Lead on Purpose with James Laughlin Jamie Kreiner Studied 1,500 Years of Distraction—Here’s What She Found
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Jamie Kreiner went back 1,500 years to understand your biggest problem today.
In a world obsessed with hacking attention, Jamie didn’t look forward—she looked back.
In this conversation, we explore her book The Wandering Mind and what early Christian monks knew about distraction, productivity, and deep focus that modern science is only just catching up with.
But this isn’t a conversation about history. It’s about attention. It’s about how we can train our minds, structure our days, and create meaning in a world full of noise.
What we cover:
- How monks framed distraction as a life-or-death issue
- Why modern productivity might be killing your clarity
- The ancient mental practice of “discernment”
- The link between mind wandering and spiritual mastery
- Why community, structure, and solitude work together
- How writing, meditation, and “think time” build better leaders
- What monks can teach us about balance, burnout, and being useful
- Why your thoughts aren’t you—and why that’s good news
Jamie doesn’t just bring history to life—she uses it to help us live more fully, more intentionally, and with far greater focus.
If you’ve ever felt scattered, unproductive, or unsure how to slow down, this is the episode for you.
This episode was proudly sponsored by NZ Mortgages. You can contact them here - https://www.nzmortgages.co.nz
- Learn more about Jamie here - https://history.ucla.edu/person/jamie-kreiner/
- Grab a copy of Jamie’s book here - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61089439-the-wandering-mind
Website: https://www.jjlaughlin.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6GETJbxpgulYcYc6QAKLHA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesLaughlinOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameslaughlinofficial/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/life-on-purpose-with-james-laughlin/id1547874035 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WBElxcvhCHtJWBac3nOlF?si=hotcGzHVRACeAx4GvybVOQ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslaughlincoaching/
James Laughlin is a High Performance Leadership Coach, Former 7-Time World Champion, Host of the Lead On Purpose Podcast and an Executive Coach to high performers and leaders. James is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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