The Future Is How

Why do the most trusted people say “I don’t know”? It starts with how you treat being wrong.

Amy Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School, ranked the number one management thinker in the world, and the researcher who gave us psychological safety. Her newest book, Right Kind of Wrong, is about failure, and not the kind we usually mean.

If you have ever stayed quiet in a meeting because you were afraid to look wrong, this episode is for you. Amy shows you why the three words most of us avoid can unlock a room, build trust and open the door to the future you want.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why saying “I don’t know” makes you look more confident, not less
• The difference between basic, complex and intelligent failures
• Why the most successful teams often look the messiest
• How to stop clearing the path for your kids and hand them a shovel instead
• One small experiment you can run before the end of the week

This episode is for every leader, parent and team member who wants to take smarter risks and keep going when things go wrong. You’ll leave with a new way to see your mistakes and a clear first step you can take today.

Connect with Amy Edmondson:
Website and her book, Right Kind of Wrong: https://amycedmondson.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/

Connect with Frederik:
Sign up for the NEXTletter: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/nextletter
Get What’s Next Is Now: https://whatsnextisnowthebook.com/
Are You Future Ready? Take the test: https://awareness.frederikgpferdt.com/
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9bRbuGrfrpc
frederikgpferdt.com

How do you raise kids for a future none of us can see? It starts with the past you carry.

Dr. Shefali is a clinical psychologist, New York Times bestselling author of The Conscious Parent, and a pioneer of conscious parenting whose work has helped millions of families around the world.

If you have ever heard your parents' words come out of your own mouth, this episode is for you. Dr. Shefali shows you why the patterns you inherited don't have to become the patterns you pass on, and why the most powerful thing you can do for your children's future is to raise yourself first.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why your child's behavior is often a mirror of what is still unhealed in you
• The simple pause that turns a reaction into a response
• How to see your child for who they truly are, not who you need them to be
• Why your own growth is the greatest gift you can give your child
• Simple practices you can try with your family today

This episode is for every parent who wants to do it differently, and for anyone who wants to stop living by a script they never chose. You'll leave with more compassion for yourself and a clear first step you can take today.

Connect with Dr. Shefali:
Website and her new books, Raising Conscious Daughters and Raising Conscious Sons: https://drshefali.com
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@doctorshefali

Connect with Frederik:
Sign up for the NEXTletter: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/nextletter
Get What's Next Is Now: https://whatsnextisnowthebook.com/
Are You Future Ready? Take the test: https://awareness.frederikgpferdt.com/
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.podpage.com/the-future-is-how/
frederikgpferdt.com

The future doesn't start tomorrow. It starts within.

#TheFutureIsHOW #ConsciousParenting #Parenting #DrShefali #Podcast

Ruchika Sikri spent 25+ years in tech (Google, Microsoft, Cisco) and led wellbeing and mindfulness learning at Google for 15 years, scaling programs like Search Inside Yourself and the gPause community of practice to more than 120,000 employees with a community of 400+ volunteers. Today she is a Founding Partner of Wisdom Ventures - which recently closed an oversubscribed 77.7 million dollar fund, with Dr. Vivek Murthy joining as a partner - and the author of Brain Fitness Blueprint, which connects ancient wisdom with modern science. This episode is a future built from within: clarity, compassion and connection as the foundation for navigating what's next - the Future-ready Mindstate, turned toward how we work, lead and care for each other.

Chapters
00:00 Cold open: congratulations on the book and the 77.7M fund

02:45 The geodesic dome: why no one builds anything alone

06:09 How it began: a heart palpitation and 20 painful minutes of sitting

08:35 Finding gPause and Search Inside Yourself at Google

10:35 Scaling mindfulness: Thich Nhat Hanh fills Charlie's Cafe with silence

14:34 Guardrails: keeping it secular, science-backed and real

16:16 What worked: growing wait-lists, quiet rooms, Googlegeist results 18:10 Caring for humans at work (and the "nine-to-nine" worry)

20:57 Teachers: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jack Kornfield's candle

27:10 Practices she's experimenting with: cooking, roots, connection

29:35 From doing to being

31:16 Loneliness: what's really underneath it

38:51 Why Wisdom Ventures - and how a 2M plan became a 77.7M fund

44:27 What she looks for in a founder: sincerity and "jugaad"

51:36 A short mindfulness practice

59:10 What gives Ruchika hope for the future

Ruchika online
LinkedIn

Wisdom Ventures

Book - Brain Fitness Blueprint

Frederik online

Podcast - The Future Is How

Newsletter - NEXTletter

Learn & Experience

Online Courses

Live Events

1:1 Coaching

Book - What's Next Is Now

Awareness Test

Engage

Ask Frederik - Digital Twin

Contact

About

Shop

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside and the author of The How of Happiness, The Myths of Happiness, and her new book How to Feel Loved (with Harry Reis). Her work has reached readers in 39 countries. In this conversation she shares the five mindsets that help us feel more loved, why being known matters more than being impressive, the vulnerability paradox, what her research says about control and the future, and her own daily practice of presence and radical curiosity.

This is a future built from within: less about better tools, more about the human capacity to connect. It is the Future-ready Mindstate turned toward the most personal question of all - how we love and let ourselves be loved.

Chapters
00:00 Cold open: when did someone last make you feel loved?

02:33 Welcome - and how Frederik and Sonja met in Copenhagen

03:27 Waking up happy and loved: morning anxiety and the "magic potion" of a friend

04:50 What Sonja was most wrong about early on: social comparison

06:23 Social media and the comparison trap

07:56 What to do about it: "Excessive self-focus is the door to all misery"

11:06 Being genuinely happy for others

12:09 From happiness to love: why feeling loved is the key

13:47 Loved vs. feeling loved, and why the answer is to be known

19:42 The vulnerability paradox (and JFK after the Bay of Pigs)

21:58 Our relationship with the future: expectations and losing a future

24:07 The sailing story: handing over the wheel and the power of control

27:11 Self-love: the open-heart mindset and treating yourself like a kind friend

29:21 Sonja's own rituals: deep intimacy, presence, curiosity

31:20 On boredom and going beyond the words

33:49 The nature of love (Fast Future Round)

36:49 The smallest first move you can make today
39:06 NEXTletter outro

Sonja's Website: https://sonjalyubomirsky.com/

Sonja's New Book: https://howtofeelloved.com/

Sonja at UCR: https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/sonja

Frederik

The Future Is How: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/#podcast
NEXTletter: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/nextletter

Online Courses: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/course

1:1 Coaching: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/coaching

Books: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/book

Awareness Test: https://awareness.frederikgpferdt.com/

Ask Frederik: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/ask-frederik

Contact: https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/contact
Shop: https://shop.frederikgpferdt.com/

What's left of us when AI can generate the idea, write the memo, and build the prototype faster than we ever could? Brice Challamel, Head of AI Strategy and Adoption at OpenAI offers a surprising answer: we become stewards of our own intent. In this episode he shares why he doesn't ask AI for answers in the morning but for questions, how a movie-night app turned into a love letter to his family, why he has actually cried during AI conversations - and what makes us irreplaceably human.

• 00:00 - What exactly am I for?
• 02:24 - 5 minutes, 22 seconds: how Brice built a pharma pitch in Codex
• 04:46 - "Coffee by any love" – the morning ritual
• 05:46 - The first thing he asks AI every day
• 09:30 - From knowledge worker to intelligence worker
• 11:34 - Why good AI should make you uncomfortable, and how AI turned movie night into a love letter
• 21:27 - "I made this" vs. "I meant this" – from author to steward
• 26:27 - The Joy of Missing Out vs. the Fear of Missing Out
• 28:33 - Imagining a future of thought-driven society
• 31:57 - Externalizing mental models with AI
• 33:44 - The role of emotions in AI interactions
• 38:16 - Practical experiments with AI engagement

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bricechallamel
• Power of Why: powerofwhy.ai

• Take the Awareness Test – How future-ready is your mindstate?
• 8-Day Foundation Course – Build your Future-ready Mindstate
• Ask Frederik – AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work
• NEXTletter – One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)
• Live Events 2026 – See Frederik speak live
• The Future Is How Podcast – New episodes every two weeks

Dushka Zapata has written 17 books and is one of the most-read writers on Quora. Dan Roam wrote "The Back of the Napkin" and has taught Google, Microsoft, and the U.S. Navy how to think with pictures. For the first time on this show, I have two guests at the same mic - recorded inside my geodesic dome, words on one side, pictures on the other. Together we explore why imagining your future too clearly is actually a form of anxiety, why the fear of drawing is really the fear of your own future, and the practice that helped my 10-year-old draw a horse in under two minutes. Dan also shares a brand-new idea, born live in this conversation: the Palace of the Present Moment. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the future, this one is for you.

Chapters

00:00 - First time in the dome, first time with two guests

03:15 - How Dan helped my daughter Josefina draw a horse in under two minutes

05:42 - The fear of drawing is the fear of your own future

11:27 - Dushka's antidote to overwhelm (and the Einstein quote you'll steal)

14:00 - Why half of your brain is built for visual thinking

17:17 - Generative AI and why you should draw first, prompt later

20:00 - "Claude is mad at me" - why AI is just a mirror

24:00 - Patience as a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue

26:48 - The annoying bell and the power of the pause

30:00 - The Zen master, the trash over the fence, and a better way to react

32:11 - Drawing your future self

39:09 - Anxiety is too much future

41:00 - What if everything works out?

50:30 - Find silence. Draw a circle. Repeat.

Links Dushka Zapata

How to Be Ferociously Happy (Book)

Dushka on Quora

dushkazapata.com

Links Dan Roam

The Back of the Napkin (Book)

Draw to Win (Book)

Napkin Academy

danroam.com

Links Frederik

Take the Awareness Test – How future-ready is your mindstate?

What's Next Is Now (Book) – Frederik's book on designing your future (HarperCollins)

8-Day Foundation Course – Build your future-ready mindstate

Ask Frederik – AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work

NEXTletter – One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)

Live Events 2026 – See Frederik speak live

The Future Is How Podcast – New episodes every two weeks

Dushka Zapata has written 17 books and is one of the most-read writers on Quora. Dan Roam wrote "The Back of the Napkin" and has taught Google, Microsoft, and the U.S. Navy how to think with pictures. For the first time on this show, I have two guests at the same mic - recorded inside my geodesic dome, words on one side, pictures on the other. Together we explore why imagining your future too clearly is actually a form of anxiety, why the fear of drawing is really the fear of your own future, and the practice that helped my 10-year-old draw a horse in under two minutes. Dan also shares a brand-new idea, born live in this conversation: the Palace of the Present Moment. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the future, this one is for you.

Chapters

00:00 - First time in the dome, first time with two guests

03:15 - How Dan helped my daughter Josefina draw a horse in under two minutes

05:42 - The fear of drawing is the fear of your own future

11:27 - Dushka's antidote to overwhelm (and the Einstein quote you'll steal)

14:00 - Why half of your brain is built for visual thinking

17:17 - Generative AI and why you should draw first, prompt later

20:00 - "Claude is mad at me" - why AI is just a mirror

24:00 - Patience as a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue

26:48 - The annoying bell and the power of the pause

30:00 - The Zen master, the trash over the fence, and a better way to react

32:11 - Drawing your future self

39:09 - Anxiety is too much future

41:00 - What if everything works out?

50:30 - Find silence. Draw a circle. Repeat.

Links Dushka Zapata

How to Be Ferociously Happy (Book)

Dushka on Quora

dushkazapata.com

Links Dan Roam

The Back of the Napkin (Book)

Draw to Win (Book)

Napkin Academy

danroam.com

Links Frederik

Take the Awareness Test – How future-ready is your mindstate?

What's Next Is Now (Book) – Frederik's book on designing your future (HarperCollins)

8-Day Foundation Course – Build your future-ready mindstate in 20 min/day

Ask Frederik – AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work

NEXTletter – One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)

Live Events 2026 – See Frederik speak live

The Future Is How Podcast – New episodes every two weeks

Dushka Zapata has written 17 books and is one of the most-read writers on Quora. Dan Roam wrote "The Back of the Napkin" and has taught Google, Microsoft, and the U.S. Navy how to think with pictures. For the first time on this show, I have two guests at the same mic - recorded inside my geodesic dome, words on one side, pictures on the other. Together we explore why imagining your future too clearly is actually a form of anxiety, why the fear of drawing is really the fear of your own future, and the practice that helped my 10-year-old draw a horse in under two minutes. Dan also shares a brand-new idea, born live in this conversation: the Palace of the Present Moment. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the future, this one is for you.

Chapters

00:00 - First time in the dome, first time with two guests

03:15 - How Dan helped my daughter Josefina draw a horse in under two minutes

05:42 - The fear of drawing is the fear of your own future

11:27 - Dushka's antidote to overwhelm (and the Einstein quote you'll steal)

14:00 - Why half of your brain is built for visual thinking

17:17 - Generative AI and why you should draw first, prompt later

20:00 - "Claude is mad at me" - why AI is just a mirror

24:00 - Patience as a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue

26:48 - The annoying bell and the power of the pause

30:00 - The Zen master, the trash over the fence, and a better way to react

32:11 - Drawing your future self

39:09 - Anxiety is too much future

41:00 - What if everything works out?

50:30 - Find silence. Draw a circle. Repeat.

Links Dushka Zapata

How to Be Ferociously Happy (Book)

Dushka on Quora

dushkazapata.com

Links Dan Roam

The Back of the Napkin (Book)

Draw to Win (Book)

Napkin Academy

danroam.com

Links Frederik

Take the Awareness Test – How future-ready is your mindstate?

What's Next Is Now (Book) – Frederik's book on designing your future (HarperCollins)

8-Day Foundation Course – Build your future-ready mindstate in 20 min/day

Ask Frederik – AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work

NEXTletter – One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)

Live Events 2026 – See Frederik speak live

The Future Is How Podcast – New episodes every two weeks

In this episode, Frederik sits down with Laura Jones, CMO of Instacart, to explore how connection isn't just a strategy, but a way of leading, seeing, and creating. Laura shares the moment she stood outside a trailer on Stanford's campus, placed her hand on it, and knew: "Whatever is inside here will change my life." That moment became the beginning of a career that took her to Google, Uber, and one of the most joyful Super Bowl ads of the year.
We talk about the power of "How might we" and "Yes, and," about 1.8 billion bananas, about a heart-opening trip to Vietnam with UNICEF, and about what it really takes to practice curiosity, not just preach it.

Chapters
00:00 The Power of Connection - Welcome Laura Jones
01:35 From Google to Uber to Instacart - Laura's Path
02:24 Creativity as a Superpower - The d.school Moment
04:54 The Trailer Story - "Whatever Is Inside Will Change My Life"
07:34 What Connection Really Means in Daily Practice
09:22 Borrowing from Tinder - Lateral Thinking in Action
11:19 The Power of "How Might We"
12:05 The Art of Ideation
13:57 Reading the Data - The Banana Insight
17:00 Yes, And - Turning a Story into a Product
19:41 Inside the Super Bowl Ad - Five Years of Foundation
22:26 The Pressure of Public Creative Work
24:23 From Blank Page to Ben Stiller and Benson Boone
25:56 Why the Linear Path Was Never an Option
27:04 Lessons for/from a Fourth Grade Class
29:55 Why Brands Run Ads - And Why Most Are Forgettable
32:37 200 People Behind 30 Seconds
34:43 Skills vs. Behaviors - What Makes a Great Team
38:44 Career-Defining Moments as a Leadership Tool
42:43 Holding Generative Space And Bringing Innovation to UNICEF
45:12 Reflections from Vietnam
52:39 The Multi-Dimensional Life
54:56 Double and Triple Plays - A Practical Framework
56:43 Rapid Fire - The Future Round And Quick Answers
01:05:11 A Practice for Listeners - Thank You, Laura!

Connect with Laura Jones:
https://www.instacart.com/company/about-us/laura-jones
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurajonesdcsf/

Connect with Frederik:
https://awareness.frederikgpferdt.com - How future-ready is your mindstate?
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/book - Frederik's book on designing your future (HarperCollins)
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/course/8-days - Build your future-ready mindstate in 20 min/day
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/ask-frederik - AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/nextletter - One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/tour - See Frederik speak live
https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/#podcast - New episodes every two weeks

Bill Burnett co-wrote the number one New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life and

helped over a million people figure out what to do with their lives. Now he's asking the harder

question: once you're doing it, does it actually feel worth it? In this episode, Bill and I explore

why fulfillment might be a dead end, how Maslow got his own pyramid wrong, and what it really

takes to design a life full of meaning - not just success. We talk about wonder, community, flow,

and why the most meaningful moments are already right in front of you. If you've ever

wondered whether there's more to life than crossing things off your to-do list, this one is for you.

Chapters

00:00 - What it means to search for meaning in life

04:11 - Was Maslow selling us something that never existed?!

08:31 - The two ways of looking at the world

09:53 - Why students are not burning down stuff anymore when protesting

12:49 - Reframing the Meaning of Life

17:40 - Where in the world are wonder and awe

27:05 - Do Communities help us avoid personal crisis and finding meaning?

29:01 - The crisis of loneliness and community building

34:32 - How you design a meaningful life in a world hostile to slowness?

41:18 - Fast Future with Bill Burnett

46:58 - Get the human part right and everything else is gonna work.

Links Bill Burnett

How to Live a Meaningful Life (Book)

Designing Your Life (Book)

Fully Alive by Design (Newsletter)

Links Frederik

Take the Awareness Test — How future-ready is your mindstate?

What's Next Is Now (Book) — Frederik's book on designing your future (HarperCollins)

8-Day Foundation Course — Build your future-ready mindstate in 20 min/day

Ask Frederik — AI trained on 20 years of Frederik's work

NEXTletter — One question, two perspectives, one experiment (bi-weekly, free)

Live Events 2026 — See Frederik speak live

The Future Is How Podcast — New episodes every two weeks

#designingyourlife #billburnett #meaningoflife #fulfillment #maslowhierarchy #lifedesign #loneliness

#communitybuilding #frederikgpferdt