The Courageous Life

Scholars, consultants, teachers, and researchers Monica Worline and Jane Dutton are co-authors of the book Awakening Compassion at Work. Monica and Jane are co-founders of the CompassionLab, the world’s leading collaboratory for research on compassion and work organizations. Working together for more than fifteen years, Monica and Jane offer key insights regarding the value of compassion for addressing pain people bring into the workplace and pain that is created in the conduct of daily work. Monica and Jane teach and consult with leaders, managers, students, and change agents in a variety of organizations who are striving to awaken compassion in their work lives. For more on Monica and Jane, including their background and the important work they are doing please check out https://awakeningcompassionatwork.com

In this episode we explore: 

• The stories behind how Monica and Jane got interested in studying, researching, and teaching compassion.
• The 4 parts of compassion
• Training compassion - looking at compassion as a skill that can be developed
• The importance of noticing suffering and how to do so in organizations
• How, and why, the stories we tell ourselves about other people amplify (or hinder) our ability to be compassionate
• The business case for compassion
• Ways to build compassion into processes, roles, and routines within organizations
• And more!

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Looking for more resources or references from the show? Check out the show notes for this episode at www.joshuasteinfeldt.com

More about Monica Worline:

Monica C. Worline, Ph.D., is founder and CEO of EnlivenWork, an innovation organization that teaches businesses and others how to tap into courageous thinking, compassionate leadership, and the curiosity to bring their best work to life. She is a research scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and Executive Director of CompassionLab, the world’s leading research collaboratory focused on compassion at work. Monica holds a lectureship at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and is affiliate faculty at the Center for Positive Organizations.

More about Jane Dutton:

Jane E. Dutton, Ph.D., is the Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration and Psychology at the Ross School of Business. She is a co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations, and passionate about cultivating human flourishing at work. Her research focuses on compassion, job crafting, high quality connections, and meaning making at work.  She has written over 100 articles and published 13 books, including How to be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact.

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Please enjoy this free BONUS guided meditation from Rick Hanson. This brief practice is the second of 7 practices outlined in Rick’s new book, Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness. This meditation focuses on warming the heart. 

For more on Rick please listen to our most recent conversation (episode 49), or our first conversation on the topic of resilience in episode 12 of the Courageous Life. You can also check out rickhanson.net.

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Please enjoy this free BONUS guided meditation from Rick Hanson. This brief practice is the first of 7 practices outlined in Rick’s new book, Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness. This meditation focuses on steadying the mind. 

For more on Rick please listen to our most recent conversation (episode 49), or our first conversation on the topic of resilience in episode 12 of the Courageous Life. You can also check out rickhanson.net.

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Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books have been published in 29 languages and include Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. For more about Rick, his teachings, books, and events please visit rickhanson.net.

Rick is back for round 2! In this episode we explore:

• How he thinks about the heights of human potential 
• What he has learned from exemplars, neuroscience, and decades of meditation experience about realizing one’s potential
• 7 practices for achieving the highest happiness
• HEAL - a practice for turning positive states into lasting traits
• How Rick thinks about being driven, and achieve-oriented while simultaneously having a sense of ease
• What Rick learned from the Dalai Lama’s body guard about being tough and loving
• Some of my experiences with Rick as a participant on two of his 10-day meditation retreats
• And more!
• Please also check out the BONUS meditations that Rick has generously shared which focus on the first two (of 7) practices from his new book, Neurodharma. You can find these listed as bonus episodes of the Courageous Life.

Interested in learning more from Rick? Check out episode 12 of the Courageous Life where we explored the topic of resilience.

Enjoying the show? Please let us know by rating the Courageous Life on iTunes!

Show notes can be found at www.joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

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Dr. Jo Boaler is a professor of education and equity at Stanford University and the faculty director of youcubed—an education resource that has reached over 230 million students. She is the author of the first MOOC on mathematics teaching and learning, as well as nine mathematics books and numerous research articles. Her work has been published in the New York Times, TIME magazine, The Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other news outlets. She was named by the BBC as one of eight educators “changing the face of education.” Her latest book is: Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead & Live without Barriers, published by Harper Collins.

In this episode Jo shares: 

• Her incredible story of overcoming academic bullying and what it taught her about resilience and connection
• What neuroplasticity is, why it's a game changing finding in neuroscience, and how understanding the way our brains work can transform the ways we learn, lead & live
• The neuroscience behind why mistakes are actually a good thing
• How she teaches students to embrace mistakes, and learn from failure
• The neurobiology of fear, and how curiosity may be an antidote to the fear response
• How adopting a growth mindset can be a key to living without limits
• The importance of believing in oneself and why anyone can learn anything
• And much more!

If you found this episode as inspiring as I did, please share it with friends and take a moment to let us know what you thought by rating the show on iTunes.

Show notes and more can be found at joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

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Tania de Jong (pronounced Yong) AM is a trail-blazing Australian soprano, global speaker, award-winning social entrepreneur, creative innovation catalyst and spiritual journeywoman. Tania is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators, developing 5 businesses and 3 charities over the past 3 decades including, but not limited to Creative Universe, Creativity Australia and the With One Voice program, Creative Innovation Global, and Mind Medicine Australia. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and named one of the 100 Women of Influence and the one of the 100 Australian Most Influential Entrepreneurs. Tania has released eleven Albums and her TEDx Talk How Singing Together Changes The Brain has sparked international interest. To learn more about Tania, and the work she is doing please visit taniadejong.com

In this episode Tania shares: 

• Her incredible story of being told by her best friend at 14 years old not to bother having singing lessons, and how this drove her to a successful career as a singer and entrepreneur
• Powerful lessons in unlocking creativity and innovation she first learned from the inventor of the foldable umbrella, who just happened to be her grandmother
• The backstory on the With One Voice choir program, a non-profit focused on empowering individuals to find their voice through community
• How she deals with fear and uncertainty
• How to turn failure into opportunities for learning and growth
• Her thoughts on the importance of diversity, inclusion, and community for creativity
• And more!

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Find show notes and more at www.joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

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Please enjoy this free BONUS guided meditation from Shelly Tygielski. This brief practice is intended to promote a sense of ease, and help one deal with uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.

For more on Shelly please listen to episode 46 of the Courageous Life and check out pandemicoflove.com

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This is one of the most important and timely conversations I have had on the Courageous Life. Shelly Tygielski, a friend and return guest to the show, has started a movement called The Pandemic of Love. In response to the challenges surrounding COVID-19 including job loss, furloughs, illness, etc - the Pandemic of Love has connected over 10,000 families (to-date) in need of basic essentials like food and medicine with 10,000+ patrons who are offering support (financial or otherwise). Launched on March 14th, 2020 this movement is already going viral, with over 280 volunteers working behind-the-scenes, and more and more people connecting to help each other, and to spread love each and every day. Shelly and I will get into all the details and backstory on the Pandemic of Love about 30 minutes into the episode. If you want to get involved now, please go to pandemicoflove.com

In this episode Shelly shares:

• Her inspiring story of how and why she got into the work she is doing today as a community organizer, activist, and meditation teacher
• How meditation has helped her to rise up in the face of adversity and challenges in her life
• What her meditation practice involves today
• Coping strategies for dealing with fear and uncertainty related to COVID-19
• The incredible story behind the Pandemic of Love, why she started it, and how to get involved

Shelly has also offered a brief meditation for dealing with uncertainty that you will find included as a BONUS mini episode of the Courageous Life. 

About Shelly:

Shelly Tygielski is a “modern-life mindfulness” teacher and “self-care activist” who focuses much of her time on communities that are underserved, with social justice and community organizations, non-profits and schools. Shelly was made to create movements and regularly runs into the flames to help people in need. She is deeply involved in offering trauma-informed healing practices to communities affected by gun violence and mass shootings and has led retreats for survivors and victims’ families representing Parkland, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Aurora, Columbine and more. 

She also started the “Sand Tribe”community in Hollywood Beach, Fl that grew from 12 friends meditating together to over 15,000 individuals that practice together on a regular basis. She was featured on the cover of Mindful Magazine® in June 2019 for her work in this space and was recently referred to as one of the most “Powerful Women in Mindfulness” by mindful.org. Her work and classes have been featured on mindful.org, Tricycle, The New York Times and dozens of national and international television and online platforms. 

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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. He believes not only that work does not have to destroy us, but that work can be the way to achieve our fullest selves. Jerry is the author of Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up. 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, which he launched 1996 with partner, Fred Wilson. Flatiron became one of the most successful, early-stage investment programs in the New York City area. You can learn more about Jerry at www.reboot.io

In this episode Jerry and I discuss:

• The process of moving from reaction to choice in our lives
• How slowing down and engaging in deep questions about what matters can be a radical act
• How he defines "radical self-inquiry" and why this is so foundational to his work with leaders
• How to let go of old patterns of behavior and ways of being that are no longer serving us
• Stories from his 1x1 work with some of his coaching clients
• Why resilience and equanimity are the larger aims of the work he does
• Overcoming fear through courage and curiosity
• The importance of a compassionate approach when we reboot our lives, and the way we lead

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Show notes can be found at www.joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

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Shauna Shapiro, PhD is a best-selling author, clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion. She is a professor at Santa Clara University and has published over 150 papers and three critically acclaimed books, translated into 16 languages. Her latest book, Good Morning I Love You: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Practices to Rewire Your Brain for Calm, Clarity + Joy was released in January of 2020. Shauna has presented her research to the King of Thailand, the Danish Government, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Summit, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, as well as to Fortune 100 Companies including Google, Cisco Systems and LinkedIn. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Wired, USA Today, Dr. Oz, the Huffington Post, and the American Psychologist. Shauna is a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, co-founded by the Dalai Lama. Her TEDx Talk, The Power of Mindfulness, has been viewed over 1.5 million times. For more on Shauna visit www.drshaunashapiro.com

In this episode Shauna shares:

• How meditation helped her during one of the darkest times in her life
• Insights into her own personal mindfulness practice, including benefits she has experienced from meditating
• Tips for getting started with a daily mindfulness practice
• The IAA (Intention, Attention, Attitude) framework for practicing mindfulness
• A simple equation for reducing suffering in our lives
• How, and why, she let go of perfectionism and embraced self-compassion in her own life
• How mindfulness and self-compassion practices can change your brain for greater calm, clarity, and joy
• Why shame and self-criticism are poor strategies when it comes to achievement

Rate the show on iTunes!

Show notes can be found at www.joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

Thanks for listening!

Support the show