A Productive Conversation

Paul Millerd Talks About Good Work and the Pathless Path


Listen Later

This episode is brought to you by Your Clockwise Week—a personalized weekly structure built around your actual life, not an ideal one. If your week feels full but not fitting, you can learn more at mikevardy.com/yourclockwiseweek.


In this Flashback Friday episode, I reconnect with Paul Millerd to discuss his new book, Good Work: Reclaiming Your Inner Ambition. Paul reflects on life changes, including becoming a parent and launching this book. Our chat touches on how personal growth, creativity, and work-life integration evolved for him since our original conversation.

Paul shares the challenges of writing and parenting simultaneously, detailing how he resisted conventional book launch strategies to focus on sustainable progress. His insights offer a refreshing take on doing meaningful work at your own pace—a theme I deeply connect with.

Key Discussion Points

  • Writing Good Work and navigating parenthood simultaneously
  • Choosing long-term sustainable work over fast-paced launches
  • The concept of non-competitive creativity and protecting time blocks
  • How parenting reshaped Paul's connection to his work
  • His shift toward fewer but meaningful three-hour writing blocks
  • The impact of not following traditional publishing playbooks
  • Finding fulfillment in creating without burning out

  • Paul’s story shows that good work isn’t about rushing to the finish line—it’s about sustainable creativity and doing what feels right. This conversation is a reminder to honour our personal journeys and resist the temptation to conform to external pressures. If you're interested in building a fulfilling career and balancing it with life’s other priorities, you’ll find plenty of value in this episode. (Originally recorded February 2023)

    Links Worth Exploring

    • Connect with Paul: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
    • Buy Paul's latest book: Good Work: Reclaiming Your Inner Ambition
    • Buy Paul’s first book: The Pathless Path
    • Related Conversation: Episode 334: Endless Curiosity with Derek Sivers
    • Related Blog Post: How To Find Your Way Forward (And Finish)

    • Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

      Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. You can subscribe on Spotify and also on Apple Podcasts. Not using either of those to get your podcasts? Just click on this link and then paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

      Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


      If this episode resonated, I’m exploring ideas like these more deeply in my upcoming book, Productiveness. You can follow along as it takes shape at mikevardy.com/productiveness.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      A Productive ConversationBy Mike Vardy

      • 4.2
      • 4.2
      • 4.2
      • 4.2
      • 4.2

      4.2

      102 ratings


      More shows like A Productive Conversation

      View all
      Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

      Freakonomics Radio

      32,246 Listeners

      The Tim Ferriss Show by Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig

      The Tim Ferriss Show

      16,174 Listeners

      The Art of Manliness by The Art of Manliness

      The Art of Manliness

      14,296 Listeners

      Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields / Acast

      Good Life Project

      3,375 Listeners

      How to Be Awesome at Your Job by How to be Awesome at Your Job

      How to Be Awesome at Your Job

      1,036 Listeners

      The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

      The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

      8,876 Listeners

      Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee by Dr Rangan Chatterjee: GP & Author

      Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

      3,903 Listeners

      Everyday Better with Leah Smart by LinkedIn

      Everyday Better with Leah Smart

      355 Listeners

      anything goes with emma chamberlain by emma chamberlain

      anything goes with emma chamberlain

      62,601 Listeners

      The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

      The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

      14,324 Listeners

      Best Laid Plans by Sarah Hart-Unger

      Best Laid Plans

      821 Listeners

      Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

      Huberman Lab

      29,272 Listeners

      Jillian on Love by Jillian Turecki | Daylight Media

      Jillian on Love

      1,401 Listeners

      The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

      The Mel Robbins Podcast

      20,222 Listeners

      HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

      HBR On Leadership

      170 Listeners