Good Life Project || Inspiration | Motivation | Happiness | Meaning | Success

If you google the word “Trauma” you’ll find the top search results arrive in some form of the question “What is trauma?” This then begs the next question: what are we really talking about when we’re talking about trauma? In today’s episode, Dr. Paul Conti and I unpack what trauma is, what it means to have experienced trauma, and what makes trauma so hard to resolve. What I found so fascinating in this conversation was the idea that there are 4 types of trauma we can experience and how, if we can create safe spaces to talk about our trauma and support one another, we can more readily recognize who we were before the trauma occurred and who we want to be after. A graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, Paul completed his psychiatry training at Stanford and Harvard. Now living in Portland, OR and founding his own clinic, he serves patients and clients throughout the United States and internationally, including the executive leadership of large corporations. He is the author of TRAUMA: The Invisi

Have you ever asked yourself: “Who am I? What do I stand for?” Many of us do ask these questions and when we do, it can be a catalyst that sets us on an alternative path - even though we know it might disappoint those around us. Yet, all too often, even when our inner knowing is forcing us to pay attention, life can pull us in the direction of expectations versus desire. We hesitate to follow our curiosity for fear we might let down our family and loved ones. As a result, we stay on course towards what “we’re supposed to do”. But it doesn’t always have to be this way. Sometimes choosing the new path is just what we need to honor our voice, culture and family. This is why I’m excited to share this conversation with Connie Lim, whose artist name is MILCK for this Best Of Conversation. MILCK rose to widespread attention after a video of an a capella performance of her song "Quiet" on the street at the 2017 Women's March exploded into the public’s consciousness going viral and becoming embraced as an anthem for t

What if, instead of trying to fit in and be accepted, you embraced and harnessed the power of your inner outlier? How could you leverage different experiences and environments to turn the parts of you that no one else can replicate from a potential source of exclusion into a superpower and differentiator? In today’s episode with my guest, Julian Gilliam, who goes by the artist name, LOGIK, we explore these ideas in the context of LOGIK’s upbringing, living in 9 different places and having to constantly adapt, to his work as both a change-maker and creative innovator in the world of advertising and media, a Creative Director for Google, as an artist and painter who creates stunning lifesize works, and has recently been making giant waves in the world of art, community, Web3, and NFTs.And all the while, he’s done it by immersing himself in different experiences and cultures, including Japanese art and language, studying the dynamics and often unspoken social context, then rather than trying to fit in, brin

We’re all in a process of reimagining when it comes to work, looking at the changes we’ve made over the last few years, and trying to figure out what we’ll keep, what we’ll let go of, and how else we might want to change the way we work in order to feel the way we want to feel. And, what so many are realizing is that we’ve got more power to reimagine every aspect of work now than we’ve ever had before. Question is, what do we do with that power? And what do we do with this moment of openness to new ways of working and living?These questions are what we dive into with today’s guest, Anne Helen Peterson. Anne is a journalist whose wise, often irreverent, funny, and provocative writing appeared in Buzzfeed, the New York Times and more, before leaving the mainstream to become the voice behind the wildly-popular newsletter, Culture Study. She’s also the author of four books, most recently Out of the Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working From Home (co-written with Charlie Warzel) and Can't Even: How

I’ve come to believe that the quality and richness of our lives is, in no small part, determined by the depth and quality of our attention. If it’s massively distracted, perpetually spinning out, and focused on negativity, that will also largely be the state of our lives, regardless of the actual objective circumstance of our lives. And, that is where we go in a powerful way with my guest today, Johann Hari. Johann is a writer and journalist, whose work appears in everywhere from the New York Times, Le Monde, to The Guardian and many other newspapers and media outlets. His TED talks and NowThis viral video have been viewed almost 100 million times, and his work has been praised by a broad range of people, from Oprah Winfrey to Noam Chomsky. He was the Executive Producer of the Oscar-nominated film “The United States vs Billie Holiday” and of a forthcoming eight-part TV series starring Samuel L Jackson. And following an incident with his Godson a few years back, he decided to turn his attention to the top

What do you think of when you hear the word influence? Or the phrase, “be an influencer?” Maybe you think about the ability to affect another person, to have influence over them. Or, to persuade them to adopt an idea, point of view or opinion. Or, maybe take an action or commit to something, or buy something. Whether we’re comfortable with the notion of influence or persuasion or not, we’re all immersed in overlapping processes of subtle and not-so-subtle influence all day, every day. And to better understand how to both cultivate our own skills and tools, and also become more aware of the scripts that are running all around us, I’m so excited to be able to sit down with my friend, Dr. Zoe Chance. Zoe is a writer, teacher, researcher, and climate philanthropist obsessed with the topic of interpersonal influence. She earned her doctorate in behavioral science from Harvard and now teaches “Mastering Influence and Persuasion,” the most popular course at Yale School of Management. And, her framework for beha

Is energy medicine real? What about Ayurveda? What about Western/modern medicine, what’s right and not so right about it? Does the gender of a patient make a difference in how they’re treated, or in their health outcomes? What about the role of plants, herbs, and intuition? These are all questions that have come up in conversations over the years as I’ve had the incredible opportunity to sit down with women who are leading voices and often voices of change in various approaches to medicine and wellbeing. And, in today’s episode, we’ve curated key elements from four of those conversations to share and potentially pull back the curtain on so many myths, misunderstandings and confusion and plant some seeds to explore a different lens and maybe even some different modalities when it comes to exploring your own physical, mental, and energetic wellbeing. If you LOVED this episode:You can find Jill at: Website | InstagramYou can find Avanti at: Website | InstagramYou can find Aviva at: Website | InstagramYou ca

My guest today, Blair Imani, grew up in a house where sitting quiet in the face of any level of injustice was just not an option. Whether it was advocating for the needs of a sibling or standing up to right a wrong in her community, her parents set a powerful example and invited Blair to always rise to the challenge. And that’s exactly what she’s done. But, along the way, Blair also discovered, there are different ways to make a difference, and we each need to figure out how to take up the mantle of change, while also honoring our unique circumstances and needs, and that includes acknowledging our own, very personal psychological and physical wellbeing. Building on this, Blair transitioned from organizing and activism to focusing on education, but in a way only she could do - harnessing the power, reach, interactivity and visual impact of social media by creating short, punchy, informative and entertaining bursts of wisdom and inspiration she calls her Smarter in Seconds series, which, at this point

We all breathe. It just happens. But, what if the way you breathe made a massive difference in everything from your risk for debilitating illness to your depth and quality of sleep, energy, creativity, and performance? Turns out, it does. Breathing is maybe the single most effective and accessible switch we can throw to radically transform and take control of the way we feel and live. And, by the way, when we leave it chance - as most of us do - our breathing often defaults into a mode that sends us spiraling into poor physical and mental health, and underperformance in all parts of life. Which is why I was so excited to sit down with James Nestor for this Best Of conversation.James is a science writer who has written for Outside, Scientific American, The Atlantic, Dwell, The New York Times, and more. His award-winning book Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves was a revelation and, in no small part, kicked off this science writer’s fascination with the breath. That l

When was the last time you felt truly at peace? Relaxed, physically and emotionally at ease? How can you downregulate your mind and body and reclaim control over everything from your current state of mind to your sleep, risk of illness and even how fast or slow you age? What if you had so much more control over these than you imagined, no matter what seemingly breathless circumstance swirls around you? Turns out, we do, and it’s all about understanding our nervous system and how to actively bring ourselves into what my guest today, Professor Sara Mednick, calls the downstate. Sara is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine and author of the powerful new book, The Power of the Downstate: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body's Own Restorative Systems. She is passionate about understanding how the brain works through her research into sleep and the autonomic nervous system. In fact, her seven-bedroom sleep lab works literally around the clock to discover methods for boosting co

I’m fascinated by the idea of snap decisions, how some can lead to amazing outcomes, and others can destroy lives. What you so often find is that nothing actually happens in a moment, there is no real snap, but rather a series of experiences leading up to it, often years in the making, were as much authors of the moment as the instance itself. And, sometimes, when those moments lead to something you’ll regret for a lifetime, you get to the next question - what is recoverable - redeemable - how do you make that happen, and who gets to write the story of your reclamation? This is the powerful thru line of my conversation with Shaka Senghor, New York Times bestselling author of Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison. A leading voice on criminal justice reform, tech investor, head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at TripActions, former MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, and member of Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul 100, he took another young man’s life at the age of 19, served the

I still remember the first time I heard Joan Osborne’s iconic song, One of Us. I was 29, a couple of years into my career as a federal enforcement attorney with the SEC, and not loving my time in the industry. Asking big questions, when I turn on the radio and hear Joan’s soulful blues voice, asking “what if God was one of us?” It stopped me in my tracks. That was 1995, and that song still has the same effect on me. It also changed the trajectory of Osborne’s career and life in ways that still affect her.Joan was a fixture in the downtown New York music scene in the 90s. But when her debut album, RELISH, came out and One of Us took off, it exploded her into music super-stardom, led to 7 Grammy nominations, and fueled what has become a decades-long career populated by world tours, many more albums, a deepening commitment to weaving together music, advocacy, and activism, and collaborations with everyone from the Funk Brothers to Stevie Wonder, The Grateful Dead, Pavoratti, Bob Dylan and so many more. And, what

Anxiety, even saying the word makes me a bit anxious. But, what if there was a way to unwind it and come back to calm that was counterintuitively simple. And, what if a lot of the popular thoughts around anxiety and how to deal with it today were wrong? That’s what we’re talking about today with my guest, Dr. Jud Brewer. He’s a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. Jud is also the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he serves as an associate professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health. He is the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare Inc. and a research affiliate at MIT. And, he’s developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and, yes, anxiety. He is the author of Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal

Ever wonder why a certain sad song or even a few bars of just the right melancholy music will stop you in your tracks and maybe even move you to tears? Turns out, you’re not alone. My guest today, Susan Cain, has spent years researching why certain experiences - ones that connect us to sadness, longing, or sorrow - move us so deeply, and actually add profoundly to our lives. Susan’s first book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, has been translated into 40 languages, spent seven years on the New York Times bestseller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Susan one of the Most Creative People in Business. Susan and I have been friends since before she launched her quiet revolution, I’ve always appreciated her deep wisdom, generosity, kindness, and a level of introspection, curiosity, and contemplative thought that’s so rare these days. And, lucky for all of us, she’s been focusing those observational and intellectual sup

Ever hear the phrase, “food is life?” Well, it rings true in so many ways. It’s not just about nutrition, it’s about love, it’s about your relationship with each other, with family, friends, the environment and beyond. It’s above service, joy, connection, sacrifice, salvation, and elevation. And, here at Good Life Project, over the years, we’ve had the stunning opportunity to sit down with some legendary foodies, farmers, culinary makers and thinkers and doers and chefs. People like the chef, author of New York Times bestselling book and Netflix show, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat. People like Top Chef star, restaurateur and educator, Carla Hall who was launched into the world of not just food and restaurants, but media, and books, with her cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, and TV, with many appearances all over and a run co-hosting The Chew, and beyond. Or, Giada De Laurentiis, who walked away from a life with her iconic film family to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, then be

Every week on the SPARKED podcast, we invite a listener to share what’s going on in their work & life, then pose a specific question to Jonathan Fields and a rotating lineup of wise and kind mentors - the SPARKED Braintrust. In today’s episode we’re in conversation with:SPARKED BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Charlie Gilkey | WebsiteCharlie is a strategic advisor and executive coach, founder of the Productive Flourishing consultancy, and author of the multi-award-winning book, Start Finishing.LISTENER:  Amy - Sparketype: Advisor/SageQUESTION: How can I focus to make choices in the space of paradox of choice? But, as we’ll also learn, there’s a whole lot more going on underneath that question, especially for Amy who is in the midst of a career reinvention, as are so many now.YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields. Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He’s also the creator of an unusual tool th

Chazz Lewis’s mission in life is to enjoy the process of becoming the best version of himself and help others do the same. He goes by “Mr.Chazz” to his massive online following, and to his many students and fellow teachers, leaders, and human beings. Having stepped into the classroom in the early days, largely because he needed a job, he discovered a passion for inspiring and understanding and igniting curiosity and possibility in kids. And, he realized, he’d have to buck a lot of systems and do a metric ton of his own learning and reimagining to make it happen.Along the way, he completed a master's degree in executive leadership at American University and spent years using his own classrooms as living laboratories, developing a more conscious, informed, joyful and dignity-driven and inspired approach to learning, leading, and elevating others. His philosophy began to find relevance far beyond the classroom and has found a home everywhere from parenting to education, personal development, and organizational l

Hrishikesh Hirway has been making music for as long as he can remember and, as an adult, spent years building a career in the industry, writing, performing, producing, and touring. But, it was a moment where he took a bit of a pause to re-evaluate that led him to record an interview with a friend about the story and creative decisions behind a song that would change everything. That conversation eventually became the opening episode of the podcast, Song Exploder, which itself then exploded into a global phenomenon that I’ve been obsessed with since hearing that first episode. Now, it’s grown into not just an award-winning podcast, but also a Netflix original television series where musicians break down the creative process behind their songs, featuring many of the biggest names in music like Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dua Lipa, The Killers, so many others. And, building on the success of Song Exploder, Hrishikesh has now grown a network of shows, producing and co-hosting the award-wi

How’d a kid who loved movies and thought he’d be a filmmaker leave film school, and end up building a $1-billion healthy nutrition business, then exit and focus his energy back on the quest to build the next Disney, but with a focus not just on entertainment, but on impact? That’s the story behind today’s guest, Tom Bilyeu, the co-founder, along with his wife, Lisa, of Quest Nutrition, and the now rapid growth Impact Theory production studio, which is dedicated to creating media and experiences that change people’s lives. Tom was named one of Success Magazine’s Top 25 Influential People, and in today's conversation, we dive into the early influences that shaped him and his lens on creativity and possibility. We talk about how he struggled to even get out of bed for an entire season of life, and then returned to a deeper drive, underneath the yearning to make movies, and how that has been a consistent thru-line and driving motivation to build a billion-dollar nutrition company, then sell it in order to re

What would you give to have more free time, less stress & more ability to do the things you love, while knowing everything else is handled? That is the promise of a powerful new body of work from today’s guest, Jenny Blake. Jenny is an author, host of two podcasts, Free Time for Heart-Based Business Owners, and Pivot with Jenny Blake, and keynote speaker who loves helping people move from friction to flow through smarter systems. Her new book, Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, is, quite literally, life-changing. I actually featured Jenny in my last book, SPARKED, because she’s what I call an Essentialist, meaning she lives and breathes to create order from chaos, in the name of clarity and ease. Her mind works in ways that mine doesn’t. Jenny is world-class at creating systems that give you back your life. And, the stunning volume of ideas, tools, processes, and resources she’s developed and curated in Free Time, along with the dashboard she’s launched alongside it, made me realize ho