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

Tech-founder turned filmmaker, Tarek Mounib, had a crazy thought: what would happen if you brought together people from two radically different cultures, often presented by politicians and media as mutually hostile, to get to know each other in an intimate setting, as human beings…then filmed it all, then hoped for the best?That’s exactly what he did in his cultural-experiment turned documentary, Free Trip to Egypt. Mounib traveled the U.S. where he'd eventually bring together a group of Americans fearful of Islam, but willing to confront their own feelings and assumptions, for an all-expense-paid trip to Egypt, where they would spend their days with Egyptian counterparts. What happened next was more than Tarek could have ever hoped for — a remarkable sojourn of revelation, self-discovery connection for the participants, the filmmakers, and the viewer alike. And Tarek’s just getting started. Join us today to hear the fascinating background story of his work and his new project, the #PledgeToListen campaign.--

Marin Hinkle plays matriarch, Rose Weissman, on the Amazon Original series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which just released its third season. You may also recognize Hinkle from her long-running role as Judith on Two and a Half Men, and so many other contributions in theater, TV, and film. We’re huge fans of Marin, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and the entire ensemble cast. As we sat down with her in the studio, we discovered not just an incredible actor, but also someone who radiates kindness, warmth, and generosity of spirit, someone who is beautifully open, someone who left us feeling like we’d just spent time with an old friend. In today's conversation, we explored Hinkle's time growing up outside Boston, her love of the ocean and devotion to ballet in the early days that, after an injury, created the space for acting to emerge while at Brown and take center stage. We talk about the people who’ve touched down and served as teachers and mentors and explore candidly the tough decisions that came along the w

From the moment he drove his classmates into a screaming frenzy with a coin trick at age 9, Nate Staniforth has been hooked on creating experiences that awe. Now a professional magician, writer, YouTube creator, and author of Here is Real Magic: A Magician’s Search for Wonder in the Modern World, Nate has also co-starred in the Discovery Channel's international hit TV series Breaking Magic.Today, he tells us about the road of self-described discipleship that brought him there — including the moment he walked offstage in the middle of a performance and nearly burned it all to the ground. We also get into the background process of writing his book, riff on notions of success and knowing when something’s good enough, how vanishing into India profoundly changed his trajectory, and we get Nate's take on finding goodness and wonder in a world that often seems to have lost them.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype

Former ESPN on-air personality, writer and New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run, Kate Fagan, has lived many seasons. A fiercely-competitive athlete as a kid playing pick-up basketball alongside her dad (and dominating on the court), she went on to play Division 1 ball for C.U. Boulder, before turning pro. But writing kept calling her back, Fagan eventually stepped out of the limelight of the court, began to write and just never stopped.Her first book shared Kate's coming story. Her second, What Made Maddy Run, is a revealing look at the sometimes crushing weight we so often place on young adults in the spotlight (and they place on themselves), and what we might do to make things better. Along the way, Kate also fell in love, got married, and more recently, has been navigating the news and reality of her lifelong basketball partner, her dad, being diagnosed with ALS. Kate has so much to share about the importance of showing up for those you love, the thousands of tiny decisions that can cha

Lisa Congdon is an acclaimed illustrator, author, speaker, and teacher, known for her colorful graphic drawings and hand lettering, her many books, strong voice on social issues and lens on earning a living in the arts. She has worked with everyone from Comme des Garçons, Crate and Barrel, and Facebook, to MoMA, REI, and Harvard University and so many others. Lisa's most recent book, Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic, explores a path to finding and honing your artistic voice.In today's conversation, we explore the back-story on the events that led to her career taking off in 2016, how she learned to kick the scarcity habit and the shifts that helped her develop her distinctive, deeply personal voice. We also dive deep into the essential elements of artistic voice, what it means to live and work as a whole human being "in the arena", talk about hitting the sweet spot between artistic expression and commercial viability, and get a sneak peek into what Lisa's got c

Teaching self-defense to young women in her late twenties, Rosalind Wiseman saw a world she never expected; one where girls and young women would destroy each other. Not physically, but emotionally and socially. And, it wasn't okay with her. So, she stepped in, started to listen - really listen - not to adults, but to the young women, then all kids, and began to build coalitions in an effort to create better ways to be with each other. That eventually led her to write Queen Bees and Wannabees, a book that stormed onto the scene, rattled people to their core and started not just a conversation, but a global movement.Wiseman has since devoted herself to helping communities shift the way we think about children and teens' emotional and physical wellbeing. Through her teaching, speaking, curricula which is now taught in schools around the world, and media appearances on relational aggression, ethical leadership, the use of social media, and media literacy, she works with educators, parents, children, and teens to

When a stranger thanks Kyle Carpenter for his service as a U.S. Marine, his automatic reply is, "you are worth it." Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 2009, he served for more than a year in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, when he and his fellow Marines came under attack. In an act of extraordinary sacrifice, Carpenter threw himself on a grenade to save those around him. Regaining consciousness briefly and realizing the extent of his injuries, as he drifted back into unconsciousness, he was sure he was taking his last breath. Thankfully, he was wrong. Kyle woke up 5 weeks later at Walter Reed hospital, where he would learn that large parts of his face, head and right arm had been destroyed and needed to be reconstructed and he'd have a long road to recovery. Still, he was alive and grateful. Now the youngest living recipient of the US military’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor, in today's conversation, Kyle shares his extraordinary journey, his deep sense of service, love

Even if you don't know Lisa Fischer's name, you do know her voice. A mesmerizing vocalist, Fischer spent decades touring and recording with The Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, Sting, Tina Turner, Nine Inch Nails, Bruce Springsteen, and many others. That earthshaking voice you hear alongside Jagger on the live version of Gimme Shelter, that's Lisa. She's also recorded and toured on her own, earned a Grammy, been featured in the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, and for the last 5 years, Ms. Lisa Fischer has been thrilling audiences with her own shows worldwide.For Lisa, growing up in a neighborhood where loss was a part of the lexicon, she felt like a perpetual outsider. Music was her refuge. She eventually studied opera, then took a turn into R&B, found herself touring with Luther Vandross and other mega-acts, vaulted onto some of the biggest stages in the world. In the midst of this phenomenal success, Lisa wrestled with her own worthiness, and issues of identity, purpose, power, fame, and

Growing up in Queens, NY, at the age of 13, David Krumholtz, stumbled into the world of acting when he followed friends to an open audition on a lark, landed the role, then found himself on a Broadway stage alongside Judd Hirsh and Tony Shaloub. That launched a decades-long career in acting and eventually writing in TV and film, with credits that include a five-year run on the TV show Numbers, The Good Wife, Law & Order, HBO’s The Deuce and movies like Addams Family Values, The Santa Clause series, Slums of Beverly Hills, and now in his newest role, he plays a police officer in the deeply-provocative movie, Crown Vic.In today’s conversation, we dive into his journey as an actor, but also quickly zoom the lens out to explore his love of music, culture, family, feelings about the acting life and the role of work in his bigger mix, what makes him come alive, the importance of humility and kindness, his experience with depression and cancer, and then we dive into the gritty and provocative story behind h

What if social media and tech could be a powerful ally in the process of recovering from trauma? That's exactly what today's guest, Samira Rajabi (@srajabi), discovered. A scholar of digital and social media, trauma and international relations, Rajabi teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her work on personal and mass-scale societal trauma, and how social media and technology can actually be powerful tools for recovering, meaning-making and finding belonging and safety in the aftermath, is truly groundbreaking.Rajabi's own experience of being othered early in life left her in search of a clear sense of identity and belonging. But it was a diagnosis of a brain tumor, followed by 10 surgeries, that led her to reexamine nearly every part of her life, values, relationships, choices, how she chooses to experience each moment, and reclaim a sense of grace and acceptance with whatever her life brings.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. I

For Thomas Sadoski, acting has been in his DNA for as long as he can remember. With a decades-long love of the stage, he's landed award-winning performances on and off Broadway, features in movies like John Wick, The Last Word, and Wild, and TV shows including The Newsroom, Law & Order, Ugly Betty, and Life in Pieces. And, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming CBS series “Tommy” where he’ll be featured alongside Edie Falco.What stood out more than anything in this conversation, though, was Sadoski's big, open heart, honestly, commitment to family, as well as his powerful embrace of service. He currently sits on the board of directors of INARA, an organization that provides life-saving and life-changing medical care to refugee children wounded in war, and serves as an ambassador for War Child USA, which works to provide educational, legal and economic aid to children and communities devastated by conflict all over the world. We dive into all of this in today's moving conversation.-------------H

Nadya Okamoto is a 21-year-old activist (https://www.instagram.com/nadyaokamoto), Harvard student, Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD (https://www.period.org/), the largest youth-run NGO in women’s health and one of the fastest growing organizations of its kind in the US. She is also co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Gen-Z marketing agency, JUV Consulting. Her debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement (https://amzn.to/2mGr1h0), is a call to end period poverty and stigma through service, education, and advocacy. Okamoto was named to InStyle Magazine’s “The Badass 50: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World." Astonishingly accomplished at a young age, Nadya's driven to make a difference, fueled in no small part by her own deep trauma, as she describes living through homelessness, abuse, sexual assault, racism and exclusion. But, it was her experience, befriending and hearing stories of homeless women in Portland that would lead her to found PERIOD, devote herself to giving voi

Olympic figure skater, Adam Rippon, won the world over not only with a medal-winning performance at the 2018 games, but also with his disarmingly honest, unfiltered and funny on-camera presence. Rippon is an artist, athlete, and activist who's known for his passionate support for LGBTQ+ rights and the freedom to be oneself. He's been named to the 2018 TIME 100 List of Most Influential People, honored by the Human Rights Campaign, appeared on Ellen, Colbert, and Kimmel, and recently released his memoir Beautiful on the Outside (https://amzn.to/35KuJZ5). Adam's journey, however, has been anything but easy. In today's conversation, we talk about his rough start in skating, what turned it into a passion, and the yearslong struggles that come with trying to be the best in the world. We also explore how he stepped into and decided to share his sexual identity, grappled with perfection, family, expectations and eventually reclaimed control of his life and, in no small part, his happiness.-------------Have you discov

Born into a family of conservationists and trackers in South Africa, Boyd Varty (https://boydvarty.com/) began learning the art of tracking lions at a young age. Not for hunting, but rather as a devotion. And, eventually, as a scout for guides to bring guests into the wilderness in search of seeing animals, most often lions, in a protected environment. Through the process, learning to connect deeply with the land and natural environment, he discovered how to see and follow threads that often took hours, if not days, to lead to a majestic and wild end. But, when it came to his own life, he found himself shut down after trauma, operating on autopilot until a chance encounter with Martha Beck changed everything and opened his eyes to the possibility of using his skills as a tracker to find his way back into a life of meaning, joy and connection. Now, a storyteller, coach, tracker, activist, founder of the Good Work Foundation and the author of The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life (https://amzn.to/2Ov4jnJ), he's on a

Liz Phair took the music world by storm (https://www.lizphairofficial.com/) in the early 90s with the release of her iconic album Exile in Guyville. That, along with her self-produced Girly Sound tapes, landed her on the cover of Rolling Stone and launched a decades-long career in music. Now, a multi-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, and composer, mom and mentor to so many, Phair’s new memoir, Horror Stories (https://amzn.to/2MY7ulD), gives a glimpse into so many of the hidden moments that shaped her journey. In today's conversation, we touch down on these, and also explore how Liz's lens on life, meaning, music, creativity, quitting, complexity and spirituality has evolved over time.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a

James S. Gordon, MD is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist internationally recognized for using self-awareness, self-care, and group support to heal population-wide trauma. He is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Center for Mind-Body Medicine, (https://jamesgordonmd.com/), a clinical professor at Georgetown Medical School, and was chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. His latest book, The Transformation (https://amzn.to/31Xi5nl), helps us understand that trauma will come sooner or later to all of us, and how to navigate it.Gordon has been on the ground during moments of profound upheaval, from Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love to Mozambique in the wake of a civil war fought largely by child soldiers, and war in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and more. In today’s conversation, he talks about what it’s like to lead teams in hands-on trauma prevention and integration work in these extremely challenging environments, as well as his hope

Augusten Burroughs knows how to keep a secret. An autodidact with no formal education (https://www.augusten.com/) beyond elementary school, he began working as a copywriter in his late teens and spent 18 years creating global ad campaigns. Behind the scenes, though, he was falling apart, an alcoholic, harboring the effects of what he describes as a wildly-chaotic, abusive and destructive childhood that he'd eventually detail in the massive New York Times bestseller-turned major motion picture, Running With Scissors (https://amzn.to/2qkxRus).He's since written numerous follow-on memoirs and novels, and crafted a life as a successful writer. But, there was one area Augusten never told anyone about, even his husband. Until one day, it literally came bursting onto the page. It was time to "come clean" with this one final, and deeply-provocative part of himself, detailed in his new memoir, Toil & Trouble (https://amzn.to/32mSkNk). In today's conversation, we unwrap the layers that led Augusten from a traumatic

Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code (https://girlswhocode.com/), the nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. She is the author of three books (http://reshmasaujani.com/), including Brave, Not Perfect (https://amzn.to/33hlNbH), New York Times bestseller Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World (https://amzn.to/33f9JaT), and Women Who Don't Wait In Line. Her TED talk, "Teach girls, bravery not perfection," has more than four million views and has sparked a worldwide conversation about how we're raising our girls.Reshma's earned broad recognition for her work as an attorney, activist, and advocate for young women, including Fortune World's Greatest Leaders; Fortune 40 Under 40; WSJ Magazine Innovator of the Year; Forbes Most Powerful Women Changing the World; Fast Company 100 Most Creative People; and Crain's New York 40 Under 40, among others.Join us today to hear how a young, outsi

Cyndie Spiegel was a rising star in the fashion industry. Fifteen years in, living the life so many dream of, she made a bold decision. To walk-away from her career and, in no small part, her life, in order to create the space to step into a powerful new season of contribution and connection. Now flourishing and more fully-alive than ever, she's a keynote speaker and author with a focus on empowerment, culture and inclusion (http://www.cyndiespiegel.com/), community-organizer, and founder Dear Grown Ass Women™ (http://www.deargrownasswomen.com/), a movement to redefine and elevate the diversity of Xennial & GenX women. Speigel is also regularly featured in publications like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Glamour Magazine, Teen Vogue and The Huffington Post, and is the author of A Year of Positive Thinking: Daily Inspiration, Wisdom, and Courage (https://amzn.to/2lKiLfO).-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/)

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist and professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business (https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/jonathan-haidt) who researches the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures –– including the cultures of progressive, conservatives, and libertarians. His goal is to help people understand each other, live and work near each other, and even learn from each other despite their moral differences. He’s written several books, including The Happiness Hypothesis (https://amzn.to/2VnpXvM), The Righteous Mind (https://amzn.to/2MfbfTe) and The Coddling the American Mind (https://amzn.to/33f6e4i), and co-founded a variety of organizations and collaborations that apply moral and social psychology to help foster connection among disparate groups. In today’s conversation, we talk about everything from deconstructing happiness to changing attitudes towards adversity to what it means to truly flourish — and the critical importance of connection, comm