MetaLearn Podcast

Tom Vanderbilt is a journalist and author of the book Beginners: The Curious Power of Lifelong Learning. In this conversation we discuss: - The pain and joy of being an amateur and why it's so important- Tom's criteria for learning new skills and picking teachers- The unexpected benefits of picking up new skills The limiting beliefs that stop us from learning new things are often so difficult to overcome because they're invisible and in this conversation, we map the territory so you can break through and feel good about becoming a beginner again.

Oli Barrett is a super connector named "the most connected man in Britain" by Wired magazine, who has received an MBE for services to business. In this episode we discuss: - The 5 strategies for staying in touch with people - The components of a good cold email or long-shot as Oli calls them - How to create space for meaningful conversations online I've learned a lot from Oli in the last few years and if you apply a fraction of what he discusses here to your network, you'll be in a very different place a year from now.

Anne Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs, an online school and community on mindful productivity. She's an ex-Googler, and holds a masters in Applied Neuroscience from King's College London, while her work has been featured in WIRED, Forbes, the FT and Rolling Stone. In this episode we discuss: - How Anne-Laure's personal values have changed over the course of her career - Anne-Laure's system for consistently producing content online - The concept of an anti library and how that relates to metacognition This was a great conversation –– whether you're looking for some creative inspiration or techniques on publishing more, this episode has you covered.

Thomas Moore is a best selling author, international speaker and esteemed psychotherapist. This is Part 2 of my conversation with Thomas and in it we discuss: - The movement of archetypal psychology and the art of creative collaboration - The thinkers who have advanced our understanding of the human psyche - How the pandemic has affected the soul aspects of our work experience We also touch on the taboo around money in our society and how it relates to work. I hope you find Thomas' ideas as valuable as I have.

Thomas Moore is a best selling author, international speaker and esteemed psychotherapist. He has written 25 books about the soul, finding meaningful work and doing religion in a fresh way. In this episode we discuss: - The idea of having a calling, when this is naive and when it isn't - How Thomas has written 25 books in his career without retiring to a cabin in the woods - The distinction between soul and spirit and why it matters for everyone As Thomas himself puts it, so many of the problems we experience are not ones of knowledge but of imagination. I hope this conversation will be as much of a perspective shifter for you as it was for me.

Evan Carmichael runs a successful YouTube channel which distills the mindsets and skillsets from the world's top performers in sports, business and entertainment. In this episode we discuss: - The relationship between belief and action that every creator has to navigate - The systems and processes needed to create a thriving YouTube channel - What Evan has learned from studying some of the world's top performers Whether you're looking to start a YouTube channel, podcast or newsletter, this episode will give you the mindsets and approaches you need to succeed.

Margaret Heffernan is a former CEO of 5 companies, acclaimed TED speaker and author of six books including her latest, Uncharted. In this episode we discuss: - How to pursue a career as a series of experiments - The problems with modern forecasting in an uncertain environment - The dangers of prioritising efficiency in an uncertain world and the human qualities needed to thrive in it This episode will give you great practical advice for navigating the world we live in as well as a fresh perspective on the most important questions of our time.

Josh Kaufman is an entrepreneur, researcher, and author of three bestselling books – The Personal MBA, The First 20 Hours, and How to Fight a Hydra. This is Part 2 of my conversation with Josh, so if you haven't already, I recommend you go back and listen to Part 1 where we discussed: The concept of exploration/exploitation and how it helps you decide what to work on The system Josh uses for choosing what to outsource How Josh applied the fundamental law of marketing to his book Personal MBA In this second part, we cover: How to overcome akrasia defined as a lack of self-control or acting against your better judgment The autofocus method Josh uses to manage his to-do list and the research methods he's used to produce 3 bestselling books The need to acknowledge tradeoffs in business and life and the dangers of optimising something too early

Josh Kaufman is an entrepreneur, researcher, and author of three bestselling books – The Personal MBA, the First 20 Hours, and How to Fight a Hydra. I had Josh on the podcast previously where we spoke about the power of storytelling for promoting behaviour change and mastering complex projects. Josh's book The Personal MBA provides a crash course in business by covering timeless principles and recently hit its 10th Anniversary. The 10th Anniversary of the podcast was an excellent excuse to get him back on the podcast for another chat, which was so good and went on so long, that I've split it into 2 parts. In this first part, we discuss: The concept of exploration/exploitation and how that can help you decide what to work on The system Josh uses for choosing what to outsource How Josh applied the fundamental law of marketing to his book Personal MBA We also cover the five sections of business value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance that Josh structures in the business section of the book, and in Part 2 we'll touch on some of his ideas around people and systems as well as his research methods.

Paul Kirschner is a renowned educational psychologist and author. He is an Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the Open University of the Netherlands Guest Professor at the Thomas More University of Applied Science in Mechelen, Belgium and owner of kirschner-ED. His most recent book How Learning Happens, explores 28 key works on learning and teaching, chosen from the fields of educational psychology and cognitive psychology, and discusses what they mean in practice. He's also written books on Evidence Informed Learning Design and Urban Myths about Learning and Education. In this episode we discuss: The educational researchers that have inspired Paul and laid the foundations for the field Why teaching is an art informed by a science, and how teachers should incorporate research on learning into their process The concept of self efficacy and how our beliefs about our abilities impact our performance We also discuss when students should learn about how learning happens, the importance of teachers in goal setting and the debate on domain-specific vs domain-general skills.