"Don't flap your wings so hard. It only exhausts you. Close your eyes. Lean into the currents, say yes." —Kamal Ravikant, Rebirth
55: Rebirth: On Fear, Flow, Love and Magic with Kamal Ravikant
50: Post-Election Pivot Point: Find Order in Chaos
Man oh man . . . what an epic pivot point for our country with this presidential election. Wild week for all involved, as half the country celebrates with relief and the other half navigates its grief.
In this episode I zoom out to take a macro view. Partisan politics aside, how do we navigate a world and economy where truly anything can happen at any time? Where all the smartest pollsters and predictors were wrong? How do we create order and opportunity from what often seems like chaos at first? It starts within, and today I'm sharing some of my strategies as we all move forward from a truly surprising twist this week.
44: Want Nothing, Have Everything: The Happiness Equation with Neil Pasricha
"Be you. Be you, and be cool with it. There is nobody else you can be better. There is so much of you unique to the world. You are unique and complicated. You are different and dimensional."
—Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything
Neil Pasricha's writing is like a cup of hot chocolate, or as he would describe it in Awesome Thing #119, like watching butter melt on a hot piece of toast. It is comforting and delightful. His latest book is about what he learned along his own roller coaster ride of reaching smashing success with his 1,000 Awesome Things blog and books, then realizing he still wasn't happy. We break down topics like The Saturday Morning Test, the three time buckets, and many more.
43: Humans are Underrated with Geoff Colvin
What can people do that computers never will? According to Geoff Colvin, that's the wrong question. It is futile to ask what computers will never be able to do, since they are accomplishing new, previously unthinkable feats at an astonishing rate. Instead, we must ask what it is that humans will insist continue to be performed by other humans?
The answer lies in the shift happening as we speak: from a knowledge economy to what Colvin calls the relationship economy. We also talk about his first book, why talent is overrated (and the two qualities you can cultivate instead). I hope you find this conversation as fascinating as I did!
42: Are You High Net Growth?
Some people measure their lives in terms of money, orienting their careers around acquiring wealth and material markers of success. Those who have accumulated financial wealth are considered high net worth individuals. But for the vast majority of people I encounter, money is not the number one driver of purpose and fulfillment. It is only a partial means to that end.
High net growth individuals love learning, taking action, tackling new projects, and solving problems. They are generous and cooperative, and have a strong desire to make a difference.
41: The Progress Paradox with Gregg Easterbrook
According to Gregg Easterbrook, "The men and women at middle-class standards or above in the United States and European Union now live better than 99.4 percent of the human beings who have ever existed," including most of the royalty of history. And yet, we are no happier. How can this be?
We explore afflictions such as: choice anxiety, abundance denial, "call and raise the Joneses," collapse anxiety, the revolution of satisfied expectations, and meaning want. We also dive into their powerful antidotes: forgiveness, gratitude and optimism, as well as Gregg's earlier work on why talent is overrated (and the two ingredients to strive for instead).
39: Unmistakable: Why Only is Better Than Best with Srinivas Rao
36: Kevin Kelly on Techno Literacy, Systems Thinking, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality
I almost fainted when today’s guest, Kevin Kelly, said yes to be on the Pivot Podcast. Kind, brilliant and the king of techno-literacy, Kevin is one of the great technologists, futurists, and thinkers of our time.
35: Ego is the Enemy with Ryan Holiday
34: Perception: Navigating Our Non-Linear Universe with Penney Peirce
32: How Meditation Re-Wired My Brain + 5 Tips for Making the Habit Stick
Meditation has re-wired my brain. I don’t walk on clouds every day, but I do feel like a new person three years in to maintaining a daily practice (and 120 days in to a consecutive streak). I know, I know. One shouldn’t promote meditation as a miracle cure. But if you have an active mind, one that veers toward anxiety and stress like me, take a listen to this week’s Pivot Podcast.
23: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking with Oliver Burkeman
“The effort to try to feel happy is often precisely the thing that makes us miserable. It is our constant efforts to eliminate the negative — insecurity, uncertainty, failure, or sadness — that causes us to feel so insecure, anxious, uncertain, or unhappy.” —Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote
22: Success on Your Own Terms with Derek Sivers
“To have something (a finished recording, a business, or millions of dollars) is the means, not the end. To be something (a good singer, a skilled entrepreneur, or just plain happy) is the real point. When you sign up to run a marathon, you don’t want a taxi to take you to the finish line.” —Derek Sivers, Ask Me Anything
18: How to Become a Robot Whisperer with Dr. Tom Guarriello
Get your geek on! This week’s Pivot Podcast is all about robots, artificial intelligence, and automation. How can we become more agile in an economy that is increasingly transformed by these areas? What skills and mindset will best position us for success in the future? How can you become a “robot whisperer” like today’s guest, professor Tom Guarriello? I could talk with Tom about all this for hours, but we contained ourself (for now!) in keeping this week’s episode to one jam-packed 60-minute conversation.