You're working under a boss who really rubs you the wrong way. So you quit your job and take another. But in your new office, you find yourself stuck with a co-worker who bugs the tar out of you.The presence of annoying, incompetent, and underhanded people isn't a particular workplace problem, but a universal human problem. In any and every group of people, there are going to be bothersome and troublesome personalities.So if you can't entirely escape them, how do you get along with your fellow humans at work? My guest today has some research-backed advice. Her name is Tessa West, and she's a professor of psychology and the author of Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them. Today on the show, Tessa describes the seven types of jerks you run into at work — the kiss-up/kick-downer, credit stealer, bulldozer, free rider, micromanager, neglectful boss, and gaslighter — and shares what drives their respective behaviors and how to deal with them.Resources Related to the PodcastAoM Article: How to Deal With Bad CoworkersLet Me Google That For YouAoM Podcast #627: How to Deal With Jerks, Bullies, Tyrants, and TrollsAoM Podcast #799: Getting Along Is OverratedAoM Podcast #559: How to Handle Difficult ConversationsConnect With Tessa WestTessa's Website

Amidst the epic clashes of armies and navies that make war such a fascinating subject, lie the smaller human interest stories that prove just as compelling. One such story is that of World War II soldier Joe Johnson Jr., which is told by Marcus Brotherton in a newly published book called A Bright and Blinding Sun: A World War II Story of Survival, Love, and Redemption. Today on the show, Marcus shares how Joe sought to escape the pressures of a broken family and the Great Depression by joining the US Army at age fourteen. We discuss how Joe ended up in the Philippines, fell in love with a teenage prostitute named Perpetua there, and helped smuggle her out of her brothel. We then get into how Joe was captured by the Japanese, and the harrowing experience he had to endure as a prisoner of war, including being locked in a box smaller than a coffin. We end our conversation with a discussion of Joe’s life after the war, and Marcus shares what happened to Perpetua, how Joe dealt with all the trauma he had experienced when he was really still just a kid, and what lessons Marcus has taken away from Joe’s life.Resources Related to the PodcastMarcus‘ previous appearances on the podcast:Episode #1: We Who Are Alive and RemainEpisode #44: Voices of the PacificArticles Marcus has written for AoMBook Marcus wrote with Buck Compton — Call of Duty: My Life Before, During and After the Band of BrothersConnect With Marcus BrothertonMarcus‘ Website

When you were a kid, teachers and parents probably told you to concentrate. And as an adult, you likely often think about how much more productive, present, and happy you'd be if only you had better focus. But despite how much we think about our desire to improve our focus, no one ever gets any training in how to do it and even explains what focus is, exactly.My guest today is an exception to that rule. He was taught the secrets to concentration when he spent ten years as a Hindu monk, and today he's on a mission to share them with others. His name is Dandapani, and he continues to live as a Hindu priest, though he's now also an entrepreneur and author, with a book just published called The Power of Unwavering Focus. Today on the show, Dandapani defines focus and shares the existential reasons why developing yours is so vital. He explains how that development begins with understanding how the mind is different from awareness, that where awareness goes, energy flows, and the need to bring awareness to attention. We walk through how to stop practicing distraction and start practicing concentration by making each of your daily activities a focused practice, and ultimately, making your whole day a practice. We also discuss how daily sessions of meditation are inadequate for developing focus, how mindfulness is different than concentration, and how the ability to control and direct your awareness is one of the greatest powers you can possess.Resources Related to the PodcastAoM Podcast #168: The Value of Deep Work in the Age of DistractionAoM Article: What Every Man Ought to Know About FocusAoM Article: How to Effectively Manage Your AttentionAoM Article: 11 Exercises That Will Strengthen Your AttentionAoM Article: 12 Concentration Exercises from 1918AoM Podcast #768: Become a Focused MonotaskerConnect With DandapaniDandapani's Website

Why do some people who look can’t-miss high-achievers on paper end up floundering in life, while those who can seem like underdogs end up flourishing?When my guest noticed this phenomenon while being involved in the selection process of veteran SEALs for a specialized command, it led him to the discovery that beneath more obvious skills are hidden drivers of performance, which he calls attributes. His name is Rich Diviney, and he’s a retired Navy SEAL commander and the author of The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance. Today on the show, Rich discusses the difference between skills and attributes and how the latter can’t be taught, but can be developed. We then talk about the difference between peak and optimal performance, before turning to the attributes which drive the latter. We get into a discussion of the components of grit, the difference between discipline and self-discipline, why you should become something of a humble narcissist, and much more. We end our conversation with how to figure out the attributes you are and aren’t strong in, and which you need for getting where you want to go.Resources Related to the PodcastAoM Article: The 6 Types of Grit (And How to Develop Them)AoM Podcast: The Hell-Raising Leader of WWII’s Filthy ThirteenAoM Podcast #675: The Humble, Narcissistic LeaderAoM Article: How to Develop Situational AwarenessAoM Article: Being DecisiveSunday Firesides: Self-Discipline for What?Connect With Rich DivineyThe Attributes Website

As an economist, Russ Roberts has been taught to approach decision-making by conducting an analysis, weighing tradeoffs, and then rationally budgeting resources to get the most bang for his buck. But as he explains in his new book, Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us, he found this approach woefully inadequate for grappling with life's biggest decisions — things like figuring out whether to get married or how to live a meaningful life.Today on the show, Russ and I delve into why the pros and cons approach to decision-making is inadequate when facing what he calls "wild problems." Russ explains that what makes life's big decisions so difficult to deal with is the fact that we don't know what they'll be like before we make them, the decisions themselves will transform us into different people, and their effects can be permanent, making such decisions akin to choosing to become a vampire. From there we turn to strategies for dealing with the inherent uncertainty around wild problems, including looking beyond basic happiness, considering tradition, and trying things out by experience.Resources Related to the PodcastRuss' previous appearance on the show: Episode #91 — How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life Transformative Experience by L.A. HallNicomachean Ethics by Aristotle Chesterton’s FenceAoM Podcast #774: How to Make Life’s Big DecisionsAoM Podcast #486: How to Get Better at Making Life-Changing DecisionsConnect With Russ RobertsRuss' WebsiteRuss on Twitter

Being adept at discerning people’s true thoughts and intentions is a valuable skill to have. Knowing when someone is deceiving you can protect your finances, your professional interests, and your loved ones.Here to teach us some of the elements of this skill is Dr. David Lieberman, who’s a psychotherapist, a consultant to the military and other intelligence and defense agencies, and the author of Mindreader: The New Science of Deciphering What People Really Think, What They Really Want, and Who They Really Are. Today on the show, David explains why verbal cues offer a better window into people’s minds than body language, and the clues to look for in both spoken and written speech that can indicate whether someone is honest or deceptive. We also get into how to detect whether someone is mentally healthy or not, including the signs that you’re dealing with a psychopath.Resources Related to the PodcastDavid’s last appearance on the show: Episode #489 — How to Get a Handle on Your AngerThe Secret Life of Pronouns by James PennebakerAoM Podcast #364: How to Know When Someone Is Lying (From a Former CIA Officer)Ego syntonic and dystonicAoM Podcast #769: The New Science of NarcissismConnect With David LiebermanDavid on LinkedInDavid on Instagram

No kid forgets getting his first bike, nor the surge of independence he felt the first time he pedaled away from his parents. And even as adults, the bike seems to give off a feeling of romance, of freedom, and, when you get going fast enough, even of flying.The special allure of the bicycle can really be traced back to its simple yet elegant design, and my guest today will unpack the intriguing history of its creation. His name is Jody Rosen, and he’s the author of Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle. Today on the show, Jody explains the origins of the bicycle’s design, including how it was an anachronism at its birth, may have been inspired by a volcanic eruption, and helped liberate mankind from dependence on draft animals for transportation and exploration. We also get into how the bicycle was associated with flight right from the start. Along the way, we discuss how cycling represents an uncanny fusion of man and machine and produces a set of one-of-a-kind pleasures.This episode will make you want to mount your trusty bicycle steed and take a ride.Resources Related to the PodcastKarl Freiherr von Drais and his Laufmaschine, aka the velocipede, aka the dandy horseThe penny-farthing or high wheelAoM Article: How to “Teach” a Kid to Ride a Bike (Without Having to Teach Them at All)Connect With Jody RosenJody’s Website

Do you feel stuck in life? Inwardly you keep repeating the same thoughts, outwardly you keep repeating the same routine, and on and on a cycle of unhappy disappointment goes.To break the cycle, maybe what you need to do is watch a film that has become synonymous with this kind of stuck-ness — Groundhog Day — which my guest says contains the roadmap to escaping a life lived on autopilot. His name is Paul Hannam, he’s the author of The Wisdom of Groundhog Day: How to Improve Your Life One Day at a Time, and today on the show, Paul unpacks the deeper philosophical layers of what’s considered one of the best movies of all time. Paul explains how the film teaches us that to escape the ruts of what he calls the “Groundhog Day condition,” we must first make an inner change where we learn to approach life in a more grateful, present-focused, engaged way. From there, we can embrace the film’s unique strategy for change, which is to experiment with doing something new every day, thereby refining and improving our lives through the process of trial, error, and progressive improvement.Resources Related to the PodcastGroundhog DayAoM Article: Getting Over the Horror of the Same Old ThingAoM article on Nietzche’s idea of eternal return Sunday Firesides: Eternity Is NowSunday Firesides: Care, But Don’t CareSunday Firesides: Life Is a Skill — Practice ItAoM Podcast #676: Stop Living on Autopilot and Take Responsibility for Your LifeAoM Article: The Right and Wrong Way to JournalConnect With Paul HannamPaul’s WebsiteListen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)

When we think about people who can live anywhere, we tend to think about corporate-employed remote workers and online entrepreneurs. But many other kinds of professionals, from teachers to doctors, could hypothetically find a job anywhere, and thus live anywhere they’d like.If you’re what my guest Melody Warnick calls an “anywhereist” and have seriously or casually considered moving somewhere else, today we’ll talk through the factors to consider in making that decision. Melody is the author of If You Could Live Anywhere: The Surprising Importance of Place in a Work-from-Anywhere World, and in today’s conversation we discuss the factors that you should include in what she calls a “location strategy,” from the cost of living in a place to whether it allows you to build the kinds of relationships you’re looking for. We also talk about how the place you live can be part of your purpose in life and the elements that contribute to an overall quality of life.Resources Related to the PodcastMelody‘s previous appearance on the AoM Podcast: Episode #227 — The Art & Science of Loving the Place You LiveMelody‘s previous book — This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You AreTulsa’s remote worker programMake My Move — website which catalogs the various offers cities are making to entice people to move thereCNN’s cost of living calculator AoM Article: How to Make Friends in a New CityConnect With Melody WarnickMelody‘s Website

I've been barbell lifting for seven years. In that time I've hit some personal records that I'm proud of: a 615-lb deadlift, 225 shoulder press, and 465 squat. The last couple years though, I haven't notched these kinds of big milestones for a combination of reasons, including dealing with injuries, having less time, and experiencing a shift in motivation.A lot of lifters, as well as amateur athletes of all kinds, will follow a similar trajectory as they move from first starting out to getting deeper into their fitness journey. Here to walk us through the phases of that journey is my own strength coach, Matt Reynolds, who's the founder of Barbell Logic Online Coaching. Matt talks about how the things his lifters focus on change as they move from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced, and why it takes longer to get stronger the longer you've been lifting. We then discuss how to rediscover your motivation for training once progress in your one rep maxes slows down by finding new PRs to chase and learning to enjoy the process over the outcome. We also get into how to stay consistent with your workouts when life gets busier as you get older, as well as how to deal with common injuries — both the injuries themselves and the mental game of working through them.Resources Related to the PodcastMatt’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #154 — Strength Training for EveryoneThe BarbellLogic PodcastAoM Article: Why Every Man Should Be StrongAoM Article: Motivation Over Discipline AoM Article: How to Treat Bicep TendonitisAoM Article: How to Treat Adductor TendonitisAoM Article: The Starr Protocol for Rehabbing Muscle Tears and StrainsConnect With Matt ReynoldsMatt at BarbellLogic