All It Takes Is A Goal

Creativity and innovation are commonly viewed as fleeting moments of inspiration that must be grand, life-altering, and totally new. No wonder they can feel so intimidating. But what if they were actually muscles that could be stretched and grown slowly over time with practice?In this episode Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s acclaimed Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka the d.school), Jeremy Utley is here to teach you how to do that. Jeremy is a self-proclaimed “recovering MBA, spreadsheet junkie, and management consultant,” who now studies innovation in large enterprises and startups. In this episode, he’ll teach you how to tap into your Idea Flow, reframe problems, and provoke your imagination so that creativity becomes as natural as learning any other skill.Jeremy's Book List:The Idea Factory by Jon GertnerShoe Dog by Phil NightBenjamin Franklin by Walter IsaacsonWhere Good Ideas Come From by Stephen JohnsonCreativity Inc by Ed CatmullIn This Episode:Buy a copy of Jeremy's book IdeaFlowListen to Jeremy’s PodcastVisit Jeremy’s Website: ideaflow.design and jeremyutley.designFollow Jeremy on Twitter or LinkedInGrab your copy of the 2023 Finish Calendar!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

We all have a finite number of hours in the week (168 to be exact), and oftentimes it doesn’t feel like enough for everything we want to do. But what if there was a way to fit all the most important things into your schedule? What if you could actually pursue all the personal and professional goals you have and have them live in harmony?Laura Vanderkam is a time-management expert and author of the new book, Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. She’s also a mom of five and knows how challenging it can be to make time work for you not against you. She joins me for an incredible conversation about prioritizing what matters, finding time for the work and people you love, and so much more!Laura's Book List:Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. CoveyIn This Episode:Buy a copy of Laura’s new book!Listen to Laura’s podcasts: Before Breakfast & Best of Both WorldsVisit Laura’s WebsiteFollow Laura on Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, and FacebookGrab your copy of the 2023 Finish Calendar!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

The people that struggle most with discipline aren't always Netflix-obsessed couch lovers. A lot of times, it's very successful, high-achieving individuals that have a hard time with it…but why?Ryan Holiday would explain that it’s those people who have a tendency to be overly-disciplined causing them to risk things like health, happiness, and relationships. Ryan is the bestselling author of many books including Trust Me, I’m Lying, The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, and his latest book, Discipline is Destiny. He joins me for a conversation about striking the right balance of discipline, using “pullback” methods, and so much more!Ryan's Book List:Meditations: A New Translation, by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays TranslationMastery by Robert GreeneThe War of Art by Steven PressfieldLeadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns GoodwinIn This Episode:Buy a copy of Ryan’s new bookVisit Ryan’s Website Listen to Ryan’s PodcastRead more from Ryan online: The Daily StoicFollow Ryan on social media: @ryanholiday @dailystoic Grab your copy of the 2023 Finish Calendar!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Why do some people seem to effortlessly thrive at their work while some of us feel like we’re constantly just trying to make it through the week? Patrick Lencioni would tell you that it’s because some of us are excelling in our area of genius, while others of us are trying to tap into strengths we don’t have or don’t enjoy.Patrick is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 12 books, which have sold over 7 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. As President of the Table Group, Patrick spends his time speaking and writing about leadership, teamwork, and organizational health and consulting with executives and their teams. He joins me for a conversation about the six different areas of genius and how you can tap into yours so that your work becomes easier and more enjoyable.In This Episode:Buy a copy of Pat’s new bookListen to Pat’s podcastVisit Pat’s websiteFollow Pat on LinkedInPat's Book List:Drunks and Monks by John H. CarmichaelBuilt to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. PorrasSearching for and Maintaining of Peace by Jacques PhilippeAbsolute Relativism by Chris StefanickGrab your copy of the 2023 Finish Calendar!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Is it really possible to change the future or do our pasts dictate who we are destined to become? Nona Jones would tell you that the future is yours to shape, no matter the circumstances you come from. She had the sort of childhood no one expects good things to come from, so she flipped the script on the world.Nona is now an international speaker, preacher, author, and the head of global faith-based partnerships at Facebook. She is a graduate of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program and was named one of Essence Magazine’s “Under 40 Women to Watch.” She most recently served as Secretary of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association Board of Directors and on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. Presently she leads a church with her husband in Gainesville, Florida. Nona joined me for an incredible conversation about rejection, redemption, and becoming who you were meant to be despite what you have to overcome.Nona's Book List:Essentialism by Greg McKeownDeep Work by Cal NewportIn This Episode:Buy a copy of Nona’s new book!Listen to Nona’s podcastVisit Nona’s WebsiteFollow Nona on social: @nonanotnora.Grab your copy of the 2023 Finish Calendar!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Right now, I’m at the beginning of a three-year writing process for my next book that’s all about bravery. Why bravery? Because after nearly 50 years I discovered that every win, every triumph, and every victory in my life happened in the moments I chose to weather the storms caused by my fears. Every goal you want to achieve is on the other side of a brave decision. That’s why this week we’re talking about a fear that keeps a lot of people from ever starting their dreams: imposter syndrome. We’ll cover why it’s such an insidious force and what you can do to overcome it in the episode.In This Episode:Sign up for the 5 Brave Days Challenge! Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

TikToks and Instagram reels go viral when they have the right soundtrack. Your thoughts are the same way. The loudest, catchiest, most played thoughts are the ones that shape the way we view ourselves, the actions we take, and the results that come from those actions. But what if the thoughts we listen to the most are broken soundtracks? What if the loudest thoughts we have about ourselves aren’t even true? As adults, we’ve all picked up bad soundtracks along the way, but the students in our lives are still curating their playlists for the first time. They’re still writing the soundtracks they’re going to listen to for the rest of their lives. That's why I wrote my new book, Your New Playlist with my teenage daughters, L.E. and McRae. They join me in a very special episode of All it Takes is a Goal to talk about why mindset is so powerful, how to ditch broken soundtracks, and how to build new ones that will help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals.In This Episode:Order Jon's new book, "Your New Playlist" and read the first two chapters!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Have you ever felt like you’ve hit a wall in your life? Like you don’t know exactly what you want to do, but you know what you’re doing isn’t it? Eric Thomas grew up in a world that was against him from the start in a lot of ways. At a young age, he found himself homeless and living with no real direction until he realized he had to make a change.Today, he’s known as ET “The Hip Hop Preacher,” and is a world-renowned speaker, educator, pastor, and audible.com Audie Awards Finalist. He’s taken the world by storm with his creative, common-sense approach to living a successful, satisfying professional and personal life. He joined me for an incredible conversation that will have you ready to run through your walls and break the glass ceilings in your life.ET Book List:The BibleThink & Grow Rich by Napoleon HillDaily Motivation for African-American Success by Dennis KimbroChicken Soup for the Soul (Any)The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. ClasonThe Greatest Salesman in the World by Og MandinoThe Autobiography of Malcolm XIn This Episode:Check out ET's book!Watch Eric’s “How Bad Do You Want It?” speechListen to Eric’s podcastFollow Eric online: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TwitterPre-order Jon's new book, "Your New Playlist" and read the first two chapters!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Why is following a dream so hard sometimes? You know what you want, and you know what you need to do to achieve it, so why hasn’t it happened yet?I’m thrilled to have my long-time mentor, Steven Pressfield, join me for an episode all about doing the thing we all want - to live out our dreams. Steven is the bestselling author of countless screenplays, novels, and nonfiction books, including Gates of Fire, Turning Pro, and one of my all-time favorites, The War of Art. In this episode, we talk about taking consistent steps toward your dream, quieting distractions, Obi-Wan Kenobi moments, King Kong, and so much more!Steven Pressfield Book List:The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway The Moviegoer by Walker PercyTropic of Capricorn by Henry MillerHistory of the Peloponnesian War by ThucydidesIn This Episode:Buy a copy of Steven’s new book!Visit Steven’s website.Follow Steven on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Pre-order Jon's new book, "Your New Playlist" and read the first two chapters!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

There are endless distractions that are constantly taking us away from the things we try to accomplish. Some are innocent, like when your kids need help with a school project. Others are more frustrating, like a job that constantly cuts into your personal time.Regardless of what the distraction is, it makes moving forward with your goals harder. That’s why in this episode, I’m teaching you how to overcome four of the most common things that get in the way of progress: interruptions, overwhelming tasks, long goals, and day jobs. By the end of this episode, you’ll have the tools to keep moving toward the finish line of your goal even when everything is trying to get in the way.In This Episode:Pre-order "Your New Playlist" and read the first two chapters!Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Follow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!