Podcasts about self knowledge

Have you ever made a big change in your life, only to realize you're still living by the same rules that made you feel boxed in, in the first place?After leaving corporate America and becoming an entrepreneur, I started noticing all the old beliefs, fears, and expectations I had unknowingly carried into this new chapter.In this solo episode, I share the hidden rules I'm learning to let go of, why creativity is about questioning assumptions, and how to stop bringing the past into the future you're trying to createIn this episode, you'll learn:-Why changing your circumstances isn't enough-The invisible rules that may be holding you back- How to create a life that actually fits who you are…If you're in a season of reinvention, this episode is for you.

#10MinuteswithJesus ** Put yourself in the presence of God. Try talking to Him. ** 10 minutes are 10 minutes. Even if you can get distracted, reach the end. ** Be constant. The Holy Spirit acts "on low heat" and requires perseverance. 10-Minute audio to help you pray. Daily sparks to ignite prayer: a passage from the gospel, an idea, an anecdote and a priest who speaks with you and the Lord, inviting you to share your intimacy with God. Find your moment, consider you are in His presence and click play.

Have you ever been told that becoming a mother means losing yourself? Losing your creativity, your ambition, your momentum?Well, what if the opposite was actually true?Today's guest is comedian, writer, and one of the sharpest voices on the internet, Ginny Hogan, and this conversation will completely reframe everything you've been told about motherhood and creativity.From this episode, you'll learn:-Why so many women have their greatest creative success after having a baby-The truth about body image, eating disorders, and pregnancy that nobody talks about-How to balance ambition, guilt, and creativity as a working mom-What giving birth taught Ginny about the power of her own body and creativityGinny's honesty about the messy, beautiful, reality of creative motherhood is packed with humor, hard-won wisdom, and moments that will make you feel deeply seen. Whether you're pregnant, a parent, want to be a parent, or just a woman trying to hold onto herself through a massive life transition, this one is for you.More on Ginny: Ginny Hogan is a comedian, writer, and one of the most followed voices on Threads, known for her razor-sharp, deeply honest takes on modern womanhood, ambition, politics, body image, and motherhood.

What if your productivity problem is not really about productivity? In this episode of Your Passion, Purpose and Personal Brand, Lisa McGuire explores why so many high-achieving entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals keep reaching for better systems, stronger discipline, and more optimization—when the real issue may be identity. After a book club conversation about productivity, Lisa realized the people in the room were not struggling with time management. They were struggling with deeper questions: Who am I when I stop performing? What if the success I worked so hard for no longer feels meaningful? What if the version of me that built this life no longer fits? Lisa unpacks why self-knowledge is becoming one of the most valuable assets in business, leadership, personal branding, and the future of work. As AI makes information more abundant and execution easier to replicate, your lived perspective becomes the thing no one else can copy. You'll learn why the "Category of ONLY" is not a branding trick, but an identity concept that helps you name the clear, ownable difference your life has already built in you. This episode is for the successful person who looks productive on the outside but feels restless, misaligned, or quietly disconnected on the inside. In this episode, you'll learn: Why productivity struggles often point to identity questions The hidden cost of performance-driven success Why optimization cannot fix a life that no longer fits How self-knowledge becomes a business advantage What makes your lived perspective irreplaceable Why your Category of ONLY is uncovered, not invented Maybe the real work right now is not becoming more impressive. Maybe it is becoming more true CONNECT WITH LISA LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mcguire/  WEBSITE: https://lisamcguire.com Successfully Stuck: The First Step Truth Kit: https://go.lisamcguire.com/first-truth-kit  Category of ONLY Inquiry: https://calendly.com/lisabusinessgrowthadvisor/get-acquainted  Identity Evolution Journey Series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2KBSb0BlQp9HhTEd1Z_SNdULBD7wey84  Sign up for Lisa's "so much more" newsletter: https://www.thediyframework.com/so-much-more-subscribe  Get your free Human Design Bodygraph: https://lisamcguire.com/get-your-free-chart/  Human Design Masterclass Waitlist: https://go.lisamcguire.com/human-design-masterclass-waitlist  Ideal Client Workshop Waitlist: https://go.lisamcguire.com/ideal-client-workshop-waitlist-icww785155 

Since leaving corporate America, my podcast downloads have increased nearly 200%.And it's definitely not= because I suddenly became a genius marketer. It's because, for the first time in over a decade, I stopped treating my dream like a side project.In today's solo episode, I'm sharing the surprising energetic shift that changed not only this podcast, but my entire creative life and business.We dive into:-Why the energy behind your work matters just as much as the work itself-The hidden cost of splitting your energy between survival and desire-What happens when you stop hiding your ambitions-Why people can feel when you're finally all-in on yourself-How prioritizing your creative dreams can create major shifts in momentum, visibility, and growthIf you've been quietly building a dream while pouring most of your energy into someone else's vision, this episode is for you. Because your breakthrough isn't always about working harder, most often, it's about finally choosing yourself.

Real self-knowledge isn't knowing your personality type or your preferences — it's the ability to see yourself clearly in motion: your actual motives, your unexamined patterns, the stories you carry about who you are and whether they're true. In this episode, Brett unpacks why self-knowledge is so much harder than it sounds, why most introspection leads us in circles rather than toward clarity, and what genuinely moves the needle when you're trying to understand yourself honestly. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why knowing facts about yourself — your history, your preferences, your test results — is not the same as self-knowledge, and what the real thing actually requires The six specific ways we're biased observers of our own inner lives, from confusing our explanations for the truth to being genuine strangers to our own motives Why introspection can make things worse — and the critical difference between rumination and honest self-reflection How to tell whether you're thinking about yourself or actually learning something What five practices actually build self-knowledge over time, including the one most people resist The concrete shifts that happen in your decisions, relationships, and confidence when you start to see yourself more clearly Seven questions to sit with that open up genuine self-inquiry — not the quick-answer kind Episode Timestamps [00:00] Opening hook — the version of yourself you know best [01:00] Show intro and what this episode is about [02:00] What self-knowledge really is — not facts, but seeing yourself in motion [03:00] The full terrain of the inner life: thoughts, motives, fears, patterns, contradictions [04:00] Personal example: Brett's identity as a friend, and what his wife helped him see [09:00] Why self-visibility is genuinely hard — we're biased observers by design [10:00] Six specific ways self-bias plays out [16:00] Introspection vs. self-knowledge — why thinking more can deepen the distortions [21:00] Five things that actually build self-knowledge [26:00] What actually shifts when you know yourself more honestly [32:00] Seven reflection questions to sit with [34:00] Closing thoughts and what to do next Keep Exploring If this episode resonated, these are worth your time: Mind & Inner Life Pillar — The full collection of writing on self-awareness, inner life, and the questions that live underneath how you think, feel, and choose → https://www.optyoumize.com/mind-inner-life Enjoyed This Episode? The best way to support optYOUmize is to subscribe and leave a review — it takes about two minutes and makes a real difference in helping more people find the show. Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Amazon Music · YouTube Leave a Review →

Dr. Vasant Lad is the founder of the Ayurvedic Institute and the man most responsible for bringing Ayurveda to the West. He has spent over 40 years teaching this 5,000-year-old science of life to practitioners across the world, and in this conversation, we sat down together at SoHum Mountain Healing Center in Asheville, North Carolina, where I had just completed a week-long Panchakarma. What unfolded was one of the most quietly profound conversations I have had on this show.What We Dive Into:1. Why unprocessed emotions don't simply pass — and how grief settles in the heart, anger in the liver, and fear in the kidneys until they're physically released.2. How your tongue, pulse, and face reveal what's happening inside your body, often before any symptom appears.3. Why your original constitution (prakruti) shapes everything from your digestion to your temperament — and how modern life pulls you away from it.4. The gap between two breaths, and why Dr. Lad calls it an ocean of awareness available to anyone willing to sit in it.THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:SoHum Mountain Healing Center — Code AndrePK2026 for $500 off from your Panchakarma bookinghttps://www.sohumhealing.comFunction Health — Code KNOWTHYSELF25 for $25 credit towards membershiphttps://www.functionhealth.com/KNOWTHYSELF___________00:00 Intro01:58 What Ayurveda Actually Means02:40 The Five Elements, Three Doshas, and the Body06:18 Prakruti, Vikruti, and the Root of Disease08:00 The Sankhya Philosophy Behind Ayurveda13:33 The Goal of Ayurveda15:26 Dr. Lad's Path: Guru, Calling, and Coming West18:06 Where Western Medicine Falls Short22:05 Ama, Agni, and the Ayurvedic View of Disease25:56 Pulse, Tongue, and Face: The Art of Diagnosis34:29 Reading Psychological Nature Through the Pulse39:00 The Gap Between Breaths: Awareness and Mysticism44:37 How Repressed Emotions Crystallize in the Body47:39 Panchakarma: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Cleansing51:52 Ojas, Tejas, and Prana: The Vital Essences56:18 Sexual Energy, Celibacy, and the Cultivation of Ojas1:00:07 Life as Meditation: The Unified Field1:06:00 The Ayurvedic View of Death and Dying1:14:56 Dinacharya: The Daily Routine as Spiritual Practice1:18:48 The Doshic Clock and the Yugas1:25:22 Relationship, Self-Knowledge, and the Closing Message___________MORE FROM DR. VASANT✨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvasantlad

(Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center) We strive to quiet the mind by pushing away the hindrances of sensual desire, aversion, sleepiness and boredom or restlessness and doubt. Yet turning towards them with curiosity and non-judgement brings awareness and a deeper intimacy with our habits of mind.

(Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center) We strive to quiet the mind by pushing away the hindrances of sensual desire, aversion, sleepiness and boredom or restlessness and doubt. Yet turning towards them with curiosity and non-judgement brings awareness and a deeper intimacy with our habits of mind.

Have you ever noticed that the moment you step into a new, big, chapter of your life, your old patterns can suddenly come rushing to the surface? I have… In this episode, I share a major realization I've had during week three of full-time entrepreneurship: sometimes you have to start saying you're the thing before you fully become it. I share how I came to this, how it helped me manifest one of my biggest dreams and how you can use it in your creativity and career. Now back to what I started with…every time you level up, you need to level up your growth and self-development… and for me, one of those edges is continuing to heal codependency, people pleasing, and learning not to abandon myself while building a life and business that's truly mine.So today, I'm replaying one of my favorite conversations from the archives with codependency facilitator and spiritual counselor Erika Wright.This conversation completely changed the way I think about self-worth, relationships, creativity, emotional resilience, and what it actually means to stay connected to yourself.From this conversation, you'll learn:-How to identify and heal codependent patterns-The difference between creativity and codependency-How to stop abandoning yourself for other people-Why emotional discomfort is not an emergency-How to stop giving unsolicited advice and start turning inward-And how to stay connected to yourself while still loving othersThis episode is especially for you if you're in a season of reinvention, entrepreneurship, healing, motherhood, transition, or personal growth.More on Erika Wright: https://erikawright.org/

On this episode of Women's Gallery, Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson joins Joanne Greenaway for a wide-ranging conversation about women, Talmud, academia, and the future of Jewish learning. A senior lecturer in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and a leading public-facing Torah scholar, Dr. Hoffmann-Libson reflects on her journey from studying at Pelech and Midreshet Lindenbaum to teaching at Harvard, Penn, and Yale. Together, she and Joanne explore how women entering the world of advanced Torah study are reshaping both the Beit Midrash and academia, why Talmud should not remain the domain of an elite few, and how learning Torah can become a profound framework for thinking about human existence, authority, individuality, and religious life. The conversation also examines the tensions between traditional and academic approaches to Talmud, the challenge of imposter syndrome for women in leadership, and why Dr. Hoffmann-Libson believes the next generation of Jewish women will fundamentally transform religious communities. This is a thoughtful and deeply personal discussion about Torah, truth, intellectual courage, and what it means to make the Talmud accessible to everyone. What does an observant life look like for spiritually aspirational women? Join the Women and Mitzvot course at LSJS with Joanne Greenaway, Dr. Lindsay Simmonds, and Rabbanit Rachel Weber Leshaw by signing up here. Find out about the Sukkot Challenge with Hadran, advancing Talmud Study for Women:  https://hadran.org.il/beyond-the-daf/sukkahchallenge/ or sign up at  https://bit.ly/4drIXli. Read Law and Self-Knowledge in the Talmud by Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson. Order your copy today. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

Have you ever wondered if all that doing is actually getting in the way of your creativity? What if I asked you to let yourself be less useful?This week I'm sitting down with photographer, documentarian, and creative force Lindsey Lerner, founder of Field Notes From the Work in the Wild, a stunning project on Substack that documents people in the messy middle of their most meaningful work.Lindsey started out as my creative coaching client and has since become one of my dearest friends and creative allies. And in this conversation, she gets radically honest about what happened when she finally stopped over-functioning, stopped building everyone else's dreams, and started making room for her own.We get into:-Why being less useful might be the most creative thing you can do-How to keep the faith when your path makes absolutely no sense-What it really means to ask for help, and why it's so hard for high achievers-How to braid your passions into something only you can create-Plus the moment Lindsey's wife said something so simple it rewired everything.If you've ever confused hustle for worth, or wondered if there's a more holistic, authentic way to create, this one is for you, cutie.And if you're in New York, Lindsey's bringing Field Notes to life on September 26th at Bronxlandia in the South Bronx. Subscribe to Field Notes on Substack to get first access to tickets: https://fieldnotesfromthework.substack.com/ Love you. Let's get into it.

Emilia Clarke is the Emmy‑nominated actor who became a global cultural icon as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, a role that catapulted her from fresh drama‑school graduate to one of the most recognisable faces on the planet. Since then she's starred in everything from Me Before You to Solo: A Star Wars Story, won acclaim on the West End and now leads Ponies, a Cold War spy thriller she also produces. In this episode, we talk about her childhood love of acting, the imposter syndrome that followed early fame, her failure to master mathematics, the terror and denial surrounding her aneurysms, the shattering grief of losing her Dad, the joy of female friendships and…yes, ok…Game Of Thrones. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Cheating Death Opener 00:14 Emilia Clarke Intro 02:54 Ponies And Friendship 03:39 Learning Russian Lines 06:45 Why Acting Means Failure 08:33 Failing At Maths 11:44 Early Acting Spark 14:10 Losing Her Dad 21:09 Failure At Recovery 24:30 Aneurysm In The Gym 27:10 Misdiagnosed Stroke Scare 28:01 Second Aneurysm 29:25 Surgery Goes Wrong 31:37 Relearning and Emotional Shutdown 33:30 Back to Work Too Soon 35:43 Recovery Without Grace 37:40 Healing and New Diagnoses 40:12 Bad at Celebrity 43:01 Game of Thrones Aftermath 46:08 Body Image and Press 48:11 Brows and Beauty Culture 50:40 Self Knowledge and Closing

For years I taught other people to unleash their creativity. This week, I finally had to put my money where my mouth was and unleash myself. This is my real-time, raw, first-week-of-full-time-entrepreneurship origin story, and I'm not waiting until I have it all figured out to tell it.Last week, I left corporate America after 11+ years to launch my own company, Lauren LoGrasso Productions, while six months pregnant, and I'm bringing you with me for every messy, terrifying, exhilarating moment of it.In this solo episode I'm sharing my 10 self-coaching takeaways from my first week of being fully self-employed, what leaving your job to pursue your creative dreams actually feels like from the inside, and why a business is one of the greatest creative projects you'll ever build.We get into:-How to bet on yourself even when you're terrified-Why rest is part of the creative process, not the enemy of productivity-How to stop forcing and start flowing-Why singing your own praises isn't bragging, it's necessary-Plus a very special announcement I've been dreaming about for years.If you've ever thought about leaving your 9-to-5, starting a creative business, or betting on yourself in a way that scares you a little, this one is for you.Because if I can do this, six months pregnant, fresh out of corporate America, betting everything on my creativity, so can you!Love you, cutie. Let's go!

Have you ever needed just a little more time to finish a creative project? I definitely do right now.I underestimated how much energy it would take to fully launch my business this week while traveling and balancing life, so I need one more day before the new episode drops. In the meantime, I'm re-airing a solo minisode that deeply helped me get to this moment. It's all about how tiny steps lead to giant leaps, and why microdosing courage and creativity can completely change your life. Come back tomorrow, Friday, May 8th, for a special bonus episode where I'll share the real-time lessons, fears, gratitude, and growth I'm experiencing as I officially step into this new chapter.Original Description: Do you ever feel like there's no time left for your creative passions? Or maybe you dream of a big, bold goal but aren't sure how to make it happen? If so, this episode is for you! In today's Minisode, I'm sharing the power of small, consistent actions and how they can help you move closer to your dreams than you ever thought possible. Inspired by my latest obsession—belly dancing!—I dive into how breaking down your goals into manageable steps can help you show up every day, build momentum, and make real progress.

Can we ever really know who we are? And does self-knowledge come with an incredible cost to ourselves and others? Maybe! We investigate the First Philip K. Dick Adaptation, with a 1962 episode of the British TV show Out of This World on his short story "The Imposter." Plus, we do a medium dive into PKD's life. And there's lots to discuss in the MouthGarf Report! Plus, I See What You Did There! Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NATbmF4Qxc (While labeled "The Cold Equations" this is the audio for "The Imposter") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_(short_story) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick https://web.archive.org/web/20120511082635/http://www.philipkdick.com/media_sfeye87.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170921182200/http://culture.pl/en/article/philip-k-dick-stanislaw-lem-is-a-communist-committee https://www.salon.com/2022/07/23/8-facts-about-philip-k-dick_partner/ Please give us a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts!  Want to ask us a question? Talk to us! Email debutbuddies@gmail.com Listen to Kelly and Chelsea's awesome horror movie podcast, Never Show the Monster. Get some sci-fi from Spaceboy Books. Get down with Michael J. O'Connor and the Cold Family and check out his new compilation The Best of the Bad Years 2005 - 2025 Next time: First Film Directed by Markiplier/Mark Fischbach

My sweet Creative Cutie! Today is a BIG HUGE day in my creative life. After 11+ years working a creative job in corporate America, I am finally taking the leap and taking a chance on myself with my company, Lauren LoGrasso Productions! It's my last day at work. I am super grateful for all the opportunities this job has brought me and the amazing shows I've gotten to executive produce and meet AND I am so excited to fully step into my own creative work full time.At the top of the episode I share a little bit about this and how I feel. I also share that I need a little time to process this and move through the full gravity of taking this leap, so I am re-sharing one of my favorite episodes with you: my episode with Robin Hopkins! It's very on brand for this day for me and I hope you find it just as helpful as I did, when you listen or re-listen to it! I love you so much- thanks for ALL your support and belief through the years. Can't wait to full debrief this with you next week. In the meantime, check out the original description below and enjoy!Do you struggle with fear? F ear of failure, what people will think, or even fear of starting? Fear isn't something to throw away: it's a teacher that shows us where our work lies...BUT it should not make our decisions--so we must take it out of the driver's seat. Today's guest, actor, comedian and podcaster, Robin Hopkins, will inspire you to release the grip of fear, choose yourself, and take bold steps toward creative freedom.✨ From this episode, you'll learn:-How to navigate fear and self-doubt in the creative process-Why listening to your gut is essential—and how to tune back in-What Robin's “heated toilet seat moment” taught her about taking the leap-How to escape golden handcuffs and embrace your authentic path-Why self-compassion and rest are vital for creativityRobin's journey from 9to5 life to entrepreneurship is packed with actionable wisdom, heartfelt moments, and hilarious insights. Whether you're stuck in fear, held back by golden handcuffs, or battling creative self-doubt, this episode will inspire you to take bold steps toward your dreams.More on Robin: Robin Hopkins is a writer, podcast host, and former stand-up comedian known for her blend of humor, honesty, and insightful advice. She's the author of If These Ovaries Could Talk and the host of two acclaimed podcasts, Dear Headspace and Well…Adjusting, the former earning an Ambie Award nomination. Robin's work offers a unique mix of wisdom and comedy, making even life's toughest challenges approachable and fun.

Heaven is hard to picture because everything in us is trained to see life through “today.” In this episode, Joe Rockey and Father Boniface Hicks try to imagine what eternal life in God's love would actually be like—and why that vision matters right now. Father shares how funerals naturally force the question: where are we headed, what are we made for, and why do we settle for compromised relationships that stay “safe” but never become truly trusting, vulnerable, or healed?Using a strong image, Father compares heaven to the picture on the front of a puzzle box: you place the pieces better when you know what the finished product looks like. Joe extends it with real puzzle experience—the piece you've stared at 15 times finally fits when you turn it the right way. The same is true in love: we can't fully “see the box cover” of perfect love, but we can get glimpses through our best relationships—and through the promises of Scripture.Father then describes a startling aspect of heaven: the glorified body—totally subject to the will, no longer hiding the interior. That means total vulnerability without terror, because everyone is fully reverenced, protected, and purified in love. Joe connects it to modern life: AI can feel like relational “Doritos”—tasty convenience that ultimately weakens real human connection. The episode closes with a practical path forward: if we want to love better, we need self-knowledge about the defenses we built (often pre-cognitively) from real wounds—and then the courage to take wise, measured risks toward trust and repair.Key IdeasHeaven's perfect love “blows dust off” what we settle for: guarded, minimized, conflict-avoiding relationships.A vision of heaven is like the puzzle-box picture: it motivates and guides how we place the pieces of daily love.The glorified body suggests total integration: body fully subject to will, interior fully expressed—total vulnerability without fear.Healing isn't “try harder”; it's letting ourselves be loved in places of shame, usually practiced first in trusted relationships.Growth path: increase self-knowledge about where we guard, why we don't trust, and whether repair/apology/confrontation is needed.Scripture Mentioned (no links)“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard…” (St. Paul quote referenced)“We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (St. John quote referenced)“Love one another as I have loved you” (Jesus' command referenced)Links & References (official/source only)None explicitly referenced with clear official/source URLs in this transcript.CTA: If this helped, please leave a review or share this episode with a friend.Questions or thoughts? Email FatherAndJoe@gmail.com .Tags (comma-separated)Father and Joe, Joe Rockey, Father Boniface Hicks, heaven, eternal life, God is love, perfect love, glorified body, resurrection body, vulnerability, trust, intimacy, communion, relationships, healing, shame, being seen, being loved, self knowledge, self awareness, defenses, self protection, woundedness, triggers, conflict avoidance, reconciliation, repair, apology, confrontation, spiritual growth, discipleship, funerals, mortality, puzzle box analogy, jigsaw puzzle, Bob Ross puzzle, AI and relationships, technology and connection, sales and human connection, Lent fasting, habit change, loving correctly, relationship with God, relationship with self, relationship with others

What if the reason you feel stuck creatively… isn't because you don't know what to do? Maybe it's not that you don't know what to say, maybe you're just not letting yourself say it.In this episode, I'm talking with award winning podcast producer, storyteller, and author, Rich Boerner, about what it takes to step out from behind the scenes and actually share your voice.Because for years, Rich helped shape other people's stories… while keeping his own in the background. Until life pushed him to face a question so many of us avoid:  What am I here to say?We get into:-Why we hold ourselves back from expressing what's really true-The fear of being seen, judged, or misunderstood-How to start sharing your voice before you feel ready-Why your most personal story might be the one you're meant to tell-And how small, brave steps can completely change the direction of your lifeRich also shares the story behind his book Not So Only Child (the tale of a family secret that came out and changed his whole life story and reality)… and how finally telling it opened up a whole new chapter for him.If you've been feeling stuck, blocked, or like you're not fully expressing yourself… this conversation is for you.  Because it's very likely that you're not stuck, you're just not saying the thing yet.Get Rich's Book, Not So Only Child Here: https://a.co/d/0g5sZ1IP

We talk about a specific, easy way to reduce the unworn clothes in your closet, and we also share a listener's clothes-related hack for keeping track of lost items. We explore an interesting distinction: are you a nostalgic person or an expectant person? Resources & links related to this episode: Take the "Four Tendencies" quiz Check out my book Outer Order, Inner Calm Check out the I Want You To Know journal for a Mother's Day Gift Elizabeth: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford (Amazon, Bookshop)  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

If you've ever wondered how AI can be used to deepen emotional intelligence, or you're searching for practical steps to drive meaningful change in your life, this episode will spark fresh insights and inspiration.Welcome to Spirit of EQ! I'm Eric Pennington, your host, and in this episode, I have the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Teresa Escrig, an expert in artificial intelligence, an entrepreneur, and a spiritual practitioner.Our conversation explores the fascinating intersection of AI and human consciousness, revealing how tools like ChatGPT can serve as powerful mirrors for our self-discovery and growth.Teresa Escrig shares her innovative “mirror method,” which is built around four key pillars: awareness, alignment, boundaries, and empowered decision-making.As we break down some common misconceptions about spirituality, we discuss the challenges of setting healthy boundaries, taking responsibility for our lives, and the ways technology can both amplify our strengths and reflect our struggles.This is a thought-provoking conversation connecting science, spirit, and everyday personal growth.Moments00:00 Integrating AI and Consciousness06:56 AI & Human Ascension Dialogue11:55 "Authenticity as Personal Value"16:55 "Alignment: Value, Purpose, Direction"26:04 "Demystifying Clarity and Focus"32:13 "Self-Knowledge for Life's Path"37:10 "Discovering Tools Within"39:50 "Transformation: Tools and Process"43:44 "Human Regression, AI Advancement"49:06 Rejecting Divisiveness for Positivity58:27 "Brain Makes Best-Guess Decisions"01:00:26 Rewiring Mindset for PositivityHere are my top 3 takeaways:AI as a Mirror for Growth: Teresa introduces the concept of using AI chatbots as a "mirror method"—a way to reflect on our own behaviors and patterns, helping us gain invaluable self-insight. When we interact intentionally, AI can amplify our awareness and support clearer, healthier decision-making.Four Pillars for Aligned Decision-Making: Teresa shares her four-pillar method (awareness, alignment, responsibility, and decision-making) that guides users to interact with AI (and people!) in ways that are consistent with their deepest values and goals.Empowerment Through Integration: Rather than viewing technology as something that divides or diminishes us, Teresa encourages us to integrate it into our self-development practices. When used mindfully, AI can accelerate both our emotional intelligence and spiritual evolution.In each episode, Jeff and Eric will talk about what emotional intelligence, or understanding your emotions, can do for you in your daily and work life. For more information, contact Eric or Jeff at info@spiritofeq.com, or go to their website, Spirit of EQ.You can follow The Spirit of EQ Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, or on your favorite podcast player.New episodes are available on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays every month!Please review our podcast on iTunes. Click on the link for an easy, step-by-step tutorial.Music from Uppbeathttps://uppbeat.io/t/roo-walker/deeperLicense code: PEYKDJHQNGSZXDUEWe hope you enjoy the podcast. Hopefully, you're tuning in on a regular basis. We'd love it if you would give us a great review on whatever platform you're listening to the podcast. It's so appreciative and helps us as we try to get more exposure for the work we do and the episodes that we publish. We're grateful to you as a listener. Secondly, our content is for educational purposes only. It's not intended by any stretch to diagnose or treat anything that may be occurring in your life or anyone else's life that you may be connected to through the podcast. And as always, we look forward to the next time that we're together. Take care.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/Spirit of EQMentioned in this episode:SEQ Development ReportThe SEQ Development Report is an innovative tool that combines emotional intelligence with one's spiritual life, distinct from religious contexts. The report helps individuals understand their connections with themselves, others, and their surroundings. It aims to identify areas in their lives that may need improvement and highlight their strengths, ultimately facilitating better navigation through life. To obtain the report, individuals need to contact Spirit of EQ via email at info@spiritofeq.com and complete an online assessment that takes about 15 to 20 minutes. After the assessment, a debrief session is required to review the comprehensive information provided in the report. Spirit of EQ also offers further coaching to support individuals in their personal development journey.Thanks for listening to Spirit of EQThis podcast was created to be a tool to primarily help you to discover and grow your EQ. Science and our own lived experiences confirm that the better we are at managing our emotions, the better we're going to be at making decisions. Which leads to a better life. And that's something we all want. We're glad that you've taken the time today to listen. We hope that something you hear will lead to a breakthrough. We'd really appreciate a review on your podcast platform. Please leave some comments about what you heard today, as well as follow and subscribe to the podcast. That way, you won't miss a single episode as we continue this journey.

Have you ever noticed… the more you try to force something, the less it actually works? The more you push, control, overthink… the more stuck you feel? Same here, cutie! In this solo episode, I'm sharing something I'm actively working through in real time as I step into full-time entrepreneurship… how to stop forcing everything and start trusting that things can actually work out.Because lately, I've felt myself gripping. Trying to make things happen right now. Trying to control outcomes. And all it's been doing is burning me out and blocking the very things I want.So today, I'm talking about the shift I'm making from forcing → faith, while still taking real, intentional action.We get into:-Why forcing energy actually pushes life away-The difference between effort and desperation-How fear and past patterns keep us stuck in control-The daily practices helping me stay grounded (and not spiral)-How to focus on what's real instead of future-tripping worst case scenariosIf you've been feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or like you're trying so hard and it's still not clicking… this is for you. Love you!

While the podcast team is taking a Radical Sabbatical, Kim is interviewing authors of the books that have had a big impact on her in the past two years. Office culture is a fascinating topic.  It can be the special sauce that helps bring together team members to achieve excellence.  But what happens when the company culture becomes a toxic mess?  What happens when a very charismatic CEO becomes obsessed with both cataloging people's weaknesses and then broadcasting them to the entire company?  What happens when that same CEO mandates “internal reporting” on fellow co-workers, techniques that appear to be drawn directly from the playbook of the Stasi (the former East German secret police force, famous for deep surveillance to control and punish their citizens)?  What happens when the CEO steadfastly refuses to hear criticism about himself?Why would people join and then remain at such an organization?  Kim welcomes New York Times' business reporter and author, Rob Copland, to talk about his fascinating, deeply researched, and best-selling book, The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates and The Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend.  Rob's book dives deep on Ray Dalio, the iconic founder and leader of Bridgewater Associates and the culture he created there.  Under Dalio, there is no disputing that Bridgewater Associates became one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in history.  At the same time, Dalio appeared to use promises of vast riches to control and intimidate his employees.  Rob shares some incredible stories to illustrate these points.  When someone dared to push back on any of Dalio's techniques or vision, he famously would shut them down with, “If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?!”  Rob talks about what he learned in the years of research he did for this book.  This conversation presents a cautionary tale of what can happen when a charismatic leader, flush with vast wealth decides his mission is also to dictate how people should live.Background on Rob Copeland: Rob Copeland is a New York Times finance reporter covering Wall Street, banks, and corporate power. He was previously the longtime hedge-fund beat reporter at The Wall Street Journal.  He is best known for investigative, narrative-driven stories and is the author of the bestselling book, "The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend". CHAPTERS: (00:00) Introduction to Rob Copland (01:04) The Pissing Anecdote: A Lesson in Self-Awareness (05:11) Investigating the Absurd: Culture of Petty Conflicts (09:59) The Dark Side of Radical Transparency (12:04) The Pain of Reflection: A Closer Look at Confrontation (16:24) The Cost of Self-Improvement: Why People Endure (18:48) The Allure of Success: How Ray Dalio Captivates Minds (22:43) The Challenge of Self-Awareness (23:58) The Power Dynamics of Self-Knowledge (24:46) Cult Dynamics and Personal Freedom (25:52) The Role of Powerful Figures in Toxic Environments (26:38) Radical Transparency and Its Pitfalls (31:05) The Importance of External Tethers (33:28) Navigating Career Choices and Exit Strategies (37:38) The Journey of Self-Discovery and Feedback Connect with the Radical Candor team: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cultural researcher Patricia Martin discusses the rapid changes in society driven by technology, social media, and AI, exploring their impact on human identity, mental health, and the importance of inner self-awareness in the digital age.Get your copy of Will The Future Like You? by Patricia MartinAs an Amazon Associate, Now I've Heard Everything may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.Chapters00:10 Patricia Martin's Background and Book00:35 The Speed of Change in Society00:54 Cultural Shifts from the Internet and Social Media01:23 The Rise of Social Media and Performance of Self02:19 Impact of Social Media on Psyche and Culture03:02 Reflections on the Internet's Cultural Impact03:17 Manifestations of Unease in Social Media Participants04:15 Personal Changes and Their Impact on Self-Perception05:39 Cascading Crossroads and Identity Disruption06:29 Disruption of American Identity and the Role of Work07:27 The Speed of Crossroads and Identity Pivots09:13 The Trap of Binary Choices at Crossroads09:45 Loss of Inner Realm and External Validation10:13 The Power of Inner Direction and Self-Determination10:53 Persona Fog and Digital Self-Overidentification11:50 Case Studies of Digital Self-Impact13:22 The Importance of Self-Knowledge and Inner Resilience14:00 Balancing Digital Engagement and Inner Self15:41 The Challenge of Self-Discovery in the Digital Era17:11 The New Efficacy and the Self18:15 Guidance for Helping Children Navigate Digital Life20:26 Reclaiming Physical and Imaginative Play22:05 The Irony of Digital Connectivity and Isolation22:29 The Fragility of Digital Identity and Persona23:33 Promotion of the Podcast 'Young in the World'Guest InformationPatricia MartinWebsite"Jung In The World" podcastSocial:YouTube | Facebook | InstagramFor more intriguing and engaging interviews each week, subscribe now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. and now on YouTube

Have you ever realized… you might be the one making everything harder than it needs to be? In this episode, the tables are turned. I'm the one being interviewed by nervous system expert and returning guest  Nahid de Belgeonne and what came out of this conversation was very refreshing, so I wanted to share it with you! We talk about stress, burnout, codependency, and the moment I realized I was taking on everyone else's “emergencies” as my own. I share what happened when my body forced me to slow down (in a very real way), and how I've started to finally calm my nervous system instead of living in overwhelm.We also get into:Why high achievers struggle to metabolize stressThe “second arrow of suffering” and how we make things worse than they areHow to stop absorbing other people's energy and emotionsMy new morning routine for regulating my nervous systemPregnancy, ambition, and learning to actually take care of myselfWhat it really looks like to step into a new chapter of your life (for me entrepreneurship and Motherhood) This conversation is honest, grounding, and deeply human. If you've been feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or like life has been heavier than it needs to be… this one is for you.You can connect with Nahid and learn more about her work: https://www.thehumanmethod.co.uk/ Check out her retreat in Greece: https://www.thehumanmethod.co.uk/thesootheweekinlefkadagreece Check out my Substack: https://substack.com/@laurenlograsso

What if the reason we can't fix our politics is that we've skipped the part where we actually get to know each other? Rajiv Mehta has spent the better part of four decades asking questions that most people don't think to ask. At NASA, it was about the complexity lurking beneath simplified models of the atmosphere. At Apple, it was why people don't take more pictures. At Zume Life, it was why even doctors can't stick to their own health regimens. And for the past twenty-plus years, the question has been deeper still: how do we actually learn to know ourselves and each other well enough to build something lasting together? Rajiv is the founder of Mapping Ourselves, which helps organizational leaders build the cultures they seek by exploring the human roots of high performance. He's also a member of WEAVE, the nationwide initiative that supports grassroots leaders working to repair our frayed social fabric. His book Camaraderie is coming out this summer. The conversation moves from Mets fandom to Mars to medicine to the philosophy of Peter Singer to Genghis Khan, and somehow it all connects. That's the kind of episode this is. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey's Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion Key Takeaways Relationships before results. One of Raj's core convictions, borrowed from a friend long engaged in social movements, is that our culture has it exactly backwards. We treat connection as a luxury, something to get to after the real work is done. But without genuine relationship, results rarely last. This isn't soft thinking. It's what SEAL teams already know, and it's what Raj has been trying to bring to the rest of us. The self is plural. The phrase "quantified self" always had a problem, Raj admits: it pointed inward when the whole point is outward. We are fundamentally social creatures. Studying yourself means studying yourself in community, in relationship, in context. Going off to meditate in a cave has its value, but if you lose sight of yourself-in-the-ecosystem, you've missed the main thing. Know yourself before you can know others. The doctors who were baffled by patient non-adherence were themselves non-adherent. We can't build real camaraderie with people we don't understand, and we can't understand others if we haven't done the harder work of understanding ourselves. Self-knowledge isn't navel-gazing. It's the prerequisite for everything else. Community, connection, belonging, and camaraderie are not the same thing. Raj draws careful distinctions. Community is a container. Belonging is an emotional sense of home, with real agency attached. Connection is deeply interpersonal, the discovery of specific things you genuinely like about another person. Camaraderie brings all of this together within a group united by shared purpose. Conflating them leads to surface-level interventions that don't hold. Complexity isn't a bug. It's the reality we have to learn to live inside. From atmospheric modeling at NASA to human behavior in healthcare, Raj kept running into the same error: people mistake their simplified models for the world itself. When something goes wrong, they blame the workers instead of the design. Real progress requires holding complexity rather than explaining it away. Start human, then get to the hard stuff. Whether it's cross-partisan dialogue or cross-cultural misunderstanding, Raj's prescription is the same: find the human first. Discover what you share. Build some real connection. Then, and only then, you might be able to have the harder conversation. Walking straight into the room with a contested policy topic and expecting good-faith exchange is, as he puts it, nearly impossible. About Our Guest Rajiv Mehta is the founder of Mapping Ourselves, which helps organizational leaders build high-performing cultures by developing the self-knowledge and mutual understanding that genuine camaraderie requires. With an engineering background from Princeton and Stanford, and a career spanning NASA, Apple, and Adobe, he has spent the past two decades guiding corporate executives, military commanders, and community leaders through the practice of personal science. He is a member of WEAVE, the nationwide initiative supporting grassroots leaders working to repair social trust across America. His book Camaraderie is forthcoming this summer. Links and Resources Mapping Ourselves - mappingourselves.com WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project - weavers.org Camaraderie by Rajiv Mehta (forthcoming, summer 2025) Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials… Substack LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Threads Bluesky TikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today's conversation possible. Links and additional resources: The Village Square: villagesquare.us Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Clarity, charity, and conviction can live in the same room. Yes, really.

What if the problem isn't that you don't know what to do…but that you've never really been taught how to know yourself?Let's talk about self-knowledge—the kind that quietly reshapes your decisions, your relationships, and the direction of your life.Because most people aren't actually lost. They're just disconnected from themselves.#selfknowledge #feelingstuck #findyourdirection #personalgrowth #selfdiscovery #innerlife #emotionalintelligence #mindsetshift #lifedirection #clarity #purpose #knowyourself #growthjourney #midlifereflection #authenticliving 

Have you ever had a moment where everything you thought was “working” suddenly wasn't… and you had to figure out who you were again?In this episode, I'm talking with Emmy Award-winning producer, speaker, and writer Teri Weinberg, former EVP of NBC Entertainment, Founder of Yellow Brick Road Productions, and one of the creative forces behind The Office, Ugly Betty, and The Tudors.But what stayed with me most from this conversation isn't just what Teri has built… it's how many times she's been willing to begin again.We talk about what it really looks like to reinvent yourself at any age, how to advocate for what you're worth, and how to stop holding yourself back in rooms where you know you're meant to be. Teri shares honestly about getting fired, navigating power in Hollywood, and learning to trust herself even when the path in front of her completely changed.We also get into creative leadership, confidence, and why life doesn't actually get smaller as we get older… it expands, if we let it.And one of my favorite parts of this conversation is hearing how she's stepping into a whole new chapter in her sixties through writing, speaking, and mentoring the next generation.If you've been feeling stuck, questioning your timing, or wondering if it's too late to go after what you really want, this one is for you.In this episode, we cover:-How to reinvent yourself at any age-What it takes to stop holding yourself back-Advocating for your worth in high-stakes rooms-Lessons from producing The Office and leading at NBC + the secret behind the show's magic!-Navigating career setbacks and starting over-Why your next chapter can be your most expansive one yet Check it out! For more info on Teri, go here: https://teriweinbergspeaker.com/

He edited nearly every Ken Burns film since The Civil War. He still didn't know who he was.Henry David Thoreau wrote that most people lead lives of “quiet desperation.” But what did he actually mean - and what does it look like inside a successful career?That's the question Christian Taylor explores in this episode of Documentary First: The Deep Dive, after her conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers—two brothers who just directed a three-part, three-hour PBS documentary on Thoreau. The film is narrated by George Clooney, with Jeff Goldblum voicing Thoreau, Ted Danson as Emerson, and Meryl Streep voicing several women in Thoreau's life. It's executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley.What struck Christian wasn't the star-studded cast or the prestige credentials. It was a quiet confession from Erik - Ken Burns's senior editor for 33 years - who admitted that despite decades of career confidence, he didn't really know himself. He described himself as “lost and wayward.” And it was his own documentary about youth mental illness that finally woke him up.That led Christian back to Thoreau's famous line and to a realization: Thoreau wasn't describing unhappy people. He was describing people who don't even know they're suffering. People whose competence has become the hiding place.What You'll Learn:Why competence can mask a total lack of self-knowledge - for decadesWhat Thoreau actually meant by “quiet desperation” (it's not what most people think)How Erik Ewers's own documentary became the mirror that showed him himselfThe connection between Thoreau's grief, Christian's grief, and the impulse to strip life down to what's realA practical challenge for filmmakers and creators: rest is where the seeing happensThe Core Idea:Your craft can take you everywhere - except inward. The stories we tell have the power to tell us something back, but only if we're paying attention. This episode explores what happens when the noise finally stops and we're left standing on honest ground.Featured Guests:Erik Ewers – Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. ACE Eddie Award winner (The Roosevelts, 2015). Based in New Hampshire. Has worked on nearly every Burns film since The Civil War (1990). Co-director of Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026), Hiding in Plain Sight (2012) and The Mayo Clinic (2018)Christopher Loren Ewers – Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. World-class cinematographer. Has been shooting for Burns and Florentine Films since The Vietnam War. Commercial clients include Apple, Coca-Cola, Stella Artois, Volvo and Peter Millar. Based in the NYC metro area.Christopher Ewers Commercial WorkAbout Henry David Thoreau (PBS):A three-part, three-hour documentary – the first full-length documentary biography of Thoreau. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Meryl Streep, and Tate Donovan. Henry David Thoreau premied on PBS on March 30 and 31, 2026. Available now on PBS and wherever you stream PBS content.Henry David Thoreau Series TrailerPart 2 of the interview with Erik and Chris Ewers drops April 9 - covering PBS funding realities, AI and the industry, and how they landed Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, Tate Donovan and Meryl Streep.Resources Mentioned:Henry David Thoreau (PBS, 2026) - available on PBS and PBS Documentaries on AmazonHiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (PBS, 2022)Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1854)About The Deep Dive:This companion podcast airs on alternate weeks from the main Documentary First podcast. Every other week, Christian takes one idea from a recent conversation and explores it more deeply - examining what it means, why it matters, and what to do about it.Hear the full interview:Listen to Episode 274 of Documentary First for Christian's complete conversation with Erik and Christopher Ewers about the Thoreau documentary, working with Ken Burns, and the brother dynamic behind the filmmaking.If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a review! For more in-depth discussions, early releases and extra content, support our Patreon: tinyurl.com/DocFirstPatreonListen & Follow:Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAppleSpotify: tinyurl.com/DocFirstSpotifyYouTube: tinyurl.com/DocFirstYouTubeAmazon Music: tinyurl.com/DocFirstAmazon

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 43 – St. Gregory the Great – The Pastoral Rule: Discretion and Self-Knowledge In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Gregory the Great and ... Read more The post BW43 – Discretion and Self-Knowledge – The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life with Kris McGregor – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Have you been sitting on something you know you're meant to share… and still not putting it out? Yeah. Me too.This episode is a real, unfiltered look inside my creative life right now and into my literal diary. I share what I've been thinking about, what I've been struggling with, and the biggest shift that's changing everything for me:Choosing expression over perfection. And impressions. Because the truth is, most of us are not stuck because we are not talented enough. We are stuck because we are overthinking, comparing, waiting for the right moment, or trying to get everything perfect before we begin.In this episode, I share why I'm finally releasing music I've been sitting on for years, when it's coming out,  what my journaling practice is teaching me about creativity and anxiety, and how I'm learning to stop holding myself back and actually follow through on what matters.Learn: -How to stop holding back your creativity and actually share your work -Why choosing expression over perfection can change your creative life -What to do when you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or creatively stuck -How to stop comparing and trust your own creative path -Why you do not need the “perfect moment” to beginIf you've been waiting for a sign to release the thing, start the project, or put yourself out there, this is it.And if this episode resonates, it would mean so much if you shared it, left a rating and review, or sent me a message. I read everything and it really does keep me going.Now go make the thing! I believe in you! 

In this episode, Jocelyn talks with Gabriela Lena Frank about the multitudes of her music, which spans intimate explorations of love and loss to the multi-generational effects of colonialism. They also discuss responsibly engaging with trauma, mentoring the next generation of composers, and writing music for a universe where there's no oppression.    Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify   Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook Learn more: Compose Like a Girl   Transcript   Relevant Links:   Gabriela Lena Frank's website Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and their Eco-Citizenship program A Psalm of Disquiet, written for the Fry Street Quartet Conquest Requiem, premiered by The Houston Symphony  El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego), libretto by Nilo Cruz, premiered by the San Diego Opera LA Opera Digital Shorts: The Five Moons of Lorca by Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz  La Llorona: Tone Poem for Viola and Orchestra Meyer Sound  Anna and the Tropics by Nilo Cruz  Frida by Robert Rodriguez Dead Man Walking by Jake Hegge 

Balance is a habit, not a short term cureIn a culture that prioritizes the high-stakes thrill of the "hustle," we often treat balance as a temporary emergency measure rather than a sustainable foundation. Kent and Caanan explore why we tend to abandon the very habits that make us feel human the moment we find our rhythm. This episode breaks down the necessity of maintenance and why running toward what works is the key to building a life you don't need a break from.From “surviving” a sudden earthquake warning in California to navigating the pitfalls of being overly career-identified, this conversation shifts the focus from "curing" burnout to maintaining a consistent, satisfying hum. Whether you are tweaking your fitness routine or reassessing your professional identity, learn how to build guardrails that keep you balanced without losing the excitement of novelty. CHAPTERS:(00:00) Why are we still doing that?(00:52) Mind Share: Surviving a California earthquake warning(03:41) Maintenance: The third pillar of balance(07:44) Chasing the thrill vs. embracing the "hum"(10:53) Novelty within a balanced baseline(12:10) Fitness evolution: From hiking to mobility(15:32) The trap of being career-identified(19:40) Worth the Time: Barre classes KEY TAKEAWAYS:Habit over Cure: Balance should be treated as a daily baseline rather than a "snapback" recovery from burnout.The Power of the Hum: True satisfaction comes from the steady "hum" of maintenance, which provides the safety to experiment with new things.Self-Knowledge is Vital: You cannot determine what works for your life if you do not first understand how you work fundamentally. SUPPORT NO VACATION REQUIRED:If this episode helped you find your baseline, please leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! It is the best way to help our message reach more people.Subscribe: Never miss an episode by hitting the follow button on Spotify or Apple PodcastsCheck out our website: https://novacationrequired.com/servicesRead our book: https://novacationrequired.com/bookFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novacationrequired/

Have you ever known sending one email could change your life… and still didn't hit send? Yeah. Same.If you're a creative who's been waiting to be chosen or secretly hoping someone will just discover you, this episode is your loving nudge to stop waiting and start creating your own opportunities. To say YES to yourself and open the door to your dreams!I'm talking with Carly Valancy, founder of Reach Out Party, who completely changed her life by doing one simple, very brave thing: Reaching out.After committing to sending one email a day for 100 days, she went from struggling artist to booking major opportunities, working at Lincoln Center, and even performing on Broadway. Now she teaches creatives how to do the same.We get into the fear, the overthinking, the “I don't want to bother them” spiral, and how to move through it in a way that actually feels aligned with your creativity and sensitivity. Near the end of the interview, she said something about what to write in your outreach that FREED me and I know it will do the same for you! Reaching out isn't just a career move, if you let it, it can actually be a creative act. And it might just be what changes everything.You'll Learn:-How to email anyone, even if you're scared to hit send-A simple way to write emails that feel like you and actually get responses-How to stop feeling cringy about it and start building real connection-Why rejection is part of the creative process, not a reason to play small (and how to actually romanticize it!)Check out all of Carly's work: https://carlyvalancy.com/

Have you ever felt creatively blocked and had no idea why? Lately, I found myself stuck on a project I knew I wanted to complete… and instead of forcing myself to push through it, I decided to ask a different question: Why am I actually blocked?In this solo episode, I share the breakthrough I had when I finally stopped beating myself up about procrastinating and started getting curious about what was really going on underneath the surface.What I discovered completely changed the way I think about creative blocks. Instead of seeing them as failures or signs that something is wrong, I started to realize they can actually be signals pointing us toward something important.In this episode, I walk you through the six most common reasons creatives get blocked and how asking yourself the right questions can help you move forward with more clarity, compassion, and momentum.If you've been putting off a creative project, feeling stuck, or wondering why something that matters so much to you suddenly feels hard to start, this episode is for you.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why creative blocks are often signals rather than failures• The six hidden reasons creatives get stuck• How past experiences can quietly create resistance to new projects• The difference between burnout and a creative block• The one question that can help you get unstuck

Sign up here to receive the Formation Newsletter: https://becomenew.com/formation/What if the antidote to condemnation isn't trying harder to be nice… but learning to know yourself?In this conversation, John Ortberg talks with philosopher Jim Taylor about intellectual virtue — qualities like humility, courage, and self-knowledge that help us pursue truth and love people well.Jesus warned against condemning judgment, but he also invited us to remove the log in our own eye. The path forward begins with honest self-examination and a simple prayer:“Search me, O God, and know my heart.”Because when we grow in self-knowledge, condemnation loses its grip.

In this episode, I welcome back Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, for our sixth conversation on Unleash Your Inner Creative. We talk about the enduring power of Morning Pages, how to silence the inner critic, and what creativity needs now in the age of AI.Julia's work has helped millions of people reconnect with their creativity and art, and in this conversation we go deeper into the tools that actually sustain a creative life. We talk about why Morning Pages remain one of the most powerful practices for creativity, how to work with your inner critic (Julia calls hers “Nigel”), and why play is essential for creative breakthroughs.We also explore creativity during uncertain times, writing through fear and self-doubt, and how creativity evolves through major life transitions. Along the way, I share some personal news: that I'm pregnant and expecting my first child… and Julia offers beautiful wisdom about Motherhood and creativity.If you've ever struggled with creative blocks or wondered how to stay creative through ALL of life, you'll find Julia's perspective is both grounding and inspiring.In this episode we discuss:• The real purpose of Morning Pages • How to silence your inner critic • Why creativity thrives through play and curiosity • Julia Cameron's thoughts on AI and creativity • Writing through fear and self-doubt • Creativity and motherhood • The importance of “believing mirrors”Check out ALL of Julia's art and writing: https://juliacameronlive.com/ 

This is one of the most personal episodes I've ever recorded. I have an announcement...I'm pregnant. That's right, cutie! We're having a baby! And in this episode, I'm sharing what this moment means not just in my life, but in my identity as a creative. For years, I've talked about creativity as something we make. The art. The ideas. The projects. But this season is inviting me to rethink everything I thought I knew about purpose, growth, and what it really means to create something meaningful. This feels like the greatest creative project of my life so far, and I wanted to share it with you honestly and in real time.In this episode, I talk about:-The greatest lesson I've learned so far -The difference between preparation and pre-suffering -The creative expansion that motherhood can bring -The Power of letting yourself evolve in public-PLUS: the full story of how I found out I was pregnant Thank you for being here with me. It means more than I can say.

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). The Catechism teaches us about man's God-given dignity and unique place in creation. Fr. Mike explains the unity that exists between all persons, and how this necessitates a “law of human solidarity and charity.” Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 355-361. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

How do you know when it's time to reinvent yourself creatively? And once you do, how do you remember that through it all, who you are in the best thing about you? This episode was recorded while podcast host and producer, Zak Rosen and I walked around Belle Isle in Detroit talking about creative reinvention, identity, and what it really means to build a life around your values.You'll hear the wind moving through the trees and the ice crunching beneath our feet and sheer creative vulnerability as Zak discusses how he knew it was finally time to shift a long-term project. Zak is the host of the beloved indie podcast Weirdly Hepful and a longtime creative whose path has included multiple reinventions, pivots, and personal awakenings. Together, we explore the emotional side of creativity that rarely gets talked about, especially the danger of tying your self-worth to what you make.We talk about:-Why separating your identity from your work is essential for long-term creative health-The freedom that comes from redefining success on your own terms-Creative reinvention and how to let yourself evolve -What it means to build a creative life instead of chasing external validationListen to Zak's Pod: https://weirdlyhelpful.show/

In this episode, I'm joined by Rebecca Hinds — organizational behavior expert and founder of the Work AI Institute at Glean — for a practical conversation about why meetings deteriorate over time and how to redesign them. Rebecca argues that bad meetings aren't a people problem — they're a systems problem. Without intentional design, meetings default to ego, status signaling, conflict avoidance, and performative participation. Over time, low-value meetings become normalized instead of fixed. Drawing on her research at Stanford University and her leadership of the Work Innovation Lab at Asana, she shares frameworks from her new book, Your Best Meeting Ever, including: The four legitimate purposes of a meeting: decide, discuss, debate, or develop The CEO test for when synchronous time is truly required How to codify shared meeting standards Why leaders must explicitly give permission to leave low-value meetings We also explore leadership, motivation, and the myth that kindness and high standards are opposites. Rebecca explains why effective leaders diagnose what drives each individual — encouragement for some, direct challenge for others — and design environments that support both performance and belonging. Finally, we talk about AI and the future of work. Tools amplify existing culture: strong systems improve, broken systems break faster. Organizations that redesign how work happens — not just what tools they use — will have the advantage. If you want to run better meetings, lead with more clarity, and rethink how collaboration actually happens, this episode is for you. You can find Your Best Meeting Ever at major bookstores and learn more at rebeccahinds.com.  00:00 Start 00:27 Why Meetings Get Worse Over Time Robin references Good Omens and the character Crowley, who designs the M25 freeway to intentionally create frustration and misery. They use this metaphor to illustrate how systems can be designed in ways that amplify dysfunction, whether intentionally or accidentally. The idea is that once dysfunctional systems become normalized, people stop questioning them. They also discuss Cory Doctorow's concept of enshittification, where platforms and systems gradually decline as organizational priorities override user experience. Rebecca connects this pattern directly to meetings, arguing that without intentional design, meetings default to chaos and energy drain. Over time, poorly designed meetings become accepted as inevitable rather than treated as solvable design problems. Rebecca references the Simple Sabotage Field Manual created by the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The manual advised citizens in occupied territories on how to subtly undermine organizations from within. Many of the suggested tactics involved meetings, including encouraging long speeches, focusing on irrelevant details, and sending decisions to unnecessary committees. The irony is that these sabotage techniques closely resemble common behaviors in modern corporate meetings. Rebecca argues that if meetings were designed from scratch today, without legacy habits and inherited norms, they would likely look radically different. She explains that meetings persist in their dysfunctional form because they amplify deeply human tendencies like ego, status signaling, and conflict avoidance. Rebecca traces her interest in teamwork back to her experience as a competitive swimmer in Toronto. Although swimming appears to be an individual sport, she explains that success is heavily dependent on team structure and shared preparation. Being recruited to swim at Stanford exposed her to an elite, team-first environment that reshaped how she thought about performance. She became fascinated by how a group can become greater than the sum of its parts when the right cultural conditions are present. This experience sparked her long-term curiosity about why organizations struggle to replicate the kind of cohesion often seen in sports. At Stanford, Coach Lee Mauer emphasized that emotional wellbeing and performance were deeply connected. The team included world record holders and Olympians, and the performance standards were extremely high. Despite the intensity, the culture prioritized connection and belonging. Rituals like informal story time around the hot tub helped teammates build relationships beyond performance metrics. Rebecca internalized the lesson that elite performance and strong culture are not opposing forces. She saw firsthand that intensity and warmth can coexist, and that psychological safety can actually reinforce high standards rather than weaken them. Later in her career at Asana, Rebecca encountered the company value of rejecting false trade-offs. This reinforced a lesson she had first learned in swimming, which is that many perceived either-or tensions are not actually unavoidable. She argues that organizations often assume they must choose between performance and happiness, or between kindness and accountability. In her experience, these are false binaries that can be resolved through better design and clearer expectations. She emphasizes that motivated and engaged employees tend to produce higher quality work, making culture a strategic advantage rather than a distraction. Kindness versus ruthlessness in leadership Robin raises the contrast between harsh, fear-based leadership styles and more relational, positive leadership approaches. Both styles have produced winning teams, which raises the question of whether success comes because of the leadership style or despite it. Rebecca argues that resilience and accountability are essential, regardless of tone. She stresses that kindness alone is not sufficient for high performance, but neither is harshness inherently superior. Effective leadership requires understanding what motivates each individual, since some people thrive on encouragement while others crave direct challenge. Rebecca personally identifies with wanting to be pushed and appreciates clarity when her work falls short of expectations. She concludes that the most effective leaders diagnose motivation carefully and design environments that maximize both growth and performance. 08:51 Building the Book-Launch Team: Mentors, Agents, and Choosing the Right Publisher Robin asks Rebecca about the size and structure of the team she assembled to execute the launch successfully. He is especially curious about what the team actually looked like in practice and how coordinated the effort needed to be. He also asks about the meeting cadence and work cadence required to bring a book launch to life at that level. The framing highlights that writing the book is only one phase, while launching it is an entirely different operational challenge. Rebecca explains that the process felt much more organic than it might appear from the outside. She admits that at the beginning, she underestimated the full scope of what a book launch entails. Her original motivation was simple: she believed she had a valuable perspective, wanted to help people, and loved writing. As she progressed deeper into the publishing process, she realized that writing the manuscript was only one piece of a much larger system. The operational and promotional dimensions gradually revealed themselves as a second job layered on top of authorship. Robin emphasizes that writing a book and publishing a book are fundamentally different jobs. Rebecca agrees and acknowledges that the publishing side requires a completely different skill set and infrastructure. The conversation underscores that authorship is creative work, while publishing and launching require strategy, coordination, and business acumen. Rebecca credits her Stanford mentor, Bob Sutton, as a life changing influence throughout the process. He guided her step by step, including decisions around selecting a publisher and choosing an agent. She initially did not plan to work with an agent, but through guidance and reflection, she shifted her perspective. His mentorship helped her ask better questions and approach the process more strategically rather than reactively. Rebecca reflects on an important mindset shift in her career. Earlier in life, she was comfortable being the big fish in a small pond. Over time, she came to believe that she performs better when surrounded by people who are smarter and more experienced than she is. She describes her superpower as working extremely hard and having confidence in that effort. Because of that, she prefers environments where others elevate her thinking and push her further. This philosophy became central to how she built her book launch team. As Rebecca learned more about the moving pieces required for a successful campaign, she became more intentional about who she wanted involved. She sought the best not in terms of prestige alone, but in terms of belief and commitment. She wanted people who would go to bat for her and advocate for the book with genuine enthusiasm. She noticed that some organizations that looked impressive on paper were not necessarily the right fit for her specific campaign. This led her to have extensive conversations with potential editors and publicists before making decisions. Rebecca developed a personal benchmark for evaluating partners. She paid attention to whether they were willing to apply the book's ideas within their own organizations. For her, that signaled authentic belief rather than surface level marketing support. When Simon and Schuster demonstrated early interest in implementing the book's learnings internally, it stood out as meaningful alignment. That commitment suggested they cared about the substance of the work, not just the promotional campaign. As the process unfolded, Rebecca realized that part of her job was learning what questions to ask. Each conversation with potential partners refined her understanding of what she needed. She became more deliberate about building the right bench of people around her. The team was not assembled all at once, but rather shaped through iterative learning and discernment. The launch ultimately reflected both her evolving standards and her commitment to surrounding herself with people who elevated the work. 12:12 Asking Better Questions & Going Asynchronous Robin highlights the tension between the voice of the book and the posture of a first time author entering a major publishing house. He notes that Best Meeting Ever encourages people to assert authority in meetings by asking about agendas, ownership, and structure. At the same time, Rebecca was entering conversations with an established publisher as a new author seeking partnership. The question becomes how to balance clarity and conviction with humility and openness. Robin frames it as showing up with operational authority while still saying you publish books and I want to work with you. Rebecca calls the question insightful and explains that tactically she relied heavily on asking questions. She describes herself as intentionally curious and even nosy because she did not yet know what she did not know. Rather than pretending to have answers, she used inquiry as a way to build authority through understanding. She asked questions asynchronously almost daily, emailing her agent and editor with anything that came to mind. This allowed her to learn the system while also signaling engagement and seriousness. Rebecca explains that most of the heavy lifting happened outside of meetings. By asking questions over email, she clarified information before stepping into synchronous time. Meetings were then reserved for ambiguity, decision making, and issues that required real time collaboration. As a result, the campaign involved very few meetings overall. She had a biweekly meeting with her core team and roughly monthly conversations with her editor. The rest of the coordination happened asynchronously, which aligned with her philosophy about effective meeting design. Rebecca jokes that one hidden benefit of writing a book on meetings is that everyone shows up more prepared and on time. She also felt internal pressure to model the behaviors she was advocating. The campaign therefore became a real world test of her ideas. She emphasizes that she is glad the launch was not meeting heavy and that it reflected the principles in the book. Robin shares a story about their initial connection through David Shackleford. During a short introductory call, he casually offered to spend time discussing book marketing strategies. Rebecca followed up, scheduled time, and took extensive notes during their conversation. After thanking him, she did not continue unnecessary follow up or prolonged discussion. Instead, she quietly implemented many of the practical strategies discussed. Robin later observed bulk sales, bundled speaking engagements, and structured purchase incentives that reflected disciplined execution. Robin emphasizes that generating ideas is relatively easy compared to implementing them. He connects this to Seth Godin's praise that the book is for people willing to do the work. The real difficulty lies not in brainstorming strategies but in consistently executing them. He describes watching Rebecca implement the plan as evidence that she practices what she preaches. Her hard work and disciplined follow through reinforced his confidence in the book before even reading it. Rebecca responds with gratitude and acknowledges that she took his advice seriously. She affirms that several actions she implemented were directly inspired by their conversation. At the same time, the tone remains grounded and collaborative rather than performative. The exchange illustrates her pattern of seeking input, synthesizing it, and then executing independently. Robin transitions toward the theme of self knowledge and its role in leadership and meetings. He connects Rebecca's disciplined execution to her awareness of her own strengths. The earlier theme resurfaces that she sees hard work and follow through as her superpower. The implication is that effective meetings and effective leadership both begin with understanding how you operate best. 17:48 Self-Knowledge at Work Robin shares that he knows he is motivated by carrots rather than sticks. He explains that praise energizes him and improves his performance more than criticism ever could. As a performer and athlete, he appreciates detailed notes and feedback, but encouragement is what unlocks his best work. He contrasts that with experiences like old school ballet training, where harsh discipline did not bring out his strengths. His point is that understanding how you are wired takes experience and reflection. Rebecca agrees that self knowledge is essential and ties it directly to motivation. She argues that the better you understand yourself, the more clearly you can articulate what drives you. Many people, especially early in their careers, do not pause to examine what truly motivates them. She notes that motivation is often intangible and not primarily monetary. For some people it is praise, for others criticism, learning, mastery, collaboration, or autonomy. She also emphasizes that motivation changes over time and shifts depending on organizational context. One of Rebecca's biggest lessons as a manager and contributor is the importance of codifying self knowledge. Writing down what motivates you and how you work best makes it easier to communicate those needs to others. She believes this explicitness is especially critical during times of change. When work is evolving quickly, assumptions about motivation can lead to disengagement. Making preferences visible reduces friction and prevents misalignment. Rebecca references a recent presentation she gave on the dangers of automating the soul of work. She and her mentor Bob Sutton have discussed how organizations risk stripping meaning from roles if they automate without discernment. She points to research showing that many AI startups are automating tasks people would prefer to keep human. The warning is that just because something can be automated does not mean it should be. Without understanding what makes work meaningful for employees, leaders can unintentionally remove the very elements that motivate people. Rebecca believes managers should create explicit user manuals for their team members. These documents outline how individuals prefer to communicate, what motivates them, and what their career aspirations are. She sees this as a practical leadership tool rather than a symbolic exercise. Referring back to these documents helps leaders guide their teams through uncertainty and change. When asked directly, she confirms that she has implemented this practice in previous roles and intends to do so again. When asked about the future of AI, Rebecca avoids making long term predictions. She observes that the most confident forecasters are often those with something to sell. Her shorter term view is that AI amplifies whatever already exists inside an organization. Strong workflows and cultures may improve, while broken systems may become more efficiently broken. She sees organizations over investing in technology while under investing in people and change management. As a result, productivity gains are appearing at the individual level but not consistently at the team or organizational level. Rebecca acknowledges that there is a possible future where AI creates abundance and healthier work life balance. However, she does not believe current evidence strongly supports that outcome in the near term. She does see promising examples of organizations using AI to amplify collaboration and cross functional work. These examples remain rare but signal that a more human centered future is possible. She is cautiously hopeful but not convinced that the most optimistic scenario will unfold automatically. Robin notes that time horizons for prediction have shortened dramatically. Rebecca agrees and says that six months feels like a reasonable forecasting window in the current environment. She observes that the best leaders are setting thresholds for experimentation and failure. Pilots and proofs of concept should fail at a meaningful rate if organizations are truly exploring. Shorter feedback loops allow organizations to learn quickly rather than over commit to fragile long term assumptions. Robin shares a formative story from growing up in his father's small engineering firm, where he was exposed early to office systems and processes. Later, studying in a Quaker community in Costa Rica, he experienced full consensus decision making. He recalls sitting through extended debates, including one about single versus double ply toilet paper. As a fourteen year old who would rather have been climbing trees in the rainforest, the meeting felt painfully misaligned with his energy. That experience contributed to his lifelong desire to make work and collaboration feel less draining and more intentional. The story reinforces the broader theme that poorly designed meetings can disconnect people from purpose and engagement. 28:31 Leadership vs. Tribal Instincts Rebecca explains that much of dysfunctional meeting behavior is rooted in tribal human instincts. People feel loyalty to the group and show up to meetings simply to signal belonging, even when the meeting is not meaningful. This instinct to attend regardless of value reinforces bloated calendars and performative participation. She argues that effective meeting design must actively counteract these deeply human tendencies. Without intentional structure, meetings default to social signaling rather than productive collaboration. Rebecca emphasizes that leadership plays a critical role in changing meeting culture Leaders must explicitly give employees permission to leave meetings when they are not contributing. They must also normalize asynchronous work as a legitimate and often superior alternative. Without that top down permission, employees will continue attending out of fear or habit. Meeting reform requires visible endorsement from those with authority. Power dynamics and pushing back without positional authority Robin reflects on the power of writing a book on meetings while still operating within a hierarchy. He asks how individuals without formal authority can challenge broken systems. Rebecca responds that there is no universal solution because outcomes depend heavily on psychological safety. In organizations with high trust, there is often broad recognition that meetings are ineffective and a desire to fix them. In lower trust environments, change must be approached more strategically and indirectly. Rebecca advises employees to lead with curiosity rather than confrontation. Instead of calling out a bad meeting, one might ask whether their presence is truly necessary. Framing the question around contribution rather than judgment reduces defensiveness. This approach lowers the emotional temperature and keeps the conversation constructive. Curiosity shifts the tone from personal critique to shared problem solving. In psychologically unsafe environments, Rebecca suggests shifting enforcement to systems rather than individuals. Automated rules such as canceling meetings without agendas or without sufficient confirmations can reduce personal friction. When technology enforces standards, it feels less like a personal attack. Codified rules provide employees with shared language and objective criteria. This reduces the perception that opting out is a rejection of the person rather than a rejection of the structure. Rebecca argues that every organization should have a clear and shared definition of what deserves to be a meeting. If five employees are asked what qualifies as a meeting, they should give the same answer. Without explicit criteria, decisions default to habit and hierarchy. Clear rules give employees confidence to push back constructively. Shared standards transform meeting participation from a personal negotiation into a procedural one. Rebecca outlines a two part test to determine whether a meeting should exist. First, the meeting must serve one of four purposes which are to decide, discuss, debate, or develop people. If it does not satisfy one of those four categories, it likely should not be a meeting. Even if it passes that test, it must also satisfy one of the CEO criteria. C refers to complexity and whether the issue contains enough ambiguity to require synchronous dialogue. E refers to emotional intensity and whether reading emotions or managing reactions is important. O refers to one way door decisions, meaning choices that are difficult or costly to reverse. Many organizational decisions are reversible and therefore do not justify synchronous time. Robin asks how small teams without advanced tech stacks can automate meeting discipline. Rebecca explains that many safeguards can be implemented with existing tools such as Google Calendar or simple scripts. Basic rules like requiring an agenda or minimum confirmations can be enforced through standard workflows. Not all solutions require advanced AI tools. The key is introducing friction intentionally to prevent low value meetings from forming. Rebecca notes that more advanced AI tools can measure engagement, multitasking, or participation. Some platforms now provide indicators of attention or involvement during meetings. While these tools are promising, they are not required to implement foundational meeting discipline. She cautions against over investing in shiny tools without first clarifying principles. Metrics are useful when they reinforce intentional design rather than replace it. Rebecca highlights a subtle risk of automation, particularly in scheduling. Tools can be optimized for the sender while increasing friction for recipients. Leaders should consider the system level impact rather than only individual efficiency. Productivity gains at the individual level can create hidden coordination costs for the team. Meeting automation should be evaluated through a collective lens. Rebecca distinguishes between intrusive AI bots that join meetings and simple transcription tools. She is cautious about bots that visibly attend meetings and distract participants. However, she supports consensual transcription when it enhances asynchronous follow up. Effective transcription can reduce cognitive load and free participants to engage more deeply. Used thoughtfully, these tools can strengthen collaboration rather than dilute it. 41:35 Maker vs. Manager: Balancing a Day Job with a Book Launch Robin shares an example from a webinar where attendees were asked for feedback via a short Bitly link before the session closed. He contrasts this with the ineffectiveness of "smiley face/frowny face" buttons in hotel bathrooms—easy to ignore and lacking context. The key is embedding feedback into the process in a way that's natural, timely, and comfortable for participants. Feedback mechanisms should be integrated, low-friction, and provide enough context for meaningful responses. Rebecca recommends a method inspired by Elise Keith called Roti—rating meetings on a zero-to-five scale based on whether they were worth attendees' time. She suggests asking this for roughly 10% of meetings to gather actionable insight. Follow-up question: "What could the organizer do to increase the rating by one point?" This approach removes bias, focuses on attendee experience, and identifies meetings that need restructuring. Splits in ratings reveal misaligned agendas or attendee lists and guide optimization. Robin imagines automating feedback requests via email or tools like Superhuman for convenience. Rebecca agrees and adds that simple forms (Google Forms, paper, or other methods) are effective, especially when anonymous. The goal is simplicity and consistency—given how costly meetings are, there's no excuse to skip feedback. Robin references Paul Graham's essay on maker vs. manager schedules and asks about Rebecca's approach to balancing writing, team coordination, and book marketing. Rebecca shares that 95% of her effort on the book launch was "making"—writing and outreach—thanks to a strong team handling management. She devoted time to writing, scrappy outreach, and building relationships, emphasizing giving without expecting reciprocation. The main coordination challenge was balancing her book work with her full-time job at Asana, requiring careful prioritization. Rebecca created a strict writing schedule inspired by her swimming discipline: early mornings, evenings, and weekends dedicated to writing. She prioritized her book and full-time work while maintaining family commitments. Discipline and clear prioritization were essential to manage competing but synergistic priorities. Robin asks about written vs. spoken communication, referencing Amazon's six-page memos and Zandr Media's phone-friendly quick syncs. Rebecca emphasizes that the answer depends on context but a strong written communication culture is essential in all organizations. Written communication supports clarity, asynchronous work, and complements verbal communication. It's especially important for distributed teams or virtual work. With AI, clear documentation allows better insights, reduces unnecessary content generation, and reinforces disciplined communication. 48:29 AI and the Craft of Writing Rebecca highlights that employees have varying learning preferences—introverted vs. extroverted, verbal vs. written. Effective communication systems should support both verbal and written channels to accommodate these differences. Rebecca's philosophy: writing is a deeply human craft. AI was not used for drafting or creative writing. AI supported research, coordination, tracking trends, and other auxiliary tasks—areas where efficiency is key. Human-led drafting, revising, and word choice remained central to the book. Robin praises Rebecca's use of language, noting it feels human and vivid—something AI cannot replicate in nuance or delight. Rebecca emphasizes that crafting every word, experimenting with phrasing, and tinkering with language is uniquely human. This joy and precision in writing is not replicable by AI and is part of what makes written communication stand out. Rebecca hopes human creativity in writing and oral communication remains valued despite AI advances. Strong written communication is increasingly differentiating for executive communicators and storytellers in organizations. AI can polish or mass-produce text, but human insight, nuance, and storytelling remain essential and career-relevant. Robin emphasizes the importance of reading, writing, and physical activities (like swimming) to reclaim attention from screens. These practices support deep human thinking and creativity, which are harder to replace with AI. Rebecca uses standard tools strategically: email (chunked and batched), Google Docs, Asana, Doodle, and Zoom. Writing is enhanced by switching platforms, fonts, colors, and physical locations—stimulating creativity and perspective. Physical context (plane, café, city) is strongly linked to breakthroughs and memory during writing. Emphasis is on how tools are enacted rather than which tools are used—behavior and discipline matter more than tech. Rebecca primarily recommends business books with personal relevance: Adam Grant's Give and Take – for relational insights beyond work. Bob Sutton's books – for broader lessons on organizational and personal effectiveness. Robert Cialdini's Influence – for understanding human behavior in both professional and personal contexts. Her selections highlight that business literature often offers universal lessons applicable beyond work. 59:48 Where to Find Rebecca The book is available at all major bookstores. Website: rebeccahinds.com LinkedIn: Rebecca Hinds  

Are you constantly funding your own creative projects and ending up depleted, disappointed, or broke?In this minisode, I share one of the most powerful lessons I ever learned while coaching a multimillionaire: rich people do not spend their own money to launch new projects. They find sponsors, investors, patrons, and partners.So why are artists and indie creators doing the opposite?In this episode, we talk about:- Why self-funding your art can create resentment and burnout-How to stop being your own investor-Where to look for funding including sponsors, grants, corporations, nonprofits, and angel investors-Why artists used to have patrons and why that model still works-How to adopt an abundance mindset without going into debtIf you've ever drained your savings for your art, this episode is your wake-up call. You deserve funding. You deserve support. And you do not have to go broke to create.

What if the story we've been telling artists is wrong? What if you don't actually have to choose between financial stability and the thing you love most?In this episode, I sit down with actor turned entrepreneur Sarah Kleist to talk about the toxic myth of the “starving artist” and why performers are uniquely equipped to build creative businesses that support their art instead of competing with it.Sarah is a musical theater performer living in New York City who also runs a thriving web design and branding business for creatives. She shares how she built financial stability without walking away from her artistic identity and why being multi-passionate is not a weakness, but a strategic advantage.We talk about:-Why the “if you can do anything else, do that instead” advice is harmful-The powerful skills actors and performers already have that businesses are desperate for-How to rewrite your money story as a creative-Why financial stability can make you a better artist, not a worse one-Practical ways to start thinking about what your own creative business could beIf you've ever felt like you were failing because you want both meaning and money, this conversation will feel like a deep exhale.You don't have to choose. You can build a life that holds both.

I tried to record a normal episode today. I couldn't. I sat down to talk about creativity like I usually do, and instead I found myself overwhelmed, heartbroken, and honestly… empty. In this episode, I share what it feels like to be a creative person living in America right now when the news feels unbearable, when your emotions are so full they leave you feeling blank, and when you're wondering:What is even worth creating at a time like this?How are we supposed to go about daily life?This is a raw, unscripted reflection on creative paralysis, collective grief, human rights, and the cruelty happening around us, including the actions of ICE and the fear, harm, and devastation our communities are experiencing.I talk about:-Small ways to stay creative and human when you feel helpless-Creative burnout from current events and how to move through it -How to alchemize pain into purpose-The role of artists, makers, and storytellers during hard times-Why this moment is not a political issue, but rather, a human rights issueIf you've been feeling distracted, heavy, unable to focus, or wondering how to keep making things when your heart is breaking, this episode is for you. I love you. I'm with you.

What if the way you learned to love, connect, and succeed wasn't actually you, but survival strategies you picked up as a kid?In this episode of Unleash Your Inner Creative, I sit down with Beá Victoria Albina, somatic experiencing practitioner and author of Emotional Outsourcing, to explore how people pleasing, perfectionism, and emotional over-responsibility quietly block creativity, self-trust, and authentic expression.We talk about what emotional outsourcing really is, how it develops in childhood, and how it shows up in our relationships, work, decision-making, and creative lives. We also explore how healing your nervous system and attachment wounds can help you reconnect with your voice and come home to yourself.This conversation is especially vulnerable for me. Bea even guides me through a live somatic practice to help release shame, and as you listen, I hope you can do the same. In this episode, you'll learn:-What emotional outsourcing is and why it develops-How people pleasing and perfectionism disconnect you from creativity-Why shame keeps you stuck and how to work with it-Somatic tools to rebuild self-trust and self-expressionIf you've ever abandoned yourself in order to be “good,” “enough,” or lovable, this episode will help you return to a more empowered, creative version of yourself.

Do you have big goals for 2026 but aren't sure where to start or how to actually follow through?In this solo episode of Unleash Your Inner Creative, I'm sharing practical and emotional strategies for goal setting in 2026, especially if you want to go after your dreams in a way that feels doable and sustainable.This isn't about hustling harder or burning yourself out. It's about getting honest about what's been holding you back, aligning your daily actions with what you truly want, and breaking big goals into smaller steps you can realistically follow through on.I walk you through how to assess past goals, identify where you have more control than you think, and create a clear action plan that supports your dreams. I also share what I call microdosing courage, taking small steps that build momentum, confidence, and self-trust over time. We also touch on the emotional side of goal setting, including worthiness, limiting beliefs, asking for help, and healing creative wounds that can quietly block progress.You'll Learn: -How to honestly assess the goals you didn't reach last year and why-A simple way to check if your daily actions truly align with the goals you say matter most-How to microdose courage when approaching a big or scary task -Why stair-stepping goals works better than all-or-nothing thinking when fear shows up (and how it builds self-trust) -How worthiness, creative wounds, and asking for help impact your ability to follow throughIf you're setting New Year's goals for 2026 and want goal-setting advice that supports your creativity, emotions, and real life, this episode will help you move forward with compassion, clarity, self-love and momentum.