How to Control Your Cortisol & Overcome Burnout - Dr Andrew Huberman

In this episode, I explain cortisol and science-based protocols for properly setting your cortisol rhythm, which can significantly increase your daytime energy, focus, mood, and stress resilience, while also improving your sleep quality.

Most people mistakenly think cortisol is bad, and many assume their levels are too high, when in fact many health and performance challenges simply stem from a disrupted cortisol rhythm. Getting your cortisol rhythm right can be transformative for your health and performance.

I outline behavioural, nutritional, and supplement-based strategies to raise or lower your cortisol levels at the appropriate times of day and night. I also provide specific protocols for overcoming burnout.

If you’re dealing with stress, low energy, hormone or sleep challenges—or simply want to optimise these for the sake of your physical and mental health and performance—this episode offers science-backed protocols to help.

00:00:00 Cortisol
00:01:29 Stress, Tool: Daily Cortisol Rhythm
00:03:16 Cortisol & Directing Energy, Glucose, Adrenals
00:06:39 Sponsors: Carbon & BetterHelp
00:10:14 Daily Cortisol Phases & Rhythm, Waking Up & Cortisol
00:17:55 Cortisol Release & Regulation, Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis
00:24:57 Rapid & Delayed Stress Response, HPA Axis
00:28:42 Bright Light & Cortisol Release, Tool: Increase Morning Cortisol & Sunlight
00:36:58 Sponsors: AG1 & David
00:39:48 Viewing Bright Light & Mood, Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
00:41:44 Increase Morning Cortisol, Tools: Hydration, Delaying Caffeine Intake
00:49:30 Exercise, Entrainment Cues & Cortisol Rhythm, Tool: Boost Energy & Exercise Schedule
00:57:52 Does Deliberate Cold Exposure Increase Cortisol?, Energy & Mood
01:01:19 Sponsor: LMNT
01:02:51 Increase Morning Cortisol & Nutrition, Grapefruit, Black Licorice
01:11:34 Afternoon & Evening Cortisol Rhythms, Sunlight, Screens
01:14:30 Lower Evening Cortisol, Tools: Dim Lights, Light Color
01:20:54 Lower Evening Cortisol, Tools: Caffeine Timing; Stress Response & Exhales; Starchy Carbohydrates
01:30:42 Low-Carb Diets & Cortisol, Metabolic Syndrome
01:35:30 Evening Exercise & Cortisol, Tool: Spike Your Morning Cortisol
01:44:32 Supplements to Reduce Cortisol, Ashwagandha, Apigenin, Magnesium
01:50:57 Burnout, Cushing's & Addison's, 2 Burnout Patterns
01:55:23 Early-Phase Burnout, Tools: NSDR/Yoga Nidra, Boost Morning Cortisol, Caffeine
02:01:35 Late-Phase Burnout, Tools: Reduce Evening Cortisol
02:08:02 Age, Male vs Females, Lifespan, Cancer; Menopause; Brain Health
02:13:41 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

I Hate The Way We Apologize - Charisma on Command

Most apologies, whether public or personal, feel fake because they are. This video breaks down why apologies often miss the mark, how shame gets in the way of real growth, and what it takes to make a genuine, meaningful apology.

How To Reverse Insulin Resistance Through Diet, Exercise & Sleep - Found My Fitness with Dr Ben Bikman

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Insulin resistance silently shapes the trajectory of nearly every major chronic disease, yet it's often overlooked until blood sugar abnormalities become obvious. In this episode, Dr. Ben Bikman exposes the dietary culprits that drive metabolic dysfunction and highlights actionable, evidence-based tactics for improving metabolic health. Ben also addresses pressing questions about popular weight loss medications like Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists: Are they groundbreaking solutions, or shortcuts with hidden metabolic consequences?

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:33 Can you be insulin resistant with normal glucose levels?
00:05:13 Can glucose monitors detect hidden insulin resistance?
00:06:43 What your skin reveals about insulin resistance
00:08:07 Why is insulin resistance behind so many chronic diseases?
00:12:28 Does obesity cause insulin resistance, or vice versa?
00:19:20 Insulin’s surprising roles beyond blood sugar control
00:20:18 What’s driving weight gain—insulin or calories?
00:27:12 Do saturated fats cause insulin resistance?
00:33:44 Why refined carbs amplify risks from saturated fat
00:36:46 Fructose vs. refined sugar—which spikes insulin more?
00:37:43 High-carb vs. keto—which diet controls hunger better?
00:42:09 Why low-carb diets might provide a metabolic advantage
00:44:18 Does exercise give you metabolic ‘wiggle room’?
00:48:42 Why strength training beats cardio for insulin sensitivity
00:50:45 Should you lower insulin before cutting calories?
00:53:54 Does meal frequency drive insulin resistance?
00:57:14 Is nighttime snacking giving you insomnia?
00:59:06 Can a sugary breakfast lead to overeating later?
01:04:01 Does late-night eating disrupt sleep more than blue light?
01:05:41 Can one bad night’s sleep trigger insulin resistance?
01:09:31 Can air pollution cause weight gain?
01:13:23 Vaping vs. smoking—which is worse for metabolic health?
01:14:45 Can statins and antidepressants trigger weight gain?
01:17:30 How to reverse insulin resistance in 90 days
01:24:07 Does apple cider vinegar really lower blood sugar?
01:28:01 Ketone supplements—are the metabolic benefits real?
01:33:42 Why some ethnicities get diabetes without obesity
01:41:36 How oversized fat cells trigger metabolic chaos
01:46:36 Do seed oils silently promote insulin resistance?
01:49:52 Seed oils—always harmful or only when heated?
01:55:43 Fat, muscle, or liver—where does insulin resistance start?
02:01:29 Do fat cells shrink or disappear with weight loss?
02:04:13 Are shrunken fat cells still insulin resistant?
02:05:23 Can exercise and cold therapy specifically shrink visceral fat?
02:06:48 Injecting insulin for muscle, are the risks worth it?
02:09:53 Are drugs like Ozempic a shortcut or solution for obesity?
02:16:20 Are current GLP-1 agonist doses too high?
02:17:10 Microdosing GLP-1 drugs, a solution for carb cravings?
02:23:08 Do these medications cause muscle loss, or is it poor nutrition?
02:25:38 Do GLP-1 agonist benefits extend beyond weight loss?
02:27:49 Could these treatments actually promote longevity?
02:33:20 The dark side of GLP-1 drugs—can they trigger depression?
02:36:39 Insulin vs. glucose—what really drives accelerated aging?
02:41:42 How high glucose levels damage cells—from glycolysis to sorbitol
02:43:48 How insulin shuts down your body’s stress defences
02:48:23 Which biomarkers best predict biological ageing?
02:52:13 One simple breakfast change to lower insulin
02:54:27 Does eating dinner early improve insulin sensitivity?

Navigating bone health: early life influences & strategies for improvement & injury prevention - Peter Attia

In this episode from July 2022, Peter delves into the topic of bone health, explaining why it is an important issue for everyone, from children to the elderly. He begins with an overview of bone mineral density, how it’s measured, how it changes throughout life, and the variability between sexes, largely due to changes in estrogen levels. From there, he provides insights into ways to improve bone health, including exercise, nutrition supplements, and medications. Additionally, Peter discusses what happens when one is forced to be sedentary (e.g., bed rest) and how to minimise the damage during these periods.

While this original episode is an AMA, it is available in full to all listeners as a special rebroadcast.

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:12 - Overview of bone health topics to be discussed
00:05:17 - Bones 101: bone function, structure, and more
00:08:43 - Bone mineral density (BMD), minerals in bone, role of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and more
00:15:00 - The consequences of poor bone health
00:18:55 - The devastating nature of hip fractures: morbidity and mortality data
00:25:06 - Where fractures tend to occur in the body
00:27:38 - Defining osteopenia and osteoporosis
00:30:21 - Measuring BMD with DEXA and how to interpret scores
00:38:11 - Variability in BMD between sexes
00:41:20 - When should people have their first bone mineral density scan?
00:44:32 - How BMD changes throughout the life and how it differs between men and women
00:49:27 - How changes in estrogen levels (e.g., menopause) impact bone health
00:54:35 - Why HRT is not considered a standard of care for postmenopausal bone loss
00:57:48 - Factors determining who may be at higher risk of poor bone health
01:02:20 - Common drugs that can negatively impact BMD
01:06:26 - How children can optimize bone health and lay the foundation for the future
01:12:00 - Types of physical activity that can positively impact bone health
01:21:07 - How weight loss can negatively impact bone health and how exercise can counteract those effects
01:25:50 - Nutrition and supplements for bone health
01:29:16 - Pharmaceutical drugs prescribed for those with low BMD
01:34:53 - Impact of extreme sedentary periods (e.g., bedrest) and how to minimize their damage to bone

How To Live Freely In A Goal-Obsessed World - Modern Wisdom with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Anne‑Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, founder, and author. 

We live by unconscious mental scripts. Most of the time, we don’t even realize it, until we wake up and see the life we’re living isn’t what we truly want. So how do we unlearn what no longer serves us and rewire our mind to align with who we really are?

Expect to learn what the problem is when people obsess over finding their purpose, how to know if you’re following your own dreams or someone else’s,  the tactics you can learn to begin unlearning cultural scripts, how to get more comfortable with uncertainty, how to deal with the shame of letting go of busyness and driving toward your purpose, why posture is so overlooked in mental health, how to improve a destructive mindset, and much more…

00:00:00 The Process Of Finding Your Purpose
00:09:03 The Relationship With Humans & Uncertainty
00:20:45 The Usefulness of Liminal Spaces
00:26:43 What is Compensatory Control Theory?
00:37:59 What is Time Anxiety?
00:56:52 Dopamine Loops & Our Sleep-Wake Cycles
01:06:24 Find Out More About Anne-Laure

Feminism Debate - The Diary of a CEO with Deborah France-White, Louise Perry, and Erica Komisa

Has modern feminism betrayed the very women it promised to empower? Deborah France-White (Guilty Feminist), Louise Perry, and Erica Komisar go head-to-head on sexual freedom.

Deborah Frances-White is a bestselling author and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Louise Perry is a journalist and author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, and Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, and author of books such as, ‘Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety’.

In this heated debate, they discuss:

• What casual sex is really doing to women.
• Why relationships are declining.
• The parenting crisis that no one’s talking about.
• Why fewer people are having children.
• How modern dating is affecting female self-worth.

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:14 Introducing the Panel
00:03:28 What Is the Sexual Revolution?
00:10:01 Autonomy, Freedom, and Agency as a Byproduct of the Sexual Revolution
00:14:48 Casual Sex and Hookup Culture
00:30:47 One Sexual Partner for Life
00:33:00 Age of Marriage Increasing Over Time
00:33:40 Emotional Consequences of Sex
00:39:36 Feminists Typically Have Had Trauma
00:43:13 Agency as a Personality Trait
00:47:27 Sex Education in Schools
00:49:19 Female Pleasure
00:51:12 Is Sexual Freedom Making Us Happy?
00:53:36 Feeling Bullied by the Narrative of Freedom
00:57:29 Ads
00:59:32 Manosphere and Tradwives
01:06:55 Do Women Want Men to Be Providers?
01:07:46 Children and Gender Roles
01:12:08 Poor Mothers Looking After Children
01:18:17 The Role Feminism Has Had on Motherhood
01:22:20 Would Steven Take 3 Years Off Work to Raise Children?
01:23:28 Men and Women's Nurturing Hormones
01:27:57 We Can't Be Neutral About Policies
01:30:24 The Narrative That Having Children Is Miserable
01:32:12 Female Guilt
01:33:20 Parenthood and Narcissism
01:41:27 Birth Rates Declining
01:42:51 Traditional Gender Roles
01:48:29 Demonizing Feminism
01:52:38 Link Between Political Stance and Number of Children
01:56:48 Ads
01:58:33 Pornography
02:06:02 Masculine Virtues
02:11:16 Do Boys and Girls Need to Be Parented Differently?
02:12:45 Chivalry
02:13:50 Evolutionary Differences
02:19:05 Quotas in Education
02:21:02 Final Thoughts

How to Make Time for Everything and Then Actually Do It - Ali Abdaal

Summary

This video, presented by Ali Abdaal, addresses the common question of how to make time for everything, utilizing a "168 hours" spreadsheet to illustrate time allocation within a week.

Part 1: Analysis of Average American Time Use

The first part of the video uses data from sources like the American Time Use Survey, Nielsen data, and research conducted by AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude) to estimate how the average American spends their 168 hours per week.

• Sleep: On average, Americans sleep approximately 8.7 hours per night, which equates to 56 hours per week. Including 30 minutes for winding down before sleep, the total time dedicated to sleep-related activities is 59.5 hours per week (about 35% of life).
• Work: An average 8-hour workday, five days a week, combined with a 30-minute lunch break, a 30-minute commute each way, 45 minutes for getting ready, and 15 minutes for changing after work, totals 52.5 hours per week (about 31.3% of life).
• Food: Eating and preparing meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) consume an average of 12 hours per week. Grocery shopping adds another 60 minutes weekly.
• Chores: Tasks such as cleaning, laundry, and other miscellaneous chores account for roughly 6.5 hours per week, though this is noted as potentially an underestimate and varies greatly, especially with children.
• Fitness: The average American allocates about 2.5 hours per week to fitness and exercise.
• Entertainment: This category is substantial, with the average American spending 19 hours a week watching TV shows, movies, and streaming content (including YouTube). An additional 3.5 hours per week are spent on social media apps, though for 18-24 year olds, this jumps to 5.1 hours *per day*. Other entertainment like gaming (1 hour) and general entertainment (6 hours) further contribute to this total, reaching 29.5 hours per week.
• Relationships: Time for quality family and partner interactions (3 hours) and general socialising (1 hour) are also factored in.

Conclusion on Average Use: Even without considering childcare, these basic activities for the average American already consume all 168 hours of the week, leaving no time for additional pursuits like starting a business, side hustles, or engaging in hobbies. The speaker highlights that making time for "everything" is physically challenging due to the finite number of hours. Including childcare further exacerbates this, with just 2 hours a day of active childcare, plus 4 hours a week for related administration and miscellaneous tasks, adding 18 hours per week and resulting in a deficit of available time. If the average person engaged in typical entertainment habits while also having childcare responsibilities, they would quickly find themselves with negative free time.

Part 2: Speaker's Personal Strategies and Sacrifices

Ali Abdaal realised in 2012, during his first year of medical school at Cambridge University, that he did not have enough hours to pursue all his desired activities (studies, sleep, socialising, sports, business, relationships, entertainment). He identified three core strategies for making time:

1. Squeeze extra efficiency from necessary tasks.
2. Strategically sacrifice certain activities to make time for others.
3. Double-dip on existing hours.

Abdaal then illustrates how he applied these strategies around 2018, when he was working full-time as a doctor and simultaneously growing his YouTube channel and business.

• Sleep: He maintained around 8 hours of sleep per night, focusing on optimising winding-down time.
• Food: A significant sacrifice was his active decision not to cook. He primarily relied on ready meals, microwave meals, or takeaways, spending only 2.7 hours per week on cooking and eating food, compared to an average of 10-15 hours for most people. This decision freed up approximately 10 hours per week for his business and YouTube channel. He acknowledges potential negative health impacts of this choice, noting that he is now focusing on healthier eating to reverse some of the damage.
• Chores: He saved considerable time by rarely doing groceries (as he ate takeaways). He cleaned his house for about 10 minutes once a week and outsourced cleaning every other week for 2 hours, resulting in only about 1.4 hours per week on chores, significantly less than the average US household's 15 hours.
• Entertainment: This was a major area of strategic sacrifice. Since 2012, he made a rule not to watch TV or movies unless with friends (e.g., Game of Thrones), effectively spending zero time on solo viewing. He limited social media to about an hour a day (7 hours a week) and played no video games. This drastically reduced his entertainment consumption compared to the average American's 19 hours of TV and 10-30 hours of social media.
• Free Time Result: These sacrifices allowed him to have approximately 31.4 hours of free time per week, which he dedicated to growing his YouTube channel and business. He contrasts this with the average American, who might have negative free time if they adhere to typical entertainment habits.
• Double-Dipping: He utilised his commute to work (60 minutes each way) to listen to audiobooks or podcasts, often at 2-3x speed, focusing on business, YouTube growth, or fantasy fiction. His lunch breaks were also used to plan YouTube videos if he wasn't socialising.

Conclusion on Sacrifices: Abdaal stresses that making time is not about being inherently "productive" but about making conscious choices and sacrifices. While he doesn't recommend sacrificing healthy eating, he highlights that significantly reducing time spent on TV and social media can free up considerable hours for other pursuits. He emphasises that with childcare commitments, it becomes even more challenging to find time for additional goals, noting that many productivity videos overlook this.

Key Message and Call to Action

The speaker encourages viewers to download his free 168-hour spreadsheet to track their current time allocation and envision an ideal week, which can help identify areas for adjustments or sacrifices. He concludes by reiterating that if you are struggling to make time for everything, it is because there are simply not enough hours in the week for a "balanced life" *plus* additional goals without sacrificing something. The choice of what to sacrifice (e.g., entertainment, work, health, relationships, sleep) is personal. He explicitly states that he is not telling viewers what to do, but rather showing what worked for him.

168 Hours Spreadsheet

Rethinking Mental Health: What The Science Actually Says About Depression, The Side Effects of Antidepressants & Finding Balance - Dr Rangan Chatterjee with Prof Joanna Moncrieff

Did you know that nearly one in five UK adults – and almost one in four women – are currently taking antidepressants? Yet according to my guest this week, the fundamental theory behind these prescriptions may be built on remarkably shaky ground.

Joanna Moncrieff is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, a consultant psychiatrist for the NHS, and the author of the groundbreaking book, Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth.

In our thought-provoking conversation, Joanna explains how the widely accepted belief that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance or serotonin deficiency has little scientific evidence to support it. This theory, which became popularised in the 1990s through pharmaceutical industry marketing, has fundamentally changed how we view our emotions and mental health.

Joanna and I discuss:

• Why the difference between antidepressants and placebos in clinical trials is just two points on a 54-point depression scale – a minimal difference that may not be clinically significant
• How the diagnosis of depression itself is subjective and based on criteria that Joanna describes as “completely made up”, rather than objective biological markers
• The concerning side effects of SSRIs that are often underreported – including emotional numbness, sexual dysfunction that can persist even after stopping medication, and in some cases, an increase in suicidal thoughts
• How pharmaceutical marketing campaigns in the 1990s fundamentally changed our cultural understanding of depression from a natural human response to life circumstances to a “chemical imbalance” requiring medication
• Why withdrawal from antidepressants can be extremely challenging, particularly at lower doses, and why reducing medication requires careful, gradual reduction that many doctors aren’t trained to manage
• Whether visiting your GP should be your first option when experiencing a low mood, and how alternatives like exercise, mindfulness and addressing underlying life issues might be more effective

Throughout the episode, Joanna encourages us to view our emotional responses as meaningful signals rather than medical disorders that need chemical correction. She believes we’ve been disempowering people by teaching them that negative emotions represent a deficiency rather than a natural human experience that can guide us toward necessary life changes.

This conversation isn’t about telling anyone what to do with their current medication, but providing information to make truly informed decisions. If you or someone you know has ever taken antidepressants or been diagnosed with depression, this episode offers a perspective that could fundamentally change how you view mental health treatment in the future.

Jordan Peterson’s Worst Debate - What Went Wrong? - Charisma on Command

Jordan Peterson has delivered some of the internet’s most iconic debate moments. But his Surrounded video doesn’t quite reach that same level.

Many will dissect the substance of the debate—the semantic haze, the definitions, the back-and-forth. That’s not where I want to focus.

What matters most in a debate, if your goal is to actually change someone’s mind, isn’t clever semantics, gotcha moments, or even airtight logic. It’s the emotional connection you build through rapport and charisma. That human link is what opens the door to real persuasion.

How To Fix Your Brain’s Addiction To Anxiety & Worry - Modern Wisdom with Dr Russell Kennedy

Dr. Russell Kennedy is a neuroscientist specialising in anxiety treatment, a physician, and an author.

Why is anxiety so common now? It once helped us survive, like when lions chased us. But today, we feel it even when there's no real threat. So what's going on? What does science say about this ancient emotion, and how can we manage it in the modern world?

Expect to learn why anxiety is so common nowadays, the neuroscience of why we worry, the big differences between anxiety and worry, the biggest triggers of anxiety and how to manage them better, how to undo-chronic anxiety and how anxiety shows up differently for men and women, if it is it a blessing or a curse to feel things deeply, where people pleasing come from neurologically and much more…

00:00:00 Why Is Anxiety So Common
00:05:41 Where Fear of Uncertainty Comes From
00:10:45 How Uncertainty Anxiety Can Manifest Itself
00:14:43 The Default Mode Network
00:17:00 How Worry Affects Anxiety
00:19:19 Why Does Rumination Feel Good?
00:24:15 Can Anxiety Be Mislabeled?
00:26:08 A Meditation to Locate & Reduce Anxiety
00:32:48 The Goggins Cortex
00:33:43 How to Deal with Unwanted Anxiousness
00:37:01 We are Addicted to Uncertainty
00:39:56 Talk Therapy & ACT Therapy
00:47:33 How Effective is Medication?
00:50:07 Can We Undo Chronic Anxiety?
00:53:57 Is it Necessary to Heal Our Past?
00:55:47 How Does Anxiety Show Up Differently for Men & Women?
00:58:50 Is Feeling Deeply a Blessing or a Curse?
01:01:47 When the Traditional Approach Doesn't Work
01:04:50 S.H.O.U.L.D.
01:06:13 Dr. Russell's Courses & Information Materials

Chris Williamson Explains Why Finding Love Feels Harder Than Ever - The Diary of a CEO with Chris Williamson

In todays moments episode, Chris Williamson dives into why real relationships seem harder to find in today’s world - and what you can do about it. With the challenges of modern dating, and the rise of disconnection, Chris offers a hopeful perspective on how to navigate these hurdles and create deeper, more meaningful connections in your life.

This Masculine Trait (Containment, Empathetic Attunement and Grounding Someone) Naturally Attracts Women - Charisma on Command

I used to think being attractive was all about confidence, teasing, and strong body language, but I was missing something deeper. In this video, I break down the 3 traits of grounded masculinity that most men overlook. These traits make women feel emotionally safe, connected, and irresistibly drawn in.

0:00 – Why Typical Attraction Advice Falls Short
2:39 – Containment: The Balance Between Holding Space and Setting Limits
4:18 – Empathetic Attunement: Feeling Without Getting Lost
7:08 – Grounding Someone in the Now (Not the Logic)

Here's How to Get to the Top 1% (Discipline Isn’t Enough) - Ali Abdaal with Joe Hudson

Everyone wonders how to reach the top 1%; most people think it's all about discipline and hard work. In this video, I'm sharing the deeper success habits I've learned from Joe Hudson that go beyond typical productivity advice. These principles have transformed my life this past year, and I hope they help you too..

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:32 - Prioritise Pace over Perfection (The Iterative Mindset)
00:05:35 - Change Your Relationship with Emotional States (Embracing Negative Emotions)
00:31:27 - Use Enjoyment as a Compass (Enjoyment Equals Efficiency)
00:43:10 - Eliminate the "Shoulds" (The Anti-Discipline Method)
01:02:52 - Escape Time Poverty

1. Prioritise Pace over Perfection (The Iterative Mindset)

Instead of getting bogged down in meticulous planning and waiting for everything to be perfect, highly successful individuals focus on taking action with minimal preparation (around 20%) and then iterating based on feedback. The pace of movement is considered more important than getting it absolutely right initially because it accelerates learning and allows for necessary adjustments. A common barrier to action is the fear of making public mistakes. This habit aligns with an "Ready Fire Aim" approach.

2. Change Your Relationship with Emotional States (Embracing Negative Emotions)

The fear of failure often stems not from the consequences themselves, but from the negative internal emotions (like embarrassment or misery) that failure might trigger. The brain's habenula naturally dampens motivation after negative experiences as a survival mechanism. The key is not to avoid failure, but to fundamentally alter one's relationship with these internal feelings by embracing them rather than resisting. Resistance can make emotions feel worse, whereas approaching them with curiosity can help in understanding and processing them, making them less intimidating. Emotions are viewed as underlying drivers of decisions; by feeling through potential negative emotional outcomes, decisions often become clearer.

3. Use Enjoyment as a Compass (Enjoyment Equals Efficiency)

Top performers seek efficiency, meaning they use less energy to achieve their goals, which supports sustainable progress. Joe Hudson's first law posits that enjoyment equals efficiency. When you enjoy your work process, you expend less energy, have more energy afterwards, are more likely to repeat the activity, and often perform it better. Enjoyment comes from *how* you do something, not solely *what* you do. Tracking enjoyment can serve as a diagnostic tool to identify inefficiencies. Asking "What would this look like if it were fun?" can reveal ways to inject enjoyment into tasks.

4. Eliminate the "Shoulds" (The Anti-Discipline Method)

Reliance on willpower, obligation, guilt, or the internal voice saying "I should do this" creates significant internal friction and inefficiency ("dirty fuel"). This often backfires due to a natural resistance to being compelled, even by oneself. Highly successful people are frequently driven by alignment and genuine desire ("want") rather than mere discipline or obligation. Recognising that you are *choosing* to do something (often to avoid consequences) reasserts autonomy. The word "should" tends to drain energy, whereas focusing on what you "want" provides it. Often, beneath a "should" lies an underlying "want" or impulse that can be reframed to find a more enjoyable path. Duty and obligation, when acted upon solely without love or genuine desire, can lead to a lack of joy and authentic connection. Feeling guilty about not being productive is often a learned behaviour.

5. Escape Time Poverty

Many people feel constantly rushed and reactive to urgent demands, living in a state of "time poverty." The top 0.1% cultivate a relationship with time where it acts as an ally. They focus on long-term thinking and making investments that will yield significant future results or make numerous other tasks easier or obsolete, rather than chasing the immediate satisfaction of checking off small items. Rushing due to feeling time-poor can decrease effectiveness and lead to missed opportunities. They understand that "slow is steady, steady is fast" and that productivity isn't just about getting things done quickly but about making meaningful progress over time.

Contracts of Love & Money That Make or Break Relationships - Dr Andrew Huberman with James Sexton

My guest is James Sexton, Esq., a renowned attorney specializing in contracts related to love and money—prenuptial agreements, divorce and custody. We explore the counterintuitive fact that people with prenuptial agreements tend to stay married longer and report more satisfying relationships than those who don’t. We discuss how legal contracts can foster deeper understanding by encouraging vulnerability and honest communication about each partner’s values and expectations.

We also examine what defines true, lasting love versus generic romantic ideals—and how social media can distort our understanding of what we truly need. Additionally, we review how cultural traditions, gender dynamics, courtship length, and age at the time of marriage shape marital outcomes.

This episode offers practical tools for anyone—single or partnered—to build more successful and stable relationships through deeply honest dialogue and contracts that reflect genuine values around love and money.

00:02:19 Sponsors: Wealthfront & BetterHelp
00:14:41 Contracts, Business, Marriage Celebration, Prenups
00:26:24 Nesting; Prenups, Creating Rulesets
00:33:56 Prenups & Strengthening Marriage
00:38:19 Marriage Traditions; Divorce Rates, Religion
00:44:44 First vs Second Marriages, Love & Impermanence
00:50:09 Sponsors: AG1 & Our Place
00:53:53 Contracts, Relationships & Hard Conversations
01:02:37 Marriage & Underlying Problems, Love, Successful Marriages
01:16:27 Ideals, Social Media & Advertising, Simplicity, Dogs
01:27:33 Sponsor: Function
01:29:26 Intimacy, Tool: Early Framework for Hard Discussions
01:37:06 Prenup Consultation, Legal Defaults, Reasons for Marriage
01:47:37 Alimony, Prenups & Creating Rulesets, Yours, Mine & Ours, Adultery, Pets
02:02:30 Fond Memories & Ending Relationship, Pain, Divorce
02:12:49 Social Media, Movies & Ideals, Pornography vs Real Sexual Relationships
02:22:43 Revealing Flaws, Bravery, Prenups & Expectations, Money
02:37:49 Bravery, Vulnerability, Relationship Changes, Men vs Women, Marriage
02:47:11 Relationship Sacrifices, Men & Women; Prenups, Government
02:54:45 Life Milestones, Early vs Late Marriage, Navigating Challenges
03:01:38 Courtship Period & Marital Outcomes
03:10:12 Knowing Self & Partner, Vulnerability
03:16:58 "Postnup", Rekindling or Ending Relationships, Tool: Leave a Note
03:26:41 Heartbreak & Love, Divorce; Acknowledgements
03:34:45 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Toxic Compassion and Performative Empathy - Modern Wisdom

Toxic Compassion is the prioritisation of short-term emotional comfort over everything else.

Over truth, reality, actual long-term outcomes, flourishing, everything.

It optimises for looking good, rather than doing good.

This is seen in much of popular culture as the desirable, fair, empathetic thing to do.

And it’s everywhere.

People would rather claim that body fat has no bearing on health and mortality outcomes to avoid making overweight individuals feel upset.

Even if this causes them to literally die sooner or have a worse quality of life over the long run.

Parents would rather allow their children to play computer games, watch screens, and access social media every night than deal with the discomfort of taking it away from them.

Even if it ruins their brain development, social skills and self-esteem.

People would rather say that children growing up in single-parent households suffer no worse outcomes than those from two-parent homes.

Even if this misleads parents, children and teachers about why kids behave the way they do.

Campaigners would sooner shout Defund The Police as a response to what they perceive as the unfair treatment of criminals.

Even if this results in more crimes being committed against people from minority backgrounds due to the abandonment of police officers in those areas.

Elon Musk recently responded to criticism about his political alignment and contribution to climate change.

He identified how big of a shift Tesla had caused in the Electric Vehicle market, and the downstream impact of that on the environment, saying that he’s done more for the climate than any other human in history.

“What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it.

And what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good, while doing evil.” - Elon Musk

The important tradeoff with all of these examples is between appearing good and actually doing good.

Telling people what they want to hear, giving them immediate gratification and avoiding saying anything that could cause distress prioritises the former over the latter.

The net effect is often wildly negative.

It’s the toddler who wants to eat ice cream every night.

Sure, that might be what they want in the moment, but it’ll be wildly unhealthy over the long term.

The prospect of appearing bad while doing good is obviously not very enticing.

The opposite is Performative Empathy.

Saying whatever is required to look good, even if you don’t actually care.

And on the internet, the gap between words and actions has never been bigger.

You can be the least virtuous, meanest, most dishonest human on earth, but if you say the right things on social media, you look like a saint.

No one stress tests the words coming out of people’s mouths.

Which means that appearing good becomes more important than doing good.

Performative empathy is more rewarded than genuine empathy.

Posting about mistreated groups is more incentivised than helping mistreated groups. *puts flag in bio, has never actually donated to a charity*

This isn’t me saying that you can’t do good while talking about it.

But that many (maybe even most) of the people who proselytise about how virtuous and caring they are, and how it’s everyone else who is evil, uncaring and the enemy are allowing their morality to stand on the shoulders of limited scrutiny.

“It’s like ‘look at how good I am’

Well, if the ‘look at’ comes before the ‘how good I am’, it wreaks havoc on the claim.”

Beware the people who prioritise saying good things; they might not be doing good things.

The Art Of Effortless Confidence & Social Persuasion - Modern Wisdom with Vanessa Van Edwards

Vanessa Van Edwards is a behavioral researcher, speaker, and author.

How do you make a great first impression? How can I become more charismatic? How can I stop feeling awkward in social situations? We've all wondered about these things at some point. Luckily, Vanessa is an expert on human interaction and has the answers you're looking for.

Expect to learn what we should do without hands in social situations, the 4 key things you should do when prepping for a speech, the do’s and don’ts when you’re sitting down, how to detect a liar & how to become a better liar, why so many smart people struggle to be charismatic, how to get better at small talk, how to seem more attractive when dating, how to make the best first impression possible and much more…

00:00:00 Why Hand Gestures Play An Integral Role
00:03:40 What Your Physical Language Is Portraying
00:07:00 Ways To Build Up Positivity For Public Speaking
00:15:33 Tips For Body Language Communication When Sat Down
00:23:54 How To Detect Lying
00:30:27 Why Do Smart People Struggle With Being Charismatic?
00:34:48 How To Improve On Being Competent And Warm
00:39:20 The Perils Of Being Under Prepared Vs Over Prepared
00:42:43 Need-To-Knows About Vocal Charisma
00:51:20 How To Create Engaging Small Talk
00:58:02 How To Become More Resilient With Social Rejection
01:03:09 Dating Advice For Coming Across More Attractive
01:15:20 How To Successfully Pay And Receive Compliments
01:19:08 Where To Find Vanessa

Beautiful vs. Practical Advice - The Morgan Housel Podcast

I heard a phrase recently: “Magazine architect.”

It’s a derisive term architects use for their colleagues who design buildings that look beautiful, grace magazine covers, and win awards, but lack functionality for the tenants. The same is so true for financial professionals. If you are looking for practical advice, beware hiring an artist whose goal is to be praised should be, too.

Fierce Intimacy - The Five Losing Strategies in Partner Relationships - Terry Real

For this episode, I’m doing something a bit different. I’m featuring five chapters from Terry Real's audiobook Fierce Intimacy. What you will hear in this episode will help you identify your and your partner’s losing strategies in relationships and help you move from disharmony to repair. Terry is the creator of Relational Life Therapy, or RLT, which underpins all his books, courses, and teachings and equips people with the powerful relational skills they need to make love work. 

Becoming Bulletproof - The Diary of a CEO with Evy Poumpouras

Evy Poumpouras is a former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. She is the author of the bestselling book, ‘Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, Live Fearlessly’ and co-host of Bravo’s TV competition series ‘Spy Games’.

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:02 What Is Evy Doing for People?
00:03:31 What Do People Come to Evy For?
00:03:54 People Sabotage Themselves
00:05:26 Lie Detecting
00:06:50 How Do We Start to Become Mentally Strong?
00:09:20 The People You Associate With Can Impact You
00:12:23 Observe Your Opponent, Don't Listen to Them
00:16:11 How Does Steven Pick People?
00:22:00 Living Fearlessly
00:24:18 Making Decisions Will Increase Your Confidence
00:28:30 How to Stop Others From Controlling Your Life
00:34:45 Making Decisions
00:36:50 How to Make Progress in Your Life or Career
00:40:00 Reliving Your Pains Makes You Feel High
00:43:13 Sexism in the Secret Service
00:51:54 How to Make Rational Decisions
00:56:57 What to Do When People Are Not Treating You Well
01:01:49 Being Bullied in a Work Environment
01:08:03 What I Learned About Bullies as a Secret Agent
01:12:48 How to Stop Being Prey for a Predator
01:20:33 Can Someone's Life Be Determined by the Way They Speak?
01:22:23 Ads
01:23:22 The Importance of Gesticulating With Your Hands
01:27:57 Can You Fake Your Body Language?
01:36:17 What's Step 1 to Becoming That Person When I'm Not?
01:42:04 Do You Have to Go Through Difficult Times to Learn?
01:47:00 The Hack of Knowing You're Not Special or the Only One
02:00:47 Ads
02:02:51 People Don't Want to Be Victims Anymore
02:07:41 Should We Make People Like Us?
02:09:32 The Importance of Being Authentic
02:11:39 Why Rejection Is the Way to Resilience
02:14:08 The Four Communication Styles
02:25:20 Emotion in the Police Workforce
02:27:29 Switching Styles During Interviews
02:35:02 What Do You Want Your Legacy To Be

How to Enhance Your Immune System - Dr Andrew Huberman with Dr Roger Seheult

My guest is Dr. Roger Seheult, M.D., a board-certified physician in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, critical care, and sleep medicine at Loma Linda University. We discuss the powerful benefits of light therapy, including infrared light, red light, and sunlight, for improving mitochondrial function in all the body’s organs. We also explore ways to reduce the risk of influenza, colds, and other illnesses that affect the lungs, sinuses, and gut.

Topics include the flu shot, whether handwashing truly prevents illness transmission, and treatments for mold toxicity. We review the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the power of hydrotherapy for combating infections, and strategies for improving sleep and overall health. Additionally, we discuss air quality. This episode provides actionable, science-based tools for preventing and treating infectious illnesses.

00:00:00 Dr. Roger Seheult
00:02:16 Avoiding Sickness, Immune System, Tool: Pillars of Health, NEWSTART
00:08:03 Sponsors: Joovv & Eight Sleep
00:10:46 Sunlight, Mitochondria, Tool: Infrared Light & Melatonin
00:19:09 Melatonin Antioxidant, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)/Free Radicals
00:26:38 Infrared Light, Green Spaces, Health & Mortality
00:31:35 Infrared Light, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Disease
00:38:46 Sunlight & Cancer Risk?, Tools: UV Light, Clothing & Sunlight Exposure
00:41:01 Sponsors: AG1 & LMNT
00:43:32 Sunlight, Incidence of Influenza
00:48:41 Tools: Sunlight Exposure Duration, Winter Months
00:55:18 Infrared Lamps?, Winter Sunlight Exposure; Obesity & Metabolic Dysfunction
00:59:48 Cloudy Days; Sunlight, Primitive Therapy, Hospitals
01:11:33 Sponsor: Function
01:13:21 Artificial Lights, Hospitals & Light Therapy?, ICU Psychosis
01:22:16 Sleep & Darkness, Tools: Eye Mask, Bathroom Navigation; Meals & Light
01:28:27 Influenza, Flu Shots, Swiss Cheese Model; Flu Shot Risks?
01:38:13 Masks?, Flu; Handwashing
01:42:16 Sponsor: Our Place
01:43:57 Water, Sodium; Innate Immune System, Fever & Hydrotherapy
01:53:46 Fever, Heat Hydrotherapy, Interferon & Immune System
01:58:25 Cold Hydrotherapy, Vasoconstriction & White Blood Cells
02:09:56 N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), Glutathione, White Clots, Flu
02:19:28 Tool: NAC Dose & Regimen; Mucous, Flu Symptoms
02:25:25 Zinc Supplementation, Copper; Exogenous Interferon
02:28:40 Eucalyptus Oil, Inhalation
02:32:22 Air, Smoking, Vaping, Nicotine Gum
02:36:49 Fresh Air, Forest Bathing, Tool: Go Outdoors
02:40:09 Nature vs Inside Environments, Dark Days/Bright Nights Problem
02:52:38 Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Intermittent Fasting, Sunlight
03:00:43 Smell Loss Recovery
03:05:04 Mold Toxicity, Lungs, Germ vs Terrain Theory, Immunocompromised
03:11:46 Trust, Spirituality, Community, Faith; Forgiveness
03:19:46 Hospital Admission, Tool: Asking Questions
03:25:42 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

The Secret Habits Of Supercommunicators - Modern Wisdom with Charles Duhigg

Effective communication is the foundation of any strong relationship. While some excel at it naturally, others struggle to express themselves and often get misunderstood. So, what are the best tips to become a master communicator and elevate your communication skills?

Expect to learn what most people get wrong when it comes to understanding communication, the biggest differences between communicators and supercommunicators, how introverts and extroverts communicate differently, the best and worst ways to communicate as a couple, how to be more charismatic, how to get better as making good decisions and much more…

00:00:00 What We Get Wrong About Communication
00:02:31 Differences Between Extroverts & Introverts
00:06:10 The Skill of Asking Questions
00:10:36 How to Listen Better
00:14:33 The Role of Vulnerability in Conversation
00:26:03 Categorising Conversations
00:33:13 People That Make You Feel Interesting
00:37:23 How to Improve Your Small Talk
00:42:07 Asking & Receiving Deep Questions
00:44:00 How NASA Discovered the Importance of Laughter
00:50:36 Best & Worst Ways That Couples Communicate
00:55:56 The Impact of Online Discourse on Communication
01:04:09 Communication as a Source of Identity
01:08:48 Where to Find Charles

What Traits Should You Look For In A Partner? - Modern Wisdom with Dr Shannon Curry

Modern adult relationships are complicated. With endless talk of red flags, green flags, icks etc., it can be tough to know who’s truly worth your time. So how do you build a lasting, healthy relationship when you're ready for one?

Expect to learn what the biggest red flags are to look out for in a partner, the green flags you should look for, the most common reasons why relationships fail, how to see the beauty instead of the challenges in your partner, how you can unlearn the way you argue, how to create longevity in a relationship, the best advice for stopping intrusive thoughts or unwanted worries about your partner, how to move on from heartbreak, and much more…

00:00:00 Trade-Offs in Choosing a Partner
00:06:00 The Importance of Flexibility
00:10:43 Three Key Traits to Look For
00:18:53 Are There Clear Red Flag Traits?
00:21:51 Is it Bad to Be Very Different to Your Partner?
00:34:53 Can We Unlearn How We Argue & Disagree?
00:40:17 Why We’re Drawn to Partners We Want to Fix
00:43:34 The Best Way to Bring an Issue Up to Resolve
00:47:20 Why Friendship Is So Important in Relationships
00:51:54 Things That Predict Relationship Longevity
00:59:06 How to Let Go of Bad Patterns From Previous Relationships
01:05:25 How to Get Over a Breakup
01:17:22 Where to Find Shannon

Minimum Levels of Stress - The Morgan Housel Podcast

Most people, and definitely society as a whole, seem to have a minimum level of stress. They will never be fully at ease because after solving every problem the gaze of their anxiety shifts to the next problem, no matter how trivial it is relative to previous ones.

Non violent communication summary

"Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg is a communication framework that fosters empathy, understanding, and peaceful resolution in conflicts. It can be summarised with the following key concepts:

• Language of Life: NVC emphasizes using language that connects rather than separates. It focuses on expressing needs and feelings honestly while also empathically understanding the needs of others.
• Four Components: NVC communication involves four key components:
  • Observations: Stating facts without judgment or evaluation.
  • Feelings: Identifying and expressing your genuine feelings related to the situation.
  • Needs: Recognizing the underlying needs that give rise to your feelings.
  • Requests: Making clear and specific requests to address your needs.
• Empathy: NVC emphasizes the importance of truly listening to and understanding the other person's perspective, including their observations, feelings, and needs.
• Compassion: NVC promotes a compassionate approach to communication, recognizing that everyone is doing the best they can with the resources they have.

9 Harsh Truths About How Relationships Work - Modern Wisdom with Jillian Turecki

Jillian Turecki is a relationship coach, teacher, writer and author. How do you create a thriving and loving relationship that truly lasts? While many may stumble into one by chance, building a deep and meaningful connection often requires more than luck. So what role does the inner work play in not just finding love, but building a relationship that continues to grow and flourish over time? Expect to learn why having a thriving relationship begins with self-work, why the mind is a battlefield in relationships, why lust is not the same as love, the critical reasons it's important to love yourself properly, why you can’t convince someone to love you, why it's important to make peace with your parents and how to do so, and much more…

00:00:00 It Begins With You
00:05:05 The Parallels Between Romance & Business
00:14:06 The Stories We Create in Our Minds
00:20:00 Why Accountability in a Relationship is So Important
00:25:43 How to Stop Your Mind Being a Battlefield
00:28:57 Differentiating Love & Lust
00:40:03 The Importance of Self Love
00:44:13 Speak Up & Tell the Truth in Relationships
00:51:58 What Do Women Really Want From Men?
01:05:48 How Stress & Fear Ruin Relationships
01:14:00 Relationships Aren’t Supposed to Make You Happy
01:18:50 Why You Need to Make Peace With Your Parents
01:30:06 Where to Find Jillian