While there are many definitions of stress, we like to think of productive stress as a stimulus that challenges you in a manner which promotes growth. In this episode of the Growth Equation Academy, we dive deep into productive stress. Topics include just-manageable challenges, how to determine the right amount of stress, what conditions create deep-focus work, and how productively stress yourself on micro and macro timescales. You can find the episodes on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Andr...
Jun 09, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the universal equation to make sustainable progress in anything. In this episode of the Growth Equation Academy, we review what we mean by “stress” and “rest,” and discuss how the growth equation can be a valuable concept across diverse contexts—personally, professionally, and organizationally. Too much stress with not enough rest you get injury, illness, and burnout. Not enough stress with too much rest you get complacency or stagnation. You can find the episodes on: iTunes and Apple Podca...
Jun 09, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Phil Mickelson just won the PGA Championship at age 50. That is no joke. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve use Mickelson's shocking victory as the basis for a conversation on aging and performance. They discuss the importance of mindset and intrinsic drive; how to thwart the decline of raw talent that comes with aging while at the same time reaping the rewards of wisdom; Mickelson's intense fasting regime (what exactly was it and did it help, hurt, or not really matt...
Jun 02, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why is it that so many people seem so out of touch with reality these days? In this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve explore a new theory that argues the best way to stay grounded (and not become an ego-maniac) is to do real, concrete things in the world where you either succeed or fail. And, they argue, these successes or failures are best when they happen privately (or perhaps in a small group). We'll explore stories involving lifting weights, building tables, running, an...
May 26, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast All the stars in the NBA are getting hurt. This comes off the coattails of a hyper-condensed season because of COVID-19, followed by a shortened off-season that led directly into another condensed season. The injuries, many of which are classic overuse issues, aren't a coincidence. They are the result of lots of stress, not enough rest. In this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve are joined by Coach Jojo to discuss the concept of “load management” and how it applies not only t...
May 19, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many were shocked to hear about Bill and Melinda Gates getting divorced. But some weren't. After all, they are both extreme pushers, those who care deeply about their mission and work. The cost of this deep caring is often making sacrifices in other areas of life. On this episode of the Growth Equation P odcast , Brad and Steve dive into what big drive, purpose, and motivation — all usually thought of as positive attributes — can leave in their wake. They not only discuss divorce in ...
May 12, 2021•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast One of the best ways to be smarter, kinder, and wiser is to read. Straight up. It's the truth. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast , Brad and Steve dive deep into all things reading. They discuss deep versus superficial attention, nonfiction vs. fiction, how to develop a consistent reading habit that will work for you, and so much more. Whether you are an avid reader or someone who hasn't picked up a book in ages, this episode will get you thinking about reading in new and improved wa...
May 05, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast There is infinite information out there. Every day, we are inundated with principles, concepts, and ideas. How does one wade through the deluge, let alone discern where to lean in and pay close attention versus where to lean out and ignore? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve dive into models for right thinking , or bringing deliberateness and skill to what we take in and what we share out. Among many other things, they dive into their “three-legged” stool framework fo...
Apr 28, 2021•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the culture's obsession with idolizing certain people, and how thanks to the internet, everyone has a chance to win at this game. But is it a game that you actually want to win? Or are the forces of so-called celebrity (or going viral, or growing a personal brand, or becoming more influential, and so on) actually just making life increasingly performative rather than real? Might this be leaving us exhausted and stressed? Is t...
Apr 21, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hard work is often talked about as a be-all end-all when it comes to performance, and even personhood. On this episode of The Growth Equation podcast, we explore what hard work can (and can't do), what pursuits are more prone to be impacted by hard work, and the difference between hard work making you as good as you can be versus making you better than others. We also look at the history of hard work as a moral concept, and offer some thoughts on why it might be misguided. Resources Mentioned: B...
Apr 14, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast The film Operation Varsity Blues, a chronicle of the massive college admissions scandal that occurred from 2011 to 2018, was just published on Netflix. It is a pretty damning (and tragic)film. In this episode of The Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve use the film as a jumping off point to an in-depth discussion of everything that is wrong with higher education. Of course, they also offer some ideas on how to fix it. Topics discussed include standardized testing, to pay or not to pay athlete...
Apr 07, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this special bonus episode, Brad and Steve delve into the process of becoming authors, starting from their early days writing hardly-read blogs to landing book advances with large publishing houses. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who has ever wondered how to write a book, the difference between self-publishing and traditional-publishing, or what goes into turning an idea on the back of a napkin into 250 pages for sale at Barnes and Nobles. To Subscribe and get the full episode, head...
Apr 05, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast To foam roll or not to foam roll? Force yourself to endure an ice-bath after a grueling workout, or sit it out? Cardio or weights, or perhaps even more pertinent, will doing cardio hurt your weights (and vice versa)? Sure, “diets” are no good, but neither is being opposed to all weight loss, right? What matters more, training frequency or duration or intensity? The list goes on and on. In today's episode, we are going to spend some time debunking myths in health and fitness and discussing what a...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anxiety, in the broadest of terms, is discomfort with uncertainty. In the words of psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Judson Brewer, “it's a severe condition; that is, it's the human condition.” On this week's episode of The Growth Equation podcast Brad and Steve are joined by Judson for a wide-ranging conversation on anxiety. They touch on anxiety's evolutionary roots, historical evolution, and modern day permutations. They also detail Judson's 3-part process to unwind anxiety, using as a...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sleep. It's a topic that affects everyone, and it's particularly timely coming off of daylight savings time, which doesn't do much other than make an entire country of people groggy. Against that backdrop, Brad and Steve figured it'd be a perfect occasion to dive deep into sleep. They discuss the fundamental and sometimes surprising habits that set you up for a good night's sleep, the role of melatonin (both naturally and as a supplement), what's happening in your mind and body throughout the ni...
Mar 17, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast A phenomenon that just about everyone is familiar with goes like this: You are striving hard to reach the next level at your given craft or pursuit. After loads of hard work, you finally reach it. When you do, you vacillate from feeling in over your head to feeling like you belong. Sometimes your ego may be too big; other times, too small. It's a wild and uniquely human ride. Someone who knows it well is Mara Gay. Shortly after she got her dream job at the New York Times editorial board, she tol...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you dislike email, or at the very least, the amount of time, energy, and attention your inbox demands? If so, you aren't alone. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, we welcome Cal Newport, bestselling author of Deep Work , Digital Minimalism , and most recently, A World Without Email . We dive deep into Cal's new book. But we also explore Cal's journey to becoming an author who is also a computer scientist, and who was formerly a pretty dang good athlete all the way up to the colle...
Mar 03, 2021•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Coaching has long been a foundation of sport, but only more recently is it spreading into other industries. From business, to health care, to creativity, more people are seeking coaches to help them boost their performance and longevity, and the flip side of that coin, to help them avoid burnout too. On this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve are joined by Sarah Milby, founder of the company Valor Performance , which aims to scale coaching to non-traditional spaces. The trio ...
Feb 24, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hack culture—or the general idea that there are specific products, services, or supplements that will quickly make you healthier, happier, fitter, and more productive—has taken off in the last decade. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve explore how and why this has happened. They discuss what, if any, “hacks” may be worthwhile, and why so many people fall for the myriad other ones that don't work (at best) and are downright harmful (at worst). Since the goal of this sh...
Feb 17, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast COVID-19 has often been compared to a marathon (by us, too! Brad wrote a piece in The New York Times back in May of 2020 saying as much). A big part of this analogy relies on the importance of pacing; and not just physically, but how you frame the pandemic in your mind, too. Yet it's not just COVID-19 that a framework of pacing is helpful for; it's all the big projects in our lives. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve explore how and why pacing is such a useful mental ...
Feb 10, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
