

Good Life Project
Jonathan Fields / Acast
What does it mean to live a good life? Is it about happiness, health, friendship, love, or meaning? What about work, wealth, purpose, service, or something else? Can you live a good life even when things are hard? These are the questions and topics we explore every week in conversation with leading voices from health, science, art, industry, mindset, and culture, like Brené Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Mel Robbins, Alex, Elle, Adam Grant, Elizabeth Gilbert, Yung Pueblo, Maya Shankar, Mitch Albom, Glennon Doyle & hundreds more. The New York Times says, "the show’s holistic approach to fulfillment is bound to resonate." Listen now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 21, 2017 • 19min
Side Hustle Secrets. Crying Over Failure (it's a good thing?)
What if melting down after a failure was actually a good thing? Or doing what you love, as a side hustle, was the best way to do it? That's what we're talking about on today's episode.Good Life Riff: Today, we've got a special guest riff, featuring friend-of-the-pod, New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, world-traveler and entrepreneur, Chris Guillebeau. In his new book, Side Hustle, Guillebeau takes a contrarian view of entrepreneurship, arguing many of us are better off doing that thing that blends passion with money not as our day jobs, but on the side. He shares why, along with a few great case-studies, in today's riff. Grab a copy of Side Hustle, and check out his 100-city tour today!Good Life Science: And, in our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on how we respond to failure. Turns out, all those people who say, "hey, don't take it personally, don't get all emotional, just let it be a teaching moment and move on" may be giving you bad advice. A new study shows that responding emotionally to failure, instead of rationally, may just set you up to be more likely to succeed in a future endeavor. And, as always, for those want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.Rockstar Sponsors: Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, GLP listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 18, 2017 • 55min
Daniel Goleman: The Truth About Meditation (a scientific look).
What if much of the popular wisdom and even so-called valid research on meditation...was wrong?! According to Daniel Goleman, it's time for a meditation wake-up call.Best known for his worldwide bestseller Emotional Intelligence, Goleman reveals powerful new truths about meditation, what it really is and isn't, and how only about 1% of the 6,000+ studies done on the topic are what might be considered "good science."A lifelong student of meditation and meditative practices, Daniel Goleman spent two years in India, first as a Harvard Predoctoral Traveling Fellow and then again on a Post-Doctoral Fellowship, followed by decades of practice and study. He has moderated several Mind and Life dialogues between the Dalai Lama and scientists, ranging from topics such as Emotions and Health to Environment, Ethics and Interdependence.In his new book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body, he pulls back the curtain on this practice, dives into the claims and show what's fact and what's pretty seriously stretching the truth. The bad news, there's a whole lot of fiction in the meditation space. The good news is, there are also many profoundly life-enhancing changes that come your way. Meditation, it turns out, changes you, on the level of DNA. In this conversation, you'll discover the real benefits of this powerful practice.Rockstar Sponsors: Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, GLP listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Get paid online, on-time with Freshbooks, a cloud accounting software that makes it insanely easy for freelancers and professionals to get paid online, track expenses and do more of what you love. Get your 1-month free trial, no credit card required, at FreshBooks.com/goodlife (enter The Good Life Project in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section).Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 14, 2017 • 21min
Hidden Psychology of To-Do's. How Sight Turns Off Sound.
In today's GLP Update, we're talking about a hidden reason why a to-do list may be your savior (even if you hate them), and a cool study that reveals how focusing intensely on visual tasks just might just make you momentarily deaf to certain sounds.Ah, the old to-do list. Some people love them. Others outright hate them. Some refuse anything but a paper to-do list or a planner, others need an app. Love or hate, there are a few hidden reasons why exploring both a to-do list and a "to-done" list might make you not only more productive, but way more upbeat and happy.And, on the science side of things, in today's Good Life Science Update, we're diving into some fascinating research on how the bandwidth needed to see fiercely and listen intently sometimes wars with each other. That leads your brain to sometimes have to choose. How and why, and how it might impact you (and give you an excuse for "not hearing certain things or people, lol) is what we're talking about. And, as always, for those want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.Rockstar Sponsors: Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, GLP listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 11, 2017 • 1h 12min
Mark Lukach: When Mental Illness Changes Everything.
Guest: Mark Lukach is a teacher and freelance writer. His work has been published in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Pacific Standard, Wired, and other publications.He is currently the ninth grade dean at The Athenian School, where he also teaches history. He lives with his wife, Giulia, and their son in the San Francisco Bay area.His latest book, a heart-wrenching memoir, is called My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward. Mark first wrote about Giulia in a New York Times “Modern Love” column and again in a piece for Pacific Standard Magazine, which was the magazine’s most-read article in 2015.Story: During his freshman year in college, Mark spotted the love of his life across the quad and immediately knew he would spend the rest of his life with her. They became inseparable: they graduated together, married, and began building an exquisite life with dreams, hopes and expectations. Until one day he came home to find his lovely wife living in a radically different world – a state that he now knows to be deep psychosis. Staying profoundly committed to each other, Mark and Giulia learned to navigate the challenging times and rebuild their lives and their family.Big Idea: In today’s world of the "ideal life", as portrayed by social media, people yearn to be open and vulnerable, and have authentic conversations about what they are going through. They are desperate for deep human-to-human connection without trying to pretend that things are better.You’d never guess: How Mark and Giulia, as a couple, came up with a plan to deal with potential future psychotic relapses without totally disrupting their lives.Current passion project: Mark works as a 9th Grade Dean, helping families with the transition from middle school to high school.Rockstar Sponsors: Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, GLP listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 7, 2017 • 30min
Accelerated Learning with Exercise. Getting Out of Your Lane.
In today's GLP Update, we're talking about how to break out of your lane and keep your career, and how physical activity affects accelerated learning.Good Life Riff: Ever hear the phrase, "stay in your lane?" Yep, us too. It's most often offered as a warning to people who are considering moving away from the thing they've become known for in the quest to do something more interesting. Thing is, there is a way to both build and change lanes that gives you way more freedom than the way most people do it. That's what we're talking about in today's GLP Riff.Good Life Science: And, in our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into some fascinating new research on accelerated learning and physical activity. We've known for some time that physical activity "around" exercise can help speed learning. But, what about moving your body "during" learning? Today's Good Life Science Update dives into new research that show something remarkable about accelerated learning, language and physical activity. Something that, according to detractors of multitasking, probably shouldn't happen. Listen in and learn...maybe while riding a bike! And, as always, for those want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.Rockstar Sponsors: Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Get paid online, on-time with Freshbooks, a cloud accounting software that makes it insanely easy for freelancers and professionals to get paid online, track expenses and do more of what you love. Get your 1-month free trial, no credit card required, at FreshBooks.com/goodlife (enter The Good Life Project in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section).Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 4, 2017 • 1h 5min
Gretchen Rubin: The Four Tendencies (how to start and stick to anything).
Guest: Gretchen Rubin is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before and The Happiness Project.On her weekly podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft.Want to hear more from Gretchen? Listen here to her 2015 conversation with Jonathan.About The Four Tendencies: During her investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen discovered that when it comes to our ability to start and stick with anything, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and succeed in nearly anything meaningful.Big Idea: Gretchen reveals the surprising truth about the four hidden personality types or tendencies that drive everything we do. Learn how to understand yourself better—and also how to influence others more effectively.Current passion project: Her new book, The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too). Join more than 600,000 people and learn more about your tendency by taking The Four Tendencies quiz here. ----------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 31, 2017 • 26min
The ARC of Happiness. You Are WHEN You Eat.
Good Life Riff: We've talked about happiness before, and it's relationships to a good life. And, we've done a pretty fierce deep-dive into the surprising relationship between money and happiness in a past episode. But, there's something else we've never shared. A little called the ARC of Happiness. Those three letters, A - R - C, are an acronym for three words that will dramatically enhance the happiness and fulfillment you experience in life. What are they? Listen and find out.Good Life Science: And, in our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into a fascinating bit of research about how it's not just what you eat that controls whether you lose weight, and how much you lose, but also the time of day. The results of this study were, well, how do we put this, rather jaw-dropping. We explore the details in today's Good Life Science Update. And, as always, for those want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.Rockstar Sponsors: Wondering what's for dinner? Blue Apron is the #1 fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service in the country, whose mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. Check out this week’s Blue Apron menu and get your first THREE meals FREE—WITH FREE SHIPPING—by going to blueapron.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, my listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good. Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 28, 2017 • 59min
Glennon Doyle: Love Warrior, Activist, Change-Maker [Best Of]
Glennon Doyle is an author, activist, founder of Momastery.com and co-founder of the Compassion Collective and Together Rising, a non-profit that has raised more five million dollars for women and children in crisis.Her latest book, LOVE WARRIOR is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and the Oprah's Book Club selection.I sat down with Glennon the morning after she had wrapped one of her gatherings at the legendary BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in New York City, where she was joined by a multi-denominational collective on-stage, including Alicia Keys who was so moved she couldn't help but belt out an impromptu song before leaving.In this conversation, we dip into her memoir. But that's more of a jumping off point that leads us into some very different waters, from leading as an introvert, her feelings about faith and how it informs what she's creating to how she's moving into a season of her life where the line between public and private, art and service, love and leading is shifting in profound and intentional ways.We go deep into some provocative territory here, and there are more than a few invitations to reconsider how you move into the world and what you choose to focus on. Agree or not, this is a conversation that'll leave you lifted, challenge your assumptions and also make you think and feel.We first aired this conversation in October 2016. Since then, so much has unfolded in both in Glennon's life and in the world. I'm so excited to share this "Best Of" episode with you now, as a continued reflection on what matters in your own life, and how you might bring it to the world.Glennon's publishing team loved this conversation as much as I did, and you can now find the transcript of much of it in the new paperback version of her book. So, be sure to check it out.Photo credit: Amy PaulsonRockstar Sponsors: Wondering what's for dinner? Blue Apron is the #1 fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service in the country, whose mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. Check out this week’s Blue Apron menu and get your first THREE meals FREE—WITH FREE SHIPPING—by going to blueapron.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, my listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 24, 2017 • 17min
How Kindness Boosts Health. Waiting for a Sign.
Good Life Riff: Ever hear the story about the guy trapped on his roof in a flood, waiting for a sign from God that he'd be saved? Well, turns out, a lot of us live our lives in a similar way. Waiting for someone or something to give us a sign, to tell us, "it's time." When, in reality, we are that sign. That's what today's riff is about.Good Life Science: And, in our Good Life Science segment, we're diving into fascinating new study on how one very specific type of kindness actually changes us on the level of DNA and makes our lives healthier and, very likely, happier. And, as always, for those want to go to the source, here's a link to the full study.Rockstar Sponsors: Get paid online, on-time with Freshbooks! Today's show is supported by FreshBooks, cloud accounting software that makes it insanely easy for freelancers and professionals to get paid online, track expenses and do more of what you love. Get your 1-month free trial, no credit card required, at FreshBooks.com/goodlife (enter The Good Life Project in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section).Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, my listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Wondering what's for dinner? Blue Apron is the #1 fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service in the country, whose mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. Check out this week’s Blue Apron menu and get your first THREE meals FREE—WITH FREE SHIPPING—by going to blueapron.com/goodlife.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 snips
Aug 21, 2017 • 1h 3min
Elizabeth Gilbert: Curiosity and the Passion Fallacy. [Best Of]
[Best Of Episode] Elizabeth Gilbert exploded into the public's consciousness in 2006 with the release of her mega-bestselling memoir, Eat Pray Love.Since then, she's published a series of books, given a TED talk on creative genius that's been viewed more than 10 million times, become a leading voice on the pursuit of a creative, connected and vital life.Gilbert's book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, takes you deeper into what it means to live a creative life, offering a wonderful blend of wisdom, unabashed magical thinking, amazing stories and a whole lot of unexpected myth-busting and contrarian insights.I had a chance to sit down with Liz and, as often happens with these Good Life conversations, we ended up going all sorts of places I'd never planned. We touched on the power of curiosity and the fallacy of passion, where creativity comes from, what stops us from doing the thing we're here to do, the importance of caring for your vessel, what happens when you think you've reached the end of your capacity and her powerful lens on what it means to live a good life.This is deeply moving, revealing, insightful and sometimes pretty funny conversation. In fact, we begin with a hard-hitting reveal of a relationship that Gilbert had kept secret for more than four decades. And, along the way, this beautiful thought came tumbling forth:"When you come to the end of yourself is where all the interesting stuff starts." Tweet this.If you've ever wondered how to step into a creative life, how to get that thing in your head and heart out into the world, this is an absolute "do not miss" conversation.We first aired this conversation in September 2015. We're so excited to share this timeless "Best Of" episode with you today.---------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sparketypes/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible.Check out our offerings & partners: Beam Dream Powder: Visit https://shopbeam.com/GOODLIFE and use code GOODLIFE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


