Good Life Project

Chazz Lewis’s mission in life is to enjoy the process of becoming the best version of himself and help others do the same. He goes by “Mr.Chazz” to his massive online following, and to his many students and fellow teachers, leaders, and human beings. Having stepped into the classroom in the early days, largely because he needed a job, he discovered a passion for inspiring and understanding and igniting curiosity and possibility in kids. And, he realized, he’d have to buck a lot of systems and do a metric ton of his own learning and reimagining to make it happen.Along the way, he completed a master's degree in executive leadership at American University and spent years using his own classrooms as living laboratories, developing a more conscious, informed, joyful and dignity-driven and inspired approach to learning, leading, and elevating others. His philosophy began to find relevance far beyond the classroom and has found a home everywhere from parenting to education, personal development, and organizational leadership. And he shares his ideas in a fun, playful, and accessible way, training thousands of teachers, and with his giant following on Tiktok and Instagram. He is in the process of writing a book, and he goes deeper on his podcast, “Mr. Chazz's Leadership, Parenting and Teaching Podcast”.You can find Mr. Chazz at: TicTok | Instagram | PodcastIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Renee Jain about inspiring kids to be authentic and grow.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hrishikesh Hirway has been making music for as long as he can remember and, as an adult, spent years building a career in the industry, writing, performing, producing, and touring. But, it was a moment where he took a bit of a pause to re-evaluate that led him to record an interview with a friend about the story and creative decisions behind a song that would change everything. That conversation eventually became the opening episode of the podcast, Song Exploder, which itself then exploded into a global phenomenon that I’ve been obsessed with since hearing that first episode. Now, it’s grown into not just an award-winning podcast, but also a Netflix original television series where musicians break down the creative process behind their songs, featuring many of the biggest names in music like Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dua Lipa, The Killers, so many others. And, building on the success of Song Exploder, Hrishikesh has now grown a network of shows, producing and co-hosting the award-winning podcasts Home Cooking, with chef and author Samin Nosrat, and The West Wing Weekly, with actor Joshua Malina. He’s also the host and producer of the Partners podcast.All the while, he’s continued to write and perform his own music, releasing four albums under the moniker The One AM Radio, and an EP with Moors, his project with Lakeith Stanfield. As a composer, he has written music for film, television, and podcasts, including the score for the Netflix series "Everything Sucks!" and the theme to ESPN’s "30 for 30" podcast. Recently, he released two singles, “Between There and Here," which features Yo-Yo Ma, and “Home,” featuring Jay Som. These, in fact, are the first songs he’s released in 10 years, and the first under his own name. His new EP, Rooms I Used to Call My Own is out March 30.You can find Hrishikesh at: Website | Instagram | PodcastsIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Kaki King. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How’d a kid who loved movies and thought he’d be a filmmaker leave film school, and end up building a $1-billion healthy nutrition business, then exit and focus his energy back on the quest to build the next Disney, but with a focus not just on entertainment, but on impact? That’s the story behind today’s guest, Tom Bilyeu, the co-founder, along with his wife, Lisa, of Quest Nutrition, and the now rapid growth Impact Theory production studio, which is dedicated to creating media and experiences that change people’s lives. Tom was named one of Success Magazine’s Top 25 Influential People, and in today's conversation, we dive into the early influences that shaped him and his lens on creativity and possibility. We talk about how he struggled to even get out of bed for an entire season of life, and then returned to a deeper drive, underneath the yearning to make movies, and how that has been a consistent thru-line and driving motivation to build a billion-dollar nutrition company, then sell it in order to return to his original desire to make media that made meaning, but on a whole different level. You can find tom at: Website | Instagram | Impact Theory on YouTubeIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Rich Roll.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would you give to have more free time, less stress & more ability to do the things you love, while knowing everything else is handled? That is the promise of a powerful new body of work from today’s guest, Jenny Blake. Jenny is an author, host of two podcasts, Free Time for Heart-Based Business Owners, and Pivot with Jenny Blake, and keynote speaker who loves helping people move from friction to flow through smarter systems. Her new book, Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, is, quite literally, life-changing. I actually featured Jenny in my last book, SPARKED, because she’s what I call an Essentialist, meaning she lives and breathes to create order from chaos, in the name of clarity and ease. Her mind works in ways that mine doesn’t. Jenny is world-class at creating systems that give you back your life. And, the stunning volume of ideas, tools, processes, and resources she’s developed and curated in Free Time, along with the dashboard she’s launched alongside it, made me realize how much harder I’ve been making things in all parts of work and life, and how much more automation and ease I could access, and, as a result, how much more time I could create to do the things that truly light me up. So, I was excited to invite Jenny to dive deeper into her ideas, methodology and specific tools and resources to create more free time and joy in work, life and beyond. You can find Jenny at: Website | Free Time Podcast | Buy One, Get One, Give One Preorder Bonus.If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Brené Brown.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maybe you’ve seen this week’s guest, Arian Moayed, playing the role of Stewy on HBO’s Succession. Or in the breakaway hit, Inventing Anna, as Anna Sorokin’s lawyer, Todd Spodek. Or, Agent Cleary in last year’s megahit, Spider-Man: No Way Home. And, you’d think, “wow, he’s everywhere, how lucky is he!” And, you’d be half-right. Arian is everywhere these days. But, luck? Not a chance. There is something much bigger at play. With a stunning work ethic, fueled by genuine passion.Arian's family fled Iran under threat of violence when he was a child, taking a years-long journey that split the family between different countries, and eventually landed them just outside Chicago, where they set about building a new life in a radically different world. Acting became a fast passion, a way to express his feelings, his passion, and experiences and, in short order upon becoming an adult, his career. So, while honing his craft and acclaim as an actor, he also began devoting more and more energy to writing, producing, and teaching. Co-founding the theater/film production and arts education venture, Waterwell, his heart is most boldly on display in guiding the growth of teachers and 6-12th graders in New York City’s free theater training program, and exploring not just performance, but citizenship, service, equality, advocacy, justice, and what it means to be human. We all need more of that these days. We're so excited to share this Best Of conversation with you today.You can find Arian at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with James Victore about meeting rejection and adversity and taking on a “just watch me” stance.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if you found yourself in the middle years of life, taking on responsibility, building a family, a reputation, a company, a living…and then, in the blink of an eye, had to start over? Not by choice, but by circumstance. That was the experience of this week’s guest, Jordan Harbinger. One of the pioneering voices in podcasting, he’d been in the space for nearly 15 years, building a big audience and a business around it. But, a series of events he never saw coming landed him on the outside-looking-in, wondering, “what’s next?” He could’ve left the world of media, podcasting, and conversation behind, and done any number of things. He’s a former lawyer with a mind for systems and tech. But, he loved the community of podcasting. It’s all he wanted to do. So, instead, Jordan committed to rebuilding his own show, his own career, his own company and team, entirely on his terms and under his control, from the ground up. Fast forward 5 years, Jordan has not only made a comeback, but he has also built one of the most popular and successful properties in the explosive growth world of podcasting - The Jordan Harbinger Show - many times larger than he’d dreamed of or, honestly, even imagined was possible. Jordan and I have known each other for years, we’ve shared ideas, visions, hopes, dreams, and experiences as we’ve both navigated the world of audio, inspiration, and life. But, I wanted to really understand what this recent season of life has been like for him, what he’s learned, how he accomplished such a breathtaking comeback, what he’s said no to along the way and why, how passion and relationships have played into this phoenix-like experience, and how he’s changed as a person along the way. You can find Jordan at: Website | The Jordan Harbinger ShowIf you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Debbie Millman about designing your life as a perpetually evolving experience.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it actually mean to have a “good” death? If you’re like most people, the very question - simply by the nature of it - scares you. In fact, you may be about to tune out of this episode at this very moment. I urge you to stay with me. Because there are things we all need to think about, to feel, to know. Because, in no small way, the idea of a “good” death is an essential part of the conversation we’ve been having for the last decade about living a good life. But if we never talk about, feel into it, and have open, honest, sometimes hard, but deeply meaningful conversations around it, then we leave our final act largely to fate or the will of others. To the extent that, when the time comes, we have some level of agency, at a moment where - and this is a critical distinction - we’re of sound mind, fully-supported and well-informed, it’s important to know - what are the things to consider, what are the unknowns, and how much of any of it is really in our hands? These are the questions and the circumstances that my guest, acclaimed author, screenwriter, and teacher, Amy Bloom, were presented with when her beloved husband was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in his 60s, and quickly made a decision that, in his words, “the long goodbye” was not for him. The time that followed was marked by no small amount of suffering, not just because of the looming loss of a beloved, but because of the landscape that confronted them when seeking to “do it their way” compounded that suffering. The experience is laid bare, in an achingly beautiful and also stunningly eye-opening way, in Amy’s new book, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss. This is not an easy conversation, but it is an incredibly important one. And I’m grateful for Amy’s openness, vulnerability, and wisdom in both sharing her story and guiding this conversation.You can find Amy at: WebsiteIf you LOVED this episode:You’ll also love the conversations we had with Robert Thurman about how we experience our time in the most present and engaged way.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a surgical and pediatric nurse become one of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time? This was the jumping-in point for my conversation with Sue Monk Kidd. From her earliest memories, Sue wanted to write, but growing up in a small town in Georgia, she was channeled into a much narrower set of career offerings that were offered up as the “only appropriate kinds of work for a woman.” That never sat well with Sue, but not quite having found her own voice yet, she ended up following the thread into nursing school, then into a season of life where she built a career in medicine while raising a family. But, when she turned 30, that stifled yearning to make writing her devotion was reawakened. She literally announced she was going to be a writer out loud to her husband and kids at the kitchen table, who didn’t quite realize the seriousness of what had just happened. Profoundly influenced by contemplative writers, like Merton, Sue began to pen essays, meditations and stories and see them published, which led to books about her own take on life, feminism, and a more expansive and inclusive spirituality. Then, more than a decade into her writing life, she did what writers are so often cautioned away from. Sue changed lanes from nonfiction to fiction, writing short stories, and eventually, going all-in on a novel that would become the mammoth, international blockbuster, A Secret Life of Bees, the writing of which was its own 5-year odyssey. As we sat down, we explored this incredible journey, and how she navigated major shifts in both career and life. We also dive into her most recent novel, The Book of Longings, a fictional imagining of the early life of Jesus, told through the eyes of an equally strong and vibrant wife, whose presence would never “make” the pages of history. You can imagine, this book stirred a lot of conversation and served as a provocation to explore not only this story, but also the frame that is brought to the way stories of women have, and have not been told throughout history, and who holds the power of the pen.You can find Sue at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode:You’ll also love the conversations we had with Elizabeth Lesser about the writing life and the role of women in historical narratives.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you create a radical change in direction in your life? My guest today, Rosie Acosta, found herself asking that question in her mid-teens, after being arrested, and the answer came in a way she never saw coming. Born and raised in East LA at a time when gang violence was the norm, Rosie pushed up against authority from a young age. But, after being arrested, a simple sentence led her to commit to a radical reimagining of her own life. She didn’t know what form or shape it would take, until one day, ditching school, she found herself in the Self Realization Fellowship in LA, listening to the words of a woman who would change her life, and lead her down a path of spirituality she never saw coming. Especially since she’d rejected religion, or anything smacking of faith, in the years before.Now, a sought-after advisor, coach, yoga and meditation teacher, she travels the world leading workshops, retreats, and trainings, boasts a private clientele that includes Olympic athletes, NFL champions, NBA All-Stars and veterans of war, and hosts the Radically Loved podcast. A first-gen Mexican-American, Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love, and she shares her philosophy on radical love in her new book, You Are Radically Loved: A Healing Journey to Self-Love.You can find Rosie at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode:You’ll also love the conversations we had with Justin Tranter about defying convention and expectation and carving your own path in the world. Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED. Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These last few years have dealt a lot of blows to our state of mind, body, and health. On some level, it’s been hard to escape trauma. Even if you can’t point to a big capital-T thing that happened, we live in a perpetual sea of micro-moments that unsettle, upset and shake us in a way that leaves a mark. Whether we know it’s there or not, whether we realize or acknowledge it, it’s affecting us. You, me, pretty much everyone on some level. Question is, what do we do about that? This is the very question I explore with my guest this week, Bessel van der Kolk, legendary trauma researcher, psychiatrist, and author of a book that has been locked into the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list for years now, The Body Keeps the Score. In 1984, Bessel established one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, while also training researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress. He was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes the brain. Bessel’s efforts led to the establishment of the Trauma Research Foundation, developing new treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policymakers, and law enforcement personnel.You can find Bessel at: Website | InstagramIf you LOVED this episode:You’ll also love the conversations we had with Ellen Hendrickson about social anxiety.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED.Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.