Most self-help advice is guesswork dressed up as wisdom. We dig into psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science to find what actually changes lives.
WHY LISTEN?
Over 8 million downloads because we answer the questions that matter: How do I build mental strength? What creates lasting motivation? How can I understand my own mind well enough to work with it, not against it?
This podcast is for curious skeptics who want frameworks backed by psychology studies, not Instagram quotes. Whether you're navigating procrastination, building self-discipline, or designing your own philosophy for a life well lived—we explore the hidden psychology behind real change.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Mental models and simple techniques from cognitive psychology, positive psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions like Stoicism and Buddhism.
Being a human can be confusing, learning about it doesn’t have to be.
We cover everything from emotional intelligence and habit formation to brain health and the nervous system.
WHAT YOU DON’T GET
No pseudoscience. No oversimplified "hacks." No hustle porn.
Just practical insights on mindset improvement, self-development, and human psychology that respect your intelligence and mental health.
THE APPROACH
Instead of telling you what to think, we explore how thinking works. Armed with psychology studies, social science research, and relentless curiosity, we uncover the mechanics of belief change, attitude change, and personal development.
Success is personal. You might want to leverage your neurodiverse strengths, build a business, or simply discover how to be happier. We provide the mental frameworks to pursue your definition of success with mental strength and self-care that fits your life.
YOUR HOST
I'm Sam Webster Harris—a lifelong learner with ADHD and an obsession with finding answers to hard questions. After launching businesses, traveling the world, and nearly dying a few times, I concluded that psychology and science are where real wisdom lives.
This show is my excuse to dive deep into health and fitness research, behavioral psychology, and cool science while helping you build genuine self-discipline and motivation.
PREMIUM
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PAST SERIES
Previous guests include Olympians, Scientists, Billionaires, and Sam's Mum.
Past series:
— Psychology vs Stoicism
— Time Management for Busy Mortals
— Independence and Knowing Yourself
— Cognitive Biases and Rational Thinking
— Psychology of Connection and Relationships
— Carol Dweck and the Multiverse of Mindsets
— Addiction and Behaviour Change
— Nervous System Mastery and Polyvagal Theory
— Mental Strength and Self-Discipline
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Sam Harris breaks down some key lessons on Mastery and Mindsets as a mid-year update for 2019.After a lot of requests to tell listeners what I'm up to I gave in and sat down and talked about myself by using the medium of giving life advice. So I guess this is an episode of Sam coaching Sam and explaining the principles he's using to improve and deal with problems. He also shows you cool opportunities that are available to you to make live more awesome.This is the first episode in a mini-series o...
Petra Velzeboer is a mental health consultant, executive coach and podcaster. She has a radical 'no BS' approach to mental health and isn't afraid to come out with some hard hitting facts of life. She has a challenging personal story from being raised in a cult which she broke out of to then fall into alcohol abuse and motherhood. Her tale of turning herself around to get her qualifications and become a shining beacon of inspiration and advice to others is amazing. She is a true advocate of the ...
Kathyrn Binkley is a success coach helping women achieve awesome things. Her focus is to help people build a business and a life that lights them up. She is a delightful bundle of amazing advice so it was a joy to spend time with her and tap into her wisdom. We cover some of the most important things you need to change about your mindsets as well as: How to be original How to find your voice How to market yourself How to show up in life. KathrynConnect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ke...
Dr Niall McCann doesn't mess around. He's cycled the Himalayas, rowed across the Atlantic and skied across Greenland. He knows a thing or two about taking on difficult challenges and winning. His incredible mindset to take on huge challenges doesn't just stop with adventuring but also taking on the worlds biggest problems. As a Biologist and conservationist he was challenged by the lack of impact science was having on the decline of species and the climate. Instead of getting depressed he took o...
Mat Braddy was the CMO and brand founder of Just Eat during their meteoric rise from a small tech startup to their IPO at ~$2 billion. As their CMO Mat was in charge of creating the brand that changed the face of takeaways as we know it. His background in creative marketing provides fascinating insights into how to build a creative vision that consumers buy into and notice. We talk about his work since with Rock, Pamper, Scissors and his new project to help reduce finance problems from Overdraft...
Rafael Dos Santos is the CEO of the High Profile Club . He is passionate about helping people grow their brand and achieve success and has been named one of the Sunday Times 100 most Inspiring Entrepreneurs. He migrated to the UK from Brazil and launched his first business when he realised he couldn't get a good job. He has hustled his way from success to success since then. He has written his own book about succeeding as a migrant entrepreneur and travelled the world Public speaking. On the pod...
Daniel Murray-Serter is a serial entrepreneur who hosts the Secret Leaders Podcast and is launching his latest business www.trydawn.co . The Secret Leaders is one of the top business podcasts on iTunes and we discuss our lessons growing our podcasts and how he managed to achieve great results in a part-time project. We also discuss plans for his current business as well as his successes and failures in past businesses. After a career in advertising, Dan is a master of getting attention and users...
Naveen Arles BCA is the founder of the London International Gospel Choir . He was awarded a British Citizens Award for his work in the art and creative healing. As well as running the choir full time (currently on tour with Take That) he runs various singing related projects to help people in the community helping hospital patients, mental health sufferers and prison inmates find joy and peace. As an immigrant to Britain, he educates me on the concept of Third Culture Kids and how to make friend...
Chandini Jain is the founder and CEO of Auquan . Their platform provides Machine Learning solutions for big finance. Chandini took her experience as a financial trader and built her own platform to take on the problems she saw. She has grown the business Auquan into a platform that empowers big finance to get solutions from ML coders across the world. Auquan is an alumnus of the TechStars London accelerator and has gone on to raise funding and take the business to the next level. Chandini recoun...
Mike Follett is the CEO of Lumens Research. They create eye-tracking software to understand human behaviour and intent. Mike is full of fascinating insights on life and business. He has some fantastic stories where he used 'Sisu', a Finnish ideology of grit and bravery, to get himself out of sticky situations. ABOUT THE HOSTMy name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spiri...
Lisa Forte deservedly won the top 100 Women in Tech award for 2018 for her work combating cyber-crime. She is an inspirational public speaker and a tenacious entrepreneur. Her business Red Goat Cyber Security helps businesses combat cyber crime. If you want to play at cyber wargaming in the office to prepare for malicious attacks she is the lady to call. Her previous experiences working to combat Somali Pirate attacks on shipping and then for the British government have made her a real expert in...
Matt Ward launched an Amazon business which he sold for $1 million after just one year. He is now the host of two great podcasts: disruptors.fm/ thesyndicate.vc/ Matt has an amazing focus on the future and has a fascinating set of insights of what is in store for us and what we should be excited for and what we should be worried about. He has the personal goals of living past 150, helping end factory farming by 2030 and getting humans to colonize space by 2033. An inspiration to have on the podc...
Ben King is the CEO of Pesky Fish . They run an amazing service connecting consumers directly to fisherman on boats so that you can buy fresh fish as it is caught and have it delivered to your door in hours. We talk about solving supply chain issues in food whilst creating transparency around what we eat, as well as a multitude of other topics: Hiring mistakes and lessons Educating consumers How to make a good pitch to investors How to launch a ski resort The benefits of nearly dying Ben & P...
Richard Chapo is a business lawyer in San Diego who has been practising law for 25 years. In that time he has started many businesses and helped countless other businesses with legal and growth problems. Richard has a huge bank of stories and insights from these experiences. I really enjoyed the conversation and Richard's attitude to solving his own problems by acquiring the skills to do something that would fit the lifestyle he wants. RichardConnect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich...
Sam discusses some top tips for making wise health decisions and keeping diet and exercise something that feels fun rather than a chore. Then we get a bonus masterclass from Arnold Schwarzenegger on the topic. Warning you may feel thoroughly motivated. ABOUT THE HOSTMy name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity and Growth. My background is in Biology and ...
Sam Harris is here to get your 2019 on track with the best psychological strategies to make you achieve your ambitions for the year. Only 8% of resolutions end up working. This podcast is to tip the balance in your favour with science to keep you on the right path to a top year and a top you. ABOUT THE HOST My name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity an...
Agustin is the CEO of Paranoid Fan an app that shows you on a map everything you need to know. He is also the single father of 3 boys and has a truly inspiring tale of courage and resilience that will just blow you away. It was my honour to talk with him about some amazingly deep topics and huge life lessons from him on how to pick yourself up and keep going and be successful despite everything in life pushing against you. Agustin and Paranoid FanConnect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/...
Igor Volzhanin is the CEO of DataSine. A marketing business that helps businesses create personalised marketing based on the personality traits of their customers. He has some amazing insights and unusual ideas for how to build a business and a life that one enjoys with some great advice around taking risks. His background in international development is paired with his knowledge in psychology which provides some fascinating theories into happiness and problems facing the world that I think anyo...
Steve is a songwriter and traveller with the enviable situation of spending most of his time doing what he loves. For his day job he plays Howard in the Take That Experience which leads to him travelling round the world and going on cruises and is just a crazy unusual thing to be doing that I wanted to know more about. SteveYouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXUkiXfywbOgbJHUrjy0NYw)Connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekopandy/)ABOUT THE HOSTMy name is Sam Harris. ...
The Founder of Charles Tyrwhitt shirts, Nicholas Wheeler OBE, discusses his various successes and failures from childhood to the present day. We find out how to have good ideas and bad ideas and the key to making them successful. Charles Tyrwhitt is now a ~$0.3 billion company which he started from nothing. The story of zero to 1 million is always interesting. But the further stories of going from 1 to 10 and 10 to 100 provide incredible depth and insights into how to focus and be persistent. In...
Mike Winnet is the UK's #1 demotivational speaker. He is the antidote to 'Contrepreneurs' that sell instant success formulas to 'Wantrepreneurs' who are never going to make it and are just wasting their money. He believes that most people are average and should not harbour lofty ambitions to achieve their dreams and should be much happier with a simple life. Needless to say, this sparks an interesting debate between Mike and the Growth Mindset host Sam. You have the same number of hours in the d...
Kat started her first business with no clue about business and just a passion for travel. She grew the brand into a successful travel company Curious Kats Adventure Club and got paid to live her wildest dreams. She sold the business after 5 years and started a marketing agency based on all her lessons. We recount her biggest lessons and stories along with top advice to do things that scare and improve you everyday. > ”Just do stuff, if it scares you that’s even better” - Kat WczesniakLESSONSK...
TOP LESSONS FROM A LIFE LAUNCHING WORLD CHANGING TECH Anthony is known for his work managing the launch of the BBC's iPlayer, for which Wired UK named him "the man who saved the BBC". He has founded/co-founded multiple companies including; Beamly, 6Tribes, Hey Blab, KaZaa and QJAM. He is the current CEO of SeedLegals, the world’s first legal automation platform for startup funding. Rose currently holds 14 patents and has won numerous awards for his contributions to the digital product industry. ...
Mait Müntel is the CEO of Lingvist and was part of the team at CERN who discovered the Higgs Boson. He is also a lovely and quite hilarious individual. Listen to this podcast if you want a focused 40 minutes of laughing and learning in one place. He gives top insights into the world of science, business and learning with great ideas and heart-warming stories. TOPS TIPSFOCUSFocus in business and life is essential to success.Focus on what you can change. Don’t waste time worrying about things you ...
I have been recording podcasts for nearly two years and running this show for over a year and running side projects for the past 10 years there are loads of thing I've learnt. (There is plenty still to learn and I don't want to pretend I am the ultimate master just yet) I break down some of the most important things to make your side project or hobby a successful endeavour that gives benefits back. In the second half of the episode I dive deeper into specific lessons and surprises I've learnt fr...
PUBLISHING AND BUSINESS LESSONS FROM A MARKETING MASTER Bryony Thomas has run her own marketing agency Watertight Marketing for ten years and has written an amazing book of the same title. Watertight Marketing is one of the best business books I have ever read so I’m honoured to have her on the show.She takes us through her story of starting the business and launching a sell out book, key insights into turning a traditional time based business into a scalable machine that creates value for thous...
We are super pleased to announce the Growth Mindset Podcast is a one year old! Sam takes a look back across the year and showcases some of the absolute best stories and lessons from the podcast. A great episode if you are looking for where to start and to give you an idea of the different sorts of guests we have on the show. We hear from serial entrepreneurs to a real-life hitman about their stories starting businesses, amazing acts of kindness and what happens when you get pushed to the edge. G...
We break down the main lessons and things to know about Vipassana meditation courses and why on earth you might choose to do one. 10 days of silently meditating with no books, music or even writing is a big ordeal for any human to take on and has a fascinating effect on mindset and capabilities after. It is certainly worth looking into and learning from! Special Guest: Felix Chandler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
This is the conversation I had with a hitman living in India about his life. We discuss the story of how he came to be a hitman and what his life is really like. It is certainly very different to what you see in the movies and be prepared for some big insights. After the interview, we break down what happened and also discuss things like how I manage to get these interviews and other events in my life like staying with a bunch of drug dealers on the border of Mexico. Thanks to Andreas for provid...
We dive into the world of the dark web to talk to a hacker about his life and the incredible stories within. From issues growing up in South Africa to stealing Bitcoin over public wifi or even from people at home. We hear about the world banks hack of 2017 and discuss his new ethical hacking pursuits and how he transitioned into life on the legal side of things. This is an eye-opening episode into the vulnerabilities and security risks we leave ourselves open to, especially with all the issues a...
