and Coretta Scott King and family and so many others.In today's episode, we explore Sekou's remarkable journey, his exploration of acting, music, teaching and poetry, how he unbridled words from beat to make the leap from musician to poet and how he literally created an entirely new speaking category and is now turning around and teaching others how to discover their own Poetic Voices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever done something because you thought it would look good on your resume? Studied at a particular school or with a particular person?What if, instead of trying to pile on credentials from esteemed people and institutions in the name of building a resume, you based your choices on what would let you increase your capabilities, your ability to make a difference, with the greatest speed and depth?Sure, sometimes you can do both, but often times, we get lost in the quest to amass qualifications and forget the end game is not to have a "seemingly" glossy resume, but to cultivate the ability to leave others changed. To make a dent in the universe.That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Janice Kaplan is filled with gratitude. But, it wasn't always that way.Her career in the media has taken her from the TV sportscasting desk to producing dozens of shows, writing more than a dozen books and eventually serving as editor-in-chief of Parade Magazine, which at its height, boasted a circulation of about 30 million readers.Her life was good, still is. But, she noticed that, as good as it was, there was always this feeling of yearning, of it not being enough.Then, a few years back, a research project she'd been working on that focused on gratitude triggered her to reexamine her life and explore nearly every facet of her existence anew.This launched a yearlong exploration of gratitude, with a series of experiments that revealed how profound an impact simple shifts and daily practices could have on her life. Unfolding in "seasons," Janice examines both the growing wellspring of research, as well as the direct effect of so many "gratitude interventions" we've heard about over the years in her book, The Gratitude Diaries.In today's conversation, we dive into Janice's extraordinary career in media, her creative through-lines and fascination with human behavior and why we do what we do, and her values around family, women's voices, relationships, life and the life-changing impact of her year of gratitude. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's been a lot of pushback lately against the idea of mastery, choosing one thing and putting everything you've got into it.Mastery, it seems, has become almost a dirty word. Why choose just one or two things to master, when your interests span four or five or 10 or 20? Why not just do them all? Isn't that a legitimate way to both feel good and contribute to the world? Isn't being a jack of all trades, master of none the type of person who is most in demand these days anyway?For some, maybe. But, for many others, not so much. I wonder...Is the pervasive refusal to say no to many thing and strive for mastery in one more about fabulosity or FOMO?That's what we're talking about on today's GLP Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's that old line. When you're thinking about opening a restaurant, the three most important things are location, location and location.Edward Barnett agrees, but the way he chose the location for his first restaurant in what is now becoming a chain goes against nearly every bit of conventional wisdom and advice.Edward was on a mission. Not just to do well, but to do good. So, along with his partner, Karim Webb, he opened their first Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in one of the toughest neighborhoods in L.A., Crenshaw, a place where violence, crime and lack of opportunity was a way of life.They wanted to offer a dining experience that wasn't available in Crenshaw. But, they also wanted to create a place of opportunity, jobs and community. A place where kids and adults alike could get off the streets, learn a trade and build a career. A place not just to work, but where they knew someone cared about them.Where everyone cautioned them and said they'd fail, they've succeeded. It's still hard at times, but it's worth the effort. They've created a place where people not only come to eat, but come to gather. And for those who work there, they've also created a path to possibility and hope.In this week's episode, I sit down with Edward to explore both his life and the lessons he's learned, along with what it's been like trying to build a sustainable business and an engine of impact in a place that's known so little of both. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We spend so much time trying to "acquire" people and things.In business, we talk about "acquiring a customer," like they're a commodity we're buying at the corner store and we even associate a price with each new person.In our personal lives, we often do the same, thinking about the effort it takes to find and start a relationship with a new friend, lover or partner, yet it feels wrong to call that friend or lover or partner an "acquisition," so we come up with gentler words to remind ourselves no human actually gets to acquire or possess another human.We use that word, acquisition, by the way, because it deludes us into believing "once we've got it, it's ours for life." Hahaha! So, silly!We all know, that's not even close to reality. We don't own anyone. Not for life, not for a year, a month, an hour or a moment. We are gifted with their presence, their investment of love and energy and time and more. And that gift is something that must be nurtured, grown, tended over time or else it goes away, and so do they.We have an opportunity to continue to invest in not only the process of discovery, but the continuing process of deepening and delight. Delight, in fact, is where the greatest magic happens and it's all too often completely ignored once you're past the courting stages.What if, instead of focusing maniacally on finding and starting relationships, then letting them coast into oblivion, we spent equal if not more energy on delighting those we bring into our orbit once they're here.That's what we're talking about on this week's short and sweet GLP Riff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born and raised in a family of Irish surfers, and named after a surf break, Easkey Britton is a renowned Irish pro surfer, five-time National Surfing Champion and one of the top female big-wave surfers in the world. She's also an explorer, artist and scientist with a Ph.D. in Environment and Society.On any given day, she may be traveling the world, getting towed into waves 10 times bigger than her, screaming down the face of walls of water that move like a steamroller, doing everything in her power to dance with the wave, rather than be crushed by it. Or, she may be researching the environment or bringing people to disparate parts of the world to come together and create social change around surfing.I had a chance to sit down with Easkey and learn about her lifelong love of the ocean and relationship with water. We explored surfing not just as a feat or an activity, but a metaphor for life and growth. We also talked about how she is using surfing as a form of social impact, empowerment and cultural education, co-founding the Waves of Freedom Foundation and filming a documentary about her trip to bring together women from local communities around surfing in one of the poorest, most remote and dangerous regions of Iran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder how to know when it’s time to hold, fold or change? At some point, we all end up walking into the fire. We feel the fierce heat of intense pressure, anxiety, uncertainty, challenge and frustration. Often, it’s self-generated, sparked by a project, company, quest or venture we’ve launched ourselves into. It’s not fun. But, […]The post When to Hold, Fold or Change. Walking Into the Fire. appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Nepo is a renowned poet, philosopher, author, master storyteller and spiritual teacher.He has appeared numerous times on Oprah, his Book of Awakening was a #1 New York Times bestseller and his newest book, Inside the Miracle, explores how we can move through suffering with grace and resilience.As Mark shares in this wide-ranging conversation, his darkest moment came in 1987, when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, which then led him into three years of treatment that eventually brought him back to health, but also pulled him through a brutal, yet awakening experience in its own right.Somehow, out of that moment, he was able to reconnect with a deeper sense of spirit and emerge not just in a different place, but a changed man.We explore all of this, as well as his lens on God, spirituality, truth, expression, relationships and so much more. And, at the end, as a special offering, he reads two beautiful poems to close the conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are wired to run from the unknown, to flee anything that leaves us in that raw, exposed place of uncertainty.When our ideas take us to this place, we feel it and many of us shut down. It stops our true genius from emerging and turning into breakthrough discoveries, products, experiences, brands, businesses and art.But there's another phenomenon that is even more alarming. And it happens when you take this idea and soul-crushing dynamic into larger organizations. Bosses, it turns out, have a hard time acknowledging other peoples' amazing, innovative ideas, too. The reason why and the implications are a bit scary, according to a recent study.If you keep offering great ideas to supervisors and getting knocked down, or if you're a boss who keeps asking for ideas and feeling like nobody's offering up good ones, you need to listen to this week's episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2009, Bronnie Ware published a short essay entitled, Regrets of the Dying.It was a reflection on the years she worked in palliative care, taking care of people in the final days of their lives.She had noticed that the same basic set of profound regrets kept coming up, over and over again, as those in her charge would lie waiting for the end, often sharing the deepest parts of themselves.That short essay exploded online. It was shared, reprinted and read millions of times, leading to an international bestselling book, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying, along with a frenzy of attention, travel and the start of a new career as a writer.Those regrets have since been discussed and deconstructed many times. They are important reminders of what truly matters in life.But, what about Bronnie?Who was this Australian artist turned banker turned palliative care-worker? What led her to do such soulful work, in a field so many others could never imagine embracing? What were the deeper drivers, hidden passions, big dreams and, also, profound and dark struggles? What happened to her after the global phenomenon took hold, shaking her existence in a powerful way, both for the better and for the worse? And, what is she up to now?I asked Bronnie these questions and more when she came to the Good Life Project studios in NYC during a monthlong trip from Australia. The conversation got very real and deeply truthful. She was incredibly generous with both her inner thoughts and beautiful lens on life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know the old question, "if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, did it make a sound?"What if we asked a similar question about pain, suffering, anxiety or any other "experience or emotion" that exists only in the space between our ears?What if many of the things we experienced throughout the day, whether good or bad, were less about what was happening to us, and more about where we focused our minds "while" it was happening to us?What if our reality was not just about circumstance or "thoughts," as is popular to offer in the world of personal development ("with our thoughts, we make our world")?What if reality was really about attention?In today's short and sweet GLP Riff, I make this very concrete, applying the idea to one of the most common pains out there, headaches. We talk about how shifting attention can profoundly change the way you experience pain, and potentially even eliminate it for a window of time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lodro Rinzler is that increasingly rare Westerner who didn't find Buddhism through a later-in-life quest for answers, he was brought up in the tradition of Shambhala Buddhism and has lived its teachings since he was a child, at one point even exploring the monastic path.That said, he's very much "of this world," deeply connected to the realities, demands, challenges and joys of life in a world that seems to be moving faster and faster and placing less and less emphasis on relationships, compassion and the deepest parts of love.His desire to share his lens on Buddhist wisdom applied to modern life led Lodro to eventually take his seat as a teacher, penning a number of wonderful books, the latest, How to Love Yourself (and Sometimes Other People): Spiritual Advice for Modern Relationships.He's also a co-founder of a very cool new center for meditation in New York City called MNDFL.In today's conversation, we explore Lodro's remarkable personal journey and what it was like being the Buddhist on the block as a kid.We also dive into some of the major ideas, practices and teachings from Buddhism, like meditation (what it is and isn't), Karma (how to really think about it), compassion and love, and discuss a bit of mythology and misunderstanding around each. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.