The Double Win

ANNE-LAURE LE CUNFF: Experiment Before You Commit

Nov 11, 2026 ·1 hr 8 min

Full Focus is known for helping people achieve their goals. So when a guest’s book is subtitled How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, you might expect a debate. Instead, this conversation found plenty of common ground—and some useful nuance about when a goal is the right tool and when it isn’t. In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Anne-Laure Le Cunff, a neuroscientist at King’s College London and the founder of Ness Labs. She decided to change lanes and study the brain after a stint at Google and the founding and failure of her startup confronted her with the reality that her priorities were “out of whack.” She unpacks why most people should try pacts before habits, what makes intentional imperfection so powerful, and how running tiny experiments can lead to lasting change in your life. Memorable Quotes “When you notice that your to-do list has become more important than your health, this is when you realize that something needs to change.”“Whatever happens at the end of the experiment, all you have is new data, and just like a scientist, you can look at it without any kind of self-judgment and use that information to design your next experiment.”“A lot of people would benefit from running a pact or two before they commit to a habit, just to figure out what is the actual format that works for you.”“A lot of my work is about telling people, ‘Stop setting a goal by default. Quite often this is not the right first step.’”“Every time we think we can take shortcuts, we actually very often find ourselves back to square one when we realize that what we tried doing actually didn't work.”“If all of your external signals are in the green and they look great, but you’re feeling miserable every time… then maybe it is not as successful as it looks like on paper.”“Just accepting that there is absolutely nothing wrong with your brain, and that usually what needs to change is the environment and the systems.” Key Takeaways Pacts Before Habits. A pact is a simple...

JOHN LA PUMA: Why Your Brain Needs the Outdoors

Oct 28, 2026 ·57 min

Most of us treat time outside as something to squeeze in once the real work is done. But what if the 3:00 crash, the restless nights, and the short fuse over an irritating email have less to do with your workload than with where you spend your day? In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Dr. John La Puma, a board-certified internist, professionally trained chef, and two-time New York Times bestselling author, to explore what he calls captivity biology. You'll learn why morning light sets the clock for that night's sleep, how trees and moving water calm a stressed nervous system, and why where you work deserves as much attention as when. If you've assumed better health requires an hour you don't have, this conversation offers a plan that fits inside the minutes you already spend outside. Memorable Quotes “We wanna make our time outdoors biologically active so it's restorative to our brain… [we can] repurpose those incidental minutes that we're spending outdoors into medicine so that they can help our brain and reduce our burnout, feeling more like ourselves again.”“There's an idea here that performing at work is inevitably difficult because we're at it all the time, and actually that's made it more difficult that we are indoors all the time bombarded by pixels… We're not getting the biological signals to our brain that allow our brains to reset.”“Our biology, again, reads our time indoors as confinement, and when we go outdoors, we use a different part of our brains that allow us to pay full attention when we do cognitive work.”“I talked to another man who had not been outside of his apartment for over 24 hours and thought it was normal. He'd just been in front of his screen working remotely. It's not normal. It's not only not normal, it's biologically injurious. It hurts you. It hurts your performance. It hurts your productivity. It hurts your presenteeism. It causes absenteeism.”“When we move outdoors in the company of trees or plants, our brain gets other...

JON ACUFF: Turn Intention into Action

Oct 14, 2026 ·58 min

You can be extremely capable—leading teams, hitting deadlines, maintaining good habits—while still living as an expert procrastinator. Most of us can find some gap between what we intend to do (and who we intend to be) and the lives we actually lead. And often, the things we put off are the very things that bring us the greatest satisfaction. In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author of Procrastination Proof, Finish, and Soundtracks, to explore why procrastination is really a way of avoiding a feeling, how to separate fear-driven delay from intentional sequencing, and why a thriving marriage, a healthy body, and deep friendships take the same deliberate effort as a successful business. If that gap sounds familiar, this conversation will help you start closing it. Memorable Quotes “Depth takes more time than I might like to admit. And for me to be really good at an idea or a thing takes a level of depth—and depth takes time.”“I love when I don’t do things intentionally because I’ve put some wisdom and some time and some thought into it. I don’t like when I don’t do things out of fear, and I can tell when fear is driving a delay versus intentionality.”“Where is there insecurity that’s kinda speaking versus wisdom?… If you’re hustling so hard, you can’t even notice that. And then the other challenge, in my opinion, is the more successful you get, the worse they let you behave.”“When I approach any part of my life from a service perspective, it reduces the pressure on me. It tamps down that ego, and… the client has an amazing experience because they’re like, ‘Oh, you really were invested in the success of this thing.’”“I think that ultimately your success will be determined by your capacity to feel feelings you don’t like, uh, for the sake of something you want more than that.”“My definition of procrastination is really simple: it’s when your actions don’t match your intentions… And a remarkable life, in my opinion, is...

LUKE BURGIS: Discerning What You Actually Want

Sep 30, 2026 ·58 min

Most ambition advice is about how to reach the top of the mountain. Luke Burgis points out that many of us have an upstream problem: we’re climbing a mountain we don’t actually care about. Michael and Megan sit down with Burgis, a Wall Street suit turned entrepreneur turned philosopher, father, and author of several books on desire. They unpack why not all desires are created equal, how to unearth the ones that lead to real satisfaction, and what the monastic tradition offers those of us who will never be monks. This conversation gives you a way to separate what you actually want from the noise of mimetic desire. Memorable Quotes “Ambition without a sense of self or a differentiation of self is just a highly sophisticated form of conformity.”“You can get really good at achieving goals without wondering whether they’re the right goals in the first place.”“A simple exercise is just: Name the models of your desire. Who are the people who have given you your own desires?”“One of the easiest ways to kind of determine whether a desire is thin or thick is: Does it persist through different seasons of life, through different environments, through different friend groups, through different relationships?”“A lot of people go straight to productivity and organization… before asking the most important question: Should I even be trying to integrate this at all?”“Each person has an unrepeatable calling, something that only they can do with their unique history and situation and context. I think our thickest desire is oriented towards living out of a personal vocation... Thick desire is a signpost to a calling which can be lived out in and through our work.”“Being in communion means learning how to be a differentiated self with a calling while also being part of something bigger. And sometimes that creates a little bit of tension, and our instinct is to flee any form of tension or any anxiety. And I think there’s a lot to be learned from sitting in the tension to be a part and to...

RYAN LEVESQUE: Real Life in an Artificial Age

Sep 16, 2026 ·1 hr 10 min

Chaos always prompts us to search for something solid. Confronted by the upheaval of economic reckoning, ecological exhaustion, and existential uncertainty, our souls are reaching for anything tangible and true. We want what’s real. That’s the core message of Ryan Levesque, a seven-time Inc. 5000 CEO who walked away from his former life to move with his family to a farm in Vermont. He joins Michael and Megan to talk about his book Return to Real and how we can respond wisely to the hunger felt in our souls and in the marketplace within an artificial, digital age. He unpacks how we can craft moments—at work and at home—that reward what makes us uniquely human. Because that’s what we’re all longing and looking for. Memorable Quotes “The double craving—what your body, your heart, what your spirit is starving for right now—is also what much of the market is starving for. And when you can find the intersection… there’s economic opportunity. What’s good for your biology can also be good for your bottom line.”“The last decade, in many ways, in business was a story about dopamine… ‘Create an app that’s addictive so people keep coming back to it.’ But if we look at most of the maladies of modern life—loneliness, disconnection—they are symptoms of a lack of the neurotransmitter oxytocin. Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter of trust, of love.”“We’re swimming in this sea of artificial everything, and we’re seeking truth. We live in an era of a default state of distrust… We no longer trust our eyes and ears, our sensory experience, when we are experiencing the world through a screen.”“The truth is in the tension. It’s not ‘Throw AI in a bin.’ It’s not ‘Go 100% analog.’ It’s about picking the right moments and the right places to insert it.”“People will pay for work that’s been attached to a real human life… When people see the work and the effort that’s gone into something, they value it. That’s the provenance premium.”“Just because the technology is capable of doing something doesn’...

CARL HONORE: Living at the Right Speed

Sep 2, 2026 ·54 min

Most of us know we’re moving too fast, but can’t figure out how to stop. In this episode, journalist and author Carl Honoré joins Michael and Megan to explain how we got addicted to speed, what we’re missing out on as a result, and why slowing down is a skill that requires practice. They dig into the warning signs that you’re living too fast and the hidden math that makes quick fixes more expensive than slow ones. Our world moves fast. The good news is, you don’t have to. Memorable Quotes “There’s an intimate bond between slowness and remembering… Everything just moves very fast, nothing sticks, and you don’t remember anything.”“Slow is a byword for lazy, boring, stupid, unproductive, all the things nobody wants to be associated with. And this taboo works like this: It means that even when we can feel in our bones that it’d be good for us to put on the brakes, even when we’re yearning to slow down, we don’t do it, because the taboo makes us feel ashamed, guilty, afraid.”“People often say, ‘We don’t have time for a slow fix. We only have time for a quick fix,’ right?... But then later on, when the quick fix proves to have failed and blows up in our face, we always find time then to pick up the pieces and deal with the fallout, don’t we?”“In this road runner culture, we are all marinated in adrenaline… I think we are now chemically, emotionally, physically, and biologically addicted to the rush of speed, and that drives us into the arms of the quick fix.”“We need to build in little rituals—whether it’s meditation, reading a bit of poetry, sketching, whatever it is—that reacquaint us with slower, deeper rhythms… It kind of inoculates you against the virus of hurry… and allows you to come back into the fray with a mindset that is more still, more calm, more focused, more able to see the big picture.”“It’s about doing things at, at the right speed. Musicians have a beautiful term for this. They call it the tempo giusto, right? The correct tempo for each piece of music… I...

SUMMER REPLAY: RICH LITVIN: Finding What You Want

Aug 19, 2026 ·1 hr 4 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

SUMMER REPLAY: KEN COLEMAN: Find the Work You're Wired To Do

Aug 5, 2026 ·59 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

SUMMER REPLAY: DONALD MILLER: Edit Your Life for Success

Jul 22, 2026 ·1 hr 2 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

SUMMER REPLAY: IAN CRON: The Path to Flourishing—and Freedom

Jul 8, 2026 ·1 hr 5 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

SUMMER REPLAY: JEFFERSON FISHER: Staying Grounded When Tensions Rise

Jun 24, 2026 ·59 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

SUMMER REPLAY: ANDREW ABELA: The Habits That Change Everything

Jun 10, 2026 ·1 hr 0 min

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

ANGUS FLETCHER: Our Uniquely Human Contribution

May 27, 2026 ·56 min

It's no secret that machine intelligence is evolving by the day. But what if there's a uniquely human intelligence that's altogether different? In this episode, neuroscientist, researcher, and Special Ops consultant Angus Fletcher joins Michael and Megan to explore our uniquely human contribution to the world. They unpack why children are more creative than AI, what intuition truly is (it's not pattern recognition), and how embracing your inner child can make you a better entrepreneur. They also delve into human relationships, examining why mystery and curiosity are the engines of lasting love and how three simple practices helped turn around a 90% divorce rate among Army Special Forces operatives. Memorable Quotes “I think our brains are smarter than computers. I think children are more creative than AI. And I think that one of the real powers of the human brain is that unlike a computer, it doesn't need a lot of information. I think that it can handle volatility and uncertainty and all these kinds of things.”“What we need to do as humans now is we need to say, ‘Hey, AI is great because it can handle all the label stuff, it can handle all the efficiency. It's time for us to get back to being human again,’ and realizing that being human again means cherishing the way that people are not like the labels I put on them."“What's the one thing you learn in school? You learn that there's an answer, and the system has it. And what we know is that the more that a child believes that there's a right answer, the less likely she is to come up with a new answer. And so school, by its very method, crushes entrepreneurs.”“Humans don't predict the future, we make the future. And the way that we make the future is we see a possibility that no one else has seen before, and we move faster to make that possibility happen, and that is unpredictable because it relies on the ability to spot exceptions faster.”“When you despair, it's over. When you despair, you've already told yourself th...

BRAD STULBERG: The Heart of Excellence

May 13, 2026 ·56 min

Brad Stulberg is a researcher, writer, and coach focused on performance and sustainable excellence. In this conversation, he makes the case that excellence isn't primarily a performance strategy, but a virtue. He underscores that we’re wired to pursue our values and that the work we shape also shapes us in return. In a world obsessed with optimization, speed, and delegation, he advocates for craftsmanship, end-to-end ownership, and practicing the vulnerability required to stay close to our work and give it our all. Memorable Quotes “I think at the zenith, at the peak of excellence, we get those kinds of moments where our thinking mind is no longer on and we are just going completely by feel—moving forward, taking the next best step.”“We are very much a striving species. So over the last decade, what's become a central question of mine is: How do we reconcile this need for groundedness and this foundation of presence with our hardwiring, which is striving?”“No robot can give me the feeling of what it's like to get a heavy weight to move off the ground. No robot can give me the feeling of working really, really hard, grinding away at a paragraph, and then finally getting the right turn of phrase… In an increasingly digital age, I think we've got to protect things that help us feel alive and connected.”“I define ‘zombie burnout’ not as a result of doing too much, but actually as a result of not doing enough of things that light you up and make you feel alive.”“Far too often in rote achievement culture, we only think about ourselves working toward a goal. And what we don't realize is that our goal is shaping our character… Every action we take, we are shaping our character… We're stamping upon ourselves the person that we wanna be.”“The people that we admire most are all try-hards because you cannot be your best at anything without making yourself vulnerable, risking failure, and trying hard… The things that you care about are going to break your heart because they're n...

HENRY CLOUD: How to Arrive at Your Desired Future

May 5, 2026 ·1 hr 6 min

Getting where you want to go requires five essential elements—and we’re all missing one or two, usually without realizing it. In this episode, Michael and Joel sit down with clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud, to discuss his new book Your Desired Future. If you're working hard and still stuck or headed off course, this conversation will show you where the breakdown is happening and what to do about it. Memorable Quotes “We're the only [species] that can literally see a future state that does not exist today, and then organize our three things. We have basically our time, our energy, and our talents into making that happen.”“We create teams, we create businesses, we create plans in our own image. Which means: we're wired a certain way, we have certain strengths and certain weaknesses, and we've done things in a certain way. We just take the next one and double click on that icon.”“We always think somebody is in coaching because they're struggling. But the highest performers are the ones that use coaches the most and utilize them the best… We feel things from our experience, but we need other eyes.”“The first thing to realize is nothing happens without accountability. Nothing. What is basic accountability? The etymology means ‘to answer to a trust.’… This is my role, and we're trusting each other to do what our part is to make this happen. It's a very positive thing.”“Problems unaddressed become patterns. Patterns become deeply ingrained. It's like tributaries of water outta your gutter. It's not gonna go where it's supposed to.” Key Takeaways The Five Essentials Are Non-Negotiable. Vision, talent, strategy, accountability, and adaptability aren't a framework you can pick and choose from. Every one of them has to be present for something to go from here to there.Share the Load to Hit All Five. You don’t have to master every domain. Build a network where every component is covered. Whether mentors, coaches, well-connected friends, or teammates...

EVE RODSKY: Creating Better Balance at Home

Apr 29, 2026 ·44 min

Even couples committed to a true, fair partnership can fracture under the weight of an invisible kind of work that almost always goes unacknowledged. In this episode, Megan and Joel sit down with Harvard-trained lawyer and bestselling author Eve Rodsky to talk about the reasons couples end up carrying unequal loads, and how ownership and accountability can help partners end cycles of resentment and defensiveness and move into trust. If you’re ready to feel like you’re on the same team again, this episode is for you. Memorable Quotes “At the time, we had no system for the home. We were using the three most toxic words that anyone can use for a relationship with kids: We were ‘figuring it out.’”“Fair Play is a system to restore accountability and trust, and the way you do that is by using very, very simple organizational principles… It has boundaries, systems, and communication.”“How do you fix that dynamic of somebody who's overwhelmed and somebody who's lost psychological safety in the home? There's only one way and it's ownership. That's it. You restore accountability and trust through ownership.”“There's only one scale that you'll learn in organizational management. There's trust over here, and guess what's on the other end? Control… The more you inch over to control, the more those people don't wanna be in that organization.”“We have to treat the home the same as we would treat any other practice. You're not going to gain muscle without continuing repetitive exercise. This is a muscle and a practice. And so what I would say is: there's no failing at the practice. There's just coming back to the table.”“It's helpful not to frame it like: ‘You totally suck and you need to get it together or else.’ But just if you frame it like: ‘I need you.’ Like, this is a two person job to run this enterprise called our family, and it’s the most important work we're probably ever gonna do.” Key Takeaways Your Home Is a Complex Organization. A family has all the complexity of any...

KELLY MCGONIGAL: Harnessing the Hidden Gift of Stress

Apr 15, 2026 ·1 hr 7 min

We've spent decades trying to reduce, manage, and protect ourselves from stress. But what if that entire strategy is backwards? In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Stanford health psychologist and bestselling author Kelly McGonigal to challenge the most common assumptions about what stress is and how we should respond. If you’re ready to stop chasing the fantasy of a stress-free life and start living with greater resilience and joy, this conversation will show you where to begin. Memorable Quotes “Stress, from a scientific point of view, is the biological capacity to adapt and to learn from experience. So every time you have a stress response, it's your brain and your body recognizing this is a moment that matters.”“It's a fantasy to believe that there's a version of your life that's not stressful, and that if you were doing life ‘right,’ you wouldn't experience stress. Research is pretty clear that people who have meaningful lives have very stressful lives.”“We know that when stress or distress is met with action or connection with other people, it doesn't have the same toxic effects.”“The number one cause of stress generation is people trying to avoid stress. So they procrastinate. They put off a difficult conversation…They make choices in the moment that allow them to avoid some discomfort or avoid some pressure, but then things start spiraling.”“I think we should try to be human beings who contribute to less suffering in the world. And that is different from trying to construct a life where you yourself experience less stress, or you try to parent in a way that your kids experience less stress, or you try to manage a team in a way where your team is never stressed.”“As soon as you stop fearing what your body does in moments of stress, when you understand it as an attempt to help you, your nervous system response starts to change… All of a sudden your stress response is healthier.”“In moments when you're starting to feel overwhelmed by stress, that i...

BARRY SCHWARTZ: Stop Searching for the Best

Apr 1, 2026 ·1 hr 10 min

We've been told our whole lives that more choice equals more freedom, and therefore, more happiness. But that equation breaks down sooner than we think. In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with psychologist and bestselling author Barry Schwartz to unpack the hidden costs of abundance—in our shopping carts, our workplaces, and our sense of identity. If you've ever felt paralyzed by too many options or trapped in an endless loop of comparison and upgrade, this conversation will help you understand why—and what to do about it. Memorable Quotes “You don't need to look at all the options. You look until you find one that meets your standards, and then pick it and stop looking. You're not looking over your shoulder in case somehow you missed an opportunity for something even better.”“Most important, I think, is to discipline yourself to believe—and act as if you believe—that good enough is pretty much always good enough.”“When there are 20,000 options, whether you like it or not, your choice says something about who you are—not just to the world, but also to yourself. 'I'm the kind of person who goes to this restaurant, buys this clothing,' and so on. What that does is make even trivial decisions into high-stakes decisions.”“Most people see the options we have not as a problem, but as an opportunity. And of course it is an opportunity, but it's an opportunity that has problems attached. So if you become self-aware about this, that's the first step toward making decisions about which parts of your life are worth devoting this kind of time and effort to—and which parts are just details.”“One thing that's clear now is that [AI] does not replace judgment. It assists judgment… So you need to be judicious and knowledgeable in asking the right questions of AI and in interpreting the answers that you get to extract the kernels and discard the husks.”“The way you become wise, the way you develop judgment, is by making decisions, watching some of them fail, and learning how...

NICHOLAS CARR: The Case for Adding Friction

Mar 18, 2026 ·1 hr 2 min

We’ve never had more access to information or more tools to make work faster and easier. But according to Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows and Superbloom, speed and efficiency come with trade-offs we rarely stop to examine. In this episode, Michael and Megan talk with Carr about the paradox of modern productivity: the very systems that help us scale our work can fragment our attention and erode the depth that makes that work meaningful. If you’ve felt stretched thin or subtly less present than you want to be, this conversation will help you re-evaluate your technology—and the life you’re building with it. Memorable Quotes “Many people have this sense that as everything speeds up, we seem to be able to do more. But actually our attention gets fragmented and we're not thinking as straight as we used to…The basic mistake at a personal level is the assumption that human attention, human thought, human communication always gets better as it gets more efficient.”“At a certain point, we simply overload our natural mental and psychological capacity to communicate, to process information, to make coherent thoughts. And at that point, a reversal takes place in faster communication: faster flow of information actually undermines understanding, undermines productivity, and in the worst case scenario, can start undermining relationships as well.”“As we use the tools, they also shape us. And I think that's particularly true of information technologies, communication technologies, media technologies.”“One of the big problems is that [social media platforms] take all friction out of socializing. You think, ‘Oh, we don't want friction.’ But actually, it's… making an effort, having to do some work, maybe even having to pay a little money for a stamp to put on an envelope—all of these things deepen our connection to what we're doing. Getting rid of all the friction makes everything very fast, but it also makes everything superficial.”“We're encouraged to take the path of least re...

JACOB MCHANGAMA: Disagreeing Without Losing Each Other

Mar 4, 2026 ·50 min

Most of us have an unspoken rule set for modern relationships: Avoid the landmines. But according to Jacob Mchangama, that kind of fear-based self-censorship leads to disconnection. If you can’t be forthright about what matters with the people you share life with, you may stay civil, but you won’t stay close. In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Jacob Mchangama—founder and executive director of the Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University—to explore what it looks like to disagree without dehumanizing. They talk about why today’s conversations feel existential, how identity gets tangled with beliefs, and how to build habits that keep you grounded when your nervous system wants to go to war. Memorable Quotes “It is much better to confront those differences head-on rather than try to hide them under this veneer of mutual tolerance and respect—which really is not based on mutual tolerance and respect if you can't have those difficult conversations that divide people.”“When you self-censor about issues that are deeply meaningful to you, issues that affect society as a whole, when you think that you cannot speak out on an issue where you think someone that you're close to is wrong… it breeds loneliness. And then if you can only be very forthright about certain issues with a group of people who are completely like-minded, then that might also be self-radicalizing, in a way.”“Approach discussions on social media, for instance, with a mindset of saying, ‘I'm not going into this debate or discussion to win. I'm going into this discussion because I'm passionate about this issue, but I might be wrong.’”“If you have a conversation with someone and you know that you have very different positions on a given topic, you have an opportunity to learn something. Even if that person is not able to convince you about that position, they might have points that make you understand your own position better, or maybe you tweak your own position. Even if you tweak it 5%, tha...

CAROLINE WILLIAMS: Your Most Underrated Intelligence Center

Feb 18, 2026 ·1 hr 0 min

You’re not a brain on legs. And if upgrading your mindset or sharpening your thinking hasn’t delivered the breakthrough you expected, it may be time to pay attention to the one stream of data AI can’t access: your body’s real-time signals. In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with science journalist Caroline Williams to unpack interoception—your internal sensory system. It’s the mechanism that helps you interpret what’s happening inside your body and quietly shapes your response. Together, they explore why modern life makes it so easy to override those signals and introduce simple shifts that make a big difference. If you’ve felt stuck in your head, worn out from pushing through, or unsure how to care for yourself in a high-demand season, this conversation offers a different path—habits that are practical, sustainable, and refreshingly free. Memorable Quotes “Anything you do with your body is gonna affect the signals that are going from within your body to your brain. And that changes how your brain predicts what you are capable of and what's gonna happen next.”“We can either be attending to the outside world or the internal world. You can't be doing it both at the same time. So if you are constantly out there, you can't be in here. And so you need to be able to have the ability to tune in, deal and then tune back out again.”“[Our lives today] don't really match up with what we were designed for. So we have to then seek out the movement that we don't get in our everyday lives.”“The relationship between moving and brain health isn't about how much time you spend exercising, it's about how much time you spend sedentary. So it's about breaking up the sedentary time.”“One of these things that seem to be gathering momentum a little bit is the idea of movement snacks. So throughout the day, it's like the equivalent of food snacks. You can quite easily snack all day long without really noticing, and the calories add up, right? It's the same with exercise, with movem...

HAL ELROD: Daily Essentials for Aging Well

Feb 4, 2026 ·58 min

Morning routines can become one more place we feel behind, especially when life shifts. In this episode, Michael and Megan talk with bestselling author Hal Elrod about The Miracle Morning After 50 (co-authored with aging expert Dwayne Clark). Along with the SAVERS basics (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing) they explore the “after 50” focus on healthspan, purpose, flexibility, and overlooked free practices. Hal also shares the common derailers and how to rebuild momentum with small steps that stick. Whether you’re in midlife or building sustainable habits now, this conversation will help you craft a morning ritual that fits real life and grows with you. Memorable Quotes “The thing to remember is that what we affirm repeatedly becomes our reality, right? And so it's [helpful to affirm] what you're committed to, why it's important, and what you're gonna do to get there.”“And if you think about it, we are an extension of the earth… And so, for me, I try to live my life as closely in alignment with nature as I possibly can.”“My belief on purpose is that it's something we get to make up as we go along. We can have more than one purpose because I think people put a lot of pressure on purpose… You get to make it up. That's the best part about purpose. And you can try it on for a week, and you're like, ‘You know what? I wanna try a different purpose,’ or ‘I wanna have two or three.’ It's fluid, it's fun, it's joyful.”“If somebody took a peek at your schedule, does it really reflect what you say is most important in your life—whether that's health or family, or happiness, or whatever it is?”“You live, on average, about five years after you retire from purpose. But if you can keep the purpose going, it doesn't matter if you're retired or not retired, or working for a nonprofit or working for a for-profit. It doesn't matter as long as you're making a contribution.”“As we get older, the needs of our bodies, our minds, our hearts—those things s...

HAL HERSHFIELD: Making Better Choices Feel Easier

Jan 21, 2026 ·1 hr 1 min

Why do we procrastinate, overspend, or neglect habits we know matter? In this episode, UCLA professor Hal Hershfield reveals how our connection (or lack of connection) to our future selves shapes everything from health and finances to ethics and life satisfaction. Drawing on decades of research, Hal introduces practical tools—including reverse time travel, temptation bundling, and vivid imagination exercises—that help close the gap between intention and action. This conversation is equal parts science, story, and strategy for anyone who wants to live with more agency and hope. Memorable Quotes “It involves thinking about trade-offs between now and later, and thinking about sort of balancing out our happiness and our satisfaction over time between the version of us who exists right now and the version of us who exist in the future.”“People change, and we change much more than we expect to. And the reason I think that that's not something to fear is because it means that we have some control over our lives. It means that we can become different versions of us, we can change aspects of ourselves.”“It may be scary at first to recognize that my life could look different in 10 years than I expect it to be. But the reality that we know from decades of research is that as a human being, we're quite good with grappling with change. We're quite resilient. We have a healthy, what's called ‘psychological immune system,’ which basically means we can sort of fend off the changes that we don't want and sort of learn to live with the way that life has become.”“What the research has found is that if we make the process of achieving a goal more fun, more enjoyable, more pleasurable, we're just—and this shouldn't surprise anybody—we're a lot more likely to stick it out.”“If we want to spur action, if we wanna take some agency, we not only need to think about the way that we want things to look differently, but we also need to figure out what's the contrast between now and later? And w...

VIRGINIA POSTREL: Staying Hopeful in a Changing World

Jan 7, 2026 ·59 min

Why does it feel like everything is falling apart, even as our lives get materially easier in so many ways? Michael Hyatt talks with author and cultural thinker Virginia Postrel about why progress becomes invisible, how nostalgia for the “good old days” distorts reality, and why modern change moves unevenly. They explore why humans crave beauty and meaning (not just function) and how AI is reshaping the future of work. A clear theme emerges throughout the wide-ranging conversation: change is inevitable, and how we respond matters. Resilience, margin, and an entrepreneurial mindset make all the difference. If you’ve felt powerless against “big systems,” this episode is a reminder that innovation is often personal, practical, and close to home: start where you are, solve what you can, and expect the unexpected. Memorable Quotes “The issues of character never go away. They are eternal human questions, and we forget because we have sort of nostalgic views of the past.”“Even the smartest AI can’t figure out what people want—what people are dissatisfied with. And a lot of innovation comes from that. We tend to focus on big technologies. And even big technologies come from a lot of incremental improvements… A lot of improvements come from people saying, ‘I’m dissatisfied with this,’ or ‘Here’s something I figured out.’”“Human beings don’t just value function. They value pleasure, and they value meaning, and pleasure and meaning are things that are very much conveyed through the look and feel of objects or places.”“Agency is problem-solving. It’s you solving problems in your life, or whatever that might be—and it’s sort of reversed, too, which is that if you assume that it’s someone else’s job to solve your problem, you sort of give up your sense of agency.” “A lot of leadership is figuring out what gifts individuals have and getting them moving in the right direction… A big part of leadership as problem-solving is people problem-solving—getting people in the right roles an...

PAT FLYNN: Opting Out of Learning Overload

Dec 17, 2025 ·1 hr 0 min

Why do high-achievers feel perpetually behind, even while consuming more content than ever? In this conversation, Pat Flynn explains the trap of “overlearning” and how it quietly keeps us stuck in motion without progress. You’ll learn how to shift from “just-in-case” learning to “just-in-time” learning, create real momentum with a simple four-step framework, and protect what matters most with practical boundaries. Along the way, Pat shares how these principles helped him build multiple successful businesses (including a Pokémon channel with millions of followers) without sacrificing his family, health, or joy. Memorable Quotes “We all, in a way, are not just our overlearning, but we're getting over-inspired. We're so connected with so many amazing people out there who teach us this and push us over here, and then we're pulled over this way. We're spread so thin it's we're we're not seeing any results in our own life.”“Now we all have access to all the same kind of information, but we're still treating it as if it's scarce…However, we now live in a buffet line of information… and we're not quite evolved to absorb all of this because we're stuffing our plates full. Not only are we getting bloated and and and slowed down, but we're also getting force-fed on these platforms.”“This is the difference between ‘just-in-case learning,’ which is what we've all been doing, and ‘just-in-time learning,’ which is learning what you need to know to just take that next step. Because truly the action of taking that next step, the results of that one way or another—whether there are good results or bad results—can teach you so much more than just absorbing this information and never taking any action at all.” “[Silence] allows me to be with myself and to digest the things that I've already learned, to think about my priorities and the things I've already committed to. It allows me to make creative connections between things that I have already picked up instead of just getting more pu...

MICHAEL BUNGAY STANIER: The Problem With Having the Answers

Dec 3, 2025 ·1 hr 7 min

Why do leaders jump so quickly to giving advice? And why does it so often backfire? In this episode, Michael Bungay Stanier explains why the “advice monster” is one of our biggest leadership liabilities—and how seven simple questions can help you listen better, coach smarter, and build stronger connections. Filled with humor, story, empathy, and practical scripts, this episode is a masterclass in everyday leadership. Memorable Quotes “When you ask a question and they actually have to think about it, you're literally creating new neural pathways in their brain—or at least they're creating their own neural pathways—so they're literally becoming smarter right in front of you.”“More deeply than an ‘answer,’ much of the time people want to feel deeply heard, deeply seen, and deeply encouraged. And your ‘answer’ often means they feel less seen, less heard, and less encouraged.”“One of the great moments of claiming adulthood is being clear on what you want to say ‘yes’ to—and knowing that inevitably you have to say ‘no’ to things to get that.”“Every time you jump in with your ideas and your opinions and your advice—particularly if it's your default reaction—you’re basically reinforcing, ‘I'm better than you are. I'm smarter and wiser and older and faster and just generally better than you. You are not as good as I am.’ There’s a degree to which you're diminishing that other person rather than helping them.”“There's a time and a place where [giving advice] is the right thing to be doing. The way I define coaching is: Can you stay curious a little bit longer? Can you rush to action and advice-giving a little bit more slowly?”“One of the phrases I've started saying to people who are going through a tough time is simply, ‘I'm Team Michael. I'm Team Megan.…I'm Team whoever that person might be.’ It’s my way of saying, ‘I love you and I want the best for you, and I don't even know what to do—or I can’t think of anything to do—so I'm just trying to be with you in this moment.’”“O...

JOEL MILLER: Books Make Us Better

Nov 5, 2025 ·56 min

Why do some ideas spark movements while others fizzle? Joel—author of The Idea Machine, veteran publisher, and Chief Content Officer at Full Focus—explains how books transform vague thoughts into precise, shareable frameworks. You’ll hear the case for analog reading, how writing unlocks buy-in at work, and why AI and books actually belong together. Practical, contrarian, and deeply encouraging for any high achiever who wants clearer thinking and better communication. Memorable Quotes “Ideas that start in the mind of an author as just kind of a gooey, fuzzy idea. And in the course of writing, it forces them to get clear on it. It forces them to get specific about it and develop it in a way that actually becomes useful.”“Not only can these ideas live in a way that we can understand them, but they can live through time. And that's one of the greatest things about a book—that it perpetuates ideas across time.”“It forces you to get clear. It forces you to develop an argument. It forces you to develop a line of thought that other people can follow. And without that, you're kind of left with a grab bag of ideas that are probably cool. They're great, but they're not in a system that can be used or explained or anything like that.”“I think this is true for leaders. They have a lot of personal charisma and people want to follow them, but that's not enough. You really do have to go to the discipline of getting these ideas clear for yourself so that they can be clear to other people.”“Part of what we've done is we've just de-skilled ourselves in reading and we just need to re-skill ourselves in reading.”“Never read a book 'cause you're supposed to. Read books because they delight. You read books because they're entertaining to you. Read books because you get something out of it that you really like.”Key Takeaways Books Are Tech. Treat books as an information technology that lets ideas scale with precision and longevity.Writing Creates Clarity. If you want buy-in, don’t rely on...

ELIZABETH STANLEY: The Biology of Resilience

Oct 22, 2025 ·54 min

Why do so many high achievers secretly struggle with anxiety, burnout, and overwhelm? Dr. Elizabeth Stanley, Army veteran, Georgetown professor, and author of Widen the Window, joins Michael Hyatt to explain the hidden science behind stress and resilience. Drawing on her personal story of trauma, her background in the military, and her training in somatic therapy, Elizabeth reveals why talk therapy alone often falls short—and how body-based practices can change everything. This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply hopeful for anyone who feels stuck in patterns of stress. Memorable Quotes “We're all in it together and we're all experiencing the particular lawful ways that this human mind and body works in this particular poly-crisis world. Of course, people are struggling. It's kind of why it's my passion to help people understand ‘You're not alone in this.’”“We are wired organically to be able to mobilize the energy to manage a crisis or a stressful situation, and then recover. Our ancestors that shared the same wiring that we have did not have 24/7 constant activation and constant demands the way that we do in modern life today.”“The science term there is allostatic load, and the more our stress load grows, the less capacity we have in our mind and body to meet the next challenge, so that it becomes a bit of a vicious cycle, and we know that we're on the edge of our window or outside of our window of tolerance.”“We are built so that we learn the downregulation through the soothing we receive from our parents and other early caregivers. And that presumes that our early caregivers and parents were regulated enough to do that for us.”“If we're redirecting it somewhere that the survival brain perceives as safe, that actually starts conditioning. A process that makes the system move back in the way that we're organically built, which is to go through stress and recover naturally.”“When we don't perceive agency, when we feel powerless or helpless, that actually...

OLIVER BURKEMAN: Trading Control for Peace

Oct 8, 2025 ·1 hr 3 min

What if the key to a meaningful life isn’t doing more—but doing less, with intention? In this powerful conversation, Michael and Megan talk with Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, about the myths of productivity, the illusion of control, and why accepting our finite nature might be the best thing we can do for our peace, purpose, and productivity. Memorable Quotes “It's the relaxation of now I can just do the things that matter the most… I can just sort of dive in because I'm no longer trying to make all my actions feel like they are part of some process of eventually getting to total domination of my time and perfect optimization.”“You are being confronted again with this ridiculous thing that it is to be a human—which is to be capable of imagining basically an infinite amount of possibilities and eventualities, but ultimately being a sort of finite material animal and having to choose only some of them.”“Almost everybody who is trying to sort of optimize themselves into absolute control, you know, they're not succeeding. Life is miserable and they're letting people down all over the place.”“There isn't any system or philosophy or approach or sports nutrition drink that is going to enable you to sort of win the battle with human limitation… Now, we figure out how to flourish in absolutely fantastic and wonderfully meaningful and interesting and lucrative ways within those limitations rather than running away from them.”“There's a way of going with the flow that is actually more constructive and productive as well as more peaceful and meaningful.”“I really found that just sort of expecting discomfort from things that matter to me—whether that is a piece of work or an aspect of relationships or parenting—just knowing that it's going to feel uncomfortable sometimes because it's bringing me to my edge and my limitations makes a huge, huge difference.”“A lot of our productivity is the result of anxiety. And I would like to live a...

ELIZABETH OLDFIELD: Becoming Steady, Connected, and Fully Alive

Sep 24, 2025 ·1 hr 1 min

What if the key to thriving isn’t managing your circumstances perfectly—but rooting yourself in the connections that matter most? In this heartfelt conversation, Michael and Megan talk with Elizabeth Oldfield, author of Fully Alive, about reclaiming depth, community, and soul-level steadiness in a culture addicted to speed and distraction. Elizabeth draws on ancient wisdom, modern insight, and her own experience living in intentional community to offer a hopeful path forward. Memorable Quotes “You need to put your roots down deep into love and work out how to find some steadiness.” “When we are honest about our full humanity, we give other people permission to do that, and that's a necessary starting point for actually growing up our souls rather than pretending that we all know what we’re doing and we’re holding it all together.” “Where we put our attention is essentially who we become.”“I have this sense that fully aliveness is in connection, deep connection, horizontally and vertically.” “Hurrying and destruction are not how we flourish, and we’re constantly being encouraged to do those things. So we need to provide some counter pressure towards slowness and steadiness and presence.” Key Takeaways Connection Is the Core of Flourishing. Relationships—messy, costly, inconvenient—are where we become more fully human.Attention Shapes Who You Become. Distraction isn’t just a nuisance; it’s a soul-shaping force. Guard your focus.Structure Time Around Your Values. A “rule of life” puts what matters most in place first, so the rest fits around it.Commitment Fuels Depth. Vulnerability without commitment fizzles; together they form lasting community.Ancient Practices Still Work. Sabbath, liturgy, and shared rhythms anchor us in what endures.Resources Fully Alive by Elizabeth OldfieldThe Sacred podcast by Elizabeth Oldfield Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/-anckhHSdHM This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

CHRIS DUCKER: Bouncing Back from Burnout

Sep 10, 2025 ·1 hr 9 min

After experiencing burnout and adrenal fatigue, author and entrepreneur Chris Ducker realized hustling harder wasn’t the answer. He gets candid about burnout, recovery, and why joy-filled practices are essential for leaders who want to last. Two of his favorites: bonsai gardening and birdwatching. He also makes a compelling case for getting outside. It’s a refreshing invitation back to an embodied, sustainable way of life. Memorable Quotes “I hadn't necessarily been burning the candle on both ends. But what I had been doing was a little too much of pretty much everything.”“You don't need to break in order to take a break.”“Self-care actually is a strategy, and it's a strategy that you can use to your advantage, particularly from a business owner standpoint.”“Ultimately you're the engine, you're the spark, you're the difference maker. But even engines need a little maintenance.”“Hobbies, particularly creative hobbies, if you spend a minimum of two hours a week on your hobby, you will be as much as 30% more productive in your work.”“Any kind of success that costs you your health or your family or your joy isn't really actually success.”“We want that big win, that big roar. And you only get that by being really consistent and the real game here is patience. It's consistency, it's showing up when it's not sexy, when it's not flashy, it's doing the unsexy work.” Key Takeaways Burnout Isn’t Just Overwork. Stress from life, context, and even unsustainable pace can take you down. Your body always keeps the score.Self-Care Is Strategy. Leaders last when they guard their health and energy—because even engines need maintenance.Hobbies Heal. Joyful pastimes don’t just prevent burnout; they restore creativity and can boost productivity by up to 30%.Step Outside. Just 15 minutes in nature can reset your mind and body. Make it nonnegotiable.Small Shifts, Big Change. Consistent micro moves compound into lasting transformation. Resources The Long Haul Leader by Chris DuckerYoupreneu...

Summer Hiatus Announcement!

Jun 4, 2025 ·1 min

JEFFERSON FISHER: Staying Grounded When Tensions Rise

May 21, 2025 ·58 min

If your conversations are starting to feel more like combat, you’re not alone. In this powerful episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Jefferson Fisher—trial attorney, social media sensation, and author of The Next Conversation—to talk about the small shifts that create major breakthroughs in communication. From regulating your nervous system to choosing connection over triumph, this episode is packed with practical, actionable tools you can use today. Memorable Quotes “When you set out to win an argument, you often will lose the relationship. If you only see it as something to win, that means you’re going to lose a lot more.”“Who wants to be around the person who always has to be right? That is somebody who is lonely.”“Instead of seeing arguments as something to win, you see them as something to unravel.”“You don’t have to like it. You just gotta understand it.”“That’s the key with connection: I can disagree with you and still connect with you. I can still be unhappy, I can still be mad at you, and still connect with you.”“You are in complete control of the pace of the conversation.”“When you don’t say it with control, you end up reacting rather than responding. It’s just your natural fight or flight will take over and you’re going to start responding more emotionally.”“You gotta let them pour it all out before they’ll ever be willing to accept anything that you say.”Key Takeaways Arguments Aren’t Battles. If your goal is to win, you’ve already lost. Reframe arguments as something to unravel, not conquer.Start With Self-Control. Nervous system regulation is the key to effective communication—especially when things get tense.Use “Small Talks.” Short, verb-based phrases like “be still” or “practice kindness” can center you in high-stakes conversations.Connection > Agreement. We don’t always have to be on the same page to cultivate a meaningful relationship.Confidence Follows Action. Speak with assertiveness, not apology. Confidence grows as you use your voice.Resou...

DAVE RAMSEY: Build a Business That Lasts

May 7, 2025 ·1 hr 6 min

What do you do when business feels hard—and you assume it’s your fault? In this raw and rich conversation, Michael and Megan sit down with Dave Ramsey to talk about what really goes into building a business that lasts. Drawing from his 30+ year journey with Ramsey Solutions, Dave shares stories of failure, clarity, succession, and the slow handoff of legacy—along with what most founders get wrong about growth. If you’ve ever felt behind, discouraged, or unsure how to lead your business into the future, this episode will show you the next light on the path. Memorable Quotes “The dirty little secret is: Everyone’s money is messed up.”“As long as I can clearly see the next step, it gives me tremendous energy and focus and hope.”“We’ve learned with all the bruises to look for the next thing but not to sell out to it.”“You gotta change the word. The word is: I experimented. I didn’t fail.”“You give other people the credit when things are right and take the hit when things are wrong. Because it is your job as the leader.”“People are our greatest blessing and they also give us the most trouble.”“I have to constantly stop and say: Let them do it. You did hand it off. Don’t take it back. They’re doing okay.”Key Takeaways Business Is Hard. If you’re a small business owner struggling to make it all work, you’re in really good company. The struggle is normal, and you’re not alone.Cut Through the Fog. You don’t need to know the whole path. You just need enough clarity to light your next steps.Good News: You’re the Problem. If your business is stuck, look in the mirror. That’s not shame—it’s a solvable problem.Succession Starts Now. Planning for legacy doesn’t mean you’re quitting. It means you’re a good steward. Whether you have five team members or 500, the time to start is now. Resources Build a Business You Love by Dave RamseyThe Ramsey ShowRamsey Solutions EntreLeadershipWatch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/oOoV5G1Zi8E This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of...

ARTHUR BOERS: A Path Back to What Matters

Apr 23, 2025 ·1 hr 0 min

What if the answer to your overwhelm isn’t a new planner or app—but a walk around the block, a shared meal, or a Saturday spent gardening? In this episode, Michael and Megan sit down with Arthur Boers, author of Living into Focus and Shattered, to talk about the kind of practices that help us resist the pressure of a hyperconnected world and even heal from generational trauma by reconnecting to what matters most. If you’ve ever longed to feel more grounded, whole, or present, this conversation will give you the language—and tools—you’ve been missing. Memorable Quotes “Technoloy itself is not the problem. Technology is human manipulation of nature for human priorities… The question is: Do we master technology or does technology master us?”“What we ought to do is raise the thresholds against things that are not the priority… And then the other thing is lower the threshold for things that are your priorities."“Focal practice is just helping us reclaim things that we knew or did before and helping us prioritize them, helping us have a different perspective on them.”“Compassion is the way forward. It doesn’t help to school people who are struggling with these things—but to listen to them with patience and kindness and compassion can, in fact, make a difference.”“Focal practices are about getting away from just acting automatically. That’s how I was raised: If you act automatically, it’s right. You’re justified… I’ve had to unlearn that.”“It means a willingness to live with ambiguity and to live with pain and to live with things that aren’t resolved and hold there—that’s a hard learning.”Key Takeaways Focal Practices Are More Than Habits. Focal practices aren’t just routines—they’re meaningful rhythms that require intentionality, foster connection, and reorient us to what matters most.Technology Calls For Discernment. Technology isn’t going anywhere—but the way we engage with it should be thoughtful. The key to balance? Honest conversations in community.We Need Yellow Lig...

JOSH AXE: The Hidden Root of Healing

Apr 9, 2025 ·1 hr 4 min

What if your health breakthrough doesn’t start in the gym or the kitchen—but in your mind? In this powerful conversation, Michael and Megan sit down with Dr. Josh Axe to explore why so many people feel stuck in cycles of stress, illness, or plateau—and how to shift toward real, lasting wellness. Drawing from his background in functional medicine and personal experience with a life-altering spinal infection, Dr. Axe shares the most overlooked key to healing and how you can start applying it today. Memorable Quotes “The number one determining factor of longevity for you is having strong relationships.”“If you wake up first thing in the morning and get outside, it’s one of the single greatest things you can do for longevity and your microbiome.”“This is all about training your nervous system and encouraging your body that ‘This is going to happen.’”“There’s a lot of people that win at all costs, but they never end up winning. We hear all the stories. They’re never truly winning.”Key Takeaways The Biology of Belief. What you believe about your body impacts everything from gut function to recovery speed. Healing starts with mindset.The Root of the Issue. Many chronic health challenges are driven by unresolved trauma—and show up in unexpected places like digestion and fatigue.The Power of Visualization. Mentally rehearsing health and healing isn’t “woo-woo”—it’s neuroscience.Top Four Longevity Habits. Hear from an expert what four rituals can add years to your life.Resources Think This, Not That by Dr. Josh AxeDrAxe.comAncient NutritionYou Are the Placebo by Dr. Joe DispenzaWatch on Youtube at:  https://youtu.be/2-dvOt-zcdM This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

ARIANNA MOLLOY: How to Love Work—Without Burning Out

Mar 26, 2025 ·1 hr 6 min

What is a calling? How does it shape our work and life? What’s the hidden cost of pursuing it (and what can we do about it)? In this engaging, high-energy conversation, Michael and Megan sit down with Dr. Arianna Molloy—calling researcher, author, and professor—to unpack the power and pitfalls of purpose-driven work. Arianna reveals the four key elements of a true calling, practical safeguards to prevent burnout, and three concrete shifts anyone in any field can make to start experiencing a greater sense of purpose and meaning at work.  She also explains why humility—not just passion—is the key to sustainable success. If you’ve ever struggled to balance meaningful work with a healthy life, this episode is a must-listen. Memorable Quotes “Burnout from a calling isn’t just, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.’ It’s, ‘I don’t know who I am anymore.’”“To learn how to rest well, to learn how to have good boundaries actually protects that healthy sense of your calling.”“It is so important that work is not all that you have and all that you are because, guess what? At the end of the day, [your work] is going to change and shift… If we hold that with a closed hand, it’s not going to go well.”“[Calling is] really relational. It’s a relationship with yourself, the caller, and it’s a relationship with the community that you impact.”“Most of the time, [calling] happens upon reflection… In the moment, it’s not so obvious. This subtle sense of peace, or just a feeling like, ‘I think this is right.’”“We don’t honor that need and importance of play as much as we could.”“The lynchpin is humility. Part of humility is the willingness to learn more, to know that you don’t know everything and that is not a threat—it’s actually exciting.”Key Takeaways The Bright and Dark Sides of Calling. A strong sense of purpose can fuel motivation, but without boundaries, it can also lead to burnout and identity loss.The Four Elements of a True Calling. Calling isn’t just about passion—it requires m...

BRYAN & SHANNON MILES: Leading Through Change and Loneliness

Mar 12, 2025 ·57 min

Entrepreneurship promises freedom—but it also comes with a unique set of challenges that many don’t talk about. In this episode, The Double Win Show welcomes Bryan and Shannon Miles, co-founders of Belay and the nonprofit O’nr, to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build a thriving business without losing yourself in the process. From hiring their first virtual assistant in 2011 (who later became CEO!) to navigating the emotional weight of selling a business, Bryan and Shannon share their hard-won lessons on leadership, transitions, and making decisions that align with your values. Memorable Quotes “Here’s the magic phrase: ‘In order to be faithful to my existing commitments, I have to say no.’”“I am responsible for myself and my leadership. And I know that if I extend myself too far, I’m not the best version of who I want to be.”“If I’m saying yes to everything and I’m overcommitting and my schedule is absolutely full, there’s no space for creativity. There’s no space for dreaming. There’s no space for new ideas or realizations.”“A lot of business owners are lonely, actually isolated.”“As leaders, part of our job is just kind of to help people settle and know they’re safe.”“Stewardship is just simply managing something for a season of time… While we’re there with our employees and leaders, we’re stewarding our relationships with them.”Key Takeaways The Loneliness of Leadership. If you’re feeling isolated as a business owner, there’s good news: You’re not the only one.The Skill of Saying No. Implement this mental shift to help you stop overcommitting without the guilt.Getting Buy-In For Change. What leaders get wrong when making major business changes—and what to do to help your team ride the wave.Living Your Priorities Today. Why Bryan and Shannon took a vacation nine months after starting a business—and the opportunity that followed.The Operator/Owner Difference. Are you owning a business or trapped in it? Resources Belay SolutionsO’nrNoFo BrewWatch...

ANDREW ABELA: The Habits That Change Everything

Feb 26, 2025 ·59 min

We all know that habits shape our lives. But which habits actually matter? In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael and Megan sit down with Dr. Andrew Abella, founding dean of the Bush School of Business and author of Superhabits, to discuss a framework for building a flourishing life. Andrew shares how ancient wisdom, backed by modern science, reveals the core virtues that drive success—and how anyone can develop them. If you’ve ever wondered where to start when it comes to personal growth, this episode is your answer. Memorable Quotes “Cultivating self discipline is not about stifling a desire. It’s about redirecting it gently into a more productive direction.”“There is a specific set of habits that is far superior.”“Vitrues are specific habits of excellence.”“Every [virtue] all of us have inside us. They just need to be activated… by practicing them.”“There’s a freedom that comes from growing in self-discipline, because instead of being a prey to whatever desire that you have, you’re in charge.”“For an adult who’s looking at harmless social media, the problem is you are wasting your desire to know on stuff that is not going to help you.”Key Takeaways The Four Pillars of Success. Prudence, justice, courage, and self-discipline form the foundation of a flourishing life, shaping how we think, act, and grow.The “Which Habit?” Problem. Most habit books focus on how to build habits, but the real challenge is knowing which habits will lead to lasting success.The Power of Restraint. Simple acts of restraint—like pausing before reacting or delaying instant gratification—build your no muscle for the other areas of life.The Role of Leisure. True rest isn’t about doing nothing—it’s about engaging in activities that refresh the mind and restore creativity.Resources Superhabits by Dr. Andrew AbelaSuperhabits SubstackGrowVirtue (The SuperHabits App)The Anatomy of Virtue GraphicAndrew Abela’s LinkedInWatch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/RAJeu68fIJ4 This episode was prod...

JAY PAPASAN: One Question to Upgrade Your Life

Feb 12, 2025 ·1 hr 9 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael and Megan sit down with bestselling author Jay Papasan to talk about the secret to extraordinary success: focus. Jay unpacks why most people struggle with distraction, how to create an environment for deep work, and why small, consistent actions lead to massive results over time. Memorable Quotes “Our focus muscle depends on how long we’ve been using it and how much distraction we have to deal with every day.”“If it’s important enough, it belongs on my calendar.”“When you get really good at your one thing, you don’t just get many results. Your impact gets larger and larger over time.”“Extraordinary starts this way: It starts small and it grows so much faster than we can imagine.”“There’s two groups of people in life: doers who don’t have space to dream and dreamers who don’t have space to do.”“It creates anxiety and fear because it matters. We don’t want to fail at the things that matter most to us.”“Our culture rewards busy people who move fast and get things done.”“It should always be situational. When do we need to be fast? When do we need to be slow?”“If you’re going to do something extraordinary, it’s not going to be because you did millions of things. It’s going to be because you did that thing and the handful of things that matter around it extraordinarily well.”“Everything in life that matters happens pretty slowly.” Key Takeaways The Focus Bunker: How to design a workspace that protects your attention so you can do your best workThe Domino Effect: The science behind tiny actions that lead to exponential growthThe Myth of Busyness: Why getting a lot done doesn’t mean you’re moving forward (and what does)The Value of Slow: How taking your time can actually speed up your success—and why the best things take timeRituals for High Performance: Small habits that make big results inevitable (and how you can implement them today.)Resources The One Thing by Gary Keller & Jay PapasanThe One Thing PodcastWatch on YouTube...

RICH LITVIN: Finding What You Want

Jan 29, 2025 ·1 hr 3 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller chat with Rich Litvin, bestselling author of The Prosperous Coach and sought-after leadership coach. Rich unpacks how leaders can embrace self-awareness, tackle work addiction, and redefine success by asking one simple but life-changing question: “What do you want?” Memorable Quotes “Most of success is actually about mining your past.”“No one really remembers a comfortable life.”“My favorite coaching question is the simplest one. It’s: What do you want? Especially if you’re really good at helping other people, it’s actually really hard to answer for yourself.”“The most underrated skill in leadership is self-awareness.”“The power of great coaching is that you can see things that others can’t see. And you’re bold enough to say what others won’t dare to say.”“I don’t need to be better at what they do than they are. They’re the best in the planet at what they do. I’m the one who’s bold enough to challenge their thinking.”“If your heart tells you to say this to do this, then you need to lean into that edge, even if it’s to start off by saying, ‘Hey, I feel a little bit nervous to say this.’”“If you’re addicted to alcohol, to drugs, to sex, to the internet, there’s all sorts of help you can get to support you. If you’re addicted to work, everything is set up to support you in doing more of it.”“You need things that nurture your spirit. And as much as doing work that you love can feel great, it doesn’t always nurture your soul.”“We’re not stronger than that algorithm. We can’t be. So we need ways to support.”Key Takeaways Ask “What Do You Want?” This simple yet powerful question unlocks clarity and reveals what truly matters.Self-Awareness Fuels Success. Great leaders reflect on their actions and embrace honest feedback to grow.Energy Drives Achievement. Identify what energizes or drains you to create more capacity for meaningful work.Growth Comes From Discomfort. The most fulfilling moments come...

IAN MORGAN CRON: The Path to Flourishing—and Freedom

Jan 15, 2025 ·1 hr 4 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller interview Ian Morgan Cron, bestselling author, psychotherapist, and Episcopal priest. Ian shares insights from his new book, The Fix, offering a fresh perspective on how the 12 Steps can transform lives—even for those who don’t identify as addicts. This episode dives into universal human struggles, addressing how we numb pain, avoid truth, and search for solutions in all the wrong places. Memorable Quotes “Trying to solve an inside problem with an outside solution doesn’t work.”“Human beings are always on the prowl for a fix, looking for something to distract or numb the big ache of what it means to be simply human.”“All human beings are fundamentally restless.”“The whole point of the 12-step program is to facilitate a spiritual awakening of sufficient force that it expels the need for external solutions to internal problems.”“Real happiness comes when you make memories in community.”“People get sick in secret. They get well together.”“The three most courageous words in the world are ‘I need help.’”“Powerlessness is a superpower. When you finally admit ‘I am powerless’ or ‘I do not have control over nearly as much of life as I think I do’ suddenly a great, great burden is lifted from your shoulders.”“Ultimately what we want for ourselves and the people we love most is freedom.”“All addicts are frustrated mystics.”“As I’ve kind of unraveled the codependency addiction that I had, I’ve realized that I have to just be okay with people not changing. I want them to change. I pray for them to change. But they have to want it.”“Your addiction is just a bad solution to a very real problem.”“The number one addiction? Playing God.”Key Takeaways The Big Ache: Everyone carries a longing—an ache—for more. When unmet, it often leads to unhealthy patterns like workaholism, social media scrolling, or compulsive busyness.A Plan for Transformation: The 12 Steps offer a simple yet profound roadmap to freedom a...

MEGAN HYATT MILLER: Embracing the Unconventional Path

Dec 18, 2024 ·1 hr 2 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Megan Hyatt Miller delivers a powerful and heartfelt keynote about her journey as CEO of Full Focus. She candidly shares the lessons she’s learned through leadership challenges, personal growth, and the pursuit of sustainable success. Drawing on her experiences, Megan offers four unconventional keys for success as a leader. Whether you’re a business leader, entrepreneur, or simply someone seeking greater fulfillment, this episode is packed with wisdom to help you align your priorities and grow into the person you’re meant to be. Memorable Quotes “Most worthwhile things are harder and take longer than we think they should… They’re really costly, and often painful, and always testing the limits of our patience.”“These experiences of resistance strengthen the architecture of our character enough to hold the weight of success. Sustainable success demands maturity.”“The hardest problems—the ones that make us want to throw in the towel—are often the exact reason we’re in the room.”“If you could dare to believe it, problems aren’t a bug, they’re a feature—a feature that grows us up.”“You can’t wait until you’ve arrived to start living fully. You have to build the life you want as you go.”“The process of becoming is the best part of being human. That sense of reaching for more, of fulfilling our potential, of growing into the kinds of people our younger selves would admire—that’s the heart of a life well-lived.” Key Takeaways Less is More. Growth requires focus and patience. Overextending leads to burnout, but prioritizing what truly matters ensures lasting impact.Problems Aren’t Problems. They’re not signs of failure but invitations to grow stronger and wiser. Accept them as part of the process.Keep On Going. Success takes time, persistence, and maturity. Stay committed to the journey, even when it’s hard.Remember What Matters. True fulfillment comes from balancing professional achievements with a thriving personal life.Resources The...

BRAD JOHNSON: More Significance, Less Regret

Dec 11, 2024 ·1 hr 2 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller are joined by Brad Johnson, host of the Do Business Do Life podcast, to discuss how to achieve sustainable success in both work and life even when it means defying industry norms. Brad Johnson discusses his journey from financial advisor to co-founder of Triad Partners, showing how he balances professional success with personal fulfillment. Brad highlights how challenges signal growth, advocating for therapy, humility, and embracing the "infinite game" to thrive in work and life. Memorable Quotes “When all you do is deal with money all day, every day, sometimes people can get consumed by it. The pursuit of it… They accidentally build the prison around themselves that they’re trying to break out of.”“I can’t buy time back. There’s a more valuable asset on the line and it’s time.”“A weekly paycheck is the most addictive drug in the world.”“It’s completely different to be a great business owner than to be a great financial advisor.”“Your differences are your strengths.”“People will not follow volatile leaders.”“Every entrepreneur should be in therapy and that’s whether or not they think they need it.”“The challenge is the reward for going to the next level.”“The biggest thing is if you want to build a business bigger than you, you better focus a ton on vision, a ton on culture.”Key Takeaways Culture Matters: Businesses often underinvest in culture and vision, which are essential for lasting growth.Redefining Success: Brad shows how to ensure your business serves your life, not dominates it.Integration Over Balance: Treat work and life as partners rather than competitors.Lead by Growing: Personal growth, including therapy, is vital for effective leadership.Relationships First: Strong connections drive fulfillment and business success.Resources Do Business Do Life Podcast by Brad JohnsonNot Fade Away by Peter BartonWatch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/F7s45VRJmfw This episode was produced by S...

DANIEL HARKAVY: Coaching Yourself Toward Flourishing

Dec 4, 2024 ·1 hr 4 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller sit down with Daniel Harkavy, CEO of Building Champions and author of The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders. Daniel shares practical strategies for thriving as a leader by first thriving as a person. From setting boundaries to crafting a life plan, his advice will help you create lasting success at work and at home. Memorable Quotes “[Being well-balanced] elevates leadership efficacy because people are making conscious and subconscious decisions about who you are as a person by what they see, what they observe, how you speak, how you feel.”“It’s very difficult to find a place of contentment if you’re playing the competition game.”“I’m not being driven out of a place of scarcity. I’m being driven out of a place of opportunity and out of a burden to help and an opportunity to make a difference.”“Self-leadership always precedes team effectiveness and team effectiveness always precedes organizational impact.”“Management meetings are a lot of telling. Coaching sessions are a lot of asking.”“I think that is what really needs to be at the heart of a coaching leader: It’s not that you are just comfortable with your people being better than you are. You actually desire it.”“A leader’s effectiveness is determined by just two things: The decisions they make and the influence they have.”“My morning routine is my vacation every day. I get a vacation first thing in the morning. I don’t have to wake up early. I get to.”Key Takeaways Self-Leadership First: Your effectiveness as a leader begins with how well you lead yourself. This includes setting boundaries and prioritizing personal well-being.Boundaries Enable Freedom: Setting clear boundaries helps leaders avoid burnout and stay fully present in their personal and professional lives.The Power of a Life Plan: Taking time to define what matters most reduces regret and ensures intentional investment in all areas of life.Coaching Leadership: Great leaders...

JON GORDON: The Real-World Power of Positive Leadership

Nov 20, 2024 ·54 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller talk with Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Bus and The Power of Positive Leadership. Jon shares his journey from negativity to a thriving, positive life and the principles he’s developed to help teams and individuals succeed. From practical strategies for fueling positive energy to addressing the root causes of negativity, Jon’s wisdom is a must-hear for leaders striving to win at work and succeed at home. Memorable Quotes “Every one of us is going to have to overcome negativity, adversity, and challenges to ultimately define ourselves and our team's success. And the main message is: You have to overcome negativity with positivity.”“You’re the driver. You decide the kind of ride it’s going to be… It’s all about ownership.”“You write down your success of the day and every night you go to bed a success. Every morning you wake up a success. You’re now creating more and more success because what you focus on starts to show up more in your life.”“The root for the Greek word ‘anxious’ means to separate and divide. And so someone who’s anxious, they feel separate and divided. What does fear do? Divides.”“The change happened when I started to take walks of gratitude every day because I read you can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time.”“You’re not the thoughts you think—you’re the thoughts you believe. Negative thoughts are going to come in all the time. What thoughts are you believing and what stories are you choosing to believe about yourself?”“There’s a feeling that you’re winning [at work and at home] and yet at the same time, you’re probably always going to feel like. ‘What can I do better? And how can I do this more in both places?’ I call it positive discontent.”Key Takeaways You’re the Driver: Own your energy and your impact. Leaders set the tone for their teams and must model positivity.Fuel Your Energy Daily: Practices like gratitude walks, journaling, and prayer can he...

CAREY NIEUWHOF: The Essential Art of Self-Leadership

Nov 13, 2024 ·1 hr 2 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller sit down with leadership expert Carey Nieuwhof to explore the hidden traps of burnout, cynicism, and the tolls of unexamined motivations. Carey dives into his journey from lawyer to pastor to leadership coach, sharing how he’s learned to manage energy and avoid burnout while building an impactful career. Carey’s insights touch on the importance of self-leadership, the dangers of “mid-grade burnout,” and strategies for setting lasting boundaries. The conversation is rich with practical advice for leaders in any field who want to achieve the Double Win—winning at work and succeeding at life. Memorable Quotes “I think unexamined motivations drive you until they destroy you.”“Self-leadership is the ability to heal ourselves, to stay engaged, to stay healthy—everything from avoiding burnout and not becoming the person everyone resents to staying engaged at a meaningful level and avoiding cynicism and pride.”“Just look at the internal battle of a leader, how lonely it is, how you often feel you don’t have anyone to turn to about the personal demons you’re fighting.”“I worked with a lot of lawyers who were really at the top of their game. It was sort of the Wall Street of Canada, right? I realized very early on: Oh, it’s empty up here.”“I think you’ve got to make a decision: I’m going to trust again. I’m going to hope again. I’m going to believe again.”“Cynical people are never curious and curious people are never cynical. They seem to be mutually exclusive.”“That position of feeling numb most days is a big warning sign.”“We’re inundated with too many relationships and we’re overwhelmed, overworked, overcommitted.”“If you’re winning at work and losing at home, you’re losing.”Key Takeaways Self-Leadership Matters: Carey explains that leading yourself well is the foundation of effective leadership.The Dangers of Mid-Grade Burnout: While many recognize full-blown burnout, Carey highlights the subtler...

GRANT BALDWIN: Building Balance in Limit-Pushing Industries

Nov 6, 2024 ·53 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael and Megan Hyatt Miller interview Grant Baldwin, a nationally recognized speaker, author, and founder of The Speaker Lab. Grant shares his journey from burnout to intentionally designing a life centered around balance, freedom, and his core values.  The conversation covers topics like the significance of constraints, the importance of overcoming fear, and why it’s essential to design your life instead of just living it by default. Grant's stories and insights make this episode a must-listen for anyone seeking to blend ambition with a meaningful, balanced life. Memorable Quotes “You have to regularly find things where the challenge exceeds the skill set… Over time, the skill set exceeds the challenge and you feel bored and you kind of feel like you’re going through the motions.”“We design in a way that makes sense to say, ‘No, no, you can have your cake and eat it, too.’”“It can’t be this open-ended thing of like, ‘I’ll do anything for anybody anywhere.’”“Don’t act like a victim, saying, ‘In order to fill-in-the-blank, I have to do it this way.’ No, you absolutely do not.”“This is a good life. I’ve got one shot at this thing. And so I want to make sure that a lived it well and I was satisfied with what I did.”“If we are great entrepreneurs, if we’re great speakers, if we’re great authors, if we’re heart fill-in-the-blank, but we drop the ball as husbands, wives, moms, dads—if we’re a shell of a human being, we’re doing it wrong.”Key Takeaways Intentional Life Design: Your life doesn’t have to follow a set path—design it to fit your values and goals. Be intentional about the decisions you make and the priorities you set.Constraints Create Freedom: Using boundaries to focus your efforts can actually create more opportunities. Grant explains why saying “no” is crucial to living a life that aligns with your values.Facing Fear: Fear isn’t something to be avoided; it’s a sign that you’re about to do something significant. Gran...

MASTIN KIPP: Living Less Stressed

Oct 30, 2024 ·56 min

In this episode of The Double Win Show, Michael and Megan Hyatt Miller sit down with bestselling author and trauma-informed coach, Mastin Kipp, to discuss the profound impact of understanding and regulating the nervous system. Mastin shares insights from his new book, Reclaim Your Nervous System, and explains how unresolved trauma and dysregulation can hinder personal and professional growth. The conversation explores the practical applications of polyvagal theory, co-regulation, and how leaders can foster psychological safety by mastering their own nervous systems. Mastin covers everything from the body's hierarchy of responses to stress (green, yellow, and red states), to the effects of trauma on leadership, parenting, and personal well-being. By learning how to identify and manage these states, listeners can unlock a new level of performance and healing. Memorable Quotes “We have this idea that ‘If I can change my thoughts, I can change my life,’ which is accurate, but there’s a lot going on below the brain that we also want to understand.”“The issue is when we have a neuroceptive mismatch, where I’m in the presence of something dangerous, but I’m not being activated to move. Or I’m not in the presence of danger, but my neuroception is telling me that I am.”“I think of re-regulation as like the bicep curl or the squat. You’re going to get dysregulated automatically. So let’s re-regulate—the re-regulation is the rep.”“If the leader, or CEO, or C-Suite isn’t creating that culture [of safety], then it will fall apart when there are challenges. Just like we need to have a flexible nervous system, we need to have a flexible cultural nervous system to be able to manage the flexible challenges of business also.”“Trauma is any experience of threat, disconnection, isolation, or immobilization that results in the long-term or chronic dysregulation of either your endocrine system, your immune system, your emotional body, your brain, your body, your spirit—your health on any...

BONUSODE | DON MILLER: The Business of Helping People Win

Oct 25, 2024 ·22 min

In this bonus episode of The Double Win Show, Michael Hyatt sits down with Don Miller, CEO of CoachBuilder, to explore how coaches can turn their passion into a profitable business. Don shares how his platform simplifies the process of growing a coaching business by providing essential tools, from lead generation to automating client communications. Whether you’re a seasoned coach or just starting out, Don’s insights offer a roadmap for building a successful and sustainable coaching practice. Memorable Quotes “That’s what has been missing from, you know, the market is a plug and play system you can use to actually build a successful coaching business.”“Nobody hires a coach when you sell them on coaching. People hire a coach when they have a problem they know a coach can help them solve.”“Every day between 4–5 p.m., I’m home. I’m present with my family. My phone is nowhere near me… Because I know my priorities. I know what I’m supposed to do.”Key Takeaways Systems for Growth: You need systems to generate and nurture leads—not just word of mouth.AI in Coaching: What if AI could help you with everything from writing emails to preparing for coaching sessions? Now, it can.Coaching Community: Coaches tend to have a lot in common, no matter their niche—and they’re better together.CRM Essentials: Using a CRM is crucial for growth, because it can track client interactions and automate follow-ups. Resources CoachBuilder.com/DoubleWin Watch this video at:  https://youtu.be/BhSQHIV2O_s This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound