Designer and author Fred Dust joins me on the show to discuss how we can use principles from design to have better, more impactful conversations.

Show Notes

• The distinctiveness of podcast conversations
• Mission-driven vs exploration-driven conversations
• The 3 ways conversations get derailed
• The usefulness of constraints in conversation
• Adjusting the speed of conversations
• The benefits of rehearsing hard conversations
• Overcoming self-consciousness in conversation
• Wearing jeans in the White House
• Environmental design
• Behavioral experiments
• Active listening vs creative listening
• Illuminations
• Dealing with being triggered
• Self conversation

You can learn more about Fred and his book at his website: MakingConversation.com

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Nick chats with Herbert Lui about practical ways to exercise your creativity.

Show Notes

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• Misconceptions about creativity
• The creative process
• Nature vs nurture in creativity
• Quality vs quantity in creativity
• How to get started being more creative?
• Creative blocks
• Fear of being judged
• Creativity and community
• Constructive vs destructive comparisons
• Why constraints are helpful for creativity
• Is quitting important for creativity?

You can learn more about Herbert and his work here:

• HerbertLui.net

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Caitlin Faas returns to the show to talk about life coaching—what it is, how it works, how it helps, and common misconceptions.

Show Notes

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• How Caitlin went from tenured professor to life coach
• Objections to life coaching:
  1. Life coaching isn’t legit…
  2. If you think you need a life coach, what you really need is a therapist
  3. There’s nothing you can get from a life coach that you can’t get from a good friend
  4. Life coaches are just snake-oil salesman out to make a quick buck off of vulnerable people
  5. Life coaching is too “woo-woo” or new-agey
• How to find a life coach who’s a good fit for you
• How to know if you need a life coach or a therapist
• The dangers of using family and friends as your emotional support person
• Can you do coaching and therapy at the same time?
• How much does life coaching cost?
• How often will I meet with a life coach?
• What does a life coaching session look like?
• Where to find a life coach?
• Is there specific credentialing I should look for with a life coach?

You can learn more about Caitlin and her work here:

• DrCaitlinFaas.com

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Lodro Rinzler returns to the show to talk about how a Buddhist perspective on anxiety can help us through difficult times.

Show Notes

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• Focusing on stories vs anxiety itself
• The parable of the second arrow
• Anxiety vs worry vs stress
• The Three Vajras: Body, Speech, and Mind
• Is the popularity of mindfulness a good thing?
• Should we try to get rid of negative thinking?
• Expressing anxiety vs complaining about it
• How to handle other people’s anxiety well
• Gentle inquisitiveness
• “You are not your anxiety”

You can learn more about Lodro and his work here:

• LodroRinzler.com
• Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times (Book)

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Dr. Sarah Sarkis joins me on the show to talk about the adaptive unconscious, self-sabotaging behavior, attachment patterns, and therapy vs performance coaching.

Show Notes
Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• The adaptive unconscious
• Defense mechanisms
• Self-sabotage
• Improving self-awareness
• Developing an observing ego
• Attachment patterns
• Compensation and replication of attachment dynamics
• Emotional masking
• Using emotional pain as motivation
• Is it the crime or the cover-up?
• Psychological flexibility
• Therapy vs coaching
• Flow Research Collective

You can learn more about Sarah and her work at her website: DrSarahSarkis.com

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Dr. Margaret Rutherford joins me on the show to talk about perfectly hidden depression, perfectionism, and the challenges of emotional vulnerability.

Show Notes

Here are some of the highlights from the conversations:

• Constructive vs destructive perfectionism
• Appetitive vs aversive motivation
• Trauma, childhood strategies, and the origins of perfectionism
• "Smiling depression"
• Emotional vulnerability
  • Brene Brown — The Gifts of Imperfection
  • Terrence Real — I Don’t Want to Talk About It
• Perfectly hidden depression
• Rigid positivity
• Classic depression vs perfectly hidden depression
• Insight vs action
• How not help someone else who struggles with perfectly hidden depression
• Should more therapists be bloggers and podcasters?

You can learn more about Margaret and her work here:

• DrMargaretRutherford.com (Website)
• Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression (Book)

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Learn more about the Minds & Mics podcast here, including how to subscribe and get all my newest episodes as soon as they’re released.

Nick talks to professional mediator Dr. Adar Cohen about how we can have difficult conversations more effectively.

Here are some of the highlights from the conversations:

• The Farsi concept of Taroff
• The psychology behind conflict avoidance
• The 3 main outcomes of difficult conversations: 1) Solution, 2) Plan, 3) Understanding
• Achieving deep understanding in conversations
• The elements of effective listening
• Open-ended questions vs. litigious questions
• The importance of uncovering “gem statements"
• How to prepare in advance for difficult conversations
• How to handle defensiveness in difficult conversations
• The importance of silence in difficult conversations
• How to be a good mediator for other people

You can learn more about Adar and his work here:

• AdarCohen.com (Website)
• Adar on Twitter
• 3 Ways to lead tough, unavoidable conversations (TED Talk Video)
• How to have Difficult Conversations (Article)

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In this episode, I talk with author, professor, and writing coach Uddipana Goswami about her practice of Life Writing and how it helped her to process emotional struggles in her life.

You can learn more about Uddipana and her work on her personal website.

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Tim Stoddart joins me on the show to talk about his journey out of addiction and into entrepreneurship—and how blogging played a pivotal role.

You can learn more about Tim and his work on his personal site TimStodz.com

Links and items of note from this episode:

• Seth Godin
• Sober Nation
• Copyblogger
• Stodzy Internet Marketing

Learn more about the Minds & Mics podcast here, including how to subscribe and get all my newest episodes as soon as they’re released.

Getting clarity about how to make a career transition with Lisa Lewis.

Show Notes:

• How Lisa became a career transition expert
• What leads to career dissatisfaction?
• The four pillars of career fulfillment
• Testing career hypotheses
• Executing on a new career strategy
• Courage vs confidence

You can learn more about Lisa and her work here:

• Lisa Lewis (Website)
• Career Clarity (Book)

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If you enjoyed this episode of Minds&Mics and want to get notified whenever new episodes are released, you can join Nick's free weekly newsletter here →