Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesTolstoy famously started his novel Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A twist on that: stories of success are all alike. Stories of failure are where things get interesting. I love someone who knows how to share their failures well. When I get introduced as a keynote speaker, I have them mention that I was banned from my high school graduation and left law school being sued by one of my professors. And that's just a start. If I say so myself. My failures are what's helped me find my edge. Suneel Gupta presents as a success. He's an entrepreneur who founded and led Rise, a breakthrough wellness company. He is a bestselling author and a speaker and a visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School. But that's not where he started. At one point, he was literally the face of failure. “Today,” Suneel says, “I make a career out of studying what I think are some of the most extraordinary people on the planet at their most disappointing moments to understand what it was that helped them endure through that.” Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/Suneel reads ‘The Alchemy of Opposites’ by Rodolfo Scarfalloto. [reading begins at 15:45] Hear us discuss:Long-term success can come from short-term embarrassment, if you know what to do with it. [2:26] | Your purpose is “already inside of you. And the work, for lack of a better word, is really just to strip these layers away to understand what that essence is.” [10:25] | Merging ambition and joy is about “figuring out what makes you come alive.” [20:00] | “What I realized over time is that this journey that we're on, is an everyday journey. …you don't need to wait for big moments in order to put what you're learning into practice.” [25:40]

Today, we're pulling one of our best episodes from the vaults, featuring the brilliant Kathryn Mannix.Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesWhat makes you uncomfortable? And, how do you hold yourself when you’re in that space? Some years ago, I noticed that a pair of leather shoes I was wearing was badly creased across the top of the right shoe. A friend of mine pointed out the problem - when I get nervous in a group, I sit on the edge of my seat and jiggle my right leg. When I do this, I’m on my toes, and I crease the leather, damaging the shoe. If being in a group makes me nervous, what’s it like to sit with death? Dr. Kathryn Mannix is a woman who has spent her life being in the presence of death. Not only that, but doing it with grace, tenderness, humor, and kindness. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Katheryn reads two pages from ‘Gratitude’ by Oliver Sacks. [reading begins at 17:45]  Hear us discuss: “The most important skill at the bedside of dying people is knowing how to be.” [10:30] | The preciousness of being alive. [22:56] | The importance of listening in living an essential life: “I’ve got nothing, but I’m here.” [25:44] | What a tender conversation calls for. [29:23] | “Stories are the way we understand everything.” [33:16] | The lost value of silence. [42:46]

Today, we're pulling one of our best episodes from the vaults, featuring the brilliant Brian Christian.Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesOne thing I don't mention often is that the thesis I wrote for my law degree was an attempt to combine my interest in literature with a perspective on law. So I wrote about the phenomenon of plain English: that's trying to write law without the legalese. And I tried to write about it through the lens of literary theories of language.I honestly did not understand what I was trying to do. And also nobody in law school understood what I was trying to do. What I can see now, with the benefit of hindsight and some self-esteem and some marketing speak, is that I was a boundary rider. I've come to learn that the interesting things often take place on the edges, those intermediate areas where X meets Y and some sort of new life is born. Brian Christian is a boundary rider too. He's just way more successful and interesting than law school Micheal.He thinks deeply and writes about deep patterns of life through technology and AI and algorithms. He's the author of The Most Human Human, the Alignment Problem, and Algorithms to Live By. After the introduction I just gave you, you're probably going to guess that Brian isn't just a science guy. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Brian reads from Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. [Reading begins at 15:10]Hear us Discuss: Metaphor can be one of the main mechanisms by which science happens. [6:20] | Rules that are delightful to break. [24:35] | “I have this deep conviction […] we are on to some philosophical paydirt here. There is a very real way in which we are building [AI] systems in our own image, and as a result they come to be a mirror for ourselves.” [28:40] | What is the heart of the human experience? [38:10] | “Humans are not so special.” [42.50]

Today, we're pulling one of our best episodes from the vaults, featuring the brilliant Haesun Moon.Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesI’m a bit of a geek about models, specifically the ones that reveal patterns and invite new possibilities, helping us expand our understanding of what the world is. My favorites are: the periodic table and its various alternatives, the Roman architect Vitruvius’ three attributes for a building, and finally, the alphabet. A book I love is Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, an alphabet book telling the tale of the demise of young children. If this isn’t your style, the good news is that not all alphabet books have grisly endings.  Haesun Moon, Ph.D., is an academic, a communications scientist, a teacher, a coach, and an author. Her new book is a wonderful addition to the world of coaching, Coaching A to Z: The Extraordinary Use of Ordinary Words. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Haesun reads two pages from ‘On Dialogue’ by David Bohm. [reading begins at 15:05]  Hear us discuss: “The gap between what I heard and what you said is sometimes larger in familiar relationships.” [21:12] | Creating shared meaning on a more societal level: “Culture is nothing more than the accumulation of micro conversations.” [22:08] | How to create shared meaning when different truths exist. [27:01] | Remaining curious rather than defensive. [30:20] | Coaching A to Z. [34:09]

Today, we're pulling one of our best episodes from the vaults, featuring the brilliant Madeleine Dore. Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesI still remember reading my first Nicholson Baker book, The Mezzanine. This extraordinary book slows down the pace of life to one where all the details are able to be noticed. For someone like me–a little bit in my head and moving too fast–reading the book resembles bullet time from The Matrix movies, only with the detritus of everyday living zipping past, instead. Madeleine Dore reminds me of myself; both a great author and a great asker of questions, though they differ a bit from mine. She’s made a career out of asking obvious questions to important people, with all of the answers she’s received ending up in her best-selling book I Didn’t Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Madeleine reads two pages from ‘Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life,’ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. [reading begins at 12:12] Hear us discuss: Making more generous assumptions. [16:24] | The relationship between playfulness and routine. [17:15] | Knowing what’s essential vs transitory about yourself: “It takes a long time to become who you are.” [20:12] | “Things are just experiments and projects—we’re not tied to anything forever.” [25:28] | The complexity of awaiting your next project. [26:35]

Today, we're pulling one of our best episodes from the vaults, featuring the brilliant Caroline Webb.Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesHow are you labeled? How have you been labeled by others? And how have you labeled yourself? You listen to this podcast, which means that you're the type of person who thinks about who they are in this world, who they've been and who they're becoming. One of the ways we claim a sense of self is by the labels we give ourselves. What at first can be a helpful handhold can soon become a straitjacket, what William Blake would call a “mind forged manacle”. I'm wondering how your current labels serve you. And I'm wondering how they don't.Caroline Webb is a renowned expert in the field of behavioral science and how to apply its insights to improve your daily life. She is the author of the popular book How to Have a Good Day. Her career began as an economist working on public policies, but she soon realized her true passion was in the human aspect of economics, specifically what makes a good team and leader. She eventually returned to behavioral economics, where she continues to work as a leadership coach and executive coach. Webb is known for her courage to step out of her comfort zone and take voyages of discovery, she encourages others to do the same. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Caroline reads two pages from ‘How Emotions Are Made’ by Lisa Feldman Barrett. [reading begins at 10:52]  Hear us discuss:Looking for the “sticky” or resistant parts of change when you’re trying to make a decision. Ask yourself, “What if I were not fearful about that? What would I do? Could I do that in a small way?" [5:05] | “Your emotions are just your brain's best guess at trying to make sense of what's going on, both in what you're experiencing and perceiving from the outside world, but also what you're noticing in your body." [15:12] | “We don't want to reinvent or question everything all the time, because this is actually the way that our brain navigates, see trillions of pieces of data at any given moment. We need to have an interpretation hypothesis." [21:10] | "Maybe what we're experiencing in our heads is a simulation, but that doesn't mean it isn't a wonderful life." [32:23] | "I think of my personal mission in life as being of service to others and helping other people thrive." [33:42]

Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesThe previous guest on this podcast was W. Dave Ball, a fellow Rhodes scholar whom I met at Oxford. One of the things I remember from my time there is the signs that were everywhere: Don’t walk on the grass. Entry forbidden. Don’t bring a naked flame into the Bodleian Library. Fair enough - I understand the last one, but most of the signs just made me feel like rebelling against them. Maybe this was the artist in me. There’s something about transgression that can be extremely powerful. Stuart Semple is a British artist who never really had a choice about what he wanted to be when he grew up. Today, he’s not just an artist, but also an activist. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Stuart reads two pages from ‘Just Kids’ by Patti Smith. [reading begins at 8:40]  Hear us discuss: “I believe an artwork isn’t truly finished until it meets an audience. I think art happens when people connect with the things that we make.” [6:24] | The sacrifices of an artist. [15:12] | Seeking inspiration: “Ideas find you.” [16:53] | The role of failure in the success of creating art. [18:07] | “There’s a peak in your work when it’s the best it’ll be, and if you fiddle about with it any more, you’re actually doing damage.” [21:34] | Criticism of your work does not equal criticism of you. [21:57] | The story of Black 3.0 [24:29] | What it takes to be a great collaborator. [27:28]

Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesWhere do you find your people? I think I’m still looking for mine, and perhaps you are, too. What often happens is there’s an initial rough sort where you get thrown in with others who have similar labels - but that’s just the start of it. It’s up to you to find your people amongst everyone. I realized that I keep looking for people who make me both think and laugh, meaning I need to seek them out to give them the opportunity to do so. Of course, sometimes your people don’t actually need to be found, they need to be rediscovered; they’re already there, waiting for you to reach out to them and say hello. Today’s guest is a law professor with articles published in the Columbia Law Review, Yale Law & Policy Review, the American Journal of Criminal Law, and many more. His full name is W. David Ball, but I know him as my friend Dave, someone I met when we were newly minted Rhodes scholars at Oxford in the early 1990s. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Dave reads the poem, ‘Ulysses’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. [reading begins at 16:45]  Hear us discuss: “I’d decided that I was going to be me, because there’s no way I could fake that.” [9:25] | How to keep your artistic spirit alive: “The essence of creativity is being in touch with who you are, what you want to say to others, and how other people have moved you.” [11:48] | The process of keeping an open heart in your closest relationships. [24:20] | Sitting with ambition (as a Rhodes scholar). [28:13] | Work in the criminal legal system: “I have calluses - not in the sense where I don’t feel, but where my skin isn’t being burnt off.” [33:01]

Author Emily Balcetis discusses trust in the world, navigating failure, and the journey versus the reward. They also explore how optimism and pessimism impact goal pursuit and discuss the fresh start effect in setting new goals and overcoming failures.

Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2PagesFor the final episode, I chose a chapter that’s about resetting a relationship that’s gone through a tough spell. Though I hope that’s not how you’d describe these past few episodes, it’s a nice segue back into normal programming with some of my fantastic guests. Our last storyteller is Sanyin Siang; coach, leadership expert, and recipient of the first Thinkers50 Marshall Goldsmith Coaching award. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Michael reads from Chapter 18 of his newest book, ‘How to Work with (Almost) Anyone.’ [reading begins at 1:25]   Hear us discuss: Why reset a relationship? [2:57] | Should we begin again?: “Avoid the reset, and the relationship will likely continue to deteriorate. Take the opportunity to plant the seeds of recovery, and you’ll likely strengthen it.” [4:55] | What to think and talk about when starting over. [5:19] | How do we finish this?: “All things, BPRs as well, have their season.” [6:20] | Sanyin Siang reveals one of her best working relationships: “A great way of showing someone that you care about them is to give them honest feedback about what they’re doing well, as well as what they could be doing better.” [10:00]