How do you flip the switch from struggle and futility to wild, unbridled joy and success? And how does money play into that equation, if at all, as a source fuel, an outcome, or both? Today's guest, Jen Sincero, started out as a musician in a band, and really thought that that would be her future. She loved the music, the creativity, the comradery of being in a band, surrounded by community. What she didn’t like, though, was the struggle that seemed embedded in the experience. She wanted the pas...
Sep 01, 2022•53 min
This has been a year that has tested our boundaries on nearly every level. Work, friendship, family, community, geography, politics, religion, social issues, love, and wellbeing. Even our own inner boundaries with technology. It’s like we’re being asked to draw lines, all day, every day. And, our ability to do just that, well, it just may mean the difference between peace and calamity. Question is, how? How do you create and uphold boundaries that are clear, healthy, and constructive, while also...
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr 3 min
You may not think of your work as your religion, but for many, it’s trying to become exactly that! Without us even realizing it. Question is - is that a good thing? A bad thing? Or just a thing? Today's guest, sociologist, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, Carolyn Chen, has a lot to say about this silent, yet deeply impactful, phenomenon. She spent years studying workplace culture, with a focus on the near-reli...
Aug 25, 2022•55 min
We’ve all been othered, felt like we didn’t belong, at some point or moment in our lives. It feels awful. But, what happens when that experience rises to a level and pervasiveness of such intensity that it’s not just about feeling unwelcome, it’s about fearing for your life? And the lives of others you care about? Whether drawn from what we look like, what or who we worship, our values, beliefs, or any other identifier, that fear of being othered because of something that defines us can cause so...
Aug 22, 2022•53 min
What if wealth wasn’t what we thought? Sure, money is a part of it, and access, status, and at least the illusion of security it can bring. And, yes, the nice things you can buy. But, here’s the thing, I’ve known too many people who’ve earned unreal amounts of money, and they don’t feel wealthy. In fact, they feel like they’ll never have enough. What they DO feel is envy, fear of loss, perpetual craving, and security that seems “take-awayable” in a moment. On the other hand, I’ve known folks of ...
Aug 18, 2022•50 min
Is happiness just in your mind, or does your body play a role? Is health just in your body, or is your mind critical? What about your environment, circumstance, and history? How do these play into the well-being puzzle? Especially now, after a few years that have been so hard on us? According to Dr. Frank Lipman, in order for us to feel better, more alive, more well, we need to focus on 6 key areas, that all interconnect. Frank is a pioneer in both integrative and functional medicine. He's the f...
Aug 15, 2022•58 min
Whether you consider yourself a spiritual person, or not, your brain - yes, you - is wired for spirituality in a way you never imagined. It is activated, turned on, and greatly benefits, from spiritual experience. And, it’s not just your brain, it’s your body, your health, your relationships, your work, your life. Which begs the question, “what even IS spiritual experience?” And, beyond feeling more deeply connected to some notion of Source, God, or oneness, how does it affect us? And, is there ...
Aug 11, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Imagine leaving everything you know behind to start a life in a brand new country, all in hopes of providing a better life for yourself and your family. After all is said and done, and you've made sacrifice after sacrifice to feed, clothe, and care for yourself and eventually, children, in this new and unfamiliar place that doesn't even feel all that welcoming all the time, your biggest hope for your kids is that become self-sufficient, and ideally, make you proud in the process. This, like many...
Aug 08, 2022•59 min
Adults do this thing — and maybe you've already done it yourself since you've grown up — where they go out of their way to remind children that life will come with its difficult moments, so we should revel in the good, easy times while they last. Ease, we learn, is the state we should most aspire to. But, what about those hard things, moments, and experiences? Isn’t there value in them, even if they’re not fun in the moment? Aren’t they important in not only making us who are, in fostering confi...
Aug 04, 2022•1 hr 7 min
How do you balance both the weight and the sense of possibility of pursuing a massive dream? Especially when you feel you’re representing generations and building a life and living in a very public way, from your earliest years? We all know the story of the American Dream goes: move to America in pursuit of a better life. One with more resources, access, and opportunities, not just for yourself, but your kids, who so often hold in their hands the dreams and expectations and sacrifices of those w...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr
So, what would make someone strap a sled loaded with 375 pounds of food and supplies onto their body, then drag it across a stormy, windswept, frozen landmass at the bottom of the earth for 54 days in brutal subzero temperatures, just to say they did it? What might the average person - meaning you and me - who has little to no interest in doing anything remotely so extreme, learn from this experience that would translate into our ability to live better lives, in far less brutal environments, eve...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Imagine, after years of living on your own, building a 15-year career an award-winning career as a Creative Consultant and Wardrobe Stylist, and essentially checking all the success boxes, a chronic illness drops into your body, leading you back to your hometown to move in with your parents as you work to rehabilitate and heal, and try to not just reclaim, but reimagine your life. Today's guest, Tiffani Moore, knows exactly what it's like to be in this scenario—forced to listen to her body's nee...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 5 min
One of the things I’ve come to believe during the now 10-year journey of Good Life Project is that there truly is no individual good life, without there also being a more collective and inclusive path for a societal good life. We are all interconnected. And a key part of this more expansive aspiration is about planting seeds, starting with younger generations. So, how do you raise kids to create a more equitable and inclusive society? One where we’re not afraid to acknowledge and discuss beautif...
Jul 21, 2022•53 min
How does a founding member of one of the biggest bands of the last few decades create such incredible music, enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people, while living a life that is privately falling apart? And what would make him do the work to start to put all the pieces back together, to produce not just iconic music, but also a grounded, fulfilling life? That’s where we’re going in today’s Best Of conversation with the founding member, frontman and guitarist for iconic band, the Goo Goo Dolls,...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 12 min
We all know how exercise and fitness can impact and improve our physical health. But, what about what it can do for your mind? Your brain? Your experience of anxiety, depression, stress and more? Your relationships? Your ability to experience peace and ease? Movement can be an astonishingly powerful prescription for the all-too-often heaviness and complexity of life. So, why is it so difficult sometimes to get up and move, even when we know what good it'll do for us? Turns out, our bodies and br...
Jul 14, 2022•1 hr 5 min
We’ve all heard the call to self-care, some have even heeded it. But what if, beyond the core concept of taking care of your physical, emotional, and spiritual self, there was a deeper engine of discord and exclusion at play? Wellbeing is, no doubt, key to living a good life, but wellness - as a concept - over the years, has become an industry, and along with that has come both incredible benefits and also a host of co-opted, problematic ideals, offerings and structures. A look under the hood of...
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 2 min
The fact that you're listening to this podcast right now tells me you likely already know the power of a compelling story. Good storytelling can persuade, inspire, and ultimately grab hold of the hearts and minds of whoever's listening or reading. And so, whether you'd call yourself a lover of classic literature, an avid reader, or neither, you can probably think of a book you've read or a story you've heard at some point that's completely changed your outlook on life or given you much-needed p...
Jul 07, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Today's guest, Gail Devers, was a rising star in the world of running, winning title after title. Until her body began to betray her, literally consuming itself and threatening to end her career just as it was just getting going, let alone her life. Maybe even more distressing, though, was a level of systematic gaslighting for years, doctors kept saying nothing was wrong, but she knew. And she kept pushing for answers until she found one, then painstakingly rebuilt her health, her life, and step...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Vogue Magazine named today’s guest, Jake Wesley Rogers, Gen Z's Elton John, but truth is, he is a wildly-talented, 25-year-old singer, songwriter and performer not only dazzles audiences but also stands powerfully in an identity that belongs to no one other than himself. How a queer kid from Springfield, Missouri, went from growing up in the deep South, then studying songwriting in Nashville, TN, to eventually gracing the stages of music festivals like Lollapalooza, headlining for artists like P...
Jun 30, 2022•48 min
For generations, Abby Wambach’s name has been synonymous with soccer. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIFA World Cup Champion, and the highest all-time goal scorer ever, she is an icon. But, that's not the whole story. Not by a long shot. And, funny enough, especially here in the podcast world, she’s become known for a very different story. One centered around love, advocacy, and impact. Retiring in 2015 at the age of 35, Abby found herself, for the first time since she was a young child, with...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 14 min
If you haven't heard of Tara Westover's memoir Educated . yet, you're in for a real treat. Her massive blockbuster book recounts her time growing up in rural Idaho with a dad who viewed the outside world with deep fear and a conspiratorial bent and kept the family isolated and forbidden from pursuing public school education. Tara, who never saw the inside of a classroom until she was 17, retraces her steps from her survivalist childhood to her remarkable journey to earning her Ph.D. at Cambridge...
Jun 23, 2022•59 min
When's the last time you've answered the question, "How are you?" honestly? Whether small talk is a good thing, a bad thing or just a thing is a matter of passionate debate. But, the bigger issue is - when it is time to get real. Both with other people, and also with ourselves? And what are we losing, what parts of ourselves, our relationships, our lives, are we forsaking when we hide behind the facade of social propriety? There comes a time when it's crucial to move beyond the surface level if ...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Heartbreak. We all experience it. It’s a horrible feeling, but can it actually, literally, break your heart, along with the other organs and systems in your body? Turns out, the answer is yes. It attacks not just your psychology - your state of mind - but also your physiology; everything from your brain to your cardiovascular, endocrine, immune system, and beyond. It can ravage both body and mind. And, it also turns out, there are things you can do to not only mend your broken heart emotionally ...
Jun 16, 2022•56 min
So, what if being fiercely self-reliant and individualistic was actually a terrible thing? I know, I know, sounds silly. I mean isn’t that the very thing we’re told to strive for from the youngest age? And, especially, in our culture now? Problem is, living in a me-first or me-over-you world is not only destroying our personal relationships, it’s destroying us, our states of mind, and even physical wellbeing. And, intimacy, deep connectedness, even reliance on and elevating others just might be ...
Jun 13, 2022•57 min
My guest today, Danica Roem, went from fronting a Death Metal band by night while building a career as an accomplished journalist by day, to being the first person to be elected and serve in any U.S. state legislature while openly transgender. When you hear that story, you might think, “wow, that’s amazing, but I don’t really relate.” Not so fast. When you zoom the lens out, Danica’s story is really about the quest to live as the truest expression of yourself, to not stifle or deny who you are, ...
Jun 09, 2022•55 min
Imagine being a kid who loved music, who’d been brought up with jazz literally in his blood, graduating college, then, instead of heading into a “responsible” adult job like all your friends, opening a record store in the heart of Seattle at a time where the neighborhood musicians, the ones who’d hang out all day and talk about all-things-music, also just happened to be budding icons who’d go one to become scions in the industry, forming bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sound Garden, and so many o...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min
With everything going on in the world recently, we've likely all thought to ourselves at some point, "Is humanity lost?" You are not alone if the news makes you feel like everything is hopeless, and it's fair to wonder if collective and individual hope in empathy, compassion, and humanity will ever be restored. As we move forward past the darkest days of the COVID-19 outbreak, many people are still searching for hope, inspiration, and answers to some big questions like: How do you regain access ...
Jun 02, 2022•48 min
When we consider the qualities and traits passed down throughout our family tree, we may think of the curly hair we share with a sibling or a natural talent like singing. But what about the not-so-pleasant traits, beliefs, or patterns that appear generation after generation that are hard to shake? Do we keep making these same old mistakes just because "old patterns die hard," as they say? Or will you be the one who takes a new path, no matter how hard or long it takes? Jennifer Grey is no strang...
May 31, 2022•1 hr
When Chef Irene Li opened a food truck, mei mei, with her siblings, hoping to have fun together, build something cool, and reimagine Chinese comfort cuisine with a playful, modern twist, what happened next took everyone by surprise. Mei Mei exploded, becoming the talk of the town within months. They soon found themselves looking for space and opening a full-service restaurant that was perpetually abuzz. The restaurant was a big success. But, beyond the chance to do something cool with her brothe...
May 23, 2022•54 min
If you google the word “Trauma” you’ll find the top search results arrive in some form of the question “What is trauma?” This then begs the next question: what are we really talking about when we’re talking about trauma? In today’s episode, Dr. Paul Conti and I unpack what trauma is, what it means to have experienced trauma, and what makes trauma so hard to resolve. What I found so fascinating in this conversation was the idea that there are 4 types of trauma we can experience and how, if we can...
May 19, 2022•1 hr 4 min
