SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay

Dr. Edith Eger is one of the most impressive people I have ever met.  Edie was born in 1927 in Hungary. In her teens, she was an Olympic-level gymnast but, because she was Jewish, was not allowed to participate on the Olympic team. Shortly after, she and her family were sent by cattle train to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. In addition to losing her mother and her father there, she endured a version of hell that few of us could ever know. Nearly 15,000 Jews from her town were killed in the Holocaust; Edie was one of just 70 to survive.  Afterward, she made it her mission to live life with an open heart. She moved to the United States with her husband, raised three children, and worked first as a factory worker and later as a teacher.  And then, with the encouragement of Dr. Viktor Fankl, a fellow Auschwitz survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, she earned her doctorate in clinical psychology at 50 years of age and became a licensed psychologist. She is the author of two bestselling books, The Choice and The Gift, and both chronicle her experiences at Auschwitz, her life afterward, and her work as a psychologist.  I consider them two of the finest books I have read, and I am hardly alone.  The New York Times Book Review writes, “I can’t imagine a more important message for modern times. Eger’s book is a triumph, and should be read by all who care about both their inner freedom and the future of humanity.” Sadly, the people who survived the Holocaust are dying and their voices become scarcer by the day. This makes this episode all the more precious. It is my sincerest hope that you will be as positively affected by Edie as I have been. And do you remember how I mentioned that Edie was an Olympic-level gymnast?  Neither Auschwitz nor age has been able to take that away from her and, to this day at an age north of 90 years old, she concludes all of her presentations and public talks with a kick. Book link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/150113079X/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_GBBCVV49QF0SWY3JBDFG?linkCode=ml2&tag=superpsyche0b-20 and https://amzn.to/3X7W3vx This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

Each of us is unique; there has never been anyone exactly like us and there never will be again. One of the greatest risks we face in life is living day-to-day without any reflection on who we are, what we've done, where we've been, and what really matters to us. Enter Guided Autobiography, a brilliant system of capturing who you are. Guided Autobiography was developed by USC Professor James Birren and is described as a system that captures our lives through writing, sharing, and preserving life stories and experiences. Today’s guest, Dr. Bonnie Bernell, is a psychologist, author, professor, and she is 2019’s Recipient of the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Award from the California Psychological Association. Bonnie is also a seasoned Guided Autobiography facilitator. Through this approach, she has midwived stories and unexpected and unclaimed parts of people’s lives that might have gone undiscovered without this powerful tool. Bonnie’s forthcoming book, co-written with Dr. Cheryl Svensson, is called Treasures that Matter, and it uses the Guided Autobiography protocol and is addressed to the psychologically curious person around aging. On a personal note, and as you will learn in this interview, Bonnie has been a dear friend and one of my most important mentors. You will be learning from someone I consider a true master. So, listen in as Bonnie and I have a lively and user-friendly conversation about Guided Autobiography, and I expect it will enrich your lives. Book link: https://amzn.to/3PbyoIt This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

We like to think of ourselves as good people. When we see or hear about injustices, most of us think we would do the right thing whether it would be defying authority in order to help people or by demonstrating courage under challenging circumstances. And yet, studies and history reveal that we often do nothing, conform with brutality, or comply with authority. It appears that the line between doing good versus doing evil may be thinner than any of us would prefer to imagine. My guest, Dr. Philip Zimbardo has taught psychology at Stanford University for over 50 years and was the author and lead researcher of the internationally famous Stanford Prison Experiment. The results of the study, which is now a landmark in social psychology, suggest that otherwise psychologically healthy people can behave badly under the right circumstances. Dr. Zimbardo has done deep research into the evil humans can perform and, more recently, he has done a 180 and become an important voice in studying its opposite: heroism. His Heroic Imagination Project (www.heroicimagination.org) uses scientific research to teach us to harness our abilities to act heroically and override any innate biases that might cause us to conform or to be bystanders rather than upstanders. The program has garnered tremendous praise and has been implemented into training programs at police departments, public schools, and other organizations. So, listen in, as Dr. Zimbardo and I discuss the good and evil that humans are capable of doing and how to call upon our better selves under stress. Book link: https://amzn.to/45YYO69 This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

We hear a lot about ADHD these days. And yet, there are misconceptions about what it actually is and what a person can do if they are diagnosed with the condition. What may surprise people is that there can be many great gifts that often accompany ADHD. My guest, Dr. Lara Honos-Webb (www.addisagift.com), is a psychologist in private practice in Walnut Creek, CA, and she specializes in the study and treatment of ADHD in both adults and children.  She has written many highly-acclaimed books about ADHD.  The School Library Journal said that her work provides a “clear and stimulating guide for teens to sharpen their ability to control their thoughts and actions.” I am a fan of Lara and I just listened to the audio version of her book called Brain Hacks.  I found it to be a superb compendium of easy-to-implement tips on boosting any person's brain whether ADHD is in the mix or not. In this interview, Lara goes into depth about what a person can do if they or someone they love has an ADHD diagnosis.  I am so grateful to Lara for her work and for joining me on this interview, and I am confident you will learn a lot from her as she shares her incredible gems. Book link: https://amzn.to/43WM7H9 This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

All of us live with what could be described as treasure chests of genius just waiting to be discovered. The question is how can you find those treasures? My guest, Michael Gelb is one of the world’s leading authorities on the application of genius thinking and could be considered the Indiana Jones of finding people’s treasures.  And, as you’ll hear, he has done so much in his life! He once taught Mick Jagger to juggle. You’ll also hear how to discover the gifts that can make your life truly vital and full of delight.  Michael is the author of 17 books including, How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, a book that provides superb prompts to find your genius and ideas for being creative like Da Vinci. I have been a fan of Michael’s work for well over a decade and have read many of his books. His real-world solutions have helped me immensely.  In this episode, you’ll receive great tips from a true master of tapping into your unique treasures. So, listen in as Michael and I have a user-friendly discussion about finding your hidden genius. Book link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0440508274/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_WXCV46BDM1YZT5QSWAN2?linkCode=ml2&tag=superpsyche0b-20 This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

Our decisions are one of the biggest factors determining the quality of our lives. We make as many as 35,000 decisions every day; most are unconscious or small, like “When will I get out of bed?” and some can be big like “Who will I marry or where will I go to college?” And, when you think about it, every conscious decision we make is essentially a bet: it is a bet that we will be happy we made that decision. And yet, as humans, we have many biases that may inhibit good decision making. For example, shocking as this may sound, we tend to change facts in order to accommodate our beliefs when it should be the opposite: we actually need to be able to change our beliefs in order to accommodate new facts. Making matters worse, we generally don't have good systems in place to analyze our decisions to get better at making similar decisions next time. My guest on this episode is a true expert when it comes to decision making. Annie Duke has nearly finished her doctorate in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania but it gets way more interesting. She has also made high stakes decisions for many years as one of the most successful professional female poker players of all time. She has also authored several bestselling books including, Thinking in Bets, which has been hailed by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and by luminaries in business like Marc Andreessen. Annie provides keen and actionable insights into how we are blind to our decision-making processes and real-world solutions to improving this crucial skill. Book link: https://amzn.to/3Pei8GC This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

What does it take to create success on your own terms? I know that’s a massive question. We all recognize predictable skills to increase the likelihood of that success like clarity, discipline, habits, mindset, and navigating relationships. Yet, there can be a chasm between what we know intellectually and what we put into regular practice. I had the pleasure of speaking with, Shellye Archambeau, an exemplar of excellence who has lived the best practices of leadership as a CEO, senior executive, and board member at multiple high profile high-tech companies. Shellye was named the second most influential African American in IT by Business Insider magazine and she is the author of a book that serves as a roadmap to successful leadership. The book is called Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers and Create Success on Your Own Terms, and it was named a Best Business Book of 2020 by both Fortune and Bloomberg. Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Ben Horrowitz, said of her book, “If your goal is to be a truly great leader of men and women, you have found your guide." I agree so much so that I have read this book several times. I find Shellye’s wisdom, humanity, and ability to convey her world-class experience in an actionable fashion, simply phenomenal. Among the elements of success unpacked are the importance of mentorship and finding your cheerleaders. Shellye’s voice is so strong and clear that, as I read her book, I felt her becoming both a mentor and a cheerleader to me! So, join Shellye and me as we have a lively and informative discussion about how to create success on your own terms. Book link: https://amzn.to/43UU67J This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

Our education system provides many incredible resources and yet, there is no class on how to be in a relationship. And, when we think about all of what life has to offer, the quality of our relationships repeatedly shows up as one of the most important. I would like to petition that the class exist and, if there were such a class, I would nominate this episode’s guest to be one of the instructors! Padma Gordon (www.padmagordon.com) has written an outstanding book that serves as a roadmap of highly implementable skills to improve your chances of having a great relationship. Her book, Being Together: Practical Wisdom for Loving Yourself and Your Partner, is now available in print and on audio. It has a five-star average on Amazon and, New York Times bestselling author, Marci Shimoff whose expertise includes relationships said of Padma’s book, “I’m grateful to gain a new perspective and tools, and to be gently reminded about how to be fully present for myself and my partner.” I loved my conversation with Padma, I learned a lot, and I'm confident you will too. So, listen in as Padma and I have a user-friendly and lively talk about the roadmap for a healthy relationship. Book link: https://amzn.to/3JdMN3b This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

To put it mildly, 2020 has been a challenging year. I decided the best way for SuperPsyched to cap it was with the sweetest invention known to humanity: ice cream! Ice cream could practically be considered a psychoactive substance: it’s been used by the military to soothe soldiers after trauma and, of course, it has been a tried-and-true post-breakup remedy for many broken hearts. The best person to walk us through the psychological and sociological factors of this frozen treat is Amy Ettinger (http://amyettinger.com/). Amy is a journalist and the author of a book called The Sweet Spot. The Wall Street Journal called her book, “A surprisingly serious, impressively thorough treatment of ice cream’s cultural significance, fabrication, economics and history, not to mention its effect on human brain chemistry.” As for me, I enjoyed the book so much that I listened to it twice and I loved the conversation I had on this episode with Amy. If you like ice cream, I am confident you will too! So listen in as Amy and I have a lively and informative talk about your brain on ice cream. Book link: https://amzn.to/3NtvqOo This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).

Regardless of our political leanings, I think we can all agree on at least one thing: we are living in polarized times. Many people are avoiding friends and family and even losing those relationships due to political leanings. Which leaves us with a big question: what can we do? Enter the great Dr. Tania Israel (http://taniaisrael.com/)! Tania is an exceptionally well-regarded professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara and the author of a timely book called “Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work.” The book has received huge amounts of praise from the New York Times, The Washington Post, and the American Psychological Association has put it in its LifeTools Series. Tania provides much needed levity as well as serious structure for this heavy topic throughout the book and our interview. I love her brilliant roadmap for conversation in what she calls The Flowchart That Will End All Political Conflict in Our Country (you can find the link for it at the bottom of the shownotes). In the meantime, listen in as Tania shares her wisdom and practical tools to help you connect with people who think outside your bubble. http://taniaisrael.com/beyondthebubbleworkshop/dialogue-flowchart/ Book link: https://amzn.to/3J7WDTV This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).