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

You wake up one day with pain in your lower back. Happens to the best of us.Popular wisdom says, “oh, you’ve got lower back pain, you need to strengthen your abs to support your back and it’ll go away.” Or you need to strengthen this or that or the other muscle, your problem is weakness.A similar thing tends to happen across all parts of life. You've got a problem, it must be caused by some weakness somewhere. Easy fix, find the weak link, strengthen it and build around it.Problem is, there's often something much deeper going on. A level of misalignment and dysfunction that's causing the pain. In your body, and yes, even in your life. And when you try to strengthen into that more fundamental dysfunction, very often you end up making the pain even worse. It actually deepens the dysfunction.So, what do you do instead? That's what this week's short and sweet Good Life Project Riff is all about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What if you could instantly trace your connection through an online family tree to nearly anyone on the planet?Put another way, what if every person alive was your cousin?Enter A.J. Jacobs, the master experimenter and mega-NYT best-selling author known for running crazy, year-long experiments on himself.In the past A.J. has spent a year living every rule in the Bible (in NYC), tried nearly every health and fitness tip ever offered in an attempt be the healthiest person on the planet, and even read the entire encyclopedia. Each adventure became a book, and together, they became a fascinating life.In our conversation, today, A.J. outlines his newest, boldest experiment, and this time, he's making it about you. Jacobs is on a quest to build the biggest family tree in history, then invite everyone on it to the largest family reunion . . . ever.In fact, every person on the planet is invited to his Global Family Reunion on June 6th in NY. And, since we're all his "fave" cousins, A.J. has graciously set up a sp

How often have you told yourself, "I'm not good enough, old enough, accomplished enough, credentialed enough, or any other 'enough' to get paid real money or get the gig I want more than anyone else?"Newsflash, there's a good chance you're right.It may well be true that there ARE indeed plenty of other people and organizations who are better at what you do than you are. But, there's also a dirty little secret in the world of business and success.Very often the job, opportunity, gig does not go to the most qualified person. You can still get the plum position, sweet job and serious paycheck if you understand why.In today's Good Life Riff, we're busting the old "I'm not good enough" myth and revealing what matters, oftentimes even more than qualifications.So, stop beating yourself up for being "along the road to higher value." And start understanding what people really want and what you need to give them to create the opportunities you most desire. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You can lose almost any part of your body, except one, and still be you.What is that one exception? Your brain.Because...The brain is the seat of your memory and your identity.Which is why brain injuries can be so devastating. And taking care of your brain is so incredibly important to a life well-lived.Question is, how do you do that?Turns out, there's a lot of "neuro-myths" floating around today. We love to spout all sorts of supposed facts about the brain. Things like, "the average person only uses 10% of their brain." Or, "you can completely rewire your brain through meditation." And, "exercise is like Miracle Grow for the brain."To find out what's fact and what is fantasy, I sat down with today's guest, Dr. Wendy Suzuki.Wendy is an award-winning neuroscientist and NYU professor. She runs an acclaimed research lab, teaches classes, and is the author of the new book, Happy Brain Happy Life. She is obsessed with how our brains either fuel or hold back our best lives.But as she explains in our

It’s not the box society puts us in that limits who we become, it’s the box we put ourselves in.There's no secret to success. No magic bullet. No pixie dust. Success in any endeavor is about doing the work, every day and not running for cover when things get hard. Because they always will. Even when it's right.Taking fierce, consistent action, though, is easier said than done. Especially when that action potentially exposes you to failure, or being judged or ridiculed, or cast out of a family or group or community. So our “seemingly” rational brains assume into existence all sorts of reasons not to act.This week's Good Life Project Riff is the first in a series about the lies we tell ourselves that keep us from doing great work and living extraordinary lives. With each new offering in the series, we’ll do a bit of myth-busting and box-breaking, then offer something to do. Sometimes, multiple things.Today, to kick off the series, we're starting with something we've all said, many, many times...Life-sucking&nbs

Today's episode is sponsored by Camp GLP, the ultimate summer-camp for entrepreneurs, makers and world-shakers, recently featured in USA Today!+++"Brand is the exhaust fume of the engine of your life."A show of defiance at the age of 18, Nilofer Merchant packed a box, declared she was leaving home and walked out the front door. She though her departure would last an hour, it turned into a lifetime.Since then, her fierce intellect, bundled with a relentless curiosity and drive to learn, uplift and serve has fueled an astonishing career and life. Working in some of the largest companies in technology, she became known as the "Jane Bond of innovation," finding ways to not only generate more than $18 billion in revenue for those businesses, but also rebuild teams and ventures deemed unsave-able.She's written numerous books, spoken all over the world, taught at Stanford and even inspired millions to trade sitting for walking in her famed TED talk. In fact, this entire podcast was recorded standing up in our M

"Don't make people work to learn what you know."Today's short and sweet Good Life Riff is about the increasing value of ease and simplicity in a world that seems designed to overwhelm and pummel.It shared an experience I had in law school, one that revealed the power of brevity and respect in a massively stressful environment and, in turn, led to a dream outcome.A few lines from the episode:When you force the person who you seek to serve to be pummeled by the spray of the firehose as a precursor to receiving the true nuggets of wisdom you have to share, how receptive do you think that person becomes? Contrast that with listening deeply, thinking more deeply, taking your time and then offering pre-digested, immediately-actionable tactical strikes with less frequency.Not only is this more helpful and respectful to the recipient, it’s also more likely to keep those in a position to judge you in a state of mind that makes them not only place a higher value on your contribution, but want more. More of what you hav

"The creative act is surrendering to not knowing."There's this scene I have etched in my mind. This week's guest, Cynthia Morris is dancing around a fire in Costa Rica, giggling mercilessly, utterly at home in her playfulness as another friend plays guitar and belts out 80s hits. In that moment, she's the person I wish I could let go enough to be on my best days. Yet, for Cynthia, it's simply who she is. Every day.Beyond an alluring level of ease with her essence, Cynthia is also a gifted writer's coach and creativity coach, a multi-time author, both fiction and nonfiction, an international workshop facilitator and, more recently, she's taking her seat as an illustrator.What started as her own personal process for visual note-taking as she traveled and learned turned into a form of arresting artistic expression. Her main canvas was the little-known accordion Moleskine journals. And it's led to not only a burgeoning career illustrating, but also her powerful Capture the Wow process, which she teaches

After years of paying to wear your favorite shoes, you're getting paid to be seen in them.After years of speaking for free and paying to travel, you're now getting paid to speak.After years of buying your favorite meals, jewels and gear, you're getting paid to eat, wear and use them.After years of writing for free, you're getting paid to contribute.How did this happen? How do you go from working for "free" or even paying for the "privilege" to getting paid to do the exact same thing?It's all about a little thing called “brand hand." It's the defining element in your ability to make the leap from paying to learn to being paid to build your own brand.And it's what we're diving into in today's Good Life Project Riff.Along the way, we'll bust some huge myths about what's really happening when you're working for "free." We'll come to the realization that it's never really about free versus paid, but rather cash versus non-cash compensation.We'll dive into how and when "free" is not only okay, but sm

Imagine this...A financial genius spends his life developing a complex financial model with the intention of telling you what stocks to buy and sell, and when, in order to make the most money and minimize risk.You'd expect that model to out-perform a single rule that says something like "just split your money evenly between 20 stocks." Except, according to today's guest, Simple Rules co-author, Donald Sull, when that very experiment was run, the simple rule beat the expert every time.As amazing as technology and sophisticated systems are, they often end up performing no better than far simpler, yet often ignored simple answers.Same holds true for life. We spend so much time looking for the fancy methodologies, systems and technologies. We assume they've got to better than something that appears so simple. So we ignore the simple and waste tons of time and money building something that makes us feel better, but doesn't beat the easy answer. And that is a huge mistake.In this fascinating conversation, Sull draw

When you watch kids create something, it's like watching an artist who is given complete permission to explore, experiment, and express. There's no sense of censorship or fear of judgment...at least not until we're a bit older.Working with your hands just plain does something to you. It drops you into a place of pure creativity and consciousness. You become the process, you get lost in it. And that sensation is pure bliss.But, as we get older, we tend to go to that place less and less. We leave our artist maker side behind. And, in doing so, leave a part of us behind as well.This week's Good Life Project Riff shares a story and an invitation. To reconnect with your soul through your hands. Jonathan offers up a near-tactile story about how, with no workshop and a modest NYC apartment, he started building tables as a way to not only express his jones to "make," but also reconnect with that primal experience of pure creative consciousness.And, in case you're interested, here is one of the finished prod

In February 2006, Sir Ken Robinson stepped onto the TED stage and delivered a scathing indictment of the modern educational system, entitled "How Schools Kill Creativity."That talk exploded into the public's consciousness and has since become the most watched TED Talk in history, with more than 32 million views and more than 250 million people estimated to have seen it. While it may not have started the conversation on education, it brought a level of global attention to the problem like never before.In the intervening 9 years, Robinson has continued to speak and evangelize a different approach to education built not around order and conformity, but passion and personalization. And he's written a series of bestselling books with his newest, Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that's Transforming Education, featuring inspiring "schools done right" case-studies to both learn from and build around.Even more remarkable than Robinson's fierce intellect and provocative ideas is where he came from. Growing u

How much of your life are you living in your head?If you're like most people, an awful lot. It's great to have a rich inner life, but when that noggin-talk stops you from engaging with the world around you, it's time to stand up and say, "I've got a problem!"This week's 6-minute Good Life Riff is a wake-up call.I'm known among my friends as a straight-shooter. In part, because I've seen far too many brilliant would-be entrepreneurs, artists, authors, world-changers, etc. keep themselves in analysis paralysis while their incredibly important ideas go to waste.So I'm calling out the over-thinker, the inner-debater and the cranium critic in each of us.Get out of your head, and into your life!Read the print version of this episode on Jonathan's blog at http://www.jonathanfields.com/life-is-a-contact-sport/. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"One of the biggest struggles we deal with as parents is making decisions for our children that feel safe for US."I have been interested in getting to know today's guest for months, ever since I interviewed her husband Rich Roll for Good Life Project a couple of years ago.If you haven't watched that interview, I definitely recommend it for an amazing story of transformation and re-birth.The conversation in today's episode is equally inspiring and fascinating as I talk with Julie Piatt, the plant-based chef, healer, wife, mother, and artist who has created a remarkable health movement with her husband and co-authored the fantastic new book - The Plantpower Way.One of the things I loved about Julie, her plant-based philosophy and book, is that she defies all stereotypes, keeps it beautifully real and absolutely accessible and inclusive. Put another way, there are no "shoulds," only invitations to explore.In this wide-ranging conversation, we delve into her childhood in Alaska being raised on game meat

"Will you step into purpose and connection and expression, or leave them for dead?"There's nothing quite like getting up on stage in front of a crowd to share something creative you made.It's terrifying for most (if not all) of us.But sometimes we feel compelled to do it because we know that facing THAT fear will open the door to purpose and potential.On today's GLP Riff episode, I share the story of one of our GLP Immersion members, Barry Solway, how he literally and figuratively faced his fear of being a writer on stage at Camp GLP last year. And how the incredible GLP community rallied around him to help turn his poem into a published illustrated children's book in a matter of weeks.This story is about more than facing fears however. It's about making the choice to either stay in your comfort zone, locked down by self-imposed stories, or to step outside of that and shine the light onto what you are capable of.Here's an excerpt from the blog post where I tell Barry's story:I love Barry’s story.Not just beca

"Creativity [happens] not necessarily because we have no limits, but because we have found ways to solve problems within limits."Growing up in China, Jia Jiang dreamed of coming to the United States to make his mark as an entrepreneur. But his first attempt found him living with criminals in small-town Louisiana as an exchange student.Jia didn't give up, though. He found a new family who cared, then devoted everything he had to build his career. Until he came face to face with a crippling fear of rejection.If you're human, you're probably not all that different. To overcome this fear, Jia mounted a stunning and very public 100-day rejection adventure that not only "cured" his fear, but also turned him into a viral video phenomenon, speaking and author of the new book, Rejection Proof.This story is both inspiring and vulnerable as Jia Jiang takes us behind the scenes of what it looks like to stare rejection down.Some questions I ask:How did you reconcile the Chinese emphasis on academics with your entrepr

So many people head into the world of entrepreneurship with high hopes, only to end up miserable and running back to a J.O.B. We call this "entrepreneurial failure to thrive."It doesn't have to be that way.We had great feedback on our first short and sweet Good Life Riff, so we're teeing up a new 7-minute piece about a huge miss in the world of startups and entrepreneurship One that leads to misery-infused money.We also share 11 critical questions for every entrepreneur, business-owner and aspiring entrepreneur, oh heck, every living human with a pulse, to consider when trying to build something that both serves a need and also serves your own desire to craft a fantastic life.Here's a quick excerpt:Entrepreneurship is not about building a great business, it’s about building a great life!But, you will never get what you want from the way you contribute to the world until you learn how to align your actions with your essence. And you cannot do that until you know who you are.If you’d like to read the entir

"Rather than making perfection the goal, make improvement the goal."If your work environment and culture empty you out, it will make it near impossible to live a good life. Along the way, it'll make the business you're working for grind to a halt. And, if you happen to own that business, then you end up in a personal and professional world of hurt.So, what makes for a great work culture and environment?We point to companies like Google as a shining example of incredible performance based on a creative culture, a beautiful campus and innovative and engaging projects with plenty of time to do crazy things.But, what's really going on there? Turns out there's science behind it.Today's guest, Ron Friedman, is a genius in this realm. He has spent years of his career researching, coaching, and writing about the actual levers that aid in creating the best places to work.In our conversation, he breaks down the academic studies into layman's terms, cites fascinating examples from real companies who are changi

This episode is a Good Life Project "Riff."What's that? A short, punchy riff on one particular topic that matters to a life well lived. Generally no more than 5 to 10 minutes.As always, these won't replace our weekly in-depth conversations, but if you like them, we may produce more and add them in as supplements to the weekly conversations. So let us know if you want more over on Facebook or Twitter.This week's Good Life Riff is entitled - The Killer App is You. It's about the mistake we've all made when we try to make a mad grab at success by doing the wrong things and relying on delusion and illusion.Here's a quick excerpt:The best of the best, the people who are now and will in the future eat you for lunch, build themselves, through fierce effort and expert guidance, into unstoppable human engines of intelligence, creativity, intuition, compassion, service, expression and heart. Then, they build a culture that empowers the people they bring into their endeavors to do the same.They exalt self-knowledge, per

"Nothing about them without them."Sometimes you hear stories about the horrors of what people go through in other parts of the world and it just seems hopeless.Who are you to help change traditions and practices that have existed for centuries?And why would people listen to you as an outsider?These questions and challenges have not deterred today's guest from making an incredibly important impact in places like Africa and India.Jane Mosbacher Morris spent years working in the US Department of State, the McCain Institute, and with organizations around the world learning about the actual issues that surround practices like early childhood marriage and violence against women. And then she made an important discovery.No matter how much you give aid to a woman who is a survivor of these kinds of trauma, you can't give her freedom without helping her become economically independent.Jane founded a company to do just that last year, To The Market, and in our moving conversation, she explains how it helps women surviv