The Better Show

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100 episodes! Better Look Back Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

To mark our 100th episode milestone in The Better Show journey, Ian, Darren, and March take a reflective look back on the first 100 episodes of the show. We discuss the insights and tips that have most influenced us, the things we learned that most surprised us, and the experience of building a podcast and an audience from scratch.

Show Notes
3:49 - We reflect on which of the tips from the show have been most influential on our lives.
7:05 -We discover that the tips related to improving sleep were the ones that were most impactful for us and we discuss the individual resonated most with each of us.
9:50 - How marriage has been a factor in helping Ian improve his sleep habits and his sleep routine.
11:35 - Darren reflects on episode 51 on how to have better conversations and how the need for improving the way we engage with people with whom we disagree is so important.
16:00 - March shares how the Oura ring (episode 57) has impacted his sleep quality and reflects on why it has been a wearable something that has stuck with him.
17:45 - We record an impromptu episode on "better wedding rings" and learn that March has lost four wedding rings and learn about a time when Darren almost lost his in a blowhole in Hawaii.
22:33 - Ian shares a system for which aspects of life to focus on first and then which ones to attack next.
25:40 - We admire March's office and the assortment of plants he's assembled in his home office.
27:30 - Darren recommends the Ecosphere to March as the world's lowest maintenance pet and we record a mini episode on the Ecosphere.
32:04 - We discuss HIIT workouts from episodes 33 and 95.
34:01 - The most surprising tips and facts that we learned from the past 99 shows including Darren's surprise at the impact of the human microbiome.
35:50 - We reminisce on episode 70 on better bedding and our interest in eucalyptus sheets.
36:38 - March shares how he was amazed to learn about the negative impact of single-use plastics from episode 73.
38:30 - March recalls the predictive power of the "Stand Up Challenge" from episode 33.
43:58 - Ian reflects on his experience with fasting using the Zero app, what he learned from episode 58, and how he and March cataloged their fasting experience on episode 66.
48:18 - We reflect together on the experience of creating a podcast from scratch, building an audience, and the effort that goes into creating a high-quality product.
53:59 - We share our favorite listener reviews from the previous two years.

Better Career Planning: Part 2 Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

Important: Please take our listener survey & help improve the show (& maybe win a cool prize!). https://bettershow.io/survey

Show Notes
3:53 - The Japanese concept of ikagai.
10:30 - Being the CEO of your own career and how to get started.
13:40 - Why it's helpful to have a healthy emotional distance from your job so you can analyze your career options objectively.
17:50 - Two things that a job can provide you that are not money.
23:22 - Five skills to learn in any job that are transferable to just about any other job.
27:39 - The value of learning the skill of problem solving and a 5-step process for solving problems.
29:48 - The evolution of formal education and "the 5 Cs" being taught in school today.
32:10 - March's #1 tip for evaluating any job.
34:05 - Scott Galloway's career advice
36:25 - The 3 questions should you ask yourself when deciding whether to go back to school to help advance your career.
40:49 - What to do if your goal is to not work at all.
45:40 - How to think about "unpaid work".

Mentions
Video: Scott Galloway's career advice
Article: Problem Solving Techniques & Strategies for Project Managers
Book: The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferris

Better Career Planning: Part 1 Sep 01, 2019

Show notes

This episode is part 1 of a 2-part episode on career planning. We discuss the importance of intentional career planning and share tips on how to evaluate the next steps in your career.

Show Notes
3:35 - Why intentional career planning is so important and something you need to revisit periodically throughout your career.
8:56 - March reflects on the story arc of his career and the diversity of experiences he's had.
14:50 -Ian shares the origin story his career in technology as well as the lessons he learned working at his family's business and how his career has evolved since then.
21:55 - The myth of the linear career and the difference between working hard and having an impact.
25:30 - March sets a goal for listeners to begin looking at themselves as the CEO of their own career.
26:08 -How Ian began with the intention of becoming a user experience design researcher and was pleasantly surprised at how his entrepreneurial experience led him to become a program manager at Microsoft.
29:20 -Why you should pay attention to the things you actually do rather than what you think you eventually want to do.
30:04 -Scott Adams' approach to his own career development.
34:44 -March's recipe for career success and progression.
36:12 -Aligning your work with the larger goals and priorities of your organization.
40:40 -The mindset you need to become the CEO of your own career.
44:02 - The Start-up of You by Reid Hoffman.
49:40 - March shares the career implications of his decision to move his family to Ireland.
54:55 -Four career opportunities that people typically under value in terms of the potential impact on their career.
59:05 - Things to consider when choosing whether to pursue a new career opportunity.
1:01:52 - Fragile careers versus resilient careers.
1:05:48 - March and Ian debate different perspectives on fragile versus resilient careers and explore things you can do to change the risk profile of your career path.

Better Anxiety Management Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

We discuss one of the most common mental health issues in our modern society: anxiety. We explore the nature of anxiety and where it comes from and share tips for how to reduce anxiety in your life and how to deal with it when it does arise.

Show Notes
04:05 - What is anxiety and how do we recognize it in ourselves.
06:57 - Coping With Anxiety by Edmond Borne and Lorna Garano
10:25 - How is anxiety different in our modern society than it was decades and centuries ago.
15:13 - How mental health issues, including anxiety, have increased over the past several generations.
19:19 - The most common sources of anxiety in Western society.
25:30 - Darren shares his experience with an anxiety attack several years ago and explores the issues that brought on the attack.
30:00 - March shares how anxiety manifests itself in his life and shares what he's learned about anxiety after having been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
35:58 - Ian's experience with short-term anxiety and the ways he has found to cope with it.
38:50 - Ian shares a personal story of an experience several years ago where with an overwhelming
40:49 - How tidying up and getting busy can help alleviate short-term anxiety.
41:50 - When you should go see a doctor and telephone hotlines for anyone dealing with severe anxiety or contemplating suicide.
44:30 - Tactics to help overcome anxiety including modifying the stories we tell ourselves about the things going on in our lives.
52:28 - The Anderson Cooper interview of Stephen Colbert and the powerful insight Colbert shared about happiness.
55:45 - How exercise can be one of the most effective tactics for immediately dealing with acute anxiety and March's experience with HIIT workouts to help with anxiety.
57:57 - What the research suggests about caffeine's long-term affect on anxiety.
1:06:18 - How simplifying your surroundings and de-cluttering can help reduce psychological stress and reduce anxiety.
1:09:18 - The Dutch concept of "niksen".
1:13:35- We close with a few quick tips for things you can do in the moment to deal with anxiety right away.
1:16:00 - What is the mammalian diving response and how you can use it to deal with stressful and anxiety-driving situations.
1:19:17 - Why getting off of social media and news-based media helps reduce anxiety in general.

Mentions
Book: Coping With Anxiety by Edmond Borne and Lorna Garano (https://amzn.to/33Z926E)
Book: The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (https://amzn.to/3274s4D)
Website: May Clinic on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/about/pac-20384610)
Article: The Dutch concept of "niksen" (https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/wellness/what-is-niksen-a4196666.html)
Article: Breathing exercises for dealing with anxiety (https://www.lifehack.org/761526/breathing-exercises-for-anxiety-simple-and-calm-anxiety-quickly)
Article: The Mammalian Diving Reflex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex)
Video: The Anderson Cooper interview of Stephen Colbert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6hcyHS_kTY)

Better LinkedIn Aug 19, 2019

Show notes

On this episode we discuss a number of ways to use LinkedIn to advance your career and we explore the importance of your profile in making a first impression on others in your field (including prospective employers). We also share tips on how you can easily give your own LinkedIn profile a "tune-up" so that you present yourself in the best possible light to others in your professional network.

Show Notes
2:40 -LinkedIn by the numbers including how many people are on LinkedIn and how fast the professional social network is growing.
8:40 - Why you should always entertain a conversation from someone interested in speaking with you about a new job.
10:39 - Why it's important to have a strong professional profile on LinkedIn even if you aren't looking for a job right now.
12:10 - Darren and Ian try to guess what year LinkedIn was first launched.
13:15 -The different ways you can use LinkedIn other than looking for a job.
15:48 - Darren shares an experience he had early in his career that motivated him to invest in his professional profile on LinkedIn and elsewhere.
19:20 -What your LinkedIn profile (or lack thereof) says about you to others.
20:05 - Ian shares his first impression of Darren based on his LinkedIn profile (and it's not what you'd expect.) 😊
23:19 - How often you should update your LinkedIn profile and why.
25:40 - We run down the basics of a quality LinkedIn profile.
29:16 - Your LinkedIn vanity URL.
36:25 - How to search engine optimize your LinkedIn profile.
40:35 - What makes an effective LinkedIn profile headline.
50:51 - What makes a good LinkedIn profile picture, what to avoid, and what is the impact of having a really good profile picture.
54:40 - Different perspectives on what you should include in your LinkedIn summary.
59:15 - Who you should (and shouldn't) connect with on LinkedIn.
1:07:05 - We do a live review of Ian's LinkedIn profile.
1:20:35 - Our better next steps.

Mentions
Website: LinkedIn
Ian's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmikutel/
Ian's personal website: www.ianmik.com
Darren's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrengaustin/
Darren's personal website: www.darrengaustin.com
March's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/march-rogers-a720b04/

Better Fitness at Work Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes
1:58 - How labor-saving technology has changed the nature of work for most people and what effect that has had on our general fitness level.
5:08 -How to tell the difference between a low, moderate and highly intense workout.
7:35 - What is a MET?
9:40 - March shares a shocking statistic about the number of US deaths attributable to physical inactivity.
11:30 - How some schools are experimenting with fitness trackers for kids to help track and increase exercise time during the school day.
14:50 - March, Darren, and Ian share tricks they use to increase their movement during the work day.
22:35 - March's interview w/ Brian Keene from BrianKeaneFitness.com.
24:28 - Brian Keane talks about the mistake of trying to do to much to soon when it comes to starting an exercise routine.
26:16 - The 15 minute HIIT workout from Brian Keane and what exactly is a "mountain climber" exercise.
27:47 - Brian Keane talks about the importance of goals when sticking to an exercise routine.
30:38 -Brian Keane offers his tips and exercises for people with neck and back pain.
34:30 - Tips to help avoid putting on weight for people with a desk job.
38:50 -March's experience trying out Brian Keane's HIIT workout.
41:04 - Darren, Ian, and March share their key takeaways from the interview with Brian Keane.
47:44 - How Darren uses the Daylio app to track his fitness goals.
51:17 - Tips for staying fit at work courtesy of the Runtastic blog.
57:14 - Ian institutes a new rule for impromptu posture checks during the show.
58:05 - March decides to incorporate virtual reality into fitness routine to keep things fun.

Mentions
📱 App: Dailyo
📱 App: Tide
📰 Website: BrianKeaneFitness.com
📖 Book: The Fitness Mindset by Brian Keane
📺 YouTube channel: Brian Keane Fitness
📦 Product: fitbit ace 2 activity tracker for kids
📦 Article: Runtastic article on staying fit at work

The Great Hack & Better Social Media Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes
1:56 - The motivation for this episode
4:00 - Movie trailer for The Great Hack
6:19 - Darren and Ian shares their first impressions of the documentary trailer
11:05 - The power (and responsibility) of Netflix and other media companies
14:28 - The listener email sharing a friend's reflection on The Great Hack and her experience as someone whose personal data was released by Facebook to Cambridge Analytica and used to target her with political ads.
18:00 - Critics' coverage of The Great Hack
24:24 - Darren shares his experience with social media and the challenge of staying connected with friends while not being active on social media
27:49 - How Ian engages with social media in a constructive way.
30:44 - The evolution of social media and how its changed over the past ten years.
31:55 - Ian's rules for what to ignore and what to pay attention to on social media.
35:10 - Tips and tricks from our original episode on a Better Media Diet
35:42 - The visualization of media bias by Vanessa Otero and how to use it to understand bias in the media sources you encounter.
40:28 - Darren's rules for identifying and understanding bias in media sources.
42:40 - White papers and how to use them to dive deeper into a topic you care about.
44:02 - New features from Google and Bing to provide easier access to a variety of news sources and perspectives on individual topics.
46:57 - YouTube as a popular source for news.

Mentions
Documentary: The Great Hack
Podcast: The Better Show, Episode 19 - Nourish your mind with a better media diet
Website: AllGeneralizationsAreFalse.com - Vanessa Otero's visualization of media bias
Website: GoodNewsNetwork.org
Website: Postive.news
Podcast: The Bored & Brilliant Challenge from Note to Self podcast by Manoush Zomorodi
Article: Comparing Obama Campaign and Cambridge Analytica's Use of Facebook Data
Movie Review: TechCrunch's review of The Great Hack

Better Mentoring: Part 2 Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes
2:01 - The lifecycle of mentorship, deciding on your goal, and finding the right person to help you achieve that goal.
5:16 - The importance of being clear on what you want from a mentor and setting expectations.
7:51 - The 22 minute meeting
9:18 - The difference between a mentor and a coach.
14:19 - Turning a "no" from a prospective mentor into an opportunity to connect with someone else.
15:36 - Ian reflects on The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.
19:43 - Why the best mentor may not always be someone who's done exactly what you are looking to do.
22:22 - March's blueprint for approaching a new mentor effectively.
24:22 - LinkedIn as a tool for finding mentors.
28:11 - Reverse mentoring and how it benefits both parties.
31:26 - The Science of Mentoring by Shawn Blanchard.
35:30 - How a mentor can become an invaluable sponsor for you in your career.
37:19 - The Oracle and the Jedi by Andy Dunn and how exactly do you pronounce Bonobos?
39:30 - We discuss the concept of radical candor.
42:52 - We explore models for radical candor from the article Examples of Radical Candor by Pavneet Singh Saund.
45:19 -"5 Types of Mentoring Relationships you need for your career" by A Millennial's Diary
48:38 - The importance of having a diversity of perspectives to inform you.
49:55 - First Round Capital's template for setting up a mentoring relationship.
59:33 - How skillful conversations are an important part of a mentor relationship.
1:00:01 - How to know when to END a mentoring relationship.

Mentions
📖 Book: The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
📖 Book: How About That for a Crack Baby by Shawn Blanchard
📰 Article: Reverse Mentoring: What is it and Why it is Beneficial
📰 Article: Examples of Radical Candor by Pavneet Singh Saund
📖 Book: The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.
📰 Article: 5 Types of Mentoring Relationships you need for your career by A Millennial's Diary
🛠️ Tool: First Round Capital's template for setting up a mentoring relationship

Better Mentoring: Part 1 Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

Show Notes
2:29 - Conscious mentorship versus unconscious mentorship.
6:45 - We discuss the differences in mentoring across cultures.
8:57 - Apprenticeship versus mentorship and the origin of the term "mentor".
14:04 - How a mentor can help with professional socialization in a new job or work environment.
17:12 - March's experience working with a mentor for help with his sales and marketing strategy in his new business venture.
19:20 - How a mentor - mentee relationship evolves over time.
21:42 - Darren shares how his dad has been a valuable mentor for him by explaining "how the game is played" in whatever situation he was faced with.
24:58 - Ian reflects on how most of the mentorship he's experienced has been the unconscious type.
28:10 - The importance of the trust boundary in the mentor-mentee relationship.
31:44 - The art of asking good questions and Ian's resolution to find something interesting about everyone he encounters.
36:10 - The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
43:10 - The different types of mentors and how they each help with something different.
45:15 - Ian makes a reference to Frazier. 📺
46:44 - Different ways to structure a mentor relationship.
52:40 -Different specialty organizations that offer mentor opportunities.
59:20 - We preview the aspects we will cover in Part 2.

Better Podcasts: Part 1 Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

Ian, March, and I have a dedicated group chat channel called #podcasts_to_follow where we share interesting podcasts with one another. This week, we decided to share our favorite podcasts with you as well as some of the new shows we've discovered lately.

As we sat down to record this week's episode, March ran into some last minute technical difficulties and wasn't able to join the recording session so it's just Ian and me this week. We had such a fun time talking about our new podcast discoveries that we plan to do another episode just like this in the future where March can chime in with his favorites and we feature recommendations from The Better Show community.

2:37 - Darren talks about Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast and a new collaboration between Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis.
5:25 - Ian shares the shows that he and Carine listened to on a recent road trip.
7:50 - Seth Godin's decision to move from focusing on books to podcasting.
15:01 - Darren updates his LinkedIn profile with a list of his favorite podcasts.
18:09 - Google's new feature featuring videos from celebrities commenting on the most common questions asked about them on google.com.
28:18 - Darren shares one of his favorite shows, Every Little Thing by Gimlet Media.
30:10 - We plug The Better Show number +1 971–333–8007 and invite the community to share their favorite podcast recommendations.
33:01 - Ian wonders, "how do new words start?"
38:01 - Ian and Carine listen to The Drive by Peter Attia on a road trip.
42:50 - EconTalk and an interesting episode on addressing the problem of homelessness.
46:44 - The Daily by The New York Times
48:10 - True crime podcasts and a few recommendations for interesting shows covering true crimes.
49:47 - S-town by the creators of Serial and This American Life.
52:28 - Reply All by Gimlet

Links to podcasts mentioned
🎙 Podcast: Reply All by Gimlet Media and episode #102 Long Distance and episode #103 Long Distance Part 2
🎙 Podcast: Planet Money and episode #416 Why the price of Coke didn't change for 70 years and episode #666 The Hoverboard Life
🎙 Podcast: Slow Radio episodes Forgotten Sounds and Dementia Voices
🎙 Podcast: Every Little Thing by Gimlet Media and the episodes titled Thrift Store Smell: What it it? and Auctioneers: Why do they talk like that? and Is Egg the Only Nog?
🎙 Podcast: Pivot with Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway
🎙 Podcast: 99% Invisible
🎙 Podcast: Against the Rules with Michael Lewis
🎙 Podcast: Numbers Geek by Geekwire
🎙 Podcast: EconTalk and the episode with Erica Sandberg on Homelessness and Downtown Streets Team
🎙 Podcast:Atlanta Monster
🎙 Podcast: Serial
🎙 Podcast: S-Town
🎙 Podcast: Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell and the episode titled Food Fight
🎙 Podcast: Akimbo by Seth Godin
🎙 Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show and the episode with Seth Godin
🎙 Podcast: Broken Record
🎙 Podcast: Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
🎙 Podcast: The Drive by Peter Attia and the episode 60 with Annie Duke on poker as a system for life.
🎙 Podcast: The Daily by The New York Times
🎞️ Documentary: The LIKE Movie

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