The Progress Zone® Podcast with Jody Donaldson

Most of us notice more good in people than we ever say out loud. In this episode, I share a text that caught me completely off guard, and what a study with a cup of hot chocolate in a Chicago park found about how often we underestimate our own kindness. Then I walk through four moves for getting from noticing to saying it: make it specific, make it easy to receive, close the gap with a 10-second rule, and look for the people who rarely hear it. Plus the 2014 drive-thru line where 378 strangers paid it forward.

Your one step this week: before Friday, World Kindness Day, say the kind thing you'd normally talk yourself out of to one person.

Sources mentioned: Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley, "A little good goes an unexpectedly long way," Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (2022). Associated Press, "378 people 'pay it forward' at Fla. Starbucks" (August 2014).

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The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential, Chapter 3: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

If you're the one everybody leans on, it's easy to become the one nobody checks on. In this episode, I retell NBA All-Star Kevin Love's story of the panic attack that changed how he thought about being strong, and what happened when he finally went public about it. I also share what a 2021 survey found about men and close friendships, and four moves for letting someone in: catch your automatic "I'm good," pick your one person before you need them, make it small and go first, and ask the strong one in your life twice.

Your one step this week: tell one person how you're actually doing.

If it's been weeks and it feels like more than a funk, talking to your doctor or a counselor is a strong step. If you're struggling, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time.

Sources mentioned: Kevin Love, "Everyone Is Going Through Something," The Players' Tribune (2018). Survey Center on American Life, "The State of American Friendship" (2021).

Subscribe for one step you can actually take, every week.

The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential, Chapter 5: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

Working for a bad boss doesn't stay at work. It follows you into your evenings, your weekends, and the way you treat the people you love. I spent months in a job like that, working for someone who raised their voice at people and kept moving the target without ever saying so.

In this episode, I talk about the four things that helped me get through it: pinning down a target that keeps moving, being steady for my team when the pressure rolled downhill, remembering that someone else's behavior says more about them than about me, and knowing when it's time to go. I also share how my story ended, why I wouldn't recommend leaving the way I did, and how to build your way out while you still have a paycheck.

If you're facing harassment, threats, or abuse at work, please don't wait it out. Document it and get support.

Subscribe for one step you can actually take, every week.

The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential, Chapter 9: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

Most of us have a conversation we keep rehearsing in ourheads and never actually have.

I don’t like conflict either, and in this episode I talk about why we wait, what the waiting costs the people around us, and three moves that make a hard conversation a lot less hard: small and soon, solve it instead of winning it, and talk about the behavior instead of the person.

You’ll also get first sentences you can use with a coworker, a friend, and the family member everyone tiptoes around.

Your one step today: write down the first sentence you’llsay, and put a day next to it.

My book, The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

Most of us plan to get serious about our health in January.

But every restart costs more than the last one, and the older we get, the harder the climb back becomes.

In this episode, I talk about the years I spent falling off and getting back on track, why I’ve decided strength training is the one thing I’ll never skip again, and what longevity experts are saying about aging well.

I share four moves that make it possible even in a crowded life: know your numbers, know that two or three days a week is enough, train around your injuries instead of stopping, and be your own advocate.

Then I show you how to use the weeks before the holidays to build a foundation, so January becomes a continuation instead of another restart.

I’m not a doctor, and this episode isn’t medical advice.

Talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

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The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential, Chapter 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

Most of us treat legacy like a someday problem, something to deal with at the very end. But your legacy is being written right now, in how you show up on an ordinary Tuesday, and the people around you are already absorbing it.

In this episode, I share what I most want my kids and grandkids to carry forward, why values are caught rather than taught, the difference between your reputation and your legacy, and three practical ways to build your legacy on purpose starting this week. Whether you're a parent, a mentor, a coworker, or a friend, somebody is watching how you live. The only question is what you're teaching them.

Subscribe for one focused idea every week that you can put to work the same day.

The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential, Chapter 11: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

You're busy from the moment your feet hit the floor until you collapse at night. You're checking every box. And still, underneath it all, there's this nagging feeling that you're not actually getting anywhere.

If that's you, here's the first thing to know: the problem is almost never your effort. This rut doesn't happen to people who aren't trying. It happens to the people trying the hardest and still feeling stuck in the same place.

In this solo episode, Jody Donaldson unpacks why busy and stuck go together, drawing on his own jump from a structured law enforcement career to building a business with no boss, no schedule, and no floor under him. He breaks down the three kinds of rut and what actually gets you out: building structure around your whole life, cutting the shiny objects that just feel like work, trusting the work to compound when results are slow, and starting with the people who already know you.

And for the person who feels stuck and stagnant in a steady job, there's a section just for you, because refusing to stand still is its own kind of progress.

The opposite of a rut was never being less busy. It's being intentional.

Get the book, The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

New episode every week. Follow The Progress Zone so you never miss one.

#ProgressOverPerfection

Almost everyone has worked for two kinds of boss. The one who hovered over everything and made the whole room tense. And the one who trusted you, backed you, and made you better than you knew you could be, the one you'd have done anything for.

The difference between them usually isn't talent. It's a completely different idea of what a leader is even for.

In this solo episode, Jody Donaldson makes the case for a kind of leadership most people get backwards. The best leaders aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who build a team that doesn't need them to have all the answers.

He breaks it into four things you can start doing tomorrow: surround yourself with people smarter than you and be glad about it, empower your team instead of micromanaging them, grow your people on purpose, and take the blame while giving away the credit.

If you've ever felt in over your head as a leader, or you just want to be the kind of boss people remember for the rest of their lives, this one's for you.

Get the book, The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

New episode every week. Follow The Progress Zone so you never miss one.

#ProgressOverPerfection

Think about the last time someone really listened to you. Not nodding while checking their phone, but truly taking you in. You remember how it felt, like you mattered. And how rare it is.

In this solo episode, Jody Donaldson shares a lesson that surprised him. After years of making his living as a spokesperson, the person paid to talk, he learned that the best communicators aren't the best talkers. They're the best listeners. And almost nobody is truly good at it.

He breaks it into four tools you can use in your very next conversation, at work or at your own kitchen table:

Listen to understand, not to reply. Say it back, so the other person knows they landed. Resist the urge to fix, because most people want to feel heard before they want a solution. And listen for what's underneath, the real message hiding beneath the words.

Feeling heard is one of our deepest needs. When you give it to someone, you're telling them they matter, and you're not alone. Whether you're leading a team or loving someone at home, this episode will change how you show up in every conversation.

Get the book, The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

New episodes every Tuesday. Follow The Progress Zone so you never miss one.

#ProgressOverPerfection

When something goes wrong, everyone in the room looks to see how the calmest person is reacting. And whatever that person does next sets the temperature for everyone else.

In this solo episode, Jody Donaldson draws on his years in law enforcement as a crisis and hostage negotiator to share a simple truth: you don't have to feel calm to be calm. Calm is a skill you can practice, and it's contagious. When you steady yourself, you give everyone around you something solid to grab onto.

He breaks it down into four tools you can use the next time your heart starts pounding:

The breath, a long, slow exhale that switches your body out of fight-or-flight. Your voice, going low and slow to set the tone for the whole room. The label, naming the emotion out loud to take the charge out of it. And the pause, using deliberate silence to buy yourself a response instead of a reaction.

Whether it's a heated meeting, a hard conversation with someone you love, or a moment you'd normally regret, this episode will help you become the steadiest person in the room. Not by feeling calm first, but by choosing to be the calm that others borrow.

Get the book, The Progress Zone: Unlocking Your Full Potential: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLT87L5X

New episodes every Tuesday.

Follow The Progress Zone so you never miss one.

#ProgressOverPerfection