Passion Struck with John R. Miles

What if the biggest barrier to your potential is not a lack of skill or opportunity but the quiet voice inside whispering, “You are not enough”?In this powerful episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with former national news anchor Lynn Smith, who spent 15 years at NBC, TODAY Online, and CNN Headline News before making the courageous decision to walk away from a life the world to...

What if the future isn’t something that happens to us… but something we shape? In this future-defining episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with innovation thinker and bestselling author Scott D. Anthony to explore the 11 epic disruptions that reshaped civilization and the hidden patterns that will shape the next era of human possibility. Drawing on Scott’s new book Epic Disrupt...

What if the cure for modern loneliness… was sitting right beside you? In this powerful solo episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles explores the ancient, biological, and emotional forces behind the human–dog bond and why it may be one of the most potent antidotes to isolation in our accelerated, camera-off, hyper-distracted world. Drawing on insights from Elias Weiss Friedman (The Dogist) an...

Amina AlTai, executive coach and author of The Ambition Trap , joins John R. Miles to expose why top achievers burn out despite “having it all.”They dismantle hustle culture’s grip, swap wound-driven ambition for gift-aligned purpose, and unpack Amina’s 3 E’s (Excellence, Enjoyment, Ease) plus the Resentment Line to end self-abandonment. From her near-death wake-up to systemic ambition penalties,...

In this heartwarming and insightful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with Elias Weiss Friedman, the creator behind The Dogist, the beloved photo-documentary project with over 11 million followers, and author of This Dog Will Change Your Life. Together, they explore how dogs have become not only our best friends but also our greatest teachers: modeling presence, emotional regulation, and uncon...

What if the most advanced intelligence on Earth isn’t artificial, but emotional? In this opening episode of the new Passion Struck series, The Irreplaceables: Rediscovering Human Worth in an Age of Acceleration, host John R. Miles explores the rarest skill of all in the age of AI: how to feel. We’re racing to make machines seem human while forgetting how to be. Through powerful storytelling and sc...

In this raw and timely conversation, John R. Miles sits down with Dr. Zac Seidler, global director of men’s health research at Movember and one of the world’s leading voices redefining masculinity. Together, they explore how modern men are facing a silent crisis—one rooted not in strength or stoicism, but in disconnection, loneliness, and loss of mattering. From the heartbreaking story of losing h...

What if the story you’re living… isn’t yours? In this powerful solo episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles explores how culture, work, and media quietly script our lives — shaping what we value, chase, and believe we deserve — often without us realizing it. Drawing on insights from Claude Silver (VaynerX Chief Heart Officer) and Nick Thompson (CEO of The Atlantic), John unpacks how the stor...

In this powerful conversation, John R. Miles sits down with Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and author of The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest Sport. Together, they explore how running became a thread through Nick’s life—a tool for resilience, self-discipline, and understanding his father’s complex legacy. From the early memories of running beside his dad during the American ru...

What if the greatest transformation in your career doesn’t come from working harder—but from leading with more heart? In this week’s episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia, to explore what it really means to be yourself at work—and why authenticity, empathy, and belonging are the most underrated forces in leadership today. Cla...

What if the words you speak don’t just describe the world—but design it? In this week’s episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles explores The Words That Lead Us: how language quietly builds the architecture of leadership—creating trust, guiding ethics, and shaping identity. Drawing on insights from Dr. Sunita Sah, Charles Duhigg, and Dr. Alex Imas, John reveals how the words we choose influen...

What if the distance between you and the people who matter most isn’t measured in miles—but in missed conversations? In this week’s episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Charles Duhigg to explore how extraordinary conversations rebuild connection and trust. Duhigg’s book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret La...

In this episode of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles sits down with Dr. Sunita Sah—physician, behavioral scientist, and author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes —to explore one of the most overlooked yet essential human forces: defiance. Part of our ongoing series The Forces That Shape Us, this conversation dives into why we struggle to say no, even when our inner voice knows w...

What if luck isn’t a matter of chance—but a hidden design you can learn to navigate? In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles explores how some people seem to “always be in the right place at the right time” — not because they’re blessed by fate, but because they’ve learned to read the invisible rulebook of luck. Drawing on the groundbreaking work of bestselling author Amy Leigh Mercree an...

John brings on Wharton economist Judd B. Kessler to unpack why outcomes that look like luck are usually the product of hidden market designs. Kessler explains the three E’s—equity, efficiency, and ease—and why designers must make those tradeoffs explicit. He shows how to win in choose-me markets (jobs, dating, college admissions) by signaling clearly and sometimes prioritizing early commitment (e....

In this live episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles sits down with bestselling author and medical intuitive Amy Leigh Mercree to explore the profound connection between energy, awareness, and intentional living. They discuss how tuning into your personal energy field can enhance emotional regulation, deepen intuition, and improve how you show up in the world. Amy shares practical techniques for...

What if doubt isn’t a weakness to overcome, but a gravitational force that pulls us toward meaning? In this powerful solo episode, John R. Miles kicks off the new Forces That Pull Us series by exploring doubt—an invisible psychological and cultural force that shapes our choices, our growth, and our sense of self. Drawing on insights from performance psychologist Michael Gervais, physician-research...

In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles sits down with Dr. Bidhan “Bobby” Parmar, Shannon G. Smith Bicentennial Professor of Business Administration at UVA’s Darden School and author of Radical Doubt: Turning Uncertainty into Surefire Success . Together, they unpack why doubt isn’t a weakness to overcome but a force to harness. Bobby explains how our brains rely on three systems—pursue, p...

Gravity is everywhere—yet we rarely think about its impact on our health. In this episode, Dr. Brennan Spiegel, UCLA Professor and author of the groundbreaking new book Pull: How Gravity Shapes Your Body, Steadies the Mind, and Guides Our Health , joins John R. Miles to reframe gravity not just as a force of physics, but as a hidden variable in human health and resilience. They explore how posture...

What is the story you’re telling yourself right now? It may not feel like it, but every single one of us is living inside a story. Psychologists call it a self-narrative — the ongoing script that explains who we are, how we got here, and where we’re headed next. These stories shape what we notice, what we ignore, and what we believe is possible. If your inner story says, “I’m not enough,” then eve...

Life has a way of testing us in ways we never imagined. For some, those tests are inconveniences or temporary setbacks. For others, like Sandy Yozipovic, there are battles that most of us could not even fathom. Imagine one day waking up paralyzed from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system. And then, years later, you are told you have Stage 4 cancer, and...

What does it really take to start over — to walk away from something you’ve built and chase something entirely new? In this inspiring conversation, John R. Miles sits down with Joel Beasley, technologist, entrepreneur, and host of Modern CTO, one of the most respected podcasts for technology leaders worldwide. But this episode isn’t about scaling tech companies, it’s about scaling yourself. Joel o...

Most of us spend much of our lives trying to fit in, smoothing our edges, editing our quirks, and becoming who the world wants us to be. But fitting in isn’t the same as belonging. Belonging is about coming home to yourself and then building spaces where others can do the same. It’s about creating deep connection and living a life that feels both meaningful and aligned. In episode 669 of Passion S...

In this episode of Passion Struck, I sit down with Robert Glazer — serial entrepreneur, five-time best-selling author, and founder of Acceleration Partners — to explore his powerful new book The Compass Within . Robert shares why success can still feel empty if your life is out of alignment, and how identifying your actionable core values becomes the starting point for lasting fulfillment. Whether...

In this episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles is joined by Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of Me, But Better , for a transformative conversation about the science and promise of personality change. For much of the 20th century, psychologists assumed that our personalities were largely fixed by adulthood — that who we are at 30 is who we’ll be for life. But Olga’s work bring...