Behind the Brilliance

Latest Episodes:

162 Rainbow Barris on Medicine, Motherhood, and Marriage Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Rainbow Barris is the real life inspiration for the fictional character "Rainbow" on the hit ABC comedy, Blackish. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about her reflections on medicine, marriage, motherhood, and making the most of life at every stage.

Behind Her Brilliance: Self-Awareness

Say hi to Rainbow on Instagram

TOPICS COVERED

Rainbow's path through medicine, marriage, and motherhood

How Rainbow became the inspiration for a fictional TV character

Rainbow's approach to staying sane and focused while raising 6 kids

How Rainbow's transition from doctor to author manifested

Rainbow's reflections on what makes relationships work after 2 decades of marriage

And more!

SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTB162

161 Lisa Feldman Barrett on How Emotions Are Made Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Lisa Feldman Barrett is the author of 'How Emotions Are Made' and a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University with an appointment at Harvard Medical School. In this conversation, we talk about Lisa's book and what she's learned about how emotions are made, how we can be happier and healthier by understanding how our emotions work, and the myths about the mind and emotions.

Behind Her Brilliance: Tenacity + The People in Her Life

Say hi to Lisa on Twitter

TOPICS COVERED

Lisa's path from a working poor family to academic researcher

How Lisa overcame failure and setbacks (including 8 failed experiments and a failed dissertation proposal)

How emotions are constructed

What emotional granularity is and why you should develop it

How emotions and the perceptions associated of emotional expression tie into healthcare, education, and the legal system

How "bitches" become leaders

The practical uses of emotional intelligence

Myths about the way our brains and emotions work

How to turn the dial down on intense emotions

Distinguishing between discomfort and distress (and why it matters)

The simple things you can do to develop more emotional control

And more!

SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTB161

160 Benjamin Spall on Designing the Perfect Morning Routine Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Benjamin Spall is the founder of MyMorningRoutine.com and the co-author of the book, My Morning Routine, which was chosen as one of Amazon's best business books of 2018, one of the Financial Times books of the month, and one of Business Insider's best business books to read this summer. In our conversation, we dissect morning routines, productivity hacks, and other perspectives on starting the day off right.

Behind His Brilliance: Side Projects

Say hi to Benjamin on Twitter

TOPICS COVERED

How and why Benjamin cofounded MyMorningRoutine.com

How Benjamin developed a mediation practice (and his favorite app for it)

Why what you do after meditation is important

The best observations from the dozens of people interviewed in My Morning Routine

How self-care fits into a well-crafted morning routine

Why journaling might be the missing piece to your morning routine

How and why you should create an evening routine to wind down

Ben's take on monotasking and productivity

How side hustles lead to serendipity

And more!

SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTB160

159 Q+A: Defining Success + Personal vs Business Brands Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

This solo episode features answers to 2 listener questions: one is about defining success and the other is about separating a personal brand from a business brand.

This episode also includes the announcement of a new partner, ABLE! Check out livefashionable.com and stay tuned this season to hear my interview with the founder and CEO.

For now, get 20% off your first order at livefashionable.com with code BEHINDTHEBRILLIANCE.

SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTBQA159

158 Jennifer Romolini on Work, Hustle, and Winning for Misfits Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Jennifer Romolini is the former Chief Content Officer for Shondaland.com and the author of Weird in a World That's Not which is a fresh, honest take on traditional career advice. In our conversation, Jennifer gives hope and high fives to the misfits and outsiders with her vulnerable and candid straight talk on how she's found success in her personal and professional life.

Behind Her Brilliance: Grit

Say hi to Jennifer on Twitter

TOPICS COVERED

-Jennifer's path into magazine publishing, writing, and how she's landed her high profile jobs

-Her leap into the startup world and what she learned there

-What Jennifer learned about herself through her marriage and how she and her husband designed a plan that supported their respective careers

-What she learned during the process of writing her book, Weird in a World That's Not

-Jennifer's perspective on networking and why business is personal

-What Jennifer has learned about leadership throughout her career

-and much, much more

SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTB158

157 Dhonielle Clayton on Devotion to Craft, Pushing Boundaries, and Designing Her Destiny Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Dhonielle Clayton is the New York Times bestselling author of The Belles in addition to being the co-founder of Cake Literary and the COO of the non-profit, We Need Diverse Books. She's a brilliant creative force who is constantly expanding her sense of what's possible. In this episode, we discuss her career path, her artistic sensibilities, and much more.

Behind Her Brilliance: Her Parents

Say hi to Dhonielle on Twitter + Instagram: @brownbookworm

TOPICS COVERED

Dhonielle's early days as a budding book worm

Dhonielle's perspective on the American education system as a former librarian and teacher

How Dhonielle fell in love with travel and how it changed her

Dhonielle's devotion to craft and what she's learned fighting through delays and hard times

Dhonielle's take on having it all and how she designs her life

-and more

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB157

156 Paula Pant on Going from Broke to Financially Independent and Why Time Matters More than Money Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Paula Pant is the founder of AffordAnything.com, an award-winning personal finance website. In this conversation, we talk about how we went from struggling as a journalist to traveling the world to building a portfolio of 8 properties to reach financial independence.

Behind Her Brilliance: Restlessness

TOPICS COVERED

Passive income, financial independence, and how Paula discovered them

How Paula built a real estate portfolio that created financial freedom for her

Paula's early days and how she developed an appetite for travel

Paula's morning routine

What Paula knows about money that most people don't

Paula's perspective on time management

How Paula and her husband make their marriage and working relationship fit together

-and more

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB156

155 Dr. David Burns on Why Therapy Sucks (& How to Make It Better) and Recovering From Perfectionism Jun 14, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

Dr. David Burns is the author of Feeling Good, a seminal work on cognitive behavioral therapy that has sold more than 5 million copies. We talk about the difficulties he faced getting the book published, his advice to listeners interested in therapy, and how he approaches perfectionism, depression, and anxiety with patients.

Behind His Brilliance: Critical Thinking

TOPICS COVERED

-David's path into the mental health field

-The rejection David faced trying to get his bestselling book, Feeling Good, published (a dramatic and inspiring story!)

-Rarely shared advice on how to find a good therapist and how to measure success in therapy

-David's advice for dealing with perfectionism, depression, and anxiety

-David's reflection on a life free from the need to be special

-and much more!

Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB155

154 Eli Finkel on What Makes Modern Marriage Thrive Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

THE SHOW

This episode is one of my favorites. Eli is the first social psychologist who's been on the show, and I thoroughly enjoyed our chat.

Eli Finkel is a social psychology professor who studies interpersonal attraction, marriage, conflict resolution, and how our social relationships influence our goal achievement. Our conversation centers on his brilliant book, The All or Nothing Marriage, and what he's learned about modern marriages and how we can connect with the right partner and thrive in our relationships.

Behind His Brilliance: Proactively avoiding boredom

TOPICS COVERED

-Eli's path into social research and relationship psychology

-Eli's findings on what makes modern marriages successful

-highlights from Eli's book, The All or Nothing Marriage

-happiness as an appropriate (or inappropriate) goal for marriage

-managing expectations in relationships and marriage

-how self-actualization plays into healthy marriages

-destiny belief vs growth belief in relationships

-Eli's "love hacks" birthed from research findings

-and much more!

Say hi to Eli on Twitter: @elijfinkel