Behavior Gap Radio

In this episode, Carl shares a brief but powerful reflection inspired by Marcus Aurelius. Drawing from Stoic wisdom, he reads a simple line and lets it stand on its own: “The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” Carl offers almost no commentary, inviting listeners to sit with the idea and consider what it might mean about generosity, meaning, and the true nat...

In this episode, Carl explores the idea of “negative capability,” a term coined by John Keats to describe the ability to remain in uncertainty without rushing to easy answers. In a world that constantly pressures us to predict, forecast, and sound confident, Carl suggests that real wisdom may lie in something different: the capacity to sit with ambiguity long enough to make thoughtful decisions. G...

In this episode, Carl reflects on a line often attributed to H. L. Mencken: "Every complex problem has a solution that is simple, direct, plausible—and wrong." Carl explores the tension between simplicity and complexity, and the discipline required to stay in the messy middle long enough to find what he calls “elegant simplicity.” Instead of rushing to easy answers, the real work involves living w...

In this episode, Carl shares a striking teaching attributed to Jesus from the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. The story describes a wealthy man carefully planning how to grow and store his wealth so he would never lack anything—only to die that same night. Carl reflects on how prophets, poets, and philosophers across centuries keep pointing to the same lesson: wealth can be useful, but it’s wise n...

In this episode, Carl reflects on the relationship between money and meaning. While money can help create the conditions for security, autonomy, and purpose, it can’t actually deliver any of those things on its own. Carl explores how real security is often a nervous system issue, how autonomy still requires the choice to claim freedom, and how meaning grows from what we do with that freedom. The k...

In this episode, Carl reflects on conversations with Olympic silver medalist Haley Batten and what it really means to perform at a high level. Watching the intention and discipline behind an Olympian’s daily routine sparked a realization: high performance isn’t just for elite athletes. Any of us can approach our own work and lives with the same mindset by focusing on small improvements each day. C...

In this episode, Carl reflects on a thoughtful idea shared by financial planner Jack Boston: the longer the projection, the more humility we need around our assumptions. Whether we’re building a financial plan, a business forecast, or simply making life plans, every projection relies on assumptions that will inevitably be wrong. Carl explores the danger of false precision, the importance of holdin...

In this episode, Carl shares a simple practice for becoming more present in conversations: looking for what he calls the “crunchy bits.” These are the moments when the emotional texture of a conversation shifts—when someone uses a loaded word or reveals something that carries deeper meaning. By staying curious and paying close attention, Carl suggests we can learn to notice these moments and respo...

In this episode, Carl shares a simple but powerful reframing of a common question: “Can I afford it?” Whether it’s a trip, a sabbatical, or a chance to spend time with someone you love, the real question often isn’t just about money. It’s also about the cost of regret. Carl suggests that when making these decisions, we should consider not only the price of going, but also the price of not going. S...

In this episode, Carl shares a brief reflection on the traditional idea of retirement. Outside of professions where physical limits make it necessary, he questions the notion of spending decades working at full speed only to stop completely one day. Instead, Carl suggests a different approach: designing work and a life you don’t feel the need to escape from in the first place. For many people, tha...

In this weekend episode, Carl reflects on the idea of “enough” and how surprisingly complex it becomes once you start looking closely. Drawing on conversations from his recent speaking tour and insights from Harvey Cox, he explores how our sense of enough is shaped by context—what we have, what we’re surrounded by, and who we compare ourselves to. The same message can feel very different depending...

In this episode, Carl continues the conversation about “risk hangover,” the emotional aftermath that can follow a painful financial loss. He explores common patterns that show up in that state, like overcorrecting, anchoring to old highs, shortening time horizons, or rushing to repair the damage. Carl also shares a simple recovery protocol: pause, separate emotions from the numbers, give your nerv...

In this episode, Carl explores the idea of a “risk hangover,” the emotional aftermath that can follow when a big risk doesn’t work out. It often shows up as regret, shame, rumination, or the urge to quickly “get back to even.” Carl reflects on how our brains treat financial mistakes as threats and how that can push us toward impulsive or avoidant behavior. The key, he suggests, is learning to reco...

In this episode, Carl reflects on a simple but powerful signal: energy. After a long day of work, he noticed that some activities left him drained while others left him energized—even when the people involved were great. That contrast revealed something important: Energy can be a subtle but reliable indicator of the work you’re meant to do. Carl suggests paying closer attention to what gives you e...

In this episode, Carl asks a deceptively simple question: Are you waiting for information, or are you waiting for permission? Reflecting on conversations he had after moving to New Zealand, Carl explores how often people say they can’t make a big life decision because they lack money, timing, or certainty—when the real barrier may be a fear of acting in uncertainty. In complex systems like careers...

In this episode, Carl explores the tension between what’s rational on paper and what’s workable in real life. Spreadsheets say to invest lump sums immediately, keep low-interest debt, and avoid holding excess cash. The math is often right. But the spreadsheet doesn’t model loss aversion, regret, sleep, or the behavioral breaking point of being human. Strategies like dollar-cost averaging or paying...

In this episode, Carl introduces the idea of “uncertainty drag”—the hidden friction that uncertainty adds to our decisions and momentum. Like cash drag in investing, uncertainty drag slows progress as projects get delayed, hiring pauses, capital sits idle, and life decisions get postponed. Nothing catastrophic has happened, but things start to feel stuck. Carl explores how raising the bar for cert...

In this episode, Carl explores the growing trend of “wait-and-see mode”—the instinct to pause decisions when uncertainty feels high. While it can seem prudent, Carl points out that waiting is still a decision, and it always carries a cost. The key question isn’t whether waiting is right or wrong, but what exactly you’re waiting for. By defining the catalyst that would move you out of “wait-and-see...

In this episode, Carl shares a thought that came to him on a morning walk in the mountains: Artificial intelligence isn’t a threat, it’s a reminder. As tools become faster at summarizing, analyzing, and generating answers, the truly scarce resource becomes something machines cannot replicate—human wisdom. Carl reflects on wisdom as the ability to apply knowledge with judgment, perspective, and mor...

In this episode of the "How to Plan" series, Carl explores what may be the most important principle of all: preparing to be wrong. Real planning, he argues, isn’t about being precisely correct today. It’s about becoming less wrong tomorrow. Once we draw the line, the work shifts to running small experiments and actively seeking disconfirming evidence instead of defending outdated maps. New informa...

In this episode, Carl returns to his “How to Plan” series and introduces the next step: drawing the line. After clarifying purpose, defining goals, and understanding current reality, it’s time to build the plan—the map from here to there. But Carl reminds us of a crucial paradox: Every plan is wrong; the only question is how. Like a flight plan or a backcountry route, the value isn’t in perfect pr...

In this episode, Carl reflects on a line from William Wordsworth written in 1802: “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” Carl explores how Wordsworth was already warning about the danger of a culture obsessed with acquisition and consumption. The real loss, he suggests, isn’t moral or financial. It’s the quiet erosion of our attention, imagination, and sense of wonder. Carl invites liste...

In this episode, Carl reflects on the stories we instantly tell about money—especially when it comes to visible signs of consumption, like homes and cars. A passing glance at someone’s lifestyle can trigger assumptions about success, character, or values, even though we rarely know the real story behind the purchase. Carl turns the lens on himself, noticing how quickly narrative creeps in, and ask...

In this episode, Carl explores one of the hardest kinds of decisions: choosing between two genuinely good options. When every meaningful "yes" contains a painful "no," the tension isn’t about right versus wrong—it’s about trade-offs. Sharing a simple but piercing question from Christy Raines—“Who do I want to disappoint?”—Carl unpacks how every decision has a shadow, whether it’s a client, a famil...

In this episode, Carl wraps up his reflections on strategy versus tactics and names the trap he sees everywhere: tactic substitution. It’s easy to copy someone’s tools, workflows, or visible habits without understanding the deeper worldview, positioning, and identity beneath their success. Tactics are concrete, measurable, and easy to sell. Strategy is abstract, slow, and uncomfortable. Drawing on...