Doing What Works

If enough things go wrong at once they’re useful distractions from the others. This edition of Doing What Works is a shame-busting look at shame.

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A Million Miles in a Thousand Years introduced us to the concept of memorable scenes.

“I have spent my whole life scared.” That’s from Breaking Bad.

Everyone you meet gives you another window on yourself. This edition of Doing What Works is an invitation to make the most of it.

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Dating and data are related, linguistically.

We grow in relation to others.

Do you really want to marry someone you’d dread being stuck in traffic with?

Good stories don’t magically appear on the page. Someone grinds them out. In this edition of Doing What Works I’ll tell you how I wrote my second book, why I didn’t want to, and why I’m glad I did.

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Left for Dead: A Second Life after Vietnam is the memoir of Jon Hovde.

Staying the Course: A Runner’s Toughest Race is the memoir of Dick Beardsley.

Platoon helped me get in the mood to write Left for Dead.

There’s a difference between a story and a sequence of events; the writers of South Park know!

There’s no such thing as writer’s block.

The Summer of Ordinary Ways “wrings intensity,” as one person put it, “from the seemingly mundane.”

Loss, grief, even a pause you didn’t ask for. This edition of Doing What Works is a search for better ways of appreciating what you have.

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Why do Jeep drivers have rubber ducks on their dashboards?

The Panorama of the City of New York.

How Tim Urban stops tossing and turning.

Hedonic adaptation is why you aren’t happier.

Outer weather versus inner weather.

Be sparing with promises and save your energy for keeping them. We examine the stakes in this edition of Doing What Works.

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The Four Agreements is billed as a practical guide to personal freedom.

It isn’t a sin to refrain from making a vow.

Twenty percent for new business.

The human heart demands an adventure.

“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?”

Do you consider yourself a contrarian? If you do, then we have an encore edition of the show for you! If you don’t, that probably makes you a contrarian -- so we have a show for you, too.
 
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The Secret was wildly popular. How do you feel about it?
 
Martha Stewart is wildly successful. Are you happy for her?
 
Gretchen Rubin thinks enthusiasm is a form of social courage. Do you agree?
 
Daniel Stern’s character in City Slickers said getting married meant he wasn’t a goofball anymore. Does marriage confer status?
 
Let me fall if I need to fall. The person I become will catch me.
 
We grow in connection with others.

Have you ever been so distraught you were surprised you could laugh at something, anything, even for a moment? It’s one of many milestones we encourage you to savor in this edition of Doing What Works.

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“By the end I was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards.”

Can you think of your challenge as a lucky fin?

What does a forty-hour fast have in common with an ankle injury or even a vacation? We’re so glad you asked! The answer’s in this edition of Doing What Works.

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Supposed fasting benefits!

The supposed doctor within.

Interruptions are God’s plan.

Dad has family arrive at the airport before it’s even built!

A meltdown in Trader Joe’s.

August Turak says the most difficult thing he ever assigned students was to sit in silence.

Conor Grennan is the author of Little Princes.

If you’ve ever been accused of being too sensitive, undoubtedly by someone who’s too judgmental, this edition of Doing What Works is for you!

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Pamie Ribon hails from the world of roller derby.

Crying is a release.

NurtureShock offers new thinking about children.

When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead author Jerry Weintraub suggested you not ask colleagues how they’re doing.

Advice is easier to take when you’ve asked for that, but what about the unsolicited variety? We give it careful consideration in this edition of Doing What Works.

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Story is a book about not only screenwriting but how to live.

If you trust the source you don’t need the argument.

The Let Them Theory will show you how to stop wasting energy on things you can’t control.