259: Jolene Brighten | Finding Balance Beyond the Pill

You're an American citizen living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine. The embassy just released a statement recommending you evacuate as the situation with Russia escalates, but you've considered staying there and becoming an independent journalist to cover what happens should armed conflict come to pass. Is this a foolhardy death wish disguised as a passion project, or a perfect time for a prudent career pivot? We'll try to find an answer to this and more here on Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/627 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: You're an American currently living and working in Ukraine, considering a pivot to war reporting should the situation with Russia escalate. Is this flirtation with danger a death wish in disguise, or a perfect time for a prudent career pivot? [Thanks to seasoned war reporter Danny Gold for helping us tackle this one!] You're a 37-year-old married man who's come to realize you don't really have any male friends your own age. What can you do to change this? How do you establish healthy boundaries with the sister who mistakes your support system role as an invitation for constant abuse? You and your spouse went into marriage with a noncommital attitude about having kids. Eight years on, you've decided you'd like to try having some, but your spouse does not. Is there a win/win way to work through this? You took a 50% pay cut to join a startup making a product you strongly believe in. But the pandemic happened, and now your pay cut is 100% as your company struggles to regain momentum. What are your options for seeking job opportunities in your network without simultaneously signaling there's something wrong with your current company's product? Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com! Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger. Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi. Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

18 Feb 202246min

Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) is Wharton’s top-rated professor, the host of podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant, and the author of several New York Times Best Sellers. Here, he joined us to discuss Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!] What We Discuss with Adam Grant: How to give to someone you don’t know without being awkward and transactional. What stage gates are and how you should use them. How to avoid committing social capital suicide. What Abraham Lincoln could teach us about the power of powerless communication. Why you'll be a better, more effective giver if you practice chunking rather than sprinkling. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/626 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our conversation with actor, producer, and Scientology survivor Leah Remini? Get caught up with episode 485: Leah Remini | Surviving Hollywood and Scientology here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

17 Feb 202248min

Daniel Pink (@DanielPink) is the NYT-bestselling author of When and Drive. His latest book is The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us, about the transforming power of our most misunderstood yet potentially most valuable emotion: regret. What We Discuss with Daniel Pink: As uncomfortable as it can make us feel, regret is a universal, healthy part of being human. Understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives. The four core regrets we each have, and the insights they give us for finding a better path forward. How we can reimagine regret as a positive, propelling force rather than an anvil of shame we have to carry around in perpetuity. How regret works like a photographic negative: knowing what we regret most allows us to focus clearly on how to avoid repeating whatever got us there. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/625 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our two-part conversation with former gangster, pimp, and mob enforcer Mickey Royal? Get caught up by starting with episode 548: Mickey Royal | A Pimp’s Secrets of Mind Manipulation Part One here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 Feb 20221h

You're concerned your 21-year-old daughter is making a mistake by moving abroad to be with her Bahrain beau of five years -- especially since they've only corresponded remotely and have never been face-to-face in real life. You can't outright forbid her to leave as she's an adult now, but is there any way you can get her to reconsider the gravity of what she may be getting herself into? We'll try to find answers to this and more here on Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/624 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: How can you convince your 21-year-old daughter she may be making a huge mistake by moving abroad to be with the Bahrain beau she's never actually met in real life? How can gently turn down writing a letter of recommendation for someone whose countless character flaws make them someone with whom you don't want your name associated? Over the past 10 years, your once-athletic spouse has become clinically obese. The doctor has warned that this is a perfect recipe for diabetes and heart disease, but to no avail. How can you bring up losing weight and leading a healthier lifestyle without sounding like a superficial a-hole? You have an offer for your dream job, but it would mean a $40,000 pay cut and a move across the country -- something your significant other is dead-set against. And if you turn down the offer, you'll likely be barred from joining the organization in the future and lose some valuable links in your network. What's your best option? You know therapy might be effective in helping you through your depression if you could only find the right therapist. How do you go about finding someone who's the right fit? Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com! Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger. Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi. Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Feb 202247min

Ludacris (@Ludacris) is a Grammy-winning rapper, a SAG award-winning actor known for roles in Crash, The Simpsons, and the Fast & Furious franchise, and the philanthropic founder of Kid Nation and The Ludacris Foundation. What We Discuss with Ludacris: Does Ludacris really own a car from every Fast & Furious movie in which he's appeared? What was Ludacris' initial rap name? Is Ludacris the Where's Waldo of hip-hop history? How has Ludacris maintained much of the same support team over the past couple of decades -- all without written contracts? The pandemic's silver lining for famous people: it's a lot easier to maintain anonymity in public when you're encouraged to wear a mask everywhere. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/623 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our two-part conversation with the Danish family man who infiltrated the illicit North Korean arms trade? Catch up beginning with episode 527: Ulrich “The Mole” Larsen | Undercover in North Korea Part One here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

10 Feb 202255min

Ishmael Beah (@IshmaelBeah) is a former child soldier, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier and Radiance of Tomorrow: A Novel. His latest book is Little Family: A Novel. What We Discuss with Ishmael Beah: What the volatility of life in a warzone is really like from the perspective of a child. How desperation drives human beings to rationalize committing any number of atrocities to survive. Why trusting old neighbors, friends, and even family in the midst of a civil war can arouse suspicion and cost you your life. The choice for all too many children in an area embroiled in armed conflict: accept recruitment into one of the factions as a soldier, or be killed before someone else can recruit you. How rap music saved Ishmael's life. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/622 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our two-parter with professional pickpocket Bob Arno? Start catching up with episode 530: Bob Arno | Schooled by the Professor of Pickpocketry Part One here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Feb 20221h 33min

A "friend" who once admitted to having a crush on you came over to continue a night of drinking and crash on the couch. You pushed him away when he tried to kiss you because the crush isn't mutual and you have a boyfriend. Then you woke up in the middle of the night to him spooning, touching, and trying to make out with you. You pushed him away again and went back to sleep. Is this a form of sexual assault, or did you cheat by allowing yourself to get drunk and winding up in this situation? We'll try to find answers to this and more here on Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/621 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Were you sexually assaulted by the "friend" who kept trying to make out with you one drunken night, or did you cheat by allowing yourself to get drunk and winding up in this situation? You feel like the past two years of the pandemic have dulled your ability to converse smoothly with other human beings, and you worry this is damaging your relationships. What can you do to regain what used to come so naturally? Your young, sweet neighbor is a stay-at-home mom of four kids, and married to a teacher. She's also embroiled in an MLM scheme and you want to help her see a way out before her family's modest savings are emptied by shysters. What can you do? You've never gotten along with your snarky mother-in-law, and the tension has only increased since you gave birth to your son. On top of this, your husband takes her side in any disputes, and you're mentally exhausted by all of it. What should you do? You're an in-house art director for an advertising company, where people are so competitive and credit-hungry that stealing work is not uncommon. You've collaborated with partners who completely dismissed and gaslighted your contributions. How can you nip this behavior in the bud before you're actually driven to kill somebody at your office? Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com! Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger. Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi. Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

4 Feb 202243min

Richard Clarke (@ghsrm) is the former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-Terrorism for the United States, and is the co-author of Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!] Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/620 What We Discuss with Richard Clarke: What is the Cassandra Coefficient? Discover how to use the Cassandra Coefficient to filter signal from noise when it comes to warnings. Understand how to spot your own cognitive biases and what you can do to diminish their effect on your decisions. Learn to persuade people to see things from your perspective and motivate them to take action. Find out what someone at the top levels of government does when their personal politics don’t agree with those of the current administration. And so much more… Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss the conversation we had with Gift of Fear author and security legend Gavin de Becker? Catch up with episode 329: Gavin de Becker | The Gift of Fear Part One here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3 Feb 20221h 1min