true WELLth

What comes to mind when you read or hear the word "ritual"? It has a lot of weight, right? Despite its religious connotation, a ritual can be any solemn or purposeful act in daily life in which you find deep meaning. Casper ter Kuile, the author of The Power of Ritual, explains why he observes a digital sabbath and how you can discover answers to life's major questions while reading Harry Potter. Yes, really.

As challenging as this year has been, it has given us a real opportunity to rethink how and where we find value and contentment in life. Enter this week's guest, Iddo Landau, a professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa in Israel. For the perfectionists out there, Iddo offers a path toward meaning in an imperfect world.

Columbia University professor and psychologist Dr. Jeff Cohen takes us on a tour through the world of anxiety and what we can do to combat it. Amid the uncertainty of 2020 and beyond, learn helpful tips to live a less anxious life.

We follow David Mawhinney on his life journey from Economics major, to CPA, to Chef, To Sauce Purveyor, and now CEO/Founder of the high-end children's furniture company “Franklin & Emily”.

Our guest this week is Bryce Skaff, co-head of the Global Client Group at Dimensional Fund Advisors. Bryce has a keen understanding of how stress affects our lives both emotionally and financially.

Martin Pazzani is no stranger to the grind of corporate life. After decades of jet-setting and building brands and companies, Martin faced burnout. He turned to solo mountain climbing as a release and hasn't looked back. Martin shares takeaways from his new book, Secrets of Aging Well: Get Outside, as well as his thoughts about longevity, retirement, preventive health care, and brain health.

This week on true WELLth, we explore the intersection of gender, wellbeing, and wealth with Linda Davis Taylor, who draws on her experience working in academia, philanthropy, and the financial sector.

Sunil Arora is a professional coach who helps CEOs, founders, and senior executives navigate leadership challenges, entrepreneurs start a new business, and individuals transition professionally. He draws on lessons from his own life pivot from fintech to coaching. Sunil walks us through how pauses in life and self-examination can help with life's major decisions.

This week on true WELLth, we turn the mic on our host. Manisha Thakor walks us through her own wellness pivot as she heads into retirement. Reflecting on her experience on Wall Street, as a leading fund manager, and a best-selling author, Manisha offers a first-hand account of what constant stress can do to a person both mentally and physically.

If you're feeling overwhelmed these days, you aren't alone. For many of us, the lines between family and work have blurred. Brigid Schulte argues that, as a society, we've created systems that make it difficult to combine family and work responsibilities. But how can we confront and undo entrenched habits and norms? Drawing from her own journey, Schulte offers tips for those seeking out the common elements—love, community, play—of a more fulfilling, sustainable life.  

The traditional 9-to-5 work life is a relic of the past. In recent years, Americans young and old have taken up creative work, passion projects, side gigs, and volunteering, not to mention family care, alongside their day jobs to pursue an interest, make an impact, or boost their income. Marci Alboher, a leading expert on workplace trends, shines a light on the rise of the "slash" career and shares her own quest to separate self-worth from net worth.

As recently as 15 years ago, the thought of “working from home” conjured up thoughts of slacking off and goofing around. Considered a luxurious perk, and one to be granted only under the most extreme circumstances, it's now having a moment. Thanks to COVID-19, a large portion of the world's workforce finds itself working from home. FlexStategy Group CEO Cali Yost joined us to explore the long-term implications of this shared experience.

In the financial advisory community, we talk constantly about preparing your finances for the unexpected. But that often feels esoteric. In September 2016, our guest, CNBC personal finance correspondent Sharon Epperson, sustained a brain aneurysm and she nearly lost her life.This was any family's worst nightmare. The way Sharon has willed herself back to life and the lessons she learned along the way about what is—and isn't—Important in life are striking.

Infectious disease specialist Matthew Bonds shares the science behind diseases, pandemics, how they spread, and how they are contained. Having spent time studying and working to improve health care delivery systems in countries such as Rwanda and Madagascar, Matthew brings a unique perspective to this conversation on the pandemic reshaping every aspect of modern life.

When Sheryl Sandberg wrote Lean In, she shined a gigantic search light on the gaping holes in leadership teams around the globe. Where are the women? When Tara Sophia Mohr wrote Playing Big, she gave women a roadmap to develop the tactical skills to fill those holes. What makes Tara's advice so powerful and widely applicable is that it's not just for women. It's for anyone who has ever let their fears stop their dreams.

There are not enough hours in the day!” Sound familiar? Internationally-acclaimed time and productivity expert Laura Vanderkam has come to the rescue. Laura explains how to identify where you are leaking time on items that are not a priority—or which you don't even want to do at all—and how to flip that on its head. She describes a simple, powerful daily life hack that can dramatically increase your joy. You'll also learn how to identify areas where you are resistant to change and how to pivot.

If you are among the ever-growing crowd of folks responding to the question, “How are you?” with a pained expression and the phrase "crazy busy," Gretchen Rubin is here to help. On the surface, this episode may sound like a conversation about organizational tips, but it goes much deeper. Gretchen has created a manifesto rooted in five pillars that serves as the modern version of Henry David Thoreau's classic, Walden, helping us curate our habitats to support our essential selves.  

A former corporate banker with an 24/7 always on life, Molly Alliman did a sharp left turn - returning to school to study nutrition. Today, she has a private practice and provides corporate wellness programs to firms like Airbnb, ZenDesk and WeWork covering subjects such as:  managing burning out, reading ingredient labels, and creating your own unique food philosophy. This episode's topics run the gamut from depleted adrenal systems to elimination diets to the optimal way to think about sugar.

Roughly one in three Americans is struggling with mental health issues—some situational, some chemical. Unfortunately, there are no conclusive medical tests to diagnose certain conditions, nor are there universal "prescriptions" for lifestyle and/or pharmaceutical remedies to treat them. However, one oft-cited source of relief is exercise. In this episode, Dr. Michael Hosking, biologist and founder of Revocycle Mind and Body Cycling, walks us through the science of exercise using the lens of his own struggles with mental health.

What constitutes healthy growth?  Why are there benefits to high failure rates? How can nature help us with investing?  This episode provides answer – ones that can even be used in your personal life too! Katherine was the first female director of research at Fidelity Investments, earned her masters at Harvard Divinity School, created Honeybee Capital, an investment research firm focused on mental models such as “biomimicry,” and today is Putnam Investments' first head of sustainable investing.

Why don't we require a financial literacy class in all high schools?” Many a parent – or young adult – has asked this question. Turns out the answer is not as simple as one might think. Dr. Billy Hensley, CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education explains why. Even better, he presents a road map for creating a world where Americans – of varying incomes, education, ages – can achieve financial capability and stability. The answer is innovative, creative, and you'll want to hear it! 

  This week, in observance of the holiday, we are airing a bonus episode where we turn the microphone on our host Manisha Thakor to give us a quick aperitif and insight as to where the True WELLth team is going.

How do you commit to slowing down in a world that demands we move fast? In this episode we have a very timely conversation with Carl Honore, the acclaimed father of “The Global Slow Movement.” In May 2019, the World Health Organization recognized burnout as an official medical diagnosis. As Carl says, “When we get stuck in fast forward… it's harming us on every single level.” Tune in to hear Carl's prescription to inoculate ourselves against what he calls "the global virus of hurry.”  

In an exceptionally competitive industry, Dave Goetsch has thrived. Co-executive producer of the Emmy-nominated sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" and long-time writer for "3rd Rock from the Sun," Dave has mastered the lonely existence of the Hollywood writer. But how? By embracing the power of human connection and collaboration. In this episode, Dave reveals the secrets behind getting things done in the boisterous writers' room and tells us why few things are better than making your friends laugh.

Imagine you wake up to find that your (now ex) husband has blown through your entire inheritance, skipped the country and left behind a $1 million tax bill. Oh, and you signed joint tax returns so that bill is now yours. Welcome to the situation Barbara Huson found herself in. Yet wow, did she ever turn those lemons into lemonade. Barbara not only paid back that entire tax liability, she's shared invaluable lessons about women, wealth and power with thousands of others over the ensuing decades. 

What can you learn from a former Obama White House staffer currently teaching at MIT? A series of mental models to help you move beyond the daily deluge of “texts, tasks, and to do's” so you can more effectively think ahead. For example, Bina presents living “heirlooms” (ideas, concepts, output) as a tool to create lasting, enduring work that complements our day-to-day. Or learning to measuring ourselves in the now in a manner that reflects the contribution we wish to make over our lifetime.

In this episode, internationally renowned keynote speaker, author and 4-time Oprah guest Mary LoVerde shares a foolproof recipe for regaining our footing when life turns us upside down. Spoiler alert: it's only 3 words – and works professional and personally. Mary also shares some moving, pivotal moments where she follows this advice herself.  One instance leads to the kind of adventure most people only dream of. The other involves some hard, bittersweet choices about what matters most in life.

Feel like you have too much to do, not enough time and “crazy busy” has become your middle name?  Psychologist, NYT best-selling author and founder of the consultancy Ignite180, Ron Friedman has developed a unique program to help. In this episode Ron provides specific practices based on his very popular “Peak Performance Formula” that will enable you to reclaim your work day – and your overall life. And be sure to listen through to the very end of the episode for a surprise guest and bonus tip!

“What really matters in life?” This fundamental question was what inspired the chairman of a major multinational corporation to launch 1440 Multiversity, an innovative hub for immersion learning. In this episode, Scott Kriens shares candid, heartfelt thoughts on the importance of facing our fears head on and how "generative energy" can help us all make powerful daily micro course corrections (or major macro life shifts) to bring us closer to living from a place of true WELLth.

You might expect the award-winning journalist, prolific author and financial editor of NBC's The Today Show to come on the true WELLth podcast to share everyday tips on improving our personal finance habits. Instead, Jean shares with us one of the most powerful arguments I've ever heard about why the linkage between money and safety for women – is a vital one for all genders to understand. Jean also shares with us insights from the research done for her newest book, Women With Money. 

“You're Just Not That Great” is not only the title of Daniel's extremely popular TEDx talk, but it is also the framework through which he shares a wide range of insights that can improve our finances and personal lives. Through a discussion of how our primal brains are alive, well, and driving all sorts of havoc, he guides us to find ways to think critically about what drives our behaviors and how we can override our age-old mental hardwiring.

When it comes to the issue of civilizational survival, “Everybody wins or we all lose,” is Vicki's core message in this riveting episode. Through her insightful “four freedoms” framework, thoughts on the shift away from placed-based living (and its effect on the concept of community), the upside of boundaries, and reflections on being of service to this larger project called the web of life of the human family, listeners will walk away with fresh tools to answer: “Who am I in this society?”

This SEC lawyer turned expert in applied personal development and human potential, shares a cornucopia of useful tools for living a life deeply aligned. The core tool is self-inquiry, a practice Jonathan notes was a foundational part of education amongst the Greeks and others and one that is lacking today in a way that can easily lead us astray. Combined with thoughts on disrupting yourself in the spirit of continuous growth, listeners will be inspired to think of life as a “continuous project.”

Whenever he flies, Carl asks the pilot if they make a detailed flight plan. They say yes. He then asks how often they stick to that flight plan. They say never. Conditions always change mid-flight and they too, must adjust. Carl argues these same micro adjustments pilots make, are essential to living a life of deep peace and contentment. Carl also shows us how this same thinking can help us avoid the handful of catastrophic mistakes that can, and often do, decimate financial futures.

Welcome!  We are so excited you have found our true  WELLth podcast community.  Listening to this short audio trailer (< 4 minutes) will give you a sense of what we are all about. To learn more, you can visit our show home page at www.TrueWELLthPodcast.com.  Our 25-minute episodes come out twice a month on Wednesdays. The goal of our show is to help you identify how to best align the way you spend your money and your time with what matters most to you in life. For this... is what ultimately leads to a life of true WELLth. To help you achieve this balance (through tiny tweaks or radical reboots!) our show features a surprisingly wide variety of guests experts who will give you tips, tools, insights, and mental models to use in deciding which of the four core levers of holistic wellbeing - social, emotional, physical, financial - you'd like to consider tweaking to bring your life closer to your unique vision of true WELLth. The real secret sauce to our show --  as you'll hear clearly in this audio trailer -- is that our guests speak not just from their minds but from their hearts as well. The raw, candid and uncensored way in which they share both their professional expertise and personal insights is what makes our beloved listeners feel connected to the show on a soul level.