THE 3rd WAY is a very big idea. In the information age, you simply cannot get ahead on wages alone. In addition to your labor, you must acquire capital (stock, real estate, technology, etc.). Now the middle class is in crisis. Median wages adjusted for inflation have decreased steadily for decades. The middle class is simply... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Smart People Podcast we interview the former CEO of Medtronic, Bill George, as we discuss his new book, Discover Your True North. Originally based on first-person interviews with 125 leaders, this book instantly became a must-read business classic when it was introduced in 2007. New case studies include Warren Buffett, Indra Nooyi,... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, prize-winning reporter and bestselling author George Anastasia offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.’s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis. Anastasia offers never-before-heard information about... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Life and business aren’t fair, which is good. If they were, you couldn’t seize the unfair advantage. Think about it. Is your CEO the smartest person in the company? Is the head of your department more driven than you? Probably not. They all have one thing in common, though: They’re on top of the pile... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Although mindfulness gets a lot of ‘air time’ these days, many people are overlooking the fact that in our closely integrated society it is just as important that we recognize how we present ourselves to the world and to others. Humans naturally have many blind spots that don’t allow them to take a true inventory... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our guest this week, Adam Werbach, has been on the cutting edge of the environmental and sustainability movements for two decades. Adam is an environmental activist, author, and entrepreneur. In 1996, Adam became the youngest person ever elected as national president of the Sierra Club, at the age of 23. He is currently the President... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the summer of 1804, two of America’s most eminent statesmen squared off, pistols raised, on a bluff along the Hudson River. That two such men would risk not only their lives but the stability of the young country they helped forge is almost beyond comprehension. Yet we know that it happened. The question is... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Happiness experts have long told us to tune out our negative emotions and focus instead on mindfulness, positivity, and optimism. However, our guest this week disagrees. Instead he says positive emotions alone are not enough. Anger makes us creative, selfishness makes us brave, and guilt is a powerful motivator. The real key to success lies... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Growing water shortages around the world are topping the news right now, beyond just California. USA Today recently tracked the top 8 U.S. states that are running out of water. Water policy is broken around the world, but there is one place that has gotten it right…and that’s Israel. The desert nation is not only avoiding... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode we speak with Roger Lowenstein about the tumultuous era and remarkable personalities that spurred the unlikely birth of America’s modern central bank, the Federal Reserve. Today, the Fed is the bedrock of the financial landscape, yet the fight to create it was so protracted and divisive that it seems a small miracle... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Wharton Business School professor Maurice Schweitzer helps us unpack the psychology of when and how to interact with people as our friends and our foes, and how we can use this knowledge to get the best outcomes in life. Insights from Maurice can help us in business (how to build trust, gain... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The market for health and wellness products is exploding. Every day there is a new cure, miracle berry, diet, homeopathic remedy, etc., and it’s easier than ever to throw together a webpage and reach a global audience. And this is all fine and well… except for the small fact that the vast majority of these... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rich Roll is a graduate of Stanford University and Cornell Law School. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he is also a vegan, ultra-endurance athlete. Rich is a former entertainment attorney turned full-time wellness & plant-based nutrition advocate, motivational speaker, husband, and father of 4 (four!!!). In 2012, Rich became a #1 bestselling author with his book, Finding Ultra: Rejecting... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode we interview Steven Kotler, author of a number of best selling books including, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance. Drawing on over a decade of research and first-hand reporting with dozens of top action and adventure sports athletes like big wave legend Laird Hamilton, big mountain snowboarder Jeremy... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Do you know what Burning Man is? If not, listen to this episode. If you do, have you ever wondered how it started? Who decided to gather some friends and head into the desert to do….well, whatever they wanted? And perhaps more importantly, how do we as a society use these examples to uncover what... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Advertising agencies are caught between fee-cutting clients and profit-hungry owners. In the meantime, their creative workloads are growing, driven by increased TV, digital and social advertising. How do agencies generate profit margins under these circumstances? Through downsizing, salary freezes and ‘juniorizing.’ Agencies are disinvesting in capabilities at a time when their clients’ marketing challenges have... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Crowdfunding has officially arrived. Utilizing the power of the Internet, crowdfunding represents one of the most exhilarating ways to raise investment funds for your dream project. It enables you to get exposure in the public domain and can symbolize a seal of approval for your product, organization, or idea. But there are a number of... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Human creativity has been one of the fundamental drivers of civilization. Often our creativity has baffled skeptics by allowing us to find new and better resources, unexpected environmental technologies and genuinely amazing products that no one had predicted. However, like so many before it, Western civilization is now suffering from serious internal decay with its bloated public sectors, punitive taxes, over-regulation, marginalized citizens, stagnation, debt, unemployment and pessimism. In th...
Parenting today is practically a competitive sport, and marketers are all too happy to cash in. Scare tactics and scientific-sounding jargon make it seem like parents are in constant danger of hard-wiring their children’s brains for failure. In fact, this state of parental anxiety is totally unnecessary—and possibly bad for our children. Babies are born with an appetite to learn. Children are naturally curious about the world and eager to explore it. They don’t need flashcards, educational video...
Over the course of our childhood and into adulthood, we receive a lot of advice on how to find and do work we love. People tell you to follow your passion, or that you should find work that fits your personality, or that you should just learn what your strengths are and only focus on that. All of this is in fact good advice, but it's missing perhaps the greatest component...motivation. You have to uncover what it is that pushes you to take action. The best part about finding what motivates you i...
We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek. These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by ...
What is it like to be a co-founder of one of the largest, most innovative tech companies on the planet? What are the necessary ingredients of a successful startup? How can people better leverage technology to be more productive? These are just a portion of the questions we get answered by our guest this week, VP of Marketing and Co-Founder of Evernote, Andrew Sinkov. Join us as we discuss how Evernote went from a company on the brink of bankruptcy, to one of the most used and most loved tech com...
This week on the show our guest is a man that needs to no introduction. You know him for his iconic role in the cult classic movie, "The Goonies", and for starting a 3 decade long fad of the "truffle shuffle" - welcome Jeff Cohen (Chunk). Of course we talk with Jeff at length about his child acting career, what it was like to work with Steven Spielberg, and how it feels to play a lead role in one of the best movies of all time (yes - I truly believe that). But that was 30 years ago! What is Jeff...
We've all been taught the golden rule - "treat others as you want to be treated". Our parents raise us with the best intentions - they tell us to be nice to one another, and not to step on others to get ahead. But is that actually good advice? Is it better to have high moral character and put others first, or is it a dog eat dog world where nice guys finish last? This week we speak with Fred Kiel, co-founder of KRW International, leadership researcher, and author of the new book, Return on Chara...
Did you know that the alcohol that gets you drunk in a beer or a cocktail is actually the waste products of billions of dead yeast organisms? Or that most of our crops were initially grown to make alcohol and only later were actually used for food? These are just some of the crazy facts that we learn this week as we interview New York Times Best Selling author, Amy Stewart. Amy is the author of 7 books, and perhaps her most popular is the one we focus on this week, The Drunken Botanist: The Plan...
With the shift in gender roles, many children are no longer being raised primarily by their mothers. With dual income families increasing in popularity, child care is often outsourced to a neighbor, grandparents, or a nanny. But what is the effect on children? Contrary to conventional wisdom, growing up with a working mother is unlikely to harm children socially and economically when they become adults. The working mother study, authored by Harvard Business School professor Kathleen McGinn, HBS ...
If you’ve ever sought a job or hired someone, applied to college or guided your child into a good kindergarten, asked someone out on a date or been asked out, you’ve participated in a kind of market. Most of the study of economics deals with commodity markets, where the price of a good connects sellers and buyers. But what about other kinds of “goods,” like a spot in the Yale freshman class or a position at Google? This is the territory of matching markets, where “sellers” and “buyers” must choo...
Early birds and night owls are born, not made. Sleep patterns are the primary result of the highly individualized biological clocks we inherit, but these clocks also regulate bodily functions from digestion to hormone levels to cognition. Living at odds with our internal timepieces can make us chronically sleep deprived and more likely to smoke, gain weight, feel depressed, fall ill, and fail geometry. By understanding and respecting our internal time, we can live better. In this episode we inte...
We have all heard the axiom, "It's better to give than to receive." And although it sounds good in theory, is it actually true? What about in the cut throat business of selling? Many people are arguing that the old days of pressure sales are gone and a new era is upon us, yet we are reluctant to believe it. If you've ever been in sales, you have probably felt the pressure of "convincing" someone to buy. Well this week you will learn not only how to improve your sales game, but to become successf...
We all understand that technology is addicting. Every passing year, we become more dependent on our gadgets to get us through the day. And although it can seem like a harmless problem, this addiction has deadly consequences. Perhaps the best way to illustrate the problem is to examine the implications of using a smart phone while driving. Consider this - more than 3,000 teens die each year in crashes caused by texting while driving. That is 300 more deaths a year than drunk driving. Why do we st...
