There is probably something you are worrying about right now. After all, that’s what we do – we worry. This episode begins with some optimistic news about whatever you are worrying about https://www.huffpost.com/entry/85-of-what-we-worry-about_b_8028368 Advice on success isn’t hard to find. The problem is, there are a lot of different ways to become successful and you have to find out which way works for you. That is why you should listen to my guest Ozan Varol. Ozan has some interesting insight...
Apr 19, 2025•53 min•Ep. 1193
Would you like to be more persuasive? Listen as I reveal what one expert says is the key to winning people over to your side. Source: Rick Maurer author of Why Don’t You Want What I Want? (https://amzn.to/4j7xgBX). Time anxiety is that feeling of always feeling pressured because there isn’t enough time to get everything done and always worrying you are going to be late. But wait! What if everything didn’t really need to get done? What if this sense of urgency you have is an illusion? I want you ...
Apr 17, 2025•53 min•Ep. 1192
Why do airplanes have ashtrays if smoking is prohibited? Could someone open the airplane door in mid-flight? What are the green and red flashing lights on the plane for? These are some of the common questions about air travel that I answer to start this episode. https://www.smartmeetings.com/tips-tools/103099/answers-random-airplane-questions Are you the kind of person who likes to explore and try something new or are you more likely to stick to the tried and true and do what you did before? Of ...
Apr 14, 2025•54 min•Ep. 1191
Strange but true - people with difficult names to pronounce are discriminated against. It is often not intentional, but it happens. The result can be that you don’t advance personally or professionally just because people have trouble saying your name. This episode begins by taking a look at this problem and what you can do to help yourself if your name is tough to say out loud. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-power-of-names When you think about it, some of the most succe...
Apr 12, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1190
It sounds weird but there is strong evidence that wearing certain clothes can change your thoughts and behavior. Here’s one example: wearing a white lab coat like a doctor wears can boost your score on a test. But it gets even more interesting. Listen as I explain. https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/9410/enclothed-cognition-we-are-what-we-wear What if you could have a great day every day? That’s the goal of Therese Huston, PhD, a cognitive scientist at Seattle University. Therese has...
Apr 10, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1189
Do you know your blood type? Do you know why we have different blood types? This episode begins with some interesting intel about blood types, why you should know yours and why some people actually have no blood type. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140715-why-do-we-have-blood-types You have probably heard about the value of validating someone else’s feelings and experience. What you may not have heard is the science that proves just how powerful it is when you want to connect with someone ...
Apr 07, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1188
Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly cut grass? While there may be some people who don’t like that smell, it seems most people do. Why is it so universally liked? This episode starts with an explanation and reveals why that scent may actually be good for you. https://www.prevention.com/life/a20432070/spending-time-outside-relieves-stress/ Something special happens when people touch each other. It could be a handshake a passionate embrace or a welcome hug – something magical occurs. What is that...
Apr 05, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1187
Online retailers make it pretty easy to return items you purchase if you are not satisfied. But what happens to those items? Are they just put back in the system and sold to someone else? This episode begins with the surprising answer. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/30/business/online-shopping-returns-liquidators/index.html Just because you can get a medical test for something you are concerned about doesn’t mean you should. That’s according to my guest Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan. She is a consultant n...
Apr 03, 2025•51 min•Ep. 1186
You know that feeling you get when you eat comfort food? There is something magical about it. This episode begins by exploring why some foods become comfort food while other food does not and what causes us to feel so fondly about certain foods but not others. https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2015/03/052.html What are the secrets to being a successful adult? That’s a hard question to answer but Gretchen Rubin joins me to take a swing at it. Gretchen is wildly successful expert on happiness ...
Mar 31, 2025•49 min•Ep. 1185
The clothes you wear project an image to others. But those same clothes you wear influence you as well. Listen and discover how different clothes and different colors you wear change the way you act and even how you think of yourself. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html Think of all the different kinds of popular music there are: country, rock, hip-hop, pop, R&B, jazz and more. All that music came from somewhere. And those musical origins tell some fascina...
Mar 29, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1184
Wisdom comes with age. That’s a common belief – but is it necessarily true? Can you acquire wisdom when you are young? This episode begins by looking at the science of wisdom, where it comes from and when it shows up. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8493820/ Doesn’t it seem like the world is safer? Cars are safer, equipment is safer, people wear helmets, warning signs are everywhere. So it makes sense to believe that we are safer today than ever before but that’s not true according to m...
Mar 27, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1183
I am sure you know people who love to offer unsolicited advice. And if you think back to the last time someone offered it to you – you likely didn’t follow it. No one does. This episode starts by revealing why people hate unsolicited advice and what works so much better if you want to get someone to do something. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/do-the-right-thing/201407/giving-people-advice-rarely-works-does We have known for a long time that the human heart is not really involved with emot...
Mar 24, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1182
When you feel that urge to go to the bathroom – it just might be a good time to make an important decision. That probably sounds weird. What could the connection possibly be? Listen as I start the episode by explaining why and then it will make perfect sense. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/full-bladder-better-decisions-controlling-your-bladder-decreases-impulsive-choices.html We live in a noisy world which is only getting noisier. Not only is there noise coming at you from th...
Mar 22, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1181
Some people just seem to have more luck. Things seem to go their way. When you look closer, those lucky people often have some interesting traits in common. If you want to become luckier in life, listen to the beginning of this episode. https://www.popsci.com/luck-real/ Are you stuck being who you are – or can you change your personality – or at least parts of it? The evidence is clear that not only is personality change possible but also, the people who do make changes are generally happy they ...
Mar 20, 2025•49 min•Ep. 1180
