The Science of Success

 In this episode we discuss what to do if you feel like you’re having a mid-life crisis every two years, the importance of staying grounded while you make big changes in your life, how to pivot your career and take “smart risks,” how to discover your strengths, and the right way to make big, exciting changes in your career with Jenny Blake.       Jenny Blake is a bestselling author, career and bus...

 In this episode, we talk about Emotional Intelligence. What is emotional intelligence and why does it matter so much? How the science demonstrates that emotional intelligence matters far more than IQ, how you can develop and improve your “EQ”, how to build the muscle of focus, and much more with Dr. Daniel Goleman.    Daniel is a co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional...

 In this episode we start with a dive into evolutionary psychology and how biases have been programmed into you by millions of years of evolution, look at why our guest condemns the concept of Empathy, how the science demonstrates that empathy has no correlation with doing good in the world, how empathy creates disastrous outcomes, and more with our guest Dr. Paul Bloom    Dr. Paul Bloom is a Prof...

 In this episode we discuss the paradox of happiness - why pursuing it makes you less happy, and what you can do about it, we dig into the research about what really makes people happy, we break down happiness into its essential components and discuss how to cultivate it, we look at the interaction between stress and recovery and why most people look at it the wrong way, why active acceptance and...

In this episode we go DEEP on free will. Does free will exist? How does quantum physics impact the existence of free will?  We look at the neuroscience behind the concept of free will, and look at whether conscious decision-making exists at all or all of our decisions arise within the subconscious with Dr. Alfred Mele. Dr. Alfred Mele is a Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University. He is...

In this episode we discuss the 8 step process for overcoming anxiety and conquering your fears, how to stop a panic attack in real time, how you can tap into your subconscious mind and reprogram it, how to get deeper sleep, the power of hypnosis, and much more with Justin Stenstrom.     Justin is a nationally acclaimed life coach, author, entrepreneur, and speaker. He is the founder of EliteManMag...

In this episode we discuss PRIDE – and why it may not be the deadly sin that it’s often cracked up to be. We dig into how the research defines pride, examine the critical distinction between self esteem and narcissism, the deep importance of being able to accept criticism, and look at the difference between strategies of dominance and strategies of prestige with Dr. Jessica Tracy.      Jessica is...

In this episode we discuss what Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking all consider the single greatest threat to humanity, why “death” is not binary event that makes you transition from being alive or dead at a specific moment in time, we ask if you would spend $1000 on a chance to live forever, we look at the biology behind cryogenics, vitfrication, and putting your body on biological pause, and...

In this episode we discuss whether time speeds up as we get older, why your life story only makes sense looking in reverse, whether or not brain games actually work, the importance of proactive learning instead of passive learning, why psychology confirms all your worst fears about studying and getting smarter – and much more with a special TWO GUEST interview featuring Dr. Art Markman & Dr. Bob D...

In this episode we discuss the Daily Practice that works to develop self-love, how fear is often the signpost for what we most need to do next, lessons from a 550 mile pilgrimage through Spain, how seeking too much knowledge can be counter productive, and much more with our guest Kamal Ravikant. Kamal has worked with some of the best minds in Silicon Valley, hiked to one of the highest point in th...

In this episode we sit down and discuss everything we’ve learned in the last year of doing The Science of Success, review some of our favorite lessons and episodes, and talk about all the incredible insights we’ve discovered and share some of the biggest common themes that have emerged from a year of interviews with amazing guests ranging from FBI Hostage Negotiators, Game Theory Experts, Neurosci...

In this episode we discuss why you should not follow your passion, the two biggest pitfalls people struggle with trying to build a career they love, the incredible importance of DEEP WORK, why deep work is so valuable and how we can cultivate it, as well as how you can structure your lifestyle to attain autonomy and mastery with Cal Newport.     Cal is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at...

In this episode we discuss the incredible power of kindness, show how kindness triggers “the helpers high” and causes dopamine and oxytocin to flow through your brain, look at study data from 136 countries showing science behind why kindness is so powerful, we walk through several concrete examples you can use RIGHT NOW to take action and be kind to someone today, and much more with John Wang.    ...

In this episode we discuss the errors people make in their reasoning and how to correct them, we explain a number of statistical principles to help sharpen your thinking and make you a better decision maker, why every $1 spent on a “scared straight” program creates $400 of cost for the criminal justice system, the illusion of objectivity, why you should NOT rely on your intuition and much more wit...

In this episode we discuss the radical mismatch between your intuitive sense of risk and the actual risks you face. We look at why most experts and forecasters are less accurate than dart throwing monkeys. We talk about how to simply and easily dramatically reduce your risk of most major dangers in your life. We explore the results from the “good judgment project” study of more than 20,000 forecas...

In this episode we discuss why the “happiness” movement has done us a disservice and sometimes makes things worse, how perfectionism creates an illusion of control and distorts your reality, how to become aware of the critical inner voice at the root of your pain and unhealthy habits, the incredible power of self compassion, and much more with Megan Bruneau.    Megan Bruneau is a psychotherapist,...

In this episode we discuss lessons from 25 years of studying the evolution of human emotion, examine whether the Machiavellian concept of power still works, explore the surprising scientific data on how you can acquire power, and look closely at the foundation of enduring power from studies of military units on how to achieve and maintain power with Dr. Dacher Keltner.     Dr. Dacher Keltner is th...

In this episode we discuss one of the most interesting results ever found in the psychological research of education, why pleasure maximization is a flawed model for human understanding, we go deep into a number of research examples, discuss the massive (and counterintuitive) difference between motivating top performers and bottom performers, and much more with Dr. Dan Ariely!     Dan Ariely is th...

In this episode we discuss how our guest went from being “wildly unsuccessful”, sleeping in a used van, to launching a massive brand, the power of simple gratitude during the toughest challenges of our lives, the transformational superpowers that can change your life, the massive perspective shift you can grain from two simple words, and much more with John Jacobs.    John is the co-founder and ch...

In this episode we look at the single biggest factor that impacts your performance at work, the 7 major catalysts for creating progress in your life, we dig deep into the data to look closely at the correlations between mental states and actual performance in terms of creativity, technical skill, productivity and much more with Dr. Teresa Amabile. Dr. Amabile is a Professor and Director of Researc...

In this episode we explore how you can learn from dating mistakes to make better financial choices, the most expensive words in investing (and how you can avoid them), why highly qualified experts are wrong more than 94% of the time, the importance of focusing on process vs outcome and much more with Dr. Daniel Crosby. Dr. Crosby is a psychologist and behavioral finance expert as well the author o...

In this episode we discuss the secret lessons hostage negotiators around the world use to win the day, how to understand and influence people’s emotional drivers, the two words that can transform any negotiation, the biggest hallmarks of powerful master negotiators and much more with the FBI’s former lead international kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss.   Chris Voss is the founder and CEO of the Bl...

In this episode we talk about execution, how to break down big goals into actionable steps, how and why Neil hired a “mama” for himself, the “ten minute rule” that could help you achieve big productivity gains and how to optimize your life to free up huge amounts of time with entrepreneur Neil Patel.   Neil is the co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics. The Wall Street Journal calls hi...

In this episode we explore the link between trauma, mental health, learning disabilities and genius, look at a number of historical figures and how they harnessed challenges like depression and ADHD to achieve world-changing results, and examine the practical steps you can take to overcome struggles today with Dr. Gail Saltz.   Dr. Gail Saltz is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the...

In this episode we discuss how to create evil in a research laboratory, what makes people “turn evil”, we examine the definition of heroism, dig into the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, explore time paradoxes, and much more with the legendary Dr. Philip Zimbardo.  Dr. Zimbardo is an internationally recognized scholar, educator, researcher and media personality, winning numerous awards and honor...