The Courageous Life

Today we are re-releasing one of our most popular episodes ever on the show, a powerful conversation with Dr. Marc Brackett.

In this episode, we'll explore themes from his book Permission to Feel  as well as his broader work as a leader in the field of emotional intelligence.

Marc, is on a mission to educate the world about the value of emotions and the skills associated with using them wisely. “I want everyone to become an emotion scientist. We need to be curious explorers of our own and others’ emotions so they can help us achieve our goals and improve our lives.”

In today's episode:

• How events in Marc's childhood, including surviving abuse, led to his dedication to the work he does today
• Why people so often suppress emotions and what happens in our brains and bodies when we do
• Why it’s important to ask people “how are you feeling?” and to genuinely listen to the answer
• The story of his Uncle Marvin, and what he learned from him about the power of creating safe spaces
• Highlights from the biggest study he has ever conducted and the case for empathy, compassion, non-judgment, and good listening as life changing qualities for leaders, parents, and individuals.
• An introduction to the RULER skills (Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions)
• How he uses the RULER skills in his own life to navigate daily challenges, enhance wellbeing, and stay on track with goals that are important to him
• The link between emotions and performance - why and how emotions matter when it comes to thriving teams and organizations
• Why giving people the permission to feel may be one of the most important things we can do to help people thrive at work and in life. 

More about Marc:

Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and professor in the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine. As a researcher for over 20 years, Marc has focused on the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, creativity, relationships, health, and performance. His book, Permission To Feel,  has been translated into 22 languages. Most recently, with Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann, Marc and his team co-created the Apple award-winning app, HowWeFeel, that was designed to teach emotion skills and enhance well-being. 

Marc is the lead developer of RULER, a systemic, evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by over 5,000 schools across the United States and has reached over 4 million children. Marc regularly consults with large companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft on best practices for integrating the principles of emotional intelligence into training and product design. For more please visit: https://www.marcbrackett.com

Did you find this episode inspiring? Here are more episodes we think you’ll love!

Dr. Jud Brewer - Is Curiosity is a Superpower?

Kelly McGonigal - Finding the Hope, Connection, and Courage to Transform

Thanks for listening!

Support the show

In the hero's journey, the hero or heroine is called to adventure. 

Often in the form of a quest, a challenge, or an adversity.

And often that adventure arrives unexpectedly.

One of the things that’s interesting about the hero's journey is that shortly after the call a helper enters the picture.

A mentor, a sage, a guide, or a coach of some sort.

They help the hero to navigate the adventure, as they strengthen themselves and ultimately transform in ways that allow them to meet their life from a wiser, more skillful, and often more responsive place. 

As we looked at starting a new series featuring everyday heroes, the role of the helper was striking. 

And we couldn’t help but think this new series would be incomplete if we didn’t include episodes featuring helpers. 

So here we are. Launching our third episode in this new adventure on the larger Courageous Life podcast. 

Conversations featuring inspiring stories from everyday heroes and the helpers who walk beside them. 

Last week we released our first helper interview with Stanford compassion teacher, and family systems coach Shandra Lamotte as we curiosity, trust, and uncovering our inner wisdom. 

Today, I am thrilled to share another beautiful helpers conversation, with Alfreda McCray. 

Alfreda is a board-certified Executive Coach, a writer, social justice advocate, and doctoral student examining the intersections of identity, leadership, and authenticity. She is a life-long learner with a passion for optimizing wellbeing, reducing harm, and increasing compassion in the workplace and beyond. Her background includes over 20 years of experience in professional services and consulting. To learn more about Alfreda you can follow her on LinkedIn. 

In this episode we’ll explore: 

• Alfreda’s inspiring journey and the story of a helper, who in her words, saved her life.
• How she approaches her work, and the ways in which she walks beside her clients.
• Some of her favorite tools and practices for slowing down, and meeting life from a more responsive place.

This conversation was both moving and practical, and I hope you enjoy the time with Alfreda as much as I  did. 

Did you find this conversation inspiring? Here are other episodes we think you'll love:

• Faith, Hope, and Love with Eddie Garcia
• Curiosity, trust, and inner wisdom with Shandra Lamotte

 Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts. 
 
 Thanks for listening!

Support the show

As part of a 4-part series on the Power of Compassion on The Courageous Life, yesterday we released  a beautiful conversation with Roshi Joan Halifax and Rhonda Magee. 

Together they explored a variety of themes related to meeting the most pressing challenges of our time with backbone and heart. 

To complement the conversations in this series I have be sharing some potent practices for opening the heart, and accessing more courage and compassion. 

Today's practice is a re-release of the first Practicing Courage episode we ever produced and relates to one of the themes that Joan and Rhonda explored.

How we can respond vs. react in moments where we feel triggered?

An idea that is beautifully highlighted by holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, who famously said:

"Between stimulus and response there's a space. In that space is our ability to choose. In that choice lies our growth and our freedom."

Today's episode will explore how we might find this space more often in our lives, our work, and our relationships. 

 Throughout episode you'll be exposed to:

• Highlights from the science of courage
• An inspiring clip from a conversation with Dr. Amy Edmondson
• And a simple 3-part practice for finding more of this space, and more courage in the midst of our busy day-to-day lives.

Thank you for your practice today!

I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!

-Joshua

8 Week Compassion Cultivation Training with Joshua begins July 12th!

If you are interested in a deeper more experiential dive into these insights and practices I  would encourage you to join me on July 12th, as I will be teaching an 8 week course on compassion originally created at Stanford University. Learn more by heading to practicingcourage.com/cct

Want these practices delivered via text?

If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.

Looking for more practice opportunities? 

Check out:

• Free Meditation Events - 60 minute community gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoom. 
• The Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.
• Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feed
• The FREE Practice Library

Support the show

This is the finale in our 4-part series on the power of compassion, which has featured leading researchers and practitioners in illuminating conversations about how to live with a more kind, and open hearted stance toward the world.

Today's conversation could not be a more fitting end as Roshi Joan Halifax and Rhonda V. Magee, two extraordinary pioneers working at the intersection of mindfulness, social change, law, and end-of-life care will engage in a deep and inspiring discussion about accessing compassion in the face of our most pressing challenges.

Together they'll explore:

• How we might engage with ourselves, our communities, perceived adversaries, and the broader world with an open heart.
• Training qualities of compassion, kindness, and love when fighting for causes we care about
• Their experiences, including challenges they've faced, in cultivating compassion 
• The GRACE model for training compassion
• Overcoming fear
• Practices for responding (vs. reacting) in the heat of the moment or when one is triggered
• Working more effectively with failure and disappointment

As you'll hear this conversation will infuse the metaphor of an open hearted warrior as Joan and Rhonda discuss the possibility of meeting life's challenges with a blend of backbone and heart.

Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts!

More Power of Compassion Series episodes:

Part 3: The Future of Work - Love, Safety, and Belonging | Leah Weiss & Jerry Colonna

Part 2: Moving From Fear to Love | James Doty & Jacinta Jiménez

Part 1: The Key to Resilience and Possibility | Barbara Fredrickson & Sharon Salzberg

About Rhonda Magee:

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and a leading mindfulness teacher with a focus on applying mindfulness to the hardest challenges of our times. She is an internationally-recognized teacher, guide and mentor, focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work. For more than 20+ years, Professor Magee has studied mindfulness, its underlying origins in Buddhism, and its potential benefits and applications in the world. A prolific author, she draws on law and legal history to weave storytelling, poetry, analysis and practices into inspiration for changing how we think, act and live better together in the face of the multiple interlocking challenges of our times. For more please visit rhondavmagee.com

About Roshi Joan Halifax

Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D. is Founder and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a social activist, author, and in her early years was an anthropologist at Columbia University and University of Miami School of Medicine . She is a pioneer in the field of end-of-life care and has lectured on the subject of death and dying at many academic institutions and medical centers around the world. She has also received numerous awards and honors from institutions for her work as a social and environmental activist and in the end-of-life care field. She has served as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress where she developed a heuristic map of compassion and created  the GRACE model for training compassion. She is Director of the Project on Being with Dying, and Founder of the Upaya Prison Project that develops programs on meditation for prisoners. For more please visit: www.joanhalifax.org

Support the show

In the hero's journey, the hero or heroine is called to adventure. 

Often in the form of a quest, a challenge, or adversity.

And often that adventure arrives unexpectedly.

One of the things that’s interesting about the hero's journey is that shortly after the call a helper enters the picture.

A mentor, a sage, a guide, or a coach of some sort.

They help the hero to navigate the adventure, as they strengthen themselves and ultimately transform in ways that allow them to meet their life from a wiser, more skillful, and often more responsive place. 

As we looked at starting a new series featuring everyday heroes, the role of the helper was striking. 

And we couldn’t help but think this new series would be incomplete if we didn’t include episodes featuring helpers. 

So here we are. Launching our second episode ever in this new adventure on the larger Courageous Life podcast. 

Conversations featuring inspiring stories from everyday heroes and the helpers who walk beside them. 

Last week we released our first hero interview with heart attack and heart transplant survivor Eddie Garcia as we explored faith, hope, and love.

And today, I  am thrilled to share our first helper conversation, with Shandra Lamotte.

Shandra is a coach, facilitator, and teacher who believes that every person she works with has an inner knowing that is far superior to her ideas or advice on what to do.

Her work centers around inquiry and processes to support people in connecting to themselves, their own wisdom, and their wholeness so they can navigate the inevitable ups and downs of life with trust, grounding, and heart.

Shandra is certified as a Compassion Cultivation Training instructor through CCARE at Stanford University where she teaches courses in compassion. She’s a family systems coach, and is a lead facilitator of rites of passage workshops through COR. For more on Shandra, and the wonderful work she is doing you can visit shandralamotte.com

In today's conversation: 

• We’ll explore some of Shandra’s own journey including the story of a helper who met her along her path, and helped her to grow and transform.
• Shandra will share more about how she walks beside her clients including tools, and practices she uses.
• How she approaches her work from a place of curiosity, compassion, and a steadfast belief in people’s potential. 

This is a beautiful and practical conversation and I  hope you enjoy the time with Shandra as much as I did. 

Did you find this conversation inspiring? Here are other episodes we think you'll love:

• Faith, Hope, and Love with Eddie Garcia

Enjoying the show? Please rate it wherever you listen to your podcasts. 

Thanks for listening!

Support the show

As part of a 4-part series on the Power of Compassion yesterday we released a moving conversation with Jerry Colonna and Leah Weiss. 

Together they explored the future of work: Love, Safety, and Belonging. 
 
To complement these conversations on compassion I am sharing some of the most potent practices I’ve come across for opening the heart, and accessing more courage and compassion. 

Today's we'll explore the question: 

“How can we create conditions for other people to be courageous?”

A question I  have been exploring for years, on The Courageous Life Podcast, and beyond.

The interest in this question stems from the common and celebrated narrative (particularly in the US) of the lone hero.

That romanticized myth of pulling oneself up by their bootstraps and doing it all on their own.
 
While it might be an inspirational tale, it can put a lot of pressure on an individual to be courageous, which is pressure that isn't always be necessary. 
 
 As you can imagine, exploring this question over the years has yielded many answers. 

A few include: 

• Let someone know you have their back
• Provide training, resources, tools, insights etc that help them pursue what they care about
• Create forms of safety that foster healthy risk taking

One of my favorite answers to this question though, came from best-selling author, and teacher Parker Palmer

During our first conversation, Parker and I discussed finding the courage to embrace our whole selves and finding the courage to pursue our true vocation.

In today's practice:

• You'll hear a small snippet of what he had to say 
• And I will offer up a multi-step process for creating the conditions for others to be courageous that involves deep listening, open questions, and letting go of habits of fixing, advising, correcting, or solving.

Curious to explore this topic further? Here are some conversations on the podcast we think you'll love:

• The Courageous Journey Toward Wholeness | Parker Palmer
• The Power of Compassion Pt. 3 | Jerry Colonna and Leah Weiss 

Thank you for your practice today!
 
 I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!
 
 -Joshua

 
 Want these practices delivered via text?
 
If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.

Looking for more practice opportunities? 
 
 Check out:

• Free Meditation Events - 60 minute community gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoom.
• The Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.
• Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feed
• The FREE Practice Library

Support the show

There is a metaphor that comes out of ancient wisdom traditions of a bird. One wing of the bird represents wisdom and the other represents compassion.

In order to fly the bird needs both wings.

Like the bird, as people and leaders, cultivating wisdom and compassion in our lives, and in our organizations may help us to realize our potential.

This metaphor serves as the centerpiece of our conversation today as Dr. Leah Weiss and Jerry Colonna dive deep into the power of compassion at work.

This episode is the third installment of a 4-part series (originally released last season) that features leading researchers and practitioners exploring themes related to compassion, courage, and living with a more open, and loving stance toward the world.

The first two parts featured conversations with:

Sharon Salzberg and Barbara Fredrickson
And James Doty and Jacinta Jiménez

In this moving conversation Leah and Jerry share: 

• Why they have infused compassion and mindfulness so centrally in their work with leaders and organizations
• Why empathy, safety, love, and belonging may be the most important qualities for leaders to focus on
• The role of suffering and a broken heart in compassionate leadership
• Using work as a crucible for realizing our potential
• The power of asking open questions, slowing down, and listening deeply
• How to navigate anger at work
• Reflections on opening the heart in difficult conversations
• The importance of kinship and recognizing our shared common humanity

**Please note: In this conversation Jerry and Leah share past experiences related to acute mental health issues and suicide. There is a possibility that some may find parts of this episode triggering. Please listen at your own discretion and in a caring and supportive way for you. Additionally, if you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues, including those related to suicide please reach out for help. The International Association for Suicide Prevention is one organization that offers lots of free support, helplines, and resources globally. You can find them at https://www.iasp.info/ **

More about Jerry:

Jerry Colonna is the CEO, and co-founder, of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches and facilitators are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders. For nearly 20 years, he has used the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity. Previous to his career as a coach he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. He joined JPMP from Flatiron Partners. For more on Jerry please visit reboot.io

More about Leah:

Dr. Leah Weiss is a researcher, lecturer, consultant, and author. She teaches Compassionate Leadership at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is a founding faculty member of Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program. In 2019, she co-founded Skylyte, a company that specializes in using the latest neuroscience and behavior change to empower high-performing leaders and managers to prevent burnout for themselves and their teams. Leah has taught and spoken in over 75 organizations across sectors. Her work has been covered by news outlets around the world, including BBC, the New York Times, TED, the Financial Times, HBR, and others. For more about Leah visit: https://leahweissphd.com/

Support the show

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Everyday Heroes and Helpers.

A new series on the Courageous Life Podcast that has been a dream  since we first launched back in 2018.

Part of the mission of the show has always been to share inspiring stories of everyday heroes. 

Ordinary people like our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and members of our communities who find the courage to rise up and meet challenges, and adversity. 

Ordinary people who are navigating the messy middle parts of life with hope, love, and resilience.

Ordinary people who are doing extraordinary and yet innately human things. 

Today and going forward this series will be showcasing these powerfully moving stories in a dedicated way. 

And I  couldn’t be more excited. 

In crafting this series my longtime collaborator, friend, and executive producer Matthew Donner and I took a lot of inspiration from the work of Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey.

In the hero's journey, the hero or heroine is called to adventure, often in the form of a quest, a challenge, or an adversity.

What's interesting is that shortly after the call, a helper enters the picture. 

This may be a mentor, sage, or guide who helps the hero to navigate the adventure, as they strengthen themselves and ultimately transform in ways that allow them to meet their life from a wiser, more skillful, and often more responsive (vs. reactive) place. 

As we looked at this arc of the hero's journey I couldn’t help but think the series would be incomplete if we didn’t include episodes featuring helpers. 

So today we are embarking on a new adventure as we will be sharing conversations featuring inspiring stories from everyday heroes and the helpers who walk beside them. 

We’re kicking things off with our first everyday hero, Eddie Garcia.

Eddie is a heart attack and heart transplant survivor.

In 2010, a massive blockage in an artery referred to as the “widow maker” led to a decade of living with congestive heart failure.

A successful heart transplant in 2020 inspired him to tell his story in his beautiful memoir: Summer in the Waiting Room: Faith, Hope, and Love.

During our conversation Eddie will share more about his own journey, and how he navigated the immense challenges that arose with faith, hope, love, and community,

He’ll also talk about personal transformation, growth, and how he is meeting his life now.

If you want to find out more about Eddie pick up a copy of his book wherever books are sold, and check out his blog ESEReport.com, where he writes about his experiences as a working-class kid, public servant, corporate executive, and heart attack survivor. 

If you are enjoying the podcast please let us know by taking minute to rate the show wherever you tune in!

Thanks for listening!  

Support the show

As part of a 4-part series on the Power of Compassion which we are re-releasing on The Courageous Life, yesterday we released  a beautiful conversation with Dr. James Doty and Dr. Jacinta Jiménez. 

Together they explored a variety of themes related to cultivating greater compassion and empathy, including the possibility of fostering cultures of care within organizations. 

To complement these conversations over the coming weeks I will be sharing some of the most potent practices I’ve come across for opening the heart, and accessing more courage and compassion. 

Today's practice is is the second of these and is all about building great relationships.

Years ago I had the chance to meet a couple who was truly happy and deeply in love after 35 years.

Sitting together I asked them what their biggest piece of advice would be for a successful, happy marriage (or relationship)?

I will never forget what they shared that day. It was both simple and profound. 

Today's you'll hear what the couple shared with me, and how it can be applied to create thriving relationships in all domains of life, including at work. 

Curious to explore this topic further? Here are some conversations on the podcast we think you'll love:

• The Power of Compassion Pt. 1 | Barbara Fredrickson and Sharon Salzberg
• The Power of Compassion Pt. 2 | James Doty and Jacinta Jiménez

Thank you for your practice today!

I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!

-Joshua

Want these practices delivered via text?

If you are located in the U.S. text the word COURAGE to 805-430-6801 to join Joshua's text community and you'll get a text once/week with a link directly to the practice.

Looking for more practice opportunities? 

Check out:

• Free Meditation Events - 60 minute community gatherings with Joshua held 2x a month over zoom.
• The Practice Pass - An annual membership that gives you on-demand access to robust practice experiences including the 28-Day Practicing Courage Challenge, The 5-Day Transforming Stress Challenge and the brand NEW Creativity Challenge.
• Past Practicing Courage episodes in the podcast feed
• The FREE Practice Library

Support the show

Today we're continuing our four-part series on the power of compassion with a deep, insightful, and moving conversation between Dr. Jacinta Jiménez and Dr. James Doty. 

Each episode in this series showcases a powerful duo made up of a leading researcher and practitioner who will explore themes related to compassion, courage, and living with a more open, kind, and loving stance toward the world. 

If you happened to miss part one with Dr. Barbara Fredrickson and Sharon Salzberg you can go back and listen to it anytime. It's become one of the most popular conversations in the show's history and we hope you enjoy part two just as much! 

In today’s episode: 

• How moving from fear to love can be a powerful catalyst for wellbeing, performance, and flourishing in life and work
• A personal story from Jacinta about the power of having someone who sees you, and creates spaces for belonging
• The research backed benefits of belonging, compassion, and kindness 
• The argument for compassion and kindness at work and how these qualities can both fit into, and enhance, performance cultures
• How qualities like compassion, empathy, and altruism can be learned
• Tools for practicing compassion in daily life
• Leadership practices for creating environments of care
• And more!

Compassion Cultivation Training with Joshua begins July 12, 2024

Intrigued at the idea of strengthening compassion, courage, and resilience? I am teaching an 8-week training originally developed at Stanford and includes evidence-based meditation techniques, interactive discussions, and lectures.

For more: practicingcourage.com/cct

Did you find this episode inspiring? We think you'll love these conversations too:

• The Power of Compassion Pt 1 | Sharon Salzberg and Barbara Fredrickson
• Using Neuroscience to Manifest a Kinder, Better World | James Doty
• Into the Magic Shop | James Doty

More about Dr. Doty:

James R. Doty, M.D. is an Adjunct Professor and the Founder & Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. As the Director of CCARE, he has spearheaded research projects on compassion and altruism, and their relationship to the brain. He is also an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the NYT bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discovery the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. 

More about Dr. Jiménez:

Jacinta Jiménez, (also known as “Dr. J”) is an award-winning Stanford-trained Psychologist and Board-Certified Leadership Coach with a 20+ year career dedicated to the betterment of individuals, leaders, and top organizations in Silicon Valley and throughout the world. Sought-after for her expertise bridging the fields of psychology and leadership she regularly contributes to international news and TV outlets, including CNN/HLN, Business Insider, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company. Her book, The Burnout Fix debuted as #1 New Release on Amazon, has been recognized by Business Insider as a top book to read about burnout, and was the winner in getAbstract’s prestigious 2021 International Book of the Year Reader's Choice Award.  More about Dr. J: drjacintajimenez.com

Support the show