Good Life Project

Ben Nemtin (http://www.bennemtin.com/) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Do You Want To Do Before You Die? and the star of the MTV show, The Buried Life.As the co-founder of The Buried Life movement, Ben’s message of radical possibility has been featured by major media outlets including The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, Inc., ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC News. Oprah called Ben’s life work “truly inspiring.”In a pit of depression, Ben and his three best friends decided to create the world’s greatest bucket list to make them feel alive. They bought a rickety old bus and crisscrossed North America, achieving the unthinkable. And most importantly, every time they accomplished a dream, they helped a complete stranger cross something off their bucket list.From playing basketball with President Obama to streaking a professional soccer field, from raising over $400,000 for charity to placing a record-breaking $250,000 bet on roulette—Ben’s bucket list quest has inspired millions to chase their dreams and realize that impossible is possible.In today's conversation, we talk about this remarkable journey, then we bring the conversation current and reveal the equally revelatory adventure Ben has been on in the year's since his original sojourn into the world's greatest bucket list.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in a small town in upstate New York, pop-music phenom, Andy Grammer (http://andygrammer.com/)earned his place in music the hard way. He spent years busking on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, honing is voice and skills as a singer, songwriter and also learning what draws attention and makes people feel good.He’s since become the first male pop star in a decade to reach the Top 10 at Adult Pop Radio with “Keep Your Head Up” and “Fine By Me,” from his 2011 self-titled debut. His second album, Magazines or Novels, featured the triple-platinum smash “Honey, I’m Good,” which was one of the best-selling songs of 2015, and the certified gold anthem “Good to be Alive (Hallelujah).”Now, with mega-hits and a successful career, he’s thinking a lot about how to speak his own truth. The concept of honesty—what it means and how to attain it—offers both inspiration and challenge to one of the most successful pop artists to emerge in recent years.You can see this reflected in his recent album, “The Good Parts,” which has racked up over 400 million total streams. He’s also launched a new podcast by the same name, where he sits down with people to explore the stories they often never share publicly.In today’s conversation, we explore where Andy came from, how his parents and his faith have shaped him and how, now as a husband and father, he’s re-examining his life and work. We also dive into how he is paying fierce attention to crafting a career that allows him to be present and also feel fully-expressed and alive and, at the heart of it all, be of service to his audience.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brene Brown (http://brenebrown.com/) and I met a few years back while speaking at an event. We clicked immediately, grabbed lunch and laughed a lot. I asked her to come and share a bit of her journey with our Good Life Project community. The conversation that unfolded left me changed.Brown’s fascination with what she calls wholehearted living eventually led her to explore how we dance with shame and vulnerability, and how we navigate criticism, and awaken to our own power and potential. How we become brave, awake and alive. She's since written numerous books, including, Daring Greatly (http://brenebrown.com/books/), Rising Strong (https://amzn.to/2vvqvnE) and Braving the Wilderness (https://amzn.to/2M2YWfQ).I asked her to join me on Good Life Project in October 2012 and the conversation that unfolded moved us both to tears at various points. Brene was so beautifully real, raw, candid and wise. Every part of that conversation is as relevant today, maybe more so given the current climate, than it was the day we talked.We first aired this as a video conversation in October 2012. Click here to watch the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Sd3DYvBGyFs). I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you today.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave Gilboa is the co-founder/CEO of Warby Parker (http://warbyparker.com/).Growing up in San Diego, the son of two doctors, Gilboa was sure he'd become a doctor, too. But, a random moment where he lost his glasses on a plane set in motion a series of awakenings that would change the course of his life.Starting with a simple idea that pretty much everyone said was impossible, Dave, his co-founder and team have now built a socially-conscious global brand valued at over $1-billion that offers designer eyewear at a human price, while giving millions of pairs of glasses to people and families in need.Dave has worked extensively with non-profit organizations and serves as a founding member of the Entrepreneur Board of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to mobilizing graduates as entrepreneurs in low-cost cities. He is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2014 Henry Crown Fellowship class and the Aspen Global Leadership Network, has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and was recognized as part of “The Next Establishment” by Vanity Fair. In 2015, Fast Company named Warby Parker the most innovative company in the world.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up in South Central, LA in the '60s and '70s, Ruth King (https://ruthking.net/) was taught to bury her emotions, to hide her heart and do what was necessary to survive. Feeling was not a good thing, getting home safe was. But, eventually, a call to reconnect with her big heart deep empathy came in the form of open-heart surgery in her 20s.Returning to school, King pursued her Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, managed training and organizational development divisions at Levi Strauss and Intel, where she designed diversity awareness programs and consulted to leaders on cultural change initiatives. Over time, her interests expanded to include the study of insight meditation and Tibetan Buddhism. King is now an insight meditation teacher and emotional wisdom author, mentored by Jack Kornfield in the Theravada tradition.King’s work has been influenced by many cultures, and is often described as “ceremony.” Her intuitive methods, knowledge, and skills weave the fields of Western psychology, Buddhist philosophy, leadership development, mindfulness meditation, and fun! She is a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Community of Washington and Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and the founder of Mindful Members Insight Meditation Community of Charlotte.King is also the author of The Emotional Wisdom Cards, Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible, and her new book, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out (https://amzn.to/2MrygRN).-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Photo Credit VaschelleAndre-2017 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raised on an island in South Carolina, singer/songwriter Trevor Hall realized at a young age that music was more than just a passion - it was his life’s art. So, he moved to California to pursue a degree in music, began performing live shows and was quickly signed to his dream deal at a major label. His trajectory seemed meteoric, then everything came tumbling down. His albums never made it out of production, he found himself out of money, abandoned by his label and on his own to figure out how to move forward.During this same time, he was also introduced to yoga and meditation and found himself traveling to a local ashram to practice and eventually find housing and sustenance. In his time of greatest need, he found himself living in the ashram, then traveling to India and rediscovering who he really was and how he wanted to bring his music and voice to the world. From there, he began to rebuild not only his living as a musician, but also his life.Hall’s music, a blend of roots and folk music with hints of inspiration from India, has since led him to a series of sold-out tours and collaborations with artists such as Steel Pulse, The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Matisyahu, Michael Franti, Xavier Rudd and Nahko & Medicine for the People. Trevor Hall’s Chapter of the Forest (2014) and KALA (2015), debuted at #3 and #2 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart respectively. He is currently touring around the US and Australia. While on tour, Hall collects donations to support children’s education in India.Hall’s latest album, The Fruitful Darkness, became the #1 Kickstarter Music campaign of 2017 and debuted at #9 on the iTunes alternative chart.Be sure to listen to the end, where Trevor shares a moving acoustic rendition of one of his songs, live in the studio.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Photo credit: Emory Hall Photography Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up, Grace Bonney, was all about culture and music, with a strong connection with jam bands that landed her on the business side of music and media in New York City. Along the way, she launched a side project blog called Design Sponge, to share insights about growing passion for accessible home design.The blog exploded and, eventually, she left her full-time job to build Design Sponge into a full-blown media company of her own with a massive, global audience, a book, travel and an increasingly public profile. But, along the way, Grace’s interests evolved, creating a gap between what she was creating, what she genuinely cared about and how she wanted to live.That all came to a head about 5 years ago when pretty much every part of her life, her marriage, her health and work-life were profoundly disrupted, setting in motion an awakening to a new direction in all three domains. Grace was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, her marriage ended, she came out, fell in love with her now wife, Julia, wrote a new book called In the Company of Women not about design, but about powerful creative women in business, launched a print magazine called Good Company, moved out of New York City, her home of 15 years, to live in a country hamlet with 400 people and rediscover true community, purpose and presence.We dive into this transformational journey in today’s powerful, revealing and inspiring conversation. -------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Scotty Johnson answered an ad in the paper to spend 4-months in the Arctic Circle, he never imagined it would forever change his life and lay the foundation for a stunning living filled with adventure and impact.In the two decades since, he's taken everyone from elite leadership teams and executives, to international sports teams, students and kids into some of the most rugged environments in the world, from the Oman desert to the open sea, and from Arctic expeditions and the rainforests of Australia to deep solitude of slow-moving rivers. He's been on a quest to tap the power of these natural laboratories to reconnect people to the things that matter, the things that give meaning, the things that align to personal values, and the things that make a difference to self, family, organizations and the world we live in.Along the way, he's found himself not only making a profound difference in people's lives but also building a career that lets him perpetually follow his fascinations, make meaning and fill his own life with exciting adventure, transformation and impact.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.Photo Credit Jon Riley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Priya Parker is the founder of Thrive Labs, where she helps activists, elected officials, corporate executives, educators, and philanthropists create transformational gatherings.She works with teams and leaders across technology, business, the arts, fashion, and politics to clarify their vision for the future and build meaningful, purpose-driven communities. Her clients have included the Museum of Modern Art, LVMH, the World Economic Forum, meetup.com, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, the Union for Concerned Scientists, and Civitas Public Affairs.Parker is the author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. In today's conversation, we explore the power and art of gathering, how to turn a hum-drum party or dinner into a life-changing experience. We also dive into her very personal experiences with race, exclusion, activism, resolution, hard conversations and the moments that both shaped who she would become and define the path she would choose in work and life.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Photo Credit Mackenzie Stroh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the outside-looking-in, Ryan Lee had it all.After 6 years working in a hospital helping physically-disabled and sick kids find more joy and ease, Ryan felt the tug of entrepreneurship. So, he left the job he loved to play in the world of "internet marketing," where he quickly made a name for himself and went on to built numerous, hugely-successful companies in the health and nutrition field. Along the way, Lee married his college sweetheart and was raising four great kids. He owned a beautiful house in Connecticut, worked from cafes and loved life.Then, everything started falling apart...Ryan's body began to betray him to the point where he could barely walk. He'd soon learn that was just a symptom of a much larger reckoning. A wake-up call that would test his health, his business, his closest relationships and lead to a complete reboot of his wellbeing, his living and life. And, as is his pattern, scratching the itch of his own wellbeing, Ryan began to notice a serious gap in the market. This culminated in the launch of a new professional path and a new company, REWIND, that is on a mission to produce nutrition solutions that "turn back the clock," and make life better and easier, starting with the world's first "super-bar."Ryan has been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, on dozens of TV shows, has spoken on stages to over 100,000 people and has been called “the world’s #1 lifestyle entrepreneur” by Entrepreneur. But, what you're about to hear in today's conversation is the deeply-personal, raw and honest side of Lee's story that has never before been told in any of these outlets. A story of rising-high, crashing-hard, deep-reckoning, then realigning with a giant heart of service.Be sure to listen to the end, where Ryan answers the question, "what are you afraid of?" His answer is powerful reset to all who aspire to big things in the world.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is your DNA your destiny? Can you swap in better "source code" to save your life, change your appearance, be smarter or more athletic? Can a mother inherit DNA from her fetus? What do you really get when you pay for inexpensive genome-testing? These questions are just part of what we cover in today's deep with acclaimed science-writer, Carl Zimmer. Zimmer writes the Matter column for the New York Times and contributes to The Atlantic, National Geographic, Time, and Scientific American, among others. He has won the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science Journalism Award three times, among a host of other awards and fellowships. He teaches science writing at Yale University. His previous books include Parasite Rex, Evolution, and Microcosm.His new book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh is a stunning, powerfully-researched, eye-opening look at the truth about heredity, DNA, what is truly in our control and the astonishing breakthroughs coming our way in just the next few years.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.Photo Credit Mistina Hanscom Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Piver (http://susanpiver.com/) is the New York Times best-selling author of 9 books, a speaker, and founder of the largest virtual mindfulness community in the world, The Open Heart Project. She has been featured on Oprah, TODAY, CNN, speaks around the world and leads teachings and retreats on Buddhism, meditation, relationships and the essential practices for a life well-lived.In her most recent book, The Four Noble Truths of Love, (https://amzn.to/2laMDxV) she offers a powerful set of tools to reimagine and better navigate long-term, loving relationships in a way that respects each person's individual truth, while making space for a living, evolving container for love.In our podcast conversation this week, Piver shares the eye-opening revelation that brought her to the Four Noble Truths of Love, then walks us through each one. She reveals the genesis of this work, her own 20-year marriage, her struggle with attachment to "what was" and the innately human need to contain and define and preserve it. And, she shares her awakening to how trying to lock something living and breathing and changing into the confines of something simple and clean and certain can only lead to suffering, while the opposite just might lead to freedom and a deepening sense of connection.To watch to Piver's incredible journey from Austin bartender to music industry exec to bestselling author to Shambhala meditation teacher, check out our earlier conversation here (http://www.goodlifeproject.com/video/mindfulness-serendipity-and-the-unplanned-life/).-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artist, poet, activist and author, Cleo Wade, likes to say she has three parents, her mom, her dad and the city of New Orleans.Wade’s new book, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom For a Better Life, (https://amzn.to/2Ltivce) is a moving collection of poems, provocative thoughts and moments that leave you questioning the status quo and opening your heart and mind to a different set of possibilities. Her artwork includes everything from short, hand-written posts shared with her giant following on Instagram to collaborations with major brands and large-scale public art installations, including a 25-foot love poem in the skyline of the New Orleans French Quarter titled “Respect.”In today’s episode we explore how being raised as a mixed-race kid in the famed New Orleans French Quarter by two fiercely-creative parents influenced her, how hurricane Katrina changed everything, why she moved to New York, how she walked away from a career as a rising star in fashion to rediscover and cultivate a deeper, artistic voice as a writer and artist, sharing her work online and in public spaces and leveraging her influence for social justice. Be sure to listen to the end, where Cleo reads a moving poem from her new book.-----------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Pollan is the author most recently of mega New York Times bestseller, How to Change Your Mind, and of seven previous books that became global phenomena, including Cooked, Food Rules, and The Omnivore's Dilemma. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley where he is the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Science Journalism. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world.In today's episode, we explore his lens on the writing life, then dive into his year's long investigative journey into the mysterious world of psychedelic molecules, like LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA and something called "the toad." We talk about the fact, fiction, history, science and revolutionary clinical studies now underway, mostly from the lens of therapeutic outcomes.This conversation is not a permission-slip to experiment with any of what he talks about, nor an endorsement, so please do not take it as such. Rather, it is a balanced, non-hyperbolic or sensationalized conversation about a category of substances that are now at the cutting-edge of research in the treatment of mental conditions that afflict tens of millions of people.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jen Sincero is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of You are a Badass and You are a Badass at Making Money.But it all started from humble beginnings, playing in a band and living in a garage in Venice Beach, California, Sincero made a decision to change her life, stepping into her true identity, leading with her real, wise, funny, badass voice, and reframing her relationship with money. Money, it turned out, was not the enemy, but rather a conduit for expression and impact.With this shift in intention and action, she set a new course and built a career as an internationally-acclaimed and massively successful writer on her own terms. Still, the story behind what it took to sell her first book, You Are a Badass (which has now sold a bajillion copies and been on the NYT list for years) is pretty amazing. We dive into that and so much more in this week's Best Of conversation.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sadie Lincoln had a powerhouse career in a global fitness company, where her husband Chris also worked. But deep down, she knew the company she was helping to grow was no longer aligned with who she was and how she wanted to contribute to the world. Her career in wellness was leaving her unwell.So, she and Chris decided to quit their jobs, sell their home and move from the San Francisco area to Portland, Oregon, in the name of pursuing a dream. Together, they founded barre3, a whole-health movement studio and community that has now grown to more than 100 locations worldwide.In today's episode, we explore Sadie's journey growing up in an alternative family with her mom and a small group of friends - her "aunties" - who all raised their kids together. We dive into her love of movement and creativity and teaching, her openness to following serendipity into the world of fitness, and her emerging commitment to helping women cultivate and share their voices.--------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rich Roll transformed his body and health, losing 50-pounds and becoming an acclaimed plant-powered ultra-endurance athlete. This led to the blockbuster book, Finding Ultra. But, behind the scenes, he was struggling with something else that would eventually bring him, once again, to his knees.While he'd figured out his physical wellbeing, he had also awakened to the fact that his career as a lawyer was deeply unfulfilling. Married, with a wife and four kids, he left the law behind. Now, he had to figure out how to craft a new living. This led to a years-long, often brutally-hard journey that brought him within hours of losing the family home. But, together with his wife, Julie Piatt, they held to their belief that the only way was through.That eventually led to a new vocation as an advocate, speaker, author and podcast producer focusing on healthy-living, plant-powered eating, sustainable food-systems and meaningful living. That journey is still unfolding. And, in today's conversation, we dive into the major points of reckoning, inflection and celebration. This part of his journey is also detailed in a newly updated version of Finding Ultra.-----------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Her ninth-grade teacher changed her life, but the loss of a friend followed by time in service of Tibetan refugees in India would lead Leah Weiss to change the lives of thousands in ways she never saw coming, until they arrived.Leah Weiss, Ph.D., MSW, is a teacher, researcher, and meditation expert at Stanford University specializing in mindfulness and compassion. She teaches a perennially waitlisted course at Stanford, Leading with Mindfulness and Compassion, and is the Principal Teacher and Trainer for Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Training program, founded by the Dalai Lama. She is also the author of How We Work (https://amzn.to/2jxpULU), and a women's rights advocate who strives to bring actionable methods for difficult work situations to women at all levels.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Turns out, perfect timing is less of an art and more of a science than we ever knew. In today's conversation with mega-NYT-bestselling author, Dan Pink (http://www.danpink.com/) we dive into the "secret" science of perfect timing, drawing from his new book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (https://amzn.to/2HB7Tuw). Prepare to be pretty seriously surprise, you just might discover there is a perfect minute, time of day, day of the week, month or year to finally do that thing you've always wanted to do AND have the highest likelihood of success.And, of course, since we had Dan in the studio, we also dive into his career, his writing life and how, why and when he chooses to commit to a project, book and so much more.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tyler Wetherall didn't know her dad was a fugitive, until Scotland Yard came knocking. As a child, Wetherall's family was constantly changing countries and homes. But, to her, that was just "how things were. Life was an exciting adventure, until it all came crashing down and she realized the family had been on the run and the dad she loved so deeply was the one they were after.Now, a British writer and journalist living in New York, in her memoir, No Way Home, Tyler shares this journey, how she discovered the truth, navigated the fraught relationship with her father and found a new normal. We dive into her life and also the decision to write a book that would reveal her and her family's secrets and how she created something that was true to her experience, while being respectful of those involved.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Gap fashion model, Light Watkins, began yoga and meditation in-between casting calls in New York City during the late nineties. It opened him to a different worldview and set of practices that would change not only the trajectory of his career, but also his path in life. Deepening his practice, traveling and spending time in India and then apprenticing with his Vedic Meditation teacher, Watkins became a full-time Vedic Meditation teacher in 2007. He now travels the world speaking on happiness, mindfulness, inspiration, and meditation. Light’s most recent book, Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying invites people into meditation in a very accessible way. And, he also produces The Shine—a global pop-up inspirational variety show with a mission to inspire that actually started as a local dinner gathering.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geneen Roth is done trying to fix the messy parts of her life, and she wants you to consider the possibility that a good part of your magnificence lies in your mess. A mega New York Times bestselling author of books like When Food Is Love and Women Food and God, Roth has been teaching groundbreaking workshops for over 30 years. She's been featured everywhere from The Oprah Winfrey Show, to 20/20, the Today show, Good Morning America, The View and beyond.In her new book, This Messy Magnificent Life, she invites us to stand in our own imperfection, to allow space to feel loved and whole and good, even when open questions remain. And, to reclaim a sense of agency and expansion over our bodies, lives, relationships and power at a time when too many feel a lack of control and contraction.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Lesser is the co-founder of the legendary Omega Institute, recognized internationally for its workshops and conferences in wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change. She's presented at TED, was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100 and is a New York Times bestselling author. Seeking to help save her younger sister's life after a diagnosis of cancer, Lesser donated her bone marrow. While her efforts, devastatingly, didn't achieve their ultimate goal, they led to a profound transformation in the relationship between the sisters that has become the focus of Elizabeth's latest book, Marrow: Love, Loss & What Matters Most.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Frank Lipman, a pioneer in both integrative and functional medicine, is the founder and director of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City, a New York Times best-selling author and the creator of Be Well, a lifestyle brand that helps people achieve genuine and sustainable life changes. We explored his moving personal journey from South Africa to NYC in a prior episode.Today, drawing from his newest book, How to Be Well, we dive into Lipman's "Good Medicine Mandala" and six pillars of health with specific, often contrarian advice on everything from fasting and fat to sleep and sunshine.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melissa Bernstein is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Melissa & Doug, the global toy company committed to igniting imagination and a sense of wonder in all children so they can discover themselves, their passions and their purpose. A mom of six, Bernstein is also leading a movement to Take Back Childhood. For her entire life, though, she's lived with a secret. From her earliest memories, a sense of foreboding, sometimes consuming darkness has followed her and remains to this day. Yet, while working on ways to lift it, she's also learned to harness the energy of this heaviness to create light and laughter for millions of children and families, including her own.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruthie Lindsey escaped paralysis after a car accident in her late teens, but found herself in unrelenting and mysterious pain. A cocktail of medication dulled it a bit, but left her struggling to function. Years later, the pain remains and, in fact, through circumstances revealed in our conversation, has only worsened. Yet, to look at Lindsey's stunningly-joyful instagram feed, you'd think she lives a life of care-free joy, lightness and abundance. In no small way, you'd be right. But, it's not because the pain ever left, it is because she became intentional about how she chose to live with it.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a young child, Arian Moayed's family fled Iran, taking a years-long journey that split the family, and eventually landed them just outside Chicago, where they set about building a new life in a radically different world. Stumbling into a love of acting, Moayed began to pursue a passion for theater. He was met with a wall of no's. But, to him that just meant, make it happen on your own. And, so he did.Moayed has since become a Tony-nominated actor, co-founder of theater/film production and arts education venture, Waterwell, (http://www.waterwell.org/) and an award-winning writer/director. He's worked alongside legends like Bill Murray, Alfonso Cuaron, Barry Levinson, Spike Lee and Jon Stewart. Arian's groundbreaking thriller TV series, The Accidental Wolf (http://theaccidentalwolf.com/), starring Kelli O’Hara, Laurie Metcalf, Denis O’Hare, and a cast of 36 Tony nominations, is taking the web by storm. And, his heart is most boldly on display in the arts education program he helped develop that offers 6-12th graders in New York City free theater training, and explores not just performance, but citizenship, service and what it means to be human. We all need more of that these days.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Rana Awdish wanted to be a doctor from her earliest memories, and worked to become an ICU physician. But, when she found herself 7-months pregnant, being admitted to the hospital spiraling into multiple organ failure, the near-death experience, followed by a two year medical odyssey would forever change her.Dr. Awdish's understanding of both what is was to be a patient, and how the relationship between doctor and patient could radically affect the experience and even outcome of a patient was transformative. This harrowing journey and her awakening to a profoundly different way to practice medicine is detailed beautifully in her memoir, In Shock.Dr. Awdish is now the Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and a Critical Care Physician. She was recently named Medical Director of Care Experience for the Health System and awarded the Speak-Up Hero award in 2014 for her work on improving communication, as well as the Critical Care Teaching Award in 2016.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder, where is the sweet spot between pushing multiple projects forward simultaneously until you see which one is most likely to succeed AND drilling too many wells at the same time, ensuring that even though all may have serious potential, you never get enough traction in any to hit oil in any, let alone signal it’s the right one to move forward? That’s why my motto for this year has become "fewer things better. And, that's what we’re talking about on today’s riff.Good Life Science Update. And, on the science side of things, today, we're diving into a cool new study on the relationship between money, happiness and fulfillment. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to more about the study.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charity Tillemann-Dick grew up in Denver, CO, with her 10 brothers and sisters. She loved to sing from her earliest memories, so she did the logical thing; graduated high school 3 years early, sped through college...and became a political operative by her late teens! What?!All the while, though, she continued to sing on the side, until Charity was eventually "discovered" by a legendary opera teacher, who took her under her wing and gave her a full-ride to study at the legendary Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. In an instant, everything changed, a new career was born. Charity became a sought-after soprano and top-selling classical recording artist, performing all over the world.But, something was wrong. Her lungs, the very source not just of her life, but of her vocation, began to fail. Diagnosed with potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension, she had two double lung transplants, the second coming after the first pair of lungs was rejected. Still, each time, she found a way not just to sing again, but to come alive, and also become an evangelist for transplants and medical research. Her story is detailed in her memoir, The Encore. We explore this, journey, along with a beautiful love story, her relationship with faith and so much more along the way.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to get paid what you're worth? Don't just demand it, believe it.It's a question I'm asked often by everyone from employees to entrepreneurs and private practice professionals. How do I raise my rates, earn more money, get paid what I'm worth?Part of it is a marketing principal—"price implies quality." Raise your rates, ask for more and people will start to see you as someone worthy of that amount. It's all about perception, they "file" you as a higher-caliber performer because the price or salary you're asking is that of someone who is worth it. It's quality "by association."BUT, that's only half the equation. The other half is about belief. And, if you miss this part, you can raise your fees, ask for more, demand a raise...and none of it will matter. It still won't work. Nobody will buy you're worth it until you do. That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.And, on in our Good Life Science Update, we're exploring the alarming relationship between noise, especially traffic and city noise, and heart disease. Turns out, city dwellers and traffic marauders may be at a higher risk of heart attack or stroke and many other diseases. We'll explore this phenomenon and some new research on what may be the underlying causes. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to more.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She wanted a family, he didn't. What happened next, neither saw coming.In this week's conversation, Heather Harpham takes us into her whirlwind romance with a writer that led to a seemingly endless series of unexpected turns. Heather always saw her life with children, but her then-boyfriend saw no room for a child. His life was devoted to his craft as a writer. Fate, however, brought them a daughter.The idea of bringing a child into the world, alone, cultivated emotions ranging from joy to trauma, and eventually cut deep personal divides between the two. Harpham's life was turned upside-down. But, when their daughter was born with a near-fatal illness, the small semblance that was left of Harpham's handle on normalcy was tossed out the window.In today's conversation, Heather shares her whirlwind romance turned harrowing story of life-and-death motherhood and evolving quest to redefine what family is and can be. This journey is also detailed in her memoir, Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if greatness isn't about what you accomplish, but how you serve? Some 50 years ago, in February 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a sermon entitled The Drum Major Instinct. It invites people to redefine greatness as service, while at the same time recognizing the very human instinct for attention and praise and inviting it to harness it for something bigger. That's what we're talking about in today's riff.And, in our Good Life Science Update, we dive into a fascinating analysis of studies that reveal something stunning about over-the-counter pain medicine like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Turns out, they don't just dull physical pain, they also may well dull emotions and thinking, too. And, as always, here's a direct citation - [Ratner et al. Can Over-the-Counter Pain Medications Influence Our Thoughts and Emotions? Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2018].-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you keep love alive? It's not what you think!This week, we're diving deep into love, romance, danger, conflict, fact, fantasy and truth with Dr. Stan Tatkin, (http://www.stantatkin.com/) a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of a Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT). Tatkin's practice is based in Calabasas, California, where for the last 20 years he has specialized in working with couples, and also individuals who want to be in a relationship.Tatkin and his wife, Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, Ph.D., founded the PACT Institute (https://thepactinstitute.com/) where they train psychotherapists to use the PACT method in their clinical practice. They lead couple workshops and train therapists all over the world.Tatkin is also the author of numerous books, including Wired for LOVE: How Understanding Your Partner's Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationship. (http://amzn.to/2GKMJWK)-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why would anyone stop eating for 7-days?That's what I first thought when I started hearing accounts of longer-term fasting. Insane. Nuts. Dangerous. Then, I started exploring the research. There is a growing interest in, and body of science around, longer-term fasting that is revealing some incredible benefits. Everything ranging from anti-inflammation and pain reduction to weight loss, disease risk reduction, positive epigenetic signaling, immune boosting, mental acuity and more. I got curious, so I decided to run my own experiment.Last week, I fasted for 7-days. I was surprised by what happened on many levels. I detail what I did, why I did it, and the sometimes dramatic ways it affected me in today's podcast. Of course, all the usual precautions apply. It's absolutely not for everyone, it should be done (if at all) in conjunction with a qualified healthcare professional. For a great overview on a scientific/grounded approach to fasting, you might also want to check out The Complete Guide to Fasting.Good Life Science Update. And, on the science side of things, today, we're diving into a cool new study on how sunshine and/or vitamin D3 supplementation might actually be able to do what was once thought impossible - help repair damage to your cardiovascular system that leads to hypertension, stroke and heart attack. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to more about the study.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What turns a devout scientist into Buddhist monk?Born in France in 1946, Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who left a career in cellular genetics to study Buddhism and live a largely monastic life in the Himalayas over 45 years ago.Sharing his insights, Ricard has since become an international best-selling author and a prominent speaker on the world stage, celebrated at the World Economic Forum at Davos, the NGH forums at the United Nations, and at TED where his talks on happiness and altruism has been viewed by over six million people.His books have been translated into over twenty languages, and his newest is, Beyond the Self: A conversation between Neuroscience and Buddhism.Ricard was lightly dubbed "the happiest man alive," after neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin scanned his brain during meditation and found the highest capacity for happiness ever recorded.As a trained scientist and Buddhist monk, he is uniquely positioned in the dialogue between East and West. He is an active participant in the current scientific research on the effects of meditation on the brain. He lives in Nepal and devotes all the proceedings of his books and activities to 200 humanitarian projects in Tibet, India, and Nepal.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Burned-out, overwhelmed? Try walking in the rain.We've all been there. That place where it feels like it's just too much. Too much work, too much stimulation, too much stress, too much expectation, too much to deliver in too little time, too much change, too much anger, vitriol, outrage. For many, it leads to overwhelm, stress, burnout and sadness.So, what do you do about that? Many things, and it's different for everyone. But, today, we're talking about something really simple. The power of solitude, nature and movement. And, just for the fun, there's even a little poetry mixed in.Good Life Science Update. Screen-time and happiness, oh my. This is one of those things we love to hear, and hate to hear. We all want science to back up our decision to rail against more screen-time. But, then, secretly, we don't really want to give up on our devices. Well, a new study that crunched the data from more than one-million teens revealed something pretty powerful.There is actually a specific amount of daily screen-time that serves as a "happiness threshold." Push past it, happiness plummets. Steer clear of it, happiness rules. That's we're talking about in this week's Good Life Science Update. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you do to live your truth?Samantha Paige is an artist, parent, philanthropist, and the founder of the Last Cut Project – but you most likely know her from Equinox’s “Commit to Something” campaign.She’s a thyroid cancer survivor and BRCA1 previvor, but she’s a symbol of strength for so much more than that.Samantha was subjected to a series of uncomfortable decisions throughout her life, but after a double mastectomy and an implant surgery that continued to make her sick for months, she found herself faced with surprisingly, her most life-changing decision of all: to remove the silicone implants.Directly after her surgery, Samantha’s life took a turn, she looked around and realized that she didn’t even recognize her surroundings. As soon as Samantha made that initial decision to remove her implants, she found herself. She found truth and freedom, and was finally able to live a life that feels like hers, but with that came an internal battle to accept her new body.Over the years, this struggle has forced her to take a long, hard look at disease and prejudice in society. She asked herself why she felt self-conscious without her breasts, and ultimately, set out on a mission to change this status quo by formulating different conversation around these topics. This inflection point led her to launch the Last Cut photo project, social movement, and podcast (“Last Cut Conversations”) which has helped encourage others to seek freedom by honoring similar decisions, their individuality, and a life that feels uniquely right to them. Now, she creates community around these conversations and allows others a place to share without shame.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don't have a teacher, you're cheating yourself.Wow, I do NOT like those words!In fact, I resisted the whole notion of a teacher for decades. Friends and colleagues, from artists to athletes, execs to educators would all tell me about their amazing mentors, teachers, coaches and gurus. My eyes would roll. I'm an autodidact, I'd tell myself, I learn best when I'm in control. I don't need a teacher or a coach, I just need access to information.Turns out, that is a complete and utter lie.To go from being a newbie to being really good at anything takes a ton of work. Still, most people, with enough motivation, can get there. To go from really good to excellent takes a whole different level of effort known as "deliberate practice." But, to go from excellent to stunningly-good, to step into that final, brutally-hard to access top 5% of your potential, that takes something entirely different. Something called "directed practice." And, here's the thing, you cannot DO directed practice without a teacher. End of story. No exceptions.What deliberate and directed practice are, and how a teacher becomes a critical player, no matter how smart you are, is what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.Good Life Science Update.And, on the science side of things, today, we're diving into a cool new study from a team out of University of Illinois about how being in nature affects your ability to focus your attention, stay engaged longer and go better work. We've known about the effects of nature on your body and mind, it's an amazing Vitality Bucket filler. But, now, we've got research to show how it can effect your ability to do your best work. To fill your Contribution Bucket, too. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Stabile had every reason to be angry with the world, but he chose love instead.At the age of 14, Scott's parents were killed at the market they ran, leaving behind a family of seven kids. Stabile was the baby of the group, and nine years later, his brother overdosed and died from a heroine addiction.In those years, he was surrounded by a lot of tragedy, addiction and loss. And, he buried it all, keeping it secret through school, until eventually, it couldn't stay buried any longer. His awakening eventually led him into a journey of discovery where his deep seeking for answers and connection led him to San Francisco and eventually into the embrace of a cult, where he stayed for many years.Flowing through all of this was Scott's internal, turned external struggle with his sexuality as a gay man at a time when being out was a very different experience than it is now. Through it all, though, Scott continually found a way to turn back to love. And eventually, he made a choice that stuck, to live on his own terms, no matter what comes his way, with a wide-open heart. He began to share his journey and philosophy through teachings, workshops, and inspirational posts and videos that have attracted a huge and devoted social media following. And, he began to create and write.His previous works include Just Love, Iris, and the Li’l Pet Hospital series. Scott also wrote the feature film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, an eye-opening experience he writes about in his new book, Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart (http://amzn.to/2CTUebn).In today's episode, we dive into this powerful journey.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Asking for honesty, but seeking validation? This tends to be the time of year where we look at making changes in everything from fitness and relationships and to careers, locations and beyond. And, the bigger the decision, the more we tend to look to others for advice.But, all too often, a request for honest input is really a veiled yearning for validation. We've already made up our mind, we just want permission, often to do the thing that'd keep us in a box of illusion and complacency. We’re so wrapped up in the quest for validation, we’ve forgotten that real change only happens when we stop seeking validation and start seeking the truth. That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.Good Life Science: We know exercise is good for your heart, but can it actually "reverse" the damage done by years of inactivity? In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on a very specific approach to exercise, and how it can reverse a specific and insidious type of damage done to the heart through sedentary living, aka, sitting around and working in a chair all day.What's fascinating is this exercise protocol is not only highly effective but also "dose dependent." Translation, the researchers also learned that while 2-3 times a week doesn't help a lot, 4-5 times a week makes a huge difference. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From darkness comes light. That's what we're told. But, it's not always the case.In today's moving conversation with Lea Waters, we explore how a childhood that held the darkness of abuse led to years of continued suffering, but eventually became a source of transformation and led to a life of profound light, beauty and strength.Waters is an Australian psychologist, the Founding Director of and professor of Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Psychology, University of Melbourne. She holds affiliate positions at Cambridge University’s Well-Being Institute and the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations and has published over 95 scientific articles and book chapters.Her first book, The Strength Switch: How The New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish, was recently included in UC Berkeley’s Greater Goods Magazine’s Top Books for 2017. Lea is the 2017-2019 President of the International Positive Psychology Association and serves on the Council of Happiness and Education for the World Happiness Council. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, son and daughter.In today's deep dive, we explore Waters' journey from a childhood defined by a lot of pain to her attempt to "self medicate" led to a year's long eating disorder, then to her awakening to a bigger truth about who she was, where her self-worth came from and a commitment to harness the darkness of her youth as fuel for a powerhouse career in the science of flourishing, with a focus on raising kids who experience life to it's fullest.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we head into this new year, full of hope and resolutions, the most popular goal is to lose weight and get fit. Optimizing your health and getting fit is a key element of filling your Vitality Bucket. And, it often includes eating better, moving your body and, wait for it, shedding fat.But, here's the thing. Over the last decade, research has revealed that all fat is not created equal. What fat cells, while serving certain necessary roles, are the ones we tend to fear. The ones that make up nearly all the fat in our body, store energy, make us larger, and often lead to inflammation and contribute to an array of metabolic disease.Brown fat, though, does the exact opposite. It is like a caloric furnace, helps us get lean, better control glucose sensitivity and more. As babies, we have a ton of it. But, by the time we become grown-ups, there is very little left.What if there was a way to increase the brown fat in your body as a way to turn up the furnace, lose weight and get healthier? What if you could actually turn your white fat brown? Turns out, you can! That's was we're talking about in today's Good Life Update, which is a rare expanded Good Life Science deep-dive. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study we mentioned as the "leading edge" in this research.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success is not just about knowing what to do. It's about doing it. Information, plans and goals will not get you where you want to go. Success is about something bigger. To succeed at anything worth doing, you must make key shifts in your environment, mindset and community that "turn on" the actions needed for game-changing results.I call this "Success Scaffolding." It applies to everything, from weight loss to business, and relationships to careers. In today's episode, instead of our traditional guest conversation, I'm sharing what I call the "7P Success Scaffolding™" framework. Every element, every step, nothing held back. Why? Because it is that time of year when millions commit to big, new, deeply-meaningful goals, only to walk away or fail by the time we hit February. Not because we don't want it badly enough. Not because we're not smart enough. But, because we do not have our Success Scaffolding in place. This is my New Year's offering. I shared it for the first time in 2017, and it feels like time for a refresher as we enter 2018. It is about helping you make this year different, bridging the gap between hope and reality.You can find the 1-page worksheet HERE.Mentioned in this Episode:Gretchen Rubin's Quiz: The Four TendenciesMy Good Life Project JournalSnapshot360™ Online QuizJoin our Good Life Project CommunityJonathan's new book, How to Live a Good LifeSign up for our Weekly Insider Updates to get Jonathan's mind map of The Seven P's.We first aired this conversation in January 2017. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now.-------------Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED: We’re looking for special guest “wisdom-seekers” to share the moment you’re in, then pose questions to Jonathan and the Sparked Braintrust to be answered, “on air.” To submit your “moment & question” for consideration to be on the show go to sparketype.com/submit. Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't make this year-end mistake...Everywhere you look, people are reflecting on the year, sharing what went right, what went wrong, what freaked them out and lit them up. Then, they're looking at the year ahead, setting goals, intentions and making commitments and resolutions about what they "want" to happen. Reflecting, learning and then setting intentions, and goals is a good thing.But there's one thing that's critically important to turning the page on another year that most people never do. It's a simple ritual we call "Closing the Books." And, the problem with skipping this step is that, if you don't do it, you never fully let go of this year and create the space to step into next year as unburdened by the past as you can possibly be. So, how do you Close the Books? That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.Good Life Science: In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on sleep, and how wearing glasses with amber lenses at night affects your ability to get the nods you need. You may have heard about this before, but this new research shows just how big a benefit you can get. It also brings up a pretty powerful reason to wear them that we'd never considered. It's not just about your devices and screens anymore, it's bigger than that. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.+--------------------------+Our Podcast Partners: ShipStation: Manage and ship your orders. FREE for 30 days, plus a bonus. Visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in GOODLIFE.Videoblocks:  Go to videoblocks.com/goodlife to get all the stock video, audio, and images you can imagine for just $149.Health IQ: Tapping science to secure lower rates on life insurance for health-conscious people. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/goodlife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder how to kill a bad habit or start a good one? How to stop eating ice cream at 11 pm or smoking or procrastinating? How to exercise every day, without fail?Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of The Power of Habit, (https://amzn.to/3jhgYHS) Charles Duhigg, did too. But he went beyond wondering and spent a few years researching the science behind habits. What he discovered was pretty mind-blowing.Not only is there a huge amount of mythology and misinformation around these hidden routines, but the people who understand the real psychology of habit formation are using it not just to change their own behavior, but to "influence" the buying decisions of hundreds of millions of consumers. Including you.In this episode of Good Life Project, Duhigg reveals how one of the biggest retailers in the world, Target, uses habit analysis to figure out which customers are pregnant and leverages that information to cultivate new buying habits. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.He shares how to tap the neuroscience of habit to create your own positive behaviors (hint: chocolate after exercise may not be such a bad thing). He reveals why old habits never really die and what to do about it.Duhigg takes us behind the scenes of major corporations and shows how to use the science of habit to transform a failing business into a success story in ways you'd never suspect. And he shares how these ideas can be tapped to create larger shifts in cultures and societies for good or, if misused, not-so-good.[We first aired this conversation in July 2012. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now as we head into the year to come to think about the habits we want to create].+------------------------+Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if you could just spend all your time being creative?Making amazing things, and not worry about building your social media profiles, your relationships, platforms and all the other yadda, yadda, yadda that comes with being not just a creative person, but also an enterprise.Is that even possible any more? And, if so, what would it look like? That's what we're exploring in today's Good Life Project Riff.Good Life Science: In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on an age-old myth, the notion that you can "feel the weather in your bones." More, specifically, does rainy weather make your joints aches or make old injuries more painful? In today's Good Life Science Update, we explore a new study that harnessed big data to arrive at a surprising answer. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.+--------------------------+Our Podcast Partners: ShipStation: Manage and ship your orders. FREE for 30 days, plus a bonus. Visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in GOODLIFE.Tunein: Catch all-new episodes of some of your favorite podcasts early with TuneIn First Play? Download the free TuneIn app now.Videoblocks:  Go to videoblocks.com/goodlife to get all the stock video, audio, and images you can imagine for just $149. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Courtney Carver believes simplicity is the way back to love. But, her wake-up call was a diagnosis of MS.A mom, wife, and creative pro, Courtney Carver was building a living in the advertising industry, and a beautiful family. Then, in 2006, everything changed. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Carver went on a journey to figure out how to reclaim as much of life as she could and identify what made things better or worse.Stress, she discovered, made everything worse. So, she was determined to eliminate as much stress as possible for a happier, healthier life. Along the way, she made another discovery, the common thread in every "de-stressing" change she made from diet to debt was simplicity.So, she began to simplify every aspect of her life, and the change not just emotionally, but physically was remarkable. Simplicity was literally changing her body, her symptoms, her relationships and life. She began sharing her experiments on a blog, bemorewithless.com, that eventually took off, launched minimalist fashion challenge called Project 333 and the Tiny Wardrobe Tour to share her stories of living with less and connect with like-hearted people.Her new book, Soulful Simplicity Carver shares this moving journey.In today's conversation, we explore Courtney's early interests, including a love or art and photography, how she made her way into the "business" side of advertising and built a career. We dive into the changes in her body and the moment that led her to the doctor where she'd learn she had MS. We talk about how she "broke the news" to her husband and daughter, stumbled upon the connection between stuff and stress, then rebuilt her life and living around the idea of simplicity as a path to ease, love and soul.+--------------------+We're grateful for the kind support of: ShipStation: Manage and ship your orders. FREE for 30 days, plus a bonus. Visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in GOODLIFE.Tunein: Catch all-new episodes of some of your favorite podcasts early with TuneIn First Play? Download the free TuneIn app now.Videoblocks:  Go to videoblocks.com/goodlife to get all the stock video, audio, and images you can imagine for just $149. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good Life Riff: One of the most critical keys to success, in any endeavor, is knowing what to say yes or no to.The faster you can choose, the more time you can spend actually doing the things that matter, and walking away from the things that don't. In today's GLP Riff, we share a simple question that serves as a powerful decision-making tool designed to simplify your decisions, reduce "decision fatigue" and lead you more quickly to the things that matter most.Good Life Science: In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on mindfulness.Yes, mindfulness. We know, there's been a lotta research on this topic. But this is different. The big challenge with mindfulness, when it comes to science, is that people are lumping a bunch of different practices under the umbrella of mindfulness, then making claims about what it can do. But, a new study finally dismantled the core elements of the practice (focused awareness and open monitoring) and showed how each does something very different, and has it's own special-sauce benefit. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.+--------------------------+Our Podcast Partners: ShipStation: Manage and ship your orders. FREE for 30 days, plus a bonus. Visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in GOODLIFE.MVMT Watches: Get 15% off today, go to MVMT.com/goodTunein: Catch all-new episodes of some of your favorite podcasts early with TuneIn First Play? Download the free TuneIn app now.Videoblocks:  Go to videoblocks.com/goodlife to get all the stock video, audio, and images you can imagine for just $149.Thrive Market: Get $60 of FREE organic groceries + free shipping and a 30-day trial atthrivemarket.com/goodlife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known widely as The Iceman, Wim Hof, is a Dutch-born world record holder, adventurer, daredevil and researcher.While best known for his seemingly freakish ability to withstand extreme cold, and the many world records that've come along with that, even more significant is the work he has done blending extreme cold with breathing and mindset exercises to alter physiology and short-circuit responses thought impossible to control.Through his Wim Hof Method, Wim asserts that he can “turn his own thermostat up” and consciously activate his sympathetic nervous system. What makes his work even more unusual is that he's partnered with academic researchers in a quest to scientifically validate, measure and teach his techniques.In this week's episode, we dive into the early life experiences that turned Wim on to the transformational power of extreme cold and water. We explore his obsession with existential questions and Eastern philosophy at an early age, how that led to him being viewed as a bit of an outcast and how he kept to his studies despite this. We also explore how the death of his wife and his experience raising his kids pushed him to explore extreme cold, breathing and mindset training as interventions for not just disease and inflammation, but also anxiety and depression.It also bears mentioning, Wim's ideas are very progressive, as with any health/lifestyle advice that pushes paradigms, be sure to check in with a qualified healthcare provider before exploring these ideas and, if you choose to try them, be sure to do so under the guidance of a trained professional and never alone.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.