Building Deep Relationships for Honest Feedback

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Deep and honest relationships are crucial for personal growth and success. Having a small group of people who truly know you, care about you, and are willing to provide blunt feedback is invaluable. Such relationships enable individuals to have honest conversations, receive constructive criticism, and make necessary changes in their lives. Building these deep connections, especially for men who struggle with vulnerability, is essential for personal development. It is important to have at least one person, if not a couple, who can call you out, advise you, and push you towards excellence. Prioritizing excellence over mere success is highlighted as a key principle, focusing on personal growth and self-improvement rather than just winning or achieving external validation.

Jim VandeHei didn’t have an auspicious start in life. His high school guidance counselor told him he wasn’t cut out for college, and he went on to confirm her assessment, getting a 1.4 GPA at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and spending more time drinking beer than planning his career.

Eventually, though, Jim turned things around for himself, going on to co-found two of the biggest modern media outlets, Politico and Axios.

Jim shares how he started moving up the rungs of success and building a better life for himself in his new book Just the Good Stuff: No-BS Secrets to Success (No Matter What Life Throws at You). Today on the show, Jim shares the real-world lessons he’s learned in his career. We discuss the importance of matching passion to opportunity, making your own luck, surrounding yourself with the right people, keeping the buckets of your happiness matrix filled, understanding the difference between wartime and peacetime leadership, harnessing the energy of healthy revenge, and more.