Good Life Project || Inspiration | Motivation | Happiness | Meaning | Success

Have you ever realized how often you think without really thinking? Jessica is an award-winning author and science writer known for expertly blending rigorous science with compassionate humanity. With degrees in physics from Harvard and poetry from the University of Wisconsin, Jessica is deeply engaged with connecting across differences to expand and heal the human experience, and her debut book, The End Of Bias: A Beginning, is the culmination of fifteen years of reporting and writing on bias and discrimination and how to solve it. The book, which offers readers hope and direction on how to change their biased behavior, was named a Best Book of the Year by the World Economic Forum, Greater Good, AARP, and INC, and in our conversation today, we dive deeper into some of the fascinating ideas and research presented in her book. Jessica and I go back in time, and she walks me through some key moments in her life and career that led to her research into these hidden scripts and preferences, what they ar

As we head into the final month of the year, which for many has been a year of re-emergence and reimagining, there’s never been a more important time to reconnect with our own inner creativity. And, by the way, this is even more important if you’re someone who, maybe, has never even considered themselves all that creative, or in any way skilled at it. But, now, it’s not just about our work or hobbies or passions, we need to find new ways to turn our creative impulse loose on life, itself. That process of reimagining, of stepping into a place of possibility, takes a blend of inspiration, action-taking and wisdom from those who’ve been immersing themselves in the world of creativity for years. This is why we’re excited to bring you a power compilation collective today that focuses in on igniting creativity in all parts of work, play, relationships, and life. We’ve brought together 4 incredible voices, Lisa Congdon, James Victore, Yrsa Daley-Ward, and Mike Han. Each comes from wildly different backgrounds,

For a lot of us, 2020 was the wake-up call we desperately needed to be able to look at our lives, how we work and live, what we value, and more with a pair of fresh eyes. Yet, now, almost two years later, many of us are still struggling with how to answer the call. And I imagine that right about now, we'd all love a blueprint or some sort of direction as we try to take what we've learned and experienced in the past few years and use it to embrace the new passions, careers, and ideas that have lit us up. So joining me today to explore how we can all move forward, with more intention and meaning, in life and at work is my good friend, behavior coach, Certified Interfaith Spiritual Director, host of The One Your Feed podcast, and writer Eric Zimmer. But this format is a bit different. Eric and I have been having these deep private jam sessions for years, centering topics that fascinate us and matter to all of us. So, we thought we’d get together, turn on the mics, and dive share one of these deep dives in a

How do you step into conversations, whether personal or professional, family, friends, colleagues, or even perceived or real adversaries, and still find a place for love in the conversation? Is that even possible in some situations? Is it asking way too much, or is it the only way to finally feel the way you want to feel and resolve an issue that, approached any other way, will remain forever intractable?That’s what we’re talking about with today’s guest, the Most Reverend Michael Curry, who is the first African American individual to serve as Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.In May of 2018, Bishop Curry delivered a moving sermon on the redemptive power of love at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding, then just months after served as the officiant for the state funerals of Senator John McCain and President George H.W. Bush in the Washington National Cathedral. Bishop Curry has also written 5 books, his newest is Love is the Way: Holding Onto Hope in Troubling Times, which ex

Ahh, that holiday time of year. A time for celebration and joy and generosity and reflection. And also a whole lot of forced togetherness and conflict and family patterns and politics and stress and unhealthy coping, lashing out, even sadness and loneliness - sometimes all within a matter of minutes, even for the most joyful, healthily attached and grateful person, this time can just bring up a lot. So what do we do with that? How do we handle that? What habits or go-to strategies can we say yes to that just might make this time of year fly by with more genuine ease and joy and connection and maybe even grace? That is what we were talking about in this month's continuation of our fun 5 Life-Changing Habits series. So we kicked that series off a little bit earlier with a wide-ranging sort of a more universal 5 Life-Changing Habits episode. And then last month, again with our 5 Life-Changing Relationship Habits episode, and they were met with such a huge reception, we figured, hey, let's keep it going and get s

Imagine, after years of struggling to find your way in different careers and trying out business ideas, you created something that exploded in the best of ways. A business serving thousands of people, a great living, security, possibility, an amazing channel of expression. And, then, over time, you realized you’d bought into a way of doing things that went against the essence of who you were. And, you started to feel called to do something else?Would you walk away from that success, trusting once again, that joyful lightning could, in fact, strike twice, without even knowing what your next move would be? That is exactly the question today’s guest, Jadah Sellner, faced. After co-founding and growing Simple Green Smoothies into a viral phenomenon and a flourishing 7-figure business in an astonishingly short period of time. She did the unthinkable. She exited the business, selling her interest, and bet on herself, and her belief that she could figure out how to craft her living, once again, in a way that better

Question for you: what if you could slow down, stop or even reverse your aging process? What if you could live, not just longer, but better? Extending and even potentially expanding your physical and mental health and well-being. Staving off decline or illness. Is any of that really possible, and what does cutting-edge science have to say?That is what we are talking about with today's guest. David Sinclair. David is a worldwide leader in aging research. He is a Professor in the Department of Genetics and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School.He's best known for his work on genes and small molecules that delay aging, including the sirtuin genes and resveratrol and its precursors, which we get into. He’s published over 170 scientific studies, is the co-inventor on over 50 patents, has co-founded 14 biotechnology companies in the area of aging vaccines, diabetes, fertility Cancer Biodefense. His book Lifespan, Why We Age, and Why We Don't Have To explores

Is it even possible to have a genuinely open conversation that holds the potential to persuade someone to your point of view anymore? Or have we entered a “post-persuasion” state? And, if so, is there a way to change that?How to move people back into conversation, and set the table for openness and, maybe even persuasion to a different set of ideas, beliefs and actions? Our guest today, Anand Giridharadas, has been studying this very question for years. In our conversation today, Anand and I dive deeper into the politics of persuasion, dissect the underlying drivers behind division, identity politics, social reinforcement, and explore a number of specific ideas and strategies designed to help us all get back to a place of more empathy and understanding. You can find Anand at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Zoe Chance about personal social dynamics and the art of persuasion.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy

I’ve come to realize something, we are all healing from something. All the time. Maybe it’s a physical illness or injury or harm, maybe it’s rooted more in our minds, maybe it’s even rooted in the culture. But, we’re all invited into a path of healing, and we all need it on some level, even if we don’t know it, or want to own it quite yet.Question is, how do you find healing when you feel like all the odds are stacked against you?When you feel like you take two steps backward for every step forward? How do you heal beyond the visible wounds, and reclaim something deeper, more whole? And, how do we heal as a path of growth and expression and joy?This is where we’re heading in today’s conversation with Alex Elle, who's found a way to approach self-healing from a practical, relatable, expansive standpoint. Alex is an author, certified breathwork coach, and restorative writing teacher whose powerful healing journey has led her to where she is today. Her newest book, How We Heal: Uncover Your Power and Set Yoursel

Sometimes, life brings us to our knees in order to also bring us back to our essence. Question is, what happens when we honor that voice? There’s only one way to know, and that’s to heed the call.And that is exactly what my guest today, Mike Han, has done. Over the years, he became a deeply-skilled and sought-after omakase sushi chef, rising up in that world, and was just about to open his own place, when the pandemic hit. Literally overnight, he found himself without work, without a vision, without enough money to pay his rent and, to a certain extent, out of hope. But, he still had one thing, his artistic impulse, and it began calling him louder than ever. Not as a sushi chef, but as the visual artist that’d been inside him since childhood. The chain of events that unfolded over the next two years, frankly, is hard to explain in any rational sense. He said yes to the call and the Universe did, in fact, rise up to support him, time and time again, in the most astonishing ways. Mike has now made massive

So what if I told you that the things that will make the biggest difference in your life, your health, your mindset, career, relationships and more are rarely the big, sweeping gestures or actions, but rather the tiny things that you do on a repeated basis every day, every week, every month, that generate a compounded impact on your life and the lives of those around you? It's these little repeated actions, these rituals, these habits that change the game and that are truly the source fuel of a life well lived. Today we dive into what specific, tiny things can you do on a regular repeated basis that will have an exponential, even life-changing impact on your relationships over time.Mentioned in this episode, our conversations with:Brad Feld: Acclaimed Venture Capitalist On Life Well-LivedNedra Glover Tawwab | Better Boundaries, Better LifeDr. Marisa G. Franco | How to Make Adult Friends (and Why They Matter)Kat Vellos ⎮ Cultivating Better FriendshipsEllen Hendriksen, Ph.D. | Taming Social AnxietySubmit a voic

Imagine working as an artist for a decade only to burn out, melt down, and vanish from that world to spend 10 years driving a truck. Then, having never written before the age of 40, returning to that same world, but this time as an art critic for some of the biggest magazines and arbiters of taste in that domain. Having never been formally trained or degreed or even studied art in a formal way. How is that even possible? That is the story of today’s guest, Jerry Saltz, the senior art critic at New York magazine and Vulture, and the author of the New York Times bestseller How to Be an Artist. In his most recent book Art Is Life, Jerry draws on two decades of work to offer a real-time survey of contemporary art as a barometer of our times, arguing for the importance of the fearless artist—reminding us that art is a kind of channeled voice of human experience, a necessary window onto our times. The result is an openhearted and irresistibly readable appraisal by one of our most important cultural observers.Y

Friends matter, more than you even know. A lack of genuine, open, loving friends can lead to profound loneliness. And that very loneliness can be devastating to both your mental health. But, it goes further than that, the health effects can also wreak more havoc and increase risk of illness, dementia and death, on a level that dramatically exceeds addiction, obesity, and pollution, sometimes combined. What’s the solution? We tend to look to find our one person to solve the loneliness problem. That dream partner who makes everything okay. Except, as we’ll learn today, that can, and often is, a recipe for disaster. Better approach - reconnect with, or find and make new, platonic, yet intimate, engaged, and loving friendships.Sure, you say, easy to do as a kid. But, what about as an adult? Here to walk me through the world of friendships, why they matter and how to make new adult friends, is research-driven psychologist, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Marisa Franco. She is the New York

So, what if being highly sensitive was actually a superpower, not something to be fixed?If you've ever heard the term, “highly sensitive person,” or even been called highly sensitive and maybe even recoiled a bit when that happened, our conversation with today’s guest, Dr. Elaine Aron, just might change your world. An acclaimed researcher, she first identified high sensitivity as a distinct character trait more than 25 years ago, introducing the term “Highly Sensitive Person” to describe someone who is easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input, subtleties in environment and other people’s moods, processes things in different ways and at different speeds, and deeply feels pressure and overstimulation. Since its publication in 1995, her preeminent book on the subject, The Highly Sensitive Person, has gone on to become an international bestseller translated into 30 languages. She is also the author of The Highly Sensitive Parent, and many others. She has established the Foundation for the Study of Highly S

Have you ever been so deeply affected by another person that their story literally gives your life context and meaning and even a sense of belonging? Now, what it that other person was someone you never actually met? And what if they’d been gone from the planet for 25 years, but still it was like they were present in your life, guiding and inspiring you every day?That, it turns out, is the power of authenticity, agency, and legacy. And, in today’s conversation with award-winning journalist, writer, and producer, Maria Garcia, we dive deep into these topics in a very cool and unusual way. Through the lens of the life of iconic performer, Selena Quintanilla, and the impact she had not just on Maria’s life, but on tens of millions around the world, even decades after her tragic passing at a young age. And, not because Maria or, for that matter, any of those millions, knew Selena, personally, but because what she embodied profoundly affected and informed the way Maria, and those millions, saw themselves, their se

We all mess up. Sometimes in small ways, but other times big ones. Sometimes privately, other times publicly. We don’t mean to - or maybe we do in the momentum, but feel remorse after the fact. Either way, we all will, at some point, hurt someone. And we may also suffer repercussions. Whether personal, communal, or societal. Question is, what do we do after that? How do we repair the harm, and make amends? How do we find a way back to grace, connection, community, redemption and repair? Is that even possible in all cases? And if so, what are the steps? And what about forgiveness? Does that, and should it, be a part of the process? Turns out, there is a well-defined set of steps, a path, that very few know about. Today, we explore a practical, though not always easy, 5-step path to repair, reconciliation, and redemption based on ancient, universal wisdom, that she details in her newest book, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World. We talk about each step, why it’s there, how to s

Traveling the world, especially for an extended period, may be a luxury you only dream about or can only do every few years. But, what if there was a way to make it happen? And, way sooner, and for less money than you ever imagined? Or, what if there's a way to evoke that sense of wonder and curiosity that travel brings out of us without leaving our immediate neighborhood? What would it look like to keep the spirit of the journey or travel alive at home, using it to engage with and learn from the community that's right in front of us in a new and meaningful way? My guest today, Rolf Potts, is a firm believer in the life-altering benefits of travel - even if that means driving heading just a few blocks outside your normal routine - and how we can use adventure as a metaphor for life itself, and I'm excited to dive deeper into his philosophies and stories about life, travel, and wonder. Rolf has shared much of his wisdom and travel stories in his books Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long

So, what’s your biggest secret? And, what’s the cost you’ve been bearing for living, or trying to live, under its weight?For many of us, it’s wrapped around our identity. There’s something about us we don’t want others to know. The idea of being your 100% authentic self, meaning no secrets, no masks, and no pretending, in front of your family, of all people, is something that sounds terrifying, if not impossible. But, what if the opposite were true? What if living behind the facade was actually the more brutalizing experience, one that sustains, possibly for years, decades, even life? In contrast to the momentary or even season of disruption incited by coming out as your true self, yet followed by a lifetime of liberation?That’s where we’re headed in today’s conversation with Jessi Hempel, whose own revelation about her sexual identity, became the first in a chain of "coming out" events that touched every member of her family. Jessi is the host of the award-winning podcast Hello Monday, and she's a senior edi

Why is it that, so often, we need to be brought to our knees in order to wake up to, and reclaim, what really matters? And, does that have to be so? These are just a few of the questions we dive into with my guest today, Diego Perez, best known for his virtual moniker, Yung Pueblo, which is both a reminder to him to stay grounded in a younger, growth mindset, and also a contained to frame this current season of work as a project that doesn’t constrain his own personal and professional growth. Diego’s new book, Clarity & Connection, shares many of his recent insights about life, meaning, love, work, self-awareness, and of course, clarity and connection.You can find Yung Pueblo at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Tara Brach about wisdom and compassion.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKEDVisit Our Sponsor Page For a Complete List of Vanity URLs & Discount Codes.Fireweed: After the devastation of

Did you ever wish you could be that person who captivated a room, a gathering, an audience, a date with a story that cast a spell, moved them deeply, then left you both more connected and alive? Transformed even? Yeah, you’re not alone. We all live lives filled with stories worth telling, but so often we don’t realize it. And few of us know “how” to tell those stories in a way that brings others in close, then leaves them changed. Most just think it’s a God-given ability. But, what if it wasn’t? What if it was a skill anyone - including you - could learn? Would you want that? My guest today, Catherine Burns, believes it is. And, if there’s anyone I’d believe, it’s her. Catherine is the long-time Artistic Director at The Moth, the global phenomenon dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. In our conversation today, you'll hear us dive into many of the ideas, tips, and strategies from her newest book, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth, which she co-wrot