Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance

In this episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, our host—and author of the book, Going Pro: The Deliberate Practice of Professionalism—delivers a tale from our past, recounting briefly the history of professionalism. Starting with its religious roots as someone who “professed” or vowed to a religious order, through its use to signify different levels of skill and attainment within the trade guilds at the end of the Middle Ages, to its use in the Modern Era and the contemporary world.

The theme on this week’s Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast episode will resonate with our maintenance-minded listeners: neglect leads to failure. In machines, this can have deadly consequences—but even in personal relationships we’re not guaranteed time to mend neglect before some sort of reckoning. Tony explores personal loss, our shared understanding of grief, adds his insights, and leaves us with hope—that sometimes through loss we can learn to better live our own lives.

On this extra-personal episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, Tony dives into his own past to tell the tale of someone he knew who was destined to become either a rebel or a rogue. Using this true story as an example, Tony shows the clear psychological factors and motivators that differentiate rebels—which society needs—and rogues, which we need to avoid for our own safety.

Tony discusses the increasing prevalence of victimhood in our society, and how it can limit our perspective and options. He outlines an approach called “psychosocial strength” as a way to take on the oppressors in our lives  - both internal and external - with a fighting chance of winning.

This week on the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, Tony dives into how changes in technology have altered the “mental wiring” of the human brain through digital content. Far from a hand-wringing diatribe about the evils of modernity, this episode looks at the evolution of cell phone use over just a few decades, from a novelty to a ubiquitous item for daily survival. Along the way, he says we have yet to fully understand the dangers and opportunities this rapid evolution brings into the human performance equation.

What do the world’s highest performers do differently than the rest of us?  Join Dr. Tony Kern’s Only Human podcast to learn the steps of Deliberate Practice, the staircase to Mastery.

Being here means you’re interested enough in human performance to have read a few books, listened to a few talks, and accumulated a few ideas about what works and what doesn’t. This week on the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, join us for an exploration of Tony’s Top 5 myths about human performance, based on his own discoveries and deep knowledge on the subject. Ideally, Tony’s scouring of the traditional wisdom will leave you re-thinking a few of your own human performance approaches.

On this week’s episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, join Lead Detective Tony as he unravels a mystery involving multiple secret identities that obfuscate the truths we seek to learn. We all utilize a few different identities to order our lives and interact with the world, but too many of us fail to investigate and understand them—to our detriment. So, be less enigmatic (at least to yourself) and discover the power that comes from being the detective of your own life story!

This week’s episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast features heroic dragon-slaying exploits as we delve into caverns where the three-headed dragon of apathy, frustration, and cynicism lurks, seeking to devour our dreams, desires, and purpose. Though its venomous heads are deadly, we thankfully have the wisdom of C.S. Lewis and the heroic Bilbo Baggins to guide our weapons, slay the beast, and keep our journey on track.

The biological metaphors continue on this week’s episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kernpodcast. Under the microscope this time are ants, providing Tony a way to explain the concept of lateral thinking and develop questions about how tiny actions and behaviors—performed by individuals—compound and contribute to the greater good of the group (society, organization, etc.). Besides the interesting ant info, Tony also discusses the four ways to develop your own lateral thinking capabilities.