A Bit of Optimism

How do people become powerful? Can understanding power protect us from those who wield it too strongly?When Robert Greene first set out to write about power, he didn’t have much of it. He worked odd jobs and was largely at …

Failure is the secret to success. Our failures are agents of inspiration, iteration, and innovation. Dr. Amy Edmondson is the Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and her newest book "Right Kind of Wrong" is all about …

You’ll never achieve perfect happiness. This might sound like bad news, but it’s actually a good thing. Because being happy is not a final destination, it’s an ongoing practice. In short, it’s happier-ness.That’s a term Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey …

When should we trust our gut and when should we depend on logic? Liv Boeree can actually answer that question. She won the World Series of Poker before retiring from the game to explore big questions about game theory, competition, …

When should you quit a project and when should you persevere?As one of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, Steven Bartlett has thought deeply about this problem.Steven is used to getting people to open up on his podcast, but it turns out …

How you do anything is how you do everything.Steven Bartlett embodies this old adage. His high standards and focus on the finest details launched him from a broke university dropout to one of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs.At 30-years-old he …

Great businesses often look a lot like social movements. Sharmadean Reid knows this from experience—she has combined technology and culture to create multiple businesses around strong communities. She started her first business at 24, creating a nail salon that changed …

What does it mean to live a long and happy life? David Von Drehle has spent 40 years covering big stories and important figures as an award-winning journalist. But the best lessons turned out to be right next door. David’s …

For this 4th of July, I wanted to do something special to celebrate the birth of our nation. So I invited Air Force Chief of Staff General CQ Brown, Jr. to join me on the podcast. General Brown is the …

Change is inevitable. And yet fear, anger, and confusion are often our first reactions to changes. Cassandra Worthy experienced the negative emotions that stem from change so many times that she now sees them for what they really are: signals …