Abandoned by her alcoholic dad when she was five, out of cash and evicted from their NYC apartment, Claire Hoffman, her mom and seven-year-old brother found themselves dropped into a small town in Iowa.But, not just any old town, this was a sacred enclave, Heaven on Earth, established by Transcendental Meditation founder, Maharishi Mahesh. For Claire’s mother, Transcendental Meditation and the cloistered culture around it became a source of salvation and calm. But, over time, Claire began questioning the teachings and traditions. She eventually fled the town, the practice and community and moved back in with her father.Decades later, a now established journalist and teacher and parent, and looking for answers, Claire found herself drawn back to Iowa, to reexamine her spiritual upbringing in an attempt to resolve unanswered questions rediscover a bit of lost magic.In today’s episode, we sit down with Claire and dive into this powerful, raw and revelatory journey, detailed in her memoir, Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood. photo credit: Timothy Greenfield-SandersBe sure to subscribe to our weekly Good Life Updates and listen on iTunes to make sure you never miss an episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luck. It’s a source of envy, denial, opportunity, anger, frustration, creation and astonishing success. When it happens to us, we revel in it. When it happens to everyone but us, we lament it. It’s become vogue in the world of performance and popular psychology to say it does not exist. Luck, we are told, is […]The post The Truth About Luck [a 4-part formula] appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success is not just about knowing what to do. It is about doing it.All the information in the world, the best laid plans, the clearest, most-defined, measurable and attainable goals will not deliver the outcomes, results or resolutions you want.There is something missing. In order to succeed at anything worth the effort, you also need to put in place critical changes in environment, culture, mindset and community that enable the consistent action that, over time, delivers astonishing results.I call this "Success Scaffolding." And, I've been diving into, experimenting with and refining the key elements for years, across a wide array of domains, from health and fitness to art, innovation, careers and entrepreneurship.In today's episode, instead of our usual long-form conversation with a special guest, I am doing something different. I'll be sharing what I call the 7P Success Scaffolding™ framework.Every element, every step, nothing held back. Why? Because it is that time of year when millions commit to big, new, deeply-meaningful goals, only to walk away or fail by the time we hit February. Not because we don't want it badly enough. Not because we're not smart enough. But, because we do not have our Success Scaffolding in place.This is my New Year's offering. It is about helping you make 2017 different, bridging the gap between hope and reality.You may want to grab a pen. Or, if you'd like a PDF mind-map of the entire 7P Success Scaffolding framework, just be sure to sign up for our Weekly Insider Updates. I'll include a link to a free downloadable PDF in our next dispatch.Mentioned in this Episode:Gretchen Rubin's Quiz: The Four TendenciesMy Good Life Project JournalSnapshot360™ Online QuizJoin our Good Life Project CommunityJonathan's new book, How to Live a Good LifeSign up for our Weekly Insider Updates to get Jonathan's mind map of The Seven P's. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever try to help someone who had absolutely no interest in being helped? It’s one of the most frustrating experiences we can have. Maybe it’s a family member or partner. Maybe it’s a close friend or colleague. Or even a customer or client. So many times, we end up banging our heads against a wall […]The post Motivation: Why You Can’t Change the One You Love [Best of] appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On September 17, 2009, Simon Sinek stepped onto a small stage for a local gathering...and proceeded to blow away the world.The event was TEDx Puget Sound. He had no slides, no fancy presentation. Just an idea and an easel. For 18 minutes, he spoke about an awakening. Something he called "the golden circle," and the need to know your "why." The audience was captivated.But that's just the beginning...The event was filmed and posted to Youtube 11 days later. So powerful was Simon's presentation and idea that it was quickly pulled onto the main TED site. There it exploded into the world's consciousness, becoming one of the most-watched TED talks of all-time with nearly 30 million views. A book called Start With Why soon followed, becoming an instant hit.Funny thing is, Simon doesn't really care about all of that. What he does care about is the Idea. The opportunity to inspire people to wake up to the possibility in their own lives. The ability to serve from a deeper, more humble yet powerful place. And to act.Simon's transformative ideas continued to evolve with his book, Leaders Eat Last. This week's episode features a "Best Of" conversation with Simon, where we explore his remarkable journey, his extraordinary lens on the world (though he'll likely tell you it's anything but) and his deep desire both inspire and to serve those who serve others.Simon is also a master storyteller. As our conversation unfolds, he shares a stunningly powerful story about a trip to Afghanistan with the military that went bad, and how it became a flight he'll remember for the rest of his life. By the time he was done, I was near tears and had trouble speaking, let alone continuing the conversation. Listen all the way through, it will be so worth the investment of time and energy.Some quick quotes from the conversation:"Great leaders see money as fuel, not a destination.""Serve those who serve others.""Never sacrifice the people to save the numbers, sacrifice the numbers to save the people.""The responsibility of the leader is to look after the sons and the daughters of the parents who have given us their children to help us build our companies with the same love and tenderness and care that their parents gave to them."We first aired this conversation in October 2013. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the “perceived imperfections, quirks or annoyances” that triggered you in other people were the very same things that, viewed differently, reminded you how blessed you were (and how great they were)? Today’s GLP Riff about a simple idea, a realization that so much of what bothers us in life is actually the very […]The post Annoyed or Blessed? It’s a Matter of Choice appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debbie Millman is a creative, design and storytelling force of nature.Millman was drawn into the world of news and print in her early twenties, cultivating an appetite for artful communication, storytelling and news. By her early thirties, though, life had dealt a series of challenges.In quick succession, she found herself without a job or a sense of purpose, bound by her own self-loathing. Unlocking and even mining that negative cycle, though, was the key to her turnaround.She started down a path of discovery that would lead to a series of serendipitous adventures, eventually becoming a leading voice in the world of design, branding and media, and co-founding and chairing the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She's also hosted the acclaimed Design Matters podcast for 11 years, which was a major inspiration for our show.As Debbie shares in this conversation, you "have to create your own happiness."On this "Best Of" episode of Good Life Project, Debbie Millman gets real about living with uncertainty, creativity and freedom, diving into the world of design, art and media.And, as we reflect on the year behind us, and think about the year to come, she reminds us to imagine immensities, then make them happen.We first aired this conversation in April 2014. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s something about working with your hands that changes you. Over the last generation, we’ve shifted largely to a “knowledge economy.” We value and compensate cognitive intelligence on a much higher scale than artistic, mechanical and physical intelligence. We elevate the importance of thoughts and ideas and diminish the role of hands and body and […]The post Finding God in the Grain appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did a kid who grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada end up an elite performance coach to Olympic athletes and CEOs?This is the story of today's guest, performance savant and founder The 90 Day Year, Todd Herman.Did Todd get an advanced degree? Nope. Did he write a bestselling book? Again, no. Was he hyper-connected to high-level gatekeepers and influencers? Not unless you consider horses and other farm animals to be conduits to greatness.Then how did he end up the go-to person at the highest levels of sport and business? The answer lies in the same relentless drive that let him launch a packed consulting practice from a cold start by talking his way into speaking 68 times in 90 days.Todd is one of the most focused and productive people we've ever met. He honed his skills over nearly two decades working with many of the top performing athletes in the world, before making a pretty radical shift to online education with the creation of his accelerated productivity training, The 90 Day Year.In this week's conversation, we dive into his upbringing on a ranch in the middle of Canada, with thousands of acres to roam. We explore his jones to leave the ranch at a very early age and his more recent awakening to an unshakeable connection with the land. We talk about his lens on performance and deconstruct that whole 68 talks in 90 days strategy. We also talk about the interplay between elite performance, happiness, preparation and fulfillment.For anyone who has wondered about closing the gap between reality and potential, this is a don't miss an episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calling all rule-breakers, rebels and deviants from the norm… Before you run screaming from convention, consider why the rules, the norms, the cultural guides exist in the first place. Then, ask yourself, before choosing to abandon them, if they still matter, and whether the better path to creativity, innovation and expression might be to master […]The post Attention Rule-breakers: Not So Fast. appeared first on Good LifeProject. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.