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Derek Sivers, a renowned TED speaker, essayist, and author of 'Useful Not True,' shares his unique insights on personal growth and fulfillment. He delves into how our actions reflect our values and the impact of seemingly trivial ideas on others. Sivers challenges the conventional views of money, emphasizing its role in achieving freedom over superficial desires. He discusses the importance of maintaining an open mindset, navigating relationships with optimism, and the transformative power of thoughtful philanthropy. Sivers encourages listeners to embrace flexible beliefs for meaningful living.

Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and the author of "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence."This is a rebroadcast of episode 35, from 2022.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:57) Anna Lembke’s interest in studying addiction(04:34) Defining addiction and the "gremlin theory" of addiction(15:19) Characteristics of an addict(23:48) The stigma around addictions(26:46) Characteristics of a healthy person living today(33:50) The importance and role of struggle in a good life(41:04) The impact of modern addictions on society today(46:54) Habit change ideas and the role of struggle in a good life(52:11) How to know if you're becoming an addict(58:45) The effective and ethical way to address addiction(01:03:58) Workaholism as an addiction(01:20:13) The connection between shame and a “never enough” attitude towards work

Russell Foster is a sleep expert, a professor of circadian neuroscience, a fellow of the Royal Society, and the author of Life Time.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:55) Views on sleep through time(03:34) Why we have de-prioritized sleep(05:39) Where should sleep rank in our health priorities?(08:22) How do we know we're getting enough sleep?(11:59) The historic and current cost of sleep deprivation(17:44) Why does sleep exist?(21:53) What is happening biologically while people sleep?(27:59) Sleep and mental illness(38:09) What those with mental illness can do to stabilize their sleep(01:00:25) Sleep for new parents(01:03:35) How would a healthy society approach sleep?

Nick Pollard, "The People Displeaser," is a speaker and life coach who advocates for honest, authentic living through mindful boundaries, free of people-pleasing.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) When Nick's was homicidal and suicidal(04:09) Nick's father(09:10) How Nick got his life together(18:08) Why Nick focuses on people-pleasing(23:25) Symptoms of a people-pleaser(26:44) Why do people become people-pleasers?(31:23) Your rules for life and a personal bill of rights(37:23) Establishing personal boundaries(42:39) Confronting fear and quotes from Jim Hollis(49:16) People-pleasers often have few same-sex friends(57:11) When should former people-pleasers leave relationships?(01:09:15) Nick's relationship deal-breakers

Pico Iyer is a novelist, a travel writer, and the author of many books, including his most recent, "Aflame: Learning From Silence," which is the subject of this conversation.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:00) Intro(00:58) Santa Barbara, June 1990(04:25) The New Camaldoli Hermitage(07:30) Pico's life when he first went to New Camaldoli(11:08) Silence elicits gratitude, what's shared and what's essential(16:10) Intentionally turning off technology(22:39) Creating a wise amount of "cathedral time"(25:53) Embracing silence as a non-religious person(32:03) Leonard Cohen exploring his inner landscape in silence(36:05) How Pico has developed from his 100+ hermitage visits(41:35) Saying no in order to prioritize space for silence(47:07) How to begin a life with more silence and contemplation(50:41) Silence as an antidote to despair(54:36) What Pico has learned from the Dalai Lama

Orville Schell is an author, a journalist, a China scholar, and the director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Orville's entering China in the 1970s(07:10) Was was China like in the 1970s?(10:09) The palpable fear in China in the 1970s(14:55) The details of Mao Zedong the Cultural Revolution(20:40) What preceded Communism in China?(25:32) Why was Communism appealing to Chinese revolutionaries? (30:11) China in the 1970s and how it reopened to the world(37:10) Why did China not become free after the 1980s?(41:39) 1989 and Tiananmen Square(45:28) China in the next few years(52:19) How might China become free?(55:26) Why China matters

Joseph Goldstein is an author, the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and is one of the most influential and important figures to bring vipassana meditation practices into the American mainstream.A rebroadcast from 2022.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:45) How Joseph ended up in Asia a young man(04:39) Reason for interest in Buddhism and meditation(08:59) Immersing in the study of the mind(12:41) The Buddha’s teachings(18:52) Joseph's psychological state when first exposed to Buddhism and meditation(21:01) The daily habits, discipline, and rituals to try to achieve Enlightenment(27:14) Deciding to devote his life to meditation(30:11) Communicating to his mother his desire to devote his life to Buddhism(32:59) Metaphysical views pre and post meditation(37:46) Buddhism is non-theistic(40:14) What is the Dharma?(44:48) Integrating Buddhist teachings with practice and The Noble Eightfold Path(53:37) The first step to use mindfulness to ease psychological suffering(01:01:24) Awareness versus the weather pattern of one's mind(01:04:30) Using mindfulness to respond, rather than to react(01:15:37) Dealing with grief(01:24:50) How can we improve our lives by being mindful?

James Hollis is a psychoanalyst, one of the world's most prolific Jungian thinkers, and the author of many books, including "Living An Examined Life."A rebroadcast from 2021.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:02) Jim's transition from academia to psychoanalysis(06:24) The decision to pursue psychoanalysis as a full-time profession(10:59) Gathering the courage to pursue psychoanalysis(18:19) What about Jung’s work resonated with Jim?(30:16) Jim's process of helping people navigate the transitionary phases of their lives(41:31) The most pressing issues Jim sees facing Americans(48:24) The primary blockers to growth and self-healing(51:54) Discerning the difference fears you should avoid and fears you should face(57:01) Exhausted relationships vs. relationships that need endurance(01:09:02) The ratio of men vs. women seeking counsel and therapy and how it’s changed over the years(01:13:21) Why most men tend to suppress their innermost emotions(01:19:49) Jim's explanation of Joseph Campbell’s ‘hero’s journey’(01:25:31) How to live an examined, authentic life

Elizabeth Economy is a political scientist, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a China expert, and the author of multiple books, including "The World According to China" and "The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State."------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(01:00) Xi Jinping's father's story(07:16) The Cultural Revolution(12:02) "China's Holocaust" between 1950's-1970's(13:10) Why Marxism resonated in China(21:43) Darker aspects of the Cultural Revolution(33:48) The rise of Xi Jinping and the rise of China's economy(38:33) The meme of Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh(41:43) Xi Jinping's personality and vision for China(46:27) The near-term future of U.S-China relations(53:00) What America can do to win Cold War 2.0

James Holland is a historian and the author of many books, including Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:46) The state of the world in June 1944(14:48) What was D-Day like for an average Allied soldier(21:13) Is D-Day the most important military conflict in history?(27:01) "Steel not flesh"(32:43) The Atlantic Wall(41:08) Cooperation and morale among the Allied troops(45:31) Dick Winters and men like him(51:15) Why James has committed so much of his life to WWII history(54:45) How can we best honor and remember veterans?