A few weeks ago, a team of Nepali climbers made history, summiting K2 for the first time in winter, a feat that represents mountaineering's last crowned jewel. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve delve into how the impossible was made possible. In particular, they focus on the role of teamwork, pride, and purpose in a sport that is often very individualistic and egocentric. They then zoom out of climbing to discuss the fascinating science behind the principles that too...
Feb 03, 2021•44 min
This past weekend, in the NFL playoffs, one game featured quarterbacks aged 37 and 43. The other game featured quarterbacks aged 24 and 25. Quite a stark difference, huh? In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve dive into the relationship between peak performance and age. They draw upon the latest research and their own coaching experience to introduce a simple framework for thinking about aging and peak performance: two curves that eventually meet—one for raw talent and qu...
Jan 27, 2021•39 min
Resilience is the capacity to bounce back when you get knocked down and to persevere during challenging times. It is a timeless quality, but also one that feels particularly timely. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what they refer to as the factors of resilience , or the attributes and practices that help people to cultivate this important quality. Per the usual, they draw on the latest research, historical patterns, and their experience coaching individuals...
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr
Over 70 percent of New Year's resolutions fail in the span of just a few weeks. Yikes. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what the latest science says on making change that sticks. They touch on the habit-forming cycle of trigger, behavior, reward, and discuss why so many people follow it and still fail. They offer additional frameworks and practices that are proven to drive meaningful and sustainable change, and they discuss their own personal challenges with...
Jan 13, 2021•44 min
Well, 2020 was a long and challenging year. It's over! But just because the calendar flipped doesn't mean everything is suddenly fine. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss an interesting behavioral science concept called the “fresh start effect,” which says people tend to start aspirational behaviors on Mondays, the first day of a new month, and certainly at the beginning of a new year. From there, they talk about the importance of tempering expectations in the ...
Jan 06, 2021•46 min
In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the evidence-based, do-it-yourself methodologies to improve day-to-day mental health and well-being. They explore movement, meditation, and other ways to create space between a situation and your response to it. There is a whole lot of noise when it comes to this sort of stuff, and in this episode, Brad and Steve focus in on signal, aka, the stuff that actually works. Please write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new liste...
Dec 30, 2020•55 min
Taylor Swift just released her latest album, Evermore . It is wonderful. It is also the second album she's released this year, following Folklore , which is also wonderful, and was released back in July. The crazy thing is this: Swift didn't start working on either of these albums until April of this year. This means that she averaged writing a song about every 7 days for 225 days. Originally, Folklore was slated to come out in March of 2021, and Evermore significantly down the road from there. ...
Dec 23, 2020•39 min
A few weeks ago, Zappos founder and CEO Tony Hsieh tragically died in a house fire . It is unclear whether the death was accidental, if Hsieh was intoxicated at the time, or if he locked himself in a room. What is clear is that during the last few months of his life, Hsieh was spiraling downward into substance abuse (nitrous oxide) and biohacking (starvation and nonsensical sleep schedules), while at the same time latching onto utopian fantasies. This somber but important episode takes Hsieh's d...
Dec 16, 2020•50 min
In 2010, the writer Katie Arnold welcomed her second daughter into the world. Three weeks later she lost her father, also her best friend. Dealing with the grief was discombobulating. As she told us in this week's podcast, “I could not talk my way out of it. People could not reassure me the fears I was facing about my own mortality were not true…I tried lots of different healing and therapies, some worked a little, others did not, but really what worked for me was running. Moving on my own two f...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 23 min
Earlier this week, the New York Times broke a story detailing how the prestigious consulting firm McKinsey and Company “proposed paying pharmacy companies rebates for Oxycontin [a popular opioid] overdoses.” Worse, partners at McKinsey allegedly tried to cover the evidence of their recommendation. In this episode of The Growth Equation podcast , Brad, a former McKinsey consultant himself, and Steve use this moral failure as a jumping off point to discuss ethical creep in high-performance organiz...
Dec 02, 2020•46 min
In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve dive into an underground classic from the 1980's: Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman . The main premise of the book is that the medium via which we consume information is a metaphor for the culture; our brains, both as individuals and as a collective, become what we pay attention to and how we pay attention it. At the time Postman wrote the book, he was concerned about how television news was becoming more and more about ent...
Nov 25, 2020•59 min
Rich Roll is a globally renown ultra-endurance athlete, wellness advocate, bestselling author, husband and father of four. He also hosts the wildly popular Rich Roll Podcast, one of the top 100 podcasts in the world with over 100 million downloads. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve welcome Rich. He shares how his experiences in competitive swimming, law school, and addiction and recovery help him when preparing for his podcast. He discusses why he made the decision t...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 18 min
A wise professor once told Brad, “Trust is the most important thing there is and all inefficiencies at their core are created by a lack of trust.” On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the importance of trust and what it means to trust yourself and to trust others. They consider what it means to “trust your training” and review the research and science behind how to build trust with others. The pair offer ways to identify trust gaps in personal or working relatio...
Nov 11, 2020•46 min
In this raw, uncut, and immediately uploaded episode, Brad and Steve explore the still-unfolding chaos around the 2020 US presidential election, how we got into this mess, and how we can get out. For the two articles we reference in the podcast: Driven Apart or Coming Together: It's Our Choice The Simple Reason that the 2020 Polls were Wrong You can find the podcast on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagness The post...
Nov 05, 2020•1 hr 5 min
It infiltrates every aspect of our lives and deserves the time for a thoughtful discussion. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve welcome back friend of the podcast Jojo McDuffie to discuss the topic of race. The three share their different experiences with race growing up in Michigan, Texas and Virginia. They discuss the convergence of racism and mental health and talk about the difference between sympathy (“I see your pain”) and empathy (“I feel your pain”). Steve shar...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 21 min
This month Lebron James won his fourth NBA Championship and once again spurred the question: who is better, Lebron James or Michael Jordan? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle the question, but go beyond the championships and MVP awards and consider performance and success more broadly. They discuss their differing paths to greatness and how they each managed to sustain their peak performance. Brad and Steve also evaluate the pair based on a variety of other fac...
Oct 21, 2020•59 min
The Social Dilemma , a documentary on the rise of social media and the damage it has caused to society, is one of the top shows on Netflix and it has us thinking. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle the issue of social media and its impact on our health and wellbeing. They discuss the pros and cons of the most popular platforms, how they hijack our attention, and whether they should be more strongly regulated. Brad and Steve discuss their own challenging relatio...
Oct 14, 2020•55 min
Ever wonder what Brad and Steve do for the first and last 90 minutes of each day? What their in-home offices look like? What their favorite apps are? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve take more questions from their listeners. They share how they stay motivated and stay connected to friends and family during the pandemic, how they wind down each day, what they put in their smoothies, who they turn to for advice, and more. Please write a review on Apple Podcasts and he...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 14 min
This week marks the conclusion of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals and the start of the NBA Finals and MLB playoffs. We've seen (and are sure to see more) spectacular performances and unfortunate collapses. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what we can do to be clutch and avoid choking when the stakes are high. The pair discuss what it means to be clutch and how to prepare for high-pressure events — whether on the track, behind the microphone or in the boardr...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 3 min
You asked, they answered! On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve take questions from their listeners. The pair discuss strategies for staying positive when the news is seemingly all negative, how to balance multiple passions, and how to be patient with long-term goals. Steve tackles the importance of pausing training when injury lingers and Brad considers whether sacrifice and suffering is essential to achieve the highest levels of performance. Finally, Brad and Steve off...
Sep 23, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Amelia Boone is one of the most accomplished obstacle race athletes in history, having won the Spartan Race World Championship in 2013 and the World’s Toughest Mudder in 2012, 2014 and 2015. She’s also struggled with OCD and an eating disorder that resulted in hospital and treatment center stays. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve speak with Amelia Boone about her highs, lows and what she’s learned along the way. Amelia shares advice on recovery (including what to do ...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 20 min
She’s back! This week on The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve check in with NYC Marathon Champion, Olympian, coach, and friend Shalane Flanagan. The trio first discuss the challenges that come with transitions. Shalane candidly describes the hard and dark days she faced when transitioning away from being an athlete and how she struggled to see her purpose and meaning. Brad, Steve and Shalane then turn to how to cope with impostor syndrome. Shalane offers tricks such as finding your specif...
Sep 09, 2020•1 hr 2 min
On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles , Brad and Jojo explore self-compassion, and explain why cultivating it is key to lasting performance and wellbeing even, and perhaps especially, for high-achievers. The post Growth EQ Principles: Self-Compassion appeared first on The Growth Equation . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 06, 2020•11 min
On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve offer six hot (and thoughtful) takes on topics related to performance and well-being. They discuss whether it's better to have low expectations and if inspiration can actually help performance. The two debate how much of performance is luck versus skill and how our perceptions change when our knowledge changes. Finally, they turn to why constraints are actually a good thing and how anyone can cultivate courage. Inspiration has limits...
Sep 02, 2020•49 min
Understanding that most important things in life are nine-inning games can help support happiness, performance, and satisfaction. On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles , Brad and Jojo explore patience. The post Growth EQ Principles: Patience appeared first on The Growth Equation . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 30, 2020•14 min
In the United States the COVID-19 pandemic is slogging away, now entering its sixth month, making it the perfect time for Brad and Steve to discuss one of their favorite topics: burnout. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, the pair dive into why so many of us are feeling burnt out at this time—from lack of temporary boundaries (e.g., work time v. family time) to lack of physical boundaries (e.g., lack of office v. away) to simple lack of control (e.g., ability to return to “normal”)....
Aug 26, 2020•54 min
On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles , Brad and Jojo explore what it really means to focus on the process — and how this mindset can be powerful in everything from work, to sport, to parenting, to all of life. The post Growth EQ Principles: Process over Outcome appeared first on The Growth Equation . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 23, 2020•13 min
