January Jumpstart | On Belonging

It’s not the box society puts us in that limits who we become, it’s the box we put ourselves in.There's no secret to success. No magic bullet. No pixie dust. Success in any endeavor is about doing the work, every day and not running for cover when things get hard. Because they always will. Even when it's right.Taking fierce, consistent action, though, is easier said than done. Especially when that action potentially exposes you to failure, or being judged or ridiculed, or cast out of a family or group or community. So our “seemingly” rational brains assume into existence all sorts of reasons not to act.This week's Good Life Project Riff is the first in a series about the lies we tell ourselves that keep us from doing great work and living extraordinary lives. With each new offering in the series, we’ll do a bit of myth-busting and box-breaking, then offer something to do. Sometimes, multiple things.Today, to kick off the series, we're starting with something we've all said, many, many times...Life-sucking Lie #1: I don’t have timeSure, there are some people for whom this claim is legit. But as you're about to discover in this week's Riff, that person is likely not you. And, not to worry, we won't leave hanging. Jonathan will also share 4 key elements to reclaiming time and turning time into an ally in your quest to live an extraordinary life.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Maj 201510min

Today's episode is sponsored by Camp GLP, the ultimate summer-camp for entrepreneurs, makers and world-shakers, recently featured in USA Today!+++"Brand is the exhaust fume of the engine of your life."A show of defiance at the age of 18, Nilofer Merchant packed a box, declared she was leaving home and walked out the front door. She though her departure would last an hour, it turned into a lifetime.Since then, her fierce intellect, bundled with a relentless curiosity and drive to learn, uplift and serve has fueled an astonishing career and life. Working in some of the largest companies in technology, she became known as the "Jane Bond of innovation," finding ways to not only generate more than $18 billion in revenue for those businesses, but also rebuild teams and ventures deemed unsave-able.She's written numerous books, spoken all over the world, taught at Stanford and even inspired millions to trade sitting for walking in her famed TED talk. In fact, this entire podcast was recorded standing up in our Manhattan studios.Maybe more impressive than the depth of her curiosity and the quality of her ideas, though, is the size of her heart and her willingness to be real. To walk the walk of someone who is committed to inciting profound change in the world and to sharing her vulnerability and humanity along the way.This is a conversation you will likely want to listen to a few times over and share with friends and colleagues.Links we mention:Nilofer MerchantAdam GrantTim CookHeidi RoizenMad MenTom PetersCarol DweckCandle CafeAustin KleonFollow Nilofer: Website | TwitterCheck out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Maj 20151h 10min

"Don't make people work to learn what you know."Today's short and sweet Good Life Riff is about the increasing value of ease and simplicity in a world that seems designed to overwhelm and pummel.It shared an experience I had in law school, one that revealed the power of brevity and respect in a massively stressful environment and, in turn, led to a dream outcome.A few lines from the episode:When you force the person who you seek to serve to be pummeled by the spray of the firehose as a precursor to receiving the true nuggets of wisdom you have to share, how receptive do you think that person becomes? Contrast that with listening deeply, thinking more deeply, taking your time and then offering pre-digested, immediately-actionable tactical strikes with less frequency.Not only is this more helpful and respectful to the recipient, it’s also more likely to keep those in a position to judge you in a state of mind that makes them not only place a higher value on your contribution, but want more. More of what you have to share. More of what you see. More of you.This is especially true in the world in which we live today. Because, increasingly, we live and breath into a barrage of constant connection and information. A firehose world.How do you shine in that world?"Be a source of value. But more important. Be a source of ease."Enjoy the Riff, and if you're inclined, feel free to share with friends!Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Maj 20157min

"The creative act is surrendering to not knowing."There's this scene I have etched in my mind. This week's guest, Cynthia Morris is dancing around a fire in Costa Rica, giggling mercilessly, utterly at home in her playfulness as another friend plays guitar and belts out 80s hits. In that moment, she's the person I wish I could let go enough to be on my best days. Yet, for Cynthia, it's simply who she is. Every day.Beyond an alluring level of ease with her essence, Cynthia is also a gifted writer's coach and creativity coach, a multi-time author, both fiction and nonfiction, an international workshop facilitator and, more recently, she's taking her seat as an illustrator.What started as her own personal process for visual note-taking as she traveled and learned turned into a form of arresting artistic expression. Her main canvas was the little-known accordion Moleskine journals. And it's led to not only a burgeoning career illustrating, but also her powerful Capture the Wow process, which she teaches in workshops around the world. Cynthia's energy and viewpoint on trusting the creative process are profound. We discuss how she found her way through her varied creative pursuits, how she crafted a fulfilling career out of them, and how she's built a very real living traveling, creating, laughing, teaching and speaking French.This episode is for everyone who wants to be an artist but thinks they don't have it in them, or they could never make a living doing it.Follow Cynthia:Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter"True power is our resourcefulness."Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKEDVisit Our Sponsor Page For a Complete List of Vanity URLs & Discount Codes.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Maj 201552min

After years of paying to wear your favorite shoes, you're getting paid to be seen in them.After years of speaking for free and paying to travel, you're now getting paid to speak.After years of buying your favorite meals, jewels and gear, you're getting paid to eat, wear and use them.After years of writing for free, you're getting paid to contribute.How did this happen? How do you go from working for "free" or even paying for the "privilege" to getting paid to do the exact same thing?It's all about a little thing called “brand hand." It's the defining element in your ability to make the leap from paying to learn to being paid to build your own brand.And it's what we're diving into in today's Good Life Project Riff.Along the way, we'll bust some huge myths about what's really happening when you're working for "free." We'll come to the realization that it's never really about free versus paid, but rather cash versus non-cash compensation.We'll dive into how and when "free" is not only okay, but smart, when it should be off the table and how to leverage this experience to make the leap from non-cash compensation to cold, hard money.If you'd like to read the full text of this week's Riff, you can find it here.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Maj 201512min

Imagine this...A financial genius spends his life developing a complex financial model with the intention of telling you what stocks to buy and sell, and when, in order to make the most money and minimize risk.You'd expect that model to out-perform a single rule that says something like "just split your money evenly between 20 stocks." Except, according to today's guest, Simple Rules co-author, Donald Sull, when that very experiment was run, the simple rule beat the expert every time.As amazing as technology and sophisticated systems are, they often end up performing no better than far simpler, yet often ignored simple answers. Same holds true for life. We spend so much time looking for the fancy methodologies, systems and technologies. We assume they've got to better than something that appears so simple. So we ignore the simple and waste tons of time and money building something that makes us feel better, but doesn't beat the easy answer. And that is a huge mistake.In this fascinating conversation, Sull draws on everything from his experience as a bouncer at a biker bar to his experience teaching entrepreneurship at Harvard and building and advising global brands to prove a simple point. With rare exception, from weight loss to wealth, simple always wins. If you've been feeling overwhelmed with complex problems, take a deep breath and listen to this episode.Follow Don:Website | Twitter | LinkedIn"Willpower is a reservoir, not a stream."Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKEDVisit Our Sponsor Page For a Complete List of Vanity URLs & Discount Codes.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Maj 201552min

When you watch kids create something, it's like watching an artist who is given complete permission to explore, experiment, and express. There's no sense of censorship or fear of judgment...at least not until we're a bit older.Working with your hands just plain does something to you. It drops you into a place of pure creativity and consciousness. You become the process, you get lost in it. And that sensation is pure bliss.But, as we get older, we tend to go to that place less and less. We leave our artist maker side behind. And, in doing so, leave a part of us behind as well.This week's Good Life Project Riff shares a story and an invitation. To reconnect with your soul through your hands. Jonathan offers up a near-tactile story about how, with no workshop and a modest NYC apartment, he started building tables as a way to not only express his jones to "make," but also reconnect with that primal experience of pure creative consciousness.And, in case you're interested, here is one of the finished products, a little 150-pound table known as the Concrete Behemoth. If you want to read the full story (and see pictures) on Jonathan's blog, you can at http://www.jonathanfields.com/god-in-grain/Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKEDVisit Our Sponsor Page For a Complete List of Vanity URLs & Discount Codes.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Apr 201513min

In February 2006, Sir Ken Robinson stepped onto the TED stage and delivered a scathing indictment of the modern educational system, entitled "How Schools Kill Creativity." That talk exploded into the public's consciousness and has since become the most watched TED Talk in history, with more than 32 million views and more than 250 million people estimated to have seen it. While it may not have started the conversation on education, it brought a level of global attention to the problem like never before.In the intervening 9 years, Robinson has continued to speak and evangelize a different approach to education built not around order and conformity, but passion and personalization. And he's written a series of bestselling books with his newest, Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that's Transforming Education, featuring inspiring "schools done right" case studies to both learn from and build around.Even more remarkable than Robinson's fierce intellect and provocative ideas is where he came from. Growing up in post World War II Liverpool, he was stricken with polio at the age of four, forever changing the course of his life and exposing him to the profound injustice that awaits so many kids labeled as "different."In this week's conversation, Sir Ken and Jonathan sit down for a rare conversation about not only Robinson's ideas, but where those ideas came from, his childhood battle and then lifelong experience with polio and his extraordinary will to make a difference. He reminds us to ask not "how intelligent are you?" but rather, "how are you intelligent?"Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKEDVisit Our Sponsor Page For a Complete List of Vanity URLs & Discount Codes.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Apr 20151h 10min