How to Be Awesome at Your Job

Latest Episodes:

655: Building Better Habits via Better Systems with Most Days’ Brent Franson Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

Brent Franson shares tactics and tools for building powerful habits based on his experiences of being surrounded by addiction.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) How Brent leveraged technology to break his bad habits

2) The keystone habit of behavioral change

3) How to stay motivated even when you fail

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep655 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT BRENT —

Brent Franson is the Founder and CEO of Most Days, an app backed by science, built to help you understand what you need to do to improve your life and achieve change.

Previously, he was on the founding team of Reputation.com, the worldwide leader in online reputation management. Reputation.com was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.

Brent was also the CEO of Euclid Analytics, a leader in retail data and analytics. Under his leadership, Euclid was acquired by WeWork in 2019.

Brent has been named a LinkedIn Top Voice, and has regularly contributed to Forbes, LinkedIn, Inc, Entrepreneur, and other publications. Brent is a father, and an athlete who enjoys his routine, reading, running, skiing, skydiving, and anything that involves pushing his own boundaries.

• Brent’s app: Most Days

• Brent’s email: brent@mostdays.com

• Brent’s Twitter: @brentfranson

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Software: BlockSite

• Product: Sonic toothbrush

• Product: kSafe

• Book: Benzodiazepines: How They Work & How to Withdraw aka The Ashton Manual by C. Heather Ashton

• Book: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg

• Book: The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh

• Book: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

• Speech: “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt

• Pete’s Most Days Routine: AwesomeAtYourJob.com/mostdays

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• Storyworth. Give Mom a super meaningful Mother’s Day gift this year at StoryWorth.com/awesome.

• LinkedIn Jobs. Post your first job for free at linkedin.com/awesome

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

654: How to Tap Into Your Genius Zone with 34 Strong’s Darren Virassammy Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

Darren Virassammy shares his expert tips on how to make the strengths work best for you and your team.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) How strengths can both be an asset and a liability

2) The surprising sign of genius

3) The trick to turn your blind spots into strengths

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep654 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT DARREN —

Darren Virassammy is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of 34 Strong, comprised of a team that believes everyone deserves a great place to work and that any workplace can be great. A leading expert in the global employee engagement community, the 34 Strong team leverages the Strengths-Based approach to human development to create massive shifts within organizations, both culturally and on the bottom line. He and his team have created sustainable change in small microbusinesses, all the way up to large organizational teams at the FDA, Bank of America, and The California Department of Public Health. Darren is the co-host of the Leading Strong podcast and the host of The Nature Advantage podcast.

• Darren's LinkedIn: Darren Virassammy

• Darren's podcast: Leading Strong

• Darren's podcast: The Nature Advantage

• Darren's website: 34Strong.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Assessment: CliftonStrengths Assessment

• Book:Incredible Parent: Discover Your Parenting Strengths and Raise Your Kids with Confidence by Brandon Miller and Analyn Miller

• Book: Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

• Previous episode: 178: How to Lead Without Authority with Dodie Gomer

• Previous episode: 643: The Overlooked Fundamentals of Inspiring and Managing Teams with 15Five’s Shane Metcalf

• Program: Barbados Welcome Home Stamp

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• Blinkist. Read or listen to summarized wisdom from thousands of nonfiction books! Free trial available at blinkist.com/awesome.

• FSAstore.com. Use your flex spending account funds with the greatest of ease! Save $20 on a $150+ purchase with promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

653: Training Your Mind to Conquer Stress, Pressure, and Underperformance with Dr. Ellen Reed Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Ellen Reed reveals how to build mental toughness by training your brain to be more solution-focused.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) The biological reason why we underperform

2) Three simple questions to your build mental toughness

3) How to beat out stress in 60 seconds

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep653 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT ELLEN —

Dr. Ellen Reed has been a top performance coach for more than ten years, working with Dr. Jason Selk. In addition to helping others reach high-levels of success, she has a well-established career as a professional dancer. With her background in academia and the performing arts, she helps athletes, students, and business leaders reach their peak performance by developing mental toughness.

Dr. Reed received her PhD. in experimental psychology, with a focus on memory and cognition, from St. Louis University.

• Ellen’s book: Relentless Solution Focus: Train Your Mind to Conquer Stress, Pressure, and Underperformance with Jason Selk

• Ellen’s website: RelentlessSolutionFocus.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Website: JasonSelk.com

• Book: 10-Minute Toughness: The Mental Training Program for Winning Before the Game Begins by Jason Selk

• Book: The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin

• Book: Executive Toughness: The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership Performance by Jason Selk

• Poem: “The Guest House” by Rumi

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• FSAstore.com. Use your flex spending account funds with the greatest of ease! Save $20 on a $150+ purchase with promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

652: The Nine Mindset Shifts for Your Best Preparation and Performance with Brian Levenson Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Brian Levenson shares the key mental shifts that elite athletes use to prepare and perform at the highest levels--and work for professionals too!

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) How to get into the elite performer mindsets

2) When it pays to be arrogant

3) The visualization hack used by elite athletes

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep652 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT BRIAN —

Brian Levenson is the founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organizations, performers and leaders. He has been fortunate to work with CEO’s, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, Hilton, Disney, Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and many other organizations.

Brian has a weekly podcast, Intentional Performers, where he interviews a diverse group of elite high performers. Brian has a weekly newsletter called Brian’s Message of the Week, which shares articles, videos, podcasts, and information to subscribers. Brian also created an assessment tool called the Self Belief Inventory which is used by elite athletes, executives, and organizations. His book, Shift Your Mind, was released in October of 2020.

Brian currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and two kids.

• Book: Shift Your Mind: 9 Mental Shifts to Thrive in Preparation and Performance

• LinkedIn: Brian Levenson

• Twitter: @BrianLevenson

• Website: StrongSkills.co

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Study: “When Being a Humble Leader Backfires” by Jia Hu, Berrin Erdogan, Kaifeng Jiang, and Talya N. Bauer

• App: Pocket

• Book:Open: An Autobiographyby Andre Agassi

• Book: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

• Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

• Book: The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purposeby Chris Wilson

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• FSAstore.com. Use your flex spending account funds with the greatest of ease! Save $20 on a $150+ purchase with promo code AWESOME.

• Monday.com. Experience a 14-day free trial of the Work OS that boosts the ownership, joy, and efficiency of work.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

651: How to Defuse Verbal Conflict and Prevent Toxicity from Ruining Your Day with Sam Horn Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

Sam Horn explains how to deal with difficult people more effectively by shifting the language we use.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) Words to lose and words to use in a conflict

2) The mindset shift that makes us feel like less like a victim

3) Two strategies for dealing with workplace bullies

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep651 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT SAM —

Sam Horn, is the CEO of the Intrigue Agency and the Tongue Fu! Training Institute. Her 3 TEDx talks and 9 books - including Tongue Fu!, POP!, Got Your Attention? and SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week - have been featured in NY Times, on NPR, and presented to hundreds of organizations worldwide including Intel, Cisco, Boeing, U.S. Navy, Nationwide, and Fidelity.

• Sam’s book: Tongue Fu!: Deflect, Disarm, & Diffuse Any Verbal Conflict

• Sam’s book: ConZentrate: Get Focused and Pay Attention--When Life Is Filled with Pressures, Distractions, and Multiple Priorities

• Sam’s book: Take the Bully by the Horns: Stop Unethical, Uncooperative, or Unpleasant People from Running and Ruining Your Life

• Sam’s website: SamHorn.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Book: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant

• Book: The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

• Podcast: Good Life Project

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

650: How to Work Your Way to Happiness with Chris Croft Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

The Happiness Tips author himself, Chris Croft, distills and shares his top ten tips for more happiness at work.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) The myths about happiness at work

2) How to rewire your brain to choose happiness

3) The affirmation to add to your morning routine

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep650 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CHRIS —

Chris is one of the top authors on Linkedin Learning, with 34 video courses recorded during 11 visits to Los Angeles, on subjects including Project Management, Time Management, Process Improvement, Assertiveness, Surviving Organisational Change, and Happiness, with 25,000 views a day and over eleven million views in total. His Happiness course is one of the most viewed happiness courses in the world, with nearly a million views on lynda.com and linkedin - its 52 practical things you can do to increase your happiness.

He has published 15 books including The Big Book of Happiness, and he has produced a number of free apps including JobsToDo and Daily Happiness Tips. His free monthly email tips are sent to 20,000 people (www.free-management-tips.co.uk).

• Book: The Big Book of Happiness: 87 Practical Ideas

• Website: ChrisCroft.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Book: The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky

• Book: The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growthby M. Scott Peck

• Past episode: 162: The Only 5 Ways to Get More Done with Chris Croft

• Personality: Albert Schweitzer

• Personality: Sonja Lyubomirsky

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• Monday.com. Experience a 14-day free trial of the Work OS that boosts the ownership, joy, and efficiency of work.

• Blinkist. Read or listen to summarized wisdom from thousands of nonfiction books! Free trial available at blinkist.com/awesome

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

649: How to Persuade through Better Listening and Adapting with Brian Ahearn Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

Brian Ahearn shares how to improve your influence by listening well and adapting to different personality types.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) What every professional can learn from insurance agents

2) The 5 critical ingredients of listening STARS

3) How to DEAL with the four different types of people

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep649 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT BRIAN —

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE. A dynamic international keynote speaker, he specializes in applying the science of influence in everyday situations.

Brian is one of only 20 individuals in the world who currently holds the Cialdini Method Certified Trainer designation. This specialization was earned directly from Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. – the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s book, Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical, is an Amazon best-seller and his LinkedIn courses have been viewed by more than 75,000 people.

• Book: Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents

• LinkedIn: Brian Ahearn

• Website: InfluencePeople.biz

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• App: Voice Dream

• Association: National Speaker Association

• Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• FSAstore.com. Use your flex spending account funds with the greatest of ease! Save $20 on a $150+ purchase with promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

648: How to Turn Stage Presence into Screen Presence with Diane DiResta Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Diane DiResta shares expert tips to up your presence in remote meetings.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) The simple change that dramatically improves your presence

2) Cost-efficient tips for improving your audio

3) Expert tips for engaging your virtual audience

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep648 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT DIANE —

Diane DiResta, CSP, is Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City consultancy that serves business leaders who deliver high-stakes presentations—whether one-to-one, in front of a crowd, or from an electronic platform. A Certified Speaking Professional, DiResta is one of only 12% of speakers to hold that designation. She was President of the New York City chapter of the National Speakers Association and former media trainer for the NBA and WNBA.

• Diane’s book: Knockout Presentations

• Diane’s website: DiResta.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Software: Miro

• Microphone: Blue Yeti USB Mic

• Headset: Logitech H390

• Headset: Sennheiser SC 60

• Headset: Sennheiser SC 30

• Website: The Training Arcade

• Website: WheelofNames.com

• Book: The Science of Mind: The Complete Edition by Ernest Holmes

• Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

• Book: Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini

• Podcast: Entrepreneurs on Fire

• Video: “I’m not a cat”

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• Monday.com. Experience a 14-day free trial of the Work OS that boosts the ownership, joy, and efficiency of work.

• FSAstore.com. Use your flex spending account funds with the greatest of ease! Save $20 on a $150+ purchase with promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

647: Cal Newport: How to Break Free from Your Email Inbox Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

Cal Newport reveals how the rise of email led to a productivity disaster and what we can do to change that.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) How email changed the way we work for worse

2) Simple strategies for cutting down the email back-and-forth

3) Why we feel guilty when we don’t respond—and what to do about it

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep647 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT CAL —

Cal Newport is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. In addition to researching cutting edge technology, he also writes about the impact of these innovations on our culture. Newport is the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, Digital Minimalism, which argues that we should be much more selective about the technologies we adopt in our personal lives, and Deep Work, which argues that focus is the new I.Q. in the modern workplace.

Newport’s work has been published in over 25 languages and has been featured in many major publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Washington Post, and Economist, and his long-running blog Study Hacks, which receives over 3 million visits a year. He’s also a frequent guest on NPR.

• Cal’s book: A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload

• Cal’s book: Deep Work (Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World)

• Cal’s podcast: Deep Questions

• Cal’s planner: Time Block Planner

• Cal’s website: CalNewport.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• App: Calendly

• App: Trello

• Researcher: Sophie Leroy

• Book: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

• Previous episode: 632: How to Reclaim 40 Hours Every Month (WITHOUT Multitasking!) with Dave Crenshaw

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• LinkedIn Jobs. Post your first job for free at linkedin.com/awesome

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

646: Redefining the Rules to Make Work More Enjoyable with Vishen Lakhiani Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Vishen Lakhiani shares foundational principles to make work more fulfilling.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) How the most successful people find bliss in their work

2) How to keep stress from fazing you

3) Why hustling hurts your career

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep646 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT VISHEN —

Vishen Lakhiani is one of today’s most influential minds in the fields of personal growth and human consciousness. He is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley and behind several top-ranking health and wellness apps. He also has two New York Times best-selling books, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass. With an incredible passion and drive to unite humanity and challenge the status quo, he has built a movement of growth-seekers, spanning across 195 countries, engaging more than 15 million followers on social media, and nearly half-a-million students online each year.

• Vishen’s book: The Buddha and the Badass: The Secret Spiritual Art of Succeeding at Work

• Vishen’s book: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: 10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed On Your Own Terms

• Vishen’s website: MindValley.com

• Vishen’s Instagram: @vishen

• Vishen’s meditation: The 6 Phase Meditation

• Vishen’s speech: “The Theory of Awesomeness”

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Tool: Airtable

• Book: The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

• Book: Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours by Shirzad Chamaine

• Book: Rumi's Book of Poetry: 100 Inspirational Poems on Love, Life, and Meditation by Rumi

• Poem: “I Was Early Taught to Work As Well As Play…” by John D. Rockefeller, Sr.