This week I'm excited to revisit a conversation I had with Chris Bailey. Chris has been a guest on the show a number of times, and in this episode, he unpacks the origins, research, and results of his book, How to Calm Your Mind: Finding Presence and Productivity in Anxious Times. I decided to revisit this conversation as the need for calm has been so important for me in recent weeks and months as I suspect it has been for you as well. In our chat Chris and I discuss the events that led up to him writing this book while exploring a number of techniques, and tips for finding presence and calm t ..read more

This week I’m excited to revisit a conversation I had with Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt-Miller about their book, Mind Your Mindset: The Science That Shows Success Starts with Your Thinking. Michael is the founder and chairman of Full Focus. Through his coaching program for small business owners, BusinessAccelerator®, and the bestselling Full Focus Planner, Michael has helped hundreds of thousands of achievers reach their biggest goals. Megan Hyatt Miller is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Full Focus and alongside Michael co-hosts the popular Business Accelerator® podcast. In this ..read more

In part 2 of 2 of this conversation, John Drury shares about the importance of retreats and sacred time for rest and rejuvenation. John shares his personal experiences with different forms of retreats, emphasizing the value of eliminating distractions and under-stimulation to foster deeper self-reflection and mindfulness. He introduces practical techniques such as "desert days," quarterly overnight retreats, and shorter, regular practices to incorporate these into the business and personal life of busy individuals. Erik and John also discuss the distinctions between vacations, visitations, and ..read more

In part 1 of a 2 part conversation I am thrilled to bring my longtime friend of 25 years Dr. John Drury. John and I share an interest in productivity and the Enneagram, particularly the unique insights of Enneagram fives. In this episode, John and I talk about the profound impact the pandemic has had on our routines and spiritual practices, introducing the concept of a "rule of life" as a way to anchor ourselves with orienting values and stabilizing practices. We explore the balance between over stimulation and under stimulation, drawing rich parallels to ancient desert monasticism and how the ..read more

In part 1 of a 2 part conversation I am thrilled to bring my longtime friend of 25 years Dr. John Drury. John and I share an interest in productivity and the Enneagram, particularly the unique insights of Enneagram fives. In this episode, John and I talk about the profound impact the pandemic has had on our routines and spiritual practices, introducing the concept of a "rule of life" as a way to anchor ourselves with orienting values and stabilizing practices. We explore the balance between over stimulation and under stimulation, drawing rich parallels to ancient desert monasticism and how the ..read more

This week I’m excited to revisit an insightful conversation I had with Tiago Forte about his book Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential. Tiago walks us through his groundbreaking framework, PARA—Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives—that aims to revolutionize how we organize information in our digital lives. We'll also explore the CODE methodology—Capture, Organize, Distill, Express—that helps manage and make sense of the influx of ideas and tasks we face daily. Tune in as we draw compelling parallels between digital and physic ..read more

I’m thrilled to welcome Jeff Sieh back to the show for an in-depth discussion about the evolution of AI, particularly focusing on Apple’s recent announcements. Jeff and I dive into the historical context of AI, reminiscing about its portrayal in popular culture and significant milestones like IBM’s Deep Blue and Microsoft’s Clippy. We then transition to exploring the exciting developments unveiled at Apple’s WWDC 2024, particularly the introduction of Apple Intelligence. This new system promises to revolutionize how we interact with our devices by integrating AI with personal context while mai ..read more

This week it was my pleasure to welcome Dr. Barry Kudrowitz to the show for a chat about his great book, Sparking Creativity: How Play and Humor Fuel Innovation and Design. Dr. Kudrowitz is a professor of product design and department head in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. There, he founded and directed the product design program from 2011-2021. Barry received his PhD from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying humor, creativity, and idea generation. He is interested in how creativity is perceived, evaluated, an ..read more

This week I’m excited to share my conversation with Matt Abrahams. Matt is a passionate, and innovative educator, podcaster, and coach. As a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business he has helped countless presenters improve and hone their communication, including some who have delivered Nobel Prize, TED, and World Economic Forum presentations. Matt is also the founder and principal at TFTS Communications LLC, a presentation and communication skills company based in Silicon Valley that helps people improve their presentation skills.  In this ..read more

This week I’m excited to welcome Michael Easter for a conversation about a pair of his books, Scarcity Brain, Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough and The Comfort Crisis, Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. Michael is the founder of the 2% with Michael Easter newsletter and the New York Times bestselling author of The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain. an author and a professor at UNLV. He writes and speaks on how humans can leverage modern science and evolutionary wisdom to perform better and live healthier lives. His work has been im ..read more