The Greg McKeown Podcast

Have you ever felt that your ability to pay attention was in free fall? If you have, you are not alone. By the end of today's episode, you will have a better understanding of why this is happening and one specific tool that you can use to do something about it over the next two weeks. I'm going to share an insightful story from a book I've been reading, 'Stolen Focus' by Johann Hari, and also some...

Do you ever feel like there's something in the modern world that fries your brain, that leaves you in red brain, where you're just so pulled in a million directions all the time that it's hard to actually give attention to what's essential? Well, in part two of my conversation with Dr. Gloria Mark, we get into some specific questions you can ask yourself to be able to assess how you are doing and...

Have you ever had an ongoing disagreement with somebody that was perplexing for you? Today I will share a simple story about misunderstanding, something counterintuitive I have learned from it and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to use the most important question in any conversation, especially where misunderstanding is taking place. Join my weekly newsletter a...

Everyone is distracted by technology, and all of us have experienced this sense that our level of distraction is increasing. Even the speed with which we move from website to website, from app to app seems to be increasing in pace. And there's lots of people out there willing to talk about what we should do and how we can improve. But very few of those people have the data to help us think through...

Have you ever had so much stress and anxiety that you could barely sleep at night? Today I will share a powerful story, something counterintuitive I've learned and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will have five research-based tools for reducing stress in two minutes a day or under. Referenced article: Genomic Counter-Stress Changes Induced by the Relaxation Response Join my...

Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their products, services, and ideas, but according to my guest today, this is wrong. What Uri Levine argues is that you have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Uri Levine is a passionate entrepreneur. Unicorns, companies that reach evaluation of more than a billion dollars, are rare, but URI has built two. He's the co-founder of Waze, which is...

What's the most important thing you need to do today? Today I will share a powerful story or two, something counterintuitive I've learned and some highly actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you'll be able to get clear on the most important thing you need to do today, every day.  Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com

Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their products, services, their ideas, but according to my guest today, this is wrong. What Uri Levine argues is that you have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Uri is a passionate entrepreneur. Unicorns, which are companies that reach valuation of more than a billion dollars, are rare, but Uri has built two. He is the co-founder of Waze, the...

Have you ever needed to change the results in a situation where there were lots of things you could not change? It has long been thought that to completely transform morale and performance, you have to have the power to change everything, but this is wrong. What we know now is that there is a smaller, much more doable way to achieve results. Today I will share an inspirational story, some counteri...

Have you ever felt like there were just too many tabs open in your mind? Today, I've invited Alison Jones, the author of Exploratory Writing: Everyday Magic for Life and Work. By the end of this episode, you will have the simplest of tools that can produce extraordinary results. You'll discover an idea so simple, you'll get it immediately, and yet you've probably never done it before in your life....

Do you crave being heard, to feel someone else really hears you, notices you, sees you, and that what you said matters to them? Today I will share with you an intriguing story, something counterintuitive I'm just on the edge of learning and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will understand one key reason that humans desire so much to be heard.  Join my weekly newsletter at Gr...

What would your business or your life look like if you designed it from scratch using essentialist and effortless principles to guide you? It's long been thought that some industries like private equity, medicine and law just take 80 hour weeks to be successful, but this is false. What we know now is that the way these industries are designed to produce this kind of burnout culture. Today is part...

Have you ever been to a meeting where a few loud people dominated the meeting, but the quiet people with the answer didn't even get heard? It's long been thought that if you put the right people in the room, then you'll get the right answer, but this is as false as it can be. What we know now is that you need to lead the right process to be able to get the right ideas to come to the surface. Today...

Have you ever felt that a monotonous life cannot possibly be an essential life? Have you ever found at the same time that sometimes in what appears to be a monotonous experience, you find something deeply meaningful? Today I have a fascinating conversation with Kyle Westaway. He's an entrepreneur and a lawyer who works with entrepreneurs, and today we discuss how he used essentialism and effortles...

Have you ever had a wake up call where you just suddenly realize you have missed what really mattered? Most of us have learned that we are supposed to live with no regrets, but this, I think, is wrong. What we know now is that regrets can produce the precise data we need to construct a meaningful, rich and essential life. Today, I will share a powerful story, something counterintuitive I've been l...

Have you ever set a New Year's resolution to get healthier? It's an annual tradition to sign up for gym memberships and then never to use them. It's so established that the entire gym business model is based upon people not actually using the service. After all, it's long been thought that to significantly improve your mental and physical health takes expensive gym memberships, newfangled equipmen...

It has long been thought that at the beginning of the new year, you should make a long list of everything that you want to achieve, but that, I believe, is false. What we know now is that what's more important is to have a clear single intent. Instead of simply making an aspiration to do more than you've ever done before, you should focus to do less but better. Have you ever fallen into the trap o...

Have you ever noticed that what people say is not the same as what they mean? Today I will share an inspiring story I read this week, something counterintuitive I've Learned, and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to better see behind people's masks to get to what's really happening. Resources mentioned: The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene Effortless Essenti...

Have you ever met a person who just wouldn't show weakness? Today, I will share an intriguing story, something counterintuitive I've learned and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to see how perfectionism is making it harder for you to make progress on what's essential. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregM...

Have you ever suppressed your feelings or honest views at work because you wanted to avoid trouble? Have you ever avoided speaking up with someone at work and instead unloaded onto someone else about it? What if you could find the words to have the conversation you are avoiding? Today I have invited Amy Gallo to the show to help us. Amy is the author of the HBR Guide to Dealing With Conflict and a...

Have you ever wondered why we can't fix burnout culture with a wellness app? What if doing less was actually more effective than giving it 100%? Today I'm going to share an inspiring story, something counterintuitive I've learned and provide some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to accomplish more by putting in less effort. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.co...

Have you ever met a person who had a deeply profound effect upon you? And what was the relationship between that impact and the degree to which they listened and understood you personally and uniquely? Today I have Jack Zenger back for the second part of this interview about what great leaders actually do. They don't do what most people think listening is. They do something very different to that,...

Today I have invited Jack Zenger to the show. Jack has spent, if you can believe it, five decades and then some working as an entrepreneur and also an academician. He's the CEO and co-founder of Zenger Folkman. He was a faculty member at USC and later taught at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, but beyond all of this, what Jack Zenger is really all about is relevant data. So that instead of...

What if gratitude isn't what you've always thought it was? Today, I will share a personal story, something counterintuitive I have learned and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to turn a negative into a positive, and a person who can do that can never be defeated. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeow...

Have you ever faced resistance from someone at work or at home to something that really mattered to you? How did you handle it? What was the result? Today, I will share a recent story in my life, something counterintuitive I've been learning, and some actionable advice, and by the end of this episode, you will learn the number one way to remove resistance in your day. Join my weekly newsletter at ...