The Science of Success

In this episode we discuss how our guest went from a hard-nosed skeptic who thought most self help was BS, to someone who uncovered the evidence based growth strategies that actually work. We talk about our guest’s journey from meeting self help gurus, to spiritual teachers, and neuroscientists to discover the biggest lessons about improving your mind and body, and the simple, scientifically validated tool that evidence demonstrates is the best way to be happier with Dan Harris.      Dan Harris is a correspondent for ABC News and the co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America. Dan regularly contributes to Nightline, 20/20, and World News and has covered stories from all over the world including war reporting in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as investigative reports in Haiti, Cambodia, the Congo and more. Dan is the author of the book 10% Happier and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Dr. OZ, Good Morning America, and much more.    How Dan went from being a skeptical hard-nosed reporter who thought meditation and self was was largely “bulls**t”What happened when Dan had a panic attack in front of 5 million people on Live TVWhat it’s like to have your mind get hijacked by the most boring person aliveDan’s journey of visiting self help gurus, religious leaders, neuroscientists and more led him to one major conclusion about how to improve your brain and your bodyHow many self help gurus are correct, but often not useful in a practical senseSimple and scientifically validated tool to deal with the voice in your headThe secrets of "contemplative neuroscientists"How to train up the ability to focus, deal with emotions, be nice to other people, be nice to yourself, have patience, and be gratefulThe radical notion, supported by research, that you can literally train and transform your brain to prime it for happinessHappiness is skill, according to the science, and it can be trainedThere are thousands of kinds of meditation and it’s not useful to get overly dogmatic about the superiority of one method over the otherDan gravitates towards mindfulness meditation because it has valuable and strong research supporting itThe basic and simple strategy you can use to start meditating RIGHT NOWYou don’t need to clear your mind - clearing your mind is impossibleThink about meditation like going to the gym - if you’re not sweating and panting you're not doing it right, meditation is like bicep curls for the brain. The whole game of meditation is have the collision with the voice in your head and return to breath How to defeat anxiety, depression, and panic attacks using meditation What to do if you don’t have enough time to meditate The different between responding wisely and reacting blindly How do we strike a balance between acceptance/mindfulness and achievement? Non-attachment to results - you are not fully in control of the universe - everything is interconnected and multifactorial - the wise stance for an ambitious person is to recognize that you shouldn’t be attached to results How do we battle back from nihilism if we go to deep down the path of buddhism? We do have some agency to impact the universe, but we aren’t the master of the universe The importance of seeing things as they are instead of as you want them to be Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss the groundbreaking research behind the ancient molecule that fuels peak performance, the foundations of neuroeconomics, how our brains react during social interactions, we examine how our brains are designed to connect and built to work cooperatively, we dig into the power of oxytocin and how you can increase it in your life, and much more with Dr. Paul Zak.     Dr. Paul Zak is founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology, and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He was also among the team of scientists who were the first to use brain imaging to identify the role of oxytocin as a key driver of trust, love, and morality that distinguish our humanity. Paul is the author of the new book Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies and has appeared on ABC World News, CNN, Fox Business, and more.    Paul founded the field of Neuroeconomics - what is that? How are humans able to interact with total strangers when that is impossible in the animal kingdom? How do our brains balance the risks of meeting a stranger vs the benefits of increased social influence? Our brains live in this soup of chemicals, none of which we are aware of consciously How Paul’s groundbreaking research transformed what scientists thought about the production of oxytocin and how humans build trust  Oxytocin is an on/off switch Paul challenges the listeners to a fight!  Our brains naturally help us adapt to the environment we are in How do we get people in groups to perform at their highest level How you can train your brain to release more oxytocin Learn how to read the emotional state of the people around you How “listening with your eyes” can help boost your oxytocin and help you become more in sync with people The “evil trick” you can use to get tons of information when you meet someone (it’s NOT what you expect!) Our brains are designed to connect, we want to be connected. We are naturally open to touch. Our brains are built to work cooperatively.  Strategies you can use in your daily life to increase your oxytocin  How companies can measure and manage their culture for high trust and high performance The 8 key building blocks leaders can use to build trust and improve high performance Paul focuses on measuring brain activity and use that to solve real problems that humans have. The neuroscience firmly demonstrates the power and vital importance of sleep  How you can implement concrete changes to get the biggest bang for your buck in building a culture of high performance We trust people more who are their real, vulnerable, natural selves Why you should replace “how was your weekend” with “hey you look really ” to build deeper relationships Almost no human can survive on their own - we only survive in groups - we must understand how to engage the groups that we are constantly around Science predicts, and data strongly supports, that people want to be and enjoy being part of high performance groups Why isn’t work an adventure? How can we make a work an adventure Connecting, touching, giving a gift - give the gift of connection, empowerment, love, to someone around you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss How To Use “Mind Control” Techniques to Create Any Habit You Want, why we are driven much more by pain than pleasure, the “hook” model for describing human behavior, how to hack your rewards to change your behavior, the power of tiny amounts of friction, and much more with Nir Eyal.    Nir Eyal is an expert in “behavioral design” having worked in both advertising and video gaming helping companies build and create more engaging products. Nir is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the book Hooked: How To Build Habit Forming Products and has been featured in Forbes, Psychology Today, and more. Nir is an active angel investor and currently writes to help companies create good habit and behaviors in their users on his blog NirandFar.com.   We discuss:   Persuasion, mind control, and behavioral design What is a habit and how do you define it? How we can leverage technology to build healthier habits How 50% of your actions take place with little or no unconscious thought Internal vs External triggers  There is only one reason you use a product or service - to modulate your mood - that’s it Our behaviors are driven NOT by seeking of pleasure, but rather the quelling of a unconformable emotion  Figure out what your frequently occurring internal triggers are We are driven more by PAIN than by PLEASURE There’s no end to what we can accomplish if we can understand that pain is our primary motivator Even seeking pleasure = satisfying the PAIN of WANTING The power of the unknown to draw us in  The 4 stages of the “Hook” Model on how Habits are formed and sustained Rewards are actually wanting to quell the “stress of desire” Discomfort drives us to action How the same mental hardwiring behind addiction also underpins love and desire The easier you can make a behavior the more likely people are to do it The biggest thing that drives people to adopt technology is making life EASIER Reward itself doesn’t have much impact on your brain, its the anticipation of the reward that drives us  3 Kinds of Variable Rewards Rewards of the Tribe Rewards of the Hunt Rewards of the Self Belief is as much of a factor in addiction as physical dependency itself How making a behavior just a little bit easier can have dramatic results How to put the hook model in reverse and destroy bad habits How putting space between steps in your habit loop can create massive changes How can you make bad habits more difficult, take longer, or be harder to do? How you can use “temptation bundling” to break the hold of variable rewards in your habit loop Never do something when you don’t have the end in sight - do things that have a finite END so that you don’t get hooked Key question you must ask yourself: Is this technology serving ME, or am I serving IT? One simple piece of advice to implement the ideas discussed in this interview right away How to leverage technology to combat technology that is distracting you  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we discuss what happened when our guest astronaut Chris Hadfield went blind during a space walk - and how he made it out alive. We talk about the mental toughness necessary to survive extremely dangerous situations like that, discuss in depth how astronauts deal with fear, look at the vital importance of powerful training to deal with huge risks, and much more with  Chris Hadfield.     Chris Hadfield, who the BBC called “the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong" has been a part of several space missions with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. He served as Chief of Robotics and Chief of International Space Station Operations. Chris was the first Canadian to command the International Space Station and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and inducted to the Canadian Aviation Hall Of Fame. In addition to his work as an engineer and astronaut Chris is an author, musician, and speaker.     We discuss:    The 3 key things that enabled chris to make it all the way through the astronaut selection process How Chris survived going BLIND during a space walk in outer space!! How astronauts rescue incapacitated crew in outer space How to cultivate the mental toughness to survive the most dangerous situations imaginable The learned and trained ability to deal with extremely complex circumstances Why Chris was an astronaut for 21 years and only spent 6 months in space, thats how important training is In outer space, you can’t count on luck, you count on your own learned ability to deal with the probable things that could go wrong How NASA develops training programs to do everything possible to be successful The vital importance of visualizing failure and understanding what could go wrong Astronauts don’t visualize success, they practice for failure, all the time Visualize failure, incrementally improve, don't count on luck NASA’s Recipe for Success The relationship between DANGER and FEAR Things don’t change whether or not you are afraid of them - the ONLY question is whether or not you are prepared Your body’s physiology reacts to being unprepared to a dangers situation with a reaction we simply call “fear” FEAR = LACK OF PREPARATION Perpetual fear = STRESS (and overwhelm) Listen to fear, but don’t keep fear from allowing you to dictate your life How do you change your own threshold of fear? Recognize real threats through the noise of the non threats if you dont know what to be afraid fo, then your afraid of everything the difference between belief and knowledge If you're afraid of a jaguar, should you be afraid of a kitten? One of the ways to increase your own significance is to exaggerate your problems Why the perception that the world is more dangerous now than ever is fundamentally flawed "The Sky is Not The Limit" Life is TOUGH and the earth is TOUGH - it’s been here for 4.5 billion years The perspective of an astronaut viewing the entire world from above Why Chris recommends that you should “aim to be a zero” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss how neurology's perspective on the brain fundamentally ignores the health of the entire system, we look at your gut biome’s role in depression, mood regulation and how the microbiome controls your behavior and emotions, we ask why it is so hard for people to break negative eating habits, talk about the biochemistry of addiction, the incredible importance of understanding your microbiome and gut health with Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary.      Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary is a neuroscientist and Ayurveda expert. She has participated in over 20 clinical research studies working with new stem cell therapies for diabetic neuropathy and drug development for the treatment of ALS. Dr. Chaudhary is the author of The Prime: Prepare and Repair Your Body for Spontaneous Weight Loss, and is a regular guest on the Dr. Oz show!    How Dr. Chaudhary’s personal experience led her down the path of integrative medicine The health of the brain is highly dependent on the health of the gut Auyerveda is the oldest recorded medical system in the world - one of the oldest forms of “lifestyle medicine" Why food is medicine How the Neurologist’s perspective on the brain fundamentally ignores the health of the entire system Dr. Chaudhary’s perspective on how eastern & integrative medicine can be integrated with western science to form a more holistic solution for health Tumeric is a great example of a spice that has scientifically demonstrated health benefits Micro-biome & gut health underpins huge medical issues Western medicine is just now catching up with insights from 5000 year old holistic medicines 90% of your serotonin comes from your gut and gut health is a major factor in depression  Scientifically, the mind and mental health are deeply connected and directly related gut health Why is it so hard for people to break negative eating habits? Is it really just a question of willpower? The neurochemistry and biochemistry that underpins negative eating habits Your micro biome itself can shift your eating habits and make you desire and consume certain foods Why 85% of people cannot change the way they are eating with willpower The biochemistry of addiction and food addiction & the role dopamine plays  How food scientists have engineered junk food to produce massive dopamine spikes The dangers of overstimulated dopamine receptors and how they lead to addiction An obese person’s brain chemistry responds the same way to sugar as a cocaine addict responds to cocaine Environmental toxins and toxic inflammation and how they impact your body Enteric nervous system - the “brain inside your gut” which produces 95% of the serotonin and 50% of the dopamine in your body “The gut does most of the talking and the brain does most of the listening” Who dictates the content of what the gut says? The Microbiome  "How smart is your gut?" How fecal matter transplants in mice can completely reverse genetically engineered personality traits Research clearly demonstrates that your micro-biome controls your behavior and emotions We are still in the infancy of discovering and understanding the microbiome - there is a lot of “noise” that’s hard to understand Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss the darker side of how the US military influences human behavior - we touch on brainwashing, reading human body language, creating Manchurian candidates, how this one psychological bias can convince strangers to murder someone more than 80% of the time, how to profile someone and search for their weaknesses, and much more with Chase Hughes.      Chase Hughes is the founder of Ellipsis Behavior Laboratories and the amazon bestselling author of The Ellipsis Manual. Chase previously served in the US Navy as part of the correctional and prisoner management departments. Chase speaks on a variety of topics including brainwashing and attraction and frequently develops new programs for the US Government and members of anti human-trafficking teams around the world.     We discuss:    How seeing "how weak and vulnerable everyone was" transformed Chase’s worldview Is it possible to create real world Manchurian candidates?  Why you’re grossly underestimating the work necessary to read human body language and understand human behavior Why the typical strategies of influence won’t work unless you can profile and understand the individual - and tailor what you’re saying and doing to meet that individuals weaknesses and needs Simple questions you can use to “disengage someone from autopilot” and break the pattern they are stuck in How you can develop “FIC" to hack human behavior  Focus Interest Curiosity The “RAS” - reticular activation system - constantly looking for things that are threats and things that are socially valuable How the Milgrim experiment fundamentally demonstrates the incredible power of the authority bias The one strategy that can be effective influencing strangers to commit murder more than 80% of the time The 5 key factors you can use to hack authority and trigger an “obedient” response Dominance / ambition  Discipline Leadership Gratitude Fun /  sense of adventure When we interact with authority we go through an “agentic” shift - our brain shifts responsibility for our own actions onto the person who instructed us to do it - you can make people take extreme behaviors if you get them to give YOU responsibility for their actions Master yourself first before you can influence others Master environment first Master your time - keeping a plan and sticking to it Master the mechanics of your habits Master your attention span Tactics for mastering authority today Express genuine interest in other people and make them feel INTERESTING not interested Remember the phrase - LEADERSHIP through SUPPORT The people who think they are alpha males are usually NOT the alpha male - big dogs don’t feel the need to bark The Columbo method - make deliberate social errors, be vulnerable, start with an insecurity - that helps open people up to influence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How this FBI spy recruiter hacked evolutionary psychology to learn to change anyone’s behavior, 5 steps for “strategizing” trust, how to get someone’s brain to reward them for engaging with you, the vital importance of self awareness, the power of not keeping score, and much more with Robin Dreeke.      Robin began his career in law enforcement in 1997 after serving in the United States Marine Corp. Robin has directed the behavior analysis program of a federal law enforcement agency and has received training and operational experience in social psychology and the science of relationship management. Robin is currently an agent of the FBI and the author of “It’s Not All About “Me”” and the upcoming book The Code of Trust.    How Robin went from being a hard charging type-a individual to learning the principles of actually inspiring people and changing behavior Robin’s main job was to recruit spies How manipulating, pressuring, bullying people doesn’t work - and why learning that lessons in counter-intelligence is one of the most powerful places to learn the lesson The Art Form of Inspirating Anyone and Getting them to do what you want The New Car Effect - and what that has to do with influencing and inspiring anyone "Strategizing Trust" - the five steps of trust  How the old conception of leadership is flawed and ineffective How being hard charging, type-a, and in your face is backwards from what you need to be successful How the crucible of counter-intelligence doesn’t afford you the luxury of making mistakes - and the strategies that come out of that for influencing others When people don’t have to talk to you and don’t care about your title and position - you have to find the strategies that work The vital importance of self awareness and honest self assessment What you think you’re projecting to the world is often not what the world is seeing How ego, vanity, and insecurities can hijack what you say and do Listen to the people around you, take feedback, and learn how you can change How strategies of inspiration and influence focus almost exclusively on the other person Focus on other people, what their priorities are, and what’s important to them - that’s how you can change their behavior and influence them Why should someone want to talk to you, listen to you, and do what you want? Think in terms of inspiring other people, not manipulating them How seeking other people's thoughts and opinions can help you neurobiologically build trust with them Leaders don’t keep scorecards. Give and let go. And wait.  When you honor the healthy and happy relationships - everything falls into place and flows very easily How to get someone’s brain to reward them for engaging with you Honesty is one of the critical factors  Why you shouldn’t convince, cajole, and manipulate people How the FBI spy recruits hacked evolutionary psychology to learn to change anyone’s behavior How the use of lies and deception can destroy trust forever It cost nothing to make it about other people and its one of the simplest strategies in the world - and can have a huge impact on your ability to influence and inspire  Become an available resource for other people Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we ask "do you have to be ruthless to succeed?”, we examine how compassion is powerfully linked with success, we discuss the essential task of challenging your own world view and seeking evidence you disagree with, learn how to ask great questions, and much more with Dr. Chris Kukk.      Dr. Chris Kukk is a former counter intelligence agent, now a professor of Political and Social Science at Western Connecticut State University. He is the founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity, and Innovation. He is the author of the newly released book The Compassionate Achiever and has been featured on NPR, NBC, The Economist, and more    Social and emotional learning and how Chris is using that to transform early childhood education How positivity and compassion can spread from the bottom up to change schools The neuroscience behind how compassion helps children learn more effectively Why cultivating personal awareness is the first step to mastery With meditation you catch more than you miss, without it, you miss more than you catch What did Charles Darwin have to say about how compassion impacts the “survival of the fittest” How a focus on helping one another moves society forward Why the conception of compassion as “soft” or “weak” is completely wrong How compassion is powerfully linked with success Mother Theresa’s “Ripple of Kindness”  Do you have to be ruthless in order to succeed? Compassion enables you to have sustained success Lessons from Enron What psychology and neuroscience studies show about extrinsic focus vs intrinsic focus on your achievement How Utah has saved money by pursuing a policy of compassion in solving homelessness The “4 step program” for cultivating compassion that you can start implementing right now The power of “LUCA” The power of listening to learn instead of listening to reply The definition of compassion - understanding and taking action How we can “understand to know” and build a deeper mosaic of understanding to find common solutions to our problems Connecting to capabilities, reaching beyond yourself to help people with the human potential hidden in plain sight The essential task of challenging your own world view and seeking disconfirming evidence  All feedback makes you stronger, ideology fears the truth, wisdom seeks it  The buddhist concept of “fierce compassion” Remember, water cuts through rock over time What are “knownaughts” and “noxxers”? The power of connection to make your success limitless How do we ask great questions (and why its so important to do that)? The great question is like the lens of a camera, the aperture shapes what you see on the other side The words that you use frame the way you see a problem How silence can open up doorways for deeper understanding Lessons from counter intelligence interrogations about how we can become better listeners The power of "nondoing" Practical steps you can implement right now to begin walking the path of compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss habit loops, how they form, and what they are, we look at why you can’t stop picking up your phone (I know that’s definitely a challenge for me), the habits and routines that research shows are most correlated with success, how to bake mental models into your brain, and much more with Charles Duhigg.     Charles is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and senior editor at The New York Times. Charles is the author of “The Power of Habit,” which spent over two years on the New York Times best-seller list, and more recently “Smarter Faster Better,” also a New York Times best seller. Charles graduated from Yale University, Harvard Business School and has been featured in This American Life, N.P.R, Frontline, and much more.     We discuss:    Habit Loops, what they are and how they form 40-45% of what we do every single day is not a decision it's a habit Emotional cue for checking your phone and "novelty seeking" How your brain makes that behavior automatic because it's delivering a reward How to break habits What Reward are you seeking? Get as specific as possible Figure out the REWARD, then reprogram the HABIT Keystone habits and how they can transform your identity and create a chain reaction Why it's that the most successful people work harder, they just think differently The rituals and habits of people who are more productive Why its not being smarter, its not working harder, its not going to the right schools - the research shows that what correlates the MOST with success is that the people who are most successful tend to have “contemplative routines”, habits in their lives that push them to think more deeply Journaling is a great example of a contemplative routine that can make you be more productive Being busy and being productive are not synonymous Thinking has always been the killer "productivity app" The story of Quantas Flight 32 Maintaining focus while in the middle of a crashing airplane and how to cultivate situational awareness How Firefighters develop ESP Building a story, a mental model of a situation, and how that can shape your situational awareness The vital importance of building mental models Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss how you can fall into cycles of self sabotage and constantly reset your happiness down to where you think it should be, lessons learned from coaching over 20,000 people, how to crush upper limit problems and break through the beliefs holding you back, the questions you need to discover and live in your zone of genius, and much more with Dr. Gay Hendricks.      Dr. Gay Hendricks is the president of the Hendricks Institute, he earned his Ph.D in counselling psychology from Stanford and taught at the university of Colorado for 21 years and conducted seminars across the globe. He is also a multi bestselling author, having written more than 40 books and his work has been featured on CNN, CNBC, Oprah, and more.     We discuss:    Gay’s "encounter with destiny" and how it “knocked him out” of his usual way of thinking Lessons from training thousands of counselors and coaches to help people transform their lives Lessons from counseling and coaching over 20,000 individuals! How Gay went from 300+ lbs, smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes per day, and transformed his entire life The two “big ideas” from the Big Leap Upper Limit Problems Occupying your Zone of Genius What are "Upper Limit Problems?" How to Occupying your “Zone of Genius" Often times its not the lack of business skills that stifle us, its lack of heart centric communication skills If you’re able to bring forth what is within you, it will pave the path to success - but if you keep your emotions in, you stifle yourself How a tiny bit of misalignment can create echos and rattles throughout your life How we fall into cycles of self sabotage to “reset” our happiness down to where we think it should be We often manufacture fears, stresses, and anxieties to stop ourselves from feeling good The core fears you experience underpinning that Upper Limit Problem #1 The Fear of Outshining #2 The Fear of Being Fundamentally Flawed Upper limit problems are rooted in fear - unless we come to terms with those - we cannot actualize our full potential How to explore, lovingly, your own fears and limitations The concept of having enough vs having plenty  #3 The Fear of Leaving Behind or being disloyal to the people you care about Do you ever feel like “things are going too well, now something bad is going to happen” Focusing on what can go wrong is useful if we TAKE ACTION about it, but if we can’t act on it, its just useless worrying The “quick fix” for blame and criticism - get underneath the blame, own what you’re afraid of that is causing that blame and talk about it openly and honestly  How to fix broken relationships and heal communication problems in 10 minutes or less Self criticism is rooted in FEAR - something you’re afraid of in yourself, or something your afraid to communicate to someone else - what is it that im basically afraid of? Can honesty (with ourselves and our relationships) reduce suffering? Ultimate success mantra - I expand in love, abundance, creativity, and success every day as I inspire other people to expand in love, abundance, success, and creativity!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.