Good Life Project

Latest Episodes:

Why You Need a Teacher (even if you're sure you don't). Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

If you don't have a teacher, you're cheating yourself.

Wow, I do NOT like those words!

In fact, I resisted the whole notion of a teacher for decades. Friends and colleagues, from artists to athletes, execs to educators would all tell me about their amazing mentors, teachers, coaches and gurus. My eyes would roll. I'm an autodidact, I'd tell myself, I learn best when I'm in control. I don't need a teacher or a coach, I just need access to information.

Turns out, that is a complete and utter lie.

To go from being a newbie to being really good at anything takes a ton of work. Still, most people, with enough motivation, can get there. To go from really good to excellent takes a whole different level of effort known as "deliberate practice." But, to go from excellent to stunningly-good, to step into that final, brutally-hard to access top 5% of your potential, that takes something entirely different. Something called "directed practice." And, here's the thing, you cannot DO directed practice without a teacher. End of story. No exceptions.

What deliberate and directed practice are, and how a teacher becomes a critical player, no matter how smart you are, is what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.

Good Life Science Update.

And, on the science side of things, today, we're diving into a cool new study from a team out of University of Illinois about how being in nature affects your ability to focus your attention, stay engaged longer and go better work. We've known about the effects of nature on your body and mind, it's an amazing Vitality Bucket filler. But, now, we've got research to show how it can effect your ability to do your best work. To fill your Contribution Bucket, too. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.

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Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.

If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.

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Scott Stabile: Big Love. Jan 15, 2018

Show notes

Scott Stabile had every reason to be angry with the world, but he chose love instead.

At the age of 14, Scott's parents were killed at the market they ran, leaving behind a family of seven kids. Stabile was the baby of the group, and nine years later, his brother overdosed and died from a heroine addiction.

In those years, he was surrounded by a lot of tragedy, addiction and loss. And, he buried it all, keeping it secret through school, until eventually, it couldn't stay buried any longer. His awakening eventually led him into a journey of discovery where his deep seeking for answers and connection led him to San Francisco and eventually into the embrace of a cult, where he stayed for many years.

Flowing through all of this was Scott's internal, turned external struggle with his sexuality as a gay man at a time when being out was a very different experience than it is now. Through it all, though, Scott continually found a way to turn back to love. And eventually, he made a choice that stuck, to live on his own terms, no matter what comes his way, with a wide-open heart. He began to share his journey and philosophy through teachings, workshops, and inspirational posts and videos that have attracted a huge and devoted social media following. And, he began to create and write.

His previous works include Just Love, Iris, and the Li’l Pet Hospital series. Scott also wrote the feature film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, an eye-opening experience he writes about in his new book, Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart (http://amzn.to/2CTUebn).

In today's episode, we dive into this powerful journey.

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Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.

If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.

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Validation Fever | Heart Science. Jan 11, 2018

Show notes

Asking for honesty, but seeking validation?

This tends to be the time of year where we look at making changes in everything from fitness and relationships and to careers, locations and beyond. And, the bigger the decision, the more we tend to look to others for advice.

But, all too often, a request for honest input is really a veiled yearning for validation. We've already made up our mind, we just want permission, often to do the thing that'd keep us in a box of illusion and complacency. We’re so wrapped up in the quest for validation, we’ve forgotten that real change only happens when we stop seeking validation and start seeking the truth. That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.

Good Life Science: We know exercise is good for your heart, but can it actually "reverse" the damage done by years of inactivity? In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on a very specific approach to exercise, and how it can reverse a specific and insidious type of damage done to the heart through sedentary living, aka, sitting around and working in a chair all day.

What's fascinating is this exercise protocol is not only highly effective but also "dose dependent." Translation, the researchers also learned that while 2-3 times a week doesn't help a lot, 4-5 times a week makes a huge difference. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.

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Lea Waters: Reclaiming Strength Out of Darkness Jan 08, 2018

Show notes

From darkness comes light. That's what we're told. But, it's not always the case.

In today's moving conversation with Lea Waters, we explore how a childhood that held the darkness of abuse led to years of continued suffering, but eventually became a source of transformation and led to a life of profound light, beauty and strength.

Waters is an Australian psychologist, the Founding Director of and professor of Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Psychology, University of Melbourne. She holds affiliate positions at Cambridge University’s Well-Being Institute and the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations and has published over 95 scientific articles and book chapters.

Her first book, The Strength Switch: How The New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish, was recently included in UC Berkeley’s Greater Goods Magazine’s Top Books for 2017. Lea is the 2017-2019 President of the International Positive Psychology Association and serves on the Council of Happiness and Education for the World Happiness Council. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, son and daughter.

In today's deep dive, we explore Waters' journey from a childhood defined by a lot of pain to her attempt to "self medicate" led to a year's long eating disorder, then to her awakening to a bigger truth about who she was, where her self-worth came from and a commitment to harness the darkness of her youth as fuel for a powerhouse career in the science of flourishing, with a focus on raising kids who experience life to it's fullest.

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A Fat That Makes You Thin [New Research]. Jan 04, 2018

Show notes

As we head into this new year, full of hope and resolutions, the most popular goal is to lose weight and get fit. Optimizing your health and getting fit is a key element of filling your Vitality Bucket. And, it often includes eating better, moving your body and, wait for it, shedding fat.

But, here's the thing. Over the last decade, research has revealed that all fat is not created equal. What fat cells, while serving certain necessary roles, are the ones we tend to fear. The ones that make up nearly all the fat in our body, store energy, make us larger, and often lead to inflammation and contribute to an array of metabolic disease.

Brown fat, though, does the exact opposite. It is like a caloric furnace, helps us get lean, better control glucose sensitivity and more. As babies, we have a ton of it. But, by the time we become grown-ups, there is very little left.

What if there was a way to increase the brown fat in your body as a way to turn up the furnace, lose weight and get healthier? What if you could actually turn your white fat brown? Turns out, you can! That's was we're talking about in today's Good Life Update, which is a rare expanded Good Life Science deep-dive. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study we mentioned as the "leading edge" in this research.

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To Succeed at Anything, Do This. (2018) Jan 01, 2018

Show notes

Success is not just about knowing what to do. It's about doing it. Information, plans and goals will not get you where you want to go. Success is about something bigger. To succeed at anything worth doing, you must make key shifts in your environment, mindset and community that "turn on" the actions needed for game-changing results.

I call this "Success Scaffolding." It applies to everything, from weight loss to business, and relationships to careers. In today's episode, instead of our traditional guest conversation, I'm sharing what I call the "7P Success Scaffolding™" framework. Every element, every step, nothing held back. Why? Because it is that time of year when millions commit to big, new, deeply-meaningful goals, only to walk away or fail by the time we hit February. Not because we don't want it badly enough. Not because we're not smart enough. But, because we do not have our Success Scaffolding in place. This is my New Year's offering. I shared it for the first time in 2017, and it feels like time for a refresher as we enter 2018. It is about helping you make this year different, bridging the gap between hope and reality.

You can find the 1-page worksheet HERE.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Gretchen Rubin's Quiz: The Four Tendencies
My Good Life Project Journal
Snapshot360™ Online Quiz
Join our Good Life Project Community
Jonathan's new book, How to Live a Good Life
Sign up for our Weekly Insider Updates to get Jonathan's mind map of The Seven P's.

We first aired this conversation in January 2017. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now.

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How to Close the Books on 2017 | Amber for Sleep. Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

Don't make this year-end mistake...

Everywhere you look, people are reflecting on the year, sharing what went right, what went wrong, what freaked them out and lit them up. Then, they're looking at the year ahead, setting goals, intentions and making commitments and resolutions about what they "want" to happen. Reflecting, learning and then setting intentions, and goals is a good thing.

But there's one thing that's critically important to turning the page on another year that most people never do. It's a simple ritual we call "Closing the Books." And, the problem with skipping this step is that, if you don't do it, you never fully let go of this year and create the space to step into next year as unburdened by the past as you can possibly be. So, how do you Close the Books? That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.

Good Life Science: In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on sleep, and how wearing glasses with amber lenses at night affects your ability to get the nods you need. You may have heard about this before, but this new research shows just how big a benefit you can get. It also brings up a pretty powerful reason to wear them that we'd never considered. It's not just about your devices and screens anymore, it's bigger than that. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.

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Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit [Best of] Dec 25, 2017

Show notes

Ever wonder how to kill a bad habit or start a good one? How to stop eating ice cream at 11 pm or smoking or procrastinating? How to exercise every day, without fail?

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of The Power of Habit, (https://amzn.to/3jhgYHS) Charles Duhigg, did too. But he went beyond wondering and spent a few years researching the science behind habits. What he discovered was pretty mind-blowing.

Not only is there a huge amount of mythology and misinformation around these hidden routines, but the people who understand the real psychology of habit formation are using it not just to change their own behavior, but to "influence" the buying decisions of hundreds of millions of consumers. Including you.

In this episode of Good Life Project, Duhigg reveals how one of the biggest retailers in the world, Target, uses habit analysis to figure out which customers are pregnant and leverages that information to cultivate new buying habits. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

He shares how to tap the neuroscience of habit to create your own positive behaviors (hint: chocolate after exercise may not be such a bad thing). He reveals why old habits never really die and what to do about it.

Duhigg takes us behind the scenes of major corporations and shows how to use the science of habit to transform a failing business into a success story in ways you'd never suspect. And he shares how these ideas can be tapped to create larger shifts in cultures and societies for good or, if misused, not-so-good.

[We first aired this conversation in July 2012. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now as we head into the year to come to think about the habits we want to create].

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Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.

Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Creative Cave Myth | Rainy Days and Pain Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

What if you could just spend all your time being creative?

Making amazing things, and not worry about building your social media profiles, your relationships, platforms and all the other yadda, yadda, yadda that comes with being not just a creative person, but also an enterprise.

Is that even possible any more? And, if so, what would it look like? That's what we're exploring in today's Good Life Project Riff.

Good Life Science: In our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on an age-old myth, the notion that you can "feel the weather in your bones." More, specifically, does rainy weather make your joints aches or make old injuries more painful? In today's Good Life Science Update, we explore a new study that harnessed big data to arrive at a surprising answer. And, as always, for those who want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.

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Courtney Carver: On Simplicity, M.S., Love and Stress. Dec 18, 2017

Show notes

Courtney Carver believes simplicity is the way back to love. But, her wake-up call was a diagnosis of MS.

A mom, wife, and creative pro, Courtney Carver was building a living in the advertising industry, and a beautiful family. Then, in 2006, everything changed. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Carver went on a journey to figure out how to reclaim as much of life as she could and identify what made things better or worse.

Stress, she discovered, made everything worse. So, she was determined to eliminate as much stress as possible for a happier, healthier life. Along the way, she made another discovery, the common thread in every "de-stressing" change she made from diet to debt was simplicity.

So, she began to simplify every aspect of her life, and the change not just emotionally, but physically was remarkable. Simplicity was literally changing her body, her symptoms, her relationships and life. She began sharing her experiments on a blog, bemorewithless.com, that eventually took off, launched minimalist fashion challenge called Project 333 and the Tiny Wardrobe Tour to share her stories of living with less and connect with like-hearted people.

Her new book, Soulful Simplicity Carver shares this moving journey.

In today's conversation, we explore Courtney's early interests, including a love or art and photography, how she made her way into the "business" side of advertising and built a career. We dive into the changes in her body and the moment that led her to the doctor where she'd learn she had MS. We talk about how she "broke the news" to her husband and daughter, stumbled upon the connection between stuff and stress, then rebuilt her life and living around the idea of simplicity as a path to ease, love and soul.

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