Good Life Project

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How does a fearful kid from the midwest with severe social anxiety and a struggling self-image end up on the cover of magazines and teaching women how to love themselves?

That's the story in today's episode of Good Life Project, featuring Lori Harder. Growing up in Michigan, Lori found herself increasingly anxious about more and more things, from the size of her body to her ability to fit in. Not surprising for a young teen. But, add to that being born into a faith with an ethos of separation from outsiders, and you've got a perfect recipe for amplified struggle.

In her early teens, though, something changed that began to bring Harder out of her shell. And, that was just the beginning. She eventually transformed herself into not just a fit and confident woman, but a cover model and an advocate not just for fitness, but for a more complete approach to wellbeing. She now teaches and speaks on this in her workshops and keynotes and retreats.

As she writes in her manifesto, "Beauty is a way of being. Strength means showing up. Fierce self-love is our only choice."

In today's episode, we dive into this journey, especially the early years and explore how family, faith and culture mixed together to create an experience that, looking back, she's grateful for as she emerges into her own path.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest, Rhodes Scholar, Box of Crayons Senior Partner and bestselling author, Michael Bungay Stanier, has a bone to pick.

It's about coaching.

But, he's not just talking about coaches, he's talking about every person who finds themselves in regularly helping others move forward, from parents to friends to colleagues and, yes, actual coaches.

In his latest book, The Coaching Habit, he makes a bold proclamation, maybe it's time to spend less time talking and more time listening and asking the 7 simple questions that'll unlock a stunning amount of connection, revelation and elevation.

But, here's the thing, Michael and Jonathan are old friends, so it takes them a while to get to these ideas. Along the way, they dive deep into Michael's personal journey, the wacky world of self-help/personal-development, and Michael shares a "technology" that incites accelerated growth and change that's remarkably powerful and has used and validated in giant organizations.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• 5 unspeakable truths about coaching.
• The 7 questions that change everything.
• How we live a good life, show up and do meaningful work, and transcend the self-help yadda yadda.
• Two types of envy and how to use the good type as motivation.
• How to get clear on the question – 'What do you want?'
• When to fire cannon balls and when to fire bullets.
• What the boldest coaching question is that a coach can ever ask.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Connect with Michael: Box of Crayons | LinkedIn | Twitter
• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun
• Chip and Dan Heath
• Unmarketing.com
• Peter Block

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The day Megan Devine's partner died started like any other.

The sun was shining as they walked to a favorite spot by the river. Matt waded in, as he'd done countless times before. Minutes later, he was gone. No warning, no time to prepare, no chance to say goodbye.

Megan is a psychotherapist. She trained for years to help people through moments like this. Now, being on the other side of the experience, she was faced with a daunting reality. None of it worked. And, heaped upon this realization was a mountain of judgment about "how" she grieved and what that must have said about who she "really" was.

Megan realized, she'd have to find a new way to not only move through that window, but also through a life that was almost unrecognizable from the one she'd been forced to leave behind.

What emerged was not only a profoundly different approach to loss, but also to life. How could it be any other way? Megan is no longer the person she used to be. Her journey and the set of tools she built are detailed in Everything is Not Okay: Practical Tools to Help You Stay in Your Heart & Not Lose Your Mind.

In our conversation, Megan pulls no punches when questioning our culture's approach to grief: Why do we offer platitudes to those grieving, rather than nonjudgmental companionship? How can we better support each other when experiencing tragedy? How do these lessons apply to everyone? We dive into this deeply moving journey in this week's conversation, and come full circle to explore how she's found a new place of grace in the world.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How people use blame in an attempt to distance themselves from death.
• How Megan got through the days when she felt angry to wake up.
• Why a solid spiritual practice won't make you safer from death or grief, and why that's okay.
• Why it’s more important to be a companion to a grieving person than to try fixing their pain.
• How Megan appreciates the beauty and awe of life differently now than she did seven years ago.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Connect with Megan: Refuge In Grief | Twitter
• Audiobook: Everything is Not Okay: Practical Tools to Help You Stay in Your Heart & Not Lose Your Mind by Megan Devine
• The Dalai Lama
• Modern Loss
• Erin Moon: Walking the Path Back to Life on Good Life Project

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Have you heard? My new book - How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science and Practical Wisdom - is available for pre-order now! It's a joyful, story-driven, engaging and eye-opening deep dive into what really makes a difference in your pursuit of a meaningful, alive and connected life. 

Click here now to download and read the first chapter for free.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A child of the 80s, Lisa Sugar grew up obsessed with pop-culture. Little did she know, her childhood fascination would become her career.

Graduating college, Sugar headed into the world of media, and then advertising. She was working her way up the ranks on the media planning side. But a little voice kept calling her to write. So, she started a little website, POPSUGAR, on the side.

At first, she was writing in the evening and weekends, then pretty much any break she could get. What happened next took her breath away. Turns out, her obsession wasn't just her own. And, her voice was landing in a way that had people reading, sharing and coming back for more.

Within a year, more than a million readers were coming to her website, so she quit her job and made POPSUGAR her full-time pursuit. Six months later, with the company now exploding, her husband left his tech-job and joined her. POPSUGAR is now the leading lifestyle brand in the world, with more than 85-million visitors a month and 1.5 billion media impressions/month.

Lisa's journey is detailed in her book, Power Your Happy: Work Hard, Play Nice, & Build Your Dream Life. In today's episode of Good Life Project, we dive into her story, how she made the shifts in career, when she knew it was time to ditch the full-time gig and go all-in on POPSUGAR, why she believes in work-life blend, not balance, and so much more.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Connect with Lisa: Power Your Happy | POPSUGAR | Instagram
• Darren Star
• ShopStyle

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quick note - be sure to listen to the end, we've got a live, acoustic performance by this week's guest that will rock your world!

Ali Handal grew up loving music but packed up her guitar and dreams of becoming a professional musician in order to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology. Eventually, though, music called her home.

She spent years mastering her craft, becoming a lead-guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, and entrepreneur, eventually co-founding Triple Scoop Music which helps artists license their projects. Ali has also released three albums, toured across four continents, and worked with artists such Neil Young, Janet Jackson, and Paul Williams. Her training book, Guitar for Girls, was written to help students at all levels gain the self-confidence needed to master new challenges so they don't settle for less.

And, a little more than three years ago, she was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer.

In this episode, we dive deep into her remarkable journey from student of human behavior to student and eventually teacher of music, performer extraordinaire, successful entrepreneur, author, then patient and wholehearted embracer of live as it comes.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• The multiple streams of income Ali can leverage which allow her to pursue an authentic career as an artist.
• Why performing for free can be a valuable experience and expose opportunities.
• Alternatives for starving artists to earn a living while developing their craft.
• How intentional practice can improve weak areas.
• Why her diagnosis of a rare form of incurable Lymphoma has not stopped her thriving career and pursuit of goals in life.
• Tips to stick with your passion while you suck.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Connect with Ali: AliHandal.com | YouTube
• Guitar for Girls by Ali Handal
• Gutsy Girl by Caroline Paul
• "Not a Pretty Girl" by Ani Difranco

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