Greatness

By Jonathan WattsHistory

Greatness episodes

April 11 152. Jerry Seinfeld
Diving into the working ways and creative process of comedian Jerry Seinfeld
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“Your blessing in life is when you find the torture you’re comfortable with.”
- Jerry Seinfeld
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Sources
Is This Anything? - Jerry Seinfeld
#485: Jerry Seinfeld — A Comedy Legend’s Systems, Routines, and Methods for Success
Jerry Seinfeld Intends to Die Standing Up
Life's Work
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
Stay connected and check out more on our website:
Chasegreatness.net
42 min
April 03 151. Advice from the Wisest People on Earth
Dr. Karl Pillemer interviewed a thousand elderly individuals with one common goal: what can we learn from them on how to live better?
Today's episode dives into those lessons and insights.
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Sources:
30 Lesssons for Living
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
Stay connected and check out more on our website:
Chasegreatness.net
39 min
March 31 150. The Remarkable Rise of Maria Sharapova
Diving into the inspiring story of Maria Sharapova and her rise to becoming one of the greatest tennis players ever.
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Sources
Unstoppable, My Life So Far - Maria Sharapova
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
Stay connected and check out more on our website:
Chasegreatness.net
51 min
March 26 149. The Making of Three Great Men - Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Johnson
Diving into the key moments and experinces that made Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Sources
Leadership - Dorris Kearns
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
Stay connected and check out more on our website:
Chasegreatness.net
55 min
March 17 148. The Creative Mind of Twyla Tharp
Diving into the dance choreogrpaher Tywla Tharp and her great ideas and thoughts on the creative process.
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"A creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love, and faith." - Twyla Tharpe
Sources
The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp
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2:55 - Preparing to do the work
"In order to be creative you have to know how to prepare to be creative."
8:32 - What's in it for you?
9:45 - Solitude as an indicator
"Solitude is an unavoidable part of creativity. Self-reliance is a happy by-product."
11:30 - Finding your "Creative DNA."
14:02 - The power of imitaiton and emulation
16:05 - A short practice from Austin Kleon
16:35 - The process of finding good ideas
21:30 - Some practices for idea generation
25:25 - Submerge yourself with the masters
28:25 - Banish obligation
30:05 - Create your own "box."
33:30 - Creativity is a skill
39:00 - Ruts and grooves
46:40 - A way to keep momentum and grooves alive
48:10 - Get an A in failure
51:05 - Common themes of failure
53:15 - 128 ballets to get to mastery
54:35 - Build a bubble
"When I look back on my best work, it was inevitably created in what I call the Bubble. I eliminated every distraction, sacrificed almost everything that gave me pleasure, placed myself in a single-minded isolation chamber, and structured my life so that everything was not only feeding the work but subordinated to it. It is not a particularly sociable way to operate. It's actively antisocial. On the other hand, it is procreative."
1:01:00 - The power of a creative life
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Stay connected and check out more here:
Chasegreatness.net
1 hr 4 min
March 10 147. Alex Honnold - Climbing Legend
Diving into the greatest living climber, Alex Honnold.
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Sources
Free Solo Documentary
Learning to Live with Fear - Alex Honnold
The Greatest Climber Alive
How Alex Honnold Faces Fear
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6:30 - Risk versus consequence
9:05 - Dealing with fear
11:02 - How to overcome fear + Viewing things as a skill
"What's your hack to overcome fear? You just get really freaking scared over and over for so long. And eventually it's not that scary anymore.”
12:25 - Are your fears founded?
13:45 - Alex and the 10,000 rule
15:05 - Fear and hunger analogy
15:50 - The importance of death in Alex's life and career
20:05 - El Cap and an analogy for life
21:42 - The work is the reward
25:40 - His success in a single line
26:12 - Advice for others
26:20 - The chase is the dream
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Check out my books below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Stay connected and check out more here:
Chasegreatness.net
32 min
March 04 146. The Timeless Teachings of John Wooden
Diving into the greatest college basketball coach ever and his timeless teachings.
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Sources
Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden
Wooden: A Coach's Life - Seth Devis
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3:30 - The lessons from his father
11:20 - The Pyramid of Success
16:52 - Wooden's most important block/quality
19:17 - A great idea from Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tzu
23:30 - Are you willing or eager to sacrifice
25:58 - Little things make big things happen
32:18 - Lead with love
35:20 - On being a great teacher
39:00 - Wooden's superpower
39:48 - Deplore excessive emotion
42:45 - Make each day your masterpiece
48:35 - Success = Reaching your potential
52:15 - A story that epitomizes Wooden
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Check out my book below:
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Stay connected and check out more here:
Chasegreatness.net
55 min
February 27 145. Franklin D. Roosevelt - The Power of a Mission
Diving into a short story on Franklin D. Roosevelt and the power a mission can have.
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“When you’re a person who always has a goal, who always has a mission, the less time you have to think, ‘How do I feel today? Am I depressed today? Do I feel sorry for myself? Have I become a victim? Oh my god, I feel so bad about myself.’ I don’t have time for this crap. A lot of times, it’s people who don’t work enough. When you’re busy all the time, you don’t have time to think about this stuff.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Sources: Leadership - Doris Kearns Goodwin
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Check out my books below.
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

20 min
February 24 144. Baseball Legends: Ted Williams, Derek Jeter, Hank Aaron, Tom Seaver, and More
Diving into some of the very best stories from a few baseball legends.
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Sources: Baseball 100 - Joe Posnanski
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Sources
0:00 - Brooks Robinson - An essay from a 13-year-old boy
4:34 - Justin Verlander and Ted Williams - The power of negative energy
13:25 - Ted Williams - Put it on the line
14:38 - The infectious joy of Enrnie Banks
19:00 - Derek Jeter - One hit at a time and loving the truth
25:05 - Ichiro Suzuki and Jeter - Small wins
26:30 - The unlikely path of Larry Walker
29:10 - Frank Thomas - Meaning > Talent
32:00 - The approach of Tom Seaver
38:40 - Hank Aaron - The burden of greatness
43:40 - Mariano Rivera, Sandy Koufax, and Randy Johnson - Some short stories
52:23 - Joe Dimaggio - You need some luck
54:20 - Mike Schmidt - Keep the joy alive
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Check out my books below.
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
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Check out our other episodes on baseball legends:
#116. Derek Jeter
#135. Clayton Kershaw
1 hr 2 min
February 17 143. Morgan Housel - Essays on Human Nature, Failing Well, and Timeless Lessons
Diving into some of the very best ideas from one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Morgan Housel.
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"People can be led to believe and defend almost anything, because the goal of a belief is often not to discover what’s true – it’s to justify past actions, or protect your reputation, or provide hope when it’s lacking, or to maximize your income, or to signal to others that you belong to the tribe."
- Morgan Housel
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Sources/Essays are linked in the time stamps below
1:15 - Why You Beleive What You Do
14:21 - The Power of Failing Well
18:40 - The Freakisly Strong Base
26:25 - You Have To Live It To Believe It
36:07 - How it All Works (Short Stories on Big Things)
42:00 - Little Rules About Big Things
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Check out my books below.
Daily Greatness: Short Stories and Essays on the Act of Becoming
Chasing Greatness 2nd Edition - Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
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46 min

About Greatness

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Learn from history’s greatest.

Each week, Jonathan Watts dives into the lives and moments of the world's most extraordinary people, uncovering timeless lessons and unforgettable stories.